Steph's Spring Break in Broken Bow OK

So here's the deal on Spring Break. It's either your best friend or your worst enemy. You're either yay  a mini summer look how much fun we're having! Or you're all oh my gosh, we aren't going to make it. There's also the Spring Break pressure to consider. Are we going out of town? Do I have the energy for that? If we stay home am I a bad mom? Everyone else is going out of town. If I stay home does that make me lazy? Say you chose to stay home. Well now you have to fill the time. Seven days full of time. That's something to think about. 

Now don't get me wrong. I really do enjoy school breaks. I love summer, Christmas break, Thanksgiving, long weekends. I generally enjoy them all. I like it when my kids are home. There's an inherent feeling of vacation when we don't have to be up. dressed and out the door by 7 a.m. Plus the lunch situation. Oh my gosh not having to make lunches at 6:30 in the morning is the best! The kids buy cheese pizza at school on Friday's and every Friday I love it because I kind of feel like I'm getting away with something a little bit. Buh bye I didn't make your lunch! Anyway I digress. We just finished up our Spring Break and this year we did in fact go out of town. We usually don't, we stay home and do fun local stuff. The kids enjoy museums and indoor obstacle courses. I try to make Spring Break feel a little bit special when we stay home, just for fun and also so that we don't kill each other. 

We decided to take the advice of some friends and head up to Broken Bow Oklahoma. None of us had ever been and I had heard lots of good things about the Beavers Bend National Park, the cabins that are available to rent and just the general experience of "getting away". So we rented a cabin with some friends and headed north. If you've never vacationed with friends here is my advice. Choose wisely. We have vacationed with this family before and have a great time. Between the two families we have 8 children with my 11 year old as the oldest and my friend's 21 month old twins ending the party train. We rented a very large cabin. There were a lot of bodies. We love this other family and we know each other very well. That's super helpful. If you don't know each other before you go, you'll certainly know each other after you've spent the vacay in close quarters.

We stayed in the Turning Leaf cabin that we rented through Beavers Bend Getaways. It was a lovely and very spacious. The yard was awesome, everybody had a bed to sleep in, the cabin was clean with a fully equipped kitchen and game room. Our biggest complaint about the cabin itself was that it was right off the main road. There was a surprising amount of traffic so the noise from the cars took away from the "mountain getaway" feel. Entrance to the state park was free and we found some awesome hiking trails, fishing spots, and lake wading areas. Now doing all of those things with 8 children 2 of which are twins is not easy. Plus it was chilly and rainy our first day there. The town of Broken Bow does not have much to offer and also don't go grocery shopping at the Walmart. They don't have groceries. Go to Pruitt's, they have everything you need. 

If you love to fish the trout fishing was great. If you own a boat you'll have a blast. There's a 16 mile loop hike that was wonderfully marked and while we only enjoyed 2 of the 16 miles (hello, 8 children) the hike was fun with great views. You can rent, canoe's, kayaks, paddle boards, mountain bikes and go horse back riding. We didn't do any of those things. We collected a lot of rocks and sticks. built a campfire every night, ate a lot of smore's, cooked a lot of food, and played outside from sun up to sun down. I don't know that I'll go back to Broken Bow but I'm definitely glad we went. It was a different, accessible vacation that got us outside doing new things. 

I think people love it because it really does allow for time just to be together. The cell phone service was spotty so we were hardly on our phones at all and we didn't really interact with anyone other than each other. My kids are still pretty young and we spend A LOT of time together as a family. A. Lot. We play outside, we play board games, we talk about everything. People in my house talk all of the time. Seriously they  never stop talking. So we didn't really need that kind of "get away" to spend quality time together but maybe as they get older and the teen years start to pull them away from home we'll need it more. Plus I am not a laid back person. Going up to a cabin and hanging out is not really my idea of a good time. I don't like to sit around unless I have a book and when there are 8 children in there house there is little to no reading. When I go out of town I like planned activities, I like to see stuff and try things. Which is why I think the hiking and lake exploring was my favorite part. Also the smore's, I'm a huge fan of smore's. 

I Think I've Found Something Awesome - Stace

I've been kind of struggling with life and I wanted to find something just for me, other than reading, that I could do. This was hard because I have a two and a half year old basically glued to my hip. I'm also not miss athletic so putting her in the stroller and like going for a run isn't an enjoyable time for me. My favorite is to just be at home on my couch. One could call me a couch potato and I don't know that I would be offended. My husband suggested that maybe I need to change up my routine a bit and thought maybe walks by myself that could either be for exercise or just a nice stroll might help. Get out of the house, and off the couch; The idea wasn't horrible. Alone with my thoughts and music. The problem is the only way I could walk alone was when Jared was home and I wanted something that I could do whenever and not have it based around other peoples schedule.

And then a very strange thought popped in my head. Coloring! Its a fairly cheap hobby, especially for a novice like me and adult coloring books have become pretty popular. When I was a kid, I used to love those velvet color posters. They were the coolest! I got online and started looking at adult coloring books and found that there were a ton and I got pretty excited but the more I looked the more overwhelmed I got. The covers of some of the coloring books said things like "stress relieving" or "relaxing". I was not relaxing; I was stressing out! The adult coloring books are hardcore and I'm not hardcore about anything. I already felt weird about wanting to color so I didn't want to just use my children's coloring books or a coloring book that they would want. And this is when it gets embarrassing. I looked up adult coloring books by number. Yep. It happened and oh they exist my friends! I went to Walmart the next day bought me some colored pencils and ordered my adult coloring book by number.

I wanted the color by number to obviously tell me what to do and to help my imagination expand and to start thinking like an "artist". I want to get comfortable trying new colors and schemes before going to more hardcore things. I haven't been coloring for even a week but already I'm enjoying it so much. It gives me a sense of satisfaction, like I'm accomplishing something. Maybe its silly (ok it is) but I don't care. Its exactly what I was looking for. I can work on it while my kids eat or play. It can be a little frustrating to have to stop sometimes but I don't let it become an issue. I like that I have something just for me and that I can do it basically whenever I want to and not have it depend on other people. I like that I'm "creating" something beautiful. Eventually I will move beyond adult color by number but I'm in no rush. Its my thing I can go at any pace I want and right now I'm just taking it easy. I don't want it to turn into something stressful or frustrating that would defeat the purpose. Ultimately my goal is to get to the Harry Potter coloring books, you know that's right, but until then I'm just taking my sweet time and enjoying myself.

Steph's Sweet and Sour Chicken

So some of the people in my house are notoriously picky eaters. They like what they like and are not willing to branch out. I do not support that attitude and am constantly trying new recipes. Much to my children's disappointment. The other tricky thing is that they all want to eat different kinds of foods. My oldest is a steak and potatoes girl. My son only wants pizza and pb&j, and my youngest would eat breakfast food all day everyday. I do my best to incorporate things they each enjoy as often as possible, mostly because I get sick of listening to them complain about what I cook. But sometimes I get lucky and stumble across a recipe that everyone loves! Sweet and Sour Chicken is just such a recipe. I feel good about it because it is one of the only ways my very skinny and nearly vegetarian son will eat chicken, plus we get some rice in them and they will also eat broccoli or peas with it. It's easy to follow but does take a little bit of forethought as it has to cook in the oven for 45 min. Give it a try, we highly recommend it. The original recipe came from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, thanks Mel.

YIELD: SERVES 4-6

Note: if you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients – pour half over the chicken and follow the recipe instructions; pour the other half in a small saucepan and cook the sauce on the stovetop at a simmer for 8-10 minutes until it reduces and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken:
• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup canola, vegetable or coconut oil
Sauce:
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you want the sauce)
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

DIRECTIONS

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1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken.
3. Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until very hot and rippling. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet.
4. Cook for 20-30 seconds on each side until the crust is golden but the chicken is not all the way cooked through (this is where it's really important to have a hot skillet/oil). Place the chicken pieces in a single layer in a 9X13-inch baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
5. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce. Serve over hot, steamed rice

Why Does Life Gotta Be So Hard - Stace

I have not been happy the last few weeks, well months really, and I couldn't figure out why. I'm not awesome at self evaluation or reflection and just kind of go through my day to day life being like yeah that annoys me...so does that....oh that's real annoying...I'm annoyed...I'm annoyed...I'm...ANNOYED! I let things build and truthfully I don't know how to not do that because I'm not even aware of it. I'm going a long mildly bothered with people (people being my children and spouse) to completely losing it and not wanting to be around any of them because I'm so done with them. So pleasant.

Last week I went on a trip ALONE to visit an old college roommate. It was the first time since having a child that I've traveled by myself and let me tell you it was just glorious. My husband asked me what my favorite part of my trip was. I had a lot of things to choose from. I was in Pennsylvania so obviously we went to Hershey's Chocolate World, we ate out which is always a favorite, she has adorable little cats and you all know how I feel about cats! Not to mention I was finally with a friend that I had not seen in about 6 years. I told him that obviously other then being with my dear friend my favorite part was the freedom. We came and went as we pleased. Yes we had tentative schedules everyday to be sure and get all the things done we wanted to do in the few short days I was there. But we could just leave. There was no making sure anyone ate or went to the bathroom no making sure I had diapers and wipes in my purse just in case or extra snacks. No worrying about the time so CurlyGirl could get her nap or so that I wouldn't be late getting BuddyBoy from school. We just walked right out the door.

Every night I was there we stayed up talking most of the time it was just laughing and being ridiculous, but sometimes we had some pretty deep self reflecting conversations. And because I finally had the chance to just step away from my life for a bit I could step back and see what some of my troubles were. Ever since I was a teenager I've dreamed of having a family of my own. A husband and children and being a stay at home mom. That may sound old fashioned and feminists might be cringing but that is what I wanted. I've never been a particularly ambitious person. I've never had a drive to do something amazing or had a dream career that I wanted to work toward. I've simply just wanted a family. At 22 I got married and started my family. Now I'm 29 and unhappy with my life.

I think things changed for me when we decided not to have anymore children. It was a prayerful and thought out choice and we both felt like it was the right thing for us. And by decided not to have more children I mean my husband got a vasectomy decided to not have more children. Like I said we were both very happy with that decision but when it happened it became very real. I'm not going to be pregnant ever again. There is going to be no other addition to my family. I've been married for 7 years have a kindergartner and a two and a half year old and that's all. I've realized that my life has suddenly become about everyone else. I've heard women say that after they got married or had their kids they lost themselves and I did not understand that because for me that was the dream! And I didn't think that I really had anything to lose. I'm an introvert, a home body. My favorite is to be alone and read or watch my shows. Going on a random play date to try and meet people is my nightmare. But I understand now. I've realized my books aren't enough I need more in my life I just don't know what.

Going on that trip changed a lot of things for me. It made me realize that I need to do more for myself. That I'll be a happier person if I do more things that make me happy but truly I need the time to figure out exactly what that is. I'm selfish. Part of me wants to go back to Pennsylvania and be roommates with my friend again. But then of course I'm home and think 'oh I'm so grateful I'm here for the Literary Festival' or just the fun one on one time me and CurlyGirl have because I know that time is coming to a close.

My husband is important. We are not just spouses but best friends and working to stay that way can be both really hard and incredibly easy. My children are important I don't think love is a strong enough word to express my feelings for them, it goes so much deeper then that. But you know what? I'm important and I need to find things that will make me happy. Its going to be hard to find the balance of doing things for me and being a good wife and mother but that's something I need to do right now. I need to feel okay about myself and my life. I hate knowing that it's my problem the child in me wants to point the finger and say "No, this is your fault you fix it!" But no. This is my deal and while I have no idea what I'm going to do exactly I've already started to feel better knowing that I'm the one who needs the change I'm the one who can control it.