Retro!

I didn’t do s*** today so I thought I would show off my retro corelle bowls.  Swell.  (Or whatever the ca. 1975 word for “swell” would have been.)

Cubbies! (Pretty ones!)

I don’t usually spend money on organizing gimmicks but when I saw these shoe cubbies in the Target $1 section, I knew I had to buy them.  (Or – is it the Target $2.50 section, because that’s what they cost)

These hold one full outfit for each child perfectly and that way I don’t have the “open the drawers and try everything on and throw everything on the floor” game.  Booo.  yay!   WIN!

Apple Pie

So apparently everyone else knew the secret before me.  Apple Pie rocks.  Actually, I am finding myself obsessed with all kinds of fruit dishes this summer.  I was at a friend’s house on the 3rd of July and she was preparing 6 apple pies for her party the next day.  They.smelled.so.good.  So I decided to go on instinct and give them a shot.  I hadn’t really ever had an apple pie that I liked before so I didn’t really know what I was doing.  The next thing you know, I was in my kitchen throwing handfuls of this and pinches of that into a pie shell and baking it.  What happened next was love at first taste. Tonight, I decided to actually “measure” my ingredients so I could share my “recipe.”  (Begrudgingly, cooking is about love and instinct as much as it is recipes.  I dislike recipes.  LOL.  Takes all the fun out of it.)  So for all you Type “A”ers, here ya go. 

And you know me – I partly did this WHOLE thing just so I could take a picture of it.  LOL!!!

2x frozen pie shells (regular, not deep dish)

9 golden delicious apples, peeled and chopped

1 T. cornstarch

3/4 c. sugar (divided into 1/4c for filling and 1/2 c. for topping)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg (Or a generous pinch)

1/2 c. flour

1/4 butter

Preheat oven to 350

mix apples, cornstarch, 1/4 c. sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl.  Set aside.

Mix flour, butter and remaining 1/2 c. sugar – this is the topping.  (It made enough for 3 pies so divide in thirds and freeze the extra for next time! Or use it in some other incarnation of this pie with fruit filling of your choice)

Put apple mixture into 2 crusts, sprinkle topping on both, and bake for 25 minutes.  (The crust will be brown, The topping will still be white)

Serve next to a big spinach salad for dinner!

God Hates Red Dye #40

Well, as a mother, I think Red Dye is the Devil Incarnate but my husband disagrees.  Which is why he is totally the coolest dad EVER when He buys not one, but TWO boxes of Nick Jr. Popsicle!  YAY!!!!!!!!

So, then, Mommy has to take matters into her own hands.  After 2 days of having 2 boxes of these little ADHD-whining-monster-making machines in my freezer, I declare a “popsicle day” because ya know what?  I want them the hell out of my house!

Dora-Popcicle-CLINLKIE!!!!  Mommy RULEZ!!!!

Emotional Guidance Scale for Dummies

This is a little tool a very dear friend of me told me about.  When you are a very abstract and visual person, sometimes it is hard to really sit and get in touch with how you feel at any given moment.  So having something tangible, to look at, really helps to identify those feelings.  As a mother – it is important to identify them before you blow up in anger.  As a child it is as well.  So here is my rendition of the emotional guidance scale. Each of the members of my family chose a color that resonates with them.    I think even my 2 year old can figure this out!!!

Although now that I have made them, I think mama’s should have had a smiley at the bottom with x’s for eyes.  You know, like when someone dies on a cartoon?  Cause I feel like that pretty often.  LOL.

Tags: cleaning as art

The Laundry Monster ate my Child

Kinda looks like it could eat a small child, doesn’t it?  I promised that I wouldn’t post pictures of messes anymore but I just couldn’t help it.  This is the laundry I have to put away.  And I think a purge is in order.  Yep.  Goodwill, here we come!

Coffee. Take 2.

You know those little rubber balls that you get for a quarter from toy machines?  The kind that if you were to throw one in an enclosed space, they would bounce off of every surface rapidly and for a long time before slowing?  Well in the morning, first thing, that’s how my children wake up.

This morning – with one eye, barely open, I heard my girls squealing and playing in the living room.  I walked out, and opened the back door, and shooed them out.  I walked to my coffee maker, poured the water in, and while I was preparing my coffee – I wondered how I could get my children to understand that if I dont get coffee in me, I am not very nice.  I wondered how to get them to leave me alone so I didnt forget about my coffee while it got cold.  Just as I thought that, I heard that bubbling end sound of the coffee brewing.  Yes!  I prepared my sugar and cream, I grabbed my favorite mug (it was clean!!!!) and I grasped the handle of the carafe as if it were the baby Jesus.  As I pulled it out – I saw it – a GIANT DEAD COCKROACH ON THE TOP OF THE CARAFE.  These are 3″ long in Florida.  At Least.

{Insert squealing, jumping, OMG OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG shit shit shit shit!!!!!!!!!!!   uhhhhhhhhhhh}

By this time my 7 yr old was up, wrapped in his blanket on the couch.  He was looking at me like I was on acid.  And I probably looked it.

I finally collected myself enough to get a LONG wide spoon to scoop the cockroach on to flush him.

I washed the carafe and had a “little coffee time do over”

So that was my morning.  How was yours?

Feng Shui ~ My Money Corner

So I am still chugging along – In a mostly messy house.  (LOL)  Dont think these things happen overnight, but the important thing is “Dont Give Up.”  Today, I decided to clear out my Money Corner.  You can get some more information about how Feng Shui can change the energy of your life here.

Here is a before, and several after pictures.

This was done with stuff I have around the house – I dont have a whole lot of extra nick nacks around so this is what I could find!    I grabbed ALL of my prosperity books and put them in a basket, I added a green butterfly I found to my candle (Green – a symbol of prosperity)  I added a circular plate and lamp to aid in the flow of energy, I added a little crystal I have to balance the chakras – I imagine it will help to create balance in my home as well as my body.  I put some sea shells and rocks to help keep the space grounded and connected to the Earth, and the Unity prayer for prosperity on a green sticky note.  (I love Unity Church. 

I’d like to add a plant and perhaps some art that inspires prosperity behind the table.

Tags: cleaning as art

Taking Control of Childrens Clutter

I am a respectful mother.  I am not going to go in my kids room and dump all their stuff.  However when I try to include them in the decluttering process, I seem to hit a brick wall everywhere I turn. 

First, I did the obvious – “Hey guys, what toy do you really want to buy?  lets sell stuff we don’t use anymore and buy something we really want!!!” (ZHU ZHU PETS!!!!  YEA!!!!)

I thought we had success. 

No.  Not so much.

When it actually came down to choose our favorite toys (in order to weed out the not-so-favorite), EVERYTHING ended up being our favorite.  Brick.Wall.

So I gave my daughter a large shoe box, brought her Barbie clothes in, and said “Look at each outfit, and put the most beautiful ones in this box.”  So she dumps over the old box and squashes it all into the new box – overflowing and sitting on it trying to get everything to fit.  Brick.Wall.

So I have casually tried determining what they really love about their toys – I know which ones they play with and which ones they don’t.  But when I asked them to fill a bin with their favorites, they chose all the toys they NEVER play with.  Brick.Wall.

I am stuck.  I guess I am going to have to do the typical mom thing of coming in and purging for them.  I have tried to include them in the process every way I know how – in the least threatening ways possible, and nothing.  They don’t want to play.  I think they might need someone to take authority - there is a lot of toy clutter around here, and it is overwhelming.  I tackled the bathrooms yesterday.  Today – it’s the toys. 

Analyze Part 1

The beginning of the process of Organizing from the Inside Out is a series of questionnaires.  It seems silly to start with writing a bunch of problems down on paper, especially to those of us who are convinced that noticing the problems will actually make it worse.  Maybe.  It felt good to get this out on paper today.  I want to share my work with my readers.

I can never find:  Clothes for the day, Clothes for the kids, Socks, Shoes that match, Food items in the pantry, Important papers

I have no place to put: Luggage, toys, papers, camera, clothes, gifts, art supplies, grocery lists, menus, cookbooks, outside toys

There is no room for: walking through the house, toys, towels, blankets, clothes, winter clothes, brooms

I’m Tired of: feeling confused, spinning plates all the time, spending money on fast food, not inviting people over.

I can’t: focus.  smile.  relax. play because of clutter.

The disorganization makes me feel: exhausted, alone, overwhelmed, oppressed.

When people visit:  They don’t