the take home folder volume 96
letting go // my chili recipe // front loading works (sigh) // a quick christmas tip // + more
welcome to the take home folder
Yesterday we pulled off a little surprise birthday party for a milestone birthday for my mother in law. It was so fun to do this for her as she’s often the one making the magic for everyone else.
I met my in-laws when I was the ripe old age of 21 - and one thing that has never wavered about my MIL is that she has always taken a genuine interest in me. I remember in college that she would ask about my classes and student teaching and then follow up the next time I saw her with a check-in based on what I had told her. She always listens and remembers, still. Hoping I can show my boys’ future spouses the same level of interest, care, and thoughtfulness.
my sunday questions:
What is something I can do for our home?
What is something I can do for/with our family?
What is something I can do for myself?
Today for me it’s a fridge inventory/clean out and meal planning, taking the boys to see Santa, and choosing a couple of new Christmas cookie recipes to try. I love baking but it always falls to the bottom of my priority list. So today I’m going to slow down, peruse recipes, and select a couple to try out soon.
one // ingredients always on hand = low-key lifesaver
Last summer I decided to perpetually keep ingredients on hand for Rice Krispie Bars and that proved be a great decision.
In the cold months, I always keep ingredients for chili on hand. When I make chili, I immediately add all of the ingredients to our grocery list whether or not it’s on an upcoming meal plan. And, like the Rice Krispies, it’s certainly come in handy.
My chili recipe:
olive oil
1 pound of ground beef (could use turkey or sausage instead or omit)
1 yellow onion, diced
bell pepper, diced (whatever color you have on hand)
1 jalapeno, finely diced (can omit, I’m on a mission to slowly increase my kids’ spice tolerance and they can now handle this in our chili)
garlic (to taste - I usually add a spoonful of jarlic)
1-2 tablespoons chili powder
1 t cumin
2 bay leaves
salt to taste
1-2 cans of petite diced tomatoes
2 cans of Rotel (I usually do 1 mild, 1 original but start mild if you don’t want the spice)
1 10oz can of tomato sauce
1 can of tomato paste
2 cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar, optional
Heat olive oil, add ground meat, diced peppers and onion and sauté until meat is cooked and veggies are softened. Drain any grease. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add seasonings and sauté another minute or so. Add tomatoes, beans, and brown sugar (if using). Simmer until you’re ready to serve.
Top with sour cream, Fritos, diced avocado, freshly grated cheddar, etc.
My chili recipe is a result of making this recipe that Brittany shared a bunch of times and slowly adapting it to meet our family’s preferences. Chili is one of the easiest recipes to play around with. You can double the meat, switch up or omit the beans, etc. I promise you can’t mess it up!
two // the cloud mattress [and letting go]
Our 5th grader is looking and acting more like a tween than a little kid nowadays. His shoe size is creeping dangerously close to my own, his vocabulary is robust and our conversations deeper and funnier, and as a kid who has been pretty unbothered in the past, he’s forming some *opinions* on what he likes.
With this has come some letting go for me as a mom (and apparently a control freak by nature?) and allowing him to have some say over a few elements of his life.
He wanted to grow his hair out last year and while it wouldn’t have been my first choice, I rolled with it. I strongly disliked the all-black tennis shoes he picked this fall, but rolled with it.
Recently, we got him a new mattress. He has been saying he wants a softer mattress for a long time and we let him get one. I can’t even explain the delight on his face the first time he stretched out on his new mattress. I think it was 50% the mattress of his dreams and 50% “mom and dad value what is important to me”.
And it’s all part of the holding on and letting go1 that we do as our kids get older.
three // bead / bag charm kits
These bead kits are the cutest ever. If you’re buying for a big kid/tween/or teen girl2 I think they would be SO well-received and it gives them something to create! On sale through today with guaranteed Christmas delivery. (not sponsored purely heart eyes)
Also a reader messaged me and said that BaubleBar is her cousin’s company! How cool is that?!?
I ordered this kit for the teen daughter of the family we adopted for Christmas. I asked a girlfriend for another stocking stuffer suggestion for her and she said her girls are super into Aerie! So I ordered these socks and this as well. Hoping it makes her smile this Christmas.
four // quick tip for gift concealment
A couple of readers have shared a genius place to store gifts away from little eyes -
in your Christmas decor storage bins and/or Christmas tree boxes!
Isn’t that brilliant?! We usually store gifts awaiting wrapping in Todd’s office but this is a place that is very unlikely to be rifled through. Could it work for your family?
sidenote: my kids have never tried to find hidden gifts nor even as much as given the wrapped boxes under the tree a thorough investigation. I remember as a kid my brother and I had a hard time keeping our paws off of what was under the tree. This resulted in my parents getting creative like wrapping jingle bells in with a CD to throw us off course when we shook the package, ha!
five // unfortunately front loading works
My natural tendency is that of a night owl. I sometimes wish I were one of those people who pop up at 5 a.m. and have accomplished a day’s worth of tasks by 7 a.m.
While I’m happily still snoozin’ at 5 a.m. every day, I have found that the people who wake up early and seize the day are on to something.
And that something is front loading tasks. I have made an effort this year to “eat the frog” which means prioritize the most important things first. Now, important is a relative term. Maybe the most important thing you could do in the morning is enjoy a steaming cup of coffee by the twinkle of the Christmas tree with a good book and a quiet house. Maybe you like to rise and run 5 miles. Maybe your version is waking and diving into deep work while your head is most clear and you don’t have a million distractions.
Here are a few examples of front loading that have worked for me/us in 2025:
strength training before my kids wake up 3x a week*, generally aiming to close the exercise ring on my apple watch by 10 a.m.
aiming to get ~30g protein at both breakfast and lunch*
finishing my 40oz water bottle before midday
packing school lunches after dinner when the kitchen is already a mess makes mornings easier
running the dishwasher overnight and Todd unloads it first thing when he comes downstairs for the day
using the delay start on our washing machine means I wake to freshly washed clothes that I can pop in the dryer and have folded and put away by midday.
prepping what I can ahead of time for dinner always feels like the biggest kindness to myself
teaching our 5th grader to get through most of his weekly homework packet over the weekend so he’s not scrambling to finish it on Thursday night
dressing to walk outside immediately after getting the kids on the bus in the morning
*I give myself a solid C for consistency with these two in the past month or so (no one is doing it all!), but when I’m fully on track I feel amazing.
Turns out that being able to check things off the list early in the day just feels good. What’s a habit you have had success with front loading?
see you right back here next week,
p.s. Need anything from Target or Amazon this week? Letting my affiliate link open in your app before checking out (no matter what you buy) supports my work at no cost to you. Thanks for doing this, I notice and am grateful.
The notion of holding on and letting go is something I learned about from Shelly at littlemissmagnolia on IG. She has 4 kids who are now young adults. I adore all that she shares about how family life can look once the youngest is off to college. She has wisdom to share and is a great follow.
Boys can totally be into beading too! My kids made about 5 million beaded bracelets in the summer of 2024.
We always store presents in the empty suitcases in storage. They’re always there so the kids just ignore them. lol
My mom always picked a different wrapping paper for each person in our family so she didn’t have to use labels, so no one knew whose presents were whose! Finding out which wrapping paper was yours was always a fun way to start Christmas morning. I appreciate the hiding tips because my four year old has definitely discovered my go to hiding spots 🤦🏼♀️