The Case of the Hopeful Housewife (Part 3)

It’s been two weeks since I set out to work on creating a new family and cleaning schedule.  It is definitely still a work in progress.  I’ve been really tuning in to what my family is good at, what we stink at, where we could use some help/simplification etc.  Stopping to really take it in has been helpful and eye opening.  I don’t know that I actually ever really took that time before.

The first thing I did was to sit down and write out on some scrap paper each day of the week.  I made a note on each day of specific schedules (like swim class on Saturdays.)  Then I started to plug in a room or space to concentrate on for each day. The room a day method seems to work out best for us.  I’ve already switched some days around to create a better flow.

Now that I’ve got that part sorted out I will be working on a specific chore list for each room.  I want to create a checklist that we can mark off as each task is completed.

Observations:

•   I have noticed that time seems to get away from us headed towards bedtime (particularly on nights my husband works late.)  This means I get stuck having to do end of the day pickup all by myself once the kids are in bed and I want everyone to take a part in this DAILY.
• We are good at following list.  We may not get everything done, but we get a great deal more accomplished when the plans/task are clear.
• We need to step up our organization throughout the house.  No more “stuff” without a home.  It is slowing us down for sure.
• While my husband is always willing to help me out he doesn’t want to be nagged and he needs to do things at his own pace.  I need to keep this in mind when I am assigning chores.
• My kids are getting big enough that I need to stop doing some things for them.  I have a habit of just doing something because it faster and easier.  I know they will never learn responsibility if I don’t let go.

One really big observation is with regards to weekends.  I’ve noted that things really seem to get away from us.  For example this past weekend we had a house warming party to attend.  In the morning my son had swim lessons and I had errands to do.  My husband and I did a divide and conquer, both arriving back home at lunch time.  We all ate lunch and it was time for a quick shower, get the boys off to grandmas and run out the door.  We left toys everywhere, the kitchen a mess, and laundry half done.  We got home late that night which meant everything would have to be done in the morning.  This meant starting my Sunday already behind.

The fact is that on weekends we are super busy and as warm weather and summer approach we will only get busier.  Truthfully, none of us wants to spend time cleaning up when we could spend time doing something fun as a family.  So I think I may make some adjustments:

• plan some really simple meals with limited cleanup (think sandwiches, pizza, one dish casseroles.)  If I can prep ahead during the week even better.
• use paper plates and cups on busy weekends to speed up cleanup.  I would like this to be short term as we get a better handle on things but I believe it could be very helpful.
• start each weekend morning with look at the day ahead.  make sure we are all on the same page about the days plan/timeline/etc.

So there you have my two week update.  I think we are heading in the right direction and I feel good about the progress we are making.  Hopefully that holds true for the next two weeks as well!

March 2016 Plans

I’ve got to be honest, this is one lady who is ready for spring!  I am craving sunlight and flowers in my yard.  Cups of coffee while watching the boys play, and the start of some outdoor projects that will go a long way to making this house feel more like home.

Here’s a look at my plans for March:

Food:

• I have only one plan here. Eat soup.  We live near the factory that makes all the soup for Panera and other restaurants/grocery chains.  Every few months they have case sales to unload extra inventory and it can be purchased for a steal. As in $5 to $10 cases of soup that contain up to 16 pounds of soup.  Well, I got a little over zealous in my purchases of said soup and we have approximately 20 4lb bags of soup right now.  It is taking up a huge amount of space in the freezer- which means I can’t defrost it.  We are also heading into warm weather when no one will want to eat soup. So for this month and next month my food goal will be – eat soup.

Finance:

• My husband was looking at trading in one of our vehicles.  I need to work some additional savings for this into our budget.
• I ordered the HD Antenna and it arrived.  Now we need to test it out and make a final decision about whether or not we are going to cancel cable.  I’m ready- my husband is still on the fence.

Family/Fun:

• We are pretty busy this month.  I would like to plan two family activities though.  It will likely be a fly by the seat of our pants plan.
• It is my husbands birthday this week.  I’ve got a cake ready to go and will have the kids make a card.
• I am going to a scrapbooking crop with my mom.  I am really looking forward to this!

Fitness:

• Continue to exercise at least 4 days a week.
• Drink more water.  I have no excuse.

Home:

• Clean and organize the storage cabinet in the 1/2 bath where my husband and I keep all of our toiletries.
• Purchase new pillows and a throw for the sofa.  Something bright and cheery!
• Purchase a decorative pillow for our bedroom.  Hang up pictures that we already own.
• Spend some time outside on warm days.  I want to dig up some flowers that have spread a bit too much.
• We are going to build a playhouse for our boys.  We plan to follow this tutorial here.  It will take a few weekends so we are going to start at the end of the month.

Week in Review {Week 10}

 

School Lunch & Snack

 

 

Wow, I have been busy!  I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since I’ve done one of these post.  I didn’t mean to abandon the week in review post- but sometimes life happens.  I’ve had a flurry of sick kids (yes, again- the stomach bug is going through our community) along with school events, and other family goings on.  It doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned my frugal ways too! Here’s what we’ve been up to the past week or so:

• We used a free Redbox code to rent “The Good Dinosaur”, which the kids loved.
• I signed up my 5 year old for little league to take advantage of the early bird registration- saving me $25.00.
• I borrowed and read two books from the library. I have now read 6 books this year and well on my way to my goal of 20 books in 2016.
• Salvaged some pie crust that needed to be used up.  I made a quesadilla with it.
• I purchased a raincoat for my son on sale at Old Navy for $12.  It is a little big so I should get a full year from it.  Our previous Old Navy raincoat lasted 2 years and still looks brand new.
• Made sure everyone had lunch and snacks from home everyday.  We have only eaten out dinner once in the last several weeks- pizza this past Tuesday.  My little one was very sick and needed his mommy.
• Went to a neighborhood dinner party and brought a salad. There was a big bowlful left so I took it home- the hostess said they wouldn’t eat leftovers.
• I found some flower shaped lollipops amongst our candy stash.  I will give these to my niece and nephew for Easter along with a $5 gift card for ice cream. I am still deciding what to do for my boys. It will not include candy since they will get a bunch from others.
• I was gifted two more books and some coupons by my mom. In exchange I gave her more -you guessed it- soup.  Haha!
• We went to a free event for kids at a local university celebrating March into Reading.

I hope you have a great weekend!

 

 

Month in Review [February 2016]

 

Good Morning!  It is going to be a beautiful week here in Rhode Island for the month of March.  I am craving the warm spring weather!  Before we move forward how about a peek at what did and did not happen in February?

Food:

• make cookies, pizza sauce, and spaghetti sauce for the freezer. I didn’t get to pizza sauce or cookies.  I did make spaghetti sauce though and it is delicious.  Perfect for sneaking in veggies to picky eaters.  You can find the recipe here.
• try 2 new recipes: Taco Pasta Casserole and Green Chili Rice Casserole.  Both are freezer friendly. I did make both of these.  The Green Chile Rice (recipe) was great and my boys both raved about the Taco Pasta Casserole (recipe) too. 
• Clean out the freezer above the fridge.  Use up all odds and ends.  Once finished move on to the upright freezer downstairs.  Defrost the upright freezer. We were able to clear out the freezer above the fridge and I cleaned out and rearranged the upright freezer.  I did not defrost it yet.  There is just too much soup still. 

Finance:

• continue to research savings in any areas we can.  Specifically cellphones, vehicle insurance, etc. We made a stop at our cellphone provider.  After some review it turns out we have a better plan than they currently offer.  Once the payment for the phones are paid (there are 3 more)  we will see our bill come down $60.00.  We’ve decided that this is satisfactory for us at present. 
• take a look at my credit card points and see if we can use them to purchase some gift cards to use for upcoming birthdays.    We decided to hold out using these until Christmas.  Money is usually tighter at that time of year.
• January had an extra pay period so we are trying to figure out how to allocate that money.  We will pay off one credit card for certain. I am about to pay off one credit card today (I had to wait for the updated bill.)  Woohoo!  The rest of the money is going to go to paying a medical bill and car tax.  I will also use some to purchase some spring clothes for myself.  I haven’t bought myself spring clothes in years and I need a wardrobe beyond yoga pants.

Family/Fun:

• We have a family fun day planned for the science museum (free admission) as well as going to see Star Wars.  I will bring snacks and drinks from home on both adventures.
• Have 2 stay at home dates with my husband.  There are several movies available at Redbox we would like to see.  I am hoping I can find a code to get them for free.
• February school break is coming up.  I found out there are 2 science shows at a local mall for free.  My mom has offered babysitting for the little one so I can take my 5 year old.  I will be researching other fun and free activities this week.

Fitness:

• continue to exercise at least 4 days a week.  I had done pretty well with this until I got ill in January. I did  better in February.  I really enjoy walking and now that it is warming up a little it should be easier to make it happen.
• drink more water.  I have no excuse. I did a little better.  Not great though….

Home:

• clean and organize the storage cabinet in the 1/2 bath where my husband and I keep all of our toiletries. I didn’t get to this yet.
• purchase new pillows for our bed. I was able to get two pillows on sale at Target for 25% off! 
• purchase new shades for our bedroom if I can catch a great sale.  I ordered the shades from JC Penney at 50% off plus free shipping.  The only issue is that they won’t arrive until May.  I figure we can wait since we’ve lived with out them for this long. 
• spend some time cleaning out the basement storage area.  It got really messy over the holidays.  I need to make room for more shelving to hold pantry supplies.  I made some headway with this.  I cleaned up quite a bit and ordered the shelves. 

So there you have it- another month in the books.  I hope you had a great February.  I know I am excited to see what March brings!

Green Chile Rice Casserole [Recipe Review]

A few weeks back I borrowed the book “Not Your Mother’s Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook” by Jessica Fisher.  I have a strong interest in freezer cooking as lately it has really been a huge help to us.  It stops us from ordering out and is saving us quite a bit of money. Our only restaurant or takeout meals in the month of February were those that were planned. Yahoo!

I made copies of a few of the recipes from the book I thought my family might enjoy and one of them was Green Chile Rice Casserole.  I made a few adjustments to suit our taste and the result was a rich dish that makes a great side or even main dish paired with a salad.

Green Chile Rice Casserole {Adapted from Not Your Mother’s Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook}

• 1 15oz can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 16oz sour cream (you could use plain yogurt)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 4oz. can diced green chiles
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 cups cooked rice (I used long grain white- you could use brown)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pour all ingredients except rice into a big bowl and stir until combined.  Once they are well combined add cooked rice a bit at a time.  The mixture is thick and this will make it easier to stir.  Once all the rice has been added, spread into a 9×13 dish that has been greased.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until heated through. (30 if you are adding hot rice/40 if your rice or casserole was chilled.)

Since there are just 4 of us I cut the recipe in half and baked in an 8×8 dish and it worked great.  It was such a big hit I will be making the full pan version next time to have left overs to enjoy!

 

 

The Case of the Hopeful Housewife (Part 2)

Just yesterday my husband and I were discussing the “incident” from last week- you know the time our friends were about to come and we were rushing around cleaning and straightening?  Yes, that one.  My husband and I both agreed that we did not want to do that again and how unhappy it had made both of us.

Generally speaking our house is usually in a state of “lived in.”  I wash dishes everyday, vacuum and sweep often, make beds most of the time, etc.  Counters and tables get wiped down and loads of laundry washed and dried.  Yet, there is always much more to do so that our home often has the extra clutter,     fingerprints, messes, and dusty surfaces that may get left by the wayside.

I’ve tried a variety of systems, like Flylady, for example.  The routines of others never seem to stick for me.  This weekend I spent a bit of time really considering this.  Why can’t we seem to find a routine that works for our home?  What’s holding us back?

1. No set cleaning/chore schedule:  we don’t have a vacuum on Monday, dust on Tuesday kind of routine.  This means we are winging it and not everything gets done.
2. No set list of chores:  along with the above we have no master list of what needs to be done in each area of our home.
3. Clear responsibility list:  who is responsible for each chore?  Yes there is a general idea of who does what but we’ve never really talked about it or laid it out on paper.
4. Time and kid factor: my husband leaves home early and comes back late due to his commute.  He works even later 2 days a week.  My 4 year olds preschool program is 4 days a week for 2.5 hours each time.  In other words, our family schedules don’t always make balance/finding time for cleaning and projects easy.
5. Unrealistic expectations:  in other words cleaning the house and grocery shopping on Monday sounds great on paper, but working around a 4 year old who is stuck to his mom’s hip and has a current disdain for shopping makes this unrealistic.
6. General dislike of cleaning/chores:  I know there are lots of people who love to clean.  Well, we are not those people- lol!  Truth is we would much rather be doing other things.

Now that we’ve figured out what holds us back and what isn’t working it’s time to figure out what will.  This week I plan to spend time each day considering the schedule, chores for each area, etc.  and come up with a new family routine and schedule.  Next week we’ll put it into action and test it out.  That gives us the rest of March to make tweaks and end the month on a successful note.  Of course I’ll be sharing what we come up with and how it works.

What works for you?  What are the kinds of things that keep your routine going strong?

The Case of the Hopeful Housewife

(image source)

 

True story.  The other day my husband let some friends of ours know that we were heading to the museum with the kids and to his surprise they agreed to join us.  We were happy they wanted to come and knew the boys would be excited to spend the day with their kids.  They agreed to meet us at our home so that they could follow us there.

That’s when the panic settled in.  What if they decided not to just honk the horn to let us know they had arrived?  What if they wanted to -gasp- come in?  No word of a lie, the house was a MAJOR disaster.  My husband and I set to working at a feverish pace to get things into presentable shape.  And then it turned out they didn’t come in after all.  Note: I should define MAJOR disaster.  Toys everywhere, some dishes in the sink, stray cups in rooms, beds unmade, laundry piles, countertops cluttered.  You get the idea: not dirty – just untidy.

To say I felt guilty, ashamed, just downright awful is an understatement. I saw that my husband was frustrated and disappointed in our home.  He helped me clean and straighten up  without complaint, but his expression said it all.  While he would never say he was disappointed with me, he was frustrated by the situation.

Now, let me say that my husband is not one of those guys who expects to come home to a sparkling clean home and fancy dinner on the table.  He understands the limitations of having two small children who make a mess as soon as you clean one up.  He understands what happens when someone has been sick each of the last 4 weeks. But the truth is that he works hard to provide for our family so that I may stay home (for which I feel blessed  beyond words.)  I’m just not doing a great job of holding up my end of the bargain lately.  I’m not beating myself up here, but it needs to change.

I’ve come to realize (I guess I’ve known for a bit since I made it a goal for this year) that my housekeeping routine – or lack there of- really stinks.  We have no formal systems in place and we could stand to do some decluttering and organizing. I’ve been winging it for far to long.  So I am setting a goal for the month of March to develop a new housekeeping schedule. I am HOPEFUL that by the end of the month I have something I , I mean we as a family, can stick with. Once I have a routine I can ask for help when situations arise that I need it.  Before the major disaster happens.

In the end it isn’t just about making a tidier home for my family.  It is about the realization that this is my “job” and I want to be proud of the work I do.  It is about my own sense of worth and the reflection of myself in the cleanliness and appearance of my home.  It is about discovering a way to balance the needs of my family and home while making sure to have time for myself.  I hope that I can aspire to be the best housewife, mom, and me I can be.

This Weeks Goals { February 21 }

Ah, the beginning of another week and back to school too.

We survived school vacation and managed to stay pretty frugal too.  It really was a nice week and I ended up deciding to not sweat a few things on last weeks to do list.  I will simply do them this week instead.

Last weeks to do list:

• Go through two bins of books and papers in my son’s room.  Every night we put the books we read that day in a bin so I can rotate them.  The bin is pretty full.  The other bin holds drawings and his Highlights magazines (a gift from Grandma.)  I just want to sort this out and see if there are any items we could recycle.  Add to this week.
• Box up some of the board books in both son’s rooms to pass on to others.  We’ve outgrown them now but many are still in excellent condition. Add to this week.
• Add some more books to my request list at the library after checking with my mom to see if she has any of the books I want to read.  The request list at the library can be quite lengthy for popular titles. Done! My mom didn’t have the books I wanted.
• Condense all of my Advent Calendar items from 2 boxes into 1 bin.  I have lots of leftover crafts and activities as well as games and trinkets we use from year to year.  I want to make sure it all stays together. Add to this week.
• Maintain my sanity.  Seriously- it is February school break this week and I just want to make it out with my sanity intact.  I think this may require wine and some chocolate just in case.  Happy to report we had a great week!  Already looking ahead to April Vacation!

This weeks to do list:

• The uncompleted items from above.
• Straighten out the kitchen pantry closet.
• Spend some time thinking about ways to reorganize my kitchen cabinets to improve the use of the space as well as flow.

What are you up to this week?  Any big projects?

Week in Review (Week 7)

Good Morning! Happy end of February vacation, woohoo!  We made it without me eating too much chocolate and my sanity intact.  It shows that it pays to have a plan even if it is a loose one at best.  I am already brainstorming ideas for April vacation *smile.*

Last Saturday I sent my husband to the grocery store.  He brought my son with him and I made sure they had the “free fruit” card.  Our local chain store allows each child with a card to choose a piece of fruit (apple or banana) for free.  When the cashier scanned the card it took $1.00 off the bunch of bananas.  A great deal for sure! I promptly did Mobisave and Ibotta with the receipts  I also earned a bit back from Savingstar for this trip too.

My 5 year old was invited to a classmates birthday party.  It was at the YMCA where they put up a bounce house, jumped in a foam pit, and built structures using soft cubes and other shapes.  What a wonderful thing for the kids to get out their energy as it just happened to be a whopping 20 degrees out!  As we were leaving the car temperature read 15 degrees.  By the time we arrived home (a 15 minute drive) the temperature had dropped 5 more degrees!  Brrr….  When we arrived home I promptly started up the oven and made some pizzas using some Naan I had in the freezer as our crust. Delicious!  Desert was the end of the last tub of ice cream.

Valentine’s Day treats for the boys

Well that polar blast meant we were stuck indoors on Valentine’s Day.  We awoke to -12 degrees with a wind chill of -25!  In the morning I made another batch of pumpkin pancakes for the boys, this time adding in some chocolate chips.  For Valentine’s treats we gave the boys each a Star Wars shirt and jelly beans with a card.  The boys needed some new shirts so I took the opportunity to give them as gifts.  I used little buckets I have that I use each year.  I got them at Target a while back and they are just the right size to hold a few small treats.  My husband and I did not exchange any gifts, deciding we will have a date night later this weekend.

 

Later that day I did some yoga using a free video from YouTube.  Then I went online to use a Prime Pantry credit that was about to expire.  Amazon gave me a credit of $5.99 for selecting slower shipping on a previous order.  The $5.99 covered the cost of the pantry shipping.

On Monday I woke up with yet another cold, thank you boys (not!)  I powered through it long enough to take the boys to the Children’s Museum for a change of scenery (free with our membership.)  We had some friends join us and all the kids had a great time.  We planned our trip around meal times so we wouldn’t spend any extra money.  By the time our outing was done I was ready to crawl under the covers.  My hubby graciously offered to go the grocery store for me and I am happy to report he did a great job!

Tuesday I wasn’t really feeling much better.  I sent my 5 year old to his grandma’s house to play with his cousins while my4 year old and I just chilled out.  We cleaned out a big bunch of school papers, only saving those items that were a bit more special.  When I went to go get my son my mom had given the boys a McDonald’s gift card as a Valentines surprise.  We decided to use one of them to pick up Happy Meals on the way home for dinner. I choose to eat some leftovers at home. A night off cooking for me!

On Wednesday my Prime Pantry box was delivered and contained a free sample of moisturizer.  I made one of the recipes I wanted to try – Green Chili Rice Casserole.  I made some adaptations, and it was rich and delicious.  Look for the recipe next week.

Thursday we went to Grandmas for lunch.  Then I brought my 5 year old to the mall for a free science show.  It was really awesome!  They made bubbles and fog from dried ice, balanced a beach ball using a leaf blower, and squeezed an egg into a flask.  My son thought it was all magical!  At the end they were able to each make a bit of putty to take home.  Apparently this mall has more of these kinds of free activities during school breaks so I will be making sure to check out April’s schedule.

Tonight we are going to head to my sister in law’s to watch a movie.  Her apartment complex has a clubhouse with a small movie theatre that the residents can use.  I was able to get a free movie from Redbox (Hotel Transylvania 2.)  We will order a couple of pizzas and I will bring drinks and brownies from home.  The boys love to do this!

I am thrilled that we were able to have such a frugal week despite it being school vacation. I think it get’s easier all the time and really doesn’t take all that much effort now that we have had some practice.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  See you Monday!

 

 

 

 

This Weeks Goals {February 14th}

So where were we? Germs. Oh yes, the kind that keep on giving.

Now that both boy’s have been sick they have lovingly passed it back to me.  Seriously, I am over it already.  Hoping that some heavy doses of vitamin c, hot lemon tea, and getting some extra z’s will do the trick.  On a bright note the polar blast we were hit with seems to be over.  Thank goodness!

Last weeks to do list:

• Finish up Valentines for school.  I am waiting for further information from my son’s teacher.  Some classes you may write the children’s names on them and some say no.  Just not certain which is the case for my kindergartener.  Success.! My son loved exchanging Valentine’s with his classmates. 
• Go through that box of documents/papers. Done, yay!  I found those gift cards which was a bonus and motivation to go through another box.
• Organize coupon inserts.  (I don’t do a lot of paper couponing these days, but I hold on to them for the occasional great deal.) I recycled all the outdated inserts and removed pet coupons we would not use.  Then I wrote the date of the insert on the front in sharpie so I could find it easier. 
• Take a peek at some baby clothes I found in a box downstairs.  Figure out if there is anything I can consign.  Pass on other items I know family members can use.  Didn’t get to this one….
• Start to set up inventory system for pantry and write a post about it.  If it ever stops snowing and the kids get back to school……Almost done!  Hoping to find an hour this week to finish up.
• Spend some time in each room cleaning and decluttering a little.  Boy the house sure got a little out of sorts last week!  My husband helped me out with this.  So very thankful!

This weeks to do list:

• Go through two bins of books and papers in my son’s room.  Every night we put the books we read that day in a bin so I can rotate them.  The bin is pretty full.  The other bin holds drawings and his Highlights magazines (a gift from Grandma.)  I just want to sort this out and see if there are any items we could recycle.
• Box up some of the board books in both son’s rooms to pass on to others.  We’ve outgrown them now but many are still in excellent condition.
• Add some more books to my request list at the library after checking with my mom to see if she has any of the books I want to read.  The request list at the library can be quite lengthy for popular titles.
• Condense some all of my Advent Calendar items from 2 boxes into 1 bin.  I have lots of leftover crafts and activities as well as games and trinkets we use from year to year.  I want to make sure it all stays together.
• Maintain my sanity.  Seriously- it is February school break this week and I just want to make it out with my sanity intact.  I think this may require wine and some chocolate just in case.