A Springtime Day

Ah... It is beautiful outside today.  Is spring here to stay?

The almond banana pancakes were delicious this morning.  Will definitely be making them again.  I made them small, as suggested, so they would be easy to flip.  For once, my pancakes were not a mess!  Typically, I am an atrocious pancake flipper.  I added cinnamon and vanilla.  My house smelled like donuts afterwards. Mmmm...

I am having trouble focusing today; I just want to play.  But I need to get a head start on dinner for my Bible Study before going to pick up milk.  I am trying a new recipe which always makes me a little nervous and takes me longer, so I need to get started.

To do:

for tonight-

make meat patties

chop veggies for sauce

chop and mix potatoes

mix green beans for roasting

for tomorrow-

soak nuts

chop carrots

for tonight-

read bs book

for r&r-

read other book

for my household-

keep the laundry moving

Such a rough day, I know ;)  Hey, I already ran, showered, cleaned all the floors, made breakfast, started laundry, sorted garage sale stuff in the basement and nursery toys for church, made lunch, sorted the mail, put the kids down for a nap.  Just trying to keep it productive and somewhat low-key on this day off.  Gots to go!

I wanna make some of these!

Ok, just to motivate myself to get up and get going, I will come back later and cross off what I actually get accomplished...

Groceries... & Update

Well, like I said, I am already beyond the food and household budget for the month, so I need to take it easy on the shopping.  We do have plenty to eat, but I went today to get some produce (so uninspiring this time of year) and other things at Aldi.  Spent $35.  FYI baby mamas... Lately, I've been liking Aldi's diapers, as far as disposables go.  They seem generously sized, sturdy, and only 15 cents apiece.  The brownies and candy bars are to see if I can concoct an Aldi version of these brownies for my Bible Study dinner next week.  The disposable pans with lids were clearanced out 2 for $1 so I got a couple packages since I use these throughout the year when making meals for other families.  The tomatoes are already in the freezer.  I like to buy organic dry beans from the bulk bins at Whole Foods, but don't have a trip planned to go there in the near future, so I got a couple cans of beans to make lunch burrito making easier.

Today is a cooking afternoon.  I'm making ground turkey, bean, and rice burritos for lunches, homemade ketchup (since I was at Aldi and they only have ketcup with HFCS and I am feeling motivated, I am making some from tomato paste), and rolls.

Update on the January To-Do List:
•Sort through the entire house and DONATE stuff (especially toys, books, and clothes).
The stuff is sitting in a pile in the basement.  Local friends, let me know if you are looking for baby gear.
•STILL need to sort through and print pictures from 2010.
•STILL need to finish the baby books.
•Purge old paperwork.
•Move home movie clips to online storage.

Allright, now back to the tasks at hand...

Winter To-Do List

Wait.  Make that my January To-Do List.  I need a deadline, people.

• Sort through the entire house and DONATE stuff (especially toys, books, and clothes).
• STILL need to sort through and print pictures from 2010.
• STILL need to finish the baby books.
• Purge old paperwork.
• Move home movie clips to online storage.

Ok, I think that is enough for now.

I can manage one a week and two on one week, right?  Then, I will have knocked them all out by the end of the month.

Crafty Christmas Project #2: Fabric Covered Bulletin Board

Or Art Board or Cork Board.  Whatever you want to call it.

I am all about gifts being practical for kids.  At least some of the gifts.

We don't have much wall space at all in our kitchen.  We don't have an office.  We don't have a mudroom.  We don't have very much wallspace in the hallways, either.  So, the little wallspace we have, I don't want crammed full.  Having some clear space on a wall is calming to me.  And the fridge can only handle so much, too (I only allow the sides to have things on them.)

So.  My daughter needs some place to display her artwork.  Because I think that having a place to show it off gives kids some incentive to do quality work (that is the 1st grade teacher in me coming out I guess.)

So.  I made this Christmas present to go on my daughter's wall in her bedroom.  It was easy.

(Oops!  I just realized it is upside-down in the picture.  Sorry!)

1. Iron and starch the fabric.
2. Use a combination of duck tape and hot glue to attach it to the back side of the corkboard.

It's the same method I used to make this easy and cheap wall art for my little boy's nursery.

I will have to take another picture once it is hanging in place on the wall and put to proper use.  I hope she likes it!

To-Do List

With Christmas shopping almost out of the way, my mind goes on to those "when I get free day" tasks, some of which I reserve for doing only once a year.  Amid the daily routine of working, cooking, cleaning (ha), laundry (haha), care-taking, etc., I'd like to also...

• Send Christmas cards
• Work on baby book
• Make gifts (a few stocking-stuffers for my daughter)
• Order pictures from 2010
• Read... for fun (that's my reward for doing the rest of these things)

It helps for me to assign time to work on these things.  The alternative is they just don't get done and that is not a good feeling, when reasonably I should be able to find time to do them... They can be special and enjoyable projects.

Organizing my time (when I can) - that's a good thing for me (and my family).

Friday Update

Well, it is a massive stocking-up weekend for food.  I've done some shopping and hope to do some more tomorrow.  Then, I will hopefully give a run-down of what I got and where, with a picture.

This morning, I went to Target to get my daughter some cowgirl boots.  They weren't on sale, but they always run out of her size, so I decided to save myself the trouble and just get them, because she will be needing something to wear on her feet this winter.  I'd really like some real cowboy boots for myself, not because I am not the type of person who wears them at all times - I've acutally never worn them before, in spite of where I have lived - but because they are cute and stylish now, even if you don't live on a ranch.  (I don't live on a ranch.)  Ah, but I am saving up for something else.  The boots will have to wait.

I've decided this is what I will be adding to the menu for this weekend (since I had left it as ToBeDetermined):

Cheddar Cheese Soup with Zucchini, Broccoli, and Carrots & these No-Knead Dinner Rolls
Also making some Apple Banana Muffins for breakfast.
3 new recipes!

I was inspired by Katie last week and decided our pantry needed and minor overhaul... here's the before and after:

(Nothing very drastic, but it is better. You see multiple oats containers because I save them and store things like flour and granola and opened cereal in them.  The shelves go as follows: #1: breakfast and vitamins, #2: dry goods and sandwich stuff, #3: drinks - which is really odd to me because we usually drink water or milk, and coffee for my husband, but I guess we have a lot of leftover Kool-Aid, hot chocolate, tea, etc, because we don't drink them that much so therefore they take up a lot of room?  All I know is I don't need any hot cocoa mix for a long time!, #4 baking supplies, #5: any canned goods and other heavy stuff, like the tubs of coconut oil .)

I also reorganized my spice cabinet next to the stove.  I was on a roll and got all the kids winter clothes put in their closets, and pulled out the too-small stuff to give to friends.  Today, I am not as ambitious.

I'm trying to look ahead to Christmas.  Making mental checklist.  It seems we simplify the gift-giving a little more each year, even with the addition of our children to the family.  I think that it a good thing, because the preparing and shopping is more challenging with children, and we want to spend more time focusing on meaningful and fun things with them.  So, with a little less shoppng to think about, it all evens out.

I am not typically an overachiever in the sit-front-and-center-in-class-and-ask-questions-and-turn-your-assignment-in-early sort of way.  But, I like Christmastime.  And since it is THE busiest time at one of my jobs, I like to get a jump on shopping for gifts and get as much done ahead of time as possible.  So that is one goal for October: purchasing gifts and cards to mail later.

Ok, I hope you have a good weekend!

Recommendations

Did you know....

I added a couple of pages to this blog?

I added an About page, just because I felt like I should have one.

AND

I added an Amazon store.

I did this so that I can easily keep a running list of products that I like and think you might enjoy, too.  If you purchase a product through my amazon store OR by searching and purchasing any amazon item through the search box on the sidebar of this blog, I have the chance to earn a very small commission from that transaction.  Right now the store mosly includes some recommended reading, many books that I have mentioned on here before.  It also includes a few of my favorite children's toys and products.  I will probably add some more sections for more gift-giving ideas soon.  Especially since we are getting closer to Christmas.  Enjoy browsing!

Divided Lunchbox Container

I think I'm gonna like these...

...considering I pack 4 lunches somedays.

I've been wanting something like these for awhile, so when I found out Ziploc is making some that are approximately $1.25 a pop, I got a couple.  Now I am thinking, "Why oh why did I only get 2, instead of 4?"  I don't know where my brain was at the time.

Thanks to Jessica at Life as Mom for the heads up on these containers.

Garage Sale Bound

There is still more to add to this.  I didn't get to the linen closet, yet.  And I didn't touch my husband's stuff.  He said make a pile for him to go through.  So I did.

While purging, I try to ask myself, "If we were moving, would this be worth the effort to pack up and haul and unpack?"  (Also known as  The Beautiful/Useful Rule combined with the Have I used it in the past year? Rule)

If the answer is no, then into the garage sale pile it goes.  Doesn't mean I couldn't or wouldn't be able to use it someday...   But that is the mentality that lead me to be a packrat.  Which I used to be, before I was married.  And I don't want to be a packrat anymore.  So I am being semi-ruthless.

Proof that I Did Something Today

...Before...

Now, this closet isn't completely streamlined with new storage boxes or anything, but it has been purged of useless junk.  Some went to the garage sale stash, some went to basement storage (there was no need for it to be in our son's bedroom closet), some went to the trash.  The floor has been vaccumed and every item inside has been accounted for and is easily accessible.

...After...

  

This closet still contains items belonging to my husband and I, even though it is in our son's bedroom.  Most of out boy's clothes are in his dresser, but a few new ones that he has yet to grow into are hanging here, plus the storage on the yaffa block shelves is his (mostly extra diapers and clothes that he will be growing into in the next 6 months or so).  We are keeping my husband's musical instruments up here (bottom left) so that they are not affected by the cold in the basement.  And all the junky looking stuff on the top shelf is my stuff: wrapping, sewing, craft, and office supplies that I want to be easy to grab.  I condensed all my bits and pieces of fabric and larger crafting items into the tub on the floor (it was freed up when I sorted through all the kid's clothes last week!)  And the bonus of this purging: empty storage containers and shelves - yay!

(These shelves will go to the basement until my boy has use for them when he has a big boy room.  They were just sitting in my daughter's room to be out of the way and I snapped a photo.)

Total time: about 3 hours.

Next, I hit our master bedroom closet.  I swapped out my super wintery clothes for some warmer weather ones, and tossed several worn out or too short shirts in the process.  Results:

1 large bag of trash which included stuff form the other closet, too

1 bag of garage sale clothing

1 trunk of out of season clothes ready to go back down to the basement.

Now I'm off to make some dinner.

Kitchen, Etc.

First, a sidenote:

I had never purchased feta cheese until a few weeks ago when I bought a (large-ish) containter from Costco.  I knew that I liked it okay, but wasn't sure how I was going to use it all, but didn't want to go to another store.  Well, now I've to added it to everything - the quinoa salad it was intended for, the cheesy bow ties (it was an optional ingredient), even a box of Annie's mac & cheese and on pizza.  Yum!

Our kitchen is a five year old, standard builder's grade model, but still I catch myself dreaming about things I'd like to change: the countertops, the floors, the kitchen sink, do something about the broken microwave, rehang the askew pantry door, and repaint the cabinets with better paint, should have splurged for stainless appliances, etc.  Then, I remember that compared to the rest of the world, I pretty much live in a palace.  No more complaining allowed!  So, on a note of gratitude, here is what I do love about our kitchen: Love the cream color on the cabinets.  Love the simple hardware.  Love the working dishwasher.  Love the functional layout.  Love the just-right storage and countertop space (if there was more, I'd make more of a mess or collect more stuff).  Love the natural light that pours in.  Love our dishes and silverware as shown here:

Our dishes and silverware are complete settings of the ones we registered for when we married.  If I were doing it over again, I wouldn't change a thing.  We chose quality stuff, but very basic designs.  At the time, white was boring, but I am so glad we chose white.  And our silverware was plain, but we liked it because it felt substantial.  It still does.

I've had to replace almost all of our everyday glasses, on the left.  (You see our "company's coming" water goblets on the right.)  I've replaced them with PB Classic Barware and want to get more.  They are reasonably priced and have held up very well.

(These cabinets are the few that I didn't have to really clean out, they basically always look like this, except for when items are in use.)

Other random house thoughts:

I'm sure I am in the extreme minority here, but I don't think I am a fan of open floor plans.  I like rooms.  I like separation and quietness.  Now you know.  Anyone with me?  But to contradict myself, our house has a semi-open floorplan, and I like it okay because our house is on the small side and this layout makes it seem more airy.  I guess I was just thinking about this topic because we were at a gorgeous new home last night where the entire first floor was like one giant room with a hardwood floor, and with only our two families there it was loud.

I am no professional decorator, but here's my self-made rule: One blank wall in every room is good.  Doesn't need to be a big blank wall.  Just a spot that could have something on it, but it doesn't.  Gives you room to breathe.

Spring break is here!

Spring Break To-Do List

1. Clean out!

Purge the closets and drawers.  We don't have a lot of stuff compared to most homes I've been in, but I bet there is more junk hiding in those places than I think!  A garage sale with my sister-in-law is already scheduled for April, so everything will go to that, and if it doesn't sell, will be donated.  I don't expect to earn much, but am hoping for some money for our summer pool pass??

Spring break is not here yet, but will be in a few weeks!

(inspiration)

Only after I finish can I add to the to-do list.

Plus, maybe all this cleaning will distract me from wanting to bake something.

I will take pictures of the process for fun.

New Look

I finally had time to play around a little with my blog layout and stuff.  What do you think?  I will probably continue to tweak it.  Oh, and if you are like me and don't spend any money on your blog design because it is just for fun and you are cheap, follow this tutorial to make your own header.  It is what I did... It is cool because you can change it whenever you want!  Have fun!

February Dinner Ideas

Main Dishes:
Baked Salmon Cakes
Homemade Pizza (x2*)
Italian Cream Cheese Chicken Dish (x2)
BBQ Meatballs (x2)
Homemade Chicken Strips (x2)
Black Bean Quesadillas
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese (x2)
Fish Sticks (x2)
Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup (x2)
BBQ Beef on Buns (x2)
Nachos
Waffles with Homemade Syrup
Cinnamon Rolls and Scrambled Eggs
Mushroom-Pepperjack Chicken
Paninis
Soft Tacos (x2)
Cheesy Chicken & Rice
Spinach & Rice Bake
Vegetable Beef Soup

*The x2 doesn't mean I will make it twice. It just means that hopefully it is enough to last us for one night plus another night of leftovers.

Sides:
Fresh Organic Veggies
Organic Salad Greens
Frozen Organic Green Beans
Frozen Peas
Cornbread

Bowl Game Party:
Corn Dip with Chips (new to us)

Treats/Desserts:
Applesauce Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (with chocolate chips in them, too)
Zuchinni Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adaptable Granola Bars (new to us, thanks Hannah!)

Something with Rhubarb...

I've decided that at this stage in family life, I like to look over the entire month of meals ahead of time. So I made myself make this list a week ago. Then I made 3 trips to 5 stores this past week to get what was needed. I'd rather run around a lot for one week and be done with it than spread major shopping out over the whole month.

Tomorrow: the photos from my shopping trips and "deal" highlights.

Instead of Resolutions...

Consider making a Stop Doing List.

While I love to-do lists to help keep me focused, the idea of a stop-doing list feels refreshing.

The above link is to an article by Jim Collins. I think it can be taken a number of ways, but here is how I summarize it: It is about your time. Evaluating, streamlining, disciplining. Investing what you have on what is important to you.

It is good food for thought.

Where Do You Christmas Shop?

...if you do in fact Christmas shop?

Here's my list for this year. It is not glamorous at all. I kind of wish it was more unique/local. Oh well.

Stores I regularly go to anyways:
Target
Costco
HyVee

From home:
Amazon.com
Kohls.com
NickisDiapers.com
HarryandDavid.com

Specialty stores:
Gary Gribble's
City Limits

Mostly for stocking stuffers and giftcards:
JoAnn
Wally world (ugh)
Dollar store
Walgreens

How is it going with the to-do list? OK. I bought cards and stamps. I have a plan written down for the next two weeks: what store to stop at on what day and what I am stopping to get. That should be helpful, right? Of the original 15 people I had to buy for (which got cut to 12 - we mutually decided not to exchange with some family members), I am down to 8 gifts left yet to buy. And I *know* what I am buying for 7 of them. After that, it is just stocking stuffers. I don't feel like it, but I guess I am making progress. I really want to beat my goal and be finished before Thanksgiving!!! I think it is possible with the exception of 2 gifts, one of which will be purchased online. Here's to avoiding the holiday shopping crowds!

When do you set up your Christmas tree? I am thinking of doing it earlier this year to allow us to enjoy it longer.

Food Thoughts

I am making a list of meals for the entire month of October. Why? I am not sure. I guess I just have the time now. And it is helping me plan my shopping. I don't want to have to worry about running to the store a lot with 2 kiddos in tow since I will be heading back to work again and will be busier.

I haven't decided yet if I want to do a monthly meal plan post or keep it a weekly post... I am thinking still keep it weekly to allow for more flexibility and last minute changes without throwing too much off kilter. I will just draw from my master list and fill in the slots each week. Sound okay? Anyone have a strong opinion?

Looking at my list of meals, I can tell it is fall. The dinner themes seem to be beefy, cheesy, and soupy. The desserts seem to be chocolately, pumpkiny, or apple-y.

I plan to do one big Aldi trip at the first of the month and one Costco trip mid-month. And then a couple other quick run throughs while we are out and about just as needed for milk and fruit. I will still try to hit any other stores for stock up items on sale that I don't want to miss... but only if it is a screaming good deal. Simplify - that's the goal.

Making a List, Checking it Twice...

That's right, I'm thinking about Christmas already. I'm not bypassing everything between now and then, I'm just trying to outline a plan ahead of time. 'Cause we all know: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." :) Just kidding, I'm not that hard-core.

But I do want to avoid what happened 2 years ago, when my daughter was a baby. I thought, "Hey, I'm not working 5 days a week, I don't have to shop so early. I can wait until after Thanksgiving since I can now shop during the weekdays when it's not so busy..." Umm, doing that was stressful to me. Not going to wait that long again if I can help it.

I like to enjoy the shopping if possible. Regardless of my work schedule, this year I want to have the bulk of my shopping done before turkey day, if possible. Then, I can enjoy the rest of the things the special season has to offer.

September-October:

Purchase Christmas cards

Outline budget

Collect ideas

Start shopping (goal: 1/3)

November:

Continue shopping (goal: finish 2/3)

Mail Christmas cards following Thanksgiving

December:

Finish shopping

Wrap gifts

Mail out-of-town gifts

I just know things are going to come up, so I am trying to be proactive. The weekends are already getting booked.

Do you think I am nuts?

Photo from stockvault.

The Plan

I will obviously be taking some time off from blogging, but will ease back into it as the schedule permits.

If you don't want to keep checking in endlessly to find out if there's a new post, just use a blog reader like Google reader (so helpful) or sign up on my sidebar to receive an email notification for whenever there is a new post. I truly enjoy being in touch with you all, and hope you stick around!

I can't believe autumn is right around the corner...

So for now - here's wishing you a happy August. Let's try to enjoy some lazy, hazy, end-of-summer days.

Big Girl Room

This weekend we are transitioning our daughter from her crib to a twin sized bed. What goes along with that is lots of removing and reassigning furniture to new spots: guest bedroom furniture to basement, baby furniture to guest bedroom, and new (to us) furniture to our daughter's room. Whew! That is what we did yesterday. Here are some snippets from the new "big girl" room...

Just a warning, I am not a fan of matchy-matchy and I like things to have meaning... whatever that means to you...

Details: a new Sealy mattress from Costco, headboard from my sister-in-law, quilt from my mother-in-law (she sews a baby quilt for each grandchild), gingham dust ruffle from my parents (from my college days), new pale pink sheets from Bed Bath and Beyond (these are SO soft), pillows from Wal-Mart, embellishment by me. I will probably need to get some form of larger blanket or coverlet to go under the quilt when the weather turns cooler.

I was inspired by this post. Pillow, $5 clearance at Wal-Mart. Felt, 29 cents per color at JoAnn's.

I love this bear and rocking chair she received from my parents at Christmas. Can you believe this chair was from a consignment store, but was brand new?

This is the dresser my in-laws purchased from a used furniture store and helped refinish. The picture doesn't do it justice. I am still brainstorming ideas for the raised circle - an initial or some other form of embellishment so it doesn't look like a large wart? And ideas? It is not as noticeable in person. I could also move that drawer up one spot... My favorite aspects of this dresser are the detailing along the back edge and the new glass knobs I put on. This dresser and headboard we painted in the same creamy white as our indoor trim (Sherwin Williams 7042 - Shoji White).

They are hard to see, but the flowy white drapes are a soft finishing touch.

For the time being, we are keeping the toys out of her room, so there are less distractions. She prefers to play out in the living room, kitchen, or basement, where we usually hang out, anyways.

Now, for the walls... they are next on the list. I have a shelf to hang, her wooden name letters, and am also thinking maybe a place to display art??? If you have any great ideas, let me know!