getting myself un-dis-organized

so, over the last few months, like, since i started working in november, i've gotten a little disorganized.

ok, a lot disorganized.

well! that all stops today.

i'm working on a filing system for bills. a binder with two sections:

1. paid
2. awaiting $$

because i can't pay a bill if i don't have money... see how that works?

the other thing i'm working on is re-instating the weekly menu. and when i plan the menu, i don't just plan suppers. nope. i plan everything we eat for the week.

• breakfast
• lunch (including school lunches)
• snack
• supper

this way, if i need to make, say, muffins for breakfast or bread for sandwiches, i know ahead of time and i can make it the night before.

the other thing this allows is for budgeting and variety in our meals. i always find that spend at least half again as much on groceries when i don't plan the menu, and we end up eating the same things over and over. which isn't always a bad thing, since i am a pretty good cook, but i am capable of making a lot of different things, and most of those... never get made. :( so this way, i can make more of the foods we enjoy for a lot less money. 

and let's not forget the calendar!!

for christmas i got the Cake Wrecks calendar (SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!), and it's got plenty of room for writing down, well, everything!!!!

• my work schedule
• school project due dates
• library book return dates
• appointments
• pay day
• bills due
• play dates

you get the idea, i'm sure. basically, if we're doing it, or we should be doing it, it goes on the calendar.

i may also include specific tasks to be done around the house. things like, "wash bedding and towels" or "baking day" or "organize so-and-so's bedroom."

and yes, i'm going to have a baking/cooking day. i figure, if i do it on saturdays, then we'll have good snacks for the week and the kidley-winks can help me! muffins for breakfasts, cookies or granola bars for snacks, and any suppers i can make ahead of time for thursdays or other busy days.

anyway, that's the plan for now. the way i see it, if i work on one disorganized part of my life at a time, i should be completely organized by the time i'm 80 or so. that's my goal, at least. {wink}

it's amazing what you find in your kitchen in seven minutes...

it's no secret that i hate housework. and i mean,

i.

hate.

housework.

well, it's not so much doing it that bothers me. it's the unendingness of it all. i can clean off the counters right now, but by tonight, they'll be covered with stuff again. and laundry. seriously, when is someone going to invent perma-clean clothes????????

ugh.

a few years ago, i gave FlyLady a whirl (the link is on the sidebar). and found it to be just as overwhelming as the mess in my house. so that was a no-go.

but, a friend suggested it again a few weeks ago, so i decided to sign up again. and yes, it took me a while to figure out how to wade through all those emails (and WOW! there are a lot!), which ones to read and which ones to delete unread. but now that i've figured that out, i'm actually not so overwhelmed by it all.

(and please ignore the irony that i can tackle the clutter in my inbox but want to cry when i look at my coffee table.)

anyhoo...

the other day, she issued a challenge: clean up. do it all, toss stuff, put stuff away, wipe stuff down. everything.

for seven minutes.

that's right.

seven minutes.

"bah!" i thought, trapped in some semi-dickensian (time-)warped frame of mind, "seven minutes! i can't clean the house in seven minutes!! humbug!!"

but then i thought... you know... it's only seven minutes... maybe i'll try it...

and prove FlyLady wrong...

because we all know you can't get anything accomplished in seven minutes.

and so, i set off to the black hole pile of clutter kitchen to do some tidying and cleaning. again, thinking, "seriously, seven minutes?? bah! humbug!!" and i set the timer on the stove.

and do you want to know what i did in that seven minutes??

i put away the remaining pantry stuff from christmas that had not previously fit in the pantry. but it fits now... other than the case of KD, so, admittedly, that's still on the floor.

i put all kinds of stuff into recycling.

i almost threw up a bit when i looked in my mini compostainer.

i found several forks.

i found a couple spoons.

i found parts of the floor i'd forgotten were there.

i found out what colour my counter is.

i found my breadmaker.

ok, the breadmaker wasn't lost. i knew where it was. but i couldn't get to it. but now i can!!!

turns out, you can accomplish quite a bit in seven minutes! who knew!!!

ok, probably a lot of you. i'm sure this is some centuries-old strategy and i'm just ridiculously slow in learning it.

and now i have a new housework mantra:

it doesn't need to be perfect; it just needs to be done.

so my plan for today is:

• seven minutes cleaning the kitchen.
• seven minutes tidying the living room.
• seven minutes looking for the dining room table.
• seven minutes in the bathroom.

and i may, perhaps, if i have time (i have to work at 3:30), do the challenge from one day last week: the 27-item fling. basically, you get a garbage bag (or item from your declutter kit, haha), and get rid of 27 things. could be 27 flyers. could be 27 pieces of clothing that are too small. could be 27 toys the kids don't play with anymore. could be 27 mini chocolate bar wrappers. could be 27 miscellaneous items of various shapes and sizes and degrees of decomposition. just get rid of 27 things from the house. if they're donate-able, then toss them in your vehicle and take them straight to the nearest Goodwill or BFM or whatever. if they're garbage, take them outside. if they're recyclable, recycle them. but just get rid of them.

who knows?? by the end of this week, i just might find my floor... at least, i hope so. 

surprise, surprise, i've taken up a new hobby

so, yesterday, asher and i went a-shopping. we were in search of a scarf for him, because, well, it's cold out now, and well, he doesn't have a scarf.

seems logical enough.

did you know that wal-mart doesn't have scarves for wee lads???

or at least none that i could find.

but what i did find...

was yarn!!

and knitting needles!!!

now, i used to knit a little bit, way back when blithe was a baby. and i've been wanting to get back to it lately, because, you know... i don't have enough on my plate lately. haha

anyway, asher loved the idea of a handmade scarf, so he helped me to pick out some yarn for himself and for bram (blithe already has a scarf), and i grabbed some needles, and off we went.

when i came home, i looked up knitting instructions on youtube. so now i've learned to tie a slip know (haha, yes, i needed to start there, apparently), cast on, and do the basic knit stitch. awesome!!!

so far, i am 5 or 6 rows into the scarf, and i'm loving every second of it!! it's very soothing and calming, since it's so repetitive and quiet. i'd forgotten how much i love knitting!!

when i'm done the scarf, i'll post a picture of it so you can marvel at my knitty genius. :)

jealous? you should be.

because i make

hands down

the best

grilled cheese

EVER!!!!

ever.

i won't divulge all my secrets (like the bread recipe - that's right. homemade bread. sucka.). but here are a few:

1. homemade bread. awwwww yeah...
2. shredded cheese. melts better. gets nice and oozy. mmm... oozy cheese.
3. i sing and dance while making it. (but i won't tell you the song. that's the secret. {wink})
4. ham. shaved black forest ham. beautiful.

now, i'd take a picture of it, but to be honest, well, i ate the sammy before i even thought about photographing it. besides, i wouldn't want you to be blinded by the awesomeness. because, trust me, you would be.

admit it. you're jealous now. and yes. you should be.

oh. my. goodness. i'd forgotten just how much i love planning and list-making!!

i used to be so organized. i had all my meals planned a week in advance, all the housework (evenutally) got done, we arrived for appointments on time. (lately, it would be an accomplishment to eat, find any clean clothes to wear, and arrive for appointments. period. LOL ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but not much.) spend a few months in the hospital and the whole system breaks down! sheesh!!


well, that changes now. i'm too overwhelmed anymore not to live without my precious lists. to-do lists. grocery lists. appointments. calendars. day planners. menu plans.


oh, yes, folks, this was my life once, and everything got done, on time, without (too much) stress and chaos. appointments were kept, work got done, things were accomplished, and i didn't feel like a complete and utter failure. so i've decided to go back to that. to get organized again. and you know what?? i'd forgotten how much fun it is!!!


here's the list of all the ways i'm a square:

1. i love lists. i'm even making a list to prove it. seriously.
2. day planners. {insert choir of angels}
3. crossing things off my to-do list thrills me in ways i don't care to admit on a family blog.
4. i have two ways of crossing things off a to-do list: a straight line through the item means that the item has been completed. a squiggly/wavy line through the item means that it's not on the list anymore, for a variety of reasons.
5. DW gave me a beautiful planner/organizer last week, and i got all teary-eyed. it's just so beautiful!!
6. i truly believe that a plain ol' papermate pen is one of the most wondrous things in the world. 
7. i'm actually blogging about all this.
8. i re-copied my menu for the coming week, so that i can have one on the fridge, and one in my planner. plus i've written the days' meals on the appropriate page in my planner.
9. i have at least 4 pretty "My Week" pads on my fridge, each for a different purpose. the pale pink with polka-dots is for the menu.
10. when i do my weekly menu, i don't just figure out supper in advance. nope. breakfast, lunch, snack, supper, all planned out days in advance. which, i'll admit, makes me very, very happy.

and #9 and #10 segue so nicely into the next part of this post: the weekly menu. now, since the kids are with ed from tuesday morning to thursday morning, my week starts today. and because they came back in the afternoon today, i can skip breakfast and lunch for today and go straight to snack and supper. here's what we've got for the coming days:

Thursday

snack: apple slices

supper: smoothies (they had a huge lunch)

Friday

breakfast: Timbits (supplied by my mother)

lunch: grilled cheese with ham, using homemade bread

snack: n/a, since the kids will be with their dad

supper: pasta with tomato sauce

Saturday

breakfast: smoothies

lunch: perogies with fried onion

snack: roll kuchen (i don't know how to spell it. it's a mennonite deep-fried piece of dough. i'm just guessing at the spelling there.)

supper: lentil and spinach soup, with homemade bread

Sunday

breakfast: toast with peanut butter

lunch: spaghetti and meatballs. alas, not homemade. nope. chef boyardee. but we're going to be at both services at church on sunday (i'm doing the sunday school thing again), so by the time we get home, it will be late and we (read: I) will be tired and needing something simple and easy. and there's not much easier than opening a can and dumping the contents into a pot for a few minutes.

snack: apple slices

supper: fish, roasted potatoes, corn or other veggie. see? this meal makes up for the chef boyardee, don't you agree? ;)

Monday

breakfast: pancakes

lunch: leftover soup with homemade bread

snack: homemade chocolate chip cookies (which we're going to make on monday afternoon)

supper: rice, beans, fried onions

Tuesday

breakfast: maybe.... chocolate french toast

so there we go. the week in food. and don't doubt that i've written in my planner when i need to make bread, too. and allot time to make the cookies. and when i need to start soaking the beans and cooking the rice. and thawing the fish. oh, yes, i'm on the ball. and it feels fabulous!!! i'll let you know on tuesday how this all went, but i'm hoping that this will go well. cross your crossables for me! 

 

Chocolate French Toast. yes, it's just as awesome as it sounds.

1 cup milk
4 eggs
2/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
8 slices of bread

1. beat together milk, eggs, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
2. heat a lightly buttered skillet or griddle over medium heat.
3. dip each slice of bread into egg mixture until well soaked. place in pan, and cook on both sides until they are no longer gooey or shiny in the middle when cut in half, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

REVIEW
so, the kids have dubbed this "Mommy's Masterpiece" and were begging me to make this more often. i served it with strawberry sauce (homemade, of course; see "recipe" below), icing sugar and syrup. it was, in a word, fabulous! honestly, it's my new favourite comfort food, and i will definitely be making this again and again.

but a word about the cocoa, and some adjustments i made. first, the cocoa doesn't mix well with the milk. probably using chocolate milk would work better. but, since i was lacking choco milk, and because it doesn't have enough fat, i used the cocoa. i also added some vanilla (i just drizzled some into the mixture, so i have no idea how much), because sometimes straight cocoa can be a little strong, and vanilla heightens the flavour while also "mellowing" it somewhat. it turned out really well like that.

also, given that asher is currently on a high-fat diet, i didn't use milk for this recipe. i used table cream, with 18% fat. it worked just as well, though probably in the future i'll use regular milk, and just make his pieces last, adding polycose (fat/carb additive) to the mixture.

but honestly, it was amazing. seriously. you have to try this!!

Strawberry Sauce
4 cups frozen strawberries, cut up
some white sugar
some vanilla

toss it all into the slow cooker, and cook on high until it's done. there's no magic to it. just keep an eye on it, sampling every now and then to check temp and taste. if it needs more sugar, add more sugar. more vanilla? no prob; just add some more. you will have to stir it occasionally, anyway, since the strawberries have a tendency to stick to the side of the pot and burn a bit, so just make sure everyone is floating around the way they should be.

and in case you're wondering how i know it was 4 cups i used...

a while back (last summer?), i picked up a flat of jam strawberries, and my mom and i made freezer jam. it was fab. but i didn't have enough jars to use up the entire flat. so we cut up all the berries anyway, and since the recipe called for 4 cups, we measured out 4 cups and put that into freezer bags, so that when i did make the jam, i could just toss in the berries and not have to worry about cutting and measuring. brilliant, no? i'm hoping to do this again this summer, along with other freezables like zucchini, green peppers, various berries, and so forth. it's the same idea as what i did with stew at one point, which i plan on doing again. sure, it's more work up front, but when all you want in the entire world is stew or freezer jam or strawberry sauce or whatever, all you have to do is pull it out of the freezer and the hard part is already done! i've also done this with those big bags of frozen berries that you can get at the grocery store; i divided it into the amount of berries i need for smoothies, and froze that instead of having to just guess every time. honestly, this process really works!

so, that's that. a couple "recipes" and some time- and sanity-saving tips. have a great weekend! :)

when you're poor, you gotta do watcha gotta do... sigh...

i bake.

a lot.

sigh.

i hate baking.

a lot.

sigh.

but i'm discovering something about myself. i may not hate baking as much as i have in the past. note, i'm not saying i love it. but i'm discovering that i actually kind of enjoy it. or maybe someone has taken over this blog and is typing this post. annie, i'm looking at you... haha

anyway, i have recently taken up baking on a fairly regular basis. why, just this week, i've made apple crisp and cookies. and i plan to make tortillas, a couple more loaves of bread, some granola bars and/or muffins (having just re-discovered my recipe for banana muffins on this blog), and possibly some cookies.

 i've also begun making soup more often. from scratch.

i have to make soups from scratch (including broth, since commercial broths are rather high in sodium, and that doesn't mesh with my littlest man's congestive heart failure). to do this, i've started shopping differently. now when i go to the store and buy chicken, i make sure to buy it with the bone in. then when i cook it, i take out all the bones and spend the evening using them to make broth. (if you're lucky, i'll post those details later.) the next day, i make soup.

i've decided that i love soup, and the more i make it, the better i'm getting at it, too. soup is awesome. that's all i'm gonna say about that. and in fact, when i'm done this, i'm going to post my current fave recipe, which is loved by everyone in this house... and the occasional babysitter. ;) it's quite scrumptious, actually: sausage and lentil soup. and believe me, it's just as easy to make as it is yummy. mmm... sausage and lentil soup...

the other thing i did yesterday, for the first time in my entire life, was to make hot cocoa. and holy marshmallows, batman, it was AWESOME!!!! infinitely better than hot chocolate!! i'm going to be making this more often, and don't be surprised if i have the recipe memorized in the next week or so. the kids loved it, i loved it, it's cheap, it's easy, it's slow (which is definitely the way to go when it comes to food, etc, if you ask me), and it's satisfying on more levels than i care to admit.

and one other thing i've done recently... i rediscovered my local library. did you know they let you take books home... for free?!?! it's a poor booklover's dream come true. why, just last week, the kids took out several books, and i grabbed a few for myself, including one about ADHD, a barbara coloroso book, a magazine, and three novels, including one Sophie Kinsella (and no, not The Undomestic Goddess; i already own that one. haha). and today i went again on my own, and borrowed another novel, which i'm digging so far (it involves Dracula!!) and... get ready for this... a cookbook. you may be able to guess my heretofore held opinion of cookbooks, given that they contain actual recipes, for which one must - gasp! - measure! but i've decided that cookbooks are perhaps the most glorious kind of books. because. that's why. just because. in fact, just thinking about them right now, i have a smile on my face. :) <---- that's me, right there, in case you were wondering.

anyway, i have to run at the moment. it's about time i start working on supper for tonight. in case you're wondering, perogies with bacon and fried onion, smothered in (gah! i'm gonna butcher the german here... forgive me, anni) schmauntfat... basically, it's milk, flour and bacon grease. and yes, it's a beautiful meal. comfort on a plate, if you ask me. and the kids all begged for it tonight, so there you have it. toodles!!!

French Wheat Bread (for the breadmaker)

if you're looking for a FANTASTIC bread recipe, without anything fancy, just plain ol' bread... look no further, gentle reader! here it is, my favourite bread EVER!! honestly, i make this bread several times a week (and those who've tried it agree... it's delicious!). so, by special request, here is the recipe:

1 1/8 c water
2 1/2 c bread flour
1/2 c whole wheat (or multigrain) flour
2 1/2 tsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp butter (or margarine)
3 tsp yeast

throw it all into the breadmaker in that order, and turn on the breadmaker. walk away.

when it's done, take it out.

while still warm, slice a piece for yourself and SMOTHER it in butter, jam, honey... whatever your little heart desires, but seriously, you absolutely must try this bread when it's warm. and then, try it once it has cooled. truly delicious!! LURV IT!!!!!

i think i can, i think i can, i think i can, i think i can

ok, so, i don't know how many of you readers know this, but i journal. a lot. it helps me to sort through my life, my self, my feelings, my journey in general. so i like it. today, while writing about something else, i branched off into "how can i be better at housework?", and i thought i'd share it with you. now remember, this is from part-way through a journal entry, so the beginning is rather abrupt here. but here you go:

and i'm not quite as good as i'd like to be in some areas. i'd like to be a harder worker.... and i need to work harder at things like integrity, being a role model, self-control, discipline, but also having fun. basically, balance.

God, please make me the woman You want me to be.

yikes! what a prayer!! God, help me to mean that prayer, and don't let me be afraid of that prayer.

but i think it's do-able (strengthening my weaker areas), so long as i remember balance. that's the key. when i get all fired up and go at it in a manic, frenzied determination, it never lasts. i burn out, get discouraged and depressed, and nothing changes.

so what's the trick? what's the path to success? i'm thinking specifically about housework, for example. what are my obstacles?

1. doing it alone
2. lack of routine
3. uber long to do lists
4. emotional exhaustion
5. physical exhaustion
6. an "i hate housework" attitude.

alright, now that i've identified my obstacles, i need to identify some solutions.

• the kids need chores, and those need to be displayed prominently to remind them (and me). i've already assigned the chores; now i just have to display - and enforce - them.
• i need a routine. a daily routine, but also a weekly and - dare i say it? - monthly and - eep! - yearly routine. basically, i need to know what gets done when. i need to make regular time for housework, every day at the same time.
• my uber long to do lists can be shortened, now that i'm thinking about it.

1. make a list of everything that needs to be done
2. assign as many tasks as is possible and reasonable (to kids, to friends - like helping to build stuff around the house, to hired people).
3. rank remaining items by importance and deadline
4. ask of each item: Do i have to do this, or can someone else? how long will this take me to accomplish? how urgent is this item? when MUST it be done by? do i need any supplies to accomplish this?

• emotional exhaustion can be beaten by balancing work and play. going for walks, playing with the kids, creating, working in the garden, coffee with friends. routine will also help with this, since i'll know when work gets done, etc. also, a shortened, organized to do list will prevent me from feeling overwhelmed. cutting myself a bit of slack, remaining realistic in my goals, and not hating myself when i don't succeed right off the bat. i will never be annie brown (love ya, girlie, but we both know it's true! LOL) or martha stewart, but i can do better than what i do now. perfection isn't possible, but improvement is.
• i need to rest. i need to accept help, and i need to ask for help. and i need to sleep. if, in the afternoon, i'm tired, i'll nap. better nutrition will also help. and i think that once i've started working on alleviating my emotional exhaustion, my physical exhaustion will also be taken care of.
• my "i hate housework" attitude is crap, i'll admit. when i get down to doing the job, i generally enjoy it. i like doing laundry. i like doing dishes. what i hate is the seeming un-ending-ness of it all. you know what i mean. how you wash all the dishes, then kids want a drink of juice and bam! a dirty glass. same goes for laundry. and sweeping, now that i'm thinking about it. LOL but once i get a routine in place, and i know when things get done, and i can stay on top of things, it'll be better, and i'll actually start to enjoy housework again. because i used to, once upon a time. and i know i can again. i just have to not feel so overwhelmed, that's all.

i think i can do this. i really do. it's possible. it's totally do-able. and i can succeed at this. wish me luck!!! :)

ah, the green life... i love it... when it's not scary. and you weren't there, so don't judge me!!!!!

ok, so, we all know my fondness for simple, cheap (read: free) green ideas for the home. for example, once i've finished this post, i'm going to go throw a load of towels in the washing machine, and then dry them outside.

but, in the last little while, i'll admit, gentle reader, i've slacked off. but it's not my fault!!! ok, it is. it's just - just - well, here's the story:

so, a few weeks ago, i had to empty out my itty bitty compostainer that i keep in the cupboard. and it had been a while. (can you see where i'm going with this yet?) so, i opened it up to put a couple things in there before going outside, and...

IT WAS FURRY!!!!!!

i can't even describe how gross it was! it was beyond furry! think cousin it. yeah. eww! i've got the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it now!!! (and laugh all you want, but you didn't see it. it was gross!!)

so i took the container outside, hoping to dump said grossness into the compostainer. well. apparently, not so much.

i turned the container over, so the compostables would tumble out. and yes, a few things fell out. a few small things. the rest of the stuff - and there was quite a bit! - STAYED IN THE CONTAINER!!! THE ENTITY (as i came to call it) WAS HOLDING IT ALL IN!!!! i banged the container on the edge of the receptacle, hoping that would free some food waste. nope. i cried a bit, hoping the compost gods would hear my plea and loosen the banana peels and such from their hairy prison. nope.

then i looked inside again.

and got grossed out again.

and tossed it across the yard.

and there it stayed.

until today, when i finally had the nerve to approach it.

you see, until now, i was afraid that the Entity would have been a tad ticked off at being launched across the backyard. so i was afraid. very afraid. but today, i figured, nothing can withstand the heat , especially inside a plastic container in the sun! certainly the solar flare that is the atmosphere today must have destroyed the Entity and all that dared to defend it. so i went to get the container.

cautiously, mind you.

and i picked it up.

cautiously, mind you.

and looked inside.

cautiously, mind you.

and it was no worse than it had been before. in fact, it seems the Entity suffers from hair loss (think Cousin It at age 75). maybe some brave (or stupid) little critter wandered in and feasted on old apple cores and such. who knows. who cares. not me. all i care is that E was not quite so scary today.

so i brought it inside (where my children are, which shows how much better things were in the little container) and was going to clean it. but no way am i sticking my hand in there just yet!!!! no way!!!!!!

so i bombed it.

that's right. dumped in some baking soda. then, because that's not enough, poured in the rest of the vinegar i had in the house. and it blew up.

and most importantly, it destroyed the Entity. well, killed it, anyway. i still had to clean the container out.

and i'll admit, i was tempted to reach for my lysol wipes (yes, i have some, and i think they're evil, but they're just so easy!!!!! bad green girl, bad BAD green girl!!!). but i thought, no, this is a compostainer. it's good for the earth. i should use something earth friendly to clean it. (and yes, you're detecting some resignation there. but lysol kills 99.9% of bacteria!!! does anyone know the stats on baking soda?? tell me if you do, because i don't!) so i dumped in more baking soda. and grabbed some paper towels.

again, you weren't there. so don't judge me. this Entity was gross. and scary. and by now, dead, granted. but, still. no way do i want the residual of that Thing on the cloths in my house, sitting with my towels until they're washed, and then who knows if it would spread and get on the other stuff i have in that load. yuck!!! i can throw out paper towels, and then they're gone. at least, that's what i did with my first couple paper towels. the last two, that weren't so gross, are now, you'll be pleased to note, sitting inside my wonderful little compostainer with a banana peel, remnants of a spinach salad, and bits of tomato, green pepper and cucumber.

and the compostainer? clean as a whistle, and gross-ness free, thanks to the wonder of baking soda!!! :)

welcome back, old friend. i've missed you. may your insides be filled with yucky veggie bits, apple cores and banana peels, and may your contents remain hairless from now on.

chores, chores, chores

so now, as always, housework must be dealt with. and as you know, i hate housework. i HATE housework. HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE IT!

but i have kids who are now old enough to help out around the house. seven, four and two are old enough for jobs (albeit very simple jobs for the 2-year-old). yes, folks, THIS is why i bred. in the hopes that, one day, however distant it seemed at the time, there would be someone here to mow the lawn, shovel the snow, take out the garbage, tidy the house, do the dishes... basically, everything. teehee

and so, on that note, i give you.... .... THE CHORE LIST!!!!

Blithe (age 7)
feed Smokey... twice daily. (it's her job b/c smokey's food and dishes have to be on top of the dryer, out of charlie's reach. but this also puts it out of bram's reach, so it falls to blithe.)

make her bed

put clothes in hamper

help with supper prep

drying the dishes

sweeping (her request, b/c "i LOVE sweeping!")


Bram (age 4)
feed Charlie (our new doggie - boxer/shar pei mix - he's awesome, though dumb as dirt! but i love him!). (once daily.)

make his bed

pick up cars, trains, tracks

help with lunch prep

wash the dishes (he specifically requested this one, and really, who am i to argue? [see why i bred comment above]). (and let me explain this task: he's mostly washing plastic stuff, and the cutlery, minus sharp knives. i may be lazy... er, i mean, ready and willing to instill in my kids a good work ethic... but i do have enough sense not to hand him a butcher knife or china tea cup to wash.)


Asher (age 2)
tidy cars, trains and tracks

put plastic dishes, etc away

help with laundry (now let me explain this task: i take the clothes out of the washing machine one by one, and hand them to him. he puts them in the dryer. and later... i take the clothes out of the dryer one by one, and hand them to him. he puts them in the laundry basket. and we spend the whole time talking about colours, shapes, animals, favourites, etc etc etc)


so far, so good. i've already had to shoo the kids away from the sink b/c they had other jobs they needed to do more urgently than dishes. and they've been feeding the animals very well over the last couple days already. except bram, who seems to think that it's too much work to put more than 4 or 5 bits of food in charlie's dish, but he'll learn. lol

and this isn't to say i've delegated all the work to the kids. as you can imagine, i have a TON of stuff to do around here, including re-arranging the house, organizing the chaos, grocery stuff, cooking, washing pots and pans, laundry, and wishing i could afford a housekeeper. lol

i'll let you know how it all goes in a week (provided i can still find my laptop by then).

best. stew. ever.

i made stew for supper tonight. yes, in august. i'm aware. but today is dreary and grey and wet and all-around late fall-ish.

and i was craving stew.

so i made some.

and let me tell you how. (normally, i wouldn't post a "recipe" for stew, since it's so basic. but i'm rather proud of myself for this, so i thought i would share my domestic genius with you. lol)

so, back in the day, probably, march-ish, i picked up a giant thing of stewing beef at the grocery store. and some freezer bags. (figured out where this is going? yes, i'm just that good! haha)

i came home and got to work. i divided up the beef into 3 or 4 freezer bags, about 2/3 full.

then i cut up a couple onions, and tossed them in.

then i grabbed some baby carrots (because i hate chopping veggies, and if God gives you a short-cut, i say take it!!) and tossed them into the bags.

and tossed the bags into the freezer.

so this afternoon, with my INSANE craving for stew (of all things!), i got out a covered bowl thing (the name escapes me at the moment), and went to work.

but gah! a problem! no potatoes! and you simply can't have stew without potatoes!! what's a girl to do?!

i'll tell you what a girl is to do... grab a bag of hashbrowns out of the freezer, and pour some into the bowl-thing. then put in the frozen stew-in-a-bag.

next, add a can of diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil. (see "when God gives you a shortcut" comment above.)

add some parsley, thyme and bay leaves.

dump on generous amounts of Worcestershire sauce. (mmm... liquid salt...)

add a bit of water.

cover, and toss into the oven (ok, place it in the oven. otherwise, if you toss it, the lid will likely come off and you'll end up with stew all over your oven, and i don't know about you, but the LAST thing i want to be doing on a saturday night is cleaning my oven) which should be preheated to (what did i randomly turn the nob to? i'm guessing here, folks, but i think it was somewhere around) 375 degrees F.

bake for a couple hours.

remove from oven. remove bay leaves.

and enjoy! :)

seriously. best. stew. ever.