Short Hiatus

Sorry I haven't been around in the last week. I have been super busy..getting my house back in order after being gone for a few days and editing photos. Plus, I just got hired for a couple more design projects. So, I'm going to have to put Creatively Homemaking on hold for a little bit. I'm not exactly sure how long..maybe just a few days until I can get caught up on everything. I just don't have enough hours in the day to take care of a 9 month old, be a helpful wife, keep a household running smoothly, complete photo and design projects AND maintain this blog. But I'll be back soon..don't give up on me! In the meantime, check out the blogs listed to the right. They are very helpful. They offer way more advice and knowledge than I ever could.

Until nextime...

A Recipe for Ya

Sorry it's been a week since my last post. My sister got married this past weekend so we were away for a few days. Since I haven't even unpacked my suitcase or checked my mail since we got home last night, I thought I'd just start off the week with an easy recipe. This is one of my favorite things to make because it's so yummy and easy. And people always ask for the recipe so I thought I'd share it! Enjoy!!

Larra's Easy Enchiladas

1 lb ground meat
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can Wolf Chili (with or without beans, your choice)
1 half can of water
10 tortillas
8 oz Velveeta Cheese
Shredded cheese

Brown and season meat. Mix enchilada sauce, chili, and water in a bowl. Cut Velveeta into strips. Roll a spoonful of meat and a few strips of Velveeta into a tortilla and place in a 9x13 dish. Arrange all 10 tortillas this way in the dish. (You can usually fit 8 along the length of the pan and 2 down the side.) Cover the tortillas with the sauce/chili mixture and cover that with as much shredded cheese as you like. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Super quick and easy..and soo yummy!!

Guess What I Got Today!!

2 rebate checks! That's right! I sent off for 2 rebates on a cleaning product and a baby bottle. So I got them both for free! And I got $8 in the mail today. That may not sound like a lot but it is when it makes them completely free products! I will definitely be filling out any and all rebate forms I come across. Have you had luck with rebates? Are there any that you've sent off for and never got the rebate check in the mail?

MomAgenda

Last December, we were strolling the streets of downtown Boerne, Tx with some friends. I love little towns like Boerne..little boutiques and shops pulling you in, making you dream of owning your own stationery shop. (is that just my dream?) Anyways..we walked into this stationery store that I could have spent HOURS in. I love stationery...every shape and form. If you don't know, I design my own. Anyways, as I browsed the tables and shelves, I stumbled across the MomAgenda. I was so impressed with first of all, the cuteness of them, but more importantly, their function. They help mothers line out their day based on what they need to accomplish, but also with their kids' activities. Plus, there's room for organizing the home, etc. At the time, I loved it, but knew I didn't need it because I was only pregnant then..didn't even have a child to use the whole bottom half of the planner for. And still, I only have an 8 month old..don't really need something like that.

But as I was browsing on the web today, I found out that MomAgenda lets you download almost the whole planner for free! You can print the sheets and stick them in your home management notebook! How cool is that! I would still love to have a real mom agenda..but until I can afford one, this is a great substitute. Just wanted to share the love with you all! Happy Downloading!

AMAZING Giveaway

For all of you organizers out there, I have to tell you about an amazing giveaway. I can already picture a few people in my mind who will be jumping all over this! Vanilla Joy is giving away the Minibox by The Original Scrapbox. I'm not going to post pictures..you're going to have to follow the links yourself and go check out how amazing this thing is! And to enter the contest.

I know why I need this...you know I LOVE organizing. And I have a small home. My home office is as organized as I can get it right now, but this would help out tremendously. My photography business supplies take up all of my file drawers, so my scrapping paper and supplies are shoved in tubs under the guest bed and in the closet. I have to dig to get them out when I want to make birthday cards and such. I would literally be in heaven with the Minibox.

So head on over to Vanilla Joy to enter the contest. This is a great website with lots of family fun activities. You'll probably find more great things on this site than just registering for this giveaway.

Good luck, but I hope I win :)

Perfection?

Sorry it's been a while..we had another hurricane to deal with.

Last night there was NOTHING on tv, so we were watching Wife Swap. If you've ever seen it before, you know its ridiculous most of the time. They choose 2 extemes and have them switch families. A lot of times its Christians vs Satan Worshippers. Or drill sgt mothers vs mothers with no rules at all. Last night's episode was similar to that...one mother's home was literally PERFECT and her children spent all their waking hours doing chores. The other mother had no respect from her children and her home was a pig sty. It was nasty. As I was watching, it made me think. The first home looked so bland and cold. It was so spotless and perfect and the children had no fun in the home. Not a fun place to live. I wondered if there are really homes like that. How do you have children in a home and expect it to look like that all the time?

I don't want anyone that reads this blog to get the idea that my home is spotless and perfect all the time. I bet all the authors of homemaking blogs would want you to know the same thing. I don't have a perfect home because we LIVE in our home. We have fun in our home, we play with our child in our home, and we leave his toys out (because its not worth cleaning them up every 5 minutes when he loses interest..he's 8 months old!) I don't even make our bed everyday bc no one even goes into our bedroom during the day.

Yes, I like a clean home and an organized home. But there's a huge difference in clean and organized..and insanity. Being a good homemaker does not mean slaving over cleaning your house all day. There's way more important things than a spotless home. How will your children remember you? As the mother who read to them, shared Jesus with them, got on the floor and played with them..or the mother who was frazzled all day as she ran from room to room scrubbing floors with a toothbrush?

Did anyone else see the show last night? Also, is anyone trying to find that balance between having a clean home but being ok with it not being perfect? I would love to hear your stories!

It Finally Came!

I started signing up for free samples a few weeks back and have been waiting patiently. Everyday I run to my mailbox and get so excited, hoping to find a surprise waiting for me. And today, I FINALLY got my first sample. It took a few weeks (and they say it will take 4-6 weeks so I should have known)..but I was just hoping it would be sooner. It was like Christmas morning for me, ripping open the Walmart box. This is what I got.

A 2-pack of the Cascade Complete tabs and a Extra Power Magic Eraser. Plus some coupons for those products. That's 2 loads of dishes for free! Plus a lot of scrubbing, oh how I love me some magic erasers!

If you haven't already been signing up for Walmart's free samples, do it now! Here! You can sign up for each product once and they change the products out often so you can get a good variety of stuff. I even sign up for stuff that I don't need (like Rogaine and Benefiber) because I can always donate items or give them to people that need them. I've got some great samples on their way to me including tampons, Gain, and more! I can't even remember what all I've signed up for so its going to be like Christmas all the time. Also, HERE is another great site to get free samples from. Happy Sampling!