We’re not doing Halloween this year. Lydia is just too fearful. And I’m just too tired to deal with screams over cotton spiderwebs. I’ve been thinking about it a lot and if you’re interested, there are some SUPER FAB posts by some SUPER FAB guest bloggers (and one by moi) about Halloween over at Impress Your Kids. Seriously, good stuff.
So, in light of my NON-Halloween-ness, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to join in with Mary’s Giving Up on a Perfect Halloween. (By the way do you read Mary’s blog, Giving Up On Perfect? Well, you should. She is delightful.)
I’ve been wanting to share this for oh, 14 years now. Please indulge me as I share the
BEST IDEAS I’VE EVER HAD ABOUT BIBLICAL HALLOWEEN COSTUMES.
Tell me that is not a hilarious title. I’m giggling already.
Here goes:
1. Lazarus: an unraveling mummy with a name tag that says “Hello! My Name is Lazarus!” (see John 11)
5. Delilah: Bible-time outfit while holding a big pair of scissors and maybe even a few more beauty parlor supplies in tow. You know, kind of Bible Costume meets Frenchy:
photo found at thegoldencloset.com
6. Baby Bible Heroes. There are just so many great babies…let’s see Moses in the basket (cut a hole in the bottom of a basket and wear it with suspenders), baby Jesus (swaddling clothes, anyone?), baby Jacob & Easau (you know, if you were twins, one could be hairy and the other…not hairy) or even young Joseph with a technicolor coat.
7. Adam and Eve. Pre-sin. KIDDING. (see Genesis 2:25)
So, if I was super-spiritual or was looking for a few eye-rolls from every non-Bible-believin’ person I knew, those are the costumes I’d choose. You know I’m kidding right? (Except for Lazarus. That one IS pretty funny.)
If you’ve got a funny Halloween story to share, link up with Mary. She’s giving away PRIZES!!
I met Trish from Once a Month Mom at Blissdom last year. She had not even started her blog and was at a blog conference AND had some super cute business cards! I was intrigued. It has taken me almost an entire year to actually take the advice of her blog. And what IS her blog about?
Once a month cooking.
That’s right, cooking all your food for the entire month is just ONE DAY. Does that sound awesome or what? Pre-dinner time is like the witching hour here and I was getting to the point where a banana and a hummus sandwich were gourmet. So, after months of talking about it, Staci, Mandi and I had our big cooking day last week.
staci & mandi a little unsure about the pear pancakes
Here’s the rundown so you can see how it works:
Once a Month Mom picks out about 3 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 8 dinner entrees. They give you the grocery list (divided up by groery aisle), the recipes (originals and doubled), labels with re-heating/cooking instructions for all your frozen meals AND step by step instructions for cooking it all in one day.
It is intended for 2 people and 2 families to share. But we did it with 3 and I think it worked well. Of course, Staci is single, Mandi and I have four kids under 4. So, our three families might not be as big as someone who would have 2 adults and 2 teens in their family.
We spent $300 and I got at least 19 meals EACH out of it. Plus a bunch of leftover cheese, cooked chicken and some carrots! And now, all I have to do is pick out what I want for dinner early in the day (or the day before) leave it out to dethaw, then throw it in the oven or crockpot. Then it’s piping hot at dinner time. ZERO dinner prep. How amazing and awesome is that?!
our haul!
Here’s what we’ve eaten so far and how we liked it and/or changed it:
Pear Pancakes: LOVE THEM. They are delicious. Asa screams after eating one because he wants at least two!
Eggwiches: I had to adjust the cooking time: microwave it for 1 minute and then bake in oven for about 4 minutes. YUM.
Corn Dog Muffin: Asa loved it. Lydia liked it. I ate one but accidentally cooked it too much so it was kinda crunchy. We’ll try them again later.
Deconstructed Chicken & Broccoli Stuffed Somethinortheother: YUM. Had tons of breadcrumbs on top so I might cut down on that next time. It was good because it had the casserole feel without the creamy soups.
White Chicken Chili: It wasn’t really white because it had black beans in it. But it was delish. And made TONS. We will probably serve this four times! Lydia and Asa asked for seconds. (And by asked I mean YELLED.)
Baked Ziti: I really liked this. It tasted fresh! I was concerned because we put fresh basil in it. I wasn’t sure how it would taste once it had been frozen and re-heated. We all liked it.
My tips:
BUY A GIGANTIC BOWL and a HUGE STOCKPOT.
Feel free to switch up the recipes/directions. We did it EXACTLY as was written because we wanted to try it. But this time I think we’d not pour so much butter or buy different kinds of meat, etc.
Talk about it. For example, I don’t eat hot dogs. I don’t think Lydia has ever had one. So, corn dog muffins isn’t a great food for us. I may have liked it with chicken sausage, though. Next time I’d like to add some organic, whole wheat and no-HFCS foods that we didn’t use this time. But you’ll need to make sure your partner is willing to do the same—and pay the difference.
Think ahead. If you got the menu early (like when OAMM posts it) you’d have plenty of time to find deals with coupons or even cleaning out your pantry.
Skip the deep dish pans. At least for these recipes, the deep dish pans were unnecessary. We could have used the normal 8×8 pans and been fine. This would have been very helpful when stuffing the freezer!
If you’re thinking about trying this I suggest YOU DO. We are aiming to do it again after the holidays. But actually, now that I think about it, it might be nice to have some food DURING the holidays b/c life will be so busy. Anyone up for a once a month cooking soon?
Here are some specific links to the Once A Month Mom site:
It’s rainy. We’re still pajama-ed. And I thought you would want to know what’s on my kitchen table right now. You do, right? Even if you don’t, here are the TOP TEN THINGS ON MY KITCHEN TABLE. (Wouldn’t you like to know if there are more?)
So, it’s a little meme-ish. What can I say it’s 8:30am and I’m on my way to a cow farm. I can only be SO creative! Let’s see how you did today, shall we? You know the drill…
“Mommy, do you know what I want for Christmas?” Lydia asked me the other day.
“What, baby?” Surprised that she’s thought this far in advance.
“I want one of those dolls that move and make noise and you have to take care of them. Can you get me that, pleeeeeease?
If there was one toy that I would NOT buy for my daughter, it would be the talking/moving/crying/peeing doll. I try not to even walk down that aisle at Target because when you do, they all wake up and start crying for you! *shudder*
The thing is, I could get it for her. And you know what? She probably will get it. (GAH. But not from me, that’s for sure!) And she’ll get 50 more toys. And clothes. And DVDs. And candy. And make up. And games. And and and and…
I so want to protect my kids from that GIMME syndrome that is common in our country. And it’s hard because we are rich. We can afford to give our kids good stuff. Even in this economy we are wealthy compared to the rest of the world!
One way I try to combat this is by sponsoring kids through Compassion. I can’t tell you how awesome this is. The kids we sponsor, Alizeta and David are big parts of our family. We talk about them all the time. We write to them, color pictures for them and pray for them. The other day as Lydia was dividing up some change into her banks she said, “Mommy, I want to give some to Alizeta and David.” I think it ended up being $.84 but I am totally going to send it to them! (Not to mention, in Burkina Faso, where they live most working men make $1/day!)
I want compassion and generosity to be a way of life for my children. I want them to recognize that their time and money are not their own–that they are merely managers given authority to help and serve others!
Anyway, all that verboseness is to let you know something Lydia and I will be doing this year (uh, this next week really!) to help open Lydia’s heart and eyes but also to help another little girl–a little girl we don’t even know! We are finally jumping in with Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child! I’m sure you’ve heard of this before…where you pack a shoebox full of gifts to send to a needy kid in another country? Here’s some fun info about it:
Don’t you just love that?! I cannot wait to get involved. This will be my first time actually packing a box by myself!
Sarah at Real Life blog is hosting a Operation Christmas Child carnival and contest between now and November 7. She’s asking bloggers to post about Operation Christmas Child on their blogs and to spread the word to as many people as possible. Then we’re having a wrapping party on her MomTV show! Yay!
So, Lydia and I will be making a box for a little girl her age. And we’ll make one for a little boy, too. I’m sure Asa will love to drool all over it. I’m excited that this will be our FIRST activity in the holiday season. I want it to set the tone for our family and our Christmas.
Please go over to Sarah’s blog and read more about Bloggers Care: Operation Christmas Child. She even visited the OCC distribution headquarters in her hometown—she’s got a great video with tips to stocking and wrapping your shoebox. Not to mention, if you post on your blog you are entered to win some Veggie Tales DVDs…and who doesn’t love a talking vegetable?!
I encourage YOU and your family to pack a box for Operation Christmas Child. Just one box. Just a few toys. It will be so significant for a needy child. A child you’ll never meet. A child Jesus knows and loves.
Please leave a comment and let us know if you are planning on wrapping a shoebox OR if you’ve ever done it before! We’d love to hear about it!
