How to Delete Pictures with Confidence

I'll admit, I take more pictures than the normal person.  My camera sees the light of day every day, sometimes various times each day, about 360 days a year.  And with the luxury of a digital camera, I keep snapping pictures upon pictures of the same thing, trying to get "the perfect shot." 

I have a feeling I'll get this question, so I'll be proactive in answering: Because I have so many pictures, I organize them by date.  I have a folder for each year {labeled "yyyy-mm (abr)" like "2011-03 (Mar)" so they stay sorted in date order}, then I label each picture with the date, so they stay organized in their appropriate folder.  Within each monthly folder, there might be sub-folders for events with more than 5-10 pictures, like Easter or a party or even a really eventful Family Day. 

I like knowing where I can find pictures after the fact, and keeping them in order is the best way for me to do that.

Moving on...

A few weeks ago, I took an amateur  Photoshop class from a wedding photographer. Her method of keeping pictures sounded too painful for me, but this week was the first time I put her suggestion into practice.  It was SO FREEING - I just have to share it with you.

Are you ready?

Let's take Easter, as an example.  We went to Mike's uncle's house, who has a huge acre + property with orange trees and neighbors with horses and space for the kids to roam.  It was a beautiful day and everyone was having a blast, so I just kept snapping pictures.  200 pictures in less than 4 hours, to be exact.

I started where I normally do, and made a folder for Easter titled, "04.24.11 - Easter".  I then followed this photographer's advice and made a sub-folder titled, "best" and began looking through the whole day's photos.  The ones that stood out to me immediately were dragged to the "best" folder: I tried to only keep 1 or 2 shots from each series.  One of Ryan picking oranges, one of Jason trying to climb the ladder, one of everyone playing volleyball...you get the idea.  I took about 10 per setting, but was brutal and only chose one favorite, two at the most.

I went through the rejects one last time and found a couple more to add to the "best" folder, then I went through the "best" pictures to make sure I really loved them all.

The last step was the freeing part.  It scared me to do this, but I highlighted all of the pictures outside of the "best" folder and I hit "DELETE." 

I have never done this before in my life.  Sure, I'll delete out of focus pictures or those where I caught someone mid-blink, but I always have that thought in the back of my mind that I need to keep every shot that's in focus and decent.

But this photographer insisted that if a certain picture doesn't catch her eye the first time she looks through the lot, she's confident that her clients won't love it. 

This picture was the final choice of the 10 pictures I took of my sweet Kaylin walking with her baby brother.  I love that she's looking at him.  I love that he's in mid-step.  I love that her hair is blowing in the breeze.  I love the color and I love the composition.  It's the perfect representation of the moment I was trying to capture.

What's funny is that as the above picture was uploading, I decided to go through this process with another picture-filled folder.  When I opened our vacation to San Francisco, I realized that I already had a "best" folder, but the rest of the pictures were still there because I must have been too chicken to hit "delete."  I just went through the best pictures, then the rejects, grabbed one of the rejects into the "best" folder and hit "delete" with no regrets.

Seriously, so freeing. 

The only time I'll keep more than 1-2 shots per setting is if I want to do a collage or storyboard of some kind for scrapbooking.  But other than that, DELETE.

Give it a try!  I can't wait to free up some space on my hard drive...

On my mind this week: Homeschooling

Not to open a controversial can of worms or anything, but homeschooling has been on the forefront of my mind in the last couple of weeks.  A series of unrelated, perfectly timed events brought me to a daily discussion with God about whether or not I would homeschool my kids in the fall.

I've always been very open to the idea of homeschooling.  Arizona is ranked 49th in the country for education.  49 out of 50 states.  That in and of itself is a scary thought! Everyone has their thoughts and opinions on the topic, so I'm not trying to bring about a debate, but since Ryan was little, homeschooling has never been far from my mind.

Things are going well for Ryan in school right now.  His teacher is great, his school is fine, he isn't having social issues or learning setbacks or behavioral problems...things with him are fine. Not to mention the fact that Kaylin is out-of-her-mind excited at the prospect of going to school with Ryan next year.  Big girl Kindergarten, riding the bus, homework that needs to be turned in...August can't come fast enough for her.

So why consider homeschooling, right?

My biggest issue is how Ryan and Kaylin get along during the school week. Ryan seems a bit disconnected from his sister after being away all day with bigger kids (complete with attitudes that aren't acceptable in our family, but that's for another rant). Kaylin then becomes unnecessarily competitive with him, which translates into her being bossy and controlling. She acts out to get his attention, which annoys him after being with a more mature crowd for several hours.  And so the afternoon power struggles begin. 

I notice a substantial difference in their sibling rivalry during breaks from school; Christmas, Spring Break and especially during the summer and even on the weekends.  Best friends.  They play well together, cooperate, use manners, are kind and loving...they are the ideal team.

I want these qualities in my children.  I want them to have the one-on-one attention they deserve in a learning environment without the traditional classroom distractions when the teacher, pulled in many directions, is forced to redirect/refocus child after child.  I love the idea that most homeschool moms have "school" from 8-noon, then they're done with classroom learning for the day.  I love that every homeschooled child I know read far beyond their grade level and that many are able to graduate early. I love that they have the kind of family unity that I strive for in my family.  The children are mature, self-disciplined, confident, and they don't hesitate to try to make new friends on the playground because they're clueless about cliques, bullies and "mean girls."

While I prayed and waited for a genuine peace about whether to homeschool or not, I made a decision: I would research homeschool curriculum and work with the kids each morning this summer.  We could see how it goes for a few months and get a true picture of what the school year would look like once the new school year began.  I felt good about that for the time being.

One major issue that concerns me about school (public, private, charter or Christian alike) is the exposure to topics, ideas, and words that are far beyond my child's years.  While I was knee-deep in this decision making process last week, my neighbor friend called me and started the conversation with, "Wanna hear reason #499 to homeschool?"  Her 2nd grader came home and asked what "gizz" is.  Yes he did.

The story went like this: a 5th grader on the bus wiped something on the 2nd grader's shirt.  I'm not sure exactly how he reacted, but he's a bit of a germ-o-phobic, so he didn't like it.  The older boy said, "Oh relax!  It's germ killer, not gizz."  My friend's son asked, "What's gizz?" and a different older boy replied, "It's what you need to get a Mexican girl pregnant."

This situation is disturbing on so. many. levels.  These boys are in our neighborhood.  In fact, they ride Ryan's bus.  Not only are they discussing bodily fluids, they're making racial remarks that are beyond inappropriate.  I'm still so bothered by this whole thing.  My neighbor friend actually decided to pick her son up from school for the rest of the year (all 6 weeks of it) to avoid further conversations with these kids.  (FYI, she handled the situation really well.  Later that evening, when he asked her again about gizz, she said, "It's kind of like mucus," which thoroughly disgusted him, sending him racing to the bathroom to scrub up.)

I was obviously further convinced that I wanted to rip Ryan out of school to keep him home with me, protected in a little bubble for the rest of time.

But that's not really why I want to homeschool.  Yes, I want him to stay young and unexposed to the nastiness of the world as long as possible.  However, my issue truly is more with his heart attitude toward his sister, our family, and others.

Then one afternoon, while praying about whether to homeschool (again), it hit me.  I shouldn't be praying about whether or not to homeschool, I should be praying about wisdom and guidance in how to respond to situations and behavior issues as they arise.  THAT is my concern, not necessarily all of the issues involved with my kids' education.

Immediately, I felt a sigh of relief.  I've restructured my pleas with God and am starting to sense that it's not time for our family to homeschool.  Yet.  I might change my mind in one year or three years or nine years, but for now, we're sticking with our local, public school.  I may still consider some sort of homeschooling curriculum this summer to give us some structure and continue the kids' education...we'll see.  And I'm seriously considering scrapping the gas-saving, all-too-convenient bus option altogether. Ugh...driving to and from school every day seriously makes  me cringe, but the bored, cocky older kids on the bus may be more real-world exposure than I'm ready for my kids to be around right now.  Again, we'll see.

So that's what's been on my mind recently.  When it comes to my kids, these kinds of major/minor issues are enough to keep me up at night!  But for now, I'm at peace with sticking to what we're doing.

And I cannot wait for the summer break, when I can deprogram my kids and get them back to normal for a few months! 

I love my blog!

When I was younger, I used to keep diaries and journals.  As the only child of a Fortune 100 mother, I found myself alone a lot and felt the need to write what was on my mind when there was no one around to talk to. 

Don't get me wrong...I loved, loved being an only child.  I enjoyed the solitude.  I preferred not having a sibling who would steal the remote or eat the last granola bar before I could get to it. I got to sit down and veg after school without anyone nagging at me to finish my homework before having free time.  I have no complaints about my childhood.  But I'm getting off the subject...

What I love about this little blog is that it's become a place for me to journal my thoughts, feelings and current struggles.  Sure, I do it pretty publicly, but it is so great to be able to look back at past posts and see what was going on inside my head last year or the year before that.  It's an online time capsule, if you will.

So, for those of you who don't feel like you have time to write in a journal or haven't yet started a personal blog, I'd like to ask you to reconsider.  Not for me, but for YOU.

You can start a blog very easily and choose to keep it private or share it with a select group of friends and family.  You may write in it daily, monthly or just a few times a year.  It's very versatile.  But the best part is that, years from now, you can look back at snapshots of your current life and see how you've grown.  See how your children have grown.  How your marriage has grown.  How your thought processes have evolved and matured.

It's really an incredible ability to have...peeking back inside your own mind, years later.

It doesn't need to be anything grand or fancy...it could purely be for your eyes only.  Wouldn't that be an amazing gift to give your children, should something ever happen to you? Obviously we all hope that would never happen, but none of us know when God will call us home.  (on that morbid note...)

What are you waiting for? Give it a try! And for those of you who have a blog, but rarely write on it...go write yourself a post.  What's on your mind today?

Out of the Habit of Writing

Does anyone miss me? I mean, I've kind of been around.  You all know what I'm feeding my family for dinner, if nothing else, right? 

I feel like I haven't been truly writing in weeks.  Yes, I've written posts, but during my March Spring Cleaning Challenge, I didn't want to disrupt the flow of each day's tasks, so I accidentally got out of the habit of writing my sporadic thoughts, feelings and ideas on my little corner of the cyber world.  I have narrated some posts through pictures this month, but I kind of feel like that's a cop out.  I honestly think I'm out of the habit of brain dumping on all of you fine folks!

Over the last week or two, I've started several posts, but haven't had time to finish them.  Or maybe I'm just not making them a priority...?  Hmmmm.

Actually, while we're on the subject, I'm ready to come clean and admit that I've been cheating on you. Sorta.  My free time is suddenly pulled in a different direction.  For those who check my picture of the day blog, you may have caught on to what I'm about to share.  Something I never thought I would do.  Sure, I thought I might work part time once all of my kids were in school, but attempting something like this was never, ever on my radar.

I've started selling Tastefully Simple. I used to be the girl who needed to be talked into hosting at-home parties, now I'm the one selling the stuff.  Honestly, I never thought I'd see the day.

Yes, this is going to be a {quick} shameless plug for my new business.  But I blog about my life and I have to share this because I'm truly having fun.  A lot of fun.  And I'm making money in the process, which really helps put Mike's mind at ease. I have the best of both worlds: I can have a flexible schedule while conversing with other grown ups as I earn an easy paycheck for products that sell themselves.  I basically get paid to party.  How great is that?

So here's my plug for those who have never heard of Tastefully Simple. (neither had I until I was invited to a party in February): Tastefully Simple sells convenient, easy to prepare foods that have little (or no) preservatives, artificially colors/flavors and MSG. Each product only requires 1 or 2 other ingredients to prepare, so they allow you more time with your family and help keep you out of the drive thru.

The food is delicious, will ship right to your door and the company offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  What I do as a consultant is facilitate "taste testing parties" where we sample a bunch of the products from the catalog - the host invites the guests and I supply to food.  That's what first had me hooked.  I thought, "Wait...I can have a party and she'll bring all the food?  Sold!" 

But as I heard more about it, I realized that the low cost of the Business Blast Off Kit and the low risk of becoming a consultant (if I failed miserably, I could eat my display...I mean, it's FOOD after all!) made it worth checking out.  And once Mike picked apart the details, did the whole cost analysis, blah blah blah, I jumped in with both feet.

SO.  If anyone out there would like to try out these products by placing an order or, better yet, host a party where I supply the munchies, please let me know! It would be my pleasure to assist you. (insert cheesy grin here)  Or if you're not local and just want to try our mouth-watering beer bread or perfect-for-summer slushy drink buckets, feel free to check out the online catalog on my website.

That's all I'm going to say about that.  I don't want to bore you with this aspect of my life, but it's new and fun and exciting and I felt like I was keeping something from you by not sharing it for the last several weeks.  Now that all of my cards are out on the table, we will resume our regularly scheduled blog post topics. And hopefully I'll get my blogging groove back because I've genuinely missed writing! 

Stay tuned, I have a few {finally finished} posts lined up over the next week...

Meal Plan 4/18/11

New recipe last week: Vegetable Lasagna...I simplified it a little (and posted my version of Veggie-Packed Lasagna) and it was delicious.  Sauteed summer veggies with layers of cheese and homemade sauce...really, it was great.

This is the THIRD time the Greek Grilled Chicken has made it onto a meal plan.  I keep forgetting to take it out of the freezer in time!  I've just been too busy lately...hopefully I'll finally make it this week.  And I didn't get around to the Spinach Rice Casserole last week, either.  Mike's parents offered to take us out to dinner Sunday and how could I pass that up?!?  I'm not in the mood to make it this week, so it will go on next week's meal plan.

Monday - leftover Veggie-Packed Lasagna
Tuesday - Vegetable Penne with Pesto
Wednesday - Greek Grilled Chicken (*new*) with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables
Thursday - Deceptively Delicious Spaghetti Pie
Friday - BBQ at a friend's house
Saturday - Crock Pot Minestrone Soup
Sunday - HAPPY EASTER!!!

Veggie-Packed Lasagna

I simplified this recipe a little to come up with the easier version below.  I know everyone has a favorite go-to lasagna recipe, but this one is very good and packed with healthy vegetables!

Homemade Pasta Sauce: (or use your favorite store brand)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Cup finely diced white onion
4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and minced
28 oz can Muir Glen Whole Peeled Plum Tomatoes, put in food processor and pulsed until nearly smooth
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
6 oz can tomato paste
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1. Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion for 5 minutes, stirring often then stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, tomato paste and basil leaves. Reduce heat to low and simmer until ready to use.

Vegetable Filling: (a combination of all or any of the following veggies)
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow squash, sliced
1 medium zucchini, halved and sliced
2 Cups broccoli florets
2 Cups diced eggplant
4 Cups fresh baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
Pinches of salt

1. Heat oil into a large dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Saute all ingredients for 10-12 minutes, season with a couple pinches of salt, stirring often or until softened to your liking. Cook longer for softer texture. Reduce heat to low and simmer until ready to use.

Cheese Filling:
16 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese (about 1 ½ big containers)
1 Cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
16 oz. low fat cottage cheese
2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 egg
Place all ingredients into a large bowl; stir until well combined.

Additional ingredients:
9 oz oven ready lasagna noodles, try the whole wheat, it was great
2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese

To Assemble:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat bottom of a large 9×13 inch baking dish with a couple ladles of homemade sauce. Next, layer with lasagna noodles. Spoon 1/3 of the cheese mixture over noodles, spreading slightly. Top evenly with 1/3 vegetables. Repeat this process 2 more times or until all ingredients are used up. The top layer should be lasagna noodles. Pour remaining sauce over noodles then sprinkle with 2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake covered for 45-50 minutes, then remove foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.

2. Let sit in pan for 15 minutes before cutting into it. Serve and enjoy!

8 servings

Crafty Idea: Memorial Bear

A sweet friend of mine, Brooke, shared an awesome idea with me.  When her father died, her grandmother took his shirts and created these amazing keepsake bears and patchwork pillows for the kids and grandkids.

Now, I can barely sew a button, but I'd imagine these wouldn't be too cumbersome to recreate - if you can work a sewing machine, that is!

Meal Plan - 4/11/11

This week, I'm playing catch-up from the meals that never got made from my "March and beyond" meal plan. I'll let you know how the new recipes tasted next week!

Monday - Vegetable Lasagna (*new*)
Tuesday - Crust-less Quiche with sausage and broccoli
Wednesday - Greek Grilled Chicken (*new*) with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables
Thursday - Bean Soup with Tortilla Chips
Friday - leftovers
Saturday - Baked Potato Soup with Whole Wheat Bread
Sunday - Spinach Rice Casserole (*new*)

Jason - finally walking after nearly 18 months

Well, it happened.  My third heavy-talker, slow-walker child is finally walking!  Thankfully, he graced us with his first official steps before we left for San Francisco.  Now, just two weeks later, he shows off by walking across the room multiple times a day.  And yesterday, he walked across the entire length of the yard. He thinks he's pretty hot stuff, but no one's told him that he'll be 18 months old on the 23rd and that this is very, very, VERY late to start cruising!

I haven't written a post about Jason in ages, so I'm going to narrate through pictures.  He's getting so big, so fast, I can hardly keep up.  Out of no where, he's turning into this adorable little man...he looked huge when we returned from San Francisco.  What happened to my baby boy???

This adorable, mouth-full-of-apples boy is a total ham, and he loves every second of the attention.

He can stand himself up almost anywhere...even the middle of the couch...

He chants, "walk, walk, walk" as he toddles around. Or sometimes, "walk-ee" which means "walking."

He knows many of his body parts and sings along to "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" - his favorite song after the alphabet.

He reminds us to pray at every meal. And snacks. And mid-way through each meal. And snack.  He folds his little hands and asks, "Pay? Pay?" Then proceeds to ask for food through the entire prayer to get attention. Is it rude to shush a child while you're praying...?

If only this were on video...he blew me a kiss in the picture, saying, "I know!" which is how he says, "I love you."  Just yesterday, "I know" turned into "I nah now!"  Getting closer...

He looks SO OLD to me in this picture.  And I think I could probably dig up a baby picture of myself with this same look.  He definitely has my nose and mouth.

This kid's eating habits are bizarre. Of course, he'll eat endless sweets and carbs, but is picky about when and which veggies and meat he'll eat.  Yet he'll gnaw on a lemon wedge like it's an orange...such a strange little fellow.

Look at this little fishy-faced kid!  I just want to eat him up.  Too bad his term of endearment is "ko-ko" which means "knuckles."  No kisses, no hugs, no more snuggling...he gives everyone knuckles.  And if he's left hanging, he gives himself knuckles, even exploding both hands at the end.  All. Boy.

Jason loves to escape out the front door.  If I forget to lock the screen, he knows it.  When I hear the front screen shut, I look around to count my kids and 99% of the time, he's missing.  He's very polite, though, opening the door on his tippy toes, crawling out, turning around and shutting it behind him.  And this is how I find him: in the grass, chanting happily, "Side? Side?"  He loves being outside.

Did I mention that this kid LOVES to be outside?  I did?  Well it's worth repeating.  Too bad he breaks out in hives every time his skin touches the grass.  I seriously need to get him checked out for allergies!  In the meantime, I let him crawl around as a special treat, then give him Benadryl to ease the potential pain or itchiness.

Sweet boy, please stop growing.  Please stay little for just a bit longer!  I'm not ready for the terrible twos or the trying threes just yet.  If I could just pause time...!!!

Raising Future Husbands

Attention: moms of sons! We need to have a talk. 

Have you ever considered the fact that you are spending your days with someone's future husband?  Yes, you're wiping his nose and maybe even wiping his bum, but someday (too soon), he will be someone's husband.  Are you teaching him to be the type of husband that young women would line up to marry?

I know it seems early.  He's 5 or he's 10 or he's only 2...I get it, mine are still little too. 

But everything you're teaching your son today will create the man he becomes for a lifetime. Generosity. Gratitude. Integrity. Respect for authority. Both extending and receiving forgiveness. 

Or...is he learning pride or something equally harmful like impatience? Disobedience. Selfishness. Cutting corners. Quitting when things get tough. Expecting a bail out when the school or a neighbor calls him on the carpet for bad behavior.

I heard a startling statistic at church last year: research shows that by the time our kids are nine years old, their moral foundation is set. 

Nine. Years. Old. If they're getting away with lying, cheating and stealing at the age of 9, 10 or 11, it is going to take a major catastrophic event (like potentially getting arrested) to change the course of that child's moral compass. (I think the stats are from Barna - ?)

Apparently, the same is true for a child's faith and belief system, but the age is 13 years old.  Most children (I can't remember the exact number) have developed their opinions of God, faith, church and all things religious by the age of 13 and they rarely change after that time.  Obviously, there are exceptions to every statistic; my husband is one of them...he didn't become a Christian until college. 

I'm getting off the point, which is this: not only are you raising future contributors to our society, you are raising future husbands and wives. 

If you don't make your sons help with household chores because "it's easier and faster to do it myself" or "they don't do it to my standards," you are setting them up for struggles later in life.  I honestly believe you're doing them a disservice. 

This is just my opinion, but I think the sons of stay-at-home moms are most at risk.  We may feel like we (should) have more time than working moms or single parent homes, both of which really need all hands on deck to get everything done around the house.

I've noticed that most people I know who complain about their husband's "high expectations" of them as a wife (to cook, clean, shop, organize, keep up with laundry, save money, basically take care of everything and everyone while the husband complains about mowing the lawn twice a month) - those husbands all seem to be the product of stay-at-home or highly over-achieving moms.

Does anyone else see a pattern here?

I had to teach my college roommate (and best friend at the time) how to do laundry when we moved into our dorm.  Her sweet mom, who had the best intentions, completely took care of her family.  She truly did "do it all," and frankly, spent a lot of money on my friend's clothes, so she didn't want her accidentally ruining them in the wash.  As a result, my friend was robbed of years worth of training in a basic life skill, all while under her mother's roof and guidance. 

How often does that happen with boys?  Whether it's laundry or cleaning the bathroom or just the basic idea of having a "happy heart" while serving others and contributing to the housework.

I'm not talking about demasculating our boys and teaching them to be little mothers.  I'm suggesting that we prepare them to successfully take care of themselves (should it take a while to marry) and to understand all that is involved in running a household (once they find a wife and start a family).

I can feel tensions rising.  Just think about it, would you?  Understand my heart when I tell you that I honestly believe that you're doing your children, specifically your sons, a disservice by not expecting them to contribute to the chores in your home. I would hate to think that I set my son's expectations so high that their ability to find a wife who would "do it all" could potentially keep them single for too many years.

Okay, I'm hopping down off my soap box now.  Please be nice when you yell at me in the comments, 'kay?

New Recipe Review - March

BethAnne commented on my March meal plan post this week: "I just came across this post again and was just curious...were you able to stick to your food plan for the entire month? What about spending only $40/week? Thanks! :)"

Um, kind of.  How's that for an answer?

For the most part, I was able to stick with the meal plan, up until our San Francisco trip.  When we got home from that, my whole schedule was thrown off, so pulling things out of the freezer in time and sticking to the plan was a challenge that whole first week back.  But that was week 5 of the 6 week plan, so I'd say the first 4 weeks were very successful.

As far as the $40/week grocery budget...HA!  Absolutely not.  I have NO idea what I bought at the store since all of our dinners were taken care of, but I spent the same amount in March as I do every other month.  Maybe I was out of stock on paper products or breakfast items or snacks...???  I really can't remember what how I spent $500 on groceries last month.  I was so excited to go in and look to see what I saved, only to have the air let out of my balloon!  Oh well.  At least I tried.

Here are my reviews on the new meals we tried last month.  I'll review the ones that have yet to be prepared in my next meal plan!

- Vegetarian Lentil Soup - I ended up adding green beans, corn and summer squash to this recipe, because just carrots seemed a bit boring. (plus, I had the other veggies to use up)  I also used homemade broth, which I forgot was only lightly salted, so my version of this soup was lacking a little bit of flavor there.  Once we salted it, everyone liked it much better, but it definitely wasn't a crowd favorite.  I probably won't be making it again.

Sweet & Salty Chicken - (4 T. oil, 4 T. soy sauce, 2 T. lemon juice, 2 T. brown sugar, 2 cloves garlic, 1 t. basil) - My family loved this!  There were no leftovers.  I'll make it again for sure.

Black Bean Couscous Salad - I've made this once before, but couldn't remember if anyone liked it.  Jason ate, ate, ate it up, the bigger kids ate it, but weren't wild about it (I ended up cutting up their Sweet & Salty Chicken to make it like a casserole) and Mike thought it was fine.  I threw the leftovers over lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette dressing the next day for lunch and it was DELISH.  I would have had the rest the next day, but Jason polished it off.

Fajita Marinade - (1/4 c. apple cider vinegar, juice from 1 lime, 2 T. Worcestershire sauce, 2 T. diced onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 t. basil, 1/4 t. cumin, 1/2 t. red pepper flakes) - This was a huge, huge hit.  I sauteed some yellow squash and red bell peppers, threw it all in a tortilla with cheese and fresh tomatoes and my family couldn't eat it fast enough.  This was an excellent marinade for fajitas!

Corny Mango Salmon - I was the only one in the family who loved this recipe.  And I mean loved. Everyone loves mangos in our house, but apparently not in a salmon sauce.  Next time, I'll definitely do the cornmeal coating and leave the sauce off, because the crispy corn outer shell on the salmon was seriously delicious.

OJ Chicken - This was, by far, our family favorite of the new recipes. YUM!  We'll be making this again.

Ginger Chicken Marinade - (1/2 c. soy sauce, 2 T. olive oil, 2 T. brown sugar, 2 t. garlic, 2 t. ginger) - I made this and used it in Chicken Fried Rice and it was awesome!  Everyone in the family ate and ate and ate.  We will definitely make this again.  This was an excellent marinade of any type of Oriental dish!

Oil, Vinegar, Soy Sauce & Garlic - (2 t. salt, 1 c. oil, 1/4 c. worsestershire, 2T. dry mustard, 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar, 1/4 c. soy sauce, 1 t. garlic, 1 t. pepper, 2 t. parsley) - Everyone ate this chicken, but it didn't really have a "wow" factor.  I made green beans and mashed potatoes with it, but most of us were dealing with allergies and sinus issues, so I think that may have made it even more bland. 

Homemade Clorox Cleanup

You all know that I try to be as chemical-free as possible, especially with my cleaners.  But there are just some areas of my house that don't seem clean without bleach.  (my toilet and kitchen sink, to name a couple)

I keep bleach in the house for pouring into toilet bowls and I keep Clorox Clean Up for our sink.  I feel like it kills more bacteria and germs than my standard all-purpose cleaner.  It's probably my imagination, but food-born junk freaks me out. 

After finding raw chicken juice all over a fridge shelf recently - AGAIN - I ran out of Clorox Clean Up while disinfecting the spill.  In my attempt to buy less groceries for March, I ended up looking up a recipe for homemade Clorox Clean Up.  Sure enough, you can make anything at home these days!

All you need is:
- 1/4 cup bleach
- 1 Tbsp. dishwashing liquid
- fill the squirt bottle with water

I ended up just mixing it in my empty Clorox Clean Up bottle.  It works just as well as the $4 bottle from the store!  I'm seriously shocked.  So, of course, I had to share. 

Happy cleaning!

Final Thoughts on Avoiding Clutter



In the spirit of the Spring Cleaning Challenge, I thought I'd finish up the series talking about something that we all deal with: clutter.  Some of us have a little, most of us have a lot, but it's something that can, and should, be tamed to make more space in your home, mind and lifestyle.

Clutter is simply not worth the cost. Don't lie to yourself by thinking that it's not hurting anyone but you.  If your purse is too cluttered and you can't find your car keys, you'll be late, disrespecting the time of others.  If there's clutter in your pantry, you might buy duplicates of items that you've already purchased, adding to your grocery bill.  If your counter is filled with papers, it's difficult to fix meals and you might be tempted to spend money unnecessarily on take out.

Remember: the less clutter you have, the more time, energy and money you'll have.  You'll feel less frustrated and you will have more space to enjoy with your family.

If you felt overwhelmed at the schedule I put together for the Spring Cleaning Challenge last month, yet were inspired at the thought of organizing nooks and crannies of your own home, start small.  Make a list of things you'd like to do and just get started. 

The main principles of decluttering are:
1. Remove everything from the space.
2. Divide the "stuff" into piles to:
...KEEP
...SELL/DONATE
...THROW AWAY
3. Designate zones for like-items in the "things to keep" pile
4. Put everything back in a logical spot.
5. Develop a system to maintain order in that space.  (i.e. "When I buy a new pair of shoes, I have to donate an old pair to make room for them," or "I'll open the mail daily near the recycle bin so paper doesn't stack up on the counter.")

A few more tips:
- Establish a routine for keeping up on your decluttering and organizing.  Just like you (hopefully) regularly clean your home each week/bi-weekly, make a new habit of organizing your home for a short amount of time each weekend. Set the timer and see how much you can get done in 30 minutes, working quickly, putting everything back where it belongs to start fresh for the upcoming week.

- Vow to follow the "touch it once" rule.  Don't wipe your child's nose and leave the tissue on the counter; walk the extra four steps to the trash can to throw it away.  When you walk a pile of folded clothes upstairs, don't put them on the dresser; take an extra minute to put underwear, socks and PJs in their correct drawers. Spending an extra minute or two to finish the task will keep clutter from multiplying. 

- When you leave a room, bring something with you that doesn't belong.  I do this when we unload from the car, too.  I ask the kids to toss Jason's car books back into their bin and to grab trash, water bottles, wrappers, etc. to bring back into the house.  This keeps my car looking a little less like a mom-mobile.

- Embrace the mantra: "A place for everything and everything in it's place."  If something doesn't have a home, create a home for that item. Go through your home periodically and put things away. To keep myself from going crazy tidying up a million times each day, I've resolved to only pick up toys before naps and bedtime.  And every night, I make sure that all of the dinner dishes are in the dishwasher and the kitchen table and counters are wiped off. Waking up to a clean kitchen just seems to start my day off right!

- Lastly, understand that your life is unlikely to ever be clutter-free.  Remember that there's only one Martha Stewart.  And as organized and perfect as she appears to be, I've heard that she's not very nice to be around, so she could stand to lighten up a little!

Does anyone else have any must-have tips on avoiding clutter???