Family
Dinner is Served!
Guess who’s back? Back again. School is back! The fast pace, steady rhythm of back-to-school routines are here. Family meal planning can be a challenge. Needing some inspiration for meal time? Does the thought of getting all the little people to all the places they need to be then starting dinner overwhelm you? Let me offer you some assistance through a few meal planning ideas. Making quick and easy meals helps me keep the ball rolling so to speak. With sports practices, music lessons, church, and community events; long preparation meals are just not feasible for my crew. Getting supper out and on the table should be as easy as 1, 2, 3! For instance, my 3 step process is listed in the next paragraph. On a side note….do you call it dinner or supper? I tend to lean towards the word “supper”.
3 easy steps for Family Meal Planning
- Make a list of your family’s favorite meals and search Pinterest for some quick meal ideas.
- Consult your calendar as to what events are coming up and how much time you have to get a meal on the table.
- Don’t be afraid to utilize your crockpot because it can be a huge time saver. Throwing ingredients in a crockpot in the morning then walking in the door in the evening to a deliciously smelling meal is a wonderful treat!
Some nights dinner needs to be just quick and easy. Over on @thehelmshouse_ , I have been sharing several accounts that are highlighting easy to fix meals to help families transition into the back-to-school swing. I have enjoyed learning what other moms are making as their go-to quick meal. Mine is Chicken Tortilla Soup. I can throw all ingredients into the crockpot and walk away. It is SO good.
Family favorite meals
Some family favorites in our house are: orange chicken and rice; verde salsa chicken enchilladas; the chicken tortilla soup I mentioned above; and lasagna (although it is not a quick meal unless you use a crockpot recipe). I am also completely game for finding local restaurants that have a kids-eat-free night. Additional quick and easy dinner options: first, check your local church – ours offers meals on Wednesday nights for cheap; and also, stop by a ready made store front. Meals by Misty is a great little shop near my home that has freezer meals and on-the-go meals ready made for customers to swing by and pick up to feed their families. With just a little planning, you can have nice list of meals to eat for the week night.
A crockpot can be your best friend! Consulting your calendar helps in knowing which nights are best to eat out, grab a ready made meal, or use your crockpot. For instance, instead of stressing as to what I can have fixed in time to eat before Wednesday night church activities, my crew is going to eat at church. The cost is relatively inexpensive (somewhere around $5 a person). Another example, knowing the football game is on Friday night may help me decide to throw a pizza in the oven and scoot out the door in time to make it to kickoff. In my house, during the week, there are two nights currently that have evening sports practices. For those nights, a crockpot meal comes in handy! Read below to add a quick meal to your recipe list.
An easy crockpot meal you can make now!
Pinterest has been my best resource for finding crockpot meals. Many mamas are willing to share recipes that help feed their family on a time efficient schedule which in turn, helps you create an easy meal. One of my favorite meals – Chicken Tortilla Soup can be cooked in the crockpot. First, start with your ingredients: 4-5 frozen chicken breasts, chicken broth, taco seasoning, a can of washed black beans, a can of whole kernel corn, and a can of Rotel. Secondly, dump all ingredients into your crockpot, then make certain your broth covers your chicken breasts. Follow up by adding any water necessary to reach your desired liquid amount. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. When serving your soup, feel free to add tortilla chips, jalapenos, shredded cheese, and sour cream. Tada, an easy family meal!
A yummy bowl of Chicken Tortilla Soup. To sum this up, take a little time to make a list, look at your calendar, and pull out that crockpot! Family meal planning can be as easy as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Back to School
Today was my children’s first day of school. I am uncertain if I have ever been more apprehensive about a first day then I have been over today. A post pandemic world is definitely worthy of being a little nervous; however, my concerns have not really been on health issues – at least not physical health issues. This year marks another milestone for us – two kids in high school and one in elementary school. While I am familiar with night-before-school jitters, this go around I had some of my kids experiencing some real sadness and fear over a new school year. Needless to say, I have spent much of my day in prayer over the peace in my kids’ hearts.
Open House for our youngest Three areas come to mind when I start contemplating a new school year: clothes, lunches, and routines. I am obsessed lately with Jessica Woo and her bento box creations! My kids laugh at me trying to replicate her intricate lunches. And to be real, most of my kids’ lunches are lunchables. These three areas help me to get a clear picture of how I want the school year to run.
When contemplating a new school year and getting your kiddos ready, consider their clothing options at home. What clothes are in their closet and/or chest of drawers? Is anything too small, stained, or damaged? Do you allow your kids to buy new shoes for the school year? What is your local school’s dress code? Once you have considered these questions, go through your child’s closet and/or chest of drawers and get rid of what will not be worn. Take the time to sort and organize your child’s clothing in order to readily see what you have and what you need. Once you are able to assess your child’s clothing needs, shop for the items to fill the gaps in his/her closet. I like to hang my children’s clothing by color order from light to dark in their closets. Do not forget to pay attention to your local school’s dress codes when shopping for clothing. Adding some new items to their wardrobe makes my children look forward to a new school year.
Lunches seem to be a hot topic in my household: what’s for lunch, how much should be packed in a lunch, who wants hot lunch and who wants a packed lunch? Keeping three kids well fed and happy is a tall order. Shopping in bulk at places like Costco or shopping the buy one, get one sales at Publix helps keep lunch costs low. Lunch items that are a big hit for us are: lunchables, yogurt, fruit, peanut butter crackers, beef jerky, and chips. For this year, I want to include more foods and possible leftovers from our suppers into the kids’ lunchboxes. Prep time is key to success when dealing with packed lunches. Clear a space (i.e. kitchen island), gather clean storage/food containers, and pack lunches all together. Filling lunchboxes the night before makes for smooth school day mornings. Don’t forget refillable water bottles!
.First day of school pic When heading back to school, keep in mind the power of routines. Routines help establish structure and stability in your children’s lives. Routines allow your children to know what to expect. In getting ready for each week of school, Sunday evening is the time my children and I set apart their outfits for the entire week of school. Knowing what outfit is for each day eliminates a lot of wasted time on busy mornings. A set time for departure on school mornings keeps me from yelling and hurrying my kids out the door. Another routine that we try to adhere to is keeping our car rides to school discipline-free. This means if there is correction to be made, I need to do that at home in a one on one environment, not in the car in front of all the kids. An older lady I attended church with years ago shared this jewel with me. The jewel of keeping your morning car rides discipline-free means those car rides can be a time of sharing and fellowship with one another. Worship music is on the radio and often times I am able to pray with my kids before I drop them off to school (and some of those times are my kids praying for my road rage – ha!). Before I implemented a set departure time and an intentional approach to not correcting my kids in the car ride, I would often find myself flustered and frustrated by the time I dropped my kids off at school. Now that we are a couple of months away from adding another driver in our household, I am thankful for these times of riding with the kids and getting to know them better to and from school.
However your school year finds you, I hope you are able to glean some helpful tips from these three areas I discussed: clothing, lunches, and routines. What tips do you have for a successful school year? Comment below with your tips and tricks.
Beach Vacay on 30A
Life is filled with many different seasons and our vacation 2021 proved to be another new season of life. We told our 15 year old and our 14 year old they could each invite a friend with us on our vacation. So enters the season of young adulthood. I remember as a teen thinking that inviting a friend to summer vacation meant you were practically grown. Our crew plus two made it to my favorite beach local…Highway 30A.
Beach fun with friends! Jeff and I were introduced to 30A around 2010. Our first 30A trip was spent at Grayton Beach State Park. 30A is a collection of seaside communities that focuses on small town feels with beautiful architcture that can all be reached by bicycle. The communities included are: Grayton Beach, Watercolor, Seaside, Seagrove, Watersound, Seacrest, Alys Beach, and Rosemary Beach.
While I feel there are a variety of activities to participate in and reasons to fall in love with the communities of 30A, I will readily admit that its popularity has greatly increased over the last few years. Grayton Beach and its tiny spot on the map, remains my favorite 30A community.
Due to its popularity, booking a stay on 30A early is important in securing the best deal. I enjoy staying in a private house or small condo while at the beach. Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) has been our best rental route when traveling. AirBnB is another vacation rental site along with one that I have just been introduced to, Vacasa. I do not have any experience with Vacasa. My best tip for booking through these sites? READ THE REVIEWS – and not just the first three. I have found great information about a property, whether good or bad from the reviews. Our July 2021 trip was booked in January 2021. We stayed in the Beachwood Villas in Seagrove, Florida.
Activities abound on 30A with a wide range of prices. For my crew, budget friendly activities make my heart happy. I like to sprinkle free activities throughout our vacation week. The beauty of this Florida shoreline is hard to beat. Emerald waters and white sands make for a beautiful landscape. Walks along the beach, sitting and laying out by the water, and crab hunting at night provides lots of squeals of delight, laughter, and relaxation. Crab hunting provides squeals of terror and delight! One of my favorite activities? Bike rides. All 30A communities are connected by bike and/or walking trails. You can bike for hours if you want. You can bike to eat, bike to the grocery store, or simple bike to ramble. During the summer months, each 30A community provides free activities: children’s theater, family movie nights, and live music. 30a.com is a great resource for calendar events.
When looking to spend some money, Baytowne Wharf in Sandestin is a fun location. It hosts a wealth of shops, activities, and restaurants to enjoy. One night of our recent vacation was spent at the Gran Maze in the Coconut Creek Family Fun park. While the maze did not take long for our teenagers to navigate, we had LOTS of fun and laughs here!
Food makes any vacation better. In keeping with a relatively budget friendly meal plan, we alternated between eating at our condo and going out to eat. Rosemary Beach’s Farmer’s Market provides a wealth of vendors who have wonderfully yummy food! It’s Tamale Time! has been a fan favorite with our family for a couple of years now. We’ve cooked these tamales for two different beach vacations and they are amazing. We did not get them this time, but Alligator Pear chips are really good! For this trip, we got some super tasty jalapeno and cilantro hummus from a vendor at the market but I have totally forgotten the name. This makes me upset because the hummus was so good. Goatfeathers Seafood Market steamed large shrimp to go along with the corn and potatoes we boiled to complete our shrimp boil one night. Honestly, some nights after being out at the beach all day, we simply ate frozen pizza and cheese bread. One of my best decisions I made for this trip was to order our groceries and sundries via Walmart Grocery Pickup from a Walmart near our vacation rental. The key is to place the order 5-7 days BEFORE your arrival date to ensure the day and time are available for grocery pickup. These time slots fill up quickly, so plan ahead!
PIctures at sunset. As far as eating out, Seaside has a variety of restaurants and eateries surrounding its amphitheater. We like Pickles, a little burger, fries, and shake joint and the cool Modica Market. The market is a grocery store that is quirky and has everything you could want for a quick meal. Order a sandwich and a huge slice of cake to eat while watching a play at Seaside’s Amphitheater. The Hub at 30A is located between Watersound and Seacrest. This is another one-stop-shop for all things fun. A variety of shops and eateries surround a fun green space which boasts a large screen in the center. Family Movie Nights are hosted here throughout the summer. Our party of 7 chose supper from: Duos All American Eats; Local Smoke: Southern Pride BBQ; and Hooked: Sea to Table. There are a few more restaurants on site to choose from.
So much variety in such an easily-accessible environment makes 30A my beach destination of choice! Did I miss anything? Comment below with any questions or tips you would want to include in your trip to 30A.
Updating Our Launch Pad
August 2020 welcomed us into a new home. Let me be clear: a new-to-us home. The area we moved to has many mid-century builds. Fortunately our 1960’s ranch style home had been purchased by a contractor, remodeled, and placed on the market. We purchased our home from said contractor. While I appreciate the new kitchen and updated bathrooms and lighting, the many tiny closets are not completely appreciated.
I chose to turn one of those tiny closets into a Launch Pad. What is a launch pad you say? A launch pad is a place where you house everything you need to readily launch yourself out of your house. Shoe holders, purses, backpacks, keys, may be just a few examples of what my family houses in its launch pad. Like the picture above, our entryway held a small closet in its space. Just a couple of simple changes transformed this space into our family’s launch pad.
First, my husband removed the door and its hardware to this area’s closet. My husband removed the wardrobe bar inside the closet and affixed a decorative board with hooks to hold our backpacks and purses. I applied spackling to the holes left by the door’s hardware. After allowing time for the spackling to dry, I sanded off the rough edges and painted the door frame (and an interior return vent) the color of our trim: Sherwin Williams’ Pure White.
To make the space feel functional and aesthetically pleasing, I placed three baskets from Walmart’s Better Homes and Garden line on the top shelf (Mine are an older version. Here is the current version available at Walmart.) These baskets are not only a pretty addition but they serve to hold my extra bed linens. Our shoe baskets came from Target and hold the shoes we tend to kick off as soon as we come in the door.
While most people would call this space a mud room, due to its small size, I felt launch pad was a more appropriate title. This is the area that has what we need to launch our day. Toni Hammersly from A Bowl Full of Lemons first gave me the idea of naming this space launch pad. All our supplies needed to head out the door are housed in one space meeting the needs of my busy crew!
Do you have a space such as this designated in your home? If not, would you convert a closet into a Launch Pad? Let me know in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you.
~Ashley
Welcome!
Hi! My name is Ashley. I am a stay-at-home mom to three kids (our fourth one has already left the nest). I am wife to Jeff, and we have been married 17 years. Our children are ages 20 (my stepson), 15, 14, and 9. We also have three dogs! I cannot believe we have three dogs: a Mal-shi, Labradoodle, and a Poodle. They keep life interesting.
My background is in special education. While I have recently worked part time as a special education instructor, a majority of the last fifteen years have been spent as a stay-at-home mom – my true passion.
Cullman has been called home for the last 14 years; however, 2020 brought a us to a new town. We’ve recently moved and are setting up house in Homewood, Alabama. With a child in elementary school and two in high school, we are on the go often and a big move in the middle of a pandemic is not for the faint of heart.
After spending time on Instagram, this blog is a great addition to add depth and detail to my Instagram squares. You can follow along in my day to day life at The Helms House on Instagram. My goal is to share my home and family with you.
