A Time For Everything

    Lately, I’ve been feeling a little stressed out! Sometimes being a single parent can be a bit overwhelming! Even with the incredible support system my family provides for me, I often think about how much easier things would be if I had another half. I wish I had a husband to financially/emotionally/mentally support me so that I could be a housewife/mommy all day long! I am constantly being updated via facebook and twitter of all these amazing moms and the numerous amazing things they do on a daily basis.

For example: "Today I went to the grocery store, cleaned the house, completed the laundry, landscaped the yard, wrestled an alligator, and knitted an afghan for all five of my children's beds, oh and we did two full days of school in half the time it normally takes us”. I then sit back and wonder where do they find the time to do these awesome things??  I certainly feel I miss out on doing a lot of cool things with my daughter in the 8 hours I spend at work everyday. I sometimes feel that our weekend is just time to catch up on all the day to day chores we get behind on the rest of the week. By the time it's all said and done....not one alligator is wrestled, and well that’s just not cool! Weekends, especially summer ones, should be a time to relax and enjoy your family, and by all means have some fun!

    
With that being said, I guess it’s all about time management and prioritizing.  This really got me thinking about the things I put an emphasis on in my life. Of course work is a big priority. I need to work to take care of my daughter and myself. Another big one is tae kwon do (my daughter is a black belt!); we spend lots of hours there every week. I also have school (I started again this last term). I look at this list and I wonder if I’m prioritizing the right things. These are very important things and I definitely will not take them off my list, however, I feel my list is lacking and needs to be added to. As a mom I am generally with my child all the time (aside from work),so, why is it that I feel like our time to enjoy each other is the time that’s left after everything else is already completed; the time when we’re both tired and grumpy and just ready for bed, not really when we’re at our best.  I recently read a poll that said, men and women on average spend 5 hrs a day engaged in leisure activities, 2 of those hours being consumed by watching television. Now, I’m not a big television watcher (I usually watch maybe an hour a week), but I am on the computer quite often. If I cut computer time each day I could then replace it with time that I spend solely with my daughter.  We could do whatever: read, watch a movie, talk, knit an afghan, or even wrestle an alligator! Now this is just an example of how we think our time is full up, but really we’re just not filling it with the right things. Take a conscious look at what you fill your time with, and I bet you will be surprised at how much of it is taken up by meaningless and mundane things.

     The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3 that, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:”  Sometimes it may not feel like there is enough time to be the “Super Mom”, but there is always enough time, its just how you choose to spend it! J

~Sonya

What are some ways that you find time to fit it all in?

Make It Monday!

It's Monday and for us this Monday starts Vacation Bible School! Since the kids have a packed dinner for VBS, I decided to make dinner for lunch today and share what we made!

We call it: Buttery/cheesy noodles!

And my kids LOVE it! Sometimes it's hard to get them to eat whole wheat pasta, but when I prepare it this way they ask for MORE!

I used a box of whole wheat Rotini pasta. Cooked according to package directions and drained well.

Added: about 1/4 cup of margarine (or butter), few dashes of salt and Parmesan cheese to taste! At other times I have also added shredded chicken, cooked peas or other veggies or any other leftovers I have in the fridge!

My kids LOVE it and they now have full bellies before we head out for an evening of too much fun!!

I hope your family enjoys this quick and simple recipe you can Make on Monday!!

~Alicia

Summer Fun (And yummies!!)

Hi Everyone!
 Sorry our posts have been so few and far between! Too much Summer, I guess!!

I made the most amazing (and fun) dessert for 4th of July and just had to share! I will admit, I was inspired by a recipe in the Food Network Magazine, but in typical "me" form, I massively altered the recipe! Here it goes! I hope you enjoy it!!

S'Mores Ice Cream Sandwiches

You will need:

Graham Crackers
Marshmallow cream
Nutella
Chocolate Ice cream
Ice cream scoop
Foil or heavy plastic wrap

How to make 'em:

Break graham cracker sheet in half like you would for a s'more.

Spread a couple teaspoons of Nutella on one half and a couple teaspoons of marshmallow cream on the other half.

Put a small scoop of chocolate ice cream on one half.

Top with other half and slightly squish (it works best if the ice cream is a little soft).

Wrap with foil or plastic wrap and freeze at least one hour or overnight.

ENJOY!!!

These were a huge hit with my family on 4th of July and we can NOT wait to enjoy them again!!

Let me know what you think and if your family enjoyed them!!!

God Bless America

In honor of Independence day, I thought I would post some great words from some great men! It is of my opinion that The United States of America would not be the country it is had it not been formed under Godly principles. It is the adopted thought now that there should be separation of church and state, but when we look at the words of our founding fathers and of those who helped mold our country, it is clear that this was never their intent. As a proud American it is my sincerest prayer that our nation will get back to these moral/Biblical principles.  (If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2Chronicles 7:14)

"It is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue." ~John Adams

"I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that "except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing governments by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest.

I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service." ~ Benjamin Franklin

 

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of man and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice?

And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who, that is a sincere friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?" ~ George Washington

For more on what our founding fathers had to say about our nation visit www.wallbuilders.com !

I wish you all a safe and happy 4th of July!!!

~Sonya

Going On A Fairy Hunt

Our first summertime fun activity is all about fairies, or at least their houses! (I know it sounds girly, but trust me even boys get into this one!)  One of our favorite things to do is building fairy houses.  Now in case you don't know what a fairy house is, it is a small structure for fairies and friends of nature to come and visit. Fairy houses are made out of things only from nature.
A fairy house is kind of like a real house, its all about location, location, location. Take a nature walk around the yard or the park and find the perfect spot to build your fairy house. Some things to keep in mind when searching for the perfect location: shade, water and food source, etc.

We found this puddle of water by a leaky sprinkler in the yard. Looks like a perfect swimming hole for fairies to me!

The leaky sprinkler head just happened to be by this collection of toadstools! What luck!! I'd say we've found our perfect building location!

 While on your search for the best real estate in all the land, keep your eyes open for things that you can build your fairy house with. Remember, fairy houses can only be built with things from nature! Things to look for would be: bark, flowers, rocks, wood chips, leaves, snail shells, feathers, sticks, seeds, etc. Also, be on the lookout for other fairy houses! There could very well be fairies living in the area already, and you just didn't know it! (If you have time it might even be fun to go out before you involve your kids and make a few simple fairy homes throughout the yard, this way they'll find actual fairy homes; this gets them really excited! Trust me! ha ha!)

We picked these fresh berries from the garden so that our fairies could have something to snack on after they went swimming!

These are some items that we've gathered! Look we actually found a a piece of bark that looks just like a door! OK, OK not really! My Uncle made this door and it was just too cute to resist using it for our house!

We did find a piece of bark that had a heart shaped fairy house window though!

After you have found your ideal building spot and gathered all your materials, its time to get to building! There is no specific blueprint to follow, just your imagination to guide you!

The finished product! Looks like a fairy dream house to me! I wonder if any fairies will visit tonight?

The best part about this afternoon?! We created a wonderland in our everyday surroundings, and it didn't cost me a penny! OK, that's just a bonus! The real best part is being able to spend time with my daughter; exploring and creating  something together. That's the good stuff!

                                    

When you're finished don't forget to take a picture with your fairy house!

  (We would love to see your fairy house, email us at raspberrycordialmusings@gmail.com)

I hope you have a great time! If you would like additional ideas and perhaps even a book to go with your fairy house building endeavor check out www.fairyhouses.com .

Summertime, Summertime, Sum Sum Summertime!

  
No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks! OK, we didn't actually blow up the school as the famous Alice Cooper song suggests; but it's official, school is out for the summer! My daughter is so excited she can barely contain herself! Though her traditional school work is finished, we have set up a summer schedule for her, this is to help her stay on track.  Her schedule consists of such things as reading, math drills, practice of her violin, and also of her taekwondo techniques. This will help keep her focused during the summer, and make the transition back into the school year much more pleasant! (ha ha!)
   While I want her to have a focused summer, I also want my daughter to have a fun summer! So, in the event that she checks off everything on her schedule during the work week, on the weekend we will have some good ol' summer fun! Which brings me to the reason why I am telling y'all this! Throughout the summer I would like to share some no cost (sometimes low cost) summer fun ideas for you and your family to enjoy! So be on the look out for our Summer Fun Posts! I hope that you will try them out and share with us how it goes!

~Sonya

Make-it Monday!!

It's Monday! We have something really fun for you to make this week!! Just make sure you pick up a mop next time you are at the dollar store!!!

This week we are making a Mop-Horse! We made these with our kids this past weekend and they all 3 LOVE them!! I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of them up, I'll try to add some soon!

You will need:

1 mop (see photo below to make sure you get the right kind!) from a dollar store.
Brown craft paper or a brown paper bag - the big kind from the grocery store.
Small amount of newspaper
Stapler with staples
Markers or crayons
Packaging tape

So the mop you get should have this kind of head...

This part of the mop will be your horse's tail!

First you will draw and cut out the shape of a horse's head on your brown craft paper. Make 2 - one for each side. Have your child decorate it with eyes, hair, mouth etc. then using the packaging tape, attach the handle to the back side of one of your horse faces. I used 3-4 strips of tape.

Line up the 2nd side of your horse face and start stapling around the edges. Before you get all the way around, stuff in some newspaper. Don't bother stapling the bottom, I just added some more packaging tape.

                                                                  
Then let your kids run around and enjoy!! We did this as a part of our jousting tournament and we had a blast! The best part was that we had all but the mops on hand so we only spent $1 to make this awesome craft!! Have fun and please share your photos with us!!