Simply Clean Living

Keeping your Parent Power

2012-01-10T22:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Other Mom at Taco Bell,
I wish I could have come up to you tonight and told you something. Of course, a stranger coming up to you at Taco Bell offering unsolicited parenting advice would have been, like, the weirdest thing ever, so of course I didn't. But I wanted to.

Believe me when I say I'm not a perfect parent myself. Exhibit A? I was feeding my children Taco Bell for dinner. However, I so wanted to somehow convey to you the parenting power of doing what you say you're going to do. Guess what? Even the first time you told your kid that you were going to leave Taco Bell if he didn't sit back down at the table, I didn't believe you. And neither did your kid. If you're going threaten a consequence, you gotta be willing to follow through.

Listen, I have BEEN there. Any time you are at Taco Bell for dinner on a weeknight, with your two little kids, pregnant, and with no significant other around to help, it's a dire situation. Your stress was written all over your face, and I have felt that. On nights like that, the Taco Bell dinner is more than crappy Mexican food and a fountain soda. It is a lifeline to sanity. On nights like that, my child could have literally been setting fire to the Taco Bell, and I wouldn't have gotten up and left. "Don't mind him," I would have told the cashier, "I'll deal with him in a second. Just give me my &$%*# crunchy tacos so I don't have to cook anything!"

So..... you're NOT going to leave Taco Bell if your kid gets up from the table. I know that, you know that, and your kid knows that. So why threaten it? The first time was doubtful - by the eighth or ninth threat, it was actually laughable. Never threaten your kid with something that is so painful to you that you're going to be reluctant to follow through. If you aren't going to leave Taco Bell (and girl, I don't blame you), then use a different consequence, one that inconveniences your child more than it inconveniences you.

You are the authority, you have the power, you are the momma. And your kids have to believe that. They have to know that if you tell them there's a consequence for their behavior, that there will BE one. Otherwise, to be blunt, your efforts at discipline are just a joke to them. Why would they do what you say if they know you don't mean it? So pick a consequence that's gonna hurt them more than it hurts you, think twice before you say it, and if you say it, you gotta mean it. And, in the meantime, make sure you get a refill on that soda, because if anything's going to save your sanity, it's a Dr. Pepper.

Doll Hair Detangler

2011-12-30T16:53:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness for Pinterest. About a month ago I pinned a picture of a homemade doll hair detangler. I was hoping it worked, since my daughter's Target brand "American Girl" doll had some seriously tangled hair, and it was making her seriously sad! I am happy to announce that it worked! Click here for the original blog post.

Basically you will need a spray bottle, liquid fabric softener, water, and a wire brush. The first time I worked on the doll, I used a wire brush, but later for the Barbies I just used a wide-tooth comb and it was fine.

I wish I had taken "before" pics of my oldest daughter's doll. Let's just say it was an unmanageable ball of tangles, that could not be tamed into ANY style, not even a ponytail. My daughter got two new outfits for Christmas, and couldn't use the hair accessories for either of them because Sunny's hair was so mangy. Here is Sunny now. One thing I will say is that Sunny lost a LOT of hair in the process. Like, several handfuls. But I figured it was better to have less hair that my daughter could actually style than more hair in a big tangly ball. For my younger daughter's doll and the Barbies, they lost hardly any hair at all, so I think the key here is to detangle early and often!

Here's my younger daughter's doll, Jenny. Her hair didn't start out nearly as bad, because it doesn't get played with nearly as much. Minor tangling problem.

Jenny Before:

Jenny After:

I worked on some Barbies while I was at it. Here are their nice smooth manes.

So check out the Cookie and Claire blog and follow her directions for some magical doll detangler! I actually did this for my older daughter's doll on Christmas Day, and at the end of a full day being spoiled by presents, delicious food, and tons of family time, I asked her what her favorite part of the WHOLE day was. And guess what she said? "When you fixed Sunny's hair." Seriously. Could have saved myself some money on presents, I guess!

So try it out! Let me know if you have any other helpful tips!

4-Week Cleaning Schedule for Real-Life, Busy Moms!

2011-12-29T23:12:00.000-08:00

One thing I love about the new year is the chance to revamp my routines and recommit to a clean house! While I now work full-time, I never felt that I had the time to clean the house, even when I was a stay-at-home mom! I think that putting it off on the excuse that we don't have time to "do it right" is one of the worst things we can do to ourselves! The effect of even 15 minutes a day is powerful, and usually once you get going, you can squeeze in more time than that.

This year, I put together a 4-week Cleaning Schedule for myself. Each day of the week has a part of the house to focus on, and 2 tasks to do weekly, 4 bi-weekly, and 4 monthly. If you only have 15 minutes, do the white section, the tasks for that room that need to be done weekly. These are the most important things, the regular maintenance-type tasks needed to keep the house fairly clean and generally company-ready. If you have 30 minutes, add the yellow section section, the tasks that can be done every other week. And, if you find yourself still going, add the last turquoise section, the tasks that are more deep-cleaning, and don't need to be done quite so frequently.

There's also an additional page with a Daily Cleaning Schedule, Weekly Laundry Schedule, and a Weekly Menu. After I print these out, I am going to laminate them so that I can write my menu in, and cross off items on my Cleaning Schedule as I complete them.

So here it is! Click on the link, and print away! Enjoy! Or, set up your own schedule that works for you! By the way, the font looks a little blurry in Google Docs, but isn't when printed out.

4-Week Cleaning Schedule

Psst... I don't wanna hear any comments about the types of things I think can go a whole month without being done, okay? I'm a lazy cleaner, I readily admit it. Something is better than nothing!

Books of 2011

2011-12-29T14:59:00.000-08:00

So I got a Nook at the beginning of this year, thus touching off a year of reading unlike any other of my married life. Finally my two biggest hurdles to reading were cleared: the expense of buying a book I'd finish in a day or two, and the inconvenience of making it to the library, once to check out the book, and once to return it. I also work at an elementary school, giving me the opportunity to read a lot of Young Adult or Children's fiction, marked with (YA) on my list.

I love book lists, but feel like it would take forever to review everything I read this year! I'm going to start by listing them by their stars I gave them on Goodreads, and then if my kids aren't back in from the snow yet, I'll go back and add some notes!

I tend to gravitate toward family-type dramas, but those rarely actually end up on my favorites lists. I am trying to branch out and try some new things! I went through several periods of not reading at all this year, so I'm hoping to read even more this year. I also didn't rate anything as 1-star because I generally don't finish books I'm not liking, and I didn't bother to list all of those.

5-STAR (IT WAS AMAZING)
*Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand: This was a great book about a runner who goes to fight in World War II, and his bomber crashes in the middle of the ocean, touching off a long, excruciatingly difficult journey. While this book was a little on the long side, it was interesting and educational, and one of my favorites of the year.
*The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein: A story of a small family and its ups and downs, told by the perspective of the family pet. Because it mostly tells the story of the husband (and is narrated by a dog?!?), it wasn't one that normally would have appealed to me. But it was emotionally well-told, and kept me turning pages until I was done. Couldn't put it down.
*The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin: Non-fiction account of the author's year of setting goals to bring her more happiness in her life. Loved her insights, and it made me seriously re-evaluate some things about myself. Didn't hurt that it had an emphasis on goal-setting, which I love!
*The Help, by Kathryn Stockett: I think most people know this story already. Loved the characters, loved the story, even loved the movie. Can't get better than that!

4-STAR (REALLY LIKED IT)
*Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen
*No Time to Wave Goodbye, by Jacquelyn Mitchard
*Every Last One, by Anna Quindlen: This was a SAD book about a family tragedy, told from the perspective of the mother. I love tear-jerker books, and this was well-written and compelling.
*The Birth House, by Ami McKay: A story of a midwife's apprentice in the time of World War I, and addresses the choices and opportunities women were dealing with in terms of their choices in birth control and childbirth. Well-told and interesting.
*Countdown, by Deborah Wiles (YA): Coming-of-age story of a 12-year-old girl who lives in Washington DC in 1962. The whole country is worried about the Cuban Missile Crisis and doing air raid drills, while Franny deals with family issues, political stress, and drama with friends and boys. Told in kind of a "scrapbook" style with lots of actual pictures, news clippings, quotes from political figures, etc. I actually learned a lot about that time period!
*Wonderstruck, by Brian Selznick (YA): Cool book - two intertwining stories set 50 years apart. One is told entirely through beautiful illustrations, the other told traditionally in words. Both main characters are children who are deaf, adding another layer of interest to the book. It's long, at about 650 pages, but I made it through it in just a night since so much of the book is illustrated.
*Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli (YA)
*Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See
*The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls

3-STAR (LIKED IT)
*Labor Day, by Joyce Maynard
*The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy, by Stieg Larsson: These were interesting books, but so much language and graphic sexual violence, I had a hard time with them. I did read the whole trilogy though, so I guess that says something.
*The Stuff That Never Happened, by Maddie Dawson
*The Climb and The Contest (Everest series), by Gordon Korman (YA): I'm actually embarrassed at how into these books I was. I read them at school during silent reading time, and couldn't wait to get back to them each afternoon. They weren't super well-written, but I did want to see where the story went!
*The Giver, by Lois Lowry (YA): I think I would have liked this better if I'd read it before The Hunger Games. Just not quite as exciting in terms of a futuristic society type of book.
*Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli (YA)
*Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Olsen and Learned to Love Being Hated, by Alison Arngrim
*Bossypants, by Tina Fey: I wanted to like this book more than I did. It was my first book I've ever actually purchased for the Nook. It had some great parts, like her prayer for her daughter, but otherwise I found it just okay.

2-STAR (IT WAS OKAY)
*Harvesting the Heart, by Jodi Picoult
*Picture Perfect, by Jodi Picoult
*Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin
*A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick
*Beginner's Luck, by Laura Pedersen

Santa Christmas Countdown

2011-12-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

So when I saw this cute idea on Pinterest, I knew my kids would love it. Mine didn't turn out nearly as darling, but that's okay! I'm making a new goal here on the blog to just post what I'm doing, regardless of if my pictures turned out just right, or the craft turned out just as I planned.

Basically, we made Santa heads, then made some long beards. The kids numbered backward from 25 to 1, and then they cut off a number each day. When they get to the 25, it's Christmas! So, similar to a paper chain, but cuter, and with more personality!

This craft definitely did NOT turn out just as I'd imagined, but they're definitely entertaining to look at, and the kids love chopping Santa's beard off each night!

Homemade Pocket Warmer Tutorial: Great teacher gift!

2011-12-12T16:05:00.000-08:00

This year I decided to make pocket warmers for my kids' teachers as part of their Christmas gift. They were soooo super easy, and my kids were able to help, which they loved! We even made them more personal by tracing the kids' hands. You will need:

a small amount of flannel or fleece
coordinating thread
rice to fill them

Step 1: Trace your child's hand in a mitten shape, then add another quarter inch or so around the edges for a seam allowance. You will need 4 cut-outs for each set, two going each direction.

Step 2: Sew around the edges on your machine, leaving the bottoms open to fill later. Before you turn them right side out, trim the edges to reduce bulk, especially where the thumb meets the mitten.

Step 3: Topstitch around the mitten, still leaving the bottom open.

Step 4: Fill with rice. Make sure you don't fill them too full. My husband said he measured out 3 oz. for each, which is between 1/4 c. and 1/2 c. Don't mind my daughter here in all her snow gear!

Step 5: Before sewing them shut, clip your edges to reduce bulk. Also, putting a pin down low where the rice is helps the mitten to stay nice and flat in the machine.

Step 6: Stitch the bottoms closed. And you're done!

Here's the link to the poem we put with them. I had some cute clip art in there too, but I guess Google Docs hates clip art.

Most teachers have some sort of outside bus duty or recess duty, so I chose these with that in mind. I hope my kids' teachers enjoy these! Best of all, they were super cheap and easy to make!

Great Idea for Closet Clutter

2011-11-30T00:17:00.000-08:00

Love this super easy idea I saw on Pinterest.

(Photo NOT my own, courtesy of original blog post on robandjen.com)

Each year on January 1st, turn all your hangers around backwards. As you wear the item of clothing, hang it back up on a hanger facing the correct way. After 6 months, 12 months, whatever you like, you can easily tell which items you haven't worn. Then you need to get brave and donate them. Unless you have a really, really, like seriously good reason. I think I'm going to try this. I'll let you know how it works out!

Cranberry Salsa

2011-11-25T22:41:00.000-08:00

This is a great recipe for the holidays - easy, festive, beautiful, and delicious! My mom came across this recipe for cranberry salsa a few years ago and it's been a family tradition ever since! This is a good one to bring to parties and potlucks!

Pin It

Cranberry Salsa
Printable Version here

Ingredients

1 (12 ounce) bag of fresh cranberries
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 limes, juiced
3/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt

Combine cranberries, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno pepper, lime juice, sugar, and salt in the bowl of your food processor, and chop to desired consistency. Our food processor is not big enough for this entire batch at once, so I mix it in a bowl, and then put it into the food processor in batches. This salsa is best made the night before or a few hours before, and refrigerated so that the flavors have a chance to blend, but do not make more than a day in advance. Serve with tortilla chips.

Recipe originally from allrecipes.com

Cornmeal Waffles

2011-10-03T22:46:00.000-07:00

Pretend you don't know that this is a child's plate purchased at IKEA.

We have a tradition in our family to have Breakfast for Dinner on Friday nights. It's easy, it's different, and it gives us a chance to enjoy some breakfast favorites that we don't have time for in the morning.

This past weekend we tried these Blender Cornmeal Waffles. They're super easy - just toss all the ingredients in the blender, blend, and bake 'em off in your waffle iron! These freeze really well, so you can double the batch, cook them all, then keep some in the freezer for those busy mornings!

Note: We make a triple batch of this for our family of 5, so we do it in a bowl and then use our immersion blender to mix.

Blender Cornmeal Waffles (courtesy of cooks.com)

1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

*Blend all ingredients, either in a blender, or in a bowl using an immersion blender. Cook in waffle iron. Makes 12-15 waffles.

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

2011-10-02T22:40:00.000-07:00

This bread was one of the first things I pinned on Pinterest, and my husband and I have been drooling over it for months. Finally, today was the day. The problem with Pinterest is that it's just beautiful pictures, so you never know how the recipes will turn out. But this bread tasted amazing, and an actual quote from my husband this morning? "I love it when something I make turns out exactly like the pictures." Crispy on the top, soft in the middle, sticky on the bottom. Can't beat that!

We didn't change the recipe at all, so head on over to Joy the Baker and check out her tutorial on this bread.

We may or may not have been using Our Best Bites' Buttermilk Caramel Syrup for something else in our brunch, and accidentally spooned extra onto our plates to sop up with this bread. Yum!

Tinkerbell/Pixie Hollow Birthday Party

2011-09-13T00:29:00.000-07:00

iThis past weekend was my daughter's 6th birthday party, and we had a Tinkerbell/Pixie Hollow theme.

Crafts:
*Pixie Wands: We used wooden dowels and decorations to make the wands. I also set out sequins, glitter glue, markers, and ribbons for the girls to decorate their wands.

*Pixie Pinnies: Use the old straight clothespins to make little pixies. I set out scraps of fabric and let them design their own dresses. They used markers to draw faces and jewelry. I had pre-cut some yarn for the hair, but they were able to choose the color they wanted and trim it if they wanted to change the length. For the wings, they colored coffee filters with marker, and then we lightly spritzed them with water and let them dry before gluing them to the back.

Games:
*Pixie Hollow Treasure Hunt: I took each of the pixies and glued their picture to a notecard, then laminated it and strung a ribbon through a hole in the corner. I came up with a clue for each pixie based on their "talent" (e.g. "Rosetta is a garden fairy. She has been busy this summer growing some VERY tall flowers!")

*Pin the Wings on Tink: Version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. I just printed out a picture of Tinkerbell and glued it to a posterboard, then made a set of wings with each girl's name.

Cake & Treats:
*We did a two-layer fondant cake, meant to look like nature with the pixies in it. The top layer was the blue sky with clouds, then the bottom had a river, grass, and flowers. My daughter had some Pixie Hollow figurines that we placed around the cake. We got lucky here because these particular figurines are meant to be on a plastic stand, so each one had a hole in its back, where we stuck a toothpick and then stuck them into the cake.

*We borrowed an idea from this month's Family Fun magazine and made little acorns out of Hershey Kisses and mini Nilla wafers with a bit of pretzel stuck on top. We handed them out in the gift bags with a note that said, "Thank you for spending my birthday with me at Pixie Hollow!"
(Photo courtesy of Family Fun Magazine)

Sewing Tutorial Review: The MADE Beach Towel Robe

2011-07-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

So I mentioned a while back on Facebook that I was trying this Beach Towel Robe from MADE, and that I'd let you know how it went. You basically take a large bath or beach towel and turn it into a little robe for swimming or the bath. I made one for my youngest daughter for her birthday, and it turned out sooo cute! My other kids were so enamored with the one I made for her that of course I had to make a few more!

The pattern is $8, and you get a 30-page PDF file with lots of full-color pictures and detailed instructions. Since I've only been sewing since January, this was super helpful for me, and I found the robes pretty easy to make.

The only change I would make to the pattern is that I think the ties are a little long in the large size. Maybe that's just my personal preference, but if you make the biggest size, you may want to keep an eye on that. In my pictures below, I've shortened the ties about 6 inches. Also, she says you can make any of the sizes out of "pretty much any towel," but getting the largest size robe out of your average sized beach towel was a TIGHT SQUEEZE for me (literally just a few inches of leftover fabric), and I had to lay it out differently from the way she shows in her pictures. Look for towels that don't have any decoration or detail on the edges, because you will need your WHOLE towel.

Other than that, I thought the pattern was perfect! Easy to follow, lots of ways to tweak it and personalize it, and sooooo cute!

Here is the one I made first. This is just a plain bath towel from Target (the really soft ones) and I added a hood liner of some cute cupcake fabric.

Here's the second one I made for my older daughter. She picked out the beach towel, and I wasn't crazy about it, but I think it turned out cute!

Now I'm finishing up the one I'm making for my son. It's soul-splitting bright green. So lovely. But I wanted to take a picture of the ties. While I was busy trying to talk my daughter into a cute retro heart patterned towel, my husband managed to talk my son into this bright green towel. Fine, except that it had some turquoise stripes on the ends, and I couldn't afford to waste that much of the towel (I told you it was a close fit!). So I ended up using that part for the ties, and just serged the sides rather than doing the bias tape. I think it'll work out okay.

So... if you're looking for an easy project, check this one out! The terrycloth is pretty forgiving, and hides mistakes in stitching, so it was a good practice project for me and I learned some new things!

Herb-Crusted Pork Loin

2011-06-21T23:40:00.000-07:00

So it's pretty rare around here to go with a recipe exactly how it's printed. We almost always tweak it a little bit (starting with doubling the garlic in any and everything). But on Father's Day, since I was attempting to do it all on my own without help from The Chef, I picked a recipe that looked simple and delicious. Oh, my. I had no idea. My kitchen smelled amazing, and the finished product was so tasty! I wish I'd taken a picture of it coming out of the oven, all crisp and herb-ified on top. Yum. So next time you need an EASY but delicious recipe for company or Sunday dinner, try this one out!

Herb Crusted Pork Loin (courtesy of Paula Deen)

Ingredients

1 (4-pound) boneless pork loin, with fat left on
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil or 2 teaspoons fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

Directions

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
Place the pork loin on a rack in a roasting pan. Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. With your fingers, massage the mixture onto the pork loin, covering all of the meat and fat.
Roast the pork for 30 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 425 degrees F and roast for an additional hour. Test for doneness using an instant-read thermometer. When the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F, remove the roast from the oven. Allow it to sit for about 20 minutes before carving. It will continue to cook while it rests.

*The only change The Chef recommended was to pull the pork out at 145 degrees rather than 155.

This pork made some kickin' sandwiches the next day, too!

Sweet and Sour Sauce

2011-06-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
1/2 c. water
2/3 c. white vinegar
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 squirts ketchup
1 8-oz. can pineapple tidbits (including juice)
3 T. cornstarch

In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together all ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

You can add any type of bell peppers to this sauce, making it even more delicious! We love to throw it in the crockpot with chicken breasts or meatballs and let it cook for a few hours, then serve with rice.

Tools for the Toolbox: Social Scripts

2011-06-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

I'm always hesitant to post parenting stuff because I don't want it to seem like I think I'm World's Best Mom. I have issues with my kids, we all do. And I definitely have moments where I feel like I've failed as a parent. However, after working as a preschool teacher of a couple hundred 3-and-4-year olds, and now having my own as well, there are definitely some helpful tips I've learned along the way.

First off, teaching your kids "social scripts." We've all heard this exchange.... "Mom, I want that Polly Pocket and she won't give it to me!" What do we do? Option A, head in and figure out the nitty-gritty details of exactly whose turn it is with the odd miniature plastic doll, or Option B, tell the kids to solve their own problems.

I tend to lean naturally toward Option B. I feel that allowing your kids the opportunity to solve their own problems gives them the skills to interact with others, share, compromise, and experience unfairness. However, I think that oftentimes as moms, we don't teach them how we want them to solve a problem.

In my experience, you have to lay the groundwork. Teach them how you want them to solve problems, and exactly what to say. In our house, it might go something like this:
Audrey: "Mom, Jessica has the Mermaid Barbie and won't give me a turn!"
Mom: "Okay. It looks like you both want to play with the Mermaid Barbie. Audrey, first ask Jessica how many more minutes she wants to play with it."
Audrey: "Jessica, how many more minutes do you want to play with it?"
Jessica: "All day!"
Mom: "Jessica, you need to share, and you need to pick a number that's less than 10 minutes. Tell Audrey how many more minutes you want to play with the Mermaid Barbie."
Jessica: "Three."
Mom: "Okay, Audrey. In three minutes, Jessica is going to give you a turn with Mermaid Barbie."

The expectation for sharing in our house is that if you want a toy someone else has, you first tell them you'd like to play with it. Then, you ask them when they'll be done. The other child has to pick a number that's under 10 minutes. In some cases, we actually get out the timer. Most of the time, this interaction solves the problem and the kids just share after a while.

We also need to teach them to say things like, "I don't like it when you talk to me in that voice. It hurts my feelings." And, "I feel like you're bragging about having more Barbies than me. It makes me feel bad."

At first this takes a lot of coaching. But after a while, your help lessens, and you can just use promptings and reminders.

By teaching your kids the "social scripts" that you expect them to use, you will help them interact with their peers, and lessen the amount of time you have to spend refereeing fights around the house. Just don't be surprised when your daughter asks you how many more minutes you need the computer before she can have a turn at Playhouse Disney.

Easy Tomato Soup

2011-06-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

Last night my mom and I were hanging out and suddenly realized it was 6:00 and we hadn't even started thinking about dinner. She had a great idea for tomato soup, I found a recipe online, tweaked a few things, and voila! Dinner on the table in no time!

Ingredients:
1 T. vegetable oil
1 c. chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced (this is a lot of garlic, because we enjoy it, but feel free to cut back here)
2 28-oz. cans diced or crushed tomatoes
4 c. chicken broth
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. salt
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. black pepper
3-4 drops hot sauce

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large pot, saute onion and garlic until onion is tender.
2. Add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for 10-20 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Use immersion blender to blend to desired consistency (optional).

What's for Dinner?

2011-06-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

I keep a list on Excel on my computer of the dinners my family eats regularly. When we're planning our weekly menu, we open the spreadsheet and glance through it to get ideas! Ultimately I want to put the ingredients into a spreadsheet with Produce, Pantry Staples, Dairy, and Protein, so that I could cut and paste to easily make a weekly grocery list. However, I haven't done that. :)

Here's what's on our list. What would you add? What are your menu staples?

Baked Potato Soup

Beef Stew

Beef Stroganoff

Beef with Broccoli

Breakfast for Dinner

Bruschetta Chicken

Burritos

Calzones

Carnitas

Cheesy Ham Soup

Chicken and Biscuits

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Chicken Crescents

Chicken Nuggets, homemade

Chicken Pesto

Chicken Strips

Chicken Washington

Chili

Chimichangas

Corndogs, homemade

Empanadas

Enchiladas

Enchilasagna

French Dip Sandwiches

Jambalaya

Macaroni and Cheese

Meatball Sandwiches

Meatloaf

Meatloaf Burgers

Navajo Tacos

Pasta Primavera

Pasta Salad

Pigs in Blankets

Pizza

Pizza Rolls

Porcupine Meatballs

Pork w/salsa verde

Potstickers (Lemon Ginger)

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Ribs

Roast Chicken

Shepherd's Pie

Sloppy Joes

Spaghetti

Spicy Honey Chicken

Steak Salad

Stirfry

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Taco Salad

Taco Soup

Tacos

Teriyaki Chicken

Tomato Soup

Tortellini

Tortilla Soup

Veggie Chowder

Fun Planting Activity!

2011-06-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

We saw this activity in Family Fun magazine. Both the girls and the boys in our family loved it!

You take some seeds and plant them in baseball card sheet holders. Then attach them to your windows or sliding doors with little suction cups.

Water daily and watch them grow! The kids loved being able to see the seeds grow roots and spout!

Now we have these sunflowers and peas in the garden!

Game Closet Organization

2011-05-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

Last week I reorganized our game closet. Since our last house was very limited in closet space, we've always kept our board games in a bookshelf. Since we do have closet space in our new place, we just moved the bookcase into the closet, giving us instant shelving! We keep our Christmas tree behind this bookshelf so that it doesn't tip backward into the space behind it.

Here are the important things to keep in mind when organizing games:

*First, if you don't honestly play them on a regular basis, get rid of them. Many people keep games because they wish they were the type who played them, or had people over to play them. But they really don't. If this is the case, get rid of them! Or get rid of all but your absolute favorites! One of my friends kept the games for adults out on a shelf in the garage since they didn't use them on a regular basis and her house didn't have much storage space.

*For kids games, make sure wherever they are stored has open space so that your kids can get their games in and out without making a mess. I wish we had just a little more space here, I feel we're a little too crowded. But the key to getting them to be put back is to make sure it's easy for the kids to put them back!

*Be creative about game boxes. There is nothing magical about the boxes to the games. When I was little, my mom took all our games out of their boxes, stored them in gallon ziplock bags, and put them in a file drawer. Takes up a lot less space! For my kids, when their puzzle boxes start to get thrashed, I cut the picture off, and put the pieces and the picture in a ziplock bag. This keeps the pieces from sliding out of a ruined, bent box.

*Make sure you have some containers for smaller games and parts. The clear container on the top is for card games, the red bin is church activities, and the turquoise bowl is for miscellaneous games/parts that don't fit anywhere else.

*Finally, be diligent about purging! Kids do not need 4 different versions of Go Fish. Make sure all the games are complete, in good condition, and played regularly. If not, out it goes! Games (especially kids' games) are easy to replace and often on sale, so if you come to regret giving one away, it is easy to replace.

I'd love to hear other ideas for organizing games!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2011-05-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

This morning I made these muffins off allrecipes.com for my kids. I've reposted the recipe below with a few very minor changes. These muffins are easy and delicious!

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, sour cream, milk, and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups half full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.