Meal planning made easy!

Having five children and being 6 and ½ months pregnant with baby #6 has been fun in so many ways and yet VERY hard in others. I think baby #6 is trying to kill me. Really!

By the end of the day, I am too sore and too tired (and often too sick) to make a decent dinner like I did in the “good ‘ol days” when life was normal and I was not pregnant. (Wait………did I say normal? Has there ever really been a “normal?”)

Through the years I have tried ALL kinds of Meal planning ideas. I had a friend who would spend a whole day cooking meals for the entire month and then freezing them.  I loved the idea, but never had the time or ambition to go that far. It was a bit overwhelming for me to think of cooking for a whole month.  What meals would I make? How much?

I have gone the route of planning all of the meals for the month on paper and trying to keep track of what we were going to have each night. It eventually got overwhelming too. (Can you tell I am easily overwhelmed when it comes to dinner time and what to make?)

I actually LOVE to cook and always want to try fancy new recipes, but with 5 kids to take care of, I just don’t have the time and I always just reverted back to the same quick and easy dinners over and over again.  (And when worst comes to worst, I bust out the cold cereal. It is a sad true story!!)

So recently I decided to find a way to do what I love (cook fabulous meals) without spending so much time (time that I don't have anyways) and get my dinners organized without getting overwhelmed.  I actually found a way to do all of the above. So excited!!!

I wanted to make sure this would be something that would not fade away over a few weeks. I wanted something simple enough to last through the years. Something I could really keep up with. Something that was doable for my busy life.  (Because let’s face it, after baby #6 comes, life will not get less busy)

I went to the store and found JUST what I was looking for. Three GLASS baking dishes with lids. (I wanted glass so that they could either be used in the microwave or oven)

  Next, I went through my awesome cookbook and picked out ALL of the meals I would like to eventually try. (The meals that I have NEVER had time to try)

I then picked out THREE MEALS. That is it. See not so overwhelming…………..right?

  I got everything I would need for those three meals and I spent some time on Sunday making those meals. It was so much fun!!! My husband was home to watch the kids (So I didn’t have kids needing this or that. I just got to cook. What a concept) and it only took me a little over an hour to make the meals.

  Doesn’t it look beautiful and healthy?!!  Take THAT cold cereal!!!!

I made sure that I had enough to completely fill those baking dishes because in reality, HALF of one of those baking dishes would be one meal for my family.  

Meal #1- Veggie Lasagna

  Meal #2- Enchiladas

  Meal #3- Beef stew

  I put them in the fridge and there you have it!!

Now, on Monday I will pull out one of the baking dishes around 4pm and put it in the oven. That’s it!! I will toss a salad at 5pm, pull the baking dish out of the oven and dinner is done!!!   And since our family will only eat about half of that baking dish worth, I will save the other half for Thursday night.

So basically we will have meal #1 on Monday, Meal #2 on Tuesday, Meal #3 on Wednesday, the other half of meal #1 on Thursday, the other half of meal #2 on Friday, the other half of meal #3 on Saturday and Sunday is a whatever day.  (And I make three meals for the next week)

So I only have to spend a little amount of time to make three meals on Sunday for the whole week. I save so much time during the week!!! Now THAT is not overwhelming. I can do that!!!   

Brain POP Education

There is a website that my kids LOVE to go to for school. It is called Brain POP and has all kinds of fun educational movies and games for your child to play. If you are a homeschool family, it is a MUST. Seriously!!

And even if you are not a homeschool family, it is a great way to get in some extra education for your children.

The little educational videos cover subjects of: Science, Math, Reading, Health, History, Arts and Technology, Social Studies and more.

You do have to pay for a subscription, but if you do a family subscription and click on single user (that is all you need really) it is 85.00 for a year. If you do want other users, it would cost a bit more.

Click  HERE to check out the website.

Happy learning!!

7 things to think about when setting goals

It is that time of year when I like to review the goals I have set this year and set new goals for next year. I love looking at all of the things I have been able to accomplish in a year. It makes me feel a little giddy. (Yes, I am a nerd. I think we have established that)

I have already touched a little bit on goals HERE and HERE

But I just recently went to a wonderful event called Time Out for Women. It is a conference JUST for women and the speakers are AMAZING!!  They travel around the USA each year, speaking to woman to remind them who they really are and what is really most important in life. I HIGHLY recommend attending one next year.
(Go HERE to see their 2012 schedule)
They are great for all women in all walks of life. I especially like the insights I get to help me in my role as mother.

One talk that I loved has a LOT to do with how we should be setting goals. So since this is the “goal setting time of year” I thought I would share my notes on that talk. Enjoy!!

The Speaker started out by saying she would focus on these 7 points. They made me laugh but shocked me at the same time.  Wait till she tells you why she focuses on these 7 points. It is good stuff!!

1.)    Stop worrying about your weaknesses
2.)    Don’t try to get motivated to exercise
3.)    Stop trying to find friends
4.)     Don’t try to feel happy
5.)    Celebrate failure
6.)    Don’t get help with your problems
7.)    Don’t endure to the end

Pretty funny huh?  Now I will share my notes on each of these points.

*Stop worrying about your weaknesses
People get more happiness by focusing on their strengths. God does not call us to serve (or be mothers) for our weaknesses, he calls us for our strengths.

Take the time to REALLY think about what your strengths or spiritual gifts are.  Find new and creative ways to use those strengths.

*Don’t try to get motivated to exercise
Motivation follows action. If you WAIT to get motivated to exercise, you never will.
Do it even If you don’t want to. Pretty soon, the motivation will follow.  (I totally agree with her on this one!!!)

*Stop trying to find friends

Instead, develop the characteristics of a true friend.  Treat people like they matter. Help others feel that they are loved and be there for them. You don’t need to “Find” friends if you “Are” a friend to others.

*Don’t try to feel happy
Instead, try to feel grateful. With gratitude comes happiness. Ask yourself EVERY DAY what 3 good things happened to you today. Think about what made those things happen and be thankful for them. Pretty soon, you will not have to “TRY” to be happy, it will come naturally.

*Celebrate failure
Failure often means we are taking the necessary risks to grow, stretch and serve.  Learn from your mistakes and move forward.  Look at a failure in your life and ask yourself what you have learned from it.  Move forward with that knowledge you have just gained.  (Something I say to myself often is “don’t let past failures hold good future probabilities hostage”)

*Don’t get help with your problems
Instead, help someone else. By helping others, it will better our mood and make our problems very small, if not disappear all together.

We are born with sprits that want to progress and serve others. When we don’t do those things, there is NO medication that will make us feel better about it.

Find one thing to do and then go do it. Learn, grow, progress!!! 
Ask yourself every day “who did I help today?”

*Don’t endure to the end
Life is to be enjoyed, not endured.
Start enjoying all of the goodness around you. Savor and delight in the tiny pleasures of life.  Don’t “wait” to be saved from your problems, enjoy them by finding the diamond in the rough.

And those are all of the notes I have on that talk. Good stuff eh?!!!

I don’t think I really need to add anything more to this. Now go set those goals and have fun working to get them accomplished!!!

Here’s to 2012!!!

Snowman Fun

A fun Holiday tradition in our family is making marshmallow popcorn ball snowmen. My kids LOVE this tradition and I don’t think it would feel quite like the Christmas season without making them. Here is the recipe and a few pictures.

Melt:
 ½ C. Butter
1 1/3 C. Sugar
½ C. Karo syrup
3 C. Miniature Marshmallows

Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Take off heat and add 1 tsp. Vanilla. Pour over 4 qts. Popped corn.

Collect some fun things to decorate your snowmen with. I like to use fruit rolls for the scarf and chocolate chips for the eyes. I normally like mini M&Ms for the buttons, but I didn’t have any, so I did chocolate chips for those as well. Just get creative.

I like to use candy corn for the snowman nose. Looks kind of like a carrot and it is super cute.
I also like to use stick pretzels for the arms. Again, just get creative and let the kids have fun with it.

Form the popcorn into a snowman for each kid.

Let the kids put the scarf on + start decorating their snow man with all of the candy.

I apologize that I didn’t get pictures of my kid’s finished product. We were having too much fun (as you can see) and I forgot.

I will share one tip. When you are forming the popcorn, put cold water on your hands, not butter like you normally do with popcorn balls. I think it works MUCH better…………………but maybe I am just weird like that.  (Okay, FINE! I really hate getting butter all over my hands. It feels awful and takes forever to get off. THERE!! I said it!!)
Enjoy!!

Oh Christmas Tree

This year for the Christmas season, the kids and I have decided to start a new tradition that we are calling “the giving Christmas tree.”

I went to our local Learning Shop and found these cute little card stock cutouts that look like Christmas tree decorations. (aren't they so cute?!!)

The kids told me some acts of service to write on each decoration, such as “make someone’s bed for them” or “do someone’s job for them” and “give someone a hug and tell them you love them.” 
After we wrote the acts of service on the decorations, I had the kids color a picture of a Christmas tree for us to put our decorations onto.

I would like to say this tree is nothing fancy because my kids did it, but in all reality, I am NO artist so it would have looked just the same if I had done it. (Or maybe even looked worse……………)

Each day the kids get to take off a decoration from our “giving Christmas tree” and they do whatever act of service that is on the decoration they have chosen.  Fun stuff! I love that it helps them remember the TRUE meaning of this holiday; giving to others……………..just as our Savior has done for us.

Have a wonderful Christmas!!

A Chore Chart That ACTUALLY Works

For a while now, I have been trying my darndest to get my children to do a morning routine of:  making their beds, getting dressed, saying their personal morning prayers, cleaning their rooms, and brushing their teeth. And my lofty goal was to have them do this without me hovering over them to get them to do it.  I wanted them to do it on their own and I wanted them to want to do it FIRST thing in the morning. I like to call this “setting myself up for failure.”   ;)

It was a great goal right? Right!

I tried everything. I made this fabulous chart that goes above their school charts. The chart is great for them to keep track of what they have done and have yet to do, but now my battle was getting them motivated to actually DO what they needed to do on this chart.

Then I remembered that there is someone who knows my children FAR better than I do. I took my problem to the Lord, and everything came to me so very clear.

As mothers, we often times get thrown into this job without ANY training, but I love that we ALL have access to the best trainer out there.  (God) And the best part about this “trainer” is that he KNOWS each of our children and what will work best for them. Such a huge blessing in our lives if we will use it!!!

I found these fabulous little “chore bucks” and “behavior bucks” online. (Click on the picture, save to a word doc, make it as big as you want and then print them)

I printed them off, cut them out, had the kids color them green, (they loved that part) and then I laminated them. (Only because I am obsessed with laminating things)

I use the kid’s pockets that used to be their “behavior chart” and it is now the place where their “money” goes.

I sat down and explained the name of the game to my children.  I told them that if they do the morning routine (make bed, clean room, brush teeth, say prayers, and get dressed) without being asked and BEFORE they come upstairs each morning, they will earn one “chore buck.”

They also have a job to do each morning, such as washing dishes, putting dishes away, vacuuming etc.  Doing that job without being asked also earns them one “chore buck.”

If they behave well in school or have good manners at the table while we are eating, they earn one “behavior buck.” They may also earn a behavior buck by doing something extra nice for a sibling or for helping me when I need it, without being asked.

When they earn a “buck” I stick it in their behavior chart pocket and they get to see all of the “money” they are earning. I have various prizes they may buy with their “bucks.”  Some things are small and only cost two bucks. Other things are larger and they have to work hard and save up to buy them. These are things that usually cost 5-10 bucks. (but everything costs at LEAST 2 bucks) It is great to see them work toward that BIG prize rather than taking a smaller one. (But the two younger kids like that instant gratification, so they usually go for the small gifts)

The system works FABULOUSLY!!! In fact, it works so well, that I have to tell my kids to stop getting their morning routine done so early. I have some kids coming into my room at 4:30am saying they are done making their bed, getting dressed, saying prayers, brushing teeth and cleaning their room.  Oh my!!!

Another great thing about this system is that I am teaching them that everything has a price. When I am trying to get them to go to bed at night, I usually have a couple of kids that want to stay up till all hours of the night in their rooms to play. Now, I tell them that they are welcome to stay up in their rooms past bed time, but if they do, it will cost them one dollar for every half hour they stay up. 

I NEVER say “you misbehaved so now I am taking your money away.” They have earned it fair and square.  But I do let them know that some misbehavior will cost them one dollar. This way, it is THEIR choice. It is not just being taken from them. They are “paying” it out or keeping it.

They go RIGHT to bed now. I love it!!!  And I love that it is THEIR choice. They don’t want to pay the price to stay up past bed time.  They would rather use that money for something they want more. (Kind of like the choices we have to make. Do I want this brownie now, or would I rather not eat it and lose those pounds I have been working hard to lose?)

They are learning how to make good choices. They are learning to govern their actions without mommy hovering over them. And they are all cheering each other on. They often wake each other up and help each other. It melts my heart and makes me smile.

This has turned out to be a huge success.  I shouldn’t be surprised though. Look at who my “trainer” is. :)

Candy Corn Cookies

Another fun fall project. Go HERE to check it out.
I will be making these with my kids today. So excited!! They are such adorable cookies!!!

Fall Fun

I love fall, but I usually don’t really get into the fall holidays as much as I prepare for “the big one” in December.
But this year, I find myself feeling really…………….fallish.  (Not a word? Yeah, didn’t think so)
So I have decided to see JUST how many fun fall ideas I can come up with this year.

The good news: my first idea is REALLY fun to do with the kids.

The bad news: Someone else has already “come up” with my brilliant idea.

I love the internet, but seriously?!! ……………………I prefer the good ‘ol days when you thought all of your brilliant ideas were unique and amazing. Now, when you come up with something cool, you can get on the computer and find out that a million other people have already thought of it. Boo!!

So for those of you who have NOT thought of this idea and have not ever looked at the million other examples on the internet, here you go!!

My kids really wanted to make caramel apples. I loved the idea, except for the fact that I hated the idea. Caramel apples are super yummy………………….but SUPER messy. I was NOT going to go there and do that. (Did I mention I have OCD issues?...........)

So that is where my “brilliant” (but come to find out, not so brilliant) idea comes in.  We decided to make caramel apple BITES.

All of my kids are very young, so ours did not turn out as fancy smancy as the ones shown HERE  But it was still fun.

First I had the kids unwrap the caramels. (They loved seeing how fast they could do this)

  And while they unwrapped caramels, I cut up apples and put them in lemon water so they would not turn brown.

  After the apples were cut and caramels were unwrapped, I gave the kids some toothpicks to stick in each apple piece

  Something we didn’t do that I will TOTALLY do next time……… DRAIN the apples and let them dry. Our apples were a bit too wet and it made the caramel runny. So learn from our mistake I guess. :)

 While they were stabbing apples with toothpicks, I was melting the caramels.

  After that, we were ready to dip the apples.

 Let the caramel cool a bit. It will stay on the apple better that way. You could also just let them dip their apples in the caramel and eat it that way.  Either way, it was a fun activity that ALL of the kids could do. Fun stuff!!

The Thankless Job

The other day I was listening to the radio. There was a lady who was talking about how mothers have the most thankless job ever. As I was listening to this lady I found myself totally agreeing with her and going over all of the jobs I do on a day to day basis that I get absolutely NO thanks for. (Dishes, cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, grocery shopping…………and on and on)

I thought about it for a couple of days. Was my job really thankless? If so,…………………why?

I started asking myself if my job was thankless because my kid’s jobs are thankless. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was.

How many little things do my kids do for me that I have kind of come to EXPECT from them? (Kind of like the jobs I do that they “expect” from me)

I spent a couple of weeks making a focused effort to say THANK YOU to my kids for EVERYTHING they do. (Even those little things that “should be done anyways”)

The results were AMAZING!!! All the sudden my kids were thanking me for every little thing. (Even those little things that “should be done anyways”)

I am now told thank you for just about everything. In fact, I had to smile when my kids were eating a meal that they absolutely HATED and yet they all told me how thankful they were for the “wonderful meal” I had made for them. This does not happen all of the time, but the fact that it did happen…………..it made me smile.

I have also learned to see all of the “Thanks” I really do get in my job as a mother. When I change countless diapers for my baby, of course I don’t get a verbal “thank you” for a job well done. But she does give me the BEST smile a mother could ever ask for. She still crawls to me over anyone else. She wants ME to hold her or she makes a big fuss. I consider that her way of saying “thank you mom!!”

How many times do my kids randomly come up to me and give me the world’s best hug? I believe that is their little way of saying “thank you mom!”

So is motherhood REALLY a thankless job? ..........................It all depends on the mother. Truly, what you give is what you get.

Personalized Wrapping Paper

A while ago, my daughter was invited to a birthday party. We got the gift, but forgot the wrapping paper. This gave me an idea.  

We pulled out some butcher paper (you can get it at Wal-Mart) and my daughter was able to make her very own wrapping paper.

 
She LOVED making pictures for her friend and it made the present THAT much more personal.
 
It really turned into a fun project that we will continue to do every time there is a gift to wrap.

Scholastic Reading Program

Scholastic has a fun summer reading program for children. You can set reading goals and log minutes. It is super cute and my two oldest children have already had fun with it.

Go HERE to sign up.

Happy reading!!

Out With The Old and In With The New

 We have been in the house all winter long. It has been a long winter. Things have gotten unorganized. I don’t do well with unorganized. (I think we have already established that I have some OCD issues…….let’s just pretend OCD is cool)

I have spent the past couple of weeks (and many long nights) giving the school room a MUCH needed makeover. 
Now that I have been using the school room for the past 7 months, I have found what works and what doesn’t work. I have determined what I will keep and what goes. (a functional school room makes a WORLD of difference for the teacher)

When the closet looked like this it was nice, but it wasn't functional (to see the “old” school room set up go HERE)

The drawers for each kid were too deep so that once I crammed everything in I had to dig through it all to find what I needed. I don’t like digging. That, and there just wasn’t enough filing space.


So I hauled this big black monster in from our garage. It was not fun. Too bad I am not the swearing type. I think I would have said some choice words. But since I don’t swear, I tried doing what my dad always does when he gets frustrated..... I threw a hammer. Oddly enough, that made me feel MUCH better. :)

It takes care of ALL my filing needs. It rocks!! (Even if it is a monster)

There is a “workbox” method of organizing school curriculum. I like the concept, but don’t like how big the system is. So instead of boxes I switched it to drawers. (It is less clunky)


I got these wide slender drawers for the two older kids. Eventually all five of my children will have a set up like this.

Each drawer represents a subject. There is a picture on the left side that tells what subject is in each drawer. (I put everything they need to accomplish that day in the drawer) On the right is a strip of Velcro. (I will explain this in a bit)

On the closet door I have a “personal tasks” chart and a “school tasks” chart. Each task has a picture and title, and is attached to the chart with Velcro.

Here is an example of what the school chart has on it. (It is a good idea to laminate the chart and pictures)

Once a child completes a subject for that day, he/she will take the picture off of the chart

The child will find the corresponding picture on their school drawers

They place the picture on the right side (where the Velcro strip is)

This helps them visually see what they have accomplished and what they have yet to do.  It is awesome!!

So as soon as their school drawers look like this……..

And their personal and school charts look like this………… they are done for the day!

Above each chart, I have this list of pictures and subjects to choose from when I am creating their schedule for school each day. (I found an AWESOME homes school blog where I was able to get these pictures and chart. Go HERE to check it out)

And since I am teaching four out of five kids, the charts all look like so

So now I have moved the “old” drawers for the kids onto the shelf in the closet. They help store all of the things that I fill the smaller drawers with. I still use two of them for the two younger kids. They are not quite ready for the full blown drawer system yet.

These other things still help me function really well as a teacher. They will stay as they are.

My next post will be about changes I have made in  how I teach school. Things that have worked this year and things that have not worked.

I have also inherited some great children bible study books. I am really excited that the kids are old enough for these now.

A friend of mine was throwing out this write on poster so I took it. Since the kids are memorizing the Ten Commandments, it works really well for them to refer to each day.

My friend also let me use this. It has little pictures of marbles that Velcro on to each circle on this jar picture. When the kids and I set goals, we can put a “marble” on the jar. When the jar is “full” we get a prize for completing our goal. Very cool!!!

And of course there is Frankie. We will keep him “hanging” around for a long time. He has been so helpful for the kids to learn the bones of the body. (Plus they think a skeleton in their school room is just cool)

I have also loved the file folder games available in this holder. It works great in our room!! They will stay where they are.

And there you have it! The school room/school closet makeover. I think we are all set for Summer school.........I hope!

Now I need some sleep!