Car Garbage Bag Holder

Many years ago, when I shared my car with no one, it was kept clean. Spotless. Garbage-free. Anything that didn't belong in it was taken out when I got out.

And then I got married.

I love that man dearly. I do. But he doesn't share my fervency for a clean vehicle. It doesn't help that he's worked in the demolition field since before we got married and it's nearly impossible to keep his truck free from dirt, but that's another story.

Over the years, he's given me children--5 of them--and those children all seem to have missed out on that keep-your-car-clean gene. They're much more like their father in that aspect, but worse. I mean, they are kids, after all. Almost every time they take something in the van with them it remains there until Leighton or I demand that they bring it in the house.

Candy and gum? Pop it in your mouth and toss the wrapper in the cup holder.

Toys? Drop them in your seat once we reach our destination.

Papers from church? Let them slip out of your hands and fall carelessly to the floor to be trampled on.

Hair ties and clips? Ask mom to put them in your hair just so you can remove them before we even get to where we're going and leave them in the van. Bonus points for each additional item.

Crayons, pencils, pens? Set them down and let them roll until they get lost deep between the seats.
Lego pieces? Actually, I'm not so sure what they do with those as I find them in every possible crevice of both the van and the house. What exactly do they do? Throw them in the air to make it rain? Play hide and seek with each other? See who can lose their pieces the fastest? Strategically place them all over to drive mom crazy?? I'm just not sure.

Am I exaggerating? Yes. Maybe. But you get the point. Kids plus car equals mess. (Actually, kids plus anything equals mess, but you already knew that.) Whether you're running errands around town or driving on vacation across country, you need a way to contain the mess.
   

All you need to do is fill an empty paper towel tube with plastic grocery bags.

I know, super simple. We always have bags in the van for garbage or for carting objects back into the house. We've been using this method since our oldest was just a little guy, because it works so well. I do prefer to rely on reusable bags for grocery shopping and carrying our things, so I use the plastic bags mostly for garbage, but there are times when I forget to put the reusables back in the van and just hand the kids a plastic bag to gather their things. When you use up all the bags, you just need to refill it. The tube lasts quite a while before needing to be replaced. It fits easily next to your seat, under it, in the glove box or anywhere that you can access it. I keep mine in a slot in  the passenger door. That way, while Leighton is driving, I can gather the random mess of papers, wrappers, receipts, and whatnot that has been overlooked and get the van back to clean again. 

In a perfect world, the kiddos would clean up after themselves every time without being reminded to. Yeah. Until then, we'll just keep filling our tube with bags.

Now, if only I could figure out what they do with those Lego pieces.

Things That Make Me Smile 1/1/16

Jake (10), Alyssa (7½), Zac (6), Tyler (3½), Nicholas (1)

Happy New Year! May we draw closer to God and closer to our families this year. And find more reasons to Smile.

1. Jake: "I was trying to get water to come out my nose, so I told Alyssa to say something funny after I took a drink of water. She said, 'Darth Vader has chest hair.' See, it's funny!"

2. Tyler: "I have no idea how Daddy got my baby."

3. Zac: "Tyler, you broke it!"

Tyler: "That wasn't me! That was my finger!"

4. Me: "Naked boy, where are your clothes?"

Tyler, wearing absolutely nothing: "I have no idea."

5.

6. Tyler: "I want two! Two Ty-Tys!"

7. Tyler: "That is fick"

Me: "Yes, it is tttthhhhhick"

Tyler: "Yeah, dat's what I said, 'fick.'"

8. Alyssa: "No matter what, you always get the cup wet when you get water."

9. Zac: "Let's wrap Tyler and say, 'To Auntie Dawn, From Kids.' That way Auntie Dawn and Uncle Gary have to take care of Tyler. Haha, he's so much trouble."   

10. Alyssa: "I want to get a second watch to wear on my other wrist. I have a tight schedule."

What made you Smile this week?

Taco Seasoning Mix

I boiled a couple organic chickens that my brother raised and picked the meat off the bones to use for various meals over the next couple weeks. Like always, I tossed the carcasses, some veggies, and spices into a large pot of water to make rich stock. By the time I needed to prepare dinner, I had both the chicken and the broth I needed to make chicken lemon rice soup.

That was yesterday.   

Today, I decided to use some of the chicken to make white chicken enchiladas for dinner. Simple. All I would need to do was throw together the white cheese sauce to pour on top. When I started gathering my ingredients though, I remembered that I had used up our taco seasoning the last time we had a Mexican-inspired dinner. Thankfully, it takes maybe 2 minutes to whip up another batch. And that was with a baby hanging on my legs.

I can't even remember how many years we've been making this seasoning mix. Not only does it not have any weird ingredients, it tastes so much richer than the store-bought packets. I always double or triple the recipe, because we use it so much. We use this to season all our Mexican dishes and the whole family loves it. In fact, my oldest was walking into the kitchen one day as I was making this and asked what it was. When I told him taco seasoning, he replied, "No, it's Heaven dust." Yeah, it's good stuff. This is an easy recipe for the kiddos to prepare, since it's just a matter of measuring and mixing. And the seasoning mix itself is pretty forgiving, so if they spill in some extra chili powder or paprika, no big deal.  

Today's dinner may have required an extra step to prepare, but it couldn't have been any simpler to remedy. In fact, it would have taken longer for Leighton to run to the store to grab some packets than it took for me to make my own. Ease, taste, quality. That's a winner in my book. 

Taco Seasoning Mix

Ingredients: 

4 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons cumin

4 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and and store in an air-tight container.  Use 2-3 tablespoons per pound of meat.

Zac's 5th Birthday

I've posted so many Smiles the last few days that I figured it was time to break things up a bit. Don't get me wrong, you can never laugh too much, but today we can Smile at cute pictures of a little boy, instead of the cute things the little boy says. And since I've been in the catching-up-on-posts mood, I figured I would finish up a post I started a while ago: Zac's 5th birthday. Yes, he turned 6 a few months ago. This is an oldie, but a goodie.

Happy 5th Birthday, Zac!

The birthday child always gets to pick breakfast. Zac chose buttermilk pancakes with strawberry syrup, topped off with fresh whipped cream and sprinkles. Certainly not healthy, but how often do you get a birthday anyway?
 

We dropped off the other kids with my parents and spent the rest of the day together celebrating him. The kids and I look forward to their Special Day every year. I love having one-on-one time with each of them and they love choosing the agenda. 

Birthday boy's choice for lunch? McDonalds. 

 

After lunch, we made a stop at the dollar store where Zac picked out a new school workbook, markers, and a toy.

What would a Special Day be without a Toys 'R Us birthday crown and balloon? We threw in a red Hulk, just for fun.

At home, we assembled the new LEGO set he picked out at the store and then watched the LEGO Movie together.

On the way to pick up the other kiddos, we grabbed Slurpees for everyone.  I always like to bring back a treat for the others so no one feels left out.
 

Zac picked homemade personal pizzas for dinner and chocolate cake with blue buttercream frosting for dessert.

And, of course, no Leaf birthday is complete without a LEGO birthday present!

Happy 5th Birthday to my sweet, tenderhearted, selfless, loving boy.

Things That Make Me Smile 12/25/15

Jake (10), Alyssa (7½), Zac (6), Tyler (3½), Nicholas (1)

Merry Christmas! We've had such a wonderful week. Family, presents, food, laughs, love, and lots of LEGO. Many, many reasons to Smile. 

1. Jake, in the other room: "How did you get out of my trap, Baby?"

Me, calling: "Don't wrap that around his leg. Leave your baby brother alone."

Jake, surprised: "Hey, how did you know what I was doing?"

Me: "I'm a mom."

Jake: "Ok, where did I just slap myself?"

Me: "On your cheek."

Jake: "What! How did you--Ok, now where?"

Me: "On your butt."

Jake: "Ahh! What? How do you do that?!?"

2. Tyler: "Is it yesterday yet?"

3.

4. Tyler: "Is that a wheels waffle?"

Leighton: "That's just a standard waffle."

Tyler: "How can it stand?"

5. Me: "Why is there a potato on the floor?"

Jake, tossing it on the couch: "Look, now it's a couch potato! Haha, that joke gets me every time."

6. Zac: "You always give me a present, every day."

Me: "I do? What's that?"

Zac: "It's love."

7. Tyler, hearing the other kids ask for something: "Can I have one? Oh, I don't like it. What is it?"

8.

9. Tyler: "My hair is getting hot."

10. Every year before we open presents on Christmas morning, we read the story of Jesus' birth in Luke 2. As the kids get older, they take turns reading portions. Zac was excited to help read it for the first time this year.

11. Tyler: "Mommy, I want to spend the night at Gramma's."
Me: "Aww, not tonight."

Tyler: "How about today?"

Me: "Not today either."
Tyler: "How about tomorrow?"


What made you Smile this week?

Kids Say the Funniest Things: Part 13

Happy New Year! I love taking the time at the beginning of a new year to reflect on the past. We recall the precious memories, relive the fun times, and acknowledged the strength we gained through the hard ones. One of my favorite ways to reminisce is by reading the lists of Things That Make Me Smile. This weekly collection is filled with funny, cute, or memorable quotes and experiences of our kids. It's from these lists that I gather a few of my favorites from the year to create Kids Say the Funniest Things. 

Even though I had planned to get caught up, I'm a year behind still (you can read why here). That means that these memories are from 2 years ago, yet some seem like they happened just recently. Oh, how I love these little ones of mine. Here is installment 13 from the beginning of 2014. I hope you enjoy Smiling with me.

These were the kids ages at the time recorded: Jake 8, Alyssa 5½, Zac 4, Tyler 1½.

JANUARY

Zac, when I turned the light on in the morning: "The too bright was trying to burn my eyes." 

Alyssa: "One day, I had a most unusual dream. It was about Alton Brown's cooking show."

Jake, while turning on Disney's Robin Hood: "Remember, it starts not very exciting. Then it gets so exciting that your head pops off."

Jake: "Tyler's so crazy it's like there's a chipmunk running around in his head."

Jake: "Mom, have you unlocked your true potential yet?"  

Jake: "Haven't you heard that old saying, 'If you touch fire, you'll regret it. If you don't regret it, you're toast.'"
Me "And who said that?"
Jake: "Me. I just made it up."

Jake: "You're as old as pineapple, Alyssa."

Alyssa: "I'm never trying milk mixed with water. It probably tastes like compost."
  

Zac, looking at our Roman numeral clock: "Look, it's V o'clock."

This mud post. 

Alyssa, because Tyler scribbled on her paper: "Try to show a little more respect."

Alyssa: "I'm very, very, very hot. But I'm also very cold." 

Jake: "I watched an Angry Birds Toons once that was a Halloween one. There was a bird that was dressed up with an axe sticking out of his head."
Me: "Eww, that's morbid."
Jake: "Morbid? Who's he?"

Alyssa: "Mom, I think we have more marbles than you now, because you've been losing yours!"

Jake: "Zachary! Just because you can throw things, doesn't mean you have the freedom to throw them at my Legos."

FEBRUARY

Zac, sad: "Each of my gloves has only 5 fingers." 

Alyssa: "Jesus can do anything. He could even turn into a fly. But if someone had a fly swatter? . . . He would not want to be a fly."
 

Alyssa, yelling: "Mom! Can you tell Zac to be quiet?"
Zac, yelling: "I can't hear you! I'm too loud!"

Alyssa: "In Jesus Love the Little Children, when it says 'red and yellow, black and white' who's the 'yellow'?"

Me: "Like Chinese and Japanese people."

Alyssa: "Well, I know who the red are . . . People with sunburns."

Jake, astounded: "Do you know what I heard at church? There used to be this thing called sending letters to people.

Jake: "Zac, stop chewing with your mouth."

Me, giving a clue while playing a guessing game: "It's something I really like."

Alyssa: "Daddy!"

Jake: "Tyler is known for his trouble. Not that many people know him though, so it's ok."  

MARCH

Zac, after getting out of the bathtub: "My hands are crinkly."

Leighton: "Say I."
Tyler: "I."
Leighton: "Love."
Tyler: "Mommy!"

Zac: "Jake's birthday is first, but I didn't hear it coming." 

Zac: "Mom, were we parents when you were little?"

Zac: "How do you spell peanut butter?"

Me: "P-e-a-n-u-t b-u-t-t-e-r."

Zac, pointing to the jar: "They spelled it wrong. J-I-F."

Alyssa, confidently: "I know what 10 plus 100 is: ten hundred."  

Zac, to Alyssa: "I wish God didn't give you feet to kick me in the head."

Zac: "I think hiccups are scared of water."

Zac: {Achoo} Mom, I almost got you!

Me, teasing: "Oh, no, don't sneeze on me."

Zac: "Yeah, 'cause you're pretty. Why would I sneeze on you when you're pretty?"

Zac, while I was making dinner: "Thank you for making the so best smell in here!" 


APRIL

Zac, holding the phone to my ear: "Now you have love in your ear!"

Me: "I do? Why?"

Zac: "'Cause I kissed the phone!"

Jake: "I want to play professional Uno."

Jake, proudly: "Mom, I can fit a whole golf ball in my mouth! Wanna see?"

Zac: "May I have a napkin, please?"
Jake: "You have pants for a reason."

Zac: "The sky is black when it's night. That means the sun is turned off at night, right?"

Zac: "I can say one thing in Spanish: ooplo.

Me, humored: "Ooplo? And what does that mean?"

Zac: "I don't know; it's Spanish!"

Jake, showing me the "shorts" he was wearing: "Uh, Mom, I think you put Tyler's pants in my drawer. Haha, these aren't my shorts."

Me, laughing: "No, but they fit pretty good."

Zac: "I want to be a grave digger when I grow up. Then I can get all the worms I want!"  

Alyssa, tattling: "Jake said he hated me!"

Jake, smiling: "Words may be deceiving."

While listing make-believe characters . . .
Jake: "Griffin."
Zac: "Dragon!"
Alyssa: "Unicorn."
Zac: "Two-headed dragon!"
Alyssa: "Pegasus."
Zac: "Three-headed dragon!"
Jake: "Centaur."
Zac: "Four-headed dragon!" 

Jake, holding a wiggling worm: "Aw, he's so cute!"
and then . . .
"Should I tear him in half so he can be friends with himself?"

Thanks for Smiling with me! Part 14 from the middle of 2014 is coming soon. If you are needing some more laughs before then, check out some of the earlier installments of Kids Say the Funniest Things.

Kids Say the Funniest Things: Part 1
Kids Say the Funniest Things: Part 2
Kids Say the Funniest Things: Part 3
Kids Say the Funniest Things: Part 4 (quotes from my first grade students)
Kids Say the Funniest Things: Part 5
Kids Say the Funniest Things: Part 6
Kids Say the Funniest Things: Part 7
Kids Say the Funniest Things: Part 8  
Kids Say the Funniest Things: Part 9
Kids Say the funniest Things: Part 10 
Kids Say the Funniest Things: Part 11 
Kids Say the Funniest Things: Part 12

Things That Make Me Smile 12/18/15

Jake (10), Alyssa (7½), Zac (6), Tyler (3½), Nicholas (1)

Nicholas turned 1 year old this week! Time is going by so fast. The kids performed their Christmas program at church, I created a nativity felt set for them, and we continued with our multiple advent calendars to count down the days until Christmas.  

1. Jake: "Who's the smartest person in the world?"
Me: "I'm not sure anyone knows that."
Jake: "Well, I bet it's Papa. He's got to be in the top 10, for sure."

 

2. Zac: "Mom, no matter what, every day you're pretty."

3. Jake turned Zac into a present.

 

4. Zac: "I know why it's called a piñata. Because pin is the first part and you can pop it with a pin."

Me: "But, remember, it's a Spanish word."
Zac: "What?"
Me: "Piñata."
Zac: "But how do you say what in Spanish?"
Me: "Qué."
Zac: "What?"
Me: "Yes."
Zac: "No, how do you say what?"
Me: "Qué."
Zac: "K, but how do you say it in Spanish?"
Me: "Qué."
Zac: "What?"
Me: "Yes."
Zac: "Huh?"

5. Jake: "Cleaning up a baby is easier said than done." 

6. Tyler, while talking about swimming: "Why are they babing suits? They're not just for babies." 

7. Nicholas found a bag of flour while Leighton and I were making breakfast.

8. Zac, about the smoothies I made: "What does it taste like?"

Tyler: "It tastes like yummy."

9. Tyler: "Mommy, my brain is talking."
Me: "What's it saying?"
Tyler, smiling: "I have no idea!"

What made you Smile this week?