Urbanwalls Review and Discount

This summer, we are doing a pretty big room switch-a-roo at our home.  Our oldest daughter is getting her own room.  She is moving into our current toy room.  That room also has a bathroom in it, so she gets her own bathroom.  When I had the opportunity to work with Urbanwalls, I had this room re-do in mind.  I actually showed I. all the options and let her pick and she chose the Be You decal.  

Customer service was awesome, shipment was fast, and this was really really easy to use.  I. helped and we talked about each trait.  I think this is a great saying for a tween girl to look at as she is getting ready in the mornings.  

We are still switching things out, getting rid of towel rods and putting up hooks, and doing a lot of decorating, but this is our start.  And it makes me really happy.

Good news - Urbanwalls is so awesome and generous that they have offered Ducks in a Row readers a 15% discount.  Use code ducksinarow!

Thanks !

It's That Time of Year

The sun is finally shining and all the garage sales are popping out.  In fact, I have a corner in my garage that is devoted to a garage sale that we will be having this summer.

awesome checklist via here

I don't really shop at garage sales - nothing against them, I just don't.  But it is no secret that I do like to look at Craigslist regularly.   Right now, I'm keeping my eye open for a replacement garage refrigerator and I always like to look for vintage furniture.

I think this antique jenny lind day bed is pretty cool!  Picture it cleaned up or even sprayed a fun color!

People like to clean out right now and I like to make it work for me.  If you are willing to drive, pull your seats out of your vehicle, or find someone to watch your kids so you can remove car seats, or even  rent a pick up truck, there are a lot of options for you!  Keep your eyes open.

Weekly Food Prep

You have already figured out that I am have a type-A personality.  I make lists, I plan, I organize and that trickles down to every part of my life (except my husband's closet and our garage).  I have breakfasts down to a science, and I plan dinners weekly.  There is a whole lot of time, though, during the day where I just want to grab something to eat.  Why is it so easy to grab a cookie or two?

In order to avoid this and make it as easy as possible on me, I spend some time weekly prepping healthy food for me to make it easy to grab and go.

I prep most of my fruit and veggies right before we eat them.  I find that if I chop the strawberries ahead of time, then they get slimy and gross.  The apples turn brown, etc.  

I do wash my lettuce and spin it out in a salad spinner.  M. helps me with this.  I stick it in a gallon bag and it is easy to grab for my salad.  We have been grilling every Sunday for the past month and Tom will put two extra chicken breasts - plain, no marinade no salt - on the grill for me.  I chop them up and put them in the refrigerator for the week.  I use my rice cooker and cook a batch of quinoa/brown rice.  I roast up a bunch of sweet potatoes in my oven.  I also hard boil some eggs (don't know how they didn't make the picture).

Lastly, I make some kind of protein ball.  Tom loves taking these to work.  He can work on the computer and pop them in his mouth.  There are tons of recipes out there - any recipe Lindsay posts on Cotter Crunch is my favorite (you have to search for them though).

I can make myself or Tom a power salad really quick.  All the food I eat throughout the day is easier to grab now.  There you have it.

Do you food prep?

I Am A Soccer Mom: Meal Prep Ideas

This is a re-post of a guest post I did for Blue Susan Makes . . .

  Just like Sarah, I also have four kids.  Although my baby isn't involved in anything yet, the other three more than make up for it!  As I thought about what really helps us during the crazy time, I immediately went to Meal Prep!  Well fed kids = happy kids and there is no way we could get through games and practices by feeding children on the fly.  I have to prepare.  This includes making weekly meal plans, prepping snacks ahead of time, packing bags and keeping them in the freezer.  

I use my rice cooker, my crock pot, and freezer meals weekly.  Life savers, I tell you!

I'd love to share one of our favorite meals!  I do most of the prep during the day, when my one year old is napping.  Then, I can get dinner ready in less than 10 minutes when we are actually sitting down to eat.  10 MINUTES - that is faster than it takes to get my kids to set the table.

Bean and Rice Burritos:

2 cups of cooked rice - I use a brown rice/quinoa mixture that I pre-cook in my rice cooker.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

 1 can of green chiles

1 teaspoon cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cans (15 oz. each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed 

1 1/2 cups water

 1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

tortillas

Cheese

1.Heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, green chilies, and cumin.  Cook until onions are soft, stirring occasionally.  Add tomato paste and cook for one more minute - stirring continually.

2.  Add one can of beans and mash gently in the pan - I use a fork and mash the heck out of it. Add the second can of beans and the water and stir to combine. After the mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat to medium and let it simmer for about 10 minutes - it will start to thicken up.  Stir it every now and then so it doesn't burn.  Add the corn and cook for 2 more minutes.  Add the garlic powder.  Turn off the heat and add the cooked rice.

4.  Fill up the burritos and wrap.  I have a son with a dairy allergy, so we leave out the cheese from the middle and sprinkle it on top.  I also have a daughter with a wheat allergy, so hers is put in a corn tortilla. 

These are done and can be quickly heated up when it is time to eat.  We serve it with salsa, avocado, and my oldest daughter likes sour cream.  Additionally, these may be frozen - I wrap them in tin foil individually and then put them in freezer bags.  Just pull them out of the freezer and heat!  I love having a stash of these in the freezer.  My husband also takes them to work.

We also love Ham and Cheese Braid (you can put really anything inside the middle).  This can be made ahead of time and is quite portable.

Good luck to all of you soccer moms out there!  Please stop by Ducks in a Row and say HI!

Fit Fridays - Let's Run!

Who is up for a challenge?

Let's run in May! The weather is finally getting better.   I'm challenging myself and you to run 50 miles this month.  It's totally do-able and I find that it is always easier to run when I am working towards something.  Listen, my husband works 60+ hours/week and is out of the house around 6am.  My kids are still little and I just can't leave them to go for a run.   I make it a priority, and if I can do it so can you!   I track my miles on my sidebar ----------->

and I use dailymile.com.  Let's cheer each other on!  Use #50milesinmay on instagram, or check in by leaving a comment here.  Don't leave me to run by myself, please. If you go for a Sunday walk - count it.  If you walk to school, count it!  Get the miles in and I think it will go faster than you think!

So, what do you think?  Are you in?