Works for Me Wednesday

It is that time of year again!!! Time to do a season change on the clothes in the closet!! I find this task to be overwhelming especially with having to do it for seven people! For the house we live in the closets are not big enough to keep all the types of clothes in them. So my solution is Rubbermaids!!! I am sure that this isn't a new thing to most but I find them to be very helpful!
So as to not be overwhelmed, I pull out one bin at a time! Go thru and get the clothes that I need for the one child that they will fit. Then put in the clothes that are now out of season and put the bin back into my storage room. And just do this five times over for the kids and another two times for hubby and me!!

I have labeled my Rubbermaids by sizes rather than seasons. I do it this way so that I don't have TONS of Rubbermaids hence I am space saving! And I am even time saving because I can see what bins I need to get into and which bins I don't need to for a particular year.

Having the Rubbermaids helps me to know when I have too many clothes! If the out of season clothes do not all fit back into the correct size bin....I purge!! I have several friends that bless me with their hand-me-downs and so clothes can get out of hand at times! Also, with seven people in this house, clothes could overtake the house if one didn't take the time to purge!

With having the Rubbermaids, I am able to keep closets organized and I am able to get the season change done with the clothes in one afternoon!!

So Rubbermaids for storing out of season clothes works for me!!! For other's great tips and ideas head over to Shannon's--Rocks in My Dryer!

Weekly Glimpse

I have decided to add something new to my blog....I am going to start doing a "Weekly Glimpse" post basically letting you see a glimpse into my life with 5 kids. I can't guarantee that I will post it on the same day each week but I am going to do this so that family and friends can read a little more about us rather than just my grocery deals, menus, or whatever. :) So without further ado here is glimpse into my week!

It is a relatively quiet week here for a change! Using the "relatively quiet" description loosely! LOL! No deliveries, no major appointments!

First off, I am glad I am able to "hide" behind the computer or not doing this via podcast or some other verbal form as I am dealing with a fierce seasonal allergy flareup! I sound and look horrible! I have gone thru at least 3 full 200 count boxes of kleenex! My nose is dry and raw! My jaw aches from all the sinus pressure and I can barely shallow my own saliva! My head is pounding! In the last 7 days, sleep has been almost non-existent due to being so plugged up! Thankfully, I am going to the doctor's this afternoon to hopefully get something for some relief!

Secondly, my hubby is really busy at work this week. He is at a conference all week! Which translates that I have to really keep the home fires burning and keep things on schedule by myself. Thankfully it is one that is in town so he is home at night so that I can see him before I close my eyes for a night's sleep! :)

Lastly, despite feeling like crap, I am trying to get thru some of the last units with the older kids for school! I really want us to be done with the school year around Memorial Day!

• My 11yo is studying Moses and the Exodus for Bible. In Science, he is studying Diseases and their cures. This unit is part of the big unit on the human body that we have been working thru this year. In History, he is studying America's Symbols(Liberty Bell, Statue of Liberty, etc). In Math, he is working thru a pre-Algebra unit.
• My 9yo and 7yo are finishing up their AWANA books for their Bible class! In Science, they are studying ladybugs! This is part of the spring unit that I have created for them! Instead of History, they are doing a Geography unit on the seven continents to finish out the school year. This week's continent is Asia. In Math, my 9yo is doing basic division and my 7yo is working on basic fractions.
• We have gotten to the point in the school year where I am allowing them to "free read" during their 1/2 hour daily reading time. In other words, they get to choose the books they are reading each day, we are through all the classics that I wanted to cover this year. Last I checked, my 11yo was reading a book by Avi, my 9yo was reading Robin Hood out of our Great Illustrated Classics, and my 7yo was reading a Geronimo Stilton book.

My girl is starting to drive me crazy! Despite the beautiful weather that we are experiencing, she is refusing to go outside to play! She is afraid of any bugs, including ants that might be passing her on the sidewalk or in the air! Granted, I don't like bugs either but I don't have a problem with them as long as they don't land/crawl on me and/or I don't have to squish them because they are in my house. I am basically at my wit's end trying to figure out ways to get her outside to play with friends! :)

My almost 18month old is going to be helping me lose weight this summer by keeping up with him! He loves to be outside even if no one else is out there! Well he is not old enough to be outside without supervision especially in my not fenced in front yard! I was letting him play in the fenced in backyard either in the sandbox or with the our ball collection while I was in the kitchen fixing dinner. I saw it as a win-win situation...he was outside in a fenced in area where I could see him from the kitchen window and I could be working in the kitchen rather than just sitting outside. However, this week he has figured out how to open the gate! He thinks he is soo funny that he has accomplished this feat. Well, daddy to the rescue and rein on son's parade...we now have a clip lock for the gate so the older kids can get in and out but 18month can not open gate! Now let's pray that older kids remember to close the gate behind them if they go in and out of it! :)

Kitchen Tip Tuesdays--More Muffin Talk!

For this week's kitchen tip, I thought I would talk more about making muffins! Several left me questions after last week's kitchen tip on muffins that I thought I would take the time to answer them in one post for all to see!

One said that she had trouble getting her muffins out of the pans and asked if I used liners or what did I do?! Well first off, I do use muffin paper liners. I get them from my local Gordon Food's Marketplace. They sell white ones in packs of 500 for just under $4.00(the last time I bought them about 3 months ago!). Secondly, I make sure that I don't fill the muffin wells too full, I try to only fill them about 1/2-3/4 full. Thirdly, when they are done baking and need to be taken out of the muffin pans....I take them out of the pans immediately using tongs and place them on cooling racks. Taking them out of the pans immediately means there is less chance of the muffins sticking to the pans.

Another asked how long do the muffins need to bake? It depends on the recipe! I have an orange juice muffins that cooks at 400° for 20 minutes. But then my banana bread muffin recipe bakes at 350° for about 30 minutes. If I am converting a quick bread recipe that calls for loaves to muffins, I use the oven temp that is stated in the recipe and I divide the time stated in half.(for example, recipe says bake 1 hour @ 350° then for doing muffins bake it at 350° for 30 minutes) To check for doneness, I have a Pampered Chef Cake Tester that I use. It is a long thin piece of stainless steel...longer than a toothpick so that can not get lost/stuck in the muffins! :)

I don't usually use a basic mix, however, there are many quick bread recipes that you can change the fruit or the liquid in without too much difficulty. It is fun to experiment! :) At the same time, I do have two basic mixes that I use on occasion....you can find them here and here!

The last question has to do with freezing baked goods and wondering how long they last and how to store them!? I have talked before about freezing foods and I have found that with my baked goods, if I let them cool til they are just cool(about an hour) and then put them in freezer bags and put immediately into the freezer they will last a good 4 months and still be fresh tasting when thawed. I usually just stick all the muffins into a freezer bag...usually 18 regular size muffins will fit into a gallon size ziploc freezer bag. The other 6 muffins of my batch of 24 muffins, I usually leave out for the family to munch on for a snack. :) I have also taken the time to individually wrap the muffins before sticking them in the gallon size bag so that they are quick grabs for hubby's lunch.

I hope that this clarifies how to make muffins out of quick bread recipes! For more good tips and ideas head over to Tammy's Recipes!

Menu Plan Monday 4/20-4/26

**Another week is upon us so that means it is time for another menu plan! This is just a plan and it could change on the cook’s whim!

Spring weather is upon us! We have had gorgeous weather this past week so much so that we had grilled burgers twice! This week, hubby has a work conference in town so he will not be eating with us on two different nights. So I am planning on kid friendly meals or leftovers to make dinner happen those nights. I am working at reducing my pantry stock so I am shopping from home this week to get meals on the table.

Lunches listed are for the kids and me. Hubby usually takes dinner leftovers each day (however, this week it is up to the kids and I to eat the leftovers as hubby will have lunch provided for him at his conference).

A special thanks to Laura-Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday! Need help with your menus, go check other delicious meal plans that have been linked at her site! **

Sunday (4-20)
Breakfast: eggs, hash browns, sausage links, and chocolate donuts
Lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
Dinner: Little Caesar’s pizza (after church)
Snack: snack basket

Monday (4-21)
Breakfast: cereal and leftover donuts
Lunch: sandwich, chips, apple slices and carrot sticks
Dinner: grilled chicken, potatoes, corn and leftover rolls
Snack: snack basket

Tuesday (4-22)
Breakfast: pancakes and sausage links
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Qdoba's Mexican Grill (updated--I had 4 free kids meals that the kids got as a prize from the local library's summer reading program. So the kids and I along with my parents went for dinner there. Hubby ate with his co-workers @ conference)
Snack: mystery snack

Wednesday (4-23)
Breakfast: cereal and bagels
Lunch: pizza rolls
Dinner: chicken nuggets, tatar tots or mac n' cheese, corn or spinach (updated--with hubby once again not joining us for dinner, I made a kid friendly meal and even gave the kids a choice on their sides!! They all had corn for their veggie and I had the spinach!)
Snack: cookies & milk

Thursday (4-24)
Breakfast: “Cook’s Choice”
Lunch: sandwich, chips, apple slices and carrot sticks
Dinner: grilled chicken/catfish/shrimp, potato pockets, green beans, and homemade honey oatmeal rolls
Snack: snack basket

Friday (4-25)
Breakfast: cereal and toast
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Chicken Veggie Stew (#8), and homemade honey oatmeal rolls
Snack: homemade chocolate shakes

Saturday (4-26)
Breakfast: “Cook’s Choice”
Lunch: ?????(it’s the weekend anything goes!)
Dinner: @ a friend’s house for a BBQ ??
Snack: popcorn or snack basket

Budget Buster Tag

I was tagged by Jennifer-Keeper of the home to list my top five budget busters. This actually made me really think exactly what are my "top busters". Hubby and I have written down a very vague budget, one that just has the monthly bills, groceries, and gas for the vehicles, so there could be LOTS of budget busters if we were going based on our written budget. However, being the one that keeps track of my hubby's hardworking earnings, I have found these things as our top budget busters(items that make us have to pull from savings to make it to the next payday.)


Budget Busters

1. Home improvement projects---It seems that when hubby and I start a project there ends up being more to the project than anticipated or hubby will decide that since we are doing that project we might as well tackle 3 other projects to make the initial project be done “right”.

2. Late Night Drive-Thru Runs---Either hubby or I will do the drive thru of Wendy’s or McDonalds and bring it back home for our “bedtime snack”. I know it isn’t good for you to eat late like that but it is fun to do every once in a while. Basically a “mini date” without the kids.

3. Computer parts—hubby likes to buy used computer parts to “upgrade”(not because it is broke) the seven computers that we have in our house. I usually tell him if it ain’t broke don’t fix/upgrade it! Just a side note on this...you might be thinking "seven computers"...each of my 4 older kids have a computer, hubby has a computer and a server that he has built to keep all our Mp3s, digital pictures, and family documents; and I have my own computer to do the research needed to homeschool the kids.

4. CDs/DVDs---music or movie it doesn’t matter! We have LOTS! Granted we get them when they are discounted but it still racks up the dollars.

5. Home decorations and artwork—I like having artwork in the house that has Bible verses or sayings. I have gotten into seasonal decorations. Like right now I have artificial spring flowers around my house. It makes the house look so cheery!

So there are my top budget busters! What are your budget busters? I am tagging 3 more people, so go check out their list....

Niki---Minimalist Mommy

Laura---Heavenly Homemakers

Kim---Homemaking-4-Jesus


Oh and just because I didn't tag you doesn't mean you can't join in the fun! Go do a budget buster post on your blog and leave me a comment with the link or just leave me a comment with your budget busters! :) I would love to read about your budget busters. :)