A Time for a Few of My Favorite Things...

My husband told me once, "you have such big emotions for things". Coming from a guy whose emotions are basically a flat line, I, of course, seem extremely feelings driven. And I think to an extent that is true; though, as I mature and grow in Christ I am trying to be more Spirit-led and less feelings-led. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't and that's life! 

Photo Credit: Nutritious Skin

What is true is that I tend to either LOVE something or HATE something and I believe that is what he was mostly referring to. With so many new readers as of late I thought it would be fun to introduce myself by sharing with you some of my favorite things...because there are things that I. JUST. LOVE.  To make this fun though I have decided that as a thank you to my new and old readers for sticking by me even when I lack the time to write and interact with you as much as I would like I decided to have a giveaway! My sister-in-law recently began making soaps as as hobby and that hobby has turned into quite the business for her. She has taken her education as a Dietitian and has used that knowledge to create all natural, healthy for the body soaps that not only nourish the skin but are so pretty you hate to use them and so delicious looking you wish you could eat them! She and I are partnering up for this giveaway and we need your help! All you have to do to be entered to win one of these beautiful soaps is first, go to Facebook and like her page Nutritious Skin (click on the link) then head on over to my Facebook page, To Everything There is A Season (click on the link), and hit the "like" button . Then choose a post from EACH page to like or share and we will put your name in the drawing! For extra chances to win do one or all of the following:

-Become a follower of To Everything There is A Season blog

- Comment on a post at our Facebook pages

-Share one of your favorite things in the comment section of this blog

-Share with Nutritious Skin your favorite soap scent on their FB page

Now for the fun! Here are a few of my favorite things...

GOD      The Bible    Family   Friends   

Fall     Lobster    Games          Snow Storms             The Albert Camp

MADAWASAKA     Cowboy Boots     Skittles         Strong Coffee     JENA     Sunflowers

The Color Orange       Dresses           BEN      Planning & Organizing             Babies

Hosting & Attending Parties         Campfire's        Blogging           Meeting New People

NOAH

Encouraging Others         See's Chocolate           Sports Movies     Music  
 WILL  

Pig Roasts        Fresh Peas                  OWEN

Yankee Candles         Purses/Bags         Storage Bins/Baskets         The Mountains        

POUTINE      Riding Motorcycle     TESS     Camping          Christmas              Kettlecorn       Thanksgiving Dinner    Manicures           Flip Flops         Traveling        Laughing      

Shopping      Painting         Raspberry Almond Cake from The Beach Pea    AMAZON         

Coffee Crisp        The Story of Ruth        Sweaters         Most Things Rustic    EMMA   TAKING A WALK                                       Lavender         GABE

Jewelry        All-Dressed Chips         Taking Pictures              Catan       Albert Shuffle

Flower Gardens      Lilac            My Memere's Chicken          Hot Tubs         

Mr. Sketch Markers          Spending Time with Ben   Dancing   Chinese Food   

Front Porches  Lakes  Christmas Lights

Whether you are new here or have been around for awhile, I want to hear from you! What are a few

Photo Credit: Nutritious Skin

of your favorite things? Let me know in the comment section and then head on over to Facebook and start liking some pages so you can be entered to win a homemade soap! The more you participate the interact with us, the more chances you have to win! 

*Contest begins today and will end in 7 days. We will announce the winner of the soap on our Facebook pages.* 

                   

A Time for "Happy Cupcake"

"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." 

~Matt. 10:30

I've been doing some organizing, purging and cleaning the past couple of weeks because it was desperately needed. I just did this in the fall and yet we still seem to be over run with STUFF! I came across a few things that needed to be put into the kids memory boxes and as I was looking through Tess' something struck me as funny. Her first phrase awhile back was, "Happy cupcake!" Don't ask me why, other than the girl is obsessed with food. The first thing she says when she wakes up in the morning is, "food?" and it's what she says upon getting up from her nap, and what she says riding in the car...you get the point. In her memory box I found the knitted hat that she was given at the hospital the day she was born. Our hospital has dear ladies who knit hats for the babies and make blankets for them. Tess' hat looks like a cupcake! I had forgotten about that and just started laughing when I saw how perfect it was for her. We could never have known then that her first phrase would be "happy cupcake" and yet the Lord knew. I love how he cares about details like that. Those little, seemingly insignificant things really make me smile. It's easy to see God when he's doing big things in our lives and think, "Wow, I'm so blessed". The big things are great and I am thankful for how God works them out but I am especially thankful when I see God in the smallest of things.
It's hard to see God in the smallest of things when we are too busy to stop and recognize it. I know He's there always, in every detail and yet so many times I miss the blessing He is trying to give me because I'm so focused on a task or my plan. How many times have I missed the blessing? I'm afraid to say, too many times. The God who cares about every hair on my head, certainly cares about the little things in my life and too often I forget about that. The simple task of putting something away in my daughter's memory box reminded me that I need to stop and see God in the little things because I'm missing out on too many blessings! I'm thankful that God can use the mundane in my life, like cleaning, to speak to me. He really does meet us right where we are at and if the only place He can get my attention is at the kitchen sink or in the attic as I sort clothes then that is where He'll meet me. I suspect though, that He would prefer to meet me in a place that is less busy and hectic and I'm thankful for this reminder today. To slow down and stop and really HEAR God. I needed to be reminded to consult God and let Him lead my day, not in the big things, that's easy to do but in the little, mundane things...because it's HIS plan and not mine that I should be focused on.

***TIP***

On the subject of keeping memories for our kids I thought I would share what I do. I'm not overly sentimental. I don't save every scrap of paper my kids doodle on or every word they write. I have heard the idea of taking digital photos of your kids work and then saving it on a disk. I think that is such a great idea and if I was a sentimental person, I would totally do this! What I do is I buy a photo box (the kind you can get for $2 at a craft store) when my child is born. In it I keep things I think will be cool to have in the future and cool for them to look at like the hat they are given at birth from the hospital, their hospital band (to show them just how small they really were) and school papers. My favorite things to save from school are the Kindergarten and 1st grade writing papers. The progression is so neat to see and the sentence topics usually crack us up! Class pictures and report cards are another thing I save. Sometimes I will keep drawings or something written but really I don't keep a ton of that stuff because the way my kids draw and write I'd need two storage bins a piece to contain it all! As it is I'm running out of room to store my little shoe box sized memory boxes (a high shelf in one of the closets has worked well for this). Also I keep a journal. I was never good at filling in baby books...not
even with my first one. So shortly after Noah was born and I realized this about myself I decided to instead buy a journal and write about his progress every few months. Little did I know then that I'd have 7 books to write in so the "every few months" part is more like once or twice a year but it still keeps a good record of the major things and I think it's something they will look forward to reading! I plan to give them their book on their 16th birthday.

What do you do to preserve memories without the memories overtaking your space?

A Time for a Budget Friendly Make-Over

Over February vacation I began the task of giving our playroom a make-over. A funny thing has happened...my kids are growing up! For many years the finished room in our basement served us well as a place where all of the kids could play and I didn't worry about the mess...too much. Since the girls share two rooms and have plenty of room for their toys I decided to weed out the toys that the boys no longer play with and switch the room into more of a game room. I was working with a $500 budget so I had to be thrifty and search for bargains to make my money go as far as possible. This is one of those room make-overs that is ACTUALLY budget friendly. 

To start I needed to paint the walls. I know a dark color seems like an odd choice for a basement room that has minimal day-light but I wanted a color that would hide the marks and scratches; my kids can be really rough on walls! The carpet in this room is the carpet that was there when we bought the house and is a dark blue color so I needed something that would coordinate well with it. Grey is what I landed on and the pictures really don't do the color justice. I love the way it turned out! The doors and shelf also had to be painted so I chose a very light gray that is almost white. 

*The shelf holds board games, Nerf guns & Star Wars gear. I also bought bins to
store a few of the toys we did keep like Lincoln Logs and Rescue Heros.

The only seating we have had in the room is a futon, which we use when we have people staying over. To update it I purchased a new futon cover. I wanted more seating but because we do have to fold out the futon at times I didn't want seating that was bulky and hard to move. Bean bag chairs were the obvious choice and the kids love them! I do have a small wooden chair that I am in the process of painting to match the room and for what the kids do down here, it makes for plenty of seating.

Who doesn't love a chalk board wall?! The wall you see in the picture is a removable wall, because the furnace is behind it and it allows us access to it when it needs servicing. I was nervous about using chalkboard paint because I wasn't sure if it was easy to work with our not. It's actually not hard to use at all; in fact, the boys each had a section and painted it themselves. It turned out really great. I hung a bucket off of the beam (a bucket I already had) to put the chalk in. In front of the chalkboard are two 4-in-1 table top games that were given to the kids last Christmas. The table is just a folding table we already owned and eventually Ben is going to make a table on wheels, which will also have storage underneath for the ones we are not using. In the foreground of this picture you also see a black chest. I painted it and inside we store the kids costumes and all the accessories to the game tables. On top, we took the chess board/backgammon table that came with the game tables and drilled it to the top of the chest. Now there is a chess board always out (my boys LOVE chess) and the pieces are stored inside the chest.

I wanted some sort of sport game for the boys to do inside but was nervous to spend money on something that was poorly made and would break after a week. My boys play hard and things get broken! I found this basketball hoop on Amazon and we love it. It's meant to fit over a door but it didn't work on our doors so Ben took the hooks off and just drilled it into the beam. That's one of the perks of living in a post and beam house! The rim is metal and has springs so you can be rough on it and it's not going to break. It also came with a small basketball that, surprisingly, bounces really well on the carpet. The boys have spent hours playing with this already.

Then there were the accessories that I wanted to get. On top of the bookcase in the picture to the right

is a very small CD player. It's the perfect size and the sound quality is great! I didn't want to spend a lot of money because they all have CD players in their bedrooms. I also didn't want anything big and bulky because the space is small. Above the bookcase I purchased a frame and plan to put a picture of each of the kids in it, I just haven't had the time yet. I also had to purchase curtains for the two small windows. I ordered two valances and they work perfectly! One thing I did but didn't have to was replace all the light switch and outlet plates. The last things I bought was a DVD player and two wooden signs. One has "Family Rules" on it and the other is one that I have been wanting for a long time. My grandfather used to sing "You are my Sunshine" to me all the time when I was little. Every time I hear this song it reminds me of him!

We are all so pleased with the way the room turned out. I will break down what I purchased for the remodel and (if possible) will include a link to where I got the items. Anything you see in the room, but do not see it listed with a price, is an item we already owned.

*Paint: $160
*Bean Bag chairs: $60
  LINK
*Futon Cover: $30
  LINK
*Basketball Hoop: $20
  LINK
*CD Player: $38
  LINK
 *DVD player: $30
   LINK
 *Wooden Signs: $25
   LINK   
*Bins: $35
  LINK 
*Clock: $9
  LINK
*Light switch/outlet plates: $16
  LINK
*Picture Frame: $18
  LINK  **The day I purchased this free shipping was offered**
*Valance X 2: $22
  LINK

TOTAL: $463.00

So there you have it! This is how we remodeled our basement room for under $500. I loved the challenge of finding just the right items I wanted for this space and searching for the right price so I could stay within my budget. I know I could have gotten some of these things cheaper or even free if I had had the time to go to different thrift stores or ask around. Since this is money that was gifted to us, I felt less guilty splurging a little!

Since there are still plenty of rooms left in our house in need of a make-over, feel free to share your budget-friendly tips. I'm sure I'm going to need them!
                           

A Time for School Lunch Madness!

School has begun and with that comes school lunches. I have always sent the kids to school with a lunch from home with the exception of last year...two babies meant I just couldn't handle the extra work of making lunches so the kids got hot lunch. Paying for school lunch adds up though and it is cheaper for me to make them a lunch. I haven't done the math of what I spend but I know I don't spend $200 a month, which is what paying for school lunch for 4 kids would cost me. Plus my kids prefer cold lunch to hot lunch and with cold lunch I know there is way less waste because I'm sending them with food they like.

This is the first year I have 4 lunches to make and I know it shouldn't seem like that much more work but for some reason it is. I have felt the need to be way more prepared then I have in years past and I have found I need to give myself more time to prepare the lunches. I was reading a blog post I found on Pinterest, (which I didn't save and can't find now otherwise I would reference it), and her tip was to make sandwiches ahead and freeze them. She does this with her kids and they said the sandwiches taste just as good. I thought this was genius and so I have started doing this. It doesn't require a whole lot of time. In an hour I was able to make 24 sandwiches. I made sunbutter & cinnamon, PB & J, and PB & Honey with Cinnamon. I wrap them in freezer plastic wrap and then label them. I also made some Ham & Cheese sandwiches to freeze. I have given the kids these frozen sandwiches for a week now and they don't even know they've been frozen! Not one complaint that they taste weird or the bread is soggy or anything so I'd say this is working for us! Thankfully we have two chest freezers in the basement so I am able to devote a good amount of space in my refrigerator freezer to keep the sandwiches. In the morning I pull it from the freezer and throw it in the lunch box. By lunch time it's thawed and ready to eat.

Then there is everything else to think of. They need a snack and other items to round off the lunch. In order to save my sanity in the mornings I pre-package all the snacks, chips & crackers for about a 2-week period so all I have to do is grab the bags in the morning and throw it into the lunch box. I have three separate baskets (I got them at the dollar store) that I use for school lunches (these are separate from my home snack basket, which you can read about HERE). One is for snack time items, one for chips, crackers or pretzels to go with the sandwiches, and one is for dessert. The snack basket has items like almonds & peanuts, cheese & crackers, applesauce, granola bars, rice cakes and graham crackers. My chip basket has bags of chips, cheez-its, pretzels, wheat thins, etc. Then the dessert basket has animal crackers, fruit snacks and any homemade cookies or brownies we have at the time. This system has been such a life saver. My kids also know to save all their baggies so we use them again and again. When it comes to the fresh fruits and veggies I don't pre-package those because I don't really have the room to devote in my fridge right now but also because at the start of school I bought these divided lunch box containers that I can just put the fruits and veggies into without pre-bagging them. These came in a pack of 4 and are great quality. Another thing I like to do is buy the bulk size blocks of cheese and cut up slices ahead of time. This makes putting together a cheese & cracker snack much easier.

Do you have any tips and tricks that help you get through the busy morning rush when it comes to making school lunches? What are some of your kids favorite school lunches? I know Pinterest is loaded with ideas but I like hearing from you!

A Time for Essential Oils

And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick,

and healed them. ~Mark 6:13

I have recently entered the world of Essential Oils. I will admit that I tend to be on the skeptical side when it comes to things like this. I am by no means a natural, make-it-all-myself kind of mom. You will not hear me talking down doctors or hospitals because I do not believe they are bad and I don't believe that all medicine is bad. We are so fortunate to live in a time when there is so much available to us. So many lives are saved because of what God has allowed men and women to achieve in the world of medicine. When my 3-year-old needed open-heart surgery you better believe I was thankful for the skilled & compassionate surgeon we had to repair his heart and for the advancements that have been made, making this surgery possible.

My interest in EO's started about a year ago when I became very sick with high blood pressure during the end of my pregnancy with Tess, which continued for months after she was born. The medicines they had me on to bring my pressure down, while necessary and life saving, came with some pretty severe side effects, including depression. It was a really difficult & scary time for Ben and I. Once I found out I was pregnant with Emma I had to be taken off the medicines and God was extremely good to me and allowed my blood pressure to come down to a safe number throughout my pregnancy with Emma. I did, however, start reading up on some natural ways to help high blood pressure in case I would develop the same issues once I neared the end of my pregnancy because I did not ever want to go through what I did before while being on those medications. I was still very skeptical though and never pursued EO's any further until I found out my friend was not only using them with her family but also selling the oils. She came to my house, taught me about them, answered my questions and helped me purchase some.

After a little over a month of using only EO's to treat our family, I am a believer. I can't say Ben is as convinced as I am but he is getting more so every day. Just today he asked me if I had anything for a sore throat (we have a nasty cold going through our house). I wasn't sure what he meant so I said, "well...I have an oil for that". I made him a gargle and when I asked him to tell me honestly how it worked he said it made the sore throat go away. (You have to know that it was very hard for him to admit that to me!) I've had him gargling a few times today and it's helping him a lot. Here are a few other ways we have had the opportunity to use Essential Oils in our home over the past couple months:


1. Bee Stings: it just so happened that shortly after receiving the oils two of my kids got stung. On both of the stings I immediately put a couple of drops of melaluca and a drop of lavender on the sting and both the kids said the pain went away almost instantly and a few hours later you couldn't even tell where they had been stung.

2. Snoring: Someone in our house snores and it keeps me awake. I will not say the oils have cured the snoring but it definitely helps. The snoring is not as loud or as prolonged. He will snore for a minute or two then stop. I can now tell which nights he uses the oil and which nights he doesn't. What I did was filled a roller bottle with 20 drops of Thyme and filled the rest with Fractionated Coconut Oil (a carrier oil). He rolls this on the bottoms of his feet at night (targeting specifically the big toe) and it truly helps! I also make a rub of doTerra's Breathe oil blend with some coconut oil and massage that into his chest.

3. Headaches: This is what sold me completely on the oils. I suffer from headaches. Really bad headaches and almost every day. I had been taking a lot of Ibuprophen and suffered a lot with headaches during pregnancies when I couldn't really take anything except Tylenol, which doesn't work for me. When I feel a headache coming on I put a drop or two of Peppermint oil on the back of my neck and rub it in. Then I use what is left on my hands and massage it into my temples. In 20 minutes my headache is gone. I haven't taken any over the counter medicine for a headache in a month and I am someone who took something on an almost daily basis!

4.Earache: Last week one of the boys got sick with a bad head cold and was complaining of an earache. I put a couple of drops of melaluca and lavender on a cotton ball and had him place it on his ear for 10 minutes. I also put a few drops of lemon around the outside of his ear and throat. I repeated this 3 times that day and by the next day he no longer was complaining of any pain and even his cold had improved significantly.Oregano is also supposed to be really good for this but his earache never got worse so I didn't need to use it.

5. Immune Building: I have been having the kids rub doTerra's oil blend, On Guard, to help keep them healthy this school year. I can't say for certain yet how much this will help or work since we are only a week into school but I have confidence we will see results. My friend uses this regularly on her children and has seen results.

These are just a few of the ways we have seen results with EO's so far...and we are only a couple months into it. I'm still learning as there is so much to learn. Finding which oil works best for you for a specific ailment also requires a lot of research since there is usually more than one oil or combination of oils you can use to treat something. One website I have found extremely helpful to me is the Everything Essential website. Click the link and learn about how you can treat some of the ailments you are experiencing with EO's. While I am a believer in the oils I also believe that there will be some things that oils cannot treat. I just wanted a way that I could treat my kids naturally, without running to the Dr. for everything. If you are at all interested and want to learn more I would be very happy to put you in contact with my friend who sells doTerra oils, or you can do some reading and shopping on your own! I just purchased the book, Modern Essentials, which my friend
recommended I do because of all the valuable information it has in
regard to EO's. I can't wait for it to come in!


***One note I will make is that not all essential oils are created equal. Do your research before purchasing. I was curious for myself if I could get the oils for a cheaper price and ordered one oil made by a different company. The quality was not comparable. Compared to the lower priced oil I bought, doTerra was a superior oil. In most cases, you get what you pay for.

A Time to be Organized: Surviving School Vacations

School vacations can be a really fun time with our kids! I for one always look forward to the break. Not only do I get to see my school kids more but I also get a break from the morning rush. Sometimes though, if we are not organized with our time, school vacation can end up being a dreaded time. Not all mom's get the luxury of being home with their kids during school and summer vacations, I realize this! But if you are one of the lucky ones then it might be helpful for you to have a game plan. You don't have to have every second of the day scheduled but having a plan that you and your kids can look at can be a huge help in making things run smoothly so that you and your kids can enjoy your time together!

My schedule is based on the fact that we spend a lot of time at home. Home is a fun and happy place for us so we all enjoy being here but in this season of life it is also out of necessity that I spend a lot of time at home. Not only is it not feasible for us to take day trips to amusement parks and museums but it's also challenging with a lot of little ones, on my own, to do some of the more elaborate activities. I had to learn to be content at home, especially as  we added more and more little ones to our quiver. It didn't happen overnight but now I can say that I truly am content being at home with my kids. I have, however, had to find activities that will keep them busy...not entertained 24/7 but just provide options of things they can do. I will provide you a break down of what my school/summer vacation schedule looks like to give you an idea of how things work here. This obviously is a very individual thing and if you find you do want to implement a schedule for your family you will be adding and subtracting things from this, you will be doing things at different times of day, you will be tweaking it to make it fit your life and goals. 

***This is the schedule we follow on days we are home. On days we have an outing planned things do not run like this. I implemented this to help me on the days (upon days...) we spend at home. ***

Vacation Schedule:

7:00- Okay to wake up (usually they start stirring around 5:30-6...I don't have sleepers. They know they have to lay quietly in their beds until 7, unless they need to use the bathroom.)

7-8 am- Play with Lego's quietly in rooms (everyone shares a room with at least one sibling and they all have lots of Lego's in their rooms to play with. Of course they can choose to read or do something else...they just need to be quiet)

8 am- Breakfast. (This might be too late for some of you but part of loving vacation is not having to get up and make breakfast right away and rush in the morning. Lazy mornings are what I look forward to most. I love having extra alone time with the baby before everyone comes down for breakfast!)

8:30-Chores, brush teeth, get dressed

9:00- Reading out Loud (I pick a book or two that we read together over vacations. We recently finished a story on missionary Eric Lidell. We will start 10 Boys who Changed the World during April vacation. I love this tradition of reading aloud with kids!)

9:30-Play outside (we have a swing set, bikes, trampoline, scooters, balls, bats, etc. There are plenty of activities for our kids to do outside along with the woods that surround us, which offer the perfect backdrop for exploring and imaginative play!)

10:30- Snack & read Bibles (for my younger ones who can't read we have picture Bibles that they can look at. This summer I am hoping to be more consistent about having them memorize Bible verses.)

11:00- Arts & Crafts or drawing at the table (I pick up crafts online or at the dollar store and save them for a rainy day. My kids also love to draw and we encourage this a lot at our house. I keep lots of supplies on hand so we always find something to do). 
Summer Vacation: Cursive writing practice (which is a Bible verse they are copying), math flashcards, worksheets (you can find free printables online that are great), etc. (during the summer vacation we spend some time three days a week on school related things)

12:00-Lunch 

12:30- Chores & put younger ones down for a nap

1:00- Quiet time for everyone. Reading in beds or sleeping.

2:30- Free Play (outside, playroom, Legos, drawing, etc.)

3:00- Snack & younger ones up from naps

3:30- TV or Video Games

4:30- Clean up and get ready for supper

5:00- Supper ( If its a really nice evening we might choose to go outside and play instead and eat later.)

Our evenings are not as structured, with the exception of family devotions after we've cleaned up from supper. Sometimes we go back outside and have a campfire, sometimes we watch a movie, sometimes we just veg and everyone does their own thing. 

I know for some of you you're thinking, "there's no way I could structure things like this". I get that, I really do. I have to do it this way for my sanity and if I want to make sure I accomplish things I feel are important to accomplish. It is so easy for me to get sidetracked and lose sight of time. Then before I know the day is gone and we haven't done half the things I had hoped and the kids spend way more time watching TV or playing video games than I wanted. This works for us. My kids are used to their super organized mom so they do well living like this. If you are someone who have never been very structured then it might take awhile to get your family on board! Do we follow it perfectly everyday? No, we don't. Some days I am not feeling well and I let them watch more tv than I would prefer. I'm not perfect and our schedule isn't perfect but it does help keep us organized, motivated and accomplishing things so for that I am thankful! 

A Time to Be Organized: The Kitchen

                                          

"Let all things be done decently and in order" ~I Cor. 14:40


If there is one room in the house that I need organized it's the kitchen. I cannot function in a cluttered, dirty and unorganized kitchen. I spend the majority of my time in the kitchen, which means I also spend a lot of time cleaning the kitchen. You might have noticed last week when I posted my cleaning and laundry schedule that there was not spot for the kitchen. That is because cleaning the kitchen is an on-going, everyday sort of chore. I wipe down counters and the stove after every meal. I also sweep the kitchen once a day at least, more if I have time. I cannot say that I have a hard and fast way to organize cupboards, etc. Every person's kitchen is different, and every person's amount of storage space is different. I will mention some tips that have helped me stay organized in the kitchen but really the only thing I feel matters when it comes to kitchen organization is to make sure everything has it's place and keep things that you use regularly close by. If you have extra storage in a basement or closet use that space to store bigger appliances and dishes you don't use often and save your kitchen storage for the things you use all the time. Also, I go through my kitchen about once a year. Anything that I have not used that whole year is given away.

I cannot stand a sink full of dishes so I am one to stay on top of the dishes. On a typical day I unload and load the dishwasher once a day. On a day where we have company or I'm doing  a lot of cooking then I do more than one load. Here's how I go about staying on top of the dishes. In the morning I unload the dishwasher while the kids are eating breakfast. Then I load the dishwasher throughout the day. After supper I fill up the dishwasher and run it. I hand wash any pots and pans and bigger items that take up a lot of space in the dishwasher to make sure there is room for all the plates and cups, etc. I will say that most days I have help with this since my 3-year-old daughter LOVES to load and unload the dishwasher.

One thing that's important to do when you have little ones is to try and delegate some responsibilities to them when they are old enough to have some. Setting the table is one of these tasks that I was anxious to get the kids doing. When I started my dishes were in a cabinet up on the wall.  They couldn't reach them so I still had to get all the dishes down for them. I decided that as much as I hated the idea of having my dishes in a bottom cabinet, it was the best solution. This way they are all able to reach the dinner dishes and can set the table themselves. It's also a great way to practice counting! I thought I would hate this but I'm so glad I did it and the kids like being helpful in this way. It used to be the older two boys chore to set the table but now they've graduated to other chores and now it is Will's chore to set the table and Jena always helps him. Currently it is Noah's job to sweep the dining area, Owen's job is to wash the table and Gabe's job is to wash the chairs. In the summer they take on more responsibility but during the school year this is about all they have time for (except for weekends when they are responsible for their rooms). One of my favorite chores to give the younger kids, and one that actually is a big help to me is wiping down the cabinets. I give them a bucket of soapy water and some rags or sometimes just disinfectant wipes and they have a blast washing the cabinets and appliances. 

Another tip I have is to keep one drawer in the kitchen that is OK for the little ones to play in. I have one drawer dedicated to just plastic cups and each of my kids has loved going in there and playing when they were very little. Of course understand that implementing a system like this requires a lot of consistent, diligent training. I started training them at age one and all of mine required a lot of reminding that this was the only drawer they were allowed in. It's a lot of work at first but after a few weeks you will see they understand and you will be so thankful you trained them this way. It keeps them out of trouble while I'm busy cooking.

My last suggestion for the kitchen is a snack basket. With children who are constantly asking for food it often feels like all I'm doing is getting people food. I made up a basket of snacks that I don't mind them having so that when they are hungry and want a snack they know they can either go to the fruit drawer in the fridge, grab a yogurt or go to the snack basket in the cabinet. These are all options that are low enough for them to reach and since I am the one who chooses what goes in the snack basket I'm not worried about what they are choosing to eat...it's already "mom approved"! And they really like seeing what's in the basket that week. When they receive candy from grandparents, etc. I don't let them eat it all right away. I usually give them one piece then put the rest away. I will mention that I do not allow the kids to eat whenever their little hearts desire. I  keep snacking to a morning snack, afternoon snack and one before bed and they are only allowed a snack if they ate well at the previous meal. 

I know that I would still like my kitchen to be more organized than it is. I do use baskets and bowls and jars to keep things sorted and neat but some days I still feel like I could use more space! One thing I want to start doing as soon as I get a little extra time is to peel, wash and cut my veggies after I've gone to the grocery store so that they are ready to eat or put in lunches or throw into a recipe. I know many people do this and I really see the benefits of doing this. I just haven't gotten to a point where I have found the time to set aside to do this. I would love to hear from you and learn different things that have helped you stay organized in the kitchen! 

A Time for Organization Part II: Laundry and Cleaning

"Let all things be done decently and in order" ~I Cor. 14:40

A short time after having Will, our fourth child, it became quite evident to me that my current system of "keeping up" was not going to work anymore.  I had a mini breakdown. I have had a few of these over the years since having children. They are short-lived but each of them has resulted in my creating a system for whatever it was that caused me to have the meltdown in the first place! 

I got to a point after a certain number of children, where my mind no longer functioned well and until I've had that 3rd cup of coffee I see everything hazy. My brain no longer has the capacity to function the way it once did. I can no longer wake up and say, "today I'm going to do this, then this, and then this". Now I wake up and am lucky if I remember what day it is. I needed a system that when I woke up in the morning I had someone or in this case a list, that told me exactly what I needed to do that day. 

I wish I could tell you my system eliminates the need to do laundry or clean. It doesn't. What it does do for me is help me stay on top of everything that needs to get done. I have a laundry schedule and a cleaning schedule taped to my fridge. Each family member gets a day of the week their laundry gets done and each day a certain part of the house gets cleaned. It goes like this: 

Monday: Noah & Owen- Wash floors & vacuum downstairs

Tuesday: Gabe & Will -Dusting and Windows/Mirrors

Wednesday: Bath & Dish towels-Bathrooms

Thursday: -Ben & Lissa-yard & gardens (summer)/playroom

Friday: Jena, Tess & Emma-Misc.picking up & downstairs bathroom (again!)

Saturday: Bedding (every other Sat.)/Bedrooms get picked up & vacuumed

Sunday: OFF!

I have reasons for why a certain persons laundry gets done on that day and why a certain part of the house gets cleaned when it does. You can customize this however you need to to make it work for you. I have some friends who don't like to do laundry every day so they don't like this system. I don't necessarily like to do laundry everyday I just have no choice. I  cannot keep up without doing it this way so at least now I can wake up and not have to decide who needs it more I can just look at my list and do it. Yes, I am a slave to the list but it  has helped me tremendously. What I like the most about this system is my house is for the most part always picked up and neat and I only have to spend 30-45 minutes each day cleaning. It may not  be spotless but at least everything is getting done once a week and I don't have to worry about the house not being in order when the unexpected guest pops in!

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Since writing this a few years ago I did have to edit my schedule a bit. I do way more laundry now than I did at the time I wrote this. When I wrote it I did 1 load a day. Now I do 2, sometimes 3 loads a day. I also have to clean the downstairs bathroom twice a week. I will say that though this system works very well for me I have not been able to keep up with it exactly since having Tess. Two babies back to back has left me with very little time for anything but taking care of babies and the house shows for it. Things are starting to get easier as the babies get older so I'm slowly easing back into it. Even though I have more kids now than I did when I implemented this I still feel it is a good system for me and I will continue to do things this way.One great thing is that as the years go by, kids get older so now they are able to help with some of these chores. If I have a day where I am unable to do that days chore then I leave it till the next week or fit it in IF time allows on another day. But I don't stress about it. If I get to it that day great but if not, it will still be there next week. The only thing that HAS to get done are the bathrooms. I will say that if I don't keep up with the laundry then I fall behind badly and it takes a good week or two to catch up again so I make sure as best I can to keep up with it.

A Time for Organization Part I: Meal Planning & Weekly Reminders

"Let all things be done decently and in order" ~I Cor. 14:40

I have recently implemented a new system of menu planning.* As a Christmas present I received, from a friend, this weekly reminder. After several weeks of using it I am wondering how I ever managed without it. It has solved my "man, I forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer" problem and helped me keep up with my daily tasks.  It has 4 columns and you can do whatever you want with them. Here's how I categorize mine: School, To-Do, Food Prep, and Menu. Each day I can look at my weekly reminder on the fridge and see what I have to do that day. 

The "School" section is where I remind myself what is going on with the kids at school that week. I write down anything they need to bring with them that day. If there's a special party and I have an item to send in, if it's band and I need to make sure they take their instrument, gym means I need to make sure they have sneakers with them, 1/2 day of school means I have to pick them up early. I make a note of all these things so I don't forget.

My "To-Do" section is for all those little things that need to get done but are not a regular chore like cleaning the fridge or organizing the downstairs closet.  A lot of times I would think of something I wanted to do then get side-tracked and forget what it was I wanted to do. Now I don't have that problem. Also, if I have a Dr. appointment. or have scheduled a a get-together with friends that week I jot it down in the "To-Do" section. 

The "Food prep" section is where I write when I need to take meat out of the freezer. I am notorious for forgetting to thaw what I need for the upcoming meals. I also write down any food I need to prepare early in the day like letting bread rise or cooking the meat ahead of time. Now I just look at my weekly reminder before I go to bed and see if I've forgotten anything. It has helped me SO much. 

The "Menu Planning"** section is what we are eating for dinner that night. I sit down about once every 2-3 weeks and plan out our meals for the next 2-3 weeks using what I have on hand in the house. I am not a week to week grocery shopper. I like to stock up on items when items go on sale. The only thing I HAVE to buy weekly is milk and Ben gets that on his way home from work.  Fruits & Veggies I can do every 2 weeks, and that can be stretched when necessary since I always keep frozen and canned fruits and veggies on hand. When I go to the store to buy my fresh produce then I will pick up the ingredient or two I have run out of or need for a meal I have planned. Then I stock up on whatever is a good buy that week. And when I say stock up I don't mean I stock up for the whole year or anything. I just get a couple months worth...it WILL come on sale again!

 This is just one way of doing things and if you are reading this in hopes of finding a method of organization that will work for you as far as meal planning goes, I hope it does! If not, then look around and find one that will work...there's lots of ideas and ways to do things out there!

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*Having written this post a few years ago this method is no longer "new" to me but I can say it is how I have continued to do things and it still works great for me!

**I plan my meals around our calendar. If it's a day of the week that is particularly busy then I plan a crockpot meal for that day. Fridays are always an easy, kid-friendly meal like pizza or grilled cheese. I try to always have one pasta dish and one or two beef dishes (we get beef for free) to keep our grocery bill down. And you don't have to follow your plan exactly. Things come up unexpectedly or you end up with more left-overs than you anticipated. It's OK...be flexible with it and always write it out in pencil! 

A Time to be Organized: Intro

"Let all things be done decently and in order" ~I Cor. 14:40

There are not a lot of things that I feel I am able to say I am good at. God did not bless me with multiple talents, at least not the kind that are noticeable like singing, drawing, playing an instrument, etc. You will hardly ever catch me "tooting my own horn" because there really is no horn to toot! One thing I can say confidently is that I am an organized person. Whether that is considered a talent is totally up to you but I do think it is a gift that is not given to everyone. I know this because I hear a lot of people say they wish they could be more organized so I have to assume it is not something that comes easily or naturally to everyone. I cannot function in chaos or clutter. If my sink is full of dishes and my counters cluttered up I can't cook. If the living room is littered with toys and socks (is it only my house where children take off their socks and scatter them about 5 mins after putting them on?) I cannot sit there and relax. When I walk into a room I instantly see the mess...trash cans over-flowing, bureau's covered in "stuff", carpets that need to be vacuumed and the dust...of my the dust. I see it all and it instantly puts me on edge. I function at my best when everything has it's place. When the rooms are picked up. I would function even better if every room was spic and span clean but let's face it...it ain't happening as long as 9 people live here so I've learned to overlook a few things.

Over the years, as we've added more and more little people I have learned how to organize our things, and life in general, in such a way that we function like a relatively well-oiled machine. I have shared some of these ways with you in the past and I am going to revisit them as I start this series on organization. I by no means claim to be an expert. I only hope to help you if this is an area you struggle, by sharing some things that work for me. My first post on organization is about calendars. Without them I couldn't function! I wrote this post a couple years ago and after looking over it I can honestly say I do everything exactly the same still so it really has worked for us! The only change...my husband couldn't take it any longer and made me purchase a calendar that began on Sunday!

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A Time For Calendars, Calendars, Calendars!

Remember the days when our young minds could retain anything and everything and we never needed to write things down. Remember when you could recall a friends phone number without looking it up...several friends numbers in fact! Those days for me were long gone after baby number one but after baby number 5 I'm lucky to remember my own phone number let alone anyone else's. The same goes for commitments and Dr. appointments, etc. In order to keep our busy family on time and where they need to be on the right day I invested in a dry erase calendar board. These range in price and size so find one that fits your families needs. I got mine at Rite Aid I think for about $10. It's magnetic and fits on the fridge right next to the phone so as I'm making appointments and agreeing to be places I can write it down immediately. I also have a small yearly calendar that is on the fridge right next to it for appointments that are in the months to come. This is not a fool proof system (remember the story of the surprise birthday party we showed up a week early for...) but it has helped me a great deal in keeping us where we need to be and when. Now I am so dependent on my dry erase calendar that I don't know how I managed without it. I keep track of the kids school things on it, church activities, appointments and engagements. I realize that people have phones they can put this stuff into but the benefit of the dry erase calendar is that it's there for everyone to see so we all know each other's schedule and can just look at it and see what we have going on.

For my husbands benefit I have to add that if you are considering buying one consider whether or not you care what day of the week it starts with. Ours starts with Mon. as opposed to Sun. and it has thrown my husband for a loop.

***I have been asked since writing this if I color code my calendar. My answer is no. We are just too many people that it would be more confusing that way. Plus I don't think I'd find enough colors! I know some people color code their calendars for different categories. Doctors appointments are green, school related, red, and so on. I don't choose to do that but it's definitely one way to go.

A Time for Pinterest Hits...and Misses!

If you are not on Pinterest by now, you really should be! I think whoever came up with this idea is a genius; it has made my life a lot easier on several occasions! When I'm in a funk meal planning, the first place I go is Pinterest. I pin a lot of things. Most of us on Pinterest do. But how many of those pins do we actually try or do? I've been making an effort over the past few months to take some of the things I've pinned and actually make them. Since I haven't exactly had a lot of time for crafts or DIY projects but I still HAVE to cook, the pins I've made lately are recipes. So here are some of the ones we enjoyed...and some not so much!

1. Breaded Ranch Chicken 

This recipe was a hit! It was so tasty and very easy. I'm one who almost always has some packets of Ranch dressing mix on hand so this is a recipe I can make in a flash. Though I did recently pin a recipe for DIY ranch seasoning, which I hope to try soon. If it turns out to be a hit then I can make this recipe with my own seasoning. 






2. Vegetable Mac n Cheese

This recipe was another hit...in fact, it's on the menu for this weekend. I first made this recipe when we were having guests over for lunch. I know it's risky to try new recipes when company's coming but I took a chance anyway. I'm glad I did. It is such a fun take on mac n cheese, has lots of veggies, which I found you can choose the ones you like and eliminate the ones you don't (I did not put squash in mine). It has nice flavor and the red pepper flakes give it just the right amount of kick to make it interesting!




3. Crock Pot Chex Mix

This one I am going to have to say is a miss...for me anyway. Not so much on taste, because it tastes fine. My problem with it is that it makes a mess of your crock pot! And I don't find it easier to do it in the crock pot then in the oven. I prefer my oven method so I'm going to stick with it. I guess my suggestion would be if you decide to try it then invest in some crock pot liners and save yourself a lot of scrubbing!





4. Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes

If there is anything I love, it's finding a recipe that the kids devour. And this recipe is one of them. Another item I always have on hand are refrigerator biscuits. I grab these when they go on sale and freeze them (yes, they freeze beautifully!) so all I have to do when I've got some leftover chicken to use up is thaw some biscuits and we've got ourselves a meal everyone will love! This is one of those recipes too that you can play around with. Make your filling to your liking and then bake them up. It's an easy recipe and a neat way to use up some leftovers!




5. Buffalo Chicken Bites

This one I'm afraid to say is a miss. None of us cared for this recipe...and we're big buffalo chicken fans. I can't quite put my finger on what it was about this recipe that made it not to our liking but even after 3 or 4 attempts, we still didn't like it. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did!







6. Sweet & Sour Chicken

This is by far the BEST recipe I've pinned on Pinterest to date! Everyone I've made it for has also raved about it. It's not exactly a quick and easy recipe...there's some prep work and planning involved. But it is so worth the effort. This recipe also freezes very well. Prepare it up until the baking stage. Freeze it. Then when you're ready to eat it stick it in the oven and let it finish cooking. You will not regret taking the time to make this, I promise!


7. S'mores Bars

I do not do a lot of baking. It's not my favorite thing to do. I would much rather cook a meal. But I do try to bake for the sake of my family so I like recipes that are quick and easy. This one is that...it's very quick and easy if you have everything you need. But I'm calling it a miss. It just wasn't as good as you'd think it would be. I guess there's just no beating a real s'more by the campfire so my suggestion is this...if you have the ingredients for s'mores, make yourself a campfire and enjoy the real deal because these pale in comparison!




8. Strawberry-Yogurt Cake

This recipe is a huge HIT! It takes some planning because it calls for a few ingredients I don't always have on hand but it's definitely worth making. It's so yummy and very easy to make! I highly recommend this recipe!






9. Poppy-Seed Chicken Casserole

This recipe I just recently tried when my in-laws were visiting and we say it's a hit! It is really yummy and the poppy seeds give it a great flavor. This one Ben even talked about days later...that's when you know you've found a recipe that's a keeper! The instructions say that some add rice to the bottom and I absolutely did. I added 2 cups of cooked rice to the bottom of the casserole. I think next time I might experiment by throwing in some veggies. I love recipes I can be creative with and this is definitely one of them.



10. Coconut Rice

This recipe I have not tried yet but I plan to this weekend. It seems super simple. I even bought minute rice, which I never do, to ensure it comes out just as it's supposed to. I love coconut and I think this fun take on rice will go nicely with the shrimp I'm planning to make to go with it. It seems too simple to mess up but we shall see!






So here you have it! A few of my "pins" that have proved successful and not so successful. Maybe you can incorporate some of these recipes into your menu planning this month. I hope to have some time in the near future to try out the more crafty & DIY type pins I have waiting for me...and when I do I'll be sure to let you know how they turned out!