Menu Planner: Week Two

Sunday: Easy Crock Pot Pork Chops
Monday: Chicken Parmesan
Tuesday: Southwest Chicken Tacos
Wednesday: Toscana Soup
Thursday: Hamburgers
Friday: Date Night
Saturday: Tri-Tip

Download Week Two
Here!

Missed Week One? Download here.
Learn more about our menu planner here.

A Little Experiment

The other day I got an email asking about my cleaning schedule.. She asked if I really did all the things I talked about every morning. In response I told her that I did. But then I started wondering...how long does it take me to get my "morning routine" done? So this morning before I started the "routine" that I've done for years and years I thought I would start my stop watch on my phone to see how long it actually took me in the morning to get the house in order.

Now with a stop watch going I really wanted to go as fast as I could because I'm just silly like that but I didn't. I did it at my normal pace and this is the result...Drum roll please.......just kidding!

In this time I was able to:

Make 5 beds
Wipe down 3 bathroom sinks
Clean downstair toilet (the one that gets used the most)
Fold one load of laundry and put in another load
Wash breakfast dishes
Wipe down kitchen counters
sweep kitchen
( I normally vacuum but I vacuumed last night)
So maybe add 10 minutes to this time. Not to bad,right?

And the house is in order!

What's your morning cleaning routine? How long does it take you?
Try the experiment and let me know! :)

Bathroom Organization

My sister called me today and asked if I would help her with her bathroom.
I got excited and started looking for all kinds of inspiration on Pinterest of course.

Check out these great ideas..

Lovely pink Chevron stripes and glass shelves for extra storage.

Source: gallery.apartmenttherapy.com via Natalie on Pinterest

cute wall storage

Source: pbteen.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Under sink pull out drawer and shelf..I need one of these pronto!

Source: collectionsetc.com via Natalie on Pinterest

I love this glass storage container! Love love love it!

Source: google.com via Natalie on Pinterest

I have baskets like these on the toilet in each bathroom, makes it handy for guests to have access to toilet paper without rummaging through your cabinets.

Source: favoritepaintcolors.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

a swivel container please!

Source: google.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Cute art work for a kids bathroom

Source: thecreativecrate.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Cheap and cute storage solution for those little necessary things

Source: lizmarieblog.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Hanging baskets on towel rod..GENIUS!

Source: myhomeideas.com via Natalie on Pinterest

My all time favorite bathroom..someday my bathroom will look like this.

Source: beckdesignblog.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Moulding and hooks for towels!

Source: Uploaded by user via Natalie on Pinterest

Super cute for kids bathroom

Source: marthastewart.com via Natalie on Pinterest

So much inspiration....now to get shopping!

Menu Planner: Week One

It's Here..It's Here!

You've asked several times and I know it's taken me F O R E V E R!!...thanks for being SO very patient with me. It was not an easy task. You see my computer crashed last year sometime and it wasn't until recently that I noticed that most of my files were lost (a very sad day) and so I had to recreate a lot of my menu planner. It's better than the one in my kitchen.

I've also gone back and worth about whether or not to charge for my work but this thought kept popping in my head.

I love blogging and through blogging I have meet incredible people, learned a lot of new things and feel inspired by others who share their talents with me.

So you see that is what I want for you. I want you to come to my blog and feel uplifted, learn something new and walk away happy. So thank you to all of you who have been so sweet and encouraging me to sell my menu planner. I've decide not to charge even though my husband thinks otherwise. :) Love him because he believes in me.

All that I ask is ..please follow me! Over there on the right side bar!

A few tips before you get to downloading and make your dinner time successful!

1. Set a shopping day and stick to it!

2. Adjust dinner plans according to your busy days. Switch things up! :)

3. Make as many preparations before the hectic busy dinner time hour. ie. chopping, setting of table if necessary, any thing that will make prep easier.

4. Don't stress :0 Easier said than done..I know! :)

5. I've including a recipe for French Bread..its easy and so yummy. Feel free to purchase french bread on days when called for it of course! :) ( don't stress again!)

6. Set a dinner time for everyone to sit together and enjoy the meal!

7. Talk to your children about table manners especially about saying things that refer to dinner being yucky as children do :)....it sometimes hurts especially since you've planned and prepared a wonderful dinner. Teach them to keep there comments to themselves. Dinner will be more enjoyable for you!

8. Enjoy!!

Download here
Dont' forget to follow me and share!
I will be sharing the rest over the next few weeks!

8 Months..really?

Oh where oh where did the time go?
I can not believe my littlest is 8 months old already. It has flown by.
She is a joy to have in our home. A happy little girl who lights up any room!
A real sweetie pie..even at 1:00 in the morning. :)

It seems like just yesterday she was like this...
3 days old

Clever Kitchen Concepts and a My Memories Winner

I love finding great organization concepts while searching
(more like drooling over)
These kitchen organization ideas make me weak in the knees.
Yep..I said that! I love good organization.

Under sink pull out drawer...yes please!


No more paper towel roll on the counter...um yeah!

More storage above a window..cute little shelf!

GENIUS!

LOVE THIS..but LOVE even more is the storage for the garbage bags!

(sorry about the large font..something weird is going on!) :)

AND THE WINNER......

Congratulations to

NICOLE!!

I will email you shortly with your prize!

Interested in purchasing your own MY MEMORIES SUITE and receive $10.00 off your order use this code: STMMMS7652

Easy Salad...A Family Favorite

While editing my menu planner I noticed that with many of my recipes I serve a green salad. Our family with the exception of one (but he has to eat it anyway!) loves salads. Not any salad though, one in particular and if you come to my home you can be pretty sure you will have it. Its a staple in our home...and I love it because it's easy to make and I always have the makings on hand. I am sure it will be one of your favorites too. Allow me to introduce you to our family's favorite salad.

It starts with romaine lettuce..we buy the big bag from Costco. I wash and cut it up when I get it home so it's ready to use. Like I said we eat a lot of salad throughout the week.

Then I sprinkle some Craisins about 1/4 cup...we also buy the big bag of these from Costco.

Add some almond slices...from Costco too. (Store them in the freezer to make them last longer)

Add some croutons doesn't matter what kind I buy whatever is on sale.

And the secret ingredient....yummy!!

Let me know if you try it...I think you're going to love it!
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

I am not paid for mentioning Costco or other brands on this post. Although I should be. :)

Favorites

I sat down with my girls this weekend and we talked about our favorites. I was inspired by this....

Source: flickr.com via Natalie on Pinterest

and I created this using MyMemories....simple layouts are my kind of thing.

Cleaning Schedule

A very wordy post today...sorry

Its been 7 months since little Camryn arrived. We are enjoying her and I can finally say that we are finding our groove. It just took a little while for me to get into it. :)

I like a clean home and feel out of whack if things in my home aren't in order. I have people ask me a lot how I manage to keep a clean home with 5 kids. So I thought I would share with you my weekly cleaning schedule that helps me and my family stay on track.

I know it helps me to see how others do things and I hope that I can do the same for you.

So here we go...its not so bad..

Mornings are pretty calm around our house. The older boys and my oldest daughter are able to get themselves ready and out the door but I get up with them and make sure they have a good breakfast. My oldest now drives (scary I know) and drives himself to early morning scripture study at our church before school every morning. My second oldest is picked up by a friend we carpool with. (Carpools are my friend I highly encourage and recommend them!) My oldest daughter is taken to school by my husband. Everyone is out the door by 7:40 a.m.

Once all the kids are off to school I feed the little ones breakfast and myself. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday my 4 yr old has preschool so I help her get ready and take her to school at 8:30 a.m. By the time I return home little Camryn is ready for a morning nap and I take this opportunity to take a quick shower, start laundry and do the morning pick the house up routine which consists of making beds, wiping down bathroom counters, cleaning up after breakfast and any necessary vacuuming.

Monday: I do our laundry and our bedroom sheets and towels.

Tuesdays: are my errand running days and appointment days. I try to schedule all of my appointments for Tuesday...if it doesn't work out then my week is a little crazy.
I do my grocery shopping and clean out the fridge.

Wednesday: Boys Laundry and boys sheets

Thursday: free day or make up day if I didn't get around to finishing laundry from previous days or running any errands that are needed.

Friday: Girls laundry and girls sheets

Saturday: is cleaning whole house day which may sound like a lot but when you have 3 kids that can really clean it goes by really quickly and it makes maintaining the house throughout the week a breeze. It usually only take us a couple of hours in the morning to get everything cleaned well and then we have the rest of the day to enjoy together. You can check out the kids chore chart here.

Sunday: I don't do heavy cleaning or laundry it is our day together as a family and we end the day picking up any messes to start the week off right.

Every night:
Everyone helps with dinner time prep and clean up. Dishes are done along with dinner prep and completed after dinner is done. Before I go to bed I do a quick pick up of the house which usually consists of just Camryn's toys on the family room floor. The rest of the kids are good about putting their toys or activities away when they are done. Waking up to a clean and tidy home makes me happy and it make it is easy to maintain.

I found this link on the other day by good ole Martha and I have to agree that doing these things really does works!! I have been doing it for years this way.

A Giveaway from My Memories

Alright ladies (and gents just in case) I have something exciting to share with you today! Are you looking for new ways to preserve those precious memories?

Let me tell you a long time ago I was a scrapbooker, but I was a really bad scrapbooker. I was too much of a perfectionist when it came to my pages and was always gluing do dads on and then trying to take them off to make the page just right...it was enough for me to give up.

Now if you are like me then My Memories digital scrapbooking is right up your alley. No more gluing down pieces and buying oodles of scrapbook items and don't get me started on storing all of those things.

MyMemories Suite v3 software is a complete digital scrapbooking solution that provides a comprehensive powerful set of creative tools no other scrapbook software can offer. With its intuitive workspace and enhanced time-saving features, this application is perfect for a beginner to create a complete album in minutes, or to empower the design pro to build a scrapbook album masterpiece.

MyMemories Suite will help you create your beautiful pages from scratch or build an entire album using one of the many professionally-designed scrapbook templates provided within the scrapbook software. A large collection of papers and embellishments are also included and available at your fingertips to help you make each page uniquely your own.

Check out some of the cute digital scrapbook kits available...

Now here's your chance to win your own My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software!

Here are the rules:

First follow Endless Crafting ..just go over to the right side bar and follow me!

Then simply go over to My Memories and tell me what scrapbook digital paper kit you like.

For an additional entries:

"Like" MyMemories on Facebook and leave a comment on this blog post that you did.

Follow MyMemories on Twitter and leave a comment on this blog post that you did.

Giveaway Ends: Wednesday, February 15th at 10:00 p.m.Pacific Time.

One winner will be selected using random.org

Please be sure I have your email address in order to contact you if you are the winner..good luck!

Would like to try it now... use this code to receive $10.00 off your purchase at My Memories.

STMMMS7652

Going Green

I have been adding a little bit of green into my home. A little bit goes a long way.

I got this picture awhile back at Cost Plus and love it.

This lamp is also a Cost Plus find. I am loving all of there new stuff. It's a must go.
(I am not paid to say that.)

I purchased this pillow from etsy....the cute little girl insisted on being in the picture.

Speaking of little girls look who is 7 months old already! Whew...

What projects are you tackling? Adding any new colors into your home? Since I am home most of the time I find the need to change things up frequently do you do this too?