s.u.p.e.r.m.o.m.

Maybe it is the cold weather. Maybe it is the sickness that keeps creeping in my house. Maybe it is too many years of staying-at-home. Whatever it is, my mood the past few weeks has been funky---not super. Which got me to thinking, "If I were a supermom, what would I do?"

S--Shower daily. ALONE. Supermom would have her beautiful children engaged in some enlightening, educational activity while she had her daily shower. She would not turn on a show and say "Watch this!" and then be interrupted mid-shampoo because someone needed help wiping.

U--Use time wisely. Supermom would have an organized planned day. She would go forward with her errands and life with such ease. She would not waste time by forgetting where she put something (so she would remember where she put it). She also wouldn't escape her plans by checking facebook 3 (okay 7) times a day just to see what the rest of the world was up to.

P--Pray for Patience. Supermom would remember to say a prayer of serenity each morning right before she stretched up to welcome the glorious morning. She would not stumble out of bed, with the goal to make that coffee as fast as she can. She would deal with whiny baby-talk and wash the vomit-filled sheets with a sparkling smile.

E--Exercise. Supermom would exercise faithfully and be full of energy. She would not think, "Oh, snuggling with Kaya so she will take a nap is so much healthier for me."

R--Read. Supermom would read to her kids at least 20 minutes each day. She would also read for her own pleasure. Okay----check!! I am Super in that area.

M-Memory. Supermom would remember everything. She would not forget to send in field-trip money on time. She also would remember where she put that list she made to help her remember what she needed to do.

O--Only speak with a calming voice. Supermom would speak calmly when correcting those adorable children of hers. She wouldn't want to melt into the floor when her kids were out of control.

M--Maid. Supermom would have a full time maid. Enough said.

the chore store

This morning, as I checked emails, facebook posts (because that is a necessity), and downed my coffee---I heard Kaya in the pantry scratching around. She had spilled some cereal and told me she needed to "broom up and mop up her mess."When I saw her, I remembered how much I love our new plan of action---The Chore Store.

I started this at the beginning of the year because I was sick and tired of doing everything around the house. I had used chore charts before (including the one below) but start losing enthusiasm.....don't follow through.....and my kids of course, followed my lead.

But I was done. An enthusiastic housekeeper, I am not. And an enthusiastic housekeeper who was beginning to feel like a maid picking up after everyone, I definitely am not.

So The Chore Store was created.

Each week we decide on chores Zander and Kaya can help with. When they complete the chore the get a penny to put in their Chore Store Jar. If they initiate helping on their own they get a nickel----and I praise them with huge enthusiasm! Whatever works...my house is slowly becoming less of a cluttered disaster..

They love getting their money! Once a week, they can shop at the Chore Store. Amazingly, they stay out of it. They do remember the rule: The store is only open in the Living Room, when mom opens it. It stays in a kitchen corner when it is closed.

There are 3 drawers in the "store". They can purchase items for 10 cents, 25 cents, or 50 cents. I haven't had to purchase anything yet to stock the store.....I found all of the treasures in closets, forgotten boxes, my purse....So this has been great at getting me to sort through some clutter in the house too!

This is great for helping them get some sort of money sense. It is almost impossible to get 50 cents in a week so they have to make a choice: spend now or save. I am so impressed that they do want to save sometimes! Of course, they are 4 and 5, and sometimes instant gratification is what they are looking for!

After many attempts at keeping some order and trying to install some family responsibility, this seems to work for us! And I've stuck with it for longer than two weeks.....so proud of myself! Maybe I should get to shop in the chore store....

Do you have a chore plan you use? I'd love to hear what works for you!

weekly menu #5

I LOVE Publix. If I had an unlimited budget I would just go in and splurge every week. Of course, sometimes I have to go to stores where I get things much cheaper. Publix does have some good sales, and when they do, I love to go in and get treated like a queen while I shop.

I especially love their easy recipes that they have on display and sometimes samples of (yum). And they are delish!! Even better is the fact that they have all of the ingredients together on display to fix this week's featured meal. If you miss a meal you love you can still collect the handy dandy cards of all of the past recipes beside the display.

Here are 3 that are featured in this week's menu.

* Tasty Turkey Chili and Ginger Spice Spread on Multigrain Bread

* Easy "Barbecue" Shrimp with Jambalaya Rice

* Sun-dried Tomato Artichoke Chicken with Arugula Mushroom Salad

If you are lucky enough to have a Publix in your neigborhood, look at the recipes. You might just find your favorite meal!!

if you wanna stay up late

Once a week my dear husband goes to play in a racquetball at the gym at night. On those nights, Kaya usually goes to bed very easily. Zander does about 30% of the time. Lately, he has it in his head that he can't go to sleep unless Daddy is at home. I don't know why, since he would be in bed and not see him anyway.

So last week he kept getting up. And kept getting up. Usually I just walk him back and say it is bedtime. Go to sleep. Do not get up.

But that night I really wanted to finish cleaning the kitchen. I didn't have time to keep escorting him back to his room. Or time to argue with with him about why it was bedtime.

So I let him stay up late. On one condition---help me clean.

I have to say he is much more thorough at cleaning the floor. Probably because he sits there and wants to get every speck of dirt up. I do it so much that it isn't so exciting for me, I just want to get it done!

He also got a shelf mirror clean in our living room that had looked awful. So bad that we were thinking of replacing it. Now it sparkles!!!

So my agreement with him "If you wanna stay up late, you have to do chores", worked out well for both of us. What chores can I have him do next time?

coffee crafts

These aren't out of this world crafts. Just crafts to keep your kids busy long enough to drink that precious first cup of coffee.

Zander loves to glue so I gave him a piece of foam, several pom-poms, and some magi-nuudles to make his masterpiece.
Kaya loves to make friendship bracelets with pipecleaners and beads. Or "ancient bracelets" as she says.
These simple activities kept them happy for about 10 minutes so I could drink my coffee in peace. Hope you can use this idea when you have a morning like this when they get you up way too early.

cloud gazing, bird watching, & flower picking

No matter how annoyed I get with my kids (which is a lot lately......I chalk it up to Kaya being 2 1/2 years old and Zander being 3 1/2 years old) the outdoor wonderfulness always puts me in a better mood.

So we have started a daily routine of cloud gazing,  bird watching, and flower picking (you gotta love the south......it has been a low of 60 degrees and a high of 80+ degrees each day this week). 

So I take out of blankets and we just enjoy nature (in between my laundry and housecleaning...which has really suffered this week....oh well!)

We first lay on our blankets and gaze at the clouds.  We also read books in-between each cloud gazing moment.  The book-lover I am,  this is the perfect life.

I've even added some science lessons to our little adventures.  Zander & Kaya can now identify puffy clouds aka cumulus clouds and Zander can even tell me about stratus clouds now.  I told him that stratus clouds stretch across the sky and he said,  "So mom, since stratus clouds stretch across the sky is our blanket a stratus blanket?  Because we stretched it across the grass."  

I told him "No,  that is so smart of you to think of that,  but blankets are just blankets...not like clouds."

While we stretch out and watch the clouds,  we also look for birds to visit our feeders.  I only got a picture of one because like Zan says "Kaya is always too loud and scares the birds away while we are outside."  He really wanted me to get a picture of our red robin and cardinal that visits us daily.......when we are inside.......away from Kaya's noise!

After we watched the clouds and birds we went for a walk around the house to look at the flowers growing.  On our trip, we found this little guy.

He was scared of us, of course, and hid in the bushes.  The kids tried to get him but I told them that he was trying to camouflage in the green leaves because he was scared of us.  They thought he wanted to come in our house to see his friend.  Yes,  we have a lizard in our house now.  He won't leave.  I tried to chase him out with the broom the other day.  He ran behind the dishwasher.  Now he comes out onto the kitchen floor every day while the kids are napping.....and runs behind the dishwasher when he sees me.  If that thing ever crawls on my face at night when I'm sleeping........well,  I'll just say my little lizard I call "Stripey" may come to an early demise.

Once the lizard ran away from us, we were ready to look at our flowers.  I love having a flower garden but what is even more fun is seeing the joy the kids get from it.

And once you pick flowers........shouldn't you spend some time to stop and enjoy the scent?

seven simple pleasures (part 3)

I love pictures.....as you have probably gathered if you've looked at my blog at all.

My house is covered with frames and photos. It is perhaps a bit obnoxious but I love surrounding myself with the faces I love.

For the past 2 1/2 years however, my living room has just displayed a hodgepodge of framed photos. There was no unifying color or theme......just pictures that I liked. The crooked, mismatched frames were beginning to make me a little crazy.




So, today, on the first day I have felt halfway decent for a while, I completed this little project. I put an assortment of photos in this black collage frame and some other black frames around it.

I am pleased with myself and I'm pleased with the photography display. A simple pleasure indeed.

seven simple pleasures (part 1)

My brain has once again been on break. I have wanted to blog but I think my mind is too overwhelmed by my health and upcoming surgery. So I decided to take control of this writers-block and do something different this week.

This week, each day I'm going to post a simple pleasure that has graced my life lately. It is so important for me to take the time and realize what great treats I receive each day.

My first simple pleasure is my little helper. Zander loves to help me clean (unless that cleaning means picking up toys......but that is a different story all together).

Here he is a couple of nights ago cleaning the windows and door in my kitchen. His grin full of pride when he finished was absolutely precious. The other treat is the all-natural cleaner from Trader Joes. It smells great and works wonderfully---even after Z sprayed a third of the bottle on the window. No streaks!

crockpot cooking

I admit it, I'm guilty.
I'm guilty of lurking around sites and blogs to find great crockpot recipes for my menu this week. Each day I've prepared dinner in the crockpot and tada!!! I'm done! I may use this menu plan several times this year.

A couple of the recipes I've used for a while. I've used Salsa Chicken since we've been married. It is extremely simple, makes your house smell great, and is delicious. Just add 3-4 chicken breasts (can be frozen), a can of black beans, a drained can of corn, and a medium size jar of salsa to the crockpot and cook on low all day. We love this on rice or in tortillas as a wrap.

The BBQ Pork sandwiches are easy too. Just add a pound or two of pork to the crockpot with your favorite bottle of barbecue sauce. I have found the cheaper cuts of pork actually taste better. Start this one early in the day on low so your pork will just shred when you cut it with a fork.

You can find the other recipes by clicking below. I found them at Crockpot 365, of course!

Chinese Tofu with Veggies

Eggplant "Parmesan" with Feta

Macaroni and Cheese


I've enjoyed all of the meals but I am especially proud of the Crappie & Veggie Soup. I created this recipe myself! I have made up recipes before but was rather nervous about this one. I wasn't even sure if I'd ever actually eaten a fish soup (not counting chowders) much less made one. So here it is. You can use any white fish if you aren't lucky enough to get crappie from your dad that came out of Lake Cumberland.

Crappie & Veggie Soup

Lightly oil bottom of crockpot with olive oil. Put about 2 pounds fish in crockpot (can be frozen). Cook on low for an hour or so. Be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't cook to fast.

When the fish will flake when you cut with a fork, add the following ingredients:
half of a red onion (chopped)
half jar of roasted red peppers
cup of baby carrots
handful of chopped kale
2 cups of new potatoes
4 cups of vegetable broth
a dash of italian seasoning
a dash of Old Bay seasoning

Let soup cook on low for 2-3 hours.

Add salt and Pepper right before serving or let family members/guests do that themselves. The kids and I added feta cheese as a topping to our soups. Matt added oyster crackers. We all loved this light, healthy meal!

this week's menu

This week I am gathering my recipes from All Recipes. This site is one of my favorite cooking resources. You can sign up for The Daily Dish which is an email recipe each day. When I see a recipe that I think sounds interesting, I add it to my online recipe box.

The cool thing about this site is its ease of use. Yesterday I went into my online recipe box, selected some recipes for the week, and the site made a shopping list for me automatically to use this week.

Now that is an easy timesaver......I may be using this more often that some of my cookbooks when my time is slipping away.

a new way to cook

Once again my friend Kara gave me some great info that further inspired me-if I'm ever ridiculously rich, I'm gonna pay her to be my personal advisor for her knowledge. She told me about this site, Crockpot365, with is a woman's blog about making something in the slow cooker every day of the year. Some of the recipes seemed fun to try and some I'll never fix. But what a fun thing to do!

So I've been inspired to do something similar on a much smaller scale. Each week I plan my menu while sorting through my 34 (yes, 34) cookbooks, many cooking magazines, online cooking sites, & box of recipe cards.

Now, I'm not complaining. I actually do enjoy it. Honestly, planning my menu is probably one of my favorite times of the week. I am , however, wasting a lot of time that I could use playing with the kiddos, cleaning, or crafting.

So to simplify I'm going to pick one cookbook each week to choose my recipes from.





This week I'm using one of my oldies but goodies, Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2005.
I'm especially looking forward to the following meals:
Eggplant Stew over Couscous
Peppery Chicken Pasta Salad
Mac & Cheese Florentine
Frittata with Mushrooms, Linguine, and Basil

I'll be sure to let you know if I cook some fun things out of cookbooks or sites in the future.
One last question though...
How much time am I saving if I'm blogging to you about it?


On a side note.....

Happy Birthday to one of my most faithful readers!!! I know you're reading this, Kim!

solitude.friends.vacation

Last week at the beach I was fortunate to have a few hours of solitude to read & enjoy myself.



But this weekend I got out of my comfort zone and went on another vacation mission. I left the kids for the first time with Matt and took a 3 day trip to see my friend Rachel.


I'm glad I had both of these moments of time away from my life to rest and get out of my rut. Right before this I was feeling like a hamster on a wheel......constantly moving but making no progress. The housework, the shopping, cooking, the entertaining of children......it was all just getting to me. How was I going to make it through the tantrums and have an orderly, clean house?

I guess this is why vacations were invented. I came back so refreshed. Willing and eager to jump back into Domestic Bliss. I missed my kids & Matt but not enough to spoil my time away from them. I think they missed my too but enjoyed their time together.

Yesterday I did the same things I usually do but it seemed so much more meaningful. I planned my weekly meals, got our groceries, cleaned around the house, a couple loads of laundry......but it was so much more pleasant. I seemed to remember that I am serving an important role in life, I'm providing a happy, healthy home for my family.
And I survived the weekly tantrum in the store. But this time instead of leaving in a fuming fog I remembered how cute the kids were picking out the melons and pineapple for our fruit salad we're making today.

treats this week

The treats I love this week....


These wonderful boots that Zander insisted on wearing yesterday to the store after seeing all of 3 flakes of snow fall from the sky. He dressed himself from head to toe...with his sweater, sweatpants, rubber boots, Kentucky Derby baseball cap, and light-up cars movie jacket.


This old CD of mine, Dixie Chicks' "FLY", that I started listening to in the car the other day. I belt out the songs at the top of my lungs and the kids love it...what a nice change from Miss Spider and her Sunny Patch friends...
After each song Zander says "Sing that pretty song again, Mama" and Kaya claps enthusiastically. Oh to have your children as fans!!!



And this-my new handheld vacuum. I always thought having a handheld vacuum was the epitome of laziness. Can't you just hook the hose to the upright and accomplish the same thing? Boy was I ever wrong!!! Now I can just grab this handy-dandy tool and take care of all kinds of messes. I LOVE it!!! I am so glad that I finally purchased one. What a way to simplify life! Just think how domestically blissful I will be now....with my new laundry day and tiny vacuum. Soon I will be waiting at the door for Matt when he gets home wearing my pearls and heels with his martini in my hand.