Posts by Rachel Spoelhof
Music with Meaning
After my family moved to a new city almost 2 years ago, I was very disappointed to find that unless you are partial to country music, good radio is hard to come by. However, I did find a new radio station called Air One, with the tagline: “The Positive Alternative.” The radio station is often on in my car now, and I am reaping the benefits of the positive, God-inspired words in the songs. Music is such a great way to praise God. When the days are long and tiring and I don’t have much time to read the Bible, I can hear God’s voice and find inspiration from these songs.…
Read MoreCooking with a Toddler
Last week I shared some ideas for how I get my toddler to be a helper. Rather than share a new recipe, I decided to give you some more cooking related tips to get you cooking while entertaining and teaching your toddler!
At the counter activities
1. Let your toddler add ingredients.…
Read MoreDiscovery Bottles
Discovery bottles are a great craft for a busy baby, toddler, or child. After Ellie started crawling, she would spend lots of time pulling my cookbooks off the bookshelf in our kitchen. I realized I needed to put something in that space that she could play with. Discovery bottles were a great answer. I cleared all the books off the bottom two shelves and they became her new play area. She would occupy herself while I cooked and loved that she could play all by herself.
This craft is so easy! Just put anything in the bottles that would be fun to look at, fun to hear, or fun to shake.…
Read MoreHow I Get My Toddler To Be a Helper
Lately, I have had some success including the girls in my chores and household activities. I use the word “some” on purpose because I know with kids what works one day won’t work another day. However, I hope that what I share can encourage you to make your kids a part of household chores and activities.…
Read MoreHelpful Reminders
I have a serious memory problem. If I don’t write something down the second I think of it, it is gone. Sometimes forever, other times it will randomly come back to me – usually when I’m trying to fall asleep.
It seems at this stage of my life that I am totally incapable of remembering anything that isn’t written down. …
Read MoreMaking Time for Jesus
I find myself in one of two places lately when it comes to devotions: 1. I have very limited time, or 2. I don’t know how to start and keep a devotional routine. My tip for tackling either of these road blocks is mini devotions. My favorite mini devotional book is, “Jesus Calling,” by Sarah Young.…
Read MoreNo Recipe Dinner
Our family has tried to implement at least 1 or 2 “no recipe” dinners each week. For us, this means a dinner that requires minimal ingredients and is fast and easy to make from memory, no recipe required!
Currently, our go-to recipe is a delicious egg, meat and potato scramble invented by my husband. This recipe is fun, especially if you like the occasional breakfast for dinner, and only requires a few ingredients.
Egg, Meat and Potato Scramble
feeds 4, or 2 with leftovers for lunch the next day.
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Just Add Water
With a baby and a toddler to entertain all day, I am all about simplicity! So, when the weather is nice and you are ready for some fun, “just add water!” Kids love water and it is easy to clean up (when you are outside or in the bath, of course!). Elliana loves water, so we have tried a lot of different water activities. We have used buckets, a water table, the hose, and a kiddie pool.
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Read MoreBeing Disciplined About Discipline
Now that there is a new baby in the mix it seems that my toddler has been testing me more and more. It is so hard to b…
Read MoreWeekly To-Do List
This blog post is inspired by something I saw on the Today Show. The guest was giving make-up tips. One of her tips was to take out all your make up and throw away anything that you haven’t used recently, only keeping things you actually use. I’ve heard this type of advice before in regards to closet organization: only keep things in your closet that fit, and things that you wear.
I think this is great advice, and I’ve been trying to apply this type of organization in other areas of my life. I think part of this advice stems from being content and happy with who we are right now. …
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