My Current Morning Routine

A routine is defined as a customary or regular course of procedure. Routines are so important in my life; they make up the rhythm of my day. It can take a while to build a routine that works for you; but once you figure it out, life will be so much easier.

As with almost everything in life, routines will change as your seasons of life change.  As a teacher, I have a different morning routine during the school year than I do during the summer.  As a working mom, my weekend morning routine is also different than my week day morning routing.  

My favorite thing about my morning routine is that I don't have to use any energy deciding what to do when I wake up.  That has already been figured out.  I can use my mornings to slowly wake up and save my energy for more important work - raising my kids, being a great wife, and supporting my co-workers and students at school.  

With out further ado, here is my current week day morning routine.

1. Wake up between 4:45 am and 5:00 am.  
2. Get ready for work - I brush my teeth, do my skin care, hair, and end with putting on my make-up.  
3. Grab a cup a warm coffee
4. Read my daily devotional - I am currently reading through the The Message: Solo: An Uncommon Devotional
5. Write in my prayer journal - Watch for a future post on what I include in this.
6. Write in my Flecks of Gold journal - This is a three year journal where I record something that happened the day before (an event, funny thing my kids said, struggle I worked through, etc.) 
7. Wake up the girls
8. Make all the beds
9. Get the girls breakfast
10. Pack backpacks and lunches (including my own)
11. Say my good-byes and head out the door around 6:45 am. 

It took a couple weeks to develop and refine this routine. To help me create my routine I made a list of what was important for me to accomplish in the morning. I also watch several morning routine YouTube videos to get ideas of how to fit it all in.  

I hope that this inspires you to create a fantastic morning routine.  If you already have one, what do you include in your morning routine?

Weekly Cleaning Routine

I love routines!  A routine helps me to get things done without really having to think about it; it is just part of my life. Once you figure out a good weekly cleaning routine, your house always looks clean! A cleaning routine also allows your family members to help with cleaning - they know exactly what gets cleaned on each day.  

Over the years my weekly cleaning routine has changed due to the season of life I am currently in.  Being a teacher means my cleaning routine usually also changes from school year to summer.  When creating my cleaning routine, I keep in mind what really needs to be cleaned on a weekly basis (and what can be cleaned on a monthly basis) and when throughout the week do I have time to fit in these cleaning tasks. Right now, we are in the middle of a school year so most of my cleaning is done on the weekends.  However, I also want to enjoy time with family and friends on the weekend so I sprinkle a few tasks throughout the week.  

My School Year Cleaning Routine

Here is what my weekly cleaning routine currently looks like:

Monday

• Wash Towels

Tuesday

• No Cleaning Tasks

Wednesday

• Load of Laundry

Thursday

• Wash Sheets

Friday

• No Cleaning Tasks

Saturday

• Clean Bathrooms
• Dust
• Mop
• Vacuum
• Kitchen
• Laundry (Usually 4 loads)

Sunday

• Clean Out Car 
• Clean Out Purse

I keep my weekly cleaning routine in the "Routines" section of my planner.  This way I have a master list that I can refer back to as I am planning my week.  

This routine took me a few weeks to figure out what works best for me.  There are occasions where I will move something from one day to another due to what we have going on that week.  I also find comfort in the fact that because this is such a routine for me, if I have to skip something one week due to being too busy, I know that it will get done the next week. 

What does your current cleaning routine look like?

What is saving my life right now? My planner!

What planner do I use? 

I have tried several planners over the years.  Last year I tried out a Happy Planner and my heart fell in love!  I like the ability to easily customize what is in my planner from month to month. I girls are also fascinated with the ability to "tear" the pages out and put them back in again.  

What is in my planner?

I use the vertical layout.  Each week has its own two-page spread.  Each day has three large boxes that allow you to divide up your day in a variety of ways: morning, afternoon, night; a box for each member of your family; or possibly work items vs home items.  

I use the top box for each day to record events/appointments for that day.  I also write down what we are having for dinner that night.  The other two boxes I use to create to-do lists for that day.  Sometimes both boxes are used, however, most days only one of the boxes is use.  

I currently have added to my planner the following sections:

• Quarterly: This contains my goal planning and brain dump for the current quarter.  More to come on this process later!
• Routines: Here I create pages for each of my routines including my planner routine, cleaning routine, and meal routine.  More to come on these as well.
• Entertainment: Right now, all this section contains is my list of movies and TV shows I would like to watch.  

My Planning Routine

I usually sit down every Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and all of my planner supplies and calendars to plan out the upcoming week.  

The first thing I go is choose the stickers and color scheme for the week.  I don't use a lot of stickers, but I like to have just a few to give a little decoration.  The stickers I am currently using are Bloom Daily Planner Seasonal Sticker Pack , Bloom Daily Planners Inspirational & Motivational Quotes Planner Stickers, and Dot Stickers.  I then take out my favorite Flair pens and highlighters and pick a color that matches these stickers.  I plan out the week using a black pen, but then use this colored pen to make adjustments as the week go and to check off my to-do list.  

Next, I use my dot stickers to add in the events and appointments for the week.  I gather most of these items from our shared family Google Calendar however I do look at my girls classroom calendars as well. I also add in our meals for the week. 

Finally, I add in my to-dos for each day.  This list is determined by what events are happening that week and my daily to-do list.  I also include a post-in note on the bookmark in my planner titled "Next Week" where I can record things that pop into my brain that I need to do, but can wait until next week.  One more spot I check is my email for additional to-dos. 

As I am listing out my to-dos I keep in mind everything that is already happening that day and I try to be realistic with how much energy and extra time I am going to have that day.  For example, Tuesdays are extremely busy with with dance for my girls and meetings for my husband.  It is all on me to get the kids back and forth from three different dance classes and to find a way to feed them some dinner.  I don't have much time or energy left once we get home for the night!

I hope that you have gather some ideas for your planner or if you don't use one currently will think about giving one a try!

I'm Back!

Wow! It is has been a long time since I have posted!  Well, I'm back and hope to be back posting on a more consistent basis.  

Here is a little update on what has been going on...

We welcomed our second daughter into the world.  She is now 7, almost 8 years old.  We are very busy several times a week with dance lessons for both girls and my oldest has starting attending youth group once a week.  I am still a teacher, however, I now teach middle school students and work in the technology department of my school district.  To add more to our already crazy life, my husband was recently elected as mayor!

About a year ago, I really became interested in minimalism and started learning as much as I could about about it.  I decided that parts of this lifestyle could really help me get the craziness of my house and life under control.  I started the process of looking at what was in our house and what did we really need.  Since then I have made about two rounds through each room of the house decluttering what we did not need and being more intentional about what I am bringing into our home.  

My hope is to share my process of decluttering and how I am living more intentionally through this blog.  I plan on continuing to share organizing tips, decluttering of my house, how I use planning and routines to be intentional with my time, and what ever else I find helpful when life has me at the corner of calm and crazy.  

Big Girl Room Makeover

My husband and I wanted to make sure that our daughter was excited about having new sister.  Therefore, I decided to give her a big girl room makeover (we also needed to get her out of the toddler bed so we could use it as a crib again :) )

I didn't want to paint her room because I loved the gray walls with the green strip, so those colors where our jumping off point.  My daughter also loves the colors pink and purple, just like every little girl, so we added those to the mix.  The first thing I did was find a poka-dot bedspread from Target that had some of our colors that got a thumbs up from my daughter.

Next we needed curtains.  I couldn't find anything that I liked so I asked my mom to make some.  I found some cute fabric that was white and had gray/silver poka-dots on it.  My mom also added some pink ball fringe to add a girly touch.

At the state fair I found a neat lantern that lights up and changes colors.  I also decided to hang two metal plant hangers on the wall to hold some of her toys.

We finished off the room with a new big girl bed, some wall art that I made, and an old dresser and night stand set that I used when I was in college.  All I did to those was spray paint the knobs silver to give it a little update.

Here are the before and afters...

My daughter really loves her new room.  I like the fact that I was able to update it with out spending a lot of money.  I also like the fact that the decor items are not too trendy and I don't have to worry about redoing it again in a year when she no longer likes Frozen :)

Kitchen Drawer Organization

Who doesn't need a little organization in their kitchen drawers?  I need to organize/reorganize mine at least twice a year.  I most recently organized my junk drawer and utensil drawer.

Our junk drawer, like I am sure all of your's, is a catch all for everything left on the counters that I don't know where else to put.  Here is the drawer before:

You can see that on one of my organizings, I started to use silverware tray to house different items.  This works great, it just needs to be cleaned out.  For example, one area of the tray is used to house different size batteries.  When we purchased more, we didn't talk them out of the cardboard container they came in.  We just stuck the entire thing in the drawer.  Well, the cardboard container doesn't fit in the tray so then we had batteries all over.  This is something that we are going to have to work on.  

To reorganize this drawer, first I took everything out and put them in different groups on the counter.  I had a trash pile and then I grouped like items together.  I ended up throwing a lot out!  Here is the finished, newly organized drawer:

The next drawer to be reorganized was one of the kitchen utensil drawers.  This drawer holds different kitchen items such as the can opener, measuring cups, measuring spoons, whisks, etc.  Here is the before:

At one time I tried to organize this with little black baskets.  This worked for a short time, but then either the baskets where too small or I still had too much stuff.  I ended up with a very disorganized drawer where I had to dig around to find anything.

I again took everything out of the drawer and put them in piles with like items.  As I was taking the item out, I thought about when was the last time I used that utensil.  If it has been over year, I really thought hard on if I needed to keep it.  I also go rid of duplicate items.  If they were still in good condition, they went into a donation pile.  I was able to really pare down the items I had.  Here is the finished drawer:

I continued to use the black baskets, but hopefully I have gotten rid of enough stuff that they will work and will be able to keep the items in them contained.

What kitchen drawers do feel always need to be reorganized?

April Recipes

Here are the new recipes that I tried this month...

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
I love peanut butter and banana smoothies and I am getting tired the the basic banana muffin so I gave this one a try.  They were very easy to make.  I did mine in a mixing bowl inside of a blender and I think they turned out fine.  I also topped my with chocolate chips.  I tried them right out of the oven and did not like them.  Once they cooled however, they were delicious!

Baked Ziti
Who can pass up a good, comforting, baked pasta?  When I made this recipe I cut it in half.  The original is for 12 people; a little much for my family of 4 (1 being a small child and 1 being a newborn).  My husband loves Italian sausage so I didn't use any hamburger and used all Italian sausage.  He really enjoyed it.  It tasted very much like lasagna to me.  It was very good.  The next time I make it, I will make the full recipe, but put half in the freezer for another night.

Cheesy Hasselback Chicken
This chicken is another take on Chicken Cordon Blue.  It was very easy to make and very good.  I think it would be fun to play with the types of cheese used.  My grocery store was out of Colby Jack so I used Monterey Jack cheese.  I think a sharp cheddar would also be very good.

I try very hard to not cook the same things over and over.  Of course we have our family favorites, but I also enjoy cooking new things.  I try to cook something new each week.  In the past, I have subscribed to many cooking magazines to get new ideas.  I would tear out recipes that interested me.  Just recently I create a new organized way to store and save these recipes.  You can read about that here - Recipe Binder.  Now I have Pinterest :) The nice thing about Pinterest is I don't have to print off the recipes.  I can pin them to my boards and quickly access them on my iPad when I am meal planning and cooking.  Here are my recipe boards if you want to take a look:

• Yummy Snacks                       
• Slow Cooker
• Delicious Desserts                     
• Soups
• Drinks                                       
• Daily Dinners
• Good Morning Breakfast             
• Lunches
• Smoothies
• Recipes to Try

** Image from freedigitaphotos.net.  Photo by Sicha Pongjivanich. 
Published on 20 November 2011  Stock photo - Image ID: 10065169  

Documenting Life with Project Life

I have been using Project Life for several years now.  You can read about how I got started with Project Life here.  In this post, I wanted to share with you some changes I have made for 2015.

This year I am really trying hard to get back to documenting the everyday life.  Last year I just did major events such as vacations, outings, birthdays, etc.  I liked doing that, but I felt like I was missing so much.  So far this year, I have been trying to have enough pictures taken of our everyday life to fill at least a two page spread.

Last year I didn't really do any journalizing until I developed the pictures.  I usually did not develop the pictures until I had enough to get a good deal at Snapfish or Shutterfly.  This meant that I could go months without updating my Project Life book.  Therefore, when I would get my developed pictures, it would take me hours to get everything in my book.  I don't have that kind of time right now.  This year I am trying to go through my pictures, determine which ones I want for my scrapbook, and do the journalizing on a weekly basis (usually on Saturday or Sunday).  To help me remember what pictures go where and to help in visualizing my layouts, I developed this planning page:

These pages are all kept in a binder.  I write down what picture goes where, where I want a journal card, and where I need a filler.  You can see another planning page I developed here.  Once the pictures are developed and put into my scrapbook, I remove the page from the planning binder.

I am also trying something new this year in the way that I plan out the weeks.  Last year I divided my Project Life binder up by months.  I would create a monthly divider card and also had the plastic Project Life binder dividers, each labeled with a month.  This year I am back to dividing my scrapbook up by weeks.

I decided to label each week with a mini calendar with that week underlined and then to include on the dividing card what number week it is.

How are you documenting your everyday life this year?

Updating the Bathroom

When we purchased our house almost nine years ago, we knew that the upstairs bathroom would need to be updated at some point.  Well, that "some point" finally came :)  It didn't need any major remodeling, just the updating of the fixtures.

Here is the bathroom before:

Here is the bathroom after:

We hired Rebath to come in and replace the vanity, counter top, bathtub, shower surround, and shower fixtures.  It was great having them come in and in two days have a brand new bathroom.  We had a local flooring business come in and lay the tile.  My mom did help with the some of the decorating - painting the walls and ceiling and hanging the light fixture and mirror.  My dad also came over and helped my husband install the baseboards.

Some people asked us why we didn't do more of the work ourselves.  As we have been slowly fixing up other areas of our house, we realized that we didn't have the extra time needed to do the work or the skills.  We didn't want to have to worry about bugging family members/friends and working around their schedules to get it do either.  With the new baby coming, we just wanted to get it done.  
I absolutely love the new bathroom.  It may be my new favorite room in the house :)

My Teaching Binder

I am a full time high school teacher who happens to teach in three different rooms throughout the day, plus have an office that is not located in any of these rooms.  My goal this year was to find a system that would help me have everything in one place that could easily be taken from one room to the next.  Enter the teacher binder.

I love having my important documents all in one spot.  It is also nice for a sub if I happen to be unexpectedly absent.  Everything the sub needs to know is located in this binder.  Here is what the inside of the binder looks like:

When you open it up you see my class schedule for the day.  This is more for a sub then me :)  Then I have the following tabs:

• Seating Charts - here are the seating charts for each of my classes.  On the seating chart I also have a student highlighted.  If I am absent, this is a reliable student that could help answer any questions a sub may have.  
• Calendars - I like to roughly plan out my semesters to I know that I am going to fit everything in.  I have a calendar for each class with the curriculum penciled in for the semester.  I also have the school event calendar here as well.  
• Lesson Plans - Here are my lesson plans for the week.  I also include here any answer keys that go with the lessons.  
• Parent Contact - Here I contain a log where I can keep track of any parent contact that I make.
• Meetings - I have a meeting log here where I can keep notes from all of the meetings that I have to attend.
• Standards - I keep a copy of the Power Standards for the different classes that I teach here for easy reference as I am planning my lessons.
• IEPs - I have a quick reference IEP guide that lists all of my students that have an IEP or a 504 Plan and what accommodations I need to be making for them.  Mine looks similar to this one.

Another new piece of organization that I am using in my classroom are clipboards containing my grade book instead of having one large grade book.

I have one for each class that I teach.  The clipboard contains color coded grade book sheets printed from our grade book program.  Each class has its own color.  The clipboard also contains a binder clip numbered with that class period's number.  I use the clip to attach any papers that need to be graded for that class to the clipboard.

I have really tried to go as paperless as I can in all of my classes.  This means that I grade a lot more off of the student's computer screen then collecting papers to grade.  It is a lot easier to right on a clipboard as I am walking around then a flimsy grade book.  It has also been a lot easier to grade papers as I am standing in the hallway during passing periods, breakfast break, etc.

So far the teaching binder and clipboards have increased the organization and ease of life at school this year.  I wonder what I will come up with for next year :)

Spring Cleaning

It is that time of the year when in Wisconsin you want to clean all the winter dirt, dust, and grim off everything and open up the windows to let the spring breezes freshen up the house.  This year, the days of warm spring breezes are far and few between, but hopefully we will get there :)

Usually spring cleaning happens when I am home on Spring Break from school so I have one week to deep clean the house.  Here is the post about my spring cleaning routine and a check list that I use.  However, this year because I am on maternity leave yet, I have some more time to complete my spring cleaning so I am participating in the Spring Clean in 30 Challenge put on by A Bowl Full of Lemons and Clean Mama.

Each day they give a different thing to clean in your house.  For example, Day 1 was to dust all the edges and corners of the ceiling level.  I like that there is just one thing to clean each day and depending on how large your house is, it really doesn't take that long.  I don't feel like I am spending all day cleaning.  I get to do other things throughout the day,  like caring for a newborn :)

Each day they ask that you take a picture of you completing the task and then share the picture on Instagram using the hashtag #springcleanin30 and to tag them in the picture - @cleanmama and @abowlfulloflemons.

The challenge started on April 1 and ends on April 30.  Feel free to join in.  It's okay if you missed a few days or can't do a task each day, just double up on some days.  This challenge has made spring clean fun!

Playroom / Office Makeover

Hello again!  It has been a long time since I have posted anything on my blog, however I have a very good reason - I had another baby!  I was really sick at the beginning of my pregnancy and all I wanted to do was sleep or lay on the couch.  I didn't feel like doing anything.

Margaret was born at the beginning of February and I am now itching to get going on room makeovers, cooking new recipes, and some DIY projects.  First I thought I would get you caught up on what I did do while I was pregnant (when I had the energy).

Because we were having another child, my husband had to give up his office for the nursery.  Earlier we had converted the front room in our house to a playroom for our daughter and an office for myself.  Now we where going to have to make it an office for both of us.

Check out this blog post to see what the playroom looked like - Creating a Playroom.

Here is what it looks like now...

I painted the walls a light gray color with one accent wall painted a shade of blue and I also painted the trim white (something that I am slowly doing throughout every room in the house).  My husband was using an old teacher's desk that I had found years ago at a local thrift store and I wasn't willing to part with it.  Therefore, he got to move this extremely heavy desk down the stairs and into the "new" office.  :)

On the wall with my daughter's table, I painted a small chalkboard for her to use.

It is a small room so toy organization is key.  My husband and I use the computer on a daily basis and we didn't want to be stepping on toys every time we go into the room.

Where is Summer Going?

So I can't believe that it is the middle of July already!  Like most summers, this one is again going by too fast.  I have all these plans, these long to-do-lists and I feel like I have barely touched them this year.  There are a couple reasons for this, one of them being my three year-old daughter.  I am having too much fun playing with her!  It seems like the only time I have to work on house projects is during her two hour nap in the afternoon (and that is if I don't need a nap myself :) )

Anyways, I have gotten a few things done on the Updating The House To-Do List.

1.  I have all the window molding painted white in the upstairs of our house.  Two of the four rooms also have the baseboards and door molding painted.  I first painted the molding with two coats of primer.  Some of the molding was rather "shiny" so I wanted to make sure that paint would stick and other molding was covered in marker from a previous home owner so I needed to make sure that wouldn't bleed through.  Then it was about two more coats of white paint.  I found that a small sponge brush worked the best and my mom found me some floor guards at Menards that were a life saver with it came to painting the baseboards.

Before


After

It is amazing to me what paint does to a room.  Painting the molding has really updated the rooms.  I am very excited to get the entire house done.

2.  We have hired someone to redo our upstairs bathroom.  We have picked out all the finishes and the flooring.  Now we get to wait until they reach us in their schedule.

My daughter and I have also crossed some items off of her Summertime Bucket List.

1. Run through the sprinkler.
2. Go to the local swimming pool.
3. Roast s'mores.
4. Go to the zoo.
5. Go to the fair.
6. Go to the lake.
7. Paint a picture on the driveway with water.
8. Take a nature walk.
9. Go to the park.
10. Go on a color scavenger hunt.
11. Go to the children's museum.
12. Go on a picnic.
13. Have lunch with dad during during the work week.
14. Have an outside "toy" wash.
15. Grow sunflowers.
16. Build a fort.
17. Have a PJ and movie day with snack necklaces.
18. Have a tea party.
19. Play chalk hop.
20. Make ice cream.
21. Play in the rain.
22. Have a water balloon fight.
23. Pick strawberries.
24. Go to a concert in the park.
25. Have an alphabet treasure hunt.
26. Go to a baseball game.
27. Go to the library.
28. Go to the circus.
29. Paint with ice cubes.
30. Go star gazing. 
31. Go to the Train Museum. 

Updating the House To-Do List

When we first bought our house, I didn't think we would be in it forever. I thought it would be our starter house.  We have fallen in love with our house - the location and the layout.  We have decided that this is going to be the place we raise our kids. However, that does mean that it is time to do some real updating.  We have done little things over the years, but the entire house could use a good freshening up.

Below is everything that I would love to do to our house.  Most areas have two phases.  Phase 1 I feel that my husband and I can handle doing on our own and Phase 2 contains things that are beyond our expertise.  I am going to use this as my checklist and hopefully share the makeover results as they occur.

Outside

 

Phase 1

• Replace faded shutters
• Put shutters on garage window

Phase 2

• Replace siding
• Replace wooden porch and deck with vinyl
• New windows on the garage
• Cut down ash trees
• Replace garage doors

Kitchen

Phase 1

• Paint cabinets
• Paint woodwork white
• Install TV

Phase 2

• Replace cabinets
• Replace counter-tops
• Replace laminate floor

Dinning Room

Phase 1

• Paint wainscoting 
• Paint woodwork white

Phase 2

• Remove wainscoting
• Replace laminate floor
• Replace step into living room

Living Room

Phase 1

• Paint woodwork white
• Paint walls 
• Update furniture

Phase 2

• Replace carpet with laminate / hardwood floor

Playroom

Phase 1

• Paint - maybe do one wall in chalkboard paint?
• Replace desk
• Paint woodwork white

Phase 2

• Replace front door
• Replace carpet with laminate / hardwood floor

Laundry Room

Phase 1

• Paint woodwork white
• Paint doors white

Phase 2

• Put cabinets above the washer and dryer and above counter-top
• Replace doors with six-paneled ones
• Replace cabinet and counter top

Downstairs Bathroom

Phase 1

• Paint
• Fix crack in wainscoting
• Update art work

Phase 2

• Replace door with six-paneled one

Hallway

Phase 1

• Paint
• Update art work
• Finish crown molding
• Paint woodwork white
• Replace railing

Phase 2

• Replace carpet

Bedrooms

 

Phase 1

• Paint woodwork white
• Paint doors white
• Replace mirrored closet doors

Phase 2

• Replace doors with six-paneled ones
• Replace carpet

Upstairs Bathroom

Phase 1

• Paint
• Paint wood work white
• Update light fixture
• Update toilet paper holder
• Install shelves above the toilet
• Paint vanity
• Frame out mirror
• Replace corner shelves

Phase 2

• Refinish shower and tub
• Replace vanity counter top
• Replace faucet
• Title floor
• Replace door with a six-paneled one

Spring Cleaning!

It has been a long cold winter here in Wisconsin and unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon.  Spring has been teasing us, but doesn't want to seem to stick around.  I had Spring Break from school this past week which as been such a blessing.  I have been able to get caught up on so many things both at home and for school.

One big item that I was able to check off of my to-do-list was my spring cleaning.  Boy did the house need it!  Last year I created a Spring Cleaning List as I completed my cleaning to help me remember everything that I do.  Since that time I changed my weekly/monthly cleaning routines so I was able to take some items off of my spring cleaning list because I was now doing that on a monthly basis.  You can check out my weekly cleaning schedule here.  I do my monthly cleaning on Mondays.  This schedule is as follows:
1st Monday - Appliances (Stove, Refrigerator, Microwave, Washing / Drying Machine); 2nd Monday - Window Blinds; 3rd Monday - Throw Rugs; 4th Monday - Deep Clean Showers.  If there happens to be five Mondays it the month, that means I have a free night :)

Here is my Spring Cleaning Checklist.  I have divided it up by room in my house.  I clean some of the same things in each room, however I find it easiest to completely clean one room before I move on to the next.  I start with the top of the room (the lights and ceiling fans) and work my way to the bottom (the baseboards).  It is not on my list, but I usually also vacuum each room when I am all done to collect anything that may have fallen on the floor in the cleaning process.

I also give the house a good deep clean before I start school in the fall so maybe I should change this to my Fall/Spring Cleaning Checklist.  It feels so good to have the house nice and clean!

Sometimes I Have to Slow Down...

With my Type A personality, I always have a To-Do list.  There is something that I think I should always be doing.  This means that I do not like just sitting down and relaxing.  When I do that, all I can think about is what I could be checking off of my list.

One of my friends shared the poem "Slow Down Mummy" by R. Night on Facebook this week and it brought me to tears.  I really need to just let my To-Do list grow and spend time with my daughter because I am not going to get this time back.  I printed a copy of it and taped it right in my planner so I won't forget it.

Here is this amazing poem. Rebekah Knight has many other great poems on her blog. Enjoy!

Slow Down Mummy

Slow down mummy, there is no need to rush,

slow down mummy, what is all the fuss?

Slow down mummy, make yourself a cup of tea.

Slow down mummy, come and spend some time with me.

Slow down mummy, let's put our boots on and go out for a walk,

let's kick at piles of leaves, and smile and laugh and talk.

Slow down mummy, you look ever so tired,

come sit and snuggle under the duvet and rest with me a while.

Slow down mummy, those dirty dishes can wait,

slow down mummy, lets have some fun, lets bake a cake!

Slow down mummy I know you work a lot,

but sometimes mummy, its nice when you just stop.

Sit with us a minute,

& listen to our day,

spend a cherished moment,

because our childhood is not here to stay! 

Rebekah.Knight (c)2011

Summertime Bucket List

I really miss summer.  It is too cold here in Wisconsin.  Winter seems like it is never going to end.  Everyday it is either snowing or so cold, you do everything you can to stay inside. To try and perk up my mood a little, started to create a list of activities to do with my daughter this summer; a bucket list if you well.  Most of the activities are done outdoors, however it does rain once in a while so I tried to include some that we could do inside on a rainy day.

Summertime Bucket List

1. Run through the sprinkler.
2. Go to the local swimming pool.
3. Roast s'mores.
4. Go to the zoo.
5. Go to the fair.
6. Go to the lake.
7. Paint a picture on the driveway with water.
8. Take a nature walk.
9. Go to the park.
10. Go on a color scavenger hunt.
11. Go to the children's museum.
12. Go on a picnic.
13. Have lunch with dad during during the work week.
14. Have an outside "toy" wash.
15. Grow sunflowers.
16. Build a fort.
17. Have a PJ and movie day with snack necklaces.
18. Have a tea party.
19. Play chalk hop.
20. Make ice cream.
21. Play in the rain.
22. Have a water balloon fight.
23. Pick strawberries.
24. Go to a concert in the park.
25. Have an alphabet treasure hunt.
26. Go to a baseball game.
27. Go to the library.
28. Go to the circus.
29. Paint with ice cubes.
30. Go star gazing. 
31. Go to the Train Museum. 

What I Wore Wednesday

A couple of the blogs that I follow have been participating in What I Wore Wednesday for a while now.  I enjoy seeing all sorts of different outfits and thought that I would join in and share what's in my closet.

February Recipes

Cheesy Wild Rice Soup
My mother gave me a recipe for a cheesy rice soup and this is the closest thing I could find online.  There are only 5 ingredients so it is super simple!  When I made it, I used milk instead of the half and half and brown rice instead of the wild rice. The next time I make it, I may try it using this version of the recipe to see what one I like better.

Taco Cups
This recipe has been on one of my Pinterest boards for a long time.  I finally made them to snack on as we watch the Super Bowl.  They were very simple and very good.  They are the perfect finger snack.  (To see the recipe, you will need to hover your mouse over the picture.)

Creamy Peanut Butter Dip
This is a very healthy dip for any type of fruit.  It is also a good source of protein because of the Greek yogurt.  I love honey, so instead of using maple syrup to sweeten it, I used honey.  I have been taking this in my lunch just about everyday since I have made it :)

Streusel-Topped Banana Bread
I have a ton of frozen bananas.  Instead of using the all for smoothies, I thawed some and made some banana bread.  I found this recipe and the streusel top intrigued me.  It was delicious!  My husband would have eaten the entire loaf in one sitting if I would have let him :)

I try very hard to not cook the same things over and over.  Of course we have our family favorites, but I also enjoy cooking new things.  I try to cook something new each week.  In the past, I have subscribed to many cooking magazines to get new ideas.  I would tear out recipes that interested me.  Just recently I create a new organized way to store and save these recipes.  You can read about that here - Recipe Binder.  Now I have Pinterest :) The nice thing about Pinterest is I don't have to print off the recipes.  I can pin them to my boards and quickly access them on my iPad when I am meal planning and cooking.  Here are my recipe boards if you want to take a look:
Yummy Snacks                       
Slow Cooker
Delicious Desserts                     
Soups
Drinks                                       
Daily Dinners

Good Morning Breakfast             
Lunches

What I Wore Wednesday

A couple of the blogs that I follow have been participating in What I Wore Wednesday for a while now.  I enjoy seeing all sorts of different outfits and thought that I would join in and share what's in my closet.