Money Saving Mom®

Kaitlynn and I have been working on some sewing and handwork projects together — thanks to the supplies and book generously sent to us by Abigail from Marie-Madeline Studio. We’ll be sharing more pictures and details on our projects in a post in a few weeks.

My first attempt at making Trim Healthy Mama Pancakes. These are not your typical pancakes — they have oats, cottage cheese, and egg whites as the base.

I had read rave reviews of them so I was so sad that my attempt was an epic fail. Leave it to me to somehow ruin a recipe with five ingredients!

But I’m not a quitter, so I tried again the next day. And it was a success!!

{I kept the batter in the fridge overnight and used the griddle instead of the stove top. Both things seemed to make a big difference.}

I topped these with a little Greek yogurt and berries and they are delicious!! I’m going to try making a batch for the freezer as I’ve heard that they are freezer-friendly, too!

Speaking of Trim Healthy Mama, some of you may have picked up on the fact that I’ve radically changed my eating over the last few months. After rave reviews from my sister and another friend, I decided to take the plunge and just experiment with eating according to the Trim Healthy Mama guidelines.

Truthfully, I figured I’d feel miserable and would hate eating this week. But I completely surprised myself when I actually felt great and found that I loved eating this way.

I held off on mentioning much online because I didn’t know whether I’d actually stick with it (going almost entirely gluten-free and sugar-free is a pretty MASSIVE thing for this former carb-loving, homemade-brownie-loving girl).

But I’m going on my third month of eating this way and I’ve (mostly) stopped craving carbs and sweets — except for those on the Trim Healthy Mama plan — so I’d say it’s safe to say that there’s a good chance this is going to be a lifestyle change. Which is something I truly could have never believed was possible.

Y’all, if I can quit sugar, anyone can. {It feels so empowering to be able to say that!}

It’s hard for me to believe that my baby is in Kindergarten!! He’s loving school and just eating it up! {Excuse the mis-matched outfit… I think we need to have a week of classes on How to Match Clothes! :)}

These new essential oils that just came in the mail from Plant Therapy last week and we are loving them! I especially like that these are formulated specifically for kids and have directions on each bottle on how to properly dilute them for use. Look for a giveaway and review soon!

I’ve become a huge essential oil fan over the past year (my poor friends have been so patient with me as I’m often whipping out my traveling oil bag and saying, “I have an oil for that! Here just try this!” ;)), but I’m not partial to any brand specific brand. That said, I’ve found that Plant Therapy has a great selection of oils, the quality is good from what I’ve experienced and researched, and their prices are some of the best I’ve found anywhere.

{I just realized that I am sounding like a total crunchy weirdo talking about quitting sugar and essential oils in the same post. I’m afraid I am becoming that person I never thought I’d be… I promise I will draw the line at switching to cloth toilet paper, though. I have committed to my husband that I will never be that crunchy. Ever. Kudos to those of you who are, but a girl’s gotta draw the line somewhere! :)}

Last week, we had been planning for months to travel to North Carolina for me to hang out with a few of my dear friends (Kathi Lipp, Renee Swope, and Michele Cushatt) for a few days. But Michele’s dad passed away and instead the three of us were able to switch travel plans and go to Las Vegas instead for Michele’s dad’s memorial.

I was grateful for some unexpected quiet on a flight that turned out to be much longer than expected this morning. I savored a Club Soda (one of my current “guilty pleasures”) and read the entire pre-release copy of The Fringe Hours.

It’s hard to describe in words how powerfully impacted I was by the memorial service for Michele’s dad. It was the most moving memorial service I’ve ever attended!

From both of his children giving dynamic messages and tributes to their dad, the worship time, Michele singing and playing, four men leading us in a time of prayer… To see the legacy of a life well lived left me inspired and changed to go home and pour into my family.

These four women are some of the very dearest women I know. We flew in from four different time zones to love on Michele and celebrate the legacy of her dad. After the memorial service, Michele’s family invited us over to celebrate this wonderful man.

We laughed, we teased, we shared our heart, and we cried buckets of tears. And it was beautiful.

We ended the day with Dilly Bars — Michele’s dad’s favorite. It was so very worth breaking my no-sugar commitment for one day in his honor. 🙂

So that was a peek into the last two weeks of my life. How has life been at your house? Tell us what’s been going on in your home recently!