Family Musings

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA® . All opinions are 100% mine. Social Spark sent me a coupon for a single slice of pizza. I thought it was a bit odd since I'm used to seeing whole pizzas sold at my grocery store. But, when I went to the store the next day, I found out that Freschetta now sells pizza by the slice! So, I used my coupon, bought a slice, and had it for lunch. And you know what, it fulfilled my desire for pizza. The crust was chewy. and the pizza was cheesy (because I picked the Six Cheese Medley flavor). Overall, it was a satisfying lunch once I added an orange and a tall glass of cold water. FRESCHETTA® By the Slice  comes in 4 different flavors: Six Cheese Medley BBQ Recipe Chicken Vegetable Medley Chicken, Spinach, & Mushroom This product is too expensive to serve for an entire family. And not big enough to throw in the oven for those nights when my husband is "bachin' it." But, the serving size is bi...

This post brought to you by Pier 1 . All opinions are 100% mine. Window shopping is something I like to do when I get to leave the girls at home and have some time to just browse and plan. Window shopping is also something I have to do when it gets towards the end of the month and we still have a week left until payday (being paid once a month stinks sometimes). With gas prices being the way they are, I'm doing more window shopping online these days. And browsing  Pier 1  online is kind of fun. There are tons of different ideas for seasonally appropriate decorations .  Fortunately for my decorating sense, most of  Pier 1 's furniture works indoor or outdoor. I've actually had 2 wicker chairs (similar to this wicker chair ) hanging out in my living room for several years. They were meant to be put outdoor on a patio, but living in FL, our outdoor entertaining season is pretty small. And now that I live in a condo, I don't have any out...

Crispy Tilapia with Mac & Cheese As reported last week , Kara has challenged me to prepare the majority of my family's meals in The Bag Holder. After using the BH for 7 days so far, I am definitely liking it more than expected. I've posted several updates on my Facebook page so far as well as some photos and videos. You can check those out over there, but for those of you not on Facebook, I'll try to recap my experience as well as share some new details. Items Made So Far: Riffed Chicken Enchiladas Maple Chicken Beef Fajitas  with homemade Tortillas (also made in the BH) Crispy Tilapia Mac & Cheese BLT Bowtie Salad Omelettes In A Bag  ( video of Charlotte helping ) Chocolate Dream Freeze  ( watch my video ) Baked Oatmeal (my friend Cyndi's recipe) Cupcakes (mixed in the bag, and then frosted in fresh bag) Deviled Eggs Muffins (mixed in the bag) Life meant I veered slightly from the original menu a couple of nights, so here is wh...

The Jesus Storybook Bible is my favorite children's Bible. It tells the story of the Bible from a biblical theology perspective, showing how the WHOLE Bible is meant to teach us about Jesus and God's redemptive plan for the world. Sally Lloyd-Jones did an amazing job with this interpretation and it is meaningful to children and adults alike. Recently, on the Jesus Storybook Bible Facebook page , they shared 4 videos that are temporarily available on Facebook. They are readings from the book with moving graphics based on Jago's illustrations in the book. I know that in about a week's time you won't be able to watch these videos, but until then, I hope you and the kiddies gather around your computer to watch and hear the story of Easter. I know Charlotte and I will be snuggling up tomorrow to watch these. The Servant King A Dark Knight In The Garden The Sun Stops Shining God's Wonderful Surprise And if you have extra time and want to see Charlotte...

Inspired by a previous post where I shared the results of a Google search for " Charlotte Needs ," I decided to repeat the idea for Mary, just to find out what she might be needing right now. Here are my 13 favorite results: Mary needs the lamb in school : Really? She doesn't even go to school yet! Mary needs Facebook:  Daddy has already taken care of that and has created Mary's Facebook page. I'm still not sure why though. Mary needs saving: So true, but we don't expect her to make that kind of decision just yet. Mary needs sleep : Every day. About 14 hours of it too. She gets 12 or so at night and then another 2 while she naps. Mary needs coffee : I think they got Mary mixed up with her momma on this one. Because I'm the one who needs coffee. About 3 cups every morning. Mary needs shadows : I guess if we think about this in the bigger picture it makes sense. If Mary gets her shadows, it means she is also getting sunlight. And that's an importan...

Last August, I posted about a new strategy we implemented for encouraging our daughter to eat her meals in a timely manner . The positive feedback I received from friends both in the comments and on Facebook were encouraging. What I appreciated even more was the comment that my friend Babs left for me. I started to address her concerns in another comment, but it was getting lengthy and I thought that others might benefit from seeing more of the discussion. Babs wrote, "It's definitely a sound approach since she knows she has the option for it later. But these days I often wonder where dinner time went when it is over in just 15 or 20 minutes. How long was she taking and what was she doing while she was dawdling. So many people these days don't even realize they've eaten because the goal was to get it done, not to enjoy it while it was happening...gee, kind of a lot like life in general :) I'm not dissing the idea, thinking of motivators (charlotte's) an...