Welcome to Notch Up Lifestyle

A family blog about raising 4 girls and living the locomotive family life, recipes included!

My honest and absolutely terrifying truth (Old Post 3)

Jasmine L

Jan 29, 2021
5 min

My honest and absolutely terrifying truth (Old Post 3)

**I have more to say on this account, but I am not ready to do so. Writing this was helpful but still not enough. I deal with the outcome and mental effects everyday. This is my story and my story alone. I hope it helps someone dealing with their own issues. I have gone back and forth on if I want to write about this then I watched one of my best friends post the most raw and honest vlog and it gave me a little push. I have spent days writing and rewriting this. I have tried

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Jasmine L

Jan 29, 2021
2 min

A family of chefs

I do not have a lot of memories of cooking with my mom or great grandma but I know I did. It isn't the easiest thing to have little helpers in my kitchen it is tiny and I run into myself so little ones would just be to much. With that being said I do as much as I can, I have them help at the kitchen table or come in to do one job and then leave. Learning your way around the kitchen is important for anyone. Depending on fast food, or boxed meals isn't the healthiest or cheapes

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Jasmine L

Jan 27, 2021
1 min

Winter wonderland

We had a snowstorm of sorts in IL on Monday night. We received a couple inches of fluffy snow. We took the afternoon to play outside and to build a fire. The babies went crazy, snowball fights, rolling around and shoveling our back yard. We tried to make a snowman but it wasn't packing well so we made a mini one. Brianna came out and joined us when her classes were done. We made the dogs do all sorts of things, they were very much enjoying chasing the sticks, although we don'

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Jasmine L

Jan 23, 2021
3 min

Hit the ground running

My day started normally, its Saturday here and I usually try and sleep in a little bit. Which means I was out of bed by 845 AM. Breakfast with the babies and then I remembered a conversation I had with Chloe about taking a day a week to clean up the house. So I got busy figuring this day is as good as any and the babies were preoccupied in their room and would most likely not interfere with my efforts. I will state here that I am not a great house wife, I hate cleaning, I get

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...and just like that the girls are back in school

Jasmine L

Jan 22, 2021
2 min

...and just like that the girls are back in school

A little while ago we got the word that the high school would be starting a hybrid version of school which allows the kids to go in 2 days a week. Half of the alphabet Mondays and Wednesdays then the other half Tuesday and Thursday, Fridays everyone is back on zoom. Chloe has chosen to continue to stay remote which is fine with us. Honestly the less kids in the school the better. She still has to adhere to the same schedule as her fellow students, but at least she feels bette

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Tips and tricks for quick and easy meals (old post 2)

Jasmine L

Jan 18, 2021
5 min

Tips and tricks for quick and easy meals (old post 2)

*Make more- leftovers are your friends, When you are planning your meals keep in mind the easiest lunch is leftover. My husband is not a fan of sandwiches, or paper bag lunches. I have realized that leftovers are the easiest way to make lunches that fill him up and don’t stress me out. It’s easy to move food from one tupperware to another one. The only thing you need to do is plan ahead. Knowing what you’re making helps a lot. I usually double ALL of my recipes. The only time

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The generic post about us! (The first old post)

Jasmine L

Jan 18, 2021
3 min

The generic post about us! (The first old post)

Hello, I am Jasmine and I am a stay at home mom who wanted to create something and with the help of my train engineer husband we came up with the idea to start a site that helps other families who are apart of the transportation world. This is not only for those families, I am hoping to reach many people with my recipes, family antics, every day ideas, and short cuts that we use. Here is a little about the whole family whom I am sure you will read about as the site grows. Aga

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Jasmine L

Jan 18, 2021
1 min

Bringing it all together!

I am going to start posting my old blogs from my original site to here. It will take a little time as I have to do it by hand for each one as opposed to just clicking a button that transfers them all over for me. This is ok because it allows me to read what I have previously done and previous thoughts. You should always look back and see how you've grown, changed, how you see the world differently or the same. Especially in the craziness of the last just couple years. It is i

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Jasmine L

Jan 16, 2021
3 min

Do not meal plan on an empty stomach

For awhile I was doing really well at meal planning, even planning 3 months out, that is 90 days of different meals because I felt bad repeating them to close together. Then softball season hit, then I got my short term job with the Census, and then life kept happening. So meal planning went out the window. While I was in Florida I decided it was time to hop on that old bike again. Not only does it relieve stress and anxiety(for me) but it also helps me stay on a budget when

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Still looking for a way to share recipes

Jasmine L

Jan 15, 2021
2 min

Still looking for a way to share recipes

As much as I love just writing, I really love cooking and sharing my cooking with people I have looked into special ways to record myself, to taking pictures of my process, and different ways of sharing with those who want to read about it. I don't like not being able to share this part of me, I don't think it will be hard to get it going once I finish figuring out. I do have a lot of recipes saved up. Some tacos, some wings, casseroles, and chicken thighs. At the moment we

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Softball, in January, in Illinois, sure okay...

Jasmine L

Jan 13, 2021
2 min

Softball, in January, in Illinois, sure okay...

Brianna and I had a mom and daughter weekend this past weekend, we drove to Pekin, IL about 3 hours away so that Brianna and her softball team could compete in the Snow Ball Classic at the Avanti Dome. We dropped off the babies with Grandma Dawn and headed out. Got to the hotel with time to spare so we relaxed and ate a little bit before her first 2 games Friday night. Now that she is in the older divisions games get later and later. Her games Friday were 8:10 and 9:25. The f

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Jasmine L

Jan 7, 2021
2 min

Early to sleep, still not early to wake

I am not a morning person, I never have been. I like sleeping and I hate waking up.

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Jasmine L

Jan 5, 2021
2 min

Walking into 2021

I have been trying to watch my weight and also start working out more. Dan has a work out plan that kicks my ass pretty much every time. I was chatting with my friend about that and she was interested so we started talking about ways to workout together, since we do not live near each other. She came up with walking challenges. Fitbit provides us with different hiking trails to choose from and we essentially race each other till the trail is over. Then we start again. I am co

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Jasmine L

Jan 3, 2021
2 min

Turning frustration into Productivity

My plan for this new website was to blog and share my recipes. I enjoy cooking and I enjoy sharing what I make. I've been asked for recipes before and I enjoy the idea of someone making and enjoying something I created. I try and make twists on comfort dishes, I enjoy trying new seasonings with different vegetables and meats, making one pot meals to slim down my dirty dishes. With this new website they have an app which allows me to put together recipes but it wont allow me t

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Jasmine L

Jan 1, 2021
3 min

2021...resolutions

I am falling in with the crowd and I am posting about my hopes for 2021. I do not necessarily believe in resolutions and maybe its because I could never stick to them. I do believe in positive thoughts, I believe in the way you approach anything leads to how the outcome effects you. I want to focus on cleaning my life, cleaning my house, cleaning my mind. I am going to focus on how to make things simple, I am going to unclutter myself. I have always been messy, I have always

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