Month: April 2019

Good Reads

April Book Pick: Take Time for yourself and Read a little:)

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Before the month ended I had to make sure and give you a book suggestion. I only tell you my tip top favorites…and this book is incredible! Some of you may have read it but just thinking about it makes me want to read it again.

My book pick is entitled “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown.

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I love this book for many reasons. First, it’s based on a true story which always makes a book more interesting and compelling.

Also–it’s set during the time period of the Great Depression.  It tells some heart wrenching stories of what life was like for many Americans during this struggling time.

This book has such an interesting viewpoint on the value of teamwork and dedication. For those that enjoy competition or sports you will enjoy this aspect of the book.

I would highly recommend this book and I hope you enjoy sitting back, and taking time for yourself while reading a book. You deserve it:)

xoxo

Christy

Lifestyle

A Poem on Motherhood: “These Little Hands”

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Here’s a poem to all those mothers out there that may need some perspective on raising children. I have two young children, a three year old son and a one year old daughter. I stay home with my two children and I love them very much. However, I’d be lying if I said I don’t get overwhelmed. One night as I was feeling like “I would never get ahead,” of all the chaos in my house, I sat down and wrote a short poem about it. Normally I let feelings of frustration consume me and I feel like I am a terrible housewife and mom etc. because I just can’t do it all. But that night, I decided to try a new perspective. You see, not long ago I took my little ones down to my mothers house. My mom is now in her 70s and she is so cute and patient with kids. My mom is always so good to have clean windows, and of course my little kids with grubby hands touched her windows and you could see little hand marks all over her once shiny windows. I felt so bad and offered to clean her windows and she said “I think it’s adorable and I actually want to see them on these windows for a few days!” I realized then, that one day I would see that perspective, and even more…I needed to see that perspective now. Life is so hard as a mom, but it’s also so wonderful and such a blessing. Even if you’re a mom of teens, I hope you can relate to this poem. And keep in mind, all of these statements are true…I looked around my house and wrote about what I saw:)

zoo 2019

These little Hands

I have all these little hands in my house that keep busy all day,
They have lots of fun, they work and they play.
They put cars in my Tupperware, rubber duckies in my closet, and the list could go on and on if I dare…
There’s not a neat room in the house anymore. Little hands have touched all things and it’s obvious I’m sure.
All the shoes in the house have been tried on a lot, there’s no organization .. at least they are in the right spot.
There’s a marble under the rug, a superhero mask in my bedroom… to find all the proper places for these odds and ends would take all afternoon!
Sometimes I feel like crying because I don’t know where to start. These little hands keep so busy and I feel like falling apart.
This mommy has so many moments where I feel like I could do more, I fall short all the time and sometimes just endure.
But then these little hands do something magical and lifesaving… they put their arms around me and they give all of their love right to me.
These little hands may whine and cry a lot, but they never criticize me. They keep me on my toes a lot, but all they want is to be right beside me.
These little hands have their way of showing me that they love me no matter what. These little hands don’t pretend to be perfect … they just do what makes them happy. Mommy is their comfort and happiness and they remind me of this constantly.
So as I’m busy with these little hands in my life I realize… that every single day they are growing.
These little hands are getting bigger and maturing day by day.
I realize that far too soon these little hands will grow big and strong and steady. Instead of little messes everywhere … they will slowly but surely grow and leave my home.
One day I will look back, within a nice clean home…and long for cars in Tupperware, marbles under the rug, and rubber duckies on the floor.
So when I’m feeling so overwhelmed .. like I just can’t get it all done, I’ll take a deep breath, look around and enjoy my messy home.
These little hands are my world and I hope to raise them up safe and sound.
To face the world with love and virtue and to be leaders in their own home.
Everyday I’ll try my best to see the perspective of these little hands.
And remember to love and enjoy each moment.
For these little hands will all too soon, be grown and moved away.
Enjoy the chaos and disarray,
These little hands see you as their world and their love will conquer all the struggles.
Hold tight these little hands.
By:Christy Austin
Dedicated to Cade and Makell—my little hands
Food

My top 8 favorite Pinterest recipes that I promise your entire family will enjoy!

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Pinterest has been such a fun way for me to organize my hobbies, recipes, styles I love and much more. Now let’s be honest, I have tried my fair share of recipes from Pinterest that have been your classic Pinterest-fails…however, I have also found some AMAZING recipes that I always come back to. I hope you enjoy these recipes  and take time to make a few of them. I promise you will find them delicious!

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Screen Shot 2019-04-11 at 9.46.56 AM#1- Pink Fluff Fruit Salad: This fruit salad is a family favorite and it is SOOO EASY! My little toddlers even enjoy it! You can use frozen berries or fresh berries, either tastes delicious. I actually tried this salad first at a baby shower where they were making food that was all “pink” for a baby girl. I came home and tried the recipe myself, and our family has loved it ever since. Enjoy!

 

Screen Shot 2019-04-11 at 9.53.09 AM#2- Honey Sriracha Meatballs:

These meatballs are hands down my very favorite meatballs! Now I will tell you I love a little spice so if you don’t love spice these may be too much for you (or you can leave out the sriracha sauce). If you do love some spice…I promise you will want to double this recipe! I also love that this recipe is perfect for meal preps. I personally love them with rice but I am sure regular noodles would taste great as well.

 

 

#3- Lemon Lush Dessert:  Screen Shot 2019-04-11 at 10.00.31 AM

This is by far my favorite dessert out there! And what’s amazing..it doesn’t have any chocolate (because I love my chocolate). This dessert has the perfect amount of lemon and sugar and cream for such a refreshing flavoring. I would choose this over a birthday cake any day. In fact, I may go make it today…just looking at it makes me crave it. It’s not a hard recipe, I actually use walnuts or almonds for the crust and it tastes great. So if you are looking for a tasty dessert that all palettes will enjoy…I promise this is the one to make:)

 

#4- Delicious Green Beans: 

Screen Shot 2019-04-11 at 10.09.25 AMMy husband and I enjoy having a garden. We have found that our very favorite item from the garden are green beans. The beans just taste crisp and delicious fresh from the garden. As I was looking for a variety of ways to cook the green beans, I came across this recipe and it is our very favorite way to eat green beans. It has a slight garlic flavoring, with a taste of chicken broth[. We load on the salt and pepper and it tastes wonderful. We invited friends for dinner once and I prepared this green bean recipe and our friends said that was their favorite part of the meal. The best part…you can still feel quite healthy eating it because green beans are packed with so many great nutrients.

Screen Shot 2019-04-11 at 10.22.09 AM#5- Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole:

Let’s just say this is one delicious casserole. This is a new favorite and I have only made it one time but I am converted enough to post it because we loved it! Again, if you love a bit of spice this is the perfect recipe. Surprisingly, my little kids even liked the areas that didn’t have too much jalapeño in it. The recipe is quite easy to follow and I think you will enjoy the delicious flavor.

#6-Copy Cat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup:

Screen Shot 2019-04-11 at 12.58.30 PMThis soup is by far my favorite soup. I had never thought of putting Kale in soup before, but it’s actually one of my favorite parts of the soup! The hot sausage gives it a bit of a spicy flavoring that you will love. We have actually used different types of potatoes and the recipe still tasted great. Give yourself about an hour to make this soup, or you could put it in the crockpot as well. This is one of my favorite Pinterest finds!

 

#7- Christmas Crack Treat:

Screen Shot 2019-04-11 at 1.01.16 PMSo this treat is delicious and a great Christmas treat to hand out to neighbors. Its pretty simple and to the point AND it makes a lot. I’m yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like this treat. You will definitely be on a “sugar high” after you eat this, but it may be worth it:)

 

#8- French Toast Bake:

Screen Shot 2019-04-11 at 1.10.00 PMI absolutely love this french toast bake. I will remind you that I have to eat gluten free so I do have to substitute the texas toast for gluten free toast and it still tastes amazing! It is something that needs to be refrigerated overnight so prepare for that. I would say you could eat it with or without sugar because it has such a wonderful sweet flavor already. Your kids and family will devour this french toast I promise!

 

I found all of these recipes on Pinterest even though I gave you the direct link on this post.  I have many more recipes I could add, but I will save that for another post. I hope you enjoy some fun new recipes. And even better..will you share with me? What is your favorite Pinterest recipe?

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