Simplify Update before a new Simplify Post!

I've listed each of my Simplify Topics below and given an update in red.  I'm happy to say I was able to mark several off the list over the past few months.

Simplify # 1- I accomplished everything on this list already so there is nothing to add :-)

Simplify # 2

Organizing Books, Games, DVD's and CD's

1. Devise a storage system in the truck for the kids DVD's - I just need to find the perfect basket for this - I haven't found anything at home so I just need to start searching places when we are out and about.  This was sitting right in front of my face!  I just used one of my green baskets that I had purchased last summer for $1.00.  It holds the DVD's perfectly plus, it will be easy to carry into the house to change out what videos we want in the car (right now . . it's just Nemo!)

2. Hang up Gutter Shelves in the boys rooms for books - I have the gutters; I just have to pick up some spray paint to paint them the color I want. Once the painting is done, we'll hang them up and fill them with books! I've kinda put this one on hold.  I found another idea I like better using fabric and pvc pipe but haven't had a chance to make them yet.  Plus, I'm thinking I need to wait until we switch my oldest to a regular bed and see where we have a place to hang them.  Or, we may get him the headboard that has shelves in it and we can use those instead.  I think I'll move this idea to my "craft wish list" at this point.

The Bathroom

1. Do all touch up painting - I have had the paint for months, it is just a matter of doing this and it will be done. In the midst of cleaning out the basement I found (or re-found) the paint I kept putting some place and never being able to find again!  The touch up is all done and it looks so much better now! 

2. Finishing Touches: Put on a new door knob, the strip to finish the floors, put up a couple pieces of trim, add stripping around the top of the shower, clean off the hinges.
I had figured this would be done but we ran into an unexpected and unwanted project in our basement so other house projects were put on hold.

The Kitchen

I'm going to alter the original list and only list the first few things we want done. I will get back to the full list but this needs to come down in chunks first I think!

1. Finish cabinets - hang the cabinets, fill all gaps and cracks, do all touch up painting.
We finally have the cabinets hung up and I'm working slowly on filling in the gaps and cracks.  After that I will tape and prime so we can use our gift card and get the paint.  I REALLY want to have the kitchen painted by year end!  Again, the work in the basement has really put a halt to many other projects while we work on that.

2. Paint the trim that needs to be finished.

3. Prime and paint the walls.

So . .once we get all of that completed, we'll move on to the next few projects.

Simplify # 3

Vacation Planning

1. Create a binder of vacation ideas, fliers, packing lists ect I did create a document for packing - I'm not printing off tons of copies (or even one) because, depending on when, where, and what we do for vacation, the list will always need to be tweaked.  Right now, I have a binder but it is empty.  We don't have any fliers or idea sheets for future vacations.  I'm finding this may  be a little over kill since most of what I do have I just save in a folder on my PC.  

2. Write a master packing list - This is done!  Yes, this will change as the boys grow up but if you click HERE you can see my document.  We don't go away a lot but, even for weekend trips to grandma's - this will be helpful.  I find that I pack about 12 little bags because I keep remembering things I forgot at the last minute - hopefully I can now pack one bag!!

Gift Wrapping Center

1. Make sure I have all supplies - need to get tape, pens, etc so it is all in one spot.
I just need to get some tape which I will get before I need to start wrapping gifts for birthdays soon. Otherwise this is done.  I must say, I've had to wrap a few gifts recently and it was so nice to pull out the bins with bags and tissue paper and know right where everything was!  I didn't have to dig OR buy something because it was such a hassle to find something to use. 

Tot Time Storage

1. Hang display shelves on the wall to display the boys work.
I haven't done this yet but I know what I'm doing - I'm just saving up some pop cans so I can purchase my supplies :-)

2. Do touch up painting in the dining room (where the display will be)
This is done!  I did the touch-up painting in the room and it looks so much nicer.

3. Create artwork binder for each of the kids
Same with this project - I know exactly what I'm doing but have to save up to purchase my supplies. 

On a side note - I am working on some basic preschool plans for the fall which will also play into this Tot Time Storage.

Simplify # 4

The Outside

Simplify #5

Everything in its place

1. The Basement - I have to clean the basement, again, and organize, again. I want to go back through everything again (see the key word ha!) and clean out more stuff. Well, this is done but it happened in a different way than expected.  We discovered that we had a slight water problem in the basement.  Add water to hot and humid weather weeks on end and you get . .. mold.  Yep, we have dealt with and conquered mold.  It was awful.  There is no better way to clean out a basement than to have to throw 1/2 of everything out.  We lost shelves, clothing, baby items, home decor - it was amazing the places we found mold.  We had to take down walls and insulation in order to kill what was behind the walls.  Did I mention it was awful?  The good news?  Eventually my basement will be cleaner and more organized than it has ever been - once we finish the cleaning process :-)

2. Craft/Scrapbooking stuff - I'm slowly getting this organized but it is still a work in progress.
I finally took time to go through everything and organize it and it is so much better.  I was able to put like things together and make sure that everything had a home.  Now I can actually find things again: -)

3. The Stairs - need to make that step basket, and set up a system for keeping the basement clean - instead of just dumping stuff until I can get to it. I did not end up making the step basket because, something happened by chance LOL  I ended up with an empty rubbermaid shoebox size container that got set down on top of the dog food container at the top of the stairs . . .when I was getting ready to take it downstairs I realized that it was the perfect size and in the perfect location to be my "go to the basement" basket.  It is big enough to hold several books, or jars, or even craft supplies but is small enough that I'll have to run stuff to the basement before it is over flowing.  As far as keeping the basement clean?  It is simple - put things away.  That's it :-)

Simplify #6

This was the one that was really a discipline and I can say that I have been working on keeping my house "ready for anyone". Again, summers are hard - we are outside a lot, it is hot, and we often are just ready to crash . . .things get let go until fall and that's ok :-)

So, that is where I stand on these right now -  I'm still hoping to get a few more things done before year end but we'll see how that goes!

Tot Time - A New Bed

Normally, my Tot Time posts are about the things we did or learned over the past week.  I must admit, we were lazy last week.  We played some games but nothing new and I didn't do much planning.  So instead, I thought I would share a few pictures of Josh's new bed.  We had decided that we wanted to move him to a twin bed for his third birthday, which is right around the corner.   We didn't realize how completely thrilled he will be!  I plan on sharing a post a little later when the room is done with all of the details but I wanted to share some great pictures today!

 Josh was so excited about his new big boy bed that he went to bed an hour early.  Just look at that smile!  He had no reservations with this new set up!

 We set up his little radio, pinwheel, and bears/blankie so he was all ready to go to sleep.

HAHA - he's telling us to get out so he can go nite-nite.  The best part?  We never heard him after we left the room.  I think he will sleep very good tonight. . .or at least I hope so!

We still have some work to do and I have some art work to finish up for the walls but at least the bed is done!  We'll be moving Josh's crib, which is the nicer of the two cribs, into Nate's room so he'll get a change too! 

Enjoy your day :-)

Weight Watchers Saturday

I'll be honest and say I did not have a great week!  We had lots of leftovers this week from various things so instead of making my planned lunches/breakfast, I chose to eat leftovers instead of throwing out so much food.  The good news is that I have the grocery items that will all carry over to next week!

For lunch next week, I will be having: Baby Spinach Salad with Honey Roasted Butternut Squash, Blue Cheese and Dried Cherries and Hot Spinach Dip with dippers.  I'm not sure what I'm going to dip yet.  The two items listed are 7 and 3 points a serving respectively so I don't want to add many points.  I am leaving the pumpkin seeds out of the salad though so I probably have a point or two to play with but I'm not changing the point value.  I have heard that jicama is good for dipping so I may try that for something different. 


For breakfast, I will be making: Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Muffins.  The recipe actually calls them cupcakes but, they look a lot like muffins!  They are 3 points each so I can have 2 plus 1 cup of skim milk for 8 points. 

I would like to share a recipe from a few weeks ago that I tried that we loved.  I say "we" because my husband ate it when came home from work and loved it!

Thai Chicken and Pineapple Stirfry
adapted from: Ginny's Skinny Recipes

This was a fantastic recipe.  I chose to leave the fish sauce out because it was too expensive to purchase and then not end up using.  Also, I could not find the Thai Kitchen Pineapple and Chili Dipping Sauce so I used a Thai Noodle Sauce instead.  Also, I only had 1 piece of chicken; next time I'll make sure there is the right amount of chicken too!

Servings: 4 • Size: 1.25 cups • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 186.6 • Fat: 4.6 g • Carbs: 15.5 g • Fiber: 0.9 g • Protein: 20.8 g • Sugar: 8.3
Sodium: 557.2

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tbsp Thai Kitchen fish sauce
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp oil, divided
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 2 cups cubed assorted colors bell peppers (1/2-inch cubes)
• 1 red chili pepper, chopped (optional or to taste)
• 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
• 1/2 cup Thai Kitchen Pineapple & Chili dipping sauce
• cilantro leaves (for garnish)

Directions:

Mix chicken and fish sauce in medium bowl. Add cornstarch; toss to evenly coat. Set aside.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add garlic and
ginger; stir fry 30 seconds. Add bell peppers, chili pepper if using and pineapple; stir fry 3 to 5 minutes or until peppers are tender-crisp. Add sauce; cook and stir until heated through. Remove from skillet.

Heat remaining oil in the skillet. Add chicken; stir fry 5 minutes or until cooked through. Return bell pepper mixture to skillet; stir fry until well blended. Garnish with cilantro

Menu Planning - October 1st

I'm slowly trying to evolve this post into something a little more useful and make the recipes a little easier to find - especially if I have already posted them on the blog previously.  This will be easy to do if I plan ahead, it's just that some weeks, I don't have time to plan ahead! 

This is the week that I try to use up some things we have and keep the grocery bill as small as possible so there won't be a whole lot of exciting things on the menu! 

Saturday: We have a full day planned with my parents so we'll be eating lunch out and more than likely ordering pizza or something for dinner.

Sunday: Darryl has a concert so we will have to grab something for lunch on the way home; then we will have Chicken Alfredo Pizza for dinner (a carry over from last week)
Monday: It is just the kids and I so we will be having good old blue box mac and cheese and hot dogs.

Tuesday: Chicken and Slaw Sliders (a new favorite!), Simple Baked beans (I.e. - right out of the can), and Chips

Wednesday: Normally it is just the kids and I unless Darryl happens to make it home so we are having Spaghetti and Garlic Bread. 

Thursday: Beef Tips and Noodles and Breadsticks

Friday: I plan on making some pizza for the kids and hopefully, a date night for Darryl and I so we will have something special after the kids go to bed.  I'll share about the date idea in a future post!

If you would like to see our full menu just click HERE

Recipe Friday - Pulled Chicken and Slaw Sliders

You may recall me talking about kick-off Sunday for football and the good food we had that day.  We had lots of snacks but we also had a "main dish" which was Pulled Chicken and Slaw Sliders.  They were super easy and so good!

Pulled Chicken and Slaw Sliders
adapted from : Recipe Shoebox

I turned these "sliders" into full size sandwiches by using regular hamburger buns.  Also, I did not use the rotisserie chicken but rather put some chicken thighs in the crock pot with chicken broth and seasoning in the morning so it was ready to shred for sandwiches later in the day.

Ingredients:
SLAW:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs. dill pickle juice (from a jar of pickles)
2 Tbs. cider vinegar
2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
1 (16-oz) package shredded coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage)
1/2 cup green onion

CHICKEN:
1 cup favorite BBQ sauce
3 Tbs. cider vinegar (we left this out completely)
3 cups roughly shredded rotisserie chicken

1 pkg. (12) mini-hamburger buns (I used 8 regular-sized hamburger buns)
Directions:
To prepare slaw, in a large bowl whisk all ingredients together, except coleslaw mix and green onion. Add coleslaw and green onions and toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve

To prepare chicken, combine BBQ sauce, vinegar, and chicken in a glass bowl. Microwave about 3-minutes or until thoroughly blended.
To serve, place chicken mixture on bun bottoms. 
Spoon slaw on top of chicken.

Place remaining bun halves on top.
So very yummy!!!

Flylady (A New Mini-Series)

Welcome to my first attempt at a mini-series of sorts.  I have spoken about my love for Flylady often over the course of this blog but it has always come in bits and pieces instead of really giving you a birds eye view of what she is all about.  The best place to learn everything there is to know about Flylady is at the the Flylady website.   I am not about to take away any of her "thunder" but, rather, I'm going to share some of her basic ideas along with what I've learned along my journey with this system. 

I first met the Flylady about 8 years ago.  A friend of mine told me about this great site that helped you totally organize cleaning your home.  Well, I heard the words "organizing" and "cleaning" and was already hooked.  This 8 year journey has been just that, a journey.  I learned what worked for me and what didn't work for me plus, along the way, I started to understand the program more and more which made it easier.  I have "fluttered" my way through a few years and finally feel like I'm "flying" for once. 

Where to begin?  Well, with babysteps, of course!  If you feeling overwhelmed by your home, please take time to pop over to THIS page and read the Flylady's encouraging words.  Baby steps are just that, one small thing at a time.  If you are like me, you'll read step one and say "Seriously, that is all you want me to do", than you'll look at steps 2-10 and try to do them all.  All I can say is  . . .don't.  This system works if you take it one step at a time. 

Baby Step 1:  Clean Your Sink.  That's right, just clean your kitchen sink.  Put out a clean towel, and make sure that there isn't a dirty dish in that sink!  If you click on that link, it will take you to the Flylady page where she gives detailed instructions on how to clean your sink.  It really does work.  Now, I don't do this step in detail anymore - at least not how she describes.  For my stainless steel sink, I have found that Liquid Barkeepers Friend works miracles. 

I usually clean my sink twice a week with this cleaner.  The other days, I just wipe it out before running the dishwasher at the end of the day.  Periodically I do take a toothpick or skewer and use that to clean around the edge of the sink as well (you know - that little lip that catches all the junk!)   I do work really hard to leave my sink empty at the end of the night but it doesn't always happen.  I hate washing dishes so if anything doesn't fit in the dishwasher, it waits for the next day :-) 

Honestly, if you have never done this, it will amaze you how good it feels to walk into a clean kitchen - or at least a clean sink area - in the morning.

You are now done with day one of your Flylady Journey :-)  

Step 2:  Get Dressed to Lace Up Shoes.  Flylady is HUGE on getting dressed "to your shoes".  Basically, it is the simple concept of getting up in the morning, getting ready, and getting clothes on, right down to your shoes.  By wearing shoes, you are ready for anything - an emergency, taking out the trash, or chasing the dog down. 

Now, this is reality in my life . . .I don't wear shoes in the house.  I really don't like wearing shoes.  Instead, I keep a pair of flip flops, crocs, or other slip on shoes by the back door so I can easily put them on when ever needed.  With little hands under foot, I don't want to step on them either.  So, for me, I get dressed to my . . .bare feet :-) (I don't even like to wear socks - even in the winter!!) 

(And remember to clean your sink at the end of the day - now you have two steps down! FYI - you don't have to bleach your sink every night, just that first night.  The rest of the nights you just wipe it out and leave a clean towel ready for the next day)

Step 3: Is simply to do what we have already done.  That's right, on day 3, just do those first two things again and you are on your way to success. 

Next week, I'll talk about a whole group of steps that have to do with writing some things down and finding hot spots.  This will also start the bare bones of a control journal (I call it my Home Management Journal) 

So . . go clean your sink :-)

What I'm Reading

Olivia's Touch  by Peggy Stoks

Synopsis: Local healer Olivia Plummer is excited to learn that a doctor is coming to the tiny frontier town of Tristan, CO, but her excitement turns to antagonism when Dr. Ethan Gray demands her arrest for practicing medicine without a license. However, within the week, the good doctor manages to cut his hand so badly that Olivia is the only person who can treat it. Seeing a chance to bring the two together, the sheriff orders Olivia and Ethan to work together until his hand mends. Olivia's simple faith in a God who heals touches Ethan's soul and heart, and he realizes his actions may keep Olivia from healing others, as Colorado passes a law prohibiting anyone without a license from practicing any kind of healing. Unfortunately, Olivia comes across as a saint, while Ethan is the obnoxious, know-it-all doctor, which leaves the reader wondering why they end up together

My Review: I would like to clarify that though Olivia Plummer is deemed as a "healer" - the term really refers more to a midwife who has learned how to treat other illnesses and injuries.  She is natural at what she does.  I would also like to disagree with the above Synopsis - I did not feel that Olivia came across as a saint; nor Ethan as obnoxious.  Rather, I saw how each one changed throughout the story due to the influence they had on each other.  There was a bit of a mystery in the book that took me most of the book to figure out.  This is book one in a series and I'm hoping to pick up books 2 and 3 at some time so I can read those as well.

My Rating: * * *  I really enjoyed reading this book and would easily pick it up to read it again in the future. 

A Untamed Land by Lauraine Snelling (Book 1)

Synopsis: She had promised herself that once they left the fjords of Norway, she would never look back.
The promise of free land lures Roald and Ingeborg Bjorklund from their beloved home high above the fjords of Norway, and after three long years of scrimping and saving to buy tickets for their passage to America, they finally arrive at the docks of New York City. This new land promises a rich heritage for their children, and here they hope to build a good life.

After a long journey by train and then by covered wagon, the Bjorklunds finally arrive in Dakota Territory, where they settle on the banks of the Red River of the North. But the virgin prairie refuses to yield its treasure without a struggle. Will Roald and Ingeborg be strong enough to overcome the hardships of that first winter?

Proud of their heritage and sustained by their faith, they came to tame a new land

My Review:  Very simply, my review for this entire series will be the same - I love this series of books.  Lauraine Snelling is a wonderful author who is able to paint a picture of what is happening in the story.  You feel like you love the characters and fight for them at times. 

My Rating: * * * * *   Yes, 5 stars.  As I said, this series is fantastic!  I would recommend them to anyone! 

A New Day Rising  by Lauraine Snelling (Book 2)

Synopsis: The dream of their own farmstead and a good life in America had brought Roald and Ingeborg Bjorklund across the Atlantic to pioneer the virgin prairie of Dakota Territory. But Roald's tragic disappearance in a winter storm had turned Ingeborg's dreams into a living nightmare. Against nearly impossible circumstances and overwhelming grief, she struggles to keep the farm and her family together.

When spring appears, Roald's distant cousin Haaken arrives to help with the heavy field work, and Ingeborg is able to once again concentrate her efforts on home and children. After the bleak winter, she cannot ignore the joy that Haaken brings to their lives or the attraction she begins to feel toward him. When Roald's brother from Norway also arrives to help the family, things become very complicated around the simple prairie dwelling!

He reminded her of a Viking of old--
could he be persuaded to stay

My Review AND Rating: My Review is the same as above AND so is the rating!  If you are looking for a great series to read, pick this one up!  I'm currently reading book three :-)