SIX!!

My baby is six! When did that happen? I told him he couldn't grow up...he didn't listen!

I love this boy so much. It has been my tradition to share what I love about the birthday kiddo so here it is, six reasons why I love my 6 year old!!

1. That smile! The cute little cheeks, the bright eyes...his smile lights up any room he is in. I love.love.love it!

2. He still SNUGGLES! While he barely fits on my lap, he will still climb up and cuddle in my lap. Or snuggle for stories. He will also snuggle with any of his siblings... as long as they let him! He is my love bug, for sure!

3. He loves to clean! He really does. I thought he would grow out of his "helper" stage but nope. He calls himself a "professional bed maker" and is always willing to wash a table, mop, sweep or vacuum!

4. He is nice to everyone. Even if he has a friend who annoys him, he is still kind. He will play with anyone and include them in his games. He would spend hours out at the park playing with whoever was out there.

5. He loves anything his brothers do! Legos, Minecraft, Star Wars...and doesn't let them tease him when he wants to watch a "baby show" like Paw Patrol, Jake and the Neverland Pirates...

6. He loves to read, draw and do puzzles.

Happy Birthday sweet six year old! Mom loves you!

Swedish Meatballs

The very first time I used my crockpot, I felt like I had cheated. I had made dinner...but I hadn't done anything. I pulled the lid off and we ate.

I felt like I had stumbled upon some great dinner cooking secret. But nope, it was just a crockpot! Now I use my crockpot all.the.time. I have had some hits and misses but I love that girl. So much so that the words have rubbed off the knob. Luckily I know them all by heart!

One of my dinner hits, that was loved by 7/7 Turners, was Swedish Meatballs. Yum!

I am sure that there are a ton of recipes floating around for these babies, but this is the one that I used. It is simple and delicious! I usually make a huge thing of mashed potatoes to go with it.

This recipe comes from a You Tube vlogger OCD Much, with a few tidbits from me, in pink.

What you will need:
*optional---> crockpot liner. One of the only items that I will pay FULL price for! Worth the money to me to not have to clean!
1 lb pkg of precooked meatballs (I use a bigger bag and fill my crockpot. My kids devour these!)
2 jars of Heinz beef gravy (we like lots of gravy so I add another jar)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 16 oz container of sour cream

So here is where the "hard work" comes in...
Put all the wet ingredients into your crockpot. Combine well.

 Then add in your meatballs. Coat them with your wet ingredients. Put the top on.


Because the meatballs are pre cooked, you are basically just heating this meal up. You can cook on high for a couple of hours, or let it simmer all day. Which is nice, if you didn't think about dinner until like 3:00.

 Not that I know what that is like...

Life changes

Life has changed so much since February! Being military, we received our orders and just like that...life got busy. Really busy.

We are busy in our every day life as is, but throw in a move and life just got out of control. Packing up one house, house hunting for another, finishing school up with the kids, a funeral and then the actual packing, moving, cleaning...Need I say more?

Although we still have plenty to do to get settled, life has calmed. That calm has come with plenty of changes.

We are now homeowners.

We are now on a (modified) year round school schedule.

My kids schools & our church is much closer.

We now have a dog.

My grocery budget is still the same, although spread out differently, due to paying a mortgage.

Life is indeed different.

But my life, my interests & my goals have not changed. In fact, I have a renewed sense of wanting to save money! No longer are we able to just call housing if something breaks.

Ben & I have spent many a morning at Lowes or Home Depot picking out appliances, counter tops, paint...none of that is free or cheap.

Saving money and living on a budget will always be a part of our lives. Now, besides the normal, we have pet food and house "stuff".

Hopefully you will stick around as I rebuild my stockpile, feed & care for our new dog, updating our home, and everything in between!