Menu Plan Monday ~ Jan 30-Feb 5

Dinner
Sunday ~ Cola Pot Roast
Monday ~ Steak, Baked Potatoes, Vegetables
Tuesday ~ Grilled Salmon, Grilled Vegetables, Wild Rice
Wednesday ~ Leftover Buffet
Thursday ~ Broiled Pork Chops, Spinach Salad, Pasta with Tomato Sauce
Friday ~ Pizza
Saturday ~ Slow Cooker Lasagna, Salad

Visit Org Junkie for more Menu Plan Monday ideas and inspiration.

Church with Children

As a child I have fond memories of going to church on Sunday mornings (or some Saturday night services where it worked better for our family). My brothers, sometimes a friend who enjoyed a sleepover, would sit together and sometimes listen but other times have "quiet" conversations while my mother hissed at us to be quieter.

Now that I have a young family it is important that we start to attend church regularly. Today I spent a lot of time quietly praying for patience. I didn't really get a lot out of the mass and I was embarrassed that the children were being loud and potentially disturbing other people's services. After mass my husband thought they were one of the better behaved of all the children there.

There is a children's mass but it is at 11:30AM and I feel that would interrupt our entire day. 9:30AM lets us get in and get out and still have time to run errands and spend time as a family.

Do you attend church with your children? How do you experience it?

More Getting Organized

I got a nasty ear infection with some vertigo last week and it's taken me a whole week for my body to get enough energy to actually accomplish anything. I'm even behind on my 21 day cleaning challenge. Never fear, I'm catching up as much as I can. Baby steps, right?

Here are the days that finish up the 21 days if you want to link in with Toni at A Bowl Full of Lemons. Tell her More Than A Mom sent you, okay? The good thing about these challenges is that I do a lot of these items regularly. Makes me feel like I am more organized than I often feel.

Day #11 - The Freezer
Day #12 - The Spice Cabinet
Day #13 - The Medicine Cabinet
Day #14 - Under The Bathroom Sink
Day #15 - Medicine/Vitamin Organization
Day #16 - Cleaning Out and Organizing The Fridge
Day #17 - The Mail Station
Day #18 - Keepsakes
Day #19 - Master Closet
Day #20 - Photos
Day #21 - You Pick

I am needing to work on Day #18 and Day #20 over the next week (after I get the basement painted, floor laid and Christmas bins organized and put away in the new-found storage that will become available once the floor is down).

Menu Plan ~ January 16-22

Dinner Menu

Sunday: Crockpot Chili, Homemade Bread

Monday: Stir Fry

Tuesday: Leftover Buffet

Wednesday: Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

Thursday: BBQ Chicken Sandwiches in the Slow Cooker

Friday: Pizza Night

Saturday: Leftover Buffet

Projects

paint basement, knit dress, prepare income summary for 2010 taxes

Getting Control of the Toys

Are you ready for it? I was feeling invaded by toys here and I had a lot of questions on how to organize certain areas. I have found some solutions that we are trying out.

Here are the BEFORE photos *shudder*.

Here is the play area. Due to the snow we get lots of outside bulky toys in the basement during the winter. It's fun but makes for a more crowded space.

Here is the computer area. This will be moving over to the new office area once it is finished being painted and has the floor down.

Here is the toy shelf and television center. It's in the same room as the first picture above on the wall that is hidden. When it is tidy it isn't so bad. I think I'm going to have to find space on the top two shelves to put books and movies and move my stuff somewhere else. Eventually ...

This is the craft room that has become a dumping ground during the renovations. The big beige pile in the middle of the room is the dreaded carpet I target as being the reason for my not getting certain crafts done in a timely fashion.

Instead of searching the Internet for what I could do, I decided it was more beneficial to myself to first pile everything up and pull out the furniture and give it all a good vacuum and cleaning. You can do anything with a good cleaning. I had the children help pile things up and they loved it!

We had the drywall taped and filled cracks and sanded. This left about an inch of dust on everything. It was so nice to finally clean it up. I even was able to wipe down baseboards and wires and cords from the lamps and computers and television!

Here is what I have done so far. It's all I've been able to get to while working around the storage items that are out of their storage space. I hope this won't be longer than the end of January before we can get it all finished (hear that, hubby?!).

I don't know if you can tell BUT there is space on the floor now around the desk and to the sewing table.

Here is a close-up. Can you see it now? Oh my goodness, it's still terrible, isn't it?! At least seeing this mess has had me get rid of quite a bit of items so we will have less for our storage area.

Remember my questions about where to store toys and craft projects for the children? Well, this is what I did with the games. They were originally in a Rubbermaid bin in the hall closet taking up space and not very accessible for the children.

And when we are done or not using the games we are able to close the door and the mess is hidden away. I love doors.

A drawer for musical instruments ~ in my renewed buffet that my grandfather lovingly restored and my mother carefully stained and varnished for us. I'll post more about the buffet another day.

And the art supplies I want them to regularly access on their own are in another drawer.

And here is my closed up arts and craft plus instrument hider (and booze and good dishes ...).

And here is the "extra" supply of crafts including stickers, play dough, glue sticks, additional markers and pencil crayons, etc.

On my original list I wanted to organize puzzles, games, books, toy sorting, little toys and arts & crafts. I'm crossing out the ones I have done so far. I have plans for the rest but they, unfortunately, cannot get looked at until after we move the big carpet out of my craft room!

Getting Organized Challenge Catch-up

I have been reading along with Toni at A Bowl Full of Lemons and the daily Getting Organized challenges. I'm happy to report that most of these areas I have already this year taken the time to sort through, purge and deep clean. I'm stuck on the toy one (as you read about here) but I'm getting there.

Here is the update of the challenges if you are interested (they have been working on this for a week or so but it's still a good summary and definitely motivating!).
Day #3 ~ The Messy Tupperware Cabinets
Day #4 ~ The Linen Closet
Day #5 ~ Under The Kitchen Sink
Day #6 ~ Dresser Drawers
Day #7 ~ The Pantry
Day #8 ~ The Coat Closet
Day #9 ~ Toy Organization

Skating

We are so fortunate to have a pond in behind our house. In the winter it makes for an instant skating rink. I love looking out on snowy days and seeing it teeming with families and friends having a great time together.  This past weekend we went out and purchased skates for our kids so we can join in the fun.

We bought strap-on-the-boot ones for Travis and grow-with-me ones for Ava.

I'm especially pleased that she is at the first size so it can grow another 4 sizes with her foot AND she chose the Toy Story Buzz Lightyear style so Travis won't have a problem using them when his foot gets big enough.

Travis took to it more than I expected and it has been he who has been asking every day if we can go out and skate and play hockey.

And yes, they are wearing their bicycle helmets. The ones in the store were $60 and above and we weren't even sure if they were going to like it! These will do for now.

 

There is also tobogganing hills too for the children to enjoy.

Homemade 3rd Birthday Boy Gifts

The last several days, instead of blogging I have been finishing projects.

I finished knitting the hat that was for a hat and scarf gift set for my future-brother-in law. The hat didn't quite make the debut date but without the pressure I got it done and am glad I waited instead of working myself in a tizzy to get it done. The scarf is grey with the cranberry at the two ends but I didn't get a picture of it.

I even got myself in there modeling the hat for you ;)

While knitting the scarf from the set above, Ava insisted I needed to make her one and this project was great to use up some end yarn. I added "Ava R." in it as a behind-the-knit  stitch (not an official name of the stitch) because I didn't want just anyone to read it and call out her name but I also wanted to be able to identify it as hers should she lose it.

Travis's 3rd birthday is in one week today and, with the toy invasion (read about the invasion here) from Christmas, I have opted to make items for him.

The first is the pajamas that didn't quite make it at Christmas. I've come to terms with this late completion as described in this post. Well, they are done now (and a full week before his birthday!).

I am also making him a tool belt for the tools that he got at Christmas. It is the quickest thing ever - I just used a place mat, bought some belting at the fabric store for $0.50, sewed a few seams and only need to add some Velcro so he can tie it around his wee waist. I got the idea and free tutorial from My Little Gems.

Finally, I am going to make the little man and his sister (because how could I NOT make one for her also?) a fabulous super hero cape! For those of you Max and Ruby fans, you will know that Max loves his Super Bunny and so does my little super hero (but with his blanket that he drags everywhere!). I got this awesome and free tutorial from The Long Thread.  The material I have chosen is above and I was thrilled to find Fireman material since he has been a fireman since September 2010! I'll show you the finished project when I get these babies done. I'm hoping by the weekend at the latest so I can work on getting a few other projects on the list complete.

Link Parties I'm Joining:

Invasion of the Toys

I may not have been posting for the last few days because I have been busy finishing up some unfinished projects (I'll post about those soon) and organizing ~ mainly the kitchen chaos. Now I am ready to start tackling the toys and the basement.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, however, now there are "special" toys in the children's bedrooms, a bin or two of toys on the main floor and a basement full of toys in the basement that is currently being renovated to create the daycare playroom.

I have come to the conclusion that children equal disorder. Especially with a home daycare. It makes it very difficult to organize and purge because I am never really "done" with any developmental stages and, therefore, the need for appropriate toys since I continually have babies, toddlers and preschoolers joining our group.

There are some key areas and questions that I have to organize kids stuff. Thank goodness for the Internet so I can do specific searches to get ideas. Here are the key areas that I have problems deciding how to organize, house, use, store, etc.

1. Puzzles - There are so many! I put them all in gallon freezer bags to contain each puzzle and its pieces and they are all in one clear Rubbermaid container. The problem: whenever I bring out the tub of puzzles the kids go nuts and pull ALL of the puzzles out, leaving me to clean up afterward. It's a huge headache and so we don't have puzzle time very often.
2. Games - Similar to the puzzles, I have put small pieces into sandwich Ziploc bags to contain them in their boxes. I don't really know where to store them so the children have access to them but also so they do not take more than one game out at a time.
3. Books - Board books are not a problem but with older and younger children in the mix I am concerned about the paper books getting ripped. We also have a lot of books and get more at Christmas and birthdays. I am overwhelmed as I believe books are important to have around, but again am kerfuffled at how to have them accessible but not to the babies.
4. Toy Sorting - Should I sort the toys by the type (e.g. all dolls in one bin, puzzles in another, etc.) or should I have a mix of toys and bring one or two boxes out on a weekly rotating basis to keep the selection fresh? I suppose if I sort by type I could also rotate the selection to keep the organizing minimum; and if I choose to do this then do I keep a standard box of toys out at all times with a smaller mix?
5. Little Toys - These are the ones that you inevitably step on in the middle of the night and bite through your lip while trying not to scream out loud in pain. Do you just throw these out or save them to donate? I get sick of them accumulating in piles on the counter and other corners (of toy boxes) and then when I'm about to get rid of them have the children find them and want to play with them.
6. Arts and Crafts - How to keep these accessible but controlled? 

With all these toy dilemmas I should tell you, I have purged and sorted regularly. With the nature of my business, the basement renovations and having children of my own, it seems it is at a point that is overwhelming. And this "toy issue" is in addition to regular cleaning, deep cleaning and other household organizing and upkeep.

I think what I'm going to do to keep some sanity is to do a post on each of the items above with a summary of my findings and then show you my final decision. If I break it down by category and area of the room I think this will help (I'm praying).

I hope you will get some ideas yourself and share what you have done to keep control of the toys with me!

The Junk Cupboard

Toni at A Bowl Full of Lemons has a 21 day organizing challenge. Day #1 is to organize the junk drawer. I don't have a junk drawer but I do have areas and cupboards that do accumulate junk.

This is the scene of the crime. The "hot spot".

 This morning I organized the cupboard above this area that seems to collect rogue batteries and other assorted "where do I put it" items.

The "Before" shot. See how there is sunscreen, bug spray, coupons, cameras, stuff I don't even know what it is!

It even spread out to the top of the microwave. Extra batteries, Sharpies, light bulb to return to the store.

So I got some Post-Its and used the Sharpies to label the battery containers. I did wipe down the shelves and I also put all the gum and candy on the lowest shelf to access easier.

Yesterday (before I saw the challenge), I created a Mobile Command Center -also Toni's idea- to help with the counter paper clutter.

And here is the Command Center with calendar above. Those coupons are getting organized after this blog post and I'm going to purge the expired ones and place the current ones here. Hopefully it will make it easier to go through the file folder when we're about to grocery shop.

Here's a top view of the Command Center. Don't look behind it ... that's tomorrow's challenge!

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Here is Toni's challenge to you...
1. Find a drawer, any drawer (preferably your junk drawer), and take a picture as it looks right now. No cheating here. We want to see chaos!
2. Now empty the contents into a large box. ALL OF THEM! (Trust me, the box will be much easier than the counter... you can transport it).
3. Get a soapy washcloth and wipe the drawer clean.
4. Now, go collect some of those organizing containers that I had you stash away and place them in the drawer. The more containers you have, the more organized you are going to stay!
5. Set up your bins and trash can near you: one bin for "keep", the trash can bin for "toss", and the "donation box" you set aside earlier in the week.
6. Get your box of drawer contents, take a seat at the table, and start purging. Keep ONLY what you have used in the last 3 months. Toss everything else... either in the donation box or the trash.
7. After you have gone through the whole box, you can start organizing! This is the fun part. Try to keep like items together. Isn't organizing fun?
8. Now take another picture and give your self a pat on the back! Way to go... you completed challenge #1. Don't forget to go to A Bowl Full of Lemons and share your success on her post!

Mobile Command Center

Thanks to A BOWL FULL OF LEMONS for this fabulous idea to organize the "hot spot" on my kitchen counter. I happen to own all of the required items so, since we just got home this afternoon from a week of being away, I thought it was good timing to get this in place - just in time for real life again (which will hit me faster than I expect!).

Here are photos of her command center.

I like how she has attached a calendar to the front of hers and has colour-coded each family member's activities. I won't need to have our calendar attached as it will hover on the wall right beside it. 

She has great categories to get started with also. I think I'm going to use some of hers as well as a few different ones for myself.


The version I came up with is just a black holder with "post it" categories. It's not as pretty as the one shown above but it looks similar. The categories I came up with are:

1. To Read
2. To File
3. To Pay
4. Sign, Return and Homework (this will be mostly for my preschool daughter)
5. Coupons
6. Weekly Lesson Plan (for my home daycare)

I'd love to see if you make or have made one of these and how it works for you. I'm off to stuff my file folders now to tidy up the kitchen (just as the hubby comes in with groceries to place on the clean spots! but that is another post...).

Menu Plan Monday ~ January 2-8

We have been visiting relatives out-of-town for a week and I am ready for some lighter fare. The cookies and chocolates and heavy meals has made me feel a little gross after a full weeks worth. Delicious but not the regular for us. So this week I plan to have more soups than normal in our menus to increase the vegetable intake and reduce the heaviness of the meals.
Sunday ~ Breakfast for dinner (eggs, toast, homemade berry waffles with maple syrup)
Monday ~ Salmon, Egg Noodles, Green Beans
Tuesday ~ Chili, Cornbread
Wednesday ~ Ham, Scalloped Potatoes
Thursday ~ Split Pea and Ham Soup, Toast
Friday ~ Pizza
Saturday ~ Leftover Buffet

Check out more menu plans at Org Junkie.