The Caitlin Moss Blog

I'm headed to Vegas for a sister trip this weekend and I noticed our freezer meal supply was dwindling. Since my husband and I don't know how to function without meals, I wanted to make sure to do a quick restock so my sweet family can be fed and happy while I'm gone. I decided to just do a quick round this time and made 10 meals. I spent $75 and shopped at Winco. Here's what is on the Menu | Dirty Rice Spaghetti (2) Sausage Bake (2) White Chicken Enchiladas Chicken and Stuffing Chili and Cornbread Caribbean Jerk Chicken Pot Roast Grocery List | Meat: 2 lbs. ground beef 2 bags pre-made meatballs 2 packages of smoked sausage 2 3 lb. bags of chicken breasts 1 pot roast Dried Goods: 2 cups brown rice 2 packages of spaghetti noodles 1 package of tortillas 1 box of stuffing 1 box of cornbread mix Canned: 4 jars marinara sauce 2 cans cream of chicken 1 can diced green chilis 1 can black beans 1 can chili beans 1 can corn 1 can tomato sa...

Everybody is always asking how I do my meal prepping...or bulk cooking...or freezer cooking...or crock potting...or whatever you want to call it. It is my saving grace when it comes to dinner time. I love it. I can easily guarantee we will have a delicious meal on the table that I didn't have to actually spend much time cooking. I've come across several blogs of women who do this - KUDOS! But I rarely like their food. 10 Meals for $50? Right on! (Read menu.) Never mind, it's all bean soups and chilis. Nothing wrong with those items but let's be real...it is not helpful to freezer cook if your family will not eat the food. Every family is different, we have different styles of cooking, diets (I'm talking to you paleos and ketos!), grocery buying and, man, do we have different tastes. So I completely understand if someone reads my blog and says, none (or very few) of these meals sound good to us. Gotcha. But I don't want that to deter anyone from taking on ...

A little over a year ago we found out our littlest child is extremely allergic to nuts (and sesame seeds) so our entirely house went nut-free (at least until she's old enough to know better). And now that I carry around an epi-pen wherever we go, I can absolutely relate to all the mamas worried about whether or not their allergy kids are safe at lunch time in nut-free classrooms.  My older two kids have never actually been in a nut-free classroom but I know so many moms' kids who have and it can be a struggle to veer away from your average PB&J. Here are 12 nut-free lunchbox variations I send with my kids to school (and they actually eat it). Left: Turkey and cheese sandwich with carrots, grapes and oranges. Right: 1/2 a turkey and cheese sandwich, strawberries, brownie Zbar, and snap peas. Left: Cream cheese and jam bagel sandwich, strawberries and carrots. Right: 1/2 a turkey and cheese sandwich, snap peas, apple sauce, and goldfish. Lef...

While chatting with a friend the other day, she said, "So it looks like you've had a busy week." I was a little confused considering I felt the previous week was pretty relaxed. She was making this assumption based on pictures I had posted on social media.  Her: "Oh, is that a normal week for you?"  Me: "Yeah, I guess so." And, honestly, that's the truth. That is our normal pace. We go places and we do things. And I like to share it mostly because I love when other people share their happy moments, whether it's at the aquarium or at the kitchen table.  While I do think experiencing new things is great for our kids, I don't take our kids places because I feel like I have to, nor is it simply because I want to. It's because that is where I am a better, more present mom. When we're out exploring and visiting new places I am constantly engaged and living in the moment with my kids. When I'm home, I am way...

Apple crisp is one of those desserts I love to eat seasonally. It just doesn't taste right if it's not eaten during the fall months. My crockpot apple crisp recipe is the easiest thing to make and will make your whole house smell heavenly the entire day. 3-5 lbs. apples of your choice, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces 1 cup quick oats 1/2 cup brown sugar 3 Tbsp cane sugar Pumpkin pie spice All spice Cinnamon 3 Tbsp. butter Once you've peeled and cut your apples, place them on the bottom of the crockpot. Sprinkle in a little sugar and a few shakes of pumpkin pie spice and all spice. Mix the apples around with a spoon until the sugar and spices are evenly coated on the apples. Mix 1 cup oats with 1/2 cup brown sugar. Sprinkle evenly over the apples. Add a few shakes of cinnamon on top of that because...why not? Melt about 3 Tbsp of butter and drizzle that over the top. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5-6 hours. It tastes like the ooey, gooey...

Happy Fall, y'all! Officially. We loved using our summer bucket list so much over the summer to help us decide what to do tomorrow or this weekend that, after a friend's suggestion, I decided to do one for Fall as well.  Here is our list: Make apple cider Hay ride Bon fire Turkey Trot Be Thankful Pumpkin Patch Turkey Trot Do something kind for someone Movie Night Nature Walk Fall Crafts Corn Maze Trick or Treat Bike Ride Apple Crisp Make pumpkin bread Fall crafts Visit Farm animals Leaf rubbings Carve pumpkins Leaf Pile Fall Hike Paint Rocks Harvest Carnival Play tag Chances are we won't get to everything. So often Fall is the season of getting used to new schedules and playing catch-up, but if we have a moment free, I'm hoping to tackle some of these fun activities with my family.

Over the last few years, my husband and I have been slowly remodeling every surface of our cookie-cutter 2004 home. It is such a process but is incredibly fun to put our own "touch" on our house. The laundry room was something I've kept on the back burner for a while because, frankly, I don't care. I figured closing the door hid the mess and I didn't care. The problem is it wasn't really that functional (and also, with a 7 year old and 5 year old in the house the door was rarely closed). So we decided to spruce it up a bit and I am loving how clean, organized, and open it feels now. After Before A few years ago we added the one wall of batton and board and found it wasn't enough space for all the kids' backpacks and jackets and my jacket and purse. We decided to extend the batton and board and also remove the shelf on the wall opposite of the door to give the small room a more open, less-cluttered feel. Before Keep in mind we have...