Franklin Mom Blog

Dinner in Reverse!

And I don't mean while driving!  If your family is like ours, it's pretty crazy in the evenings after school between sports, music, and homework.  If you have boys like me, getting them clean also takes a good bit of time!  On nights we know are going to be crazy, we've been doing our dinners in reverse.

Instead of the classic snack after school, and dinner later in the evening, we switch the two around.  As soon as the boys hop off of the bus, I serve them dinner.  They are always hungry enough to eat an entire meal then.  Sometimes Dad can join us, and sometimes he can't.  If he is still working, we just make a point to sit down together as a family for a snack right before bed (my boys are always hungry again!) 

This works great for us, since no one is crying in the car on the way home from a practice because they are hungry, and I'm not rushing around trying to cook something up as fast as I can, while throwing out appetizers.  Everyone stays much calmer, and much happier, and we do always still get to sit down together at some point.  It helps to be realistic and be flexible!

For an especially easy afternoon, do a crock pot dinner.  My friend Jill sent me this link and it is loaded with great crock pot recipes.  I'm trying one this week.  http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Dedication Video for our Daughter

The song is written and recorded as a demo by Franklin Mom Krissy Nordhoff, specifically for Anthem.

Flavorite Reciplease: The Chicken That Crossed the Street Soup

The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder.  It's time to break out those soup recipes...or should we say "Reciplease"!?

Here's a new "Crazy Cooking Show" episode for you all to enjoy.  Kaden was home 'sick' yesterday, so we decided to show you how to make "The Chicken Crossed the Street" Soup.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Chopped Spinach leaves

6 Cups Water

2/3 Cup Chopped Carrots

1 Cup Chopped Onions

3 pieces of chopped Turkey Bacon

1/4 teaspoon Salt (or more to taste)

1/4 teaspoon Pepper (or more to taste)

1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke

1 teaspoon Rosemary

1/2 teaspoon Basil

2 1/2 Cubes Rapunzel (brand) Bullion Cubes

2 - 3 Whole Chicken Breasts

Combine ingredients and cook for 3 hours in a crock pot. 

Then take out chicken breasts and cut to bite size chunks.  Then add:

1/2 Cup of Rice

1 Can of Cannellini Beans

Cook an additional hour in the same crock pot.

Serve with favorite toppings...YUM!

Upcoming Franklin Events

I wanted to share a few things coming up that I'm looking forward to!

FIELDSTONE FARMS GARAGE SALE--First of all, the annual Fieldstone Farms garage sale is happening on next Saturday the 19th of September.  It always amazes me how many people actually come from other states for this event.  This is a sale for the entire neighborhood, including 2000 plus homes.  The earlier you go, the better when it comes to furniture/baby items, etc.  Make sure you stop by our house if you want some lemonde.  Two very cute boys will be happy to serve you!

CELEBRATION OF NATIONS--Saturday, Sept. 19 after the garage sale, you can head over to the Celebration of Nations at the O'More College of Design.  Expect an evening open-air market from 5-9pm with cultural performers, merchants, and food vendors.  Food, beer, and wine from around the world.  free admission.  Rain location is the Factory in Franlin.

FRANKLIN DUCK RACE--October 3rd at Pinkerton Park there will be a duck race on the Harpeth River benefitting New Hope Academy.  Food and children's activities begin at 11:30 am, duck race at 12:30, and it runs until 2:00pm.  Prizes include a scooter, groceries for a year, mall shopping spree, titans tickets and more.  $5 per duck, and a flock for $20. 

Jill's Low Cost Birthday Party Ideas

My friend Jill is one of the most inventive and resourceful people I know!  She did an amazing job leading our church's family camp this year.  These are some of her ideas for birthday parties, so you will see why she's so much fun to hang out with!  Thanks for sharing, Jill! 

 

"I have 3 boys and 1 girl, so some of these parties are for boys and some are for girls.

I've done just about every sports-themed party imaginable, but here's a taste of some of the more unique parties we've had:

Veggie Tales Party

As kids arrived, they colored Veggie Tales pictures, which they taped to their goody bags.  For games/activities, I used two red "hippity hops" (the large rubber bouncy balls with handles.  You sit on them and bounce.).  I taped large paper eyes to them and they looked just like Bob the Tomato.  The kids had Bouncy Bob races on them!  I had jumbled up the following phrase, "Go in the living room for a fun surprise".  I had written each word on a separate piece of paper and hid the clues inside green balloons.  I called it "Jr.'s Jumble" for Jr. Asparagus.  The kids had to sit on the balloons to pop them and get the clues out, then put them in the correct order.  Once they figured it out, they went into the living room, where my teenage niece was waiting in a Larry the Cucumber costume!  Larry joined the kids in playing Limbo and Musical Chairs while Veggie Tales music played in the background.  

Little House on the Prairie Party

When my daughter was younger, her favorite books were from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House series.  The girls came dressed in Pioneer style clothes.  I made a cake that looked like a log cabin, using packaged cake rolls stuck together with toothpicks.

 Activities included hand-sewing small pillows for their dolls using old fashioned calico fabric, dancing to fiddle music, and played Blind Man's Buff just like in the books.

 

Spider Man Party

I created a spider web on the wall using black crepe paper streamers and we played "Pin the Spider on the Web".  The child whose spider was closest to the center won a prize. I took each guest's picture with the birthday boy in front of the web, then included a copy of the photo in thank you cards sent after the party.  The kids "webbed" each other with silly string.  

Lego Party

My son proclaimed this as his favorite birthday party ever!  The boys each worked on a Lego creation using ALL the hundreds of Lego's my boys have collected through the years and my husband and I judged each creation.  We displayed their work on a table and created certificates on the computer to place in front of each one, such as "Most Creative", "Largest", "Coolest", "Funniest", "Most Action-packed", etc.   We played "Lego Toss", using 3 different sized containers.  The boys took turns tossing a Lego into the containers and got 1 point if it landed in the largest, 2 points for the medium-sized, and 3 points for the smallest container.  The cake was a giant Lego made from a sheet cake with cupcakes on top. 

Butterfly Party

I found small purses at the dollar store and the girls used butterfly stamps and beads to embellish them.  For lunch, I cut English muffins in half and turned them around, so the curved parts were in the center.  They resembled butterflies.  We spread pizza sauce on

them and the girls chose their favorite pizza toppings for their butterfly pizzas.  I popped them in the oven for a few minutes til the cheese melted.  While waiting for the pizzas to get ready, the girls decorated cupcakes with butterfly-shaped sprinkles.  They played "Pin the butterfly on the flower".  I painted a huge flower and taped it to the wall.  The girl whose butterfly got closest to the center won.  

 

Princess Party

For my version of the princess party, I read a book to the girls called The Princess and the Kiss by Jennie Bishop.  It is a sweet book that introduces the concept of God's gift of purity to children in a way that doesn't steal their innocence.  I decorated a chair to resemble a throne.  Each guest arrived in their prettiest party dress.  The invitation was worded using old English and began with "Here Ye, Here Ye, Her Royal Highness, Princess Brooke requests the honor of your presence...".  I took each guest's photo with the birthday princess sitting together on the throne.  The girls played dress-up and had high-heel races.  So cute!  

Knight Party

Jennie Bishop's book for boys is called The Squire and the Scroll.

I had a knight party for one of my sons based on this book.  Activities included dressing up like knights with some awesome costumes I found at a garage sale, jousting tournament using pool noodles, and stick horse races.

Misc. Party Activities

These activities can be adapted to just about any theme.  

Sheet Volleyball:  Divide kids into 2 teams.  Each team holds a sheet on the edges.  Place a beach ball on the center of each sheet.  Teams toss the ball back and forth by shaking the sheet.

Cotton Ball Transfer:  Fill a bowl with cotton balls.  Place an empty bowl beside it.  Blindfolded, the kids hold a plastic spoon spoon in their mouth, dip it into the cotton balls, trying to pick them up using only the spoon (No hands allowed!) and transfer them to the empty bowl.  It's hilarious to watch!  

Bucket Brigade Relay:  Line up kids in 2 teams.  Put a bucket of water at one end and an empty bucket at the other.  Each child should hold an empty cup.  Child closest to full bucket dips cup in and fills it up, then pours water into next person's cup, etc.  The last person pours their water into the empty bucket.  Of course, they are trying to do this as quickly as possible, so lots of water get spilled in the transfer.  You can either set a timer or have a fun song playing.  When time's up or the song ends, the game ends and whichever team with the most water in the second bucket wins." - JILL

Amy's Low Cost Birthday Party Ideas for Girls

Here are some WONDERFUL low cost birthday party ideas for girls from one of my favorite Franklin Moms, my friend Amy.  Amy was a school teacher for many years, and is now teaching/pastoring the family service at the church we attend, The Nest.  She has a way of using her creativity to bring laughter and meaning into everyday life.  Thank you, Amy, for sharing your amazing ideas! 

 

Father / Daughter Bride party

We did this for my daughter's 7th birthday.  Daddys were included in the invitation.  There was a secret envelope for them in the invitation that was a questionaire for them to fill out about their daughters ... it was basically the outline for creating a blessing they would read over their daughters at the "wedding".  The girls came dressed as brides, the dads in their suits.  We decorated like a wedding - center aisle, candles at the front.  Party favors were a boquet made of flowers from a dollar store.  We played the wedding march as each daddy walked his daughter down the aisle.  Then each dad had a turn to read the blessing aloud over his daughter.  Daughters promised to love and obey and honor their daddies.  Daddies promised to love, protect and provide for their daughters while doing the best they can to be a picture of the heavenly Father for them.  After the ceremony we had a big reception.  A wedding cake, punch, mints and nuts and lots games of dancing.  Mothers were invited to come and be the audience at the wedding if they liked.  They blew bubbles as the girls and daddys left the wedding.  It was a fun, meaningful day with lots of laughter - and tears of joy!

 

Baby Doll Party

I have done this for a 4 year old and a 5 year old party. Friends bring their favorite baby doll and a doll stroller. As guests arrive they leave their strollers at the "stroller stop" outside, designated with a stroller stop sign.  (As girls are inside a volunteer tied a pink balloon to each stroller for the stroller parade later in the party.)  Girls came in and decorated a pink gift bag with baby themed stickers to create a diaper bag.  Then they packed their diaper bag with a baby doll diaper, bottle, rattle, baby dish, baby spoon (I used the liitle pink ones you get at Baskin Robins) and bibs.  (I shopped for all of these items at dollar stores.)  We went outside, put the babies in the strollers and walked around the kuldesac for a stroller parade.  We came back inside where we learned to put diapers on babies, how to feed them, give them a bottle, and burp them. I read a story to the "mommies" and their babies.  I used a story with repetition so the "mommies" could join in on those parts.  I LOVE YOU FOREVER is the story I chose, which is a sweet story about a Mommy and her baby.  After reading to the babies, the little mommies rocked their babies and put them to bed.  I supplied baby blankets to cover the babies.  Then we tiptoed to the cake table and had a baby buggy cake and opened gifts.  Then the mommies woke up their babies and the played house together. 

 

Karaoke party

We created this party for our 10 year old daughter.  Guests were asked to come dressed to perform a song in a karaoke show, though it did not have to be true kareoke - tracs with words were fine.  We created a cool looking stage by decorating our garage door opening with plastic tablecloths tied to look like a purple, pink and black stage curtain.  We used a microphone from our karaoke machine.  We set up folding chairs in the driveway to create the audience.  Girls took turns performing.  We made a video and watched the show afterwards while eating popcorn in the "theatre" (our den).  Then we went back outside for awards.  I purchased trophies from Oriental Trading and gave each girl a trophy during the awards ceremony.  They received awards based on something outstanding from their performance (best smile, best dance moves, best costume, etc).  Favors were blow up guitars and microphones, rock star tatoos and GIRLS ROCK dog tags, all from Oriental Trading.

 

Princess party

Lots of people have done a princess party, but here was our version:  All guests (including adults) came dressed as royalty.  We decorated crowns with glitter and sticker gems.  We had stations to have nails, hair and make up done.  I read PRINCESS AND THE PEA, and then we played a game where they had to sit on three different pillows and guess which had the "pea" (a bouncy ball) under it. We played pin the lips on the frog (based on the idea of a princess kissing frogs to find her Prince).  We danced liked princesses to princess songs, then played "freeze dance" where you stop the music and they have to freeze in the dancing position until the music begins again.  The girls ate a castle cake with their finest castle manners.

Happy Toilets and Tubs Tuesday!!

We had our house on the market for 90 long days before we gave up!!!  Of course the hardest part was keeping it clean with 3 kids.  One good thing that I learned from this experience was how to manage my cleaning a little better.  Although I absolutely love to have everything cleaned at once, a good reality check shows I don't have 4 hours in a row free!  Here's a little guide to how I keep everything clean without going crazy!

MONDAY--(I do the groceries this day as well) Kitchen counters, sink, clean out fridge, wipe all stainless and other applicances.

TUESDAY--Toilets and tubs, mop bathroom floors, wash rugs and towels.

WEDNESDAY--Vaccuum carpets and rugs and dust.

THURSDAY--Clean hardwood floors, shake out rugs.

FRIDAY--Clean bathroom sinks, counters, mirrors, windex storm and french doors, wipe down leather   couch.

SATURDAY--Bedding.

SUNDAY--DAY OFF!

My Grocery Revolution!

I don't know about you, but I know I've spent a lot of extra time and money over the years on groceries--just ask Eric.  When I shop with kids in tow, I end up with lots of extra items that they'd like.  Even when I don't have the kids, I end up running through the aisles, throwing all kinds of stuff in my cart.  It makes me feel like we'll have enough for the week, and usually I'm in a hurry to get home and feed the baby or run to a ball game.  So, Franklin Moms, it's time for a revolution!

I've found that grocery success takes time to prepare.  For little ones, bring some snacks or get some there when you first walk in.  Also, let them help you choose some items such as produce.  With my older ones, I've found that they love to cross off the items we get on my list.  My 9 year old loves to carry a calculator.  It's a great way to practice math skills, like rounding up to the nearest dollar.  If you have more than one child, go ahead and bring them each a list and a calculator to save yourself a fight! 

With a plan for the kids, the only other must-have is a plan for myself!  I do plan meals and coupons ahead, but found yet another step to make my life easier. A grocery list spreadsheet. Download Franklin Mom Grocery List. This spreadsheet is categorized by store, then by aisle, then by item.  That way I can hang it up on the inside of a kitchen cupboard, and put an "x" next to each item I need as I remember.  When I get to the store, I will save lots of time knowing my list is already in aisle order, and I can also do a quick scan of the other items I normally buy there to make sure I'm not missing something!

Because I eat gluten free, dairy free and sugar free (as much as possible), I split my grocery shopping during the course of a month between Publix, Wal-mart, Costco, The Vitamin Shoppe, Vitacost (online), Whole Foods and Trader Joe's (in Green Hills - hopefully one coming to Williamson County one day).  Trader Joe's is by far, my favorite place to shop simply because I find I can usually get healthy gluten free, dairy free foods there for less money.  Plus, the shopping experience is unique.  Trader Joe's employees are eager to help and very knowledgable about the products they sell.  Side top, don't shop there on weekends - it's busy.

Download Franklin Mom Grocery List and you'll be able to download and print my list. It shows what I buy and where.  Please feel free to make it your own, and let me know how it goes!  Please give me any suggestions to make this list even easier to use for you.

Quietime in Lifeway Christian Stores

If you need some great instrumental piano music to calm things down in the atmosphere of your home or car, here is a great CD series: Quietime. Many a friend has claimed it really works well with creating peace with the kiddos. It just so happens to be created by a very cool guy I know, my husband Eric, and is currently the #2 instrumental seller in Christian bookstores across the country this week (right behind Jim Brickman). Look for it at the front counter at Lifeway, and the Christmas one will be coming soon as well!

Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss

Anyone tried this "ice cream" yet? It's Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss made with coconut milk and has no dairy, no gluten, and no sugar. It tastes amazing! I hope Whole Foods is on top of it's stock, otherwise they may run out very soon on account of me! My favorite flavor so far is Mint Galactica. Other flavors include coconut, vanilla, and chocolate hazlenut (which just recently disappeared from my freezer--ERIC!!)