Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Start Making Homemade Vanilla for Christmas!

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About a year ago, I told you about my vodka buying adventures. Fun times. It’s always neat to be carded when you’re in your 30’s. I was so honored. And also embarrassed. Hey, I was buying an entire gallon of vodka at one time. I looked like I was going a little overboard. Like a crazy lady who took her four children to the store with her at nine o’clock in the morning to buy a gallon of booze.

Well anyway, it was well worth it as I handed out nice bottles of homemade vanilla for Christmas last year. And as I continue to pull out bottles of homemade vanilla for our own use. Mmmmmm…it’s so delicious!

I know it’s a little bit early to be thinking about Christmas. Never mind – it’s never to early to be thinking about Christmas gifts. Starting now and planning ahead can save a lot of money. That’s why I’m writing this little post.

It takes six months to make good, strong homemade vanilla. If you’d like to give homemade vanilla to family and friends this Christmas…you’ll need to purchase vanilla beans and start making your vanilla soon! If you get all of your supplies in order now and get the vanilla started in June, you’ll be all set for Christmas!

Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Read this post about how to make homemade vanilla. (By the way, making vanilla is so completely easy!)
  2. Order Vanilla Beans (You’ll find details on the amount of beans you need here.)  If you order vanilla beans through Olive Nation you will receive free shipping, PLUS if you use the code home you will receive 10% off your order! I’ve been very pleased with the beans I ordered through Olive Nation!
  3. Buy some cheap vodka. (You’re on your own with this one. Best wishes.)
  4. Get ahold of a big jar to make your vanilla.
  5. Get your vanilla beans and put into your vodka (as directed here) to start extracting.

Then…in the next few months, you can

  1. Start thinking about purchasing small bottles for your vanilla gifts.
  2. Look into these fun Vanilla Recipe Cards to add to your gifts.
  3. Check out these pretty labels! They are customizable, and come in a variety of designs.
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Menu Plan for the Week

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Remember how I said that our last soccer games were last week? Yeah, just kidding. We got all the way to Lincoln last Sunday afternoon (an hour away) and the gates were locked. We had a team full of very sad ten year old boys on our hands.

I was disappointed too, but since we were in Lincoln already, we took advantage of our “trip to the city” and went to Target and Kohls to make some exchanges. I loved it. But Justus? Shopping was NOT his idea of a fun alternative to playing a soccer game. Poor guy.

So anyway, this week we’re trying again. For real…our last soccer game for the season is today. Probably. I’m pretty sure. Most likely. I think.

Here’s our menu for the week:

Sunday, May 23
Oatmeal, pears
Taco Potatoes, oranges
Soccer team meet up at Culvers after game

Monday, May 24
Honey whole wheat bagels, apples
Black bean taco salad
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans

Tuesday, May 25
Mini apple pies
Bean and rice bowls, watermelon
Cheesy Salsa Enchiladas, tossed salad

Wednesday, May 26
Cinnamon swirl bread, cantaloupe
Cheddar Ranch Burgers on whole wheat hamburger buns, onion rings
Simple soaked pancakes, turkey sausage, scrambled eggs

Thursday, May 27
Breakfast cake, bananas
Spaghetti, tossed salad
Roast, potatoes, carrots, gravy

Friday – Saturday…up in the air weekend plans  :)

Wow, I am loving our fresh lettuce from the garden right now! Are any of you able to enjoy anything yummy from your garden yet?!
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Visit Organizing Junkie for more menu planning inspiration!

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Whole Wheat Banana Bread and Muffins

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Did I ever tell you about the time I almost forgot to put the bananas into my banana bread?

I have these finer moments in my kitchen from time to time. They mostly happen while I’m trying to cook and talk simultaneously. If I’m talking on the phone while mixing up a recipe, I tend to leave out key ingredients. Or add the same ingredient twice.  It’s ridiculous.  I think it’s crazy that I can usually multi-task quite well…but I can barely have a conversation with someone while I cook. Duh. Just be glad I type these posts after I’m finished cooking. Otherwise, these recipes would just be plain scary.

And so, because I care too much not to share, here’s a handy baking tip:  When making Banana Bread or Muffins, be sure to add the bananas. The final product tastes much better this way. I’m nothing if not helpful.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread and MuffinsYum

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground flour from hard white wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup mashed over-ripe bananas (about 2-3 bananas)
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs

Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mash bananas, or puree them in a blender. Mix mashed bananas, honey, melted butter and eggs into flour mixture.

For Bread:  Spread batter into a well buttered bread pan. Bake in a 350° oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

For Muffins:  Spoon batter into 12 buttered or paper lined muffin tins. Bake in a 400° oven for 20 minutes.

Speaking of finer moments in my kitchen…did I ever tell you about the time I made a lovely lasagna ahead of time so that I would be all ready for my company that night? Because, you see, it’s great to be prepared when you’re having company. Oh, and it also helps to get the lasagna out of the fridge and BAKE IT at dinner time. Being prepared doesn’t help at all if you don’t actually bake your lasagna. Yeah, dinner was a little late that night.

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Becoming a Better Help Meet: GET HELP!!!

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help meet

I had another Help Meet post all sweetly written up to encourage you to empower your husband to be better. But that one is going to have to wait.

You know why? Because there are marriages all around me that are hurting and falling apart. If I hear of one more marriage break up from people that I love and care about, I’m just going to scream! Right now I’m mad. I’m mad and I’m sad and my heart is broken. I’m mad at Satan for destroying marriages and I’m mad at couples for letting Satan do what he loves and is so good at doing. Christians and non-Christians alike are letting Satan win. Stop it. Stop it!!! Stop it!!!!!

If your marriage is less than wonderful…you don’t get to cop out. You DON’T! You don’t get to say, “Laura, I know what the Bible says…but you just don’t know what I’ve been through in my marriage.”

You know what I keep hearing from couples who are deciding to split up? “We’ve had trouble for years.” “There have been issues in our marriage for years.” “We’ve always had really difficult things to work through in our marriage.” 

Oh, really? You’ve had trouble for years? How shocking! Name one married couple that hasn’t “had trouble for years”! Everyone always thinks their troubles are harder to work through than anyone else’s troubles. And so…working through them just doesn’t seem like an option.

You want to know why your marriage is difficult?  It’s because marriage is difficult!  It’s because two sinners married each other and have to try to figure out how to live together in harmony with God in the center. Satan hates what you’re trying to do and he’s going to do everything he can to destroy you. It’s a spiritual battle. So yes, THAT is difficult.

If your marriage is in ANY kind of trouble…PLEASE GET HELP! Before it’s too late. Too many couples are ashamed or embarrassed or too full of pride to ask for help. Then they are divorced before anyone who loves them has a chance to help. Please, please don’t do that. I beg you.

Asking for help is hard. Asking for help means you may face the opportunity to be convicted of your own sin. Or be asked to offer forgiveness to your spouse. Or to let go of bitterness. Or to change something difficult about the way you are living. Those things are going to be gut-wrenchingly difficult. Awful. Painful.

But who are you living for?  If you’re living for yourself, then by all means go right ahead and give up on your marriage. If you’re living for yourself, it won’t matter to you how much you hurt your children, your friends, your family, your church and your spouse. As long as you feel like you are going to be “better off”, then go ahead and do whatever you want to do.

But if you are truly striving to live for Jesus, I’m going to beg you to please let go of yourself and all the fears you have about forgiveness and change…and please humbly accept help.

I’ve watched some of my friends walk through extremely difficult marital issues…and they survived! Their marriages have been in the trenches…and with God’s incredible strength…they have dug themselves out and come out on the other side with a new marriage to each other! It’s been beautiful to watch! They wanted to quit. They wanted to leave. But they worked and they fought and they sweated and they cried and they learned how to let go of the bondage that was keeping them from the kind of joy God purposes for a marriage. They did it and so can you!!

Please let God help heal your marriage. Your children deserve your hard work and so do you. 

Disclaimers and some of the “Yeah Buts”:  Please know that I’m not writing to condemn anyone. I know some of you  have been through tremendous trials in your marriage. I know some of you are divorced. Some of you have endured physical abuse. Some of you had spouses who refused to stay married to you no matter how hard you tried or what you did to make it work. Some of you needed to get out of a marriage because your children were being sexually abused. I really am writing this post because while those are legitimate reasons to split, those reasons are VERY FEW, and the issues I’ve heard of recently are SO VERY FIXABLE!!! And that is why my heart cried out in this post.

And now, I’m going to go hug and appreciate my precious husband. If we’ve learned anything by watching friends and loved ones break up and divorce, it has been that we MUST go to great lengths to protect and nurture our marriage together. My husband and I are prayerfully clinging to one another right now…and I’d like to encourage you and your spouse to do the same. Your marriage depends on it.

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Gratituesday: Ah, Lovely Dirt

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Before Saturday, I STILL had not had a chance to get my hands dirty. I hadn’t had a chance to get into my garden at ALL. (You’re shocked at me, aren’t you?!)  I had longed to get out there, but just not had even one moment to think about the garden yet.

Thankfully, Matt had found a few bits and pieces of time during the past few weeks to get our garden areas tilled up and to plant a few things. Ooh, and he even brought us home a big truck load of horse manure. Crazy how excited I was to see him that day. Saturday, we were finally able to both work in the garden together and get several more things planted.

The day was sunny and beautiful. Just ask Matt…I was completely giddy. I was running my  hands through the soil…just for fun. It felt so good.

Yes, in case you didn’t already know that I am a garden geek…now you know for sure. I can’t help it. The garden gives me so much joy.

Wanna take a look at a few parts of it with me? (There’s more to be planted…these are just a few shots.)

lettuceWe have lettuce ready to eat…it is so beautiful!

cornYou can’t see it…but there’s corn in these rows!!

 

peppersAw, cute little pepper plants.

potato_containerOh yes…I did plant potatoes in my trash can again!!

I’m just so thankful for our garden. I love how we can see God in the entire process of watching food grow from a seed. I can’t wait to share more with you during the coming months!

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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Simple Steps Toward Healthy Eating, Part 1

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simplesteps

When I finished telling you about Our Healthy Eating Journey, I told you I wanted to begin a new series to help break down some specific things you can do if you would like to begin your own journey toward healthy eating.

You may already feel great about where you are on your healthy eating journey. You may already be eating a wonderfully healthy diet. If so, great! I hope you’ll still join us during this series, leaving your own helpful comments and ideas on each post!

But, if you are just beginning your journey toward healthy eating and would like some practical tips and attainable advice on how to make this journey simple and do-able…stick around. I don’t promise to write this series very quickly. I may only be able to post a new “simple step” once every few weeks or so. But, that may be just the pace you need to begin making changes in the way you and your family eat and think about food. If you want to move faster, that’s just fine…but making too many healthy changes too quickly may be overwhelming to you and can certainly make a husband or child want to run away to find the nearest Cheeto. 

Take small steps. Take simple steps.

But do take steps. 

It is important for your health and for the health of your loved ones that you start taking some simple steps toward healthy eating. Our bodies need nourishment. Start doing what you can to fill your bodies up with great nourishment! It isn’t as hard as you think! You can do this!

Here is what I am going to suggest as a first small step toward healthier eating:  Focus on eating more fruits and vegetables.

That’s it. All I’m asking you to do is eat a grape.  See? I’m totally reasonable and practical. Nothing weird. Nothing freaky or icky. Just focus on colorful fruits and vegetables.

Here are a few helpful tips and ideas to encourage your fruit and vegetable intake:

  • Fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables are the most nutritious. Canned is better than none at all. Organic is best, but if that isn’t a step you’re ready to take yet, don’t worry. Just eat fruits and vegetables. 
  • Look for fruits and vegetables that are on sale…but try very hard not to focus on how difficult it might be to spend money on produce. I’ve heard people talk about how they just can’t stand to spend $3.50 on a fresh pineapple…but they’ll turn right around and throw a big bag of potato chips into their cart that costs the same amount. Let the fruits and vegetables replace some of the processed snacks that you normally buy and you won’t even feel the financial difference.
  • Stock up on your favorites. I personally can’t stand red delicious apples from the store. They taste grainy and nasty to me, so if all I have in the house are red delicious apples…I will not eat them. BUT put gala apples in the house and I’ll eat three. Each day. I LOVE gala apples. Get your favorite fruits and veggies, get your husband’s favorites, get your kids’ favorites. You are all much more likely to eat them if you love them.
  • Try something new. Have a little fun trying fruits or vegetables you’ve never tried before. Try fixing your old favorites in a new way.
  • Hide them. If you haven’t tried these Strawberry-Peach Slushies (that secretly have raw spinach in them) you are missing out. My whole family devours these slushies and never think twice about the fact that there is something green hiding within. 

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Focus on how packed full of vitamins and wonderfulness fruits and vegetables are! Work on eating them as an incredible way to improve your health and the health of your family! What a perfect first step toward healthy eating!

So tell me…what are your favorite fruits and vegetables? Think you can challenge yourself to eat just a few more?  (Nod your head yes.)

Right before publishing this, I asked my husband what HE would recommend as the first, most important step a person should take toward healthy eating. I found his answer so very interesting and insightful…as well as completely different from what I was thinking. Want to know Matt’s advice and idea for a great first step? I’ll write about that next in this series!

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Menu Plan for the Week

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We have survived soccer season again this spring. We’re on the home stretch…our last games are Tuesday night. You can’t see me, but I’m doing back flips in celebration. I’ve loved watching my boys play…but it will be nice to have more time at home again. I think they are a tiny bit relieved too. (You should see the back flips they can do.)

Here’s our menu for the week:

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Sunday, May 16
Oatmeal, peaches
Sandwiches on the way to a soccer game
Leftovers

Monday, May 17
Whole wheat waffles, strawberries
Bean and cheese burritos, watermelon
Chicken Fried Steak Strips, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Tuesday, May 18
Orange carrot muffins, bananas
Pizza pockets, carrot sticks, applesauce
Italian Stew with green beans

Wednesday, May 19
Mini breakfast pizza, oranges
Homemade corn dogs, strawberry yogurt fruit dip with apple slices
Taco potatoes

Thursday, May 20
French toast
Spanish Rice, corn, pears
Cookout at the park with Justus’ soccer team

Friday, May 21
Mini apple pies, cheese
Chicken tortilla soup, strawberry peach slushies, carrots
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, creamy orange cooler

Saturday, May 22
Whole wheat donuts
Nachos, apples
Cheddar ranch burgers on whole wheat hamburger buns, hashbrowns

Simple Steps Toward Healthy Eating Series begins tonight…stay tuned!
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Find more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Lookie! We’re on TV!

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I received a phone call Wednesday from our local NBC news station here in Nebraska. They wanted to interview me about HeavenlyHomemakers.com…could they come in two hours?

Two hours!? Well sure they could come in two hours!

And so, of course, I spent the next two hours sitting quietly and reflecting in wonder about how a dandelion changes in form from a lovely yellow flower to a soft fluffy puff of seeds that children love to blow softly into the air…

Yeah right.

I immediately called Matt, who thankfully was on his way home from work. He suggested that I start to bake something. His reasons for this were threefold:

  1. He was hungry.
  2. He recognized that I had a lot of nervous energy and that I should knead some dough to calm myself.
  3. He thought maybe KHAS-TV might like to see some freshly baked goods in our kitchen.

My husband is so smart. Kneading bread dough when you have a TV crew coming to your house is a perfect way to calm your nerves (chalk that tidbit of wisdom away for future reference, people). 

We had a delightful time with Josh Bonifas, their videographer and “interview guy”. He did a great job putting us at ease and asked great questions. Later that night during our nightly prayer time, our boys were talking about “Josh” like he’d been a part of our family forever. So cute.

Anyhoo…being interviewed for the KHAS nightly news was a blast and a wonderful honor. You can watch the clip of me taking bread out of the oven and talking all about Heavenly Homemakers here if you’d like. Disregard the nice stuff the anchor woman says at first about me “having it all figured out”. You all know better than that, right?

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Click here to watch the clip!

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How to Store Bulk Grain

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Remember that 500 pound order of hard white wheat I ordered and brought home a few weeks ago? (Yeah, like you could forget.)

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You may be happy to know that I’m down to only 447 (give or take) pounds of wheat now. And you were worried that I wouldn’t use it all up quickly…

Anyway, many of you asked how I would store all my bags of grain…and several of you suggested that I “critter proof” it. Yes. Very, very good advice. If it’s one thing I can count on having at my house…it’s critters. {shudder}  Although I don’t think snakes or birds should care too much about my wheat…we do see our fair share of bugs and the occasional mouse. Eeeww.  I do NOT want mice getting into my big stash of wheat. That would just be maddening.

And so, ever since I brought home all the wheat in February…I’ve been on a quest for big huge buckets for my grain storage. I needed some with lids that seal very well (obviously). The fabulous buckets with gamma seal lids I found online are pricey! Great quality, no doubt…but I needed around 20 buckets. I could have spent at least $80 for what I needed, and that was JUST the lid…not the bucket! Ouch.

Instead, I began asking around at my local grocery stores. Did you know that the frosting used in a bakery often comes in big five gallon buckets?! Yes indeed. That’s a lot of frosting! Did you know that most bakeries go through several of these big five gallon buckets in a month? Yes indeed. That’s a lot of frosting! And did you know that bakeries generally don’t want to keep their empty buckets after they’ve used the frosting out of them? Yes indeed. That’s a lot of empty, unwanted buckets.

One store asked me to “fork over” an entire dollar per bucket with lid that I took from them. Big buckets with lids for a dollar each? Okeedokee!

The other store practically threw their buckets with lids into my cart and wouldn’t let me pay one penny for them. They were almost giddy about the fact that I was so happy to take the buckets off of their hands. For free. Yes indeed.

And so…long story longer…I came away from my grocery store bakery departments with 20 buckets with lids for a total of $6.00. Yes, that was SIX dollars. Total. 

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I washed and dried the buckets thoroughly, then got busy scooping all of the wheat into them. I found that it took two – five gallon buckets for each 50 pound bag of wheat. 

I now have a big stash of white frosting buckets full of hard white wheat just waiting to be turned into bread, tortillas, muffins, pancakes, cakes, pies, cookies, pretzels, donuts, buns, bagels…the possibilities are endless!

And the critters? They can go pick on someone their own size. 

Huh. I’m suddenly remembering another time I bravely and fearlessly used big buckets to defend myself from attack. Wow. Who knew buckets such as these would be such a helpful aid for a wimpy woman such as I. Between big buckets and cottage cheese containers…I’d say I am well protected. What do you think?

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I Knew So Much Before I Had Kids

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Before I had kids…

I knew how to keep a constantly clean and orderly house.

I knew how to discipline children lovingly, yet firmly. I knew how to answer questions patiently and with kindness. I knew how to give my full attention and listen to everything a child said without being distracted.

I knew how to keep up with laundry and to put it into drawers neatly. I knew how to travel with children in a way that did not make a mess of the car or the child’s hair or the child’s clothes or the driver’s sanity. I knew how to keep children from throwing fits in the store. I knew how to keep crust from forming under a child’s nose.

I knew how to keep a child from being a picky eater. I knew how to make sure a child’s clothes always matched, were on right-side-out and with the tag in the back. I knew how to keep a child from having stinky feet.

I knew how to make a child love bath time. I knew how to have a quiet toddler. I knew how to control a child during church. I knew how to keep my kitchen clean. I knew how to teach a child to sit down and be still. I knew how to keep a child’s toys picked up. I knew how to make sure a child’s shoes were on the right feet and the laces were always tied.

I knew how to make sure a child never dropped his coat on the floor when he walked in the door. I knew how to tell a child to do something and they would just do it right away the first time without arguing. I knew how to keep a child from back-talk. I knew how to keep a child from ever being mean to another child, ever.

I knew how and when to potty train. I knew how to keep my child from having any learning problems. I knew how to keep caught up on the dishes. I knew how to get my kids to sleep through the night.

I knew how to keep the windows and mirror clean. I knew how to inspire children to cheerfully help and work hard. I knew how to teach children fun songs and meaningful songs and historical songs and spiritual songs and to sing themselves to sleep.

I knew how to teach children eloquent language and foreign language and sign language and to never use bad language. I knew how to make sure children always neatly wrote a loving thank you note for every gift they received. 

I knew how to make sure children always spoke nice and clear when talking to an adult and to never mumble. I knew how to make sure a child never loudly said embarrassing things about how that woman has a mustache and that man has a really big nose.

I knew how to win every battle.

I knew all the answers.

Before I had kids.

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