Links for your New Year

Here's a round-up of links and resources to help you reflect on the past year, and plan goals (resolutions, dreams) for the New Year!

20 Questions for a New Year's Eve Reflection

Goal setting questions for the New Year {pdf}

Prayer Calendar for your Children {pdf}

Prayer Calendar for your Husband {pdf}

Consider doing a Whole30 challenge if you are interested in changing your eating habits and getting healthy!

Set Great Goals and Rock 2014 {podcast - the first five minutes are a good reminder to pray}

"{People} who write down their goals accomplish significantly more than those who do not write down their goals."

20 Things to Let Go of Before the New Year

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

these are just a few ways we make it feel like Christmas around the Price house. to see other it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful this Christmas home tours click here. thanks nester!

Weekend Links

Hello! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. The Price Family will be dashing around trying to get ready for a "get together" we are hosting for our church small group. This event has caused me to go through my house all week and do chores I never do, like wipe down the kitchen cabinets. Maybe I need to host gatherings more often!  Here are a few links for you to check out during your weekend. What do you have planned? 

3 Tips for Fathers

It's cold and flu season: Top 10 Immune System Boosters

Say it ain't so? Medical Schools get Failing Grade in Nutrition

Maybe we need another link for naturally treating colds and flu.

Appetizers and Party Food for the Holiday Season

Touching Portraits of Mothers and their Day Old Babies 

A Ten-Month-Old's Letter to Santa

St. Nicholas - the man behind Santa Claus

Seven Relational Gift Ideas for Young Parents 

Our Fall {in words and pictures} plus a few things I am thankful for

a big birthday celebration with 30 balloons and 30 great things :: a canoe down the James :: the best popcorn ever is from the boy scouts :: homestead creamery's annual farm day :: someone loved the animals :: maybe they loved her too :: we used pumpkins to make a special announcement :: then the squirrels ate them :: the leaves changed colors late this year :: my childhood friend's wedding :: a new store to love in savannah

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last year we started the tradition of writing down one thing we were thankful for each day for a month leading up to Thanksgiving. this year we were pretty slack about it, but we did write down a few things. to see our list from last year click here.  here's the list i came up with this year: some answers were prompted by Ann Voskamp's monthly 1000 gift prompts...

I am thankful for/that

the memories I have of my college girlfriends

another baby on the way: a sweet surprise

our house: just what we wanted

the beautiful colors of the leaves

a husband who likes things clean

the blessing of being able to stay home with my daughter

the times my daughter laughs (a gift of laughter)

the opportunities God uses to teach me to be content

the Godly heritage of our families

God reveals my sin to me

the sound of a sleeping baby (a gift of silence)

to have had my college education paid for

Jim Gaffigan and his gift for being funny (a gift of laughter)

soldiers who defend our country (a gift of rememberance)

communion (a gift of rememberance)

our home (a gift behind a door)

the clothes i have ( a gift behind a door)

the two cars we have (a gift behind a door)

that God heard my prayer and helped Matt's dirt bike start

God is true to HIS word

a healthy child

we don't have to worry about where our next meal comes from 

Happy Thanksgiving {with a few links}

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving around a table with friends and family, whether few or many. Here are a few links for you to check out between all the family gatherings and and extra time off!


they just don't do that anymore by Steady Mom.

ten true things about the first year of parenthood by Girl of Cardigan

a year of parenting. a funny cartoon from Neatorama

how to raise a pagan kid in a christian home from I.N.F.O


Which side of your brain is more dominant by sommer + sommer


When you are tired and ready for a Christmas Revolution from A Holy Experience

The Real Truth about "Boring" Men from A Holy Experience

5 Ways to Take Back Thanksgiving from We are That Family

imsage from pinterst

Sunday Suppers

Tonight's Sunday Supper included Broccoli-Cauliflower Chowder, and a Price family classic - a fried egg sandwich. I guess it was a little twist on grilled cheese and soup.

The Broccoli Cauliflower Chowder was a recipe courtesy of Diane Sanflippo's New York Times Bestselling cookbook Practical Paleo. It included two cups of broccoli and two cups of cauliflower steamed, and blended with garlic and chicken broth. The chicken broth was homemade, and was unfortunately too strong, because it overpowered the broccoli and cauliflower. I think I may give this recipe another whirl with a different stock. Dare I say, boxed version. Or maybe my brother-in-law will spare some of his chicken broth. I am interested to taste the difference. I think this chowder would be great!

Egg sandwiches used to be a weekly staple in our household. But then I really tried to get my family off of packaged bread. One could argue there's not much nutritional value in it. Even if you do buy whole grain bread, and make sure the fiber content is higher than the sugar content, the nutrients in wheat oxidizes. This makes me question what nutrients, if any, are present when you pick it up off the shelf?

But I digress. We still do buy store-bought bread occasionally.

So here's a look at one of our favorite sandwiches.

While the egg is frying, slather two pieces of bread with just a little mayo and mustard. Next layer on some cheese and bacon. I usually handled the bread, while Mr. Price attended to the eggs and bacon. When your egg is ready, lay it on top of the bread with the sliced cheese. The hot egg gives the cheese melting a head start. Put the sandwich together and place back on the frying pan with a little bit of butter. Brown each side to melt the cheese. This is one good sandwich!

Our daughter had the same meal minus the bread.

What was your Sunday Supper?

I LOVE

You know I am a new(ish) mom when educational toys excite me!

I thought our local library was really cool with its modern architecture and coffee shop, but when I saw these educational toys in the children's area, it suddenly got way cooler.

I guess children don't go to the library to just read books anymore. Now it's also a place to enhance your toddler's gross and fine motor skills. I'd love to have some of these toys for V at home. I also love how they are neatly organized in clear containers. Sorry for the poor pictures, but I was trying to snap photos quickly with my iPhone. I really loved the cloth shape sorting toys, and the lettered bean bags.  I'll have to do some googling to hopefully find some similar, inexpensive toys for home. 

Eight Things I Learned in July

I'm linking up with Emily Freeman of Chatting at the Sky to share the things I learned in July. Most of the things I learned are random and insignificant, but should give you a glimpse into my life last month. Please visit Emily's blog and check out the other hundreds of bloggers who shared what they learned. 

1. Having one of those Rachael Ray garbage bowls for kitchen scraps is really handy. My personal project this month was to try to do a better job keeping the kitchen clean. Now that I am cooking mostly paleo meals, I spend a lot of time prepping vegetables in the kitchen. It's so nice to be able to sweep my trash into a large bowl nearby, and have my area clean for the next task.

2. It is much easier to "clean as you go" in the kitchen when your kitchen sink is not already full of dirty dishes. I don't know why I didn't realize this before, but it makes a huge difference. If my sink is clear at the start of my day, then I only spend about 10 minutes three times a day at the sink instead of 30 minutes, three times a day.

3. Paleo meals are pretty.

4. Obtaining a mortgage makes you the instant recipient of junk mail. Thanks CB2 and Pottery Barn for your 10% coupons, but how did you get our address? We also just received a letter from The Guys in Purple Landscaping that stated, "Our records indicate you are a new homeowner." Um, really?! I'd like to go over and check out their records.

5. You can go on a short hike in red patent leather Steve Madden flats. We took an unexpected hike one weekend to Roaring Run, and of course, I didn't have any hiking shoes with me. It takes about an hour to hike it round trip, and there is very little incline. I looked like I was going shopping instead of hiking. This was also our daughter's first hike, and she was amazed by the sights and sounds.

6. Mr. Price and I are not big fans of the new Arrested Development Netflix series. After watching the original series a couple of years ago and loving it, we were excited to catch up with the Bluth gang. But the new Netflix series just has not impressed us. We have been getting many more laughs watching Parks and Recreation.

7. My daughter can take screenshot photos with my iPhone, but I have no idea how. 

8. I've learned to appreciate the bad days as well as the good days. The bad days make the good days even better.

Melody Makers

Melody Makers is a locally owned business that introduces music and art to infants and children. This year, at the recommendation of another mom, I enrolled my daughter in the Melody Makers' summer program, Gigi Jingle Class. This class introduces music to children ages one month - thirty-six months. It has been a real hit with V! The class is named for the soft-spoken Giraffe puppet, Gigi, who makes her appearance at the end of each class to sing a song with the children. Each child attending also takes a turn petting Gigi. 

Prior to Gigi's appearance, the class sings songs and plays different musical instruments with a few of Gigi's other puppet friends. Drums, clappers, castanets and jingle bells are a few fun instruments children get to play. The class also listens to a few minutes of one classical piece of music. So far V has been exposed to "Water Music" by George F. Handel and "Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Phillips Sousa. For an added sensory experience, both pieces were accompanied by bubbles from a bubble machine the instructor waved across the room. Last week we enjoyed "The Swan" by Saint-Saens, while we threw and blew white feathers across the room.

To encourage gross motor skills, we also sing songs while playing with streamers, bean bags or just moving your body as the music suggests.

As you can tell, each 30 minute class has new and fun ways to experience music. Classes are small in size with no more than 10 children and one accompanying parent. Although, some children bring one parent and two adoring grandparents, or both parents. The joy is contagious, and can be hard not to share with someone else.

The cost of the class is $100, and meets once a week for 10 weeks. I think on some days I have enjoyed the class more than V. On two occassions she seemed reserved, or just sleepy. Her favorite musical instrument to play with has been the drums. She was especially awestruck by the Swan puppet and the feathers last week.

I'm so thrilled that my friend recommended this class to us. I wouldn't have thought to look into something like this. Please check out Melody Makers online to learn about their other music, art and other learning enrichment workshops.