Easy Energy Boosts for the Busy Homemaker #V8EnergyBoost #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #V8EnergyBoost #CollectiveBias

This past school year has been a busy one full of homeschool co-ops, field trips, and play dates. Now that it's summer, I'm changing the focus of that busy lifestyle to home---where it should be, really. I've really been feeling the pull to focus inward more on my own home and family, as there were a lot of things neglected the past few months due to all our running around! The house and garage need a thorough cleaning and decluttering, and I'm even planning to revamp our homeschool routine to make it fit better with the huge range in ages I've got now. All these things require energy, so I've had to restyle some of my own personal habits, as well. Here are some energy-boosting ideas that I know will really help me this summer. I'll start with the new V8 V-Fusion+Energy drink Jamie bought me from Walmart last night.

V8 V-Fusion+Energy drink gives me natural energy since it's made from Green Tea. It's a great alternative to soda or coffee as it brings a boost of feel good energy without the crash later on. It's nice to have a few in the fridge so I can grab one and go. Jamie likes to take these in his lunch, as well, since a day of staring at computer code can really wipe a guy out mentally!

Jamie found V8 V-Fusion+Energy at Walmart in the shelf-stable juice section. He brought home a six-pack of Black Cherry---his favorite flavor. They also make it in the following flavors: Pomegranate Blueberry, Peach Mango, Orange Pineapple, Tomato, Diet Strawberry Lemonade, and Diet Cranberry Raspberry.

In addition to the occasional V8 deliciousness, my big energy go-to is water. It's amazing how much water our bodies actually need daily and how different our basic functions are without it. Without adequate water intake, I feel irritable, exhausted, and depressed. My body aches and I even have trouble with my vision. Our bodies may require up to half our body weight in ounces of water on a daily basis, so lots of water, as well as water-rich fruits, vegetables, and soups will really help increase our energy levels.

I also find that activity levels and sleep go hand in hand to keep me functioning with alertness and vitality. Working from home means a lot of computer hours and, as much as I think I need to do that *one more thing* online, sometimes I just have to shut it and get out of the house. Jamie and I have started going for walks in the evenings and it's amazing how much better I sleep when I've been active with daily housework and daily walks. Better sleep means more pep for the next day---it's a great cycle to get in to.

One more motivation tool that has surprised me lately is the use of essential oils. A couple months ago, my friend made me this gorgeous diffuser locket so I could wear oils throughout the day. There's a piece of leather inside and every couple days I put a few drops of oil on it. I've been using a citrus blend that really takes the edge off when I'm struggling with stress and lack of ambition. After a couple weeks of wearing it, I'm so convinced that I decided to sign up to sell oils myself. There's a lot of info online about blends to enhance your moods and relieve anxiety. I bought a bottle of lavender, too, for the days when I want some calming relaxation---but for energy, it's citrus all the way!

I encourage you to give new V8+Energy a try. It's a nutritious choice for natural energy and, at only 50 calories per eight ounce serving, you can enjoy it often. 

V8 and Walmart are offering the chance to win $2,500 in Walmart gift cards in this awesome sweepstakes. Make sure to enter to win below and let me know which V8 flavor you're excited to try! V8 V-Fusion+Energy #V8EnergyBoost $2,500 Sweepstakes

Dark German Chocolate Cake

I apologize now for what I'm about to do. Some of you have been faithful readers for YEARS...and I hate to betray your good faith in me. BUT! This cake! Oh, this cake.

German Chocolate cake has always been one of my very favorites, but I rarely make it because Jamie is allergic to coconut. Last weekend, he took the boys camping. Well, what do the Coller girls do when the Coller boys go camping? Why, we have a tea party and eat cake!

Contrary to what pretty much all of us think, German Chocolate cake does not come from Germany. In fact, it was originally called German's Chocolate cake after the American Sam German who developed a special kind of dark chocolate for Baker's Chocolate Company. They named the chocolate after him---Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate. That was in 1852. Over 100 years later, a homemaker from Texas submitted a cake recipe, German's Chocolate Cake, to her local newspaper and sales of the chocolate were boosted by almost 75%. The cake became a national tradition and the rest is history!

Ready to try out my take on this American heritage recipe? Don't worry---you'll only need a small piece 'cause it's really rich! That's totally ok, though. Makes it last longer!

Step One: The Cake
3/4 cup butter 
1 1/4 cups dark cocoa powder
3 cups milk 
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 TB vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 TB baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease three 8 or 9" cake pans. (Yes, I know the cake in my picture only has two layers. I made the third layer for Jamie with just the dark chocolate frosting)
Melt the butter and whisk in cocoa powder until well-combined. Whisk in the milk well, then add the sugars, eggs, and vanilla. When everything is smooth, set aside. *This mixture will seem really runny to you. Don't worry about it...it's going to be great. Trust me.
Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and add to the wet mix, stirring until just combined. Divide into the three pans and bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out barely moistened. Cool before loosening and removing from pans, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Step Two: The German Chocolate filling
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter 
1 TB vanilla
3 cups Sweetened Flaked Coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans 

Toast the pecans in a pan on the stove. Then whisk the sugar, milk, yolks, and butter together over med-high heat, and continue to whisk until the mixture is bubbling. Add the vanilla, pecans, and coconut. Allow the mixture to cool down quite a bit before filling the cake. 

Step Three: The Dark Chocolate Frosting
1/2 cup butter 
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla 

Melt butter and mix in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk, beating to desired consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. This mixture is very much like ganache---but more frosting-y. Very awesome and very rich.

Thanks for linking up to the Homemaking Party!

Fighting the Homemaker's Lazy Monster with Proverbs 24

In the past, I've shared my struggle with that goody-goody Proverbs 31 woman. It's a love/hate relationship, I think.

In all seriousness, there's a lot of wisdom to be found in emulating her diligence and attitude toward her husband and family, and I really do desire to model my life according to the characteristics of this godly woman. Although I was on a great path there for a while, the past few years' circumstances have made this more difficult and I've become discouraged. My prayer, lately, has been that God would help me get back into a good routine of homekeeping, as well as studying his word.

This morning, my toddler alarm clock went off at 5 am. Usually, that's the beginning of two hours of "please lay down", "please be quiet", and sending several other little ones back to bed. However, this morning I felt immediately awakened and refreshed, so I tucked her in snug with Daddy and got up to get dressed. 

Wait, what?

Yeah, I know. I was shocked too. I'm the girl who prides herself in only doing TWO loads of laundry every day since my little ones and I spend almost every day in our pajamas. I even brushed my hair. Definitely turning over a new leaf.

Anyway--long story short--with breakfast in the oven, I settled down with my Bible to see what God had for me this morning. It was one of those "open it up and see what's inside" moments where I didn't really know what to read---just knew that I needed some encouragement. The kids and I have been studying the early prophets and kings so I meant to read some more about Solomon, but I ended up in Proverbs. (Well, I guess that's Solomon, too, but you know...)

"I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; and there it was, all overgrown with thorns; it's surface was covered with nettles; it's stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction: a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest; so shall your poverty come like a prowler, and your need like an armed man." Proverbs 24: 30-34

This section has a big square drawn round it, though I don't remember when I marked it. It speaks to me on two levels, but let me tell you first what it's not saying. It's not knocking the need for rest. When you look at the Bible as a whole, you find that it's clear we need rest. God even set aside a whole day for it, though few of us actually take the opportunity. What this passage is talking about is slothfulness---laziness. 

For a man, laziness brings financial poverty and his family goes without the necessities that bring health, happiness, prosperity, and peace to his household. 

For a woman, laziness brings about another kind of poverty that is hard to define in a short and sweet sort of way, but it's something my family has experienced---a place we don't want to go back to. It's more than just having a perpetually messy home or serving my kids ketchup as a vegetable. It's the mindset that tells me it's ok to live like that---the soul that makes excuses and refuses to discipline itself to a higher standard.

In addition to physical slothfulness, this section of Scripture is also addressing spiritual slothfulness---something I'm also too familiar with. God has been extra gracious with me lately, as my desire really has been to be closer and to have my priorities right, even though I've not done such a great job at it the past few years. Anyone who has been pursuing God for awhile knows that he's not the one allowing those thorns and nettles to grow---he'd just as soon burn them all off, but it's me that's got to light the match. (Cue the 90s camp songs: "It only takes a spark...to get a fire go-oh-ing")

So how do we battle this? This is where you all come in. I really want to know how you fight off the lazy monster in your life. For me, it's the Proverbs. I guarantee---if you need someone to give you a swift kick, there's something for every situation in the book of Proverbs. Another thing that helps me is finding encouraging friends. To be real, I don't have a lot of time to leave my home and physically spend time with friends. At this time in my life, I just don't. When I do, I try to choose wisely and make sure my family isn't being inconvenienced. The friends I have understand this and we find ways to be friends anyway---mostly by chatting online while I'm waiting on kids to finish their math or while working on an article and looking for a distraction. Several of my friends have "swift kick" blogs that encourage me to a higher standard. One is my friend, Mrs. White, at The Legacy of Home, another is JES at Strangers & Pilgrims On Earth.

I'd love to hear how you find encouragement to be diligent in your homemaking. Let me know in the comments below!

Prepping For Summer Camping with Mabel's Labels #ICCAMPMABEL #IC #AD

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Mabel’s Labels. I received a voucher to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Summertime means lots of adventures for the Coller kids and this past weekend was the best one yet for our boys. They attended their first Trail Life campout and had a great time. They came home hot, exhausted, and covered in ticks, (yuck!) but it was all worth it for the fun experience of being in the woods with their dad and their friends. Last week, Cainan got this cool pack of personalized waterproof labels from Mabel's Labels---perfect for marking his belongings to make sure everything gets home safely. 

Cainan picked out the sailboat pattern from the Limited Edition Camp Label Pack collection. His label pack included 10 sticky labels, 24 mini name stickers, 8 shoe labels, 50 tag mates, and 2 metal bag tags with chains to attach them to bags or zippers. The bag tags are Cainan's favorite and he also got a little set of postcards to mail home a "hello" from summer camp.

These small labels are great for clothing and personal items. Mabel's Labels had several themes and colors to choose from for boys and girls. I especially like that they're 100% guaranteed, as well as, dishwasher, microwave, and laundry safe.

There were more than enough labels in the pack to personalize all his camping items and even some of his own stuff here at home. That's really important when you're one of nine kids!

Want to try Mabel's Labels for yourself? Just visit the widget below to enter to win discounts or free items. Also, now through June 22, you can sign up for the newsletter and complete one social share to receive a coupon code. Visit MabelsLabels.com to see what discount you received.

Mabels Labels Camp Combo

Join the Mabelhood community on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. You can also visit their website to sign up to receive newsletters, a great resource for all things mom-related.

Old-Fashioned Picnicking In Your Own Front Yard

If you've been reading me very long, you know I'm all about old-fashioned values and vintage-style living with all the modern conveniences. Too many times, I find myself longing for the "good old days", and completely missing the fact that the days I'm living, right here, right now are the good old days---my good old days. I tend to wait to execute a great idea until I have every single detail in place. Ever heard the phrase, Perfectionism Leads to Procrastination? Yeah. That's totally me. I'm really working on turning over a new leaf, though. Like I tell my husband when he wants the newest 10 billion dollar gadget that will make his life complete: start small and work up to it. So, with that in mind, let's get to the topic, shall we?

I love the idea of an Edwardian-style summer picnic. I imagine my children all dressed in filmy white dresses with gigantic hair bows or cute sailor outfits with their hair parted just right. I'd finally have found a sunhat big enough for my head of thick hair and my husband would straighten his bow tie and twirl his mustache with one hand while swatting away the flies with a newspaper in the other. We'd feast on an assortment of pickled and jarred things before strolling near the lake---our children remaining immaculately clean and gloriously happy the entire time. Can this idyllic scene be real? Probably not without a butler, a couple maids, and a nanny thrown in. That doesn't mean I can't have my own modern version, though. It's not important that I capture that exact scene. What's important is that I capture the emotions that scene evokes.

“Station Wagon Picnic,” by Mauro Scali,  from American Weekly Magazine cover - June 24, 1956. 

(See, they ate dinner in the car in the "good old days", too!)

Too often, I find that my plans for making a special time for my family sound great in my head, but the execution of them is rushed and unplanned. Again, start small and work up to it.

Set the Scene
A great front (or back) yard picnic starts with setting the scene. We used to have a lovely wooden picnic table, but it belonged to the owners of a house we once lived in so we had to leave it behind. I suppose I could run out and buy a couple---but I think I'll look around and see what I have already. Last summer, a neighbor gave us an old glass-top table and another neighbor gave us a plastic kids-size table. These will do fine for now. If you don't have an outside table, consider moving your dining room table to the lawn, setting up a board on sawhorses, or opening the trunk of your car to serve as a picnic buffet table. Once I cover the tables with a sheet or tablecloth, they'll look festive enough.

While our large family pretty much requires an actual buffet table, maybe you want to skip the table all together and just use a blanket and a basket. Don't have a pretty red and white checkered blanket with a perfectly-woven picnic basket to use? Never fear! A flat bed sheet works just fine for a picnic blanket and you can line a plastic tote or cardboard box with a pretty pillowcase or two to carry your food out in.

The Essential Stuff
Next you'll want to think about what you'll need to serve the food on. Paper plates and plastic utensils are usually considered picnic essentials but they're more hassle than they're worth, in my opinion. They're flimsy, for one thing, causing younger kids to spill them and older ones to have a hard time balancing them on their laps. In addition to that, the expense of disposable plates could be used on something more fun---like bendy straws! In the "old days" people *gasp* took their kitchen dishes with them on picnics and brought them home to be washed up that evening. (Melmac, anyone?) Consider using the dishes and utensils from your own kitchen at your front yard picnic. It will save you money and will be more comfortable for everyone. I guarantee you the Edwardians would have loved having the option of sippy cups and capped water bottles at their outside meal times.

What's For Dinner?
Finally, you'll need to figure out your menu. I recommend choosing things that you can assemble, little by little, the day before so you don't find yourself throwing it together at the last minute. We love to grill steak, chicken, or burgers and serve bowls of side dishes at our picnic buffet. If you want to go easier, consider a sandwich filling like chicken or egg salad, rather than the same ol' lunchmeat or peanut butter that your kids might eat every day. Here are 10 Delicious Picnic Sides & Salads to give you some inspiration---all of which can be made the day before and stored in the fridge until time for your picnic. Make sure to end with a lovely old-fashioned picnic dessert like a cake or strawberry torte.

Simple Entertainment
In these days of Pinterest-envy, we tend to think our events have to be flashy, extravagant, and expensive. Our family has always appreciated good, old-fashioned, free fun! Here are some ideas for games you can play to get your family laughing and enjoying one another at your old-fashioned front yard picnic:

• Charades
• Hide and Seek
• Find the ________ (thimble, pocket watch, etc.)
• I Spy
• Red Rover
• Red Light, Green Light

I'd love to hear about your ideas for old-fashioned summer fun! Let me know in the comments below.

10 Delicious Picnic & Potluck Sides & Salads

It's summer time---time for picnics, potlucks, and suppers in the backyard. Here are 10 great sides and salad recipes to inspire you to great meals this season!

Loaded Baked Potato Salad from NessaMakes.com.

Fresh Tomato Bacon Salad with Creamy Tomato Bacon Vinaigrette from Bubbly Nature Creations.

Not Your Typical Watergate Salad--guest post from AudraSilva.com.

Cold Taco Salad from Serving Up Southern.

Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad from The Food Charlatan.

Buttery Crockpot Corn on the Cob from Recipes That Crock.

Summer Macaroni Salad with Tomatoes and Zucchini from skinnytaste.com.

Secret Fruit Salad from A Household Almanac.

Fresh Broccoli and Apple Salad with Walnuts from Natasha's Kitchen. 

Best Baked Beans from Flour On My Face

Linking with:

The Creative Collection @ Craft-O-Maniac

Link Party Palooza

The Party Bunch

Sunday Showcase Party@Under the Table and Dreaming 

One More Time

Bouquet of Talent

Submarine Sunday

Silver Pennies

Snickerdoodle Sunday
Sunday Linkup at ARWB

The {Not Just} Homemaking Party

Hello! Hope everyone is having an excellent week! Tomorrow we celebrate the 12th birthday of this guy! Happy Birthday to my third born and second son, Elisha! You are a blessing to our family!

Steampunk Book Necklaces

Hello Hello! Yesterday was Memorial Day so Jamie was off work. I took the opportunity to have some mom time in my room and made a couple of cute necklaces to list in my Etsy Shop. This one features one of my favorite novels, Wuthering Heights.

 ...and this one honors the timeless tale of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I totally love them and am thinking I need to make a couple for myself!

Speaking of Alice, Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist is hosting her 8th Annual Mad Tea Party. I participated last year and had an absolute blast! I'm already collecting ideas and pretty things to put on a great party this year. Check it out and join up. It's going to be a great summer inspirational treat!

Thanks for linking up at The {Not Just} Homemaking Party!

Sharing Diet Coke on a Family Day #ShareItForward #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ShareItForward #CollectiveBias

One thing we're always telling our kids is that relationships are important. Your relationships are the only thing you can take to Heaven with you, so they need to be the #1 focus in any situation. That's why we try to have a full-on family day at least once a week. Sometimes, we miss it---but not often. Today was one of those family days and today we made it sweeter by treating the kids to a case of Diet Coke to share.

Yep, we're one of those families. The ones you find riffling through the store displays, looking for our names on cans of Coke. Some of my kids, like Michael, enjoy this hide and seek game. Others, like Avalon and Selah, know they're doomed before they begin, so they settle for Anna and Susan and are glad they at least got the first initial right. Lucky for them, there's the option of buying the cans in cases that carry nickname cans. We found a case with great nicknames like Sweetie and Dad---even these BFF ones, which are perfect for these two best friends.

Today our family day was made extra special by celebrating the girls' last week of ballet for the year. They competed and performed at the Christian Ballet Olympics last week and did very well. Avalon earned a silver medal in her level, Lynzie earned a bronze medal with honors in hers, and Selah earned a gold medal with honors in her level---advancing her up to a new training level for next fall! It's important to us to celebrate these things as a family. It keeps the girls focusing on helping one another to do their best and keeps the competitive feelings directed inwardly, in an attitude of competing with oneself, rather than with one another.

Last week while my mom was still here, we took a couple of kids to Sam's Club for a Coke demo and other shopping. I love the demos at Sam's because they're always featuring great stuff and fun giveaways. This day they were giving away free cans of Coca-Cola products. My mom, having never been in a Sam's Club before, thought this was pretty awesome! We found our 32-count "nickname case" at a great price. They're great for big events---or if you have nine kids.

With a whole case of nicknames to choose from, we all had fun today picking them out for one another. It's funny how something as simple as a can of soda can really boost your ego. I mean, when someone says, "Here, take this *Superstar* can, it fits you", well, how can you resist?

Be sure to check out more ideas at the Share It Forward site. Have you ever found your name on a can of Coke?

The End: The Beginning of Summer

Well, y'all---I've reached the end. I knew it had to come sometime...and it was a long, long, LONG time coming...

By this time next week, I'll be just two short days away from the beginning...

The beginning of my NO OBLIGATION SUMMER!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!

This week marks the end of a year of ballet...

A year of homeschool co-op adventures...

A year of playing the part of a starving, sleep-deprived, hurried and harried taxi driver...

By the last day of May, all my obligations outside these four walls will have ceased for the summer and I can RELAX for awhile until time to start preparing for my England trip in September.

Just me, my porch, my sweet tea, my book, and my kids in the swimming pool on the lawn... {ask me about this imagined bliss in a few weeks when I've been pickin' ticks and treating sunburns...}

Have a Spa-Like Experience at Northwest Arkansas Birth Center #BirthCenterNWA

This article was compensated by Acorn Influence and its advertiser. All opinions are honest and are my own. #BirthCenterNWA

Earlier this week, I was given the opportunity to visit the NWA Birth Center in Rogers, Arkansas. Wow! What a treat! I've had nine babies and have never come close to the relaxing and beautiful experience the women who birth here have the opportunity to enjoy. For those of you moms---imagine having your baby and recovering in this relaxing suite, as opposed to a sterile and uninviting hospital room. {I asked the owner if I could book a private night's stay...even though I wasn't expecting. She said she's the only one who gets to do that...}

As I entered the homey atmosphere of the birthing center, I was greeted by a brightly and fashionably-decorated sitting area with a kitchen built in. On another wall was this display of fun baby and mama items that aren't available in most retailers I frequent. I'm a sucker for a hospital gift shop, but this selection was even better as it is designed to meet health and comfort needs, without a lot of frills.

The birth center is not just for those who are expecting a baby. Any woman can come enjoy the experience of an annual exam or screening in a more peaceful environment than she's used to in the standard doctor's office. The costs for utilizing the birth center can be half as much as a hospital birth and the care is more closely designed to individual needs. There's even an ADA compliant birthing room to accommodate those with mobility issues.

One thing I love about the birthing center staff is that they encourage practices that make sense during labor. Eating and drinking is promoted to keep energy up (thus the gorgeous kitchen area) and there's even a beautiful patio area that opens out onto a walkway for the laboring woman who wants to walk. Best part: no routine IVs to keep you strapped in bed with an unnecessarily prolonged labor.

The birth center is designed for women in low-risk pregnancies, and since more than 80% of pregnancies are considered low risk, it's likely this will be a good fit for you or someone you know. Since the staff operates on the truth that there's nothing "wrong" with a woman who has just given birth, they tend to send clients home within 4-6 hours after delivery. This is the time when a woman is still feeling that adrenaline rush after birth and it's important to get her home and settled in her own comfortable environment before the exhaustion sets in. The staff follows up later in the day by video chat and with a home visit soon after.

I'll admit, I thought nothing could make me want another baby any more than I already did---but this tour has deepened the desire even more! Make sure to check out the NWA Birth Center website and contact them to see if they can meet your needs. Have you had any experience with a birthing center? I'd love to hear your story in the comments below. 

Economy for the Christian Home by Mrs. Sharon White -- Book Review

I'm thrilled to be introducing you to another great book by Mrs. Sharon White, Economy for the Christian Home: A 12 Week Challenge for Wives to Increase Charitable Giving. I'll be honest---giving is low on my priority list when it comes to spending our earnings. With our large family, I always feel there's some need that could be met here at home and I tend to meet a whole lot of non-essentials before I ever think about giving to those less fortunate. God has called Christians to a life of generosity though, and I know this is an area I need to focus on.

In Economy for the Christian Home, Mrs. White gives practical help and encouragement on budgeting out money to be given to those in need---easy steps that even those with the smallest of budgets can stick to. One thing I'm really excited about starting up is the Charity Box. This idea will help our family be intentional about setting aside money so we're prepared when the Lord leads us to share it.

I encourage you to grab a copy of Economy for the Christian Home and be challenged to care for the poor. This excellent resource would also be great for a group study. Check out another of my favorites from Mrs. White in my article on her book, Living On His Income.

Now it's time for The {Not Just} Homemaking Party! Thanks for stopping by and linking up!