Responsibility Chart

I’ve wanted to create a responsibility chart for my five-year-old daughter Ella for a while now. She has had responsibilities like cleaning her room since she was about three. But I think it is time to up the ante a little and put her responsibilities down on paper now that she is learning to read.

She inspired me to quit procrastinating and finally make the chart last night when she voluntarily loaded the dishwasher and hung up her own laundry. She even went on to color me a picture that she put in my lunch bag that I take to work. I think that she is ready for some responsibility; don’t you?

I’m sharing the chart I designed for you to print out and use with your kids. Simply click the link below to view and download the file.

Responsibility Chart

I’ll keep you posted on how it goes at our house. I plan on rewarding her for her efforts, but am still thinking on what her reward should be. Let me know if you have any ideas!

Erica

Project 365

Moms are the memory keepers of the family. We are the ones who record our family histories in the making, from videoing first steps and writing down funny things that come out of our kids’ mouths to taking pictures and filing away finger paintings.

I saw this idea called Project 365 a few months back on another mom’s blog, and I thought that it was so neat. Basically, you take one picture every day of the year. It can be of anything you want—your family, things that inspire you or even something as mundane as laundry piling up. You make the rules. The point of it all is to capture moments from your everyday life for a year.

I loved it, probably because I am so lacking in the picture-taking department. I always feel like I never take enough pictures. I’ll go months without taking pictures of my kids. I even forget to take pictures on Christmas. Oops! And then I think—“Man, I’m gonna regret not doing so one day.”

I think that part of the reason I take so few pictures is because I don’t want to miss out on the moment by being stuck behind the camera. So that is a good thing. There are countless times when I take mental pictures of my kids and say to myself, “I want to remember this moment forever—how my child looks right here and now.” So I definitely think there is a healthy balance between living the moment and living with a camera in hand.

With that said, my goal is to loosely take one picture a day of my family’s daily life. If I miss a day here or there, which I already have, who cares? I just want to be able to look back and see what we have done over the past year. Because lets face it, most of our days aren’t birthdays or trips to Disney World. I just want to capture what goes on in between.

My plan is to post pictures every couple of weeks. And in letting go of my type A personality, I’m not even going to post the dates, just the memories. And I may even post more than one a day if I really love the pics. Like I said, I make the rules. Hope you enjoy! 

May 1-14

Our two-year-old mess, Dutch, kept coming out of his room after we put him to bed. This is how he fell asleep.

Brother and sister watching TV together on Mom and Dad's bed

Ella at her Groovin' in Kindergarten program

Nana came to visit

My mom and I went to the Trade Days Flea Market in Canton, TX and then on to Ikea in Dallas. We filled up the minivan!

Eating cinnamon toast for breakfast

Dutch found a mud puddle

Gary's sister, Laura, got married over the weekend. She was a beautiful bride!

Our family at the wedding. Gary performed the ceremony. Ella was a junior bridesmaid, and Dutch was ring bearer.

I had to get a shot with my handsome little man.

Here he is again in his suit. He is the sweet, mini version of his daddy.

Ella looked so pretty and even wore her first pair of high-heeled shoes for the wedding.

Dutch's first fishing trip on Daddy's boat

Ella's big catch

Dutch helping Gary drive

Circle of Friends

I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I am surrounded by the most incredible group of godly women imaginable. Maybe “lucky” isn’t the correct word; “blessed” is more suiting. And I am blessed to be able to call them my friends.

They are all women whom I deeply respect and admire for numerous reasons. And they have helped shape me into the woman I am today, not that I’m such a great person. I’m just saying that I am a better person for knowing them, and I sincerely mean that. They are my role models.

My friends challenge me on so many levels, as a child of God, a wife, a mom and a friend. All are relentless in their pursuit of knowing God on a deeper level and raising their families to do the same. All are on missions to share God with people in their everyday lives.

I almost want to list each and every one of their names and admirable characteristics, but I think that the following can be said for them all:

They are generous and hospitable, thinking of others before themselves. They are extremely talented. They have almost endless supplies of energy, it seems. With multiple children and responsibilities, they never give up, always striving to walk in the truth.

They are fun. They are trustworthy. They are positive, supportive and encouraging. They love each of my children as if they were their own. (Okay, I’m tearing up on this one.) They have wisdom beyond their years.

Within this circle known as friendship, I feel safe. We talk; we connect; we bounce ideas off each other. We share stories, laughter and tears—about our families, our hopes and our dreams. We grow stronger than we were before.

God knew what he was doing when he gave us friendships. I pray that each of you have friends in your lives that make you better. Surround yourself with these kind of women and you will!

Best. Mac and Cheese. Ever.

I named this recipe based on comments from my friends. They have concluded that it is the best homemade recipe for macaroni and cheese that they have tasted. I have to admit—I cannot take full credit for it. I found the original recipe online and tinkered with it a bit until I got it just right. It is creamy, ooey-gooey, just plain delicious and worthy of indulging in. Kids and adults alike will eat it up! So here it is for you to enjoy. Try it and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

16 oz. elbow macaroni

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups milk

16 oz. extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook macaroni according to package instructions, usually about 10 minutes. Then—this is important—remove the pot from heat and let the noodles sit in the water for approximately 10 minutes. This is key to having creamy macaroni and cheese that is not dried out. After it sits, drain and set aside. In the same pot you used to cook the macaroni, melt the butter over low heat. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Whisk in milk until smooth. Then bring to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil, remove it from heat. It will now be a thickened white sauce. Immediately add about 2/3 of the cheese and stir until it starts to melt. Add the macaroni and stir until coated. Pour into a 9x12 baking dish, and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake uncovered for about 15-25 minutes until the cheese on top is golden and a bit crispy.