My Raisin Family

Hey Guys! So Christmas is the day after tomorrow (as I am writing this), so this post is all about what we got the kids for Christmas! Our kids are 14, 13, 11 and 9 so they are not interested in toys as such. We also just came back from a 2 week holiday so that was the main family present. So we only got the kids 2 gifts each from us. They do get more from grandparents and friends so I don't feel bad for not getting them a lot of things. I'll start with a family gift. We wanted to get something that will get not only the kids outside playing, but us parents as well. So this set was perfect! 8 in 1 sports set Lyss's gifts include a new phone and a bullet journal with a couple of pens that were recommended. She has not been having a great time with her current phone (her Dad's old one) so we decided to spend up and get her a decent new phone. This Oppo AX5S is the one we chose because it ticked all the boxes and the price was pretty good. It is a...

Hey Everyone! As a busy mum with kiddos who have after school activities most of the week, planning and prepping meals is a big part of my week.  At this point, my son has futsal games on Monday and Tuesday late afternoon, and futsal training on Monday and Wednesday straight after school. Speech therapy is also straight after school on Tuesdays.  My youngest daughter also has gymnastics straight after school on Wednesday and Friday. So making sure I have meals prepped (for the most part at least) is really important for us to keep to our routines. Here are some tips I have picked up in my journey of feeding my family on a budget! Tip #1: Pre-cook your mince, chicken breast etc. We eat a few meals that use mince as the base (tacos, spag bol, savoury mince etc) and in order to make the most of my time in the kitchen, throwing a couple of kilos of mince in the pan or putting some chicken breast in the slow cooker takes little effort. Freeze in ziplock freezer b...

Hey Everyone! Welcome back to Meal Plan Monday! Most of these meals I have tips on saving time in the kitchen on another post, so keep an eye out for that in the next couple of weeks! Snacks for the week include: Popcorn Yoghurt Fresh Fruit Muffins (with sneaky fruit and veg) Homemade muesli bars Lunches have been a bit different lately because we have not really been having sandwiches. The kids are really not liking them at the moment so we have moved to having things like mac and cheese, ham and cheese scrolls and leftover dinners. Having lunch boxes like  these  make it easy to have a variety of things in the lunch boxes. My kiddos tend to not eat a lot during the hot months, instead drinking a lot of water. This is why they only have one small portion of a main meal for lunch, a snack (usually home baked) and a piece of fresh fruit.  Afternoon tea items are usually something protein packed due to the fact that after school sports hav...

Hey Everyone! A couple of months ago, my thermomix started to not work very well (so not happy about this). I talked to the Thermomix Customer Service who said to send it in for a service and to get checked. I use my thermomix all the time, so if I was without one for so many days or weeks, I would definately feel it.  So we talked about it, prayed about it, and decided it was time for a new TM6! And.... I am still getting used to the new format in the TM6, but so far it has been AMAZING! As of Sunday night, I have made a couple of things apart from the delicious veggie stock paste the lovely consultant made with me at the time of delivery. As always, the thermomix custard is the easiest and most delicious custard recipe ever, as well as the basic muffin recipe on the guided cooking platform Cookidoo. The muffins were choc chip (having a special needs child in the house, foods can feel repetitive but neccessary at times), and the recipe said it would ma...

Hey Everyone! I thought I would change it up a bit with the meal plans and add in a grocery haul! This is not quite a weeks worth of meals and groceries, but it is enough to get us through (with some snacks for mumma!).  Here is an overview of what I bought: I did buy a few things for snacks that I don't normally purchase, and there are ingredients required for 3 dinners. The dinners we are having this week are (it is already Tuesday, so these will be for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday), Spaghetti Bolognese, Savoury Mince and Chicken Tonight and Rice. Tonight's dinner is Mac and Beef with Garlic Bread and veg.  The fruits I bought today are bananas (2 bunches), 3 punnets of strawberries, a bag of pink lady apples, and 3 avocados.  The items for snacks and school lunches are:  Mini Pretzels Baked Twists (Rasberry and Blueberry) Cruskits Vanilla Yoghurt Honey Ham Cheesy Peelers Twiggy Sticks Breakfast items: Milo Cereal ...

Hey Everyone! As my Essential Oil business is growing, I thought I would share with everyone our Essential Oil journey. We started out a few years ago, when a friend of mine helped me out with getting my daughter's sleep under control (still an on-going issue but with different underlying issues). I signed up but never really ordered anything else and never shared or anything. Until September last year. I have had issues with anxiety myself, my daughter was experiencing some separation anxiety and sleeping issues, plus I was getting headaches all the time. This is when I decided that I needed to do something to help myself and my family that wasn't going to do us more harm in the long run.  I already knew the oils work. I had seen that with my own eyes, so I ordered the Family Essentials Kit from doTerra and added a diffuser onto the order. Coming from someone who is pretty stingy, the cost was a fair amount. So I asked my husband if we could go ahead with the orde...

Hey Everyone! There has been a few things I got in June that really get a lot of use and I am really happy with, so I thought I would share! Okay, the first thing I have LOVED is a book called The Essential Life.  For those of you who are not familiar with essential oils, this is basically the essential oil bible. There are 6 sections in this book that go through an intro to oils, various ailments and which oils to use for each, what each essential oil is good for, focus areas such as children, nervous system, etc. This book also has recipes, DIY's and blends to make for gardening, pregnancy etc. I have used this book so much this last month, it now lives in the lounge room! Second item is a doTerra essential oil blend called Peace. For those of you that know me, I get very anxious in certain situations, so when I ordered the Peace essential oil and started diffusing it, I ordered the Peace Touch (it is the same oil, just in a roller bottle and diluted with Frac...

Hey everyone! We are 1 week in, of 3 weeks of school holidays. We are actually coasting through nicely at this point. We have had a few outings and activities that haven't cost anything so far which is really good on the pocket.  Today we had my Mother In Law over teaching the kids how to make beaded Christmas tree decorations. They loved it! It was a bit difficult for my 12 year old (she is developmentally delayed with a range of other issues) so I helped her a fair bit. My son, Knox, had a really good crack at it, didn't finish his but he was there for most of the time. My youngest and my oldest daughters both really enjoyed and finished theirs and they are both looking forward to making more! My mother in law had all of the stuff required to make these so they did not cost me anything and they got to spend some quality time with their grandparents!  Baking is also a really good, cheap school holiday activity. Spending time in the kitchen with your ki...

Hey Everyone! It has been a while, but Meal Plan Monday is back! It is the last week of school here before our winter break, so we have a few nights that we are out this week. However, there will be no takeaway meals here! I will be making use of my slow cooker for a few meals this week to make it easier on the budget. So let's get stuck in! Monday: Golden Curry with sausages (we have my son's futsal game right around dinner time) Tuesday: Slow cooker lasange (my daughter has a small performance for drama at school) Wednesday: Chicken tonight and rice (I am out for a church event) Thursday: Fish, chips and eggs (A night at home!) Friday: Pasta (my son is at Rangers) Saturday: Pies and chips Sunday: My mum is making something delicious that is yet to be decided! My youngest daughter also has gymnastics until 5.30 Wednesday and Friday, so the dinners are quick and easy ones! What is on your menu for this week? Thanks for read...

Hey Everyone! This week, for dinner, we are having: Monday: Spag bol Tuesday: Sausages and veg Wednesday: Chicken soup (my husband makes the best chicken and veg soup;) Thursday: Beef stoganoff and rice Friday: Pasta Saturday: Nuggets and chips Sunday: Minestrone soup with pasta I am out Wednesday night, so my husband will cook that. Usually with things like the soup, we will make it up earlier in the day and keep it warm until dinner time, so that we can focus on the kids when they get home from school. I will do the same on Thursday for the Beef Stroganoff. It is a freezer meal so I can make that any time between now and then so whenever I get a chance I will make it.  What is on the menu at your place this week? Thanks for reading! Jacqui xxx

Hey guys! Today I thought I would share with you my night routine as a mumma of 4 on a school night. These nights are always so busy especially when you add in the nights I am out for church stuff, or afternoons with kids at different activities.  But they all have these main things that I do every night to stay on top of things. First off, after the kids go to bed, I take some time for myself and either watch a couple of YouTube videos, or if there is a TV show on I like, I will sit in the lounge room and watch. This is my breather after making sure the kids have done what they need to do and getting a certain little monkey to sleep at night can take a while. Next is to get the kitchen done and the lunches made/planned for the next day. A lot of the time, my kids don't like to eat sandwiches at school, so I plan to make up some rice cakes or portion out some leftovers for their lunches. Cutting fruit is always done in the morning anyway to stop it from going b...

Hey Guys! When it comes to storing and sorting the kid's school uniforms, it seems we have FINALLY found what works for us! For those who don't know, we have 4 kiddos and my mum works at the kid's school as well, so her uniforms are also stored with the kid's uniforms.  Right next to my desk in the kid's playroom (pretty much only has Lego in it at the moment) we have a clothes rack. The only things that get put on the rack is school uniforms, shoes, the hair box (this keeps all the brushes, hair ties, head bands, etc. together in one place) and school socks.  So here is an overview of what the uniform rack looks like and then I will talk about the sections. We'll talk about hanging the uniforms first! Each person has their own colour coat hanger to make it easier for them to recognise which uniforms are theirs.  BB has pink. Knox has blue. TJ has purple. Liss has white.  Mum has black.  Yes, they are all mixed up at ...

Hey Guys! This is my absolute favourite kit to start with! It has EVERYTHING you need to start using your oils and taking back control of you and your family's wellbeing. Frankincense - The King of Oils, need I say more? Oregano and Tea Tree - AMAZING for winter time yuckies Digestzen - basically anything that causes burps, toots, etc, etc you need this ;) OnGuard - if you go outside and are around people... you want this on. Lavender - so many uses, not enough space... night time bliss zzzzzz Easy Air - like a chest rub... only better! Peppermint - I keep this on me at ALL times... this one wakes me up in the morning and says bye bye to head tension... (also REALLY good to bake with;) Lemon - what do we not use this for? There is good reason this was the first oil I ran out of. It goes in my homemade washing powder, is an anchor oil for my daughter, you can cook with it, and it makes a great cleaner! Ice Blue - whack this oil on b...

Hey everyone! If February was anything to go by, March is going to be a VERY busy month for us! This month I am planning on quite a few freezer meals, simple Thermomix recipes and loads of veggie packed dinners. Saving money is our goal this month, so I am starting March off with a freezer and pantry challenge. I have looked through my pantry and both of my freezers, and here are the list of meals I can make with what I have already! Chicken Pie (4 Ingredients One Pot One Bowl) Pies and veggies (a staple in our house) Savoury mince (another staple) Noodle pancakes, fish fingers and veg Golden Curry Sausages Other meals we will be making this month include: Spag Bol Honey Soy Chicken drumsticks and veggies Hot Dogs Homemade Pizza Scrambled Eggs with Fish and salad (weird combo I know but it's what works to get the kids eating) Macaroni Bake with veg (4 Ingredients One Pot One Bowl) Roast Beef Lasagna (4 Ingredients One Pot One Bowl) Taco Bake ( La...

Hey guys! This week I thought I would share with you my favourite essential oils and what we use them for! First up: Peppermint. I have always been prone to getting headaches since I was a kid, so keeping Peppermint in my keychain kit (which I do not leave the house without) is essential. This is diluted so it is safe to use at anytime. I simply wipe my finger across the top of the bottle and rub it onto my hairline at my temples. This really helps with the head tension. Whenever I do use the Peppermint oil, I also have a drink of water. Staying hydrated in the heat we are experiencing here at the moment is so important.  Next is On Guard. This a must when sending kiddos to school or anywhere they will come into contact with other kids. Once again, this is one of my keychain oils and goes with me wherever I go. It is diluted as well so it is safe to use on the kiddos. I put this on the kids before they leave for school. Especially after my daughter came hom...

Hey Guys! I have seen and tried quite a few meatloaf recipes and while they were nice, not everyone in the family was impressed. So I made one of my own. To be sure this was the meatloaf recipe for our family, we tried it out a few times and it works! My whole family loves it and sometimes we make mini meatloaves for the lunch boxes as well! So here it is! 1kg beef mince 1 egg 1pk french onion soup mix 3 tbls tomato sauce  1 cup quick oats 1 tbls garlic powder Once you have all of these ingredients, all you have to do is mix them all together! Bake for 40-45 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 degrees. My kids love to make these muffin sized so they get their own little meatloaf on their plate. We serve the meatloaf with plenty of veggies on the side, usually mashed potato (sometimes with some sweet potato mashed with it), peas and carrots. This recipe also freezes really well so it makes for a great freezer meal to have ready to go! ...

Hey Guys! It has been quite a while since I shared our morning routine and it has changed a fair bit recently, so I just thought I would share an updated version! This is what a typical school day looks like in our home. 6am: My alarm goes off... Really? So not ready for today to happen... My motivation blend lives next to my bed for this reason... I get up and get ready for the day and make a move to get the kiddos up. The oldest one is almost always up and ready before I even get out of bed (hope she keeps this up!).  6:20am Breakfast time! The kids get their own breakfast out which is usually cereal of some sort, sometimes I am organised enough to have pancakes in the freezer for them to heat up, but today it is Weetbix Bites. TJ gets her Sustagen out and on her cereal on her own which I am very thankful she is willing to have that.  6:40am The kids have dragged the achor a bit with breakfast. It doesn't usually take them long to eat but they were very ...