31 in 31- Day 16

First of all, I am not a garage sale-er.  I seldom go because I find nothing . . .ever.  I decided today I would try again and this is what I got:

Now, bear in mind, I went looking for a couple outfits for my kids but came home with toys!!  I got all of this for $9.00.  Most of it is for birthday's/Christmas except the Piano - that Josh has already been playing  (The Cat is NOT from the Garage sale - she is just curious :-) )  I looked up the little V-tech Spin and Learn Top (in the front) and it sells for $15.00 - I paid $1.00.  I had been looking at getting that for Nate for his birthday!!  And I found a similar Sit and Spin that sells for around $30.00 - I got that one for $2.00.  Crazy???   I tried finding the piano but the sites all say that it is no longer available :- )

Fun things to do with your Kids

I like to plan.  As a matter of fact, I LOVE to plan so planning some fun activities for our family to do is right up my alley!  I thought I would share a few things that we've done recently in the greater Grand Rapids area that you might want to enjoy too!  (For those of you not in this area - just do some searches on line - I know there are Splash Pads many places now and you may have some similiar options in your area that you've never explored!)

1) Millennium Park in Grand Rapids - This park has an AWESOME splash pad!  We visited a month or so ago and had a blast.  I love it because it is clean (the water is chlorinated), there is no sand, there is no deep water or waves for my kids to wander into and there are lots of things for kids of all ages to do.  Besides the splash pad, there is also a lake (it was once an old gravel pit) and a nice beach, lots of walking trails, picnic tables, and nature areas.  You only have to pay if you enter the swimming area - but can enjoy the picnic tables and trails for free.  A little history - my husband's Grandma lived across the street from this park - this area was all bought out at one time and used for gravel - she was allowed to live in her home until she passed away. I hear it is supposed get up in the 90's again this weekend - I think we might be making a trip back to the Splash Pad

2)  Frederick Meijer Garden - I posted a picture in my photo challenge of a sculpture from the gardens but for your kids - there is an awesome Children's Garden area.  There is a whole water "table" (it's huge) that represents the great lakes - you have to stand back and really look and you'll notice the states surrounding the great lakes and all of the lakes as well.  There is a cool waterfall for the kids to stink their hands into, a huge tree house to run around in with all kinds of neat cubbies to look into, a teepee, sand pit, and lots of walking trails with little creeks, birds, and a hedge maze to wonder through.  If you have never taken the time to go - I encourage you to do so.  We could have spend all day there and not seen any other part of the park.

3)  Local Parks - We found a great one in Lake Odessa but I know there are great ones in the Grand Rapids area too.  Just go and play with your kids, sit on a bench and relax while they play, and don't forgot to stop for a Dairy Queen Ice Cream too!

4)  The Mall - I know, what am I thinking?  Well, my kids enjoy those play areas.  I know - how unsanitary LOL  Well, my kids are healthy from all those germs!! :-)  On a HOT day, the mall is our option - we can have a nice lunch in the food court, play for awhile in the play area, and than walk around the mall before getting a pretzel. 

I have more places to visit . .. I'll let you know how it goes :-)

31 in 31 - Day 15

So, here it is day 15.  Isn't this ugly? LOL  Do you know what they are?  BEETS!!  I went to the farmers market on Monday and she had 3 quarts of beets; that's it.  I was "lucky" to get them since they usually sell out first thing in the morning.  Why beets?  Because I love pickled beets and that is one of my canning projects to complete!  I grew up with a mom that canned lots of stuff and her recipe for the beets were the best . . .granted now, as I read the Ball Canning Guide, I realize she got it right out of that cookbook! Anyway, I have tried store bought and cannot find any that taste nearly as good so I'm going to make my own.  My husband hates them.  So I really just would like to get 12 jars - one a month for me :-)  It will be interesting to see if the boys like them - if they do, I might have to try for 24 next year.  Anyway, right now the beets are enjoying my counter.  I haven't had a chance to do anything with them yet.  I'm aiming to get them down on Friday or Saturday . . .than you'll see another picture and they will be "pretty" :-)

31 in 31 - Day 14

I spend some time on Tuesday re-sorting the toys. This is something I try to do once a month.  Why? This allows me to check for any dead batteries, broken toys, and to match up pieces to the correct toy.  Personally, if a toy has batteries, they need to work or it is a wasted toy. I don't mind the noise - it tells me my children are enjoying themselves.  I do have a bag that I keep "dead toys" that need batteries and keep a list of what batteries I need so, when the budget allows, I can pick up a pack and put the toys back into circulation.  Josh is learning to put toys back in the "right" bins so I am also starting to work on labels for the bins as well but really, I don't care what bin toys go in, as long as they all get picked up before bath time :-) So my picture shows my organization and yes, it makes me happy!!

And for the record, it does actually bother me that all the bins don't match but I used what I already owned to save money. 

I did actually take this picture yesterday, on day "14" but never had a chance to post it due to company coming over. 

Flylady 101

What is FLYlady?  Basically the FLYlady system is a way to declutter, organize, and clean your home based on routines.  I won't go into depth about everything since so much is available on the website but I will give some basics. 

Do you have CHAOS? In your home?  It will make you laugh when you read that CHAOS stands for "Can't have anyone over syndrome".  Isn't that funny?  It doesn't necessarily mean your home is in shambles just that you get that sinking feeling when someone drops by without notice or you find that you have an hour to get ready for company.  Yep, we've all been there!!  The FLYlady concept helps you be "15 minutes from company" which basically means that in 15 minutes or less your home would be company ready.  So what does "FLY" stand for - Finally Loving Yourself.  If we love ourselves, it will show in our homes.  If you are cleaning your home to please everyone else but you, you can't really enjoy it.  Instead we should be cleaning our homes in order to make them a sanctuary for us to enjoy on a daily basis! 

Now, when I started FLYlady I thought I kept a pretty clean home but as I read through her site and saw ideas and new concepts I realized I had some work to do.  By no means was my home ready for an episode of "The Hoarders" but I did have a lot of stuff I didn't need or use.  Over the past year to year and a half I made it my goal to totally declutter my home and I feel like I've almost succeeded.  I say almost because I have to finish up the garage (Cleaning up still from a recent garage sale) and my basement (which is 95% there just need to number the tubs and find homes for the last few things).  I went shelf by shelf, cupboard by cupboard and room by room and looked at every item.  I had basic criteria to follow - I would ask myself some basic questions 1) Do I love it - if not, it went in the donate bin or trash  2) Does it make me happy or would it make someone else happier? 3) Have I used it in the last year 4) Does it have a home (If not in the current room, does it have a home somewhere else or should it have a home)  Not hard questions, right?  WRONG!!  I felt guilty sometimes getting rid of things!!  On my last go through in each room this past year, I asked my husband to look around and tell me if he saw anything that needed to go and he always did.  Ironically, it was usually the item I felt guilty about and he help me out by saying "get rid of that thing!" LOL  As a disclaimer - when it comes to kitchen items I don't always follow the "year" rule.  I have a few party supplies like a Chocolate Fountain or serving platters that I may not always use in a year but I won't get rid of them because I do use them for parties.  When doing this decluttering - I have three big neon green buckets that I label "Keep" - which means it stays in the room and must have a home; "Store" - items I love/need but don't have room for; "Donate"; and than also a big trash bag.  FLYlady is not really big on the "Store" concept but I have a smaller house now filled with 4 people so I had to pack away some "pretty's" that someday I'll use again when I have more room!!  I love having a decluttered home and continue to work on keeping it that way and finding new and creative ways to keep things neat and organized.

This is basically the first step - even if you think your home is decluttered, take time this week to walk into every room; specifically look at every object/picture/item in that room on each shelf, wall, and flat surface; in each drawer and cubby hole.  Ask yourself if you really need it/love it/use it - if not donate it!!!  You may be surprised what you find.  (Or this may need to be a year long project depending on your home - don't feel bad, just jump in where you are at!)

One funny story on the "you may be surprised at what you find" - I was doing the final decluttering in my living room and in doing so I took all the pictures off the wals.  One was hung above our front door and when I took it down, half of the back of the frame was filled with a huge moth nest!!!!  It had hung there for 7 years . .. I was telling my husband about it and he said "There's a picture above that door?"  . .. and then when I told him it was one we had made on our Honeymoon he said "Really, we had that hanging up?" That shows you - we get used to stuff and don't even notice it EVEN when there are bugs behind it LOL (Ok the moth nest was empty - we had a small problem with moths about 4 years ago . . .we thought it was from the bird food we gave our pet  bird at the time  . but still!!)

Hope this helps motivate you to look at all your stuff and only keep what truly makes you smile :-)

Here's a link to the FLYlady website for more ideas or you can do this first step and wait for more from me :-)

http://flylady.net/

Easy Chicken and Chese Enchiladas

Monday nights are "New Recipe" night in our house - I have tons of recipes I've pulled out of magazines or that I've just come across so I use Monday night to try them out.  (I will also plug in new recipes other nights but that is my "Theme" for Monday and yes, each night does have a theme . . it makes menu planning easier)  Sometimes these new recipes are total bombs (we are hungrey a lot of Mondays! :-) ) but tonight was a success so I wanted to post this recipe!

Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cups cooked, diced chicken
1/2 cup Monteray Jack shredded cheese
6 flour tortillas, warmed
1 small tomato, chopped
1 green onion, chopped

In a large bowl, mix the soup, sour cream, salsa, and chili powder; set aside. 
In another large bowl mix chicken, cheese, and 1 cup of the salsa mix
Divide the chicken mix between the flour tortillas; roll up and place seam side up in a 2 quart (8x8) baking dish.
Pour the remaining salsa mix on top of the tortillas; cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
Sprinkle the tomato and green onion on top before serving
(Serves 6)

** I did add about 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on top of the enchiladas because we love cheese :- )
** Next time I think I will also add chopped black olives on top as well
** You could also add about 1/2 cup of black beans, drained and rinsed, to the chicken mixture

I served it with Savory Rice (I was going to do the Skillet Rice Recipe I shared in another post but forgot to thaw out my Vegetable Juice!), Corn, and Biscuits with Homemade peach jam for "dessert".

31 in 31 - Day 13

Well, today was just a "regular" day.  I had the feeling this morning that I was going to have to search for a picture for today and I was right.  So I started looking for "things" - things that made my life easier; things I liked; things I thought were "perfect".  This is what I thought of:

This is a snack cup.  I just bought it this weekend thinking that it would make snack time a little easier.  I allow Josh to have his snack and juice while he is playing in the living room.  It isn't a big problem except China, the dog, likes to eat the snack out of the bowl when no one is looking; Josh always catches her and than falls on the floor in a crying heap - heartbroken that his snack is now gone.  PLUS he LOVES to "spill" the snack on the floor and than "rescue" it from the dog.  Well, I saw these and thought it would do many things like 1) Keep the snack in the bowl and 2) keep the dog out of the snack.  Well - nothings perfect!  First, Josh doesn't like sticking his hand through those rubber things so when he wants more snack he brings it to me and waits for me to push those things open so he can put his hand in . . snack time is supposed to be mommy free LOL.  Second, I watched China take the snack dish, hold it down with one paw, use the other to push the rubber things out of the way and use her tongue to get the snack out.  So apparently, it is dog friendly and not meant for kids!!