Fun Animals

Joel took the day off on Wednesday so we could go to Fossil Rim south of Ft. Worth.
You can drive through the park (9 miles long) and pet the animals that walk right up to your car (zebra, giraffe, deer, ostrich, emu...). You can't get out of your car, but you still get a neat experience.
The kids were a little timid at first. Jenna was downright SCARED of the ostrich. But, she and Rylee eventually fed the animals out of their hand. Asa might have done it once.
My favorite was the giraffe eating from my hand, for sure! Well, that and when the zebra nipped Joel's arm. (We were told NOT to feed them by hand because they'll bite! You can tell which one is the rule breaker.)
The weather was beautiful, though a little windy. We were glad for the breeze since we were moving very slowly and were inside our car with the sun shining down on us.
About halfway through, there is a stopping point. There's a restaurant with overpriced food, a picnic area (highly recommended!), a gift shop, bathrooms (yeah!), and a petting zoo area. Joel had packed us a lunch, which was wonderful. Then, the kids enjoyed the petting zoo. Rylee brushed the kids (baby goats) for a very long time. She was really enjoying it. Jenna and Asa were having fun playing on the wooden ramp built for the goats (they don't use it apparently).
We ended up spending a LOT more time there than we had planned. They say it takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours to go through the park. We were there for 5 hours. But, it was a great day!
I just realized how few shots we got of the kids feeding the animals. We were so busy trying to help them that photo ops were passed by, I guess. I do have a few cool videos. Hopefully I can edit them together and post it soon.

More About Food

Recipe organization is still underway. Feel free to still comment and help me out with it!

Next topic I want to throw out there is this--recipes in general!

I always feel "stuck" when it comes to menu planning. I feel like we are always eating the same things over and over again. I've also come to realize that half the battles we have as a family (between parents and kids) over eating good-for-you foods comes when I haven't planned well. In other words, I can handle some objections if I've been planning what we'll have for dinner all day. It's when my confidence is low that this battle becomes more difficult.

A friend recently introduced me to some freezer cooking. I'm liking that option. I will probably supplement it with some of what I've always done. But, the biggest thing that MUST change is the PLAN!

Well, I should say "I need to start planning."

I'm actually meeting with two friends who are in the same place of life with young kids and we're going to work on getting our acts together. Menu planning, cleaning schedule for home, holding each other accountable for daily QT with Jesus, less computer time, etc. I'm excited.

I need to be more organized...with my time and my home. Gotta get some order here!

So, what do you do for recipes/meals? Chicken breast, pork chops, and hamburger tend to be staples around here. We're a meat, veggies, starch family. Both grew up that way. We're trying to venture out, but it's hard to get used to.

How do you menu plan?
How do you keep from getting in a rut?
What is a favorite meal of your family's?

Organizing Things

I've been cleaning out around the house. I have many piles.

I have sold quite a few things in the last several weeks (thank you, craigslist!), but I still have many items left to go. I will eventually have a yard sale, but I'm waiting for warmer weather. Seriously, this is my dining room table full of stuff to sell.
This picture doesn't even show the stuff on the floor in front of the table!

It's mostly stuff from the baby phase of our life (when we had lots of double items, too). Other things are just not used, so they need to go. It's so wonderful to be de-cluttering our house and garage.

But, the reason for my post today is actually RECIPES!

As I have been cleaning out my house and just living life, my recipe collection has been haunting me.

I sold quite a few recipe books in yard sales before moving from Pennsylvania. So, my cookbook collection isn't that crazy. I will probably get rid of a few more in the months ahead, but right now that part is okay.
What's haunting me is a pile of recipe cards that are stacked up and lots of recipes torn from magazines.
Just look at the pile!!!

I have tried to think of a way to organize my recipes so it works best for my lifestyle. I really like having the 4x6 card in front of me by the stove. Our apartment had a magnetic backsplash above the stove and I would just clip the recipe in a magnetic chip clip. I loved it! I have yet to figure out a good thing here at our house.

Also, I was gifted with a very nice recipe book from some special ladies. You can slide your 4x6 recipe cards into the sleeves and organize them by category. I loved it (being able to fully see the recipe as I flip through them) and immediately took out all my 4x6 cards to organize. Problem--not enough pages. And, I can't find refills. (The only ones online are not very inexpensive. So, they're not for me!)

I've been scouring the web for recipe organization. You wouldn't believe how popular a topic it is!

I think I've come up with two options.

The first one came to me while I was shopping at Wal-Mart yesterday. Punch a hole in the top left corner of each 4x6 card and put it on a ring. Have a ring for each food category (I don't get too detailed on categories.)

The second one came today while I was browsing the web. Get a 3-ring binder and page protectors. Slide recipes from magazines or print-outs from the web in page protectors. Get some protectors with 4x6 photo holders and use those for my cards. Only drawback to this method is just how many cards I have and the fact that those photo sheet protectors aren't super cheap either (they are cheaper than the refills for the smaller book I was gifted).

Both these options will allow for expansion and are flexible. They both will allow me to remove my 4x6 card. The cards on rings will require all my magazine recipes to be written on a card--maybe. The binder would allow me to have a pocket page where I can slide recipes yet to be tried.

So...what do YOU think? Come on, my friends! Please, please leave a comment and a suggestion. Even if you just say "I like idea #2" or vice versa. Let me know you're reading. Help me get organized!!!

And, no posting is truly complete without a shot of adorable cooks!