Mommy School - Happy St Patrick's Day!!

So this week we geared up to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  But first, I used a chance of making some homemade applesauce to "teach" Josh.

 Josh learned how to use the Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer this week.  He loved it and he loved the applesauce too.  I did manage to pick out the peelings and cores he threw in the crock pot before they cooked :-)

 On to St Patrick's Day - we started are day with Lucky Charms.  Or maybe I should say Lucky Charms Marshmallows because they got picked out quickly :-)

 For lunch we had Green Mac and Cheese and Green Smoothies.  I did not put spinach in the smoothies - that was too much for me - so I just added a few drops of food coloring.  Nate loved the smoothie and sucked that puppy right down; Josh preferred Chocolate Milk :-)

 The Little Munchkin I babysit brought the boys gifts - the headbands and necklaces that light up!  We all had a lot of fun with these items all day long.  Josh loved the flashing necklace the best.   Plus all the boys had on special St Patty's Shirts!!

 It is really hard to get these two to sit still for a good picture together so this is what I've got LOL  It kinda fits their personality perfectly.

 And dinner!  This was a first for me - I found a recipe for Corn Beef and Cabbage in the crock pot and put that together this morning.  It was surprisingly tasty - I enjoyed the potatoes and carrots that cooked in the crock pot too more than the meat though.  I also made some Irish Soda bread and a Rainbow Jello-O Salad. . .don't look too close, I messed up my layers so they aren't in order plus one is missing because I ran out of time . ..

 And I made treasure pudding cups too!  We had to eat to find the gold (chocolate) coin in the bottom.   Josh obviously loved his.

 After dinner we went on a treasure hunt for more gold (chocolate) coins.

And we ended our day with a green bath!!  It was a lot greener in person and the boys really enjoyed it.

We also had a great visit from Grandpa and Grandma Mac today too!

So, that was the main focus of our teaching this week - I will be posting some recipes for a few of the items we enjoyed today over the next few weeks in case you are interested too!!

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify part 3

I have to say, it feels good to cross projects off the list, to have working ways of organization, and to see all of the things that stressed our home life be resolved and made peaceful.  From a way to manage our home better to the "Spa" bathroom being complete . . almost there (can it be Spa with THREE, count them THREE boys in the house???)  to actually being able to use our games because we can get to them now!

You can check out progress on the other Simplify Posts here and here.  (Part 1 is completed!!)

On to the next few items.

The Kitchen

This is still a work in progress.  This project is going faster than I anticipated which is nice.  About 1/3 of the cabinets are painted and the handles are going up thanks to my hubby.  I've picked out the wall colors and even have picked out some tile for a back splash; but one thing at a time so first, the cabinets will get done! For progress on this return to Simplify post #2

The Closets and Dressers

It is that time of year again!  Time to clean out the closets, rotate clothes, and figure out what we need to get us through the summer

My goals for these areas are pretty simple

1 .Nate's Room - clean out his closet and pack away any winter clothes that don't fit; hang up the summer clothes he has; make a list of any items that are needed; clean out his dresser to make room for the clothes Josh will pass down from this winter; make sure the dresser and the closet are clean, neat and organized

2. Josh's Room - clean out his closet and pack away any winter clothes that don't fit; hang up the summer clothes (which = about zero so the boy will be naked for a bit LOL) and make a list of what to buy; clean out his dresser; make sure the dresser and the closet are clean, neat and organized.

3. Our room - clean out our closet and get rid of clothes we aren't wearing; move winter clothes downstairs/summer clothes upstairs; make a list of anything we need; clean out our dresser as needed; make sure closet and dresser are neat, clean and organized.
4. Jewelry Organization (for me LOL) - Clean out my jewelry; take anything I think is gold (hahahaha) to see if I can get money for it (the stuff that is broken or I don't want); Make a jewelry organization center. (I've seen a few ideas on various blogs that I may combine to use what I want - right now I don't even know what I have so even when I can wear jewelry, I often end up not finding what I want in the the drawer)

Vacation Planning

This is coming into play now because we have a little vacation planned at the end of May that I need to get moving on so I'm going to incorporate the few things that we will use for future vacations into this plan

1. Write up a master packing list

2. Create a binder of vacation ideas, fliers, packing lists etc.

3. Plan this vacation - menu, things to do, things to pack etc.

Gift Wrapping Center

This was one of the weekly organizational challenges that I did not complete on the given week.  It needed more time than what I had to give it.  I figured this was a good block to throw it in since the above items don't require a lot of extra work.

1. Clean out gift bags - get rid of the bad, broken and ugly

2. Put bows and ribbins in labeled bins

3. Clean out gift wrap

4. Figure out where to hang gift wrap to make it easy to use

5. Clear of work table downstairs to use for gift station Instead built a station in my bedroom by using under the bed storage - I've already used it twice to wrap shower gifts and L.O.V.E it!

6. Purchase needed supplies like scissors, tape, pens pencils, etc to use only at that station

Tot Time Storage
As I teach my kids more and more and have more supplies I see the need to create an easy, self-updating system to store our activities for each month.  This is something I want to be able to morph into more teaching things as the boys get older.  This is not something that was on my original 12 idea list but as I was shoving placing crayons and coloring books in a dark corner the other day it dawned on me, I need a better system! This may also accomplish another goal of getting my scrapbooks out into public so we can actually enjoy them - if there is enough room on the shelf!
1. Purchase or re-purpose a storage unit/bookcase into the dining room (the best place for my "classroom" - you have have multi-purpose rooms in a tiny house)
2. Purchase or re-purpose baskets/bins for storage of items like crayons, markers, paper, paint etc.
3. Have a home for the current month's sensory bin
4. Have a low basket for the weeks/months current storybooks that fit the theme.
5. Hang display "shelves" on the wall to display each boys artwork (this is an idea I posted about a LONG time ago so it is the perfect time to incorporate the idea)
6. Do touch up paint in the dining room (from removing pictures to do this project) and rehang only the most important things - to reduce eye clutter.
7. Bring Scrapbooks out of the bedroom onto this shelf (oh please let there be room LOL)
8. If the above works, almost move the shelf out of the bedroom!!! (Finally - a little room!)
9. Create an Artwork binder for each of the kids (another idea that I saw that I love!!)
10. Make sure I have the basic supplies to have tot time with my kids - scissors, crayons, markers, glue, etc.
11. Make a wish list of various toys/'games to use for teaching.

As you can see I have a ton of "little" (haha) projects I would like to get done.  I'm pushing hard to get some of these out of the way by the end of March as we have a HUGE project that we want to get done in April and May (well, huge to us . . .).  Than this summer I have some crafts I want to do for Christmas (seriously??YEP!) that I need the outside and sunshine to help with (like painting in the garage without freezing)  I just told Darryl recently that I feel like our home is slowly beginning to run like a well oiled machine.  We had so many changes in just a short span of time that we just keep moving forward, pushing things out of our way. Now that I've been home a year, I feel like we can slip into a pattern and, once that is established, make it work no matter what comes our way!

What I'm Loving Wednesday (Ode to a Stove)

So this week's "What I'm Loving Wednesday" is a little different than normal but it really shows what I'm truly thankful for too!!!


This is my current stove.

Yes, it is cooking its final meal.

Isn't that cute???

Daddy's helper :-)

It has served us well. It was a gift . . kinda.  See, when we bought this house with all of its "working" appliances, we soon discovered (after waiting for Chicken Enchilada Casserole to cook for 2 1/2 hours!!) that the oven did not work.  Seriously.  We had just bought a house, purchased new carpet (to replace gross, nasty 20 year old green shag carpet in the living room) and had to buy a lawn mower . .. so a stove was out of the question.  For 6 months I lived without an oven.  I cooked using the stove top, crock pot, or toaster oven.  We missed a lot of our favorites and ate a lot of tacos and beef tips and noodles. Than, my parents were able to buy a new stove and guess who got the hand-me-down???  US!!!!  We where thrilled because it also came with a well used portable dishwasher too :-)  So, our stove was once my parents and we've had it for over 7 years . . I would guess that baby is at least 15 years old.  We've noticed it doesn't cook as evenly, I have a burner ( or 2) that won't light anymore and, well, we've had a visit from the Fire Department too .. .. the stove likes to set off the carbon monoxide detector.  Not good.  Time to replace that old friend.

This is my new stove.

Out with the old

In with the new . . . well, not really.  See that stove was the wrong one - I discovered it after they left.  They returned a few hours later with the right one!

SWEET!!!

Yep, that sweet thing is mine.  It matches my new refrigerator (which was replaced this summer when the 20 year old item that came with the house, died).  Isn't that thing awesome????  I can cook 5 things at once if I want to. I love good sales at Sears - and tax returns - or I might be cooking in a toaster oven for awhile.  Oh, and just for the record, that portable dishwasher is long gone too . . we lived again without one for over a year and than bought a new portable dishwasher about 3 years ago.  My husband has promised me that when that one dies, the next one will match the other appliances, both in color and in the fact that it will be installed :-)  But first . . .a dryer is next on the list. .. another oldie but goodie . . we'll see how much longer it lasts.

So, that's what I'm loving today!!

Also I'm linking up at blog hops over at:

and



Too Cute Not Too Toot

This is a really cute and easy Shamrock decor item from Kristie Koo.  Isn't it cute?

I love this idea from A Creative Princess and have scene it on other blogs as well.  I'm so glad to see this though, so I can save it here for my own benefit!!  One of my upcoming simplify items has to do with the dining room and Tot Time - this will fit in perfectly.

This idea from Crafting in the Rain is something new that I haven't seen before.  I really like it though, and think it would look neat in my bathroom or even my new kitchen . . .

Ok, I've steered away from Easter ideas as much as possible because it is still so far away but, when I saw this - I loved it.  Check out this great tutorial from Krafty Kat for a faux chocolate egg tree.

Subway art is huge in blogland.  I'm saving so many of them to print and use in the future.  Here is one for the bathroom from Our House By the Side of the Road

We didn't do anything for Dr. Seuss's birthday this year more because I didn't realize it until the day of!  But, I have saved this idea for next year from Mom Endeavors.  What a great family memory and something awesome to look back at in the years to come.

This is a super cute kid activity for St. Patricks Day - or for anytime.  Meetthedubiens gives an easy musical idea :-)

She also gives another idea for a neat Leprechaun Handprint Craft.  I'll be adding this to my plans for next year.

I think I showed a version of this balloon wreath a long time ago (If I didn't . . .well there is a link to the original tutorial in this post too!) but the version from Who's Watching the Baby is super cute and takes half the balloons :-)  I love her "re-usuable" mantle idea for birthdays too!!

Chocolate, Drool and Kisses gives an adorable (and easy) tutorial for making letters.  This would be a great gift for showers or even a kids birthday - their name for the wall. 

I know, I know, this is an Easter idea but I really like this one too from Southern Scraps so I wanted to post it here for my own sake :-) 

Easter crafts are really popping up all over blogland so I guess I'll just embrace it. This is a really cute wreath idea using plastic eggs from This is My Life.  She gives a step by step tutorial which makes it look pretty simple.

I was reading through a blog I recently starting following, A Little Tipsy, and came across this post for making cute bibs from old t-shirts or toddler shirts.  They really are a cute idea for a baby gift - something original.  (disclaimer - this is an older post with an outdated giveaway but just scroll down for the full tutorial on the bibs!) What a cool dad gift too - follow me on this one; buy two t-shirts, one for dad to wear and than use the matching one to make a bib :-) 

This next idea is two in one :-)  This is a really cute idea for both Valentine's Day and St Patricks Day.  This link from Infarrantlycreative takes you to the original full tutorial for her Valentine's Countdown board.

You'll need that tutorial (at least I did) to fully get the gist of how to make this adorable St Patricks Day Version

If you follow me long you'll hear about my list of 40x40 and making a necklace is on that list.  So, when I saw this one over at Craftomaniac I figured I'd better post it here so I can find it later!

Here's a cute craft idea to make stackable boxes for you little ones from Crafts by Mommy.  She hot glued the lids on but I wonder about Velcro so that the kids could learn to stack "in" . . . just thinking ummm . .outside the box LOL

Ok, someday I'm going to make  a wreath for each holiday to hang in my home. . I promise.  So I keep saving great ideas.  I really like this Easter one - the yarn wrapped eggs are really cute and it is a pretty inexpensive craft.  Check out The Sweet Survival for a full tutorial.

Here's another great wreath for the summer - I like it because I could actually hang it outside!  I found this idea over at From Glitter to Gumdrops

Ok, this is one of the greatest ides ever (ok - if not the greatest, close to it!)  I've been looking for a stair basket for ever because I always have stuff that needs to go downstairs and just ends up sitting on the counter.  I saw this idea over at Full of Great Ideas and this is something that I will be doing as part of my kitchen makeover.  I'm sure I even have a box downstairs that will work perfectly.





And the last entry from today comes from Oopsey-Daisy and is for a super adorable St Patricks Idea!  So simple and so cute all wrapped into one!

Weekly Organizational Challenge #7 - Finacnes plus . . .Weekly Organiziation Challenge and Simplify Updates

A few weeks ago, I won a gift certificate to CSN stores from The Carter Family.  I was so excited when I looked and found things I needed for some of my simplify projects!!  I wanted to share my successes and what I purchased.  I will admit I spent a little more than the $35.00 I won but not much :-)

First, I purchased two of these CD storage cubes.  I had seen a similar idea on a blog awhile back and really liked it.  We listen to CD's 4-5 days a week but, right now, my stack looks like this:

See, the kids had gotten into the cupboard and tried to help me out one day. Instead, I ended up with a mess :-)   So I pulled out CD's in groups based on how many would fit in this basket.

Than, I pulled the CD's out of the jewel cases and put them in the sleeves provided in the cubes.  The Jewel cases I am saving for now - I've stored them in a good old cardboard box with a date on it.  If I have not pulled anything out of that box in the next three years, I will toss them all.  I chose to store them in a box instead of a tote because I want to be able to just toss it plus, if it happens to get damp or wet it doesn't really matter . ..

So, here's the (almost) final project - isn't it neat?  I will be making a list of the CD's I have as I play them now.  I had already done this with my Soundtracks.  I did not put them in any order (alphabetical) because as I add to my collection, I don't want to have to shift a bunch of CD's around but, rather, just add it to the next available space.  As far as knowing what songs are on what CD - if I need to know, that is what the Internet is for, right?

Here are our DVD's - I bought a case to put these in but after much thought and knowing my kids are still very visual and need the cases to see what the movie is, I decided to leave them as is.  The bottom shelf is all kids DVD's so that they boys are able to pick out what they want.

The top two boxes hold the following:  One holds all of my Christian Collection and one holds my collection of "other" - everything from some country to a few musical CD's (Like Titanic), all of my kids cd's, and the Christmas stuff.   The basket, right now, holds my soundtracks . . .but read on!!

So the case above is what I also purchased from the CSN stores and I bought it for the purpose of putting DVD's in it.  But, as you already read, that plan changed.  In the midst of all of this, I really struggled with what to do with my singing soundtracks and this is the solution.  I will be able to put the ones I have sung into one "book" so that when I need a last minute song I can just pull from that selection.  The others will hold all of the rest.  I think I can fit the general CD's into two books and use one book for Christmas and other special songs.  My goal is to finish this up this week. 

Another item I purchased was this under the bed gift wrap storage bin. You may remember that a recent weekly challenge was to create a Gift Wrap Center.  I knew this was something I needed to really think about and come up with a perfect solution!

One of the things I mentioned in that post was that I always wrap gifts on my bed.  It is big and the perfect height to stand and wrap gifts.  I woke up in the middle of the night with this idea and, again, was so glad to find this on the CSN site.  I also picked up/repurposed a couple of clear bins as well.

Previously, I stored my gift wrap in one of these Rubbermaid gift wrap containers.  It is a great container unless you buy tall gift wrap :-)  The lid is long gone and this was becoming a dust collector - my paper was always dusty and dirty.

My tissue paper stash was housed in one of the 7 drawer carts.  It worked for the time being but I found I always used white because I couldn't figure out what drawer held what!! 

This is proof that you can have too many gift bags LOL After two baby showers, lots of birthdays plus many Christmas' . . well . .it was time to clean it out.  I had picked up this bag "holder" years ago at Hallmark and loved it when I only had a handful of bags but now, most of the pockets are ripped apart due to the number of bags.  I took all of the bags out and only kept the ones that I knew I would actually use again and that were in great shape.  I probably got rid of half of the bags stuffed in here.

So, first, I put all of the gift wrap in the canvas bag.  I obviously have more than enough Christmas wrap :-)  This also holds some boxes and, not shown here, a bag of bows. 

This is the finished product of my Gift Wrap Center.  The large bin was a "repurposed" bin and it now holds all of the Christmas bags.  The two smaller totes, I purchased - one holds all of the other bags and one holds my tissue paper. 

I still need to pick up things like tape, scissors, and other little things to keep in this center.  I'm really getting into wrapping gifts, not just using gift bags, so I would also like to get some ribbon rolls and other bow making supplies and slowly use up the bags.  (Which are still nice for those odd shaped gifts and multiple gifts!)

So, now on to new things and I am SOOOOO excited about this week's challenge, are you ready??

Weekly Challenge Number 7

Finances



Now, I had an idea that this challenge was coming from some hints that Toni gave a few weeks ago.  Added to that is the fact that one of my goals this year is to really get our finances in working order and to come up with a working system for our family . . .means I already have this one underway!!  I know that Dave Ramsey is great and I have read/heard a lot of his teaching but, before Dave Ramsey, I was a huge Mary Hunt follower and still am to a point.  Mary Hunt has similar ideas as Dave Ramsey but instead of really an envelope system she taught keeping spreadsheets to track everything.  So between the two great teachers, I've combined some of their ideas for a plan . . .now if only we could live that plan :-)

As far as what I'm using right now - back when we made our Home Management Binders, I purchased a few things from Clean Mama Printables and one of them was the financial pack.  I took away a few things from that pack - some actual documents and some ideas, which I than turned into my own system.  One key thing I've learned is that no one else's system will work for you.  Your income, debt, priorities, payment schedules are all different so it can't work!  One of the best ideas I took away from the Clean Mama printables is a monthly receipt tracker.  Honestly, all it is, is a monthly calender.  Yep, that's it (hers is pretty though LOL)  Instead of keeping a spreadsheet or a notebook, I keep that calender  clipped to the front of my Home Management notebook and write everything that comes in or goes out in the days little square.  It helps me track patterns of spending and keep track of all income. It is really easy to just jot down notes each day; than on Sunday or Monday (depending on how busy Sunday is!) I add everything up and plug it into the months budget sheet.  Again, the budget sheet design that I use, I morphed into my own but the idea is totally from Clean Mama Printalbles - I recreated what she did in Excel to fit our budgeted items.  Before the 1st of each Month, I take time to create a new monthly budget sheet.  All of the standard stuff stays the same but I also try to look ahead at the month to special things that are coming up - how much birthday money will we need for gifts? What special days are planned (like family days) and what will we need for that?  Are there doctor's appointments or other medical needs this month (like perscriptions)?  This helps me plan our money.  It does not always work out - I keep a place for "Unexpected spending" on my budget and list line items.  Why?  So I can see where else our money is going and I can plan better next year! 

I just recently started an envelope system - I purchased one of those small plastic files (like you use for coupons?) and labeled each section for our envelope system - everything from Vacation to Kids Clothes.  Right now, our finances are a little tight so we don't get to put a lot in there but I try to pull even $20 a week to plug into one section.  This is something new to us so it is really taking a lot of planning and discipline on my part to even get this going right now. 

So, now that I've bored you out of your mind LOLOLOLOL  (Good thing I put all of those pictures at the beginning to entice you!!)  Check out A Bowl Full of Lemons for all of her tips and ideas.  It looks like she is giving some daily challenges within the week challenge to help get those finances in order!!

P.S. - She is also doing a giveaway . . . .:-)