Menu Plan Monday

This week will be a fun baking week. I haven't done too good at following a menu plan, but we are FINALLY over all our colds and I am ready to jump in 100 percent. Especially excited to make our own bread. I went to an Enrichment night and was introduced to a yummy, yummy recipe. After a trip to our local Good Earth, I now have gluten and I am ready to experiment. I'll let you know the results.

My favorite item that I am going to try - the Cinnamon Rolls that are rumored to be just like Cinnabon. We shall see!

Breakfast
1. Homemade Cinnamon Rolls and Oranges
2. Blueberry Crumb Muffins and Scrambled Eggs
3. Strawberry Crisp
4. Tote in Hole and fruit
5. Pancakes
6. Oatmeal and Smoothies
7. Banana Bread

Lunch:
1. Hard Boiled Eggs, Toast, Fruit
2. Burritos
3. Grilled Cheese and Carrots
4. Quesadillas and Broccoli
5. Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches
6. Leftovers
7. Leftovers

Dinner:
1. Spaghetti and Quinoa Meatballs
2. Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole
3. BBQ Chicken with Bacon Potato Salad
4. Mini Skillet Meat Loaves
5. Asian Pork Tenderloin with Rice and Broccoli
6. Black Bean Quesadillas and Vegetables
7. Engagement dinner with friends

To Try:
Rice Cream
Home made Graham Crackers

Giveaway Saturday!

Slave to Save is always hosting great mommy/baby giveaways.
This week you can enter to win a
Bravado Nursing Bra.
Bumbo from CSN

Easy Whole Wheat Pancakes

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,164,150175-242196,00.html

Recently we were given some ground whole wheat and we have been looking for yummy ways to use it. My husband came across a fairly simply, yet still tasty recipe for Whole Wheat Pancakes that our two year old especially loved. We made some minor changes and came up with this:

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. 1 % milk (depending on how thick you like your pancakes
1 tsp. baking powder
1 eggs
2 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp honey

Mix dry ingredients together. Beat eggs well. Add milk, oil,eggs, and honey to dry ingredients. Mix well. Make sure that the honey is especially mixed well.

This recipe is halved from the web-site. It was perfect for two adults and a two year old. The honey addition was our idea. Next time, we may try some applesauce instead of oil.

Enjoy!

Day 3 & 4 Decluttering!

I am a big fan of the Flylady. She says that you can do anything for 15 minutes. With two young children (2.5 and .5), those are about the largest increments of time that I ever have available. Here are some of the things I got done today.

1. Garbage - Emptied all the garbages in the house. Two and a half bags and a box later - much better! No more tissues, diapers, scraps of paper. Relief!
2. Floors - It's amazing how much vacuuming you can get done in 15 minutes. I got to some of the edges that have been needing it.
3. Decluttering! - I sorted through all the toys, baby gear, etc. on the floor to see what really needed to stay in the room, what could go to storage, and what needed to be put away back in their bedrooms.

Now I need to edit, because about 2 pm I remembered that I may be having visitors at 4 pm. Nothing like a crisis clean. I put the kiddos down for the nap and really dug into the main living area. It looks so much better! Still decluttering to do and organizing to do, but it was nice to really focus and get a bunch done. I feel like I have a cleaner slate to start with.

28 Day Challenge - Day 2 - The Plan

I'm jumping into the deep end of Organizing Junkie's 28 Day Challenge! My main room of focus is our primary living area -the kitchen/living room/dining room. It is all one big room and in it's current state - feels cluttered and is not living up to its potential. I'll also be tackling smaller challenges such as parts of our master bedroom, the kids, closets, etc. But for today, I'm starting the planning process for the main living area by answering the following questions:

1. What do I want the purpose of my room or area to be?

I would like the room to be warm, welcoming, and wide open! WWW=winner! When someone comes in the front room, I want them to feel right at home and want to stay awhile. That is what I envision the overall feeling of the room to be. The purpose of the room needs to include cohesive areas that take care of the following tasks: eating, entertaining, playing, working, and storing. It's a tall order, but I'm ready to take it on in 15 minute bites!

2. What do I need in or near the room to serve that purpose?

I need storage solutions for the children's toys, a garbage/recycling area, a functioning work desk with the needed tools

3. What can I remove from the room?

Lots of things! Sending the stroller to the garage. Reorganizing the kiddos toys. Some to storage, some to their bedroom. Since we are in an apartment, I am putting some of our books into storage, too. We'll see what else doesn't make the purge! I plan on asking myself, "Do I love it? Do I use it?"

4. What problems do I see with the room?

Too much stuff! There isn't a good flow to the room or a definite design.

5. What organizational tools might solve those problems?

I would love to get a bench to act as a launch zone for my family. This is where I would put the car seat. I would put baskets underneath for things that needed to go out or with me. It would also be a cute place for my kiddos to watch for daddy to come home.

6. What habits need to change to solve the organizational problems?

For starters, the toys cannot take over. I'm working with Mini Diva on picking up things as we are done with them. Also, in the kitchen area, I would like to take at least 15 minute after every meal to clean up.

7. What kind of a budget do I have to create the organized room of my dreams?

Still working on the budget with Dude.

8. What kind of a timeline is necessary to organize the room? (28 days!)

9. What is my plan of action?

Clean, clean, clean! Like Flylady says, you can't organize clutter! I am taking an honest look at the items and getting rid of everything we don't need. I'll post an exact timeline soon!

28 Day Organizing Challenge

Life happens. Especially life with a 2 year old and a six month old. Between the holidays, several rounds of colds, and just plain day to day living - I am sad to say that our home became quite a bit cluttered. Last year, my husband and I were tempted to buy a house, but decided to make due with where we were at for a bit longer. In order to stay where we are at - major decluttering is definitely in order. For this challenge, I am going to do our living room/kitchen combo for the whole room. We have definite organization issues in this room which is our main living area and where we spend most of our time. There need to be defined areas for playing, working, eating, entertaining, storing, to name a few. I am excited to break down this room bit by bit until I love every inch of it. I am ready!

Here is a little taste of one of our areas in need of help - YIKES!

Check out what other people are organizing at orgjunkie.com

Let the organizing begin!

Tot Week -

This week was pretty quiet. We stayed in from the cold and settled back into some normal routines. This is what we got accomplished this week:

Lil Diva had her first trip to the dentist. No cavities - everything looked great! She went with her daddy and, big surprise, she loved it! The dentist let her ride up and down on the chair. The hygienist showed her how all the tools worked. She has told me many times since then that she wanted to go back. I am so glad that it was a good experience!

Sometimes Mini Diva likes to be swaddles up like her little brother.

I tried to make Cook and Serve pudding for the Mini Diva to practice her letters in. Unfortunately, I was making baby food at the same time and it got a bit too lumpy. Luckily, she did not mind. She was more interested in mixing with a spoon than doing letters. She has really been into helping make meals lately.

The little smartie decided to build a cave for herself and Mini Dude. She put one of her blankets over the top of his activity center. They had a lot of fun underneath.

And nap time .... one of my favorite times of the day.

This week we also worked on numbers. I bought a darling sticker book at the bookstore. Mini Diva did a good job at putting the right amount of objects next to each number.