It is time to try and institute a schedule into our days.  I am sure we will stray from it here and there, but I think it will help our days have more purpose and organization.  I also think my house will thank me for it.  We have been improving in certain areas, but things still seem a bit chaotic at times (okay…a lot chaotic at times).  This should help a bit.

In case you don’t know us personally, I am a stay at home mama of 3 little ones.  We are slowly entering our homeschooling years.  The twins are 3 (almost 4) and our babe is 18 months.

The schedule only has a couple actual times on it.  It is more of an “order of operations” rather than a “schedule” I suppose.  I prefer to have it a bit more free-form and then make sure the main things like meals and naps occur at close to the same time everyday.

 

Basic schedule goal for M-F (exceptions based on the focus of the day and activities/visitors)

Breakfast for tots and I.

Read Proverbs to kids and work on a memory verse.

Clean up breakfast.

Go get little one when she wakes. Start a load while upstairs.

Nurse/feed little one.

Start school if she is happily eating in highchair and go as long as we can.

School (alphabet, writing, counting/sorting, art project, educational busy bags, flash cards etc.)

Clear her breakfast.

Get dressed with clothes I brought down after kids bed time the night before. Do this right after twins eat if little one is still sleeping.

Kids play in play area. I shower and switch laundry.

Small treat if they stayed in play area and played nicely.

Start preparing lunch at 11:55.

Eat lunch together.

1-1:30 Potty, pray, put Little Man down, Little Lady, and Sweet Baby.

Make our bed if there has not been a chance before.

Clean up any remaining lunch/kitchen mess.

Do devotions.

Check email etc.

Attempt nap if lack of sleep.

Do paper work stuff/work on project.

Cuddle with kids individually as they wake.

Give snack and let them watch shows for a bit.

Check laundry/cleaning.

4:00 Read books together

Kids play while I prepare for Hubs to come home and work on dinner if he is not cooking.

5:40ish Dinner

Cleanup

Daddy play with kids (while I sometimes work out)

Take any dirty clothes or things that need to go upstairs.

Baths if needed/get ready for bed.

Family worship time-Read Crossroads to Character, sing, read Bible. (Consider moving to right after dinner and try to find our “Truth and Grace” books).

Kids in bed by 8:00.

Bring down clothes for kids for the nest day.

Straighten up kitchen and catch up with Hubs.

 

Insert into day when appropriate.

Character quality flashcards. The kids LOVE these.

Children helping with chores-right now we are trying to teach joyful helpfulness and skills to complete chores.  I am hesitant to put them into the schedule.  I want to have the kids get excited about helping me throughout the day and teach them how to help (rather than assigning chores and having a specific time to do them).  As they get a bit older we will add this to the schedule.  Right now they know how to fold some clothes, vacuum with the light wt. vac on hard surfaces, scrub with a towel, pick up while focusing on one thing at a time (sometimes), lining up shoes by the door, gather dirty clothes and take to laundry room, and a few other things I forgot.

(More as I think of them)

 

Daily focus tasks

Monday-Coupon organization, look at ads, make lists.

Tuesday-Kids and I upstairs to do laundry and put anything clean away.

Wednesday-Bathrooms and garbage.

Thursday-Extra School or sometimes go see Great Grandma and Great Papa.

Friday-Errands (or flip flop with wed)

Saturday-Big projects, errands, and FUN!

Sunday-Church and planning for the week.

 

Do you use a schedule in your home?

 

Updated 1-31-02

Costco on a Saturday morning…why not? We headed out the door and found our favorite store filled with sample hungry shoppers.  People complain about Costco on Saturdays, but it is really not all that bad.  After pushing a beast of a stroller through that store for years with the twins, I almost expect to not be able to navigate very smoothly.  But, it was no big thing with all registers open and parking for everyone.  In fact, the only thing that slowed us down on this trip…ME!  The shoppers (and my husband) must have thought I was crazy snapping pictures of price tags every few feet.  I heard my husband explain to one male shopper who questioned us, “She has a blog”.  I am not sure if that helped explain, or confirmed the fact that I am actually crazy.  Some people don’t get the “blog” thing.  Some people also don’t get having 3 kids 3 and under.  Call us crazy.

Here is a list of my findings. This list is not exhaustive.  Also remember that Costco’s stock changes quickly.  Sometimes an item will be carried for quite some time, and other times it is just making a brief appearance.

 

This price list is from the Salem Oregon store.  The reader tips are likely from a different store.

*= Updated price, new product, or confirmed price on recent trip.

Organic Products

Premium Gold Organic Flax Cold Milled 3lb $5.89 p. p. lb 1.149

Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Sugar 10lb $11.40 p. p. lb 1.149

Bob’s Red Mill Organic While Wheat Flour 25lbs $13.49 p. p. lb .540

Ancient Grains Granola with Almonds $6.95  p. p. oz .204

Natures Path Organic Flax Plus Pumpkin Granola Cereal 35.3 oz $6.99 price per oz .198

Nature’s Path Organic Hot Cereal 32 count $8.99

Coaches Oats Whole Grain Pancake Mix 64oz $7.49 (Stock up! This might be the last shipment)

Truroots Organic Quinoa 4lbs $9.97

Truroots Organic Sprouted Bean Medley 3lbs $9.99

Truroots Organic Sprouted Grain medley 3lbs $8.99

Organic Indian Brown Basmati Rice 10lb bag $8.99 p. p. lb .899

Lundberg Organic Short Grain Brown Rice 12lb bag for $12.99 p. p. lb 1.083

Sunwest Organic Harvest Medley Rice 3.2lb tub (brown rice, wild rice, sweet brown rice and red rice) $8.99 (reader tip)

Kirkland Signature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1.5 liter $10.99 p. p. liter 7.327

*Sun-Maid Organic Raisins 2/2lb $7.79

Tree Top Organic Applesauce 36/4oz cups $9.99

Kirkland Organic Salsa (2) 38 oz  $7.75

S&W Organic Italian Stewed Tomatoes (8) 14.5 oz cans $7.69 p. p. can .961

S&W Organic Diced Tomatoes (8) 14.5 oz cans $7.69 p. p. can .066

S&W Organic Tomato Sauce (12) 15 0z $7.69

S&W Organic Tomato Paste (12) 6 oz $6.39

Kirkland Organic Chicken Stock (6) 32 oz $10.99

Pacific Organic Creamy Tomato Soup (6) 32 oz $10.95

Amy’s Kitchen Organic Lentil/Minestrone Soup (8) 14.5 oz $11.99

Amy’s Kitchen Organic Medium Chili (6) 14.7 oz $11.79 (Stock up if you like it. Might be last shipment)

*Organic Petite Peas 5lbs for $5.89 $1.179 p. p. (they also have organic corn and green beans that I will get the price for next time)

*Organic Apples (new crop) $1.34-ish a pound

*Organic Spring Mix Lettuce 1 lb $3.99 (updated price)

*Organic Baby Spinach 1lb $3.99

*Organic Caesar Salad Kit 1lb $4.29

*Organic Brocollette 2lb $5.79

*Organic Peel Carrots Snack Pack 24/2.5oz bags $6.49

*Organic Peeled Carrots 5lbs $5.29

*Organic Cello Carrots US#1 10lb $5.99

*Organic Sliced Apples 8/6oz bags $5.99

*Organic Tortilla Chips 40 oz $4.49  -price per oz .112

Dave’s Killer Bread Organic  “Good Seed” or “21 Whole Grains”  2 loaf pack $6.99

Hannah Organic Classic Hummus 32 oz $5.99 (did not see at Salem OR store this trip)

*Kirkland Organic Low Fat Milk 2 gallon pack $9.99 (new price)

*Kirkland Organic Butter 2/1 lb quarters $7.99 -p. p. lb 3.995 (new higher price)

Organic Eggs 18 pack for $4.79 (reader tip. not available at my store)

*Brown Omega large grade A eggs 18 ct $3.79

*Sambazon Organic Acai Juice 2/32oz $9.99

Made In Nature Organic Black Mission Figs 32 oz $7.99

 

Natural Products

*Pirates Booty Aged White Cheddar 16 oz $5.29

*Riceworks Sweet Chilli Rice Crisp 20 ox $5.99

*Stretch Island Natural Fruit 48 ct. $10.65

*Kettle Baked Salt & Pepper Chips 12 oz $3.99

*Kettle Krinkle Cut Chip 32 oz $4.49

*Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Tortilla Chips 24 oz $6.29 price per oz .262

*Stacy’s Pita Chips 28 oz $5.79  p.p oz .207

*Nature Valley Crunchy Multigrain Chip 20 oz $5.99

Milton’s Multigrain Muffins 12 ct $3.79 (We love these)

Bandon Med Cheddar 2.5 lbs $6.55

Tillamook Med Cheddar 5 lb $15.89 p. p. lb 3.178

Fage Yogurt 35oz $5.19 (reader tip)

*Annie’s Homegrown Bunny Snacks 36/1oz $10.99

*Kashi TLC Bars Trail Mix 30 ct $11.79 price per each .393

*Odwalla Superfood 2/32 oz bottles $5.75

*Odwalla Variety Pack 10 ct 12 oz bottles. 13.99

Kirkland 100% Maple Syrup 32oz $11.99 (price drop I believe)

Maranatha Natural Almond Butter 26 oz $5.79

Busy Bee 100% Pure Clover Honey 6lbs 13.99 p. p. oz 146

Rodelle Whole Vanilla Bean 10ct $11.99

 

I am trying to slowly price everything we regularly buy.  I was excited to have the chance to get this list together.  Hope this helps you with your shopping!

 

If you have spotted any organic or natural foods at Costco recently and know the prices leave a comment with your item name, size, price, and store location if possible.  and I will add it!

Thanks to readers who contributed a price: Kristin Elaine and Kayla

 

I am linking up with Raising Homemakers and Woman Living Well today! Check out the other amazing post people are sharing!

As much as I love the cheap and colorful Ikea bowls (that are supposedly BPA free), I am quite simply drowning in them.  By the end of the day the sink is FULL and between all 3 kiddos we have gone through a pile of them.  Yesterday we did our coffee filter craft again and I was reminded of a trick my mom used to use with us.  Use them for easy disposable snack bowls!  They are dirt cheap, have just the right shape, and can wad up miraculously small.  Over the years we have moved away from quite a few disposable items, but I will let these pass.

Happy Thursday y’all!

 

The Hubs has been working hard making my dreams come true the past few days.  After a trip to Home Depot he had the supplies to make 3 storage systems for laundry baskets.  I have seen these called “Laundry Basket Dressers” and have not been able to think up a cuter name.  The only thing better than one really cool laundry-basket-holder-thingy is …three!  One would not have done us much good.  We have LOTS of laundry around here and I am a bit compulsive about my numerous categories.

Here are some basic iPhone pictures to give you an idea of the process.

This sweet girl was so thrilled to help Daddy that she was on a high for hours after.

Little man testing out the “elevator” as they liked to call them.

Here is the finished dresser without the baskets and before it was painted.

With baskets…

Here is the one that is going in our room.  We did not want to buy paint for this project so we just used colors we had.  The ones for the laundry room are a soft green (but not as soft as it looks in the last picture) and the one for our room is a bit deeper green.

Here are both beasts we squeezed into our laundry room right after Hubs carried them up.

Now instead of having a huge pile of laundry on the floor in my laundry room and digging through it each time I start a load, I can categorize it perfectly and when the basket fills up I know it is time to do that load.  The set in our room will likely be used for clean laundry (per hubbys request).  Since things rarely all get folded and put away immediately, this will be a nice clean place for it to await its next home.  Maybe someday I will go into more detail about my laundry process (I won’t call it a “system” because I have in no way mastered the laundry beast around here).  I have found a couple things that save me some time…and a few things that don’t save time but do save wear and tear on our clothes and money.

The main thing we changed from other designs we found on the web was making them for the bigger laundry baskets.  I did not see a purpose in creating storage for baskets that would not really hold a full load of laundry.  The only downside is that by making them this size they really can not be stacked on top of each other and easily accessed.  They pretty much have to go side by side.  He also left a gap at the top of each basket so that things could be thrown in without having to pull the basket out every time.

Here are some basics

• Laundry baskets-Sterilite 2 bushel, shiny tan colored. Found Walmart for $8.99 each (regular price…I know.  Kinda killed a little part of me to pay for 9 regular priced laundry baskets.  Actually the lady did not charge us for the first 3 we bought….when we went back to look for 6 more they only had 5 and we had her charge us for the first 3 too…and we still need 1 because they did not have enough.  Did you follow that?)
• Wood for all 3 cost about $64.  He used (2) sheets 3/4″ plywood for the top, sides, and bottom.  (1) sheet of 1/4″  plywood for the backs.  For the rails that hold up the baskets he used (4) 8 foot  2×2′s.
• After be built them he sanded, primed, and painted with one good coat.  By rolling on where you can you will be able to paint them faster and get a smoother coat.  You can also use wood filler after sanding and before painting to get a more finished look on your plywood.
• Tools and supplies used-wood, circular saw, drill, sander, level, 2 inch wood screws, 1/4inch screws for the back, wood filler, primer (if you have it), paint, paint brushes and roller.

I am sure I totally left something out.  Just wanted to get this post up for people who were curious to see what these looked like.  Let me know if you have any questions.  I will try to get Hubs to provide me with some more detailed dimensions for this project.  Maybe even some fancier pictures of the finished product.

Last year I asked for a planner for Christmas.  My mom and I both share a love for organization and office supply type things.  She and I decided on the Mom Agenda Desktop planner for me.  Although there were pockets of time I did not keep up with it out of laziness, I still LOVED it.

My husband has tried to convince me to use Google Calendar more times than I can count.  I really don’t think it would work for me.  I really like having one thing in my life that still exists on paper.  I love being able to physically flip through our schedule and have something to scribble notes onto.

Last year my planner was pink. This year I chose zebra.  I would have chosen the killer giraffe one, but it was out of stock.  The fact that I chose this one two years in a row says a lot.

Pros

It comes in cute colors.

The layout is spacious and has room for all my lists.

It is “week at a glance” for the main part of the planner and also has a month by month view.

It has room for all my lists I make.

 

Cons

It is a bit bulky

There is no pen holder

 

What planner or program do you use? Are you a paper planner girl too?

I believe I can email you a 10% off code if you are interested.  Just leave me a comment or email me and I will forward it along.  Sales come and go often.  I believe my mom got mine for 50% off…but that might have been a Christmas special.

*momAgenda has no idea who I am.  I was not compensated for this post in any way. These opinions are my own.

Sick…that is what we have been over here for a large chunk of the fall and winter.  We have had something like 7 full blown viruses since the very start of fall.  It is kind of a joke.  A sick joke.

I am actually not sure what I think about it.  I am still trying to sort it all out.  I am sure God is trying to teach me something, so I am trying to pay attention.  Something about relying on him. Something about how I can not keep my kids healthy. Something about how he is in control…not me.  So I am just going to try and deal with it.

I have always said I would rather have it be me sick than my kids.  Well that has happened too.  The kids seem to bounce back between bugs…but I do not.  I have asthma.  I can’t eat half of the healthy things my family eats because of food allergies.  It all plays a role.  My lungs have been messed up EVERY single day for almost 4-ish months.  I am not dying. I am not in severe distress.  I am just trying to get through.  I have had 2-3 likely sinus infections, but thanks to the neti-pot and some serious steam breathing, shower taking, bla bla bla I have kicked them.  I am so thankful I did not have to take antibiotics.  Antibiotics.  They are bad for you.  Extra bad for people with a handful of weird health issues like I have.  Don’t feel bad for me. I am fine.  But yeah.  Still have the junked up lungs.

Kids currently trying to get healthy.  Thought I had this cold already a few days ago…woke up today with a more sore throat than usual…NOW I might actually have it.  Great.  Hoping that by the grace of God, this one won’t set me back much.  What has been happening is I catch a cold…kick most of it after about 3 weeks…and go back to where I was with my lung/asthma stuff.  I have been seeing a naturopath for the first time.  I know, kinda weird…kinda awesome.  I have gone twice and have a whole arsenal of things I am trying.  I am all about actually healing my body and getting it better rather than just taking stuff to mask the symptoms.  I am am also totally for “modern” medicine when it is needed.  But, I want to have a healthy body.  I want clear lungs, and I would love to eventually be off of my daily inhaler.  Because my asthma started up “randomly” after the twins were born I think it is possible to reverse some things and maybe not have to deal with it as much.

It has been a weird week.  We actually planned a couple fun things with friends and had to cancel it all.  My mom and grandma had other plans for all of this week and part of last so our “regular”  grandma times that break up the week are missing.  So here I am.  Just me and my sick kids all day every day.  And most of the time I can totally handle it.  When your kids are uber grumpy, snotty, and needy and you are the only one to deal with it for most of the day…you just do.  You are a mom and it is your job.  God made us for this.  Never easy, always worth it.

Blessings:

-Baby (17 mo) is actually sleeping through the night most nights (for the last few nights).  See how loosely I refer to all of this?  The decent sleep I am getting most nights  this past week has been a huge blessing and a large part of why I am still sane.

-my Birthday my mother-in-law is bringing over a sweet cleaning lady to clean my house tomorrow (I don’t know her, but any lady who comes to my house to clean is “sweet”).  Any guess what I have been doing for days to prepare? Clean. Nothing like the motivation of having two ladies in your home to get things moving.  Cleaning right now=killing clutter piles and half dusting so that it looks like you might actually dust on occasion.  Very excited and totally nervous.

I will leave you with some recent quotes.

“Mommy am I going to be sick on my BIRTHDAY???”  Quote from my melodramatic 3 year old son whose birthday is not until February.

“Mommy, my head hurts…a little bit all over…I think it is a headache, but I will be easy going about it (in a fairly cheery voice)”  Quote from my 3 year old Little Miss.

Hope things are well in your home!

Over and out.

It’s that time of year again.  The time when we all bribe our kids in attempts to get the “greatest family photo of all time” to send off to loved ones.  On Saturday one of our friends blessed us by offering to take our picture.  Our kids were not feeling well and it was cold and windy…but I am sure there are a few gems in there anyway.  Our photographer used a tripod.  Tripods always equal success.

When I heard about a program from Tiny Prints for bloggers to get 50 free photo cards I was thrilled.  We have never used them before, but their cards look amazing!

Here are a few of my favorites (click on images for links)…

 

 

Which one am I choosing? NO IDEA! There are too many I really love.  One thing I really liked about Tiny Prints was the number of types of cards you can choose from.  They have the traditional rectangular and long photo cards, but also adorable tri-fold folding, and round.  You can even get the corners rounded on your rectangular cards.  If you go with one of the traditional cards I LOVE the rounded corner option.  Many of the cards also have super cute printed backs that coordinate.

If you are shopping for cards their current promotion is save 20% off your entire order with the code 20SAVE (ends 11/15).  I will watch to see what their next promotions is and update this post!

 

What are your tricks for getting a great picture of your family? Do you just pick the best picture from the last year and call it good, or have pictures taken specifically for your cards?

High point of the day…

While talking on an ancient cell phone in the play area I overhear Little Miss saying, “Hi Jesus, thank you for giving me the bestest mom ever!”

 

Low point of the day…

Frustrated with me I hear Little Miss mumble, “Mommy you are not a genius.”

 

What to do when you have the itch to go out for a nice evening on the town, but don’t have a babysitter (I mean grandma) lined up?  Dress the kids up and go anyway!

You make reservations so you don’t have to waste precious time waiting for a table.

You request “al fresco” so you don’t have to worry as much about noise or crumbs.

You walk a few blocks to get some gelato and let the tots ogle the selections a bit to build the anticipation.

You make them pose with you on a bench to try and get the perfect mama/child shot on the perfect shade of green bench…and then give up.

You ask for extra cups to split the yumminess and you dive in.

You find that the local book store is still open and the pull is too strong to resist.  You try to explain to the twins why you are supposed to talk softly in a book store.  Cultural norms are confusing to 3 year olds.

You find them both separately assuming the same posture in different parts of the store and realize that yes, they really are twins.  And also growing up.

 

You attempt to get a family shot. Fail. And call it a night.

Admit that it was more fun with the kids than it would have been without.

Call it the best night ever.

We have been having a blast picking this summer now that the the twins are 3 and a half.  This is the first Summer that we have been able to spend some time picking with the kids old enough to participate a little.

Here is what we have picked this year:

• Organic Blueberries at Minto Island Growers $1.74 ish per lb.
• Cherries with Salem Harvest-Free!
• Cherries at our generous friends the Askeys-Free!
• Broccoli with Salem Harvest-Free!

It was a little hard to decide what to do with all the cherries, but in the end I decided to just wash, pit, and freeze what we could not eat immediately.

 

Here are the steps I used to “put up” our cherries…

1) After I read about some different techniques to wash fruit I got excited about using vinegar and water.  I figured that instead of a making a spray I could probably make a soak for them.  I put 3 parts cold water to 1 part vinegar and let them soak for a few minutes and agitated with with my hand a bit.  Then I fished them out with a shallow ladle type tool with holes in it.

2) After the soak I rinsed them in cold water for a bit to get the vinegar off and get them a little cleaner.

3) Next, I dumped them into my salad spinner to let them drip dry a little more without getting the counter soaked.

4) Now it was time to pit!  Little Miss woke up from her nap and was so excited to help me.  It was our first summer harvest we have gotten to work on together and a great memory.  She was very helpful and so eager.  Her job was to pull the stems off and keep my hopper full in the cherry pitter.  She took pride in her work and said some of the funniest things.  “Oh look at this tiny sad one Mama! You think she will be okay (cherries are obviously girls)?”  She also told me, “I am a Mama” and made it clear that she was feeling so very grown up.

This was my first summer using the Norpro Deluxe Cherry Pitter.  I bought it from Azure Standard and I have no idea how I would have done this job without it.

4) I then bagged the pitted cherries flat in zipper bags.  I got as much of the air out as I could and then stacked a couple bags on a cookie sheet to freeze.  After they were frozen flat in bags I rearranged them in our freezer.

These will be great for smoothies, baking, mixing into ice cream, and cobblers!  What a blessing to fill our freezer with free fruit!