Coconut Oil Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Chip Cookies

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Coconut Oil Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Chip Cookies with Walnuts

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If you love everything Pumpkin Spice, try these Oatmeal Cookies with Pumpkin Spice Chips. I used gluten-free baking flour, but you can use all-purpose flour. The coconut oil was a great binding agent with the eggs. I was pleased with the texture of these cookies.

 

You will need to factor in the chill time with your prep time. I chilled my cookie dough for 15 minutes after forming into balls and placing on the cookie sheets.

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Coconut Oil Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Chip Cookies with Walnuts

This is a versatile Oatmeal Cookie. I used gluten-free baking flour, and I added walnuts. These ingredients are optional. This is a tasty cookie that uses Pumpkin Spice Chips.

Course Dessert
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 11 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Servings 24 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1/2 C Melted Coconut Oil
  • 1/2 C Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 C Granulated Sugar
  • 2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 C Steel Cut Oats not quick cook oats
  • 1 C All Purpose Flour I used Gluten Free Baking Flour
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 3/4 C Shredded Coconut Flakes I used unsweetened
  • 1 C Pumpkin Spice Chips You can substitute chocolate chips
  • 1/3 C Chopped Walnuts (optional)
  • Coarse Sea Salt for Sprinkling on Top

Instructions

  1. In a mixing bowl or stand mixing bowl, combine the melted coconut oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Add the egg and mix until smooth.

  2. In a medium-size bowl, mix the steel-cut oats, flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix gently with a fork or whisk. Add slowly to the wet ingredients and mix on medium speed. Stir in Pumpkin Spice Morsels and chopped walnuts.

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  3. Using a large spoon, scoop the cookie dough and roll into a ball. Place on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Space them 1 to 1.5 inches apart. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes to harden the coconut oil.

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  4. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Bake cookies to 10 to 11 minutes. You want the edges to be slightly brown. The tops do not need to be brown. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before placing on wire baking racks to cool. They will be crunchy when they are completely cool.

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Recipe Notes

You can change several elements of this recipe. I wanted a gluten-free cookie, so I used Gluten-Free Steel Cut Oats and Gluten-Free Baking Flour. These cookies are not overly sweet. You can use chocolate chips to make a different cookie, and you can omit the walnuts. cookies-6 Recipe adapted from Life Made Simple  

Routines with Young Children

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Getting Organized:

In your home and homeschool
Dear Friends,

Is it Thursday already? This week has felt different for me with the various challenges that we have had. My routines have been a comfort. Several of you have emailed me and encouraged me this week.

One question I had this week was about establishing routines with small children at home. This is one of my favorite things to talk about because I lived that life for a long time.

When you have little ones at home with you all day, you feel like you are the ringmaster of a 3-ring circus. You are directing your children and trying to tame the chaos around you.

Start with establishing a firm Before Bed Routine for yourself and the children. Have a consistent bedtime and lead into bedtime with the same routine.

Right after dinner once you have done the dishes and shined the sink, check the calendar, the weather, and lay out your clothes and help the children lay out their clothes. You will want to also include shoes and socks for each person. Hunting for lost shoes and socks in the morning sets your day off on the wrong foot. (Pun intended)

Put things at your Launch Pad that you and the children will need. Include them if you can. They can carry stuff to the Launch Pad. By keeping them with you, you are preventing them from making more messes.

Then have time set aside for playing, reading, and picking up toys. This can be as long as you want it to be.

Get their pajamas out and have bath time. This should signal a quieter part of your evening. Brush teeth and tuck them in bed.

If you get this routine down pat, then you are ready to work on another routine. If your husband is home in the evenings, work together on the evening routine. If you have activities outside of the house once in a while in the evenings, do an abbreviated evening routine.

I will repeat this one thing. Keep your children close to you while doing routines. It will teach them the routines, and it will keep them from making more messes.

Today’s Zone Mission is to put away all of the laundry and anything else that does not belong in your room.

Your Home Blessing for today is to declutter paper and magazines.

My menu plan for Thursday is chicken and a salad for me and corn dogs for the boys.

Have a great day!

Basic Routines Without Power

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Dear Friends,
When a storm moves through a rural community, it sometimes takes extra time to restore services. The tornado that came through our area on Monday night left many people without power, including our household. It may take a couple of days to get power back on at our house.

Last night, we used our battery backup unit for a few things, and we played Monopoly by candlelight. We made it an adventure and had fun instead of complaining about the lack of power.

We went to bed with it very dark in the house. We used flashlights and candles to do our before bed routine. I was especially thankful for my headlamp. That made my tasks a little easier to do.

We brushed our teeth quickly and used water bottles to rinse the toothbrushes. We went to bed in a very dark house. No power and no moonlight means that it is quite dark out in the country.

On Tuesday morning, we still did not have power. I got ready to go run at the Y by using my headlamp to guide my way to pack my essential items. On the way there, I noticed that there were many people and businesses without power.

The Y had power, but there were not many people working out early in the morning. I had a nice treadmill run and a warm shower afterwards. When I was leaving, they had coffee ready. It was a blessing to have access to these amenities!

After talking to my husband about the lack of power, we decided to visit my mom. She lives in the city, and her power had been restored. So we had another blessing of the day!

We are enjoying playing games with my mom and talking about the food we might fix later today at her house. More blessings!

Eventually, we will go back home and check on things. I know in the scheme of things this is just a little inconvenience. My basic routines will get done. My zone missions will wait until another day. I can take care of my Home Blessings when the power is back on. I am not stressed out about any of this. I am thankful for the large and small blessings of the week.

Your Zone Mission today is to declutter in your closet for 15 minutes.

Your Home Blessing for today is to wipe your windows and mirrors.

My menu plan for Wednesday is pasta, but that may change depending on our situation with power.

Have a great day!

Are you prepared for an emergency?

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Dear Friends,

During our evening meal tonight, our phones received notifications that we were under a tornado warning. These were the kinds of warnings that make your phone go off really loud even if it is on silent.

We could see the wind and rain picking up. My husband noticed a swirling motion going through the tops of the trees. We have had many storms come through here over the years, and this was a loud storm and violent storm.

Our power flickered, and then it went off. We finished eating, and we put our dishes in the sink to soak. The storm passed, and the rain stopped. Our 16 year old took the car to check on the status of our dirt road. We live pretty far off of the main road, and we are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance.

He came back with pictures of three or four really large pine trees that had fallen across our road and another road. No one was hurt. No houses were near where the trees fell. In the picture above, the road we drive on is under all of those trees.

Neighbors starting showing up. These trees belonged to another neighbor, but we all worked together to get both roads cleared off. We had men show up with chain saws. Someone went home and brought a back hoe.

The road is clear now, and we are back in our snug little house. We do not have power, but I think there are a lot of people without power. I have enough battery power on my laptop to write this, and I have a battery back up on my modem for my internet.

Last month, we had a watch in place for a hurricane. I bought batteries, bottled water, extra hand sanitizer, and candles. All of this is quite handy tonight. I have on my running headlamp to do this writing.

Tomorrow we can assess where we are. We do know that a big tree limb is sitting on one of our electric lines. I will be calling them about that. Right now, I can’t get a call into them, and they have an automated system that tells us they are working to restore power.

We are grateful that no one was hurt. We are grateful that we had lot of people come out and help us with the trees. It is amazing to see how people pull together in adversity.

Tomorrow, I might be looking for a coffee place to a good cup of coffee, power to charge my laptop and phone, and free Wi-Fi. For now, I am just happy I could put this article together.

If you do not have some emergency preparedness items, you should make sure you have some of the basics covered. I am glad I did some prepping last month.

You can see more pictures that I uploaded to my Facebook page. If you have not LIKED my author page, go ahead and do that while you are there. I do a Live Facebook video each morning during the week. Not sure if that will happen on Tuesday, but I will see what I can do in the morning.

Your Zone Mission today is to declutter items from one dresser drawer.

Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.

My menu plan for Tuesday is chicken or take out if we don’t have power. Worst case scenario is that my freezers thaw, and we have to start grilling the meat that is in the freezer. Tomorrow might be interesting.

Have a blessed day!

Life is More than Check Off Boxes

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Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

Dear Friends,
Over the weekend, we attended two family reunions and a youth activity at our church. We had a wonderful time visiting and catching up with family and friends. As I sat down to write you today, I was struck with the thought that life is about relationships. Life is not just check off boxes and completing lists.
The reason why The FlyLady system works so well for me is that it includes time for me to have fun with my family. By using my routines, my basic weekly Home Blessings, and my short decluttering sessions during the week, my Saturdays are free for fun activities.
You feel successful when you get to check off boxes. I understand that. I like it, too. Just be aware that you don’t have to check boxes off 7 days a week. I see posts on social media where you push the Home Blessings or big decluttering projects to Saturday.
Take a look at your basic weekly plan. Can you set aside 30 minutes per day? This would give you time to do one Weekly Home Blessing, declutter in the zone of the week, and keep the laundry moving along.
Can you work on your basic routines each day? Keep your routines short and sweet. Your Morning Routine should not take all morning. Move it along. Resist the urge to spend much time on the computer or your phone in the morning. Do your routine first, and then reward yourself with 15 minutes to check email or social media.
Have a regular time for lunch, so you can lead right into your afternoon routine. Again, it should not take all afternoon to do this routine. You get distracted, and then you find it’s time to get dinner on the table. Your afternoon routine does not get completed.
If you have young children, I know these routines will take you a bit longer. Do your best. Some of you struggle with a shower each day. I remember that this is just a season of life. Many years ago, I had to take my shower when my husband was home to watch the little ones. If your husband travels, get your shower when the kids are asleep.
Start your Before Bed Routine right after dinner. Do everything except washing your face and brushing your teeth. You can do those two things right before you go to bed. You can put on your pajamas whenever you feel like it after dinner.
When you keep your routines simple and consistent, you will have time for the fun stuff, too. During the fall and winter, I play more board games with the boys in the evenings because it gets dark earlier. I am able to do this because I try to keep my routines simple and in place.
How are you doing with having fun with your family?
Your Zone Mission today is to declutter the Master Bedroom for 15 minutes.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wash sheets.
My menu plan for Monday is chicken pie and a salad.
Have a great day!

Breaking the Silence

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Dear Friends,

In the days since I wrote my post as a Prodigal Parent, I have heard from many of you. If you have a prodigal child, you often feel alone and isolated. You feel like YOU did something wrong. You don’t share with others for fear of judgement. You are NOT alone!

Most of you reading this know someone who has a prodigal child. The best thing you can do for them is to pray for them. You can offer them a listening ear. You can take them out for coffee. You can drop them a card in the mail. You can send them a text message. It helps so much just to know someone is praying for you.

There are so many things that can derail our children. We live in a world where you can carry so much temptation around with you in the form of a smart phone.

Christians struggle with the flesh. We are surrounded by images, drugs, alcohol, and pornography. Teens, young adults, and adults have a hard time fighting against these.

Some parents have lived for weeks, months, or years with prodigal children away from home. There is no set timeline. It is long and agonizing. Some parents do not even know where their children are. There are different things that cause children to leave home.

Parents of prodigals need love and support of their family and friends. If you have a friend in this situation, reach out to them. If you are in this position and don’t have anyone to talk to, find someone. You need someone to love and support with their prayers.

Break the silence. You do not have to go through this alone.

 

Siggie - Tami Fox

Reduce Your Holiday Stress; Start Your Holiday Missions Now

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Dear Friends,
The FlyLady started her Holiday Missions this week, and I wanted to share with you how it has helped me as a homeschool mom. I know some of you reading this are not quite ready to jump into Holiday Mode just yet.
In November and December, there are many activities to attend. In our area, there are teas, plays, parties, cookie exchanges, church activities, and family activities. The calendar can fill up fast! When you add the preparations for your own celebrations, you start to feel stressed and anxious about fitting it all in without dropping a ball.
If you start now with Holiday Planning and preparing a little at a time, you will feel much less stressed. You can download The FlyLady’s Holiday Journal from her site. It will help you have a central place to write down your notes and ideas.
This week I printed my journal, bought my Christmas card stamps, and bought my Christmas cards. I talked to my mother about Thanksgiving at her house. None of these were big tasks. But it will help me later to have these things done.
Next week, I can add in time in our school day for the boys to sign the Christmas cards, and I can start addressing them. I am making plans now for our Christmas picture that goes into the cards. Each year, we take this picture on Thanksgiving when we are all together. (For those with young adult children, you know how hard it is to get everyone together for a picture.)
During the week, I will also talk to my husband about our budget and start a list. Then I can start shopping. It helps our budget to spread the purchasing of gifts out over several weeks.
By doing these small things now, it helps me to be able to say, “Yes!” to those things I really want to do with my children. One of our traditions is to make cookies, and it is easy to fit in a day of baking when I have my cards done and gifts purchased.
It will help you enjoy the Holidays and activities more!
Today’s Zone Mission is to do a 15 minute room rescue anywhere in the house!

Your Home Blessing for today is to empty the trash, sweep, and mop.

My menu plan for Friday is venison for the boys, chicken and a salad for me.

Have a wonderful weekend!

FlyLady Tami

Are you finishing your To Do List?

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Dear Friends,

Thank you for your emails and discussions this week. One interesting note I read was about a To Do list. The reader does not have problems starting one, but she finds that she procrastinates when she gets to the end of the list.

My best advice on your To Do list daily is to keep it short, and then you will experience the feeling of being successful in completing it. She was fearful that she was not going to know what to do when she completed the list. She had security in knowing she had things to do.

Keep a Master To Do List with your Control Journal. This can be a list that you add to and mark off, but it is always there. Each day, read over the list and pick parts of some of the items on the Master List. Limit yourself to 3 small projects from the Master List.

When I am writing a book, I will have Book on my Master List. Then, I will pick something to work on for the book as a daily goal, such as write Chapter 10. Later in the process, it might be to edit Chapter 10. If I am doing a room project, I might have the room name written down, and then smaller projects listed under the room title. When I do my daily list, I pick one of those things to do.

My daily projects stay around 15 minutes, but they can be larger and take 30 or 45 minutes. They do not take all day. I cannot budget all day to a project because my routines will fall to the side.

Your perfectionism wants you to do it all at once. You have been doing it this way for years and breaking it down into small steps feels strange to you. You can do it! It takes small, consistent steps.

Where do you flounder with your To Do List?
Today’s Zone Mission is to do  15 minute room rescue anywhere in the house.

Your Home Blessing for today is to declutter paper and magazines.

My menu plan for Thursday is chicken and a salad.

Have a great day!

Let’s Declutter Some Paper Today

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Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool

 

Dear Friends,
As we have entered the third week of the month, tell me how you are doing decluttering paper daily. I have received emails and comments from many of you who have implemented this routine into your day.
Decluttering paper is a necessary habit for us. If we do not declutter paper regularly, it will take over our homes. Papers cause some of you emotions. Papers cause some of you to make decisions on what to do with it. Some of you are paralyzed when it comes to getting rid of papers.
What should you keep?
What should you toss?
Will I ever need it again?
Will my kids want to have their papers when they grow up?
I need to make a decision, so I should keep this paper.
Meanwhile, you have papers you have been holding onto for months.
I want you to take a deep breath, set your timer for 15 minutes, and start dealing with your paper stacks.

Really try to take action with one piece of paper at a time.

Trash it or shred it.

File it. (Set up files if you don’t have anything set up.)

Make that call if needed.

Decide how to handle your children’s school papers. You are not obligated to keep every piece of paper your children produce. Keep what is necessary for state laws for homeschoolers. Keep some sentimental papers. Share their artwork and writing with others. Then, whatever is left, toss it in the trash.

While you are decluttering paper, keep telling yourself to let it go. Having a lot of paper in your files is not your security. You will be decluttering paper for the rest of your life. Even in a digital age, we produce a lot of paper.

Keep practicing this habit. Write it down on your daily schedule. This habit will also help you if you struggle with keeping up with your bills because you will be going through your mail daily. Set up a file or envelope to put bills as they arrive. Make a note for bills that are on auto-pay. Make a note for statements that you receive electronically.
I want you to have cleared flat surfaces and no piles of papers sitting around your house. You can do it!

Your Zone Mission today is to detail clean the shower or tub.

Your Home Blessing for today is to wipe your windows and mirrors.

My menu plan for Wednesday is Turkey Pie and a salad. (The pie is a freezer meal I made previously.)

Have a great day!

Decluttering and Avoiding Burn Out

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Dear Friends,

Are any of you feeling burned out? As a homeschool mom, you have a lot of things you do in a day. When you start decluttering, do you keep it quick and easy?

In reading some of your emails and seeing posts on Facebook, I have noticed that many of you feel like you are accomplishing your decluttering only if you make a bigger mess and spend hours doing it.
There is a better way to declutter. You can declutter in small, consistent steps and be successful. Your perfectionism wants you to dump everything and sort through it at one time. This leads you to burn out.

During the late summer and early fall, I have tackled large home projects, and I work on them in small steps. I cannot spend 8 hours making a huge mess to clean up again. If you find out you have to move and downsize in a short amount of time, you would need to declutter deeply and quickly. Most of you are not in this situation, so don’t make your decluttering projects a huge event.

Yesterday, I dropped off this week’s donations from my decluttering. It was not a huge amount of stuff, but it was nice to get it dropped off. You do not have to fill your vehicle to go to the donation center. A small box of donations a week will make a difference, too.

If your children need to declutter in their rooms, you need to help them break it down and assist them. You need to give them a specific goal for decluttering, such as clear off a dresser or get everything up from the floor. If they need to declutter the closet, keep it short and sweet. Divide it into reasonable sections. Only have them work on one area at a time per day. Do not pile it on them either.

Decluttering can be quick and painless! Use your timer and set limits. If you set the timer and keep resetting it, you are spending too much time on decluttering at one time.

You can do it! Keep it short, sweet, and simple!

Your Zone Mission today is to declutter under the bathroom sink.

Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.

My menu plan for Tuesday is leftovers.
Have a blessed day!