Dinner ideas for this week

I'm a little late for this but here it is. I also planned next weeks already (and shopped for both weeks) but you'll have to check on Saturday for next weeks menu.....

Monday- BBQ steak with potaotes

Tuesday- Steak Faijtas

Wednesday Chicken Cobb Salad

Thursday- Nachos (using left over beef from French Dips)

Friday- we will be visiting family in Idaho Falls.

Saturday- BBQ dinner with family.

For a treat this week I plan to make PB Pinwheels. They are great- even my scouts loved them- plus they are simple. Here's how: spread PB on a tortilla shells. Top with honey and sprinkle with granola (grape nuts works well too). Then roll up and slice in thin slices. Watch out, they will soon be devoured!

ENJOY!

Getting the kids to clean.....

This one is always tricky. Kids just wanna play. They need to play but this momma needs a clean house once in a while too. Besides, have you stepped on a lego piece lately? OUCH! THEY HURT!!

So here are the rules of our house:

Each boy has to clean their room well enough to be vacuumed each day. I don't vacuum this often but that is a way they can tell if it will pass inspection.

Then they each have another room assignment. For now it works that there are 3 main rooms and 3 boys old enough for chores. The kitchen, bathroom and living room. I let them decide how many days to have each assignment and how to rotate. They decided to rotate each day. So in addition to cleaning their rooms they have to clean one of the other rooms. Each chore has to pass moms inspection before they can play. I am stricter with the older ones. Generally they have to pick up toys, load and unload the dishwasher, wipe counter tops down and wipe the mirror down. I keep clorox wipes under the bathroom sink as well as wipes for the mirror. These tend to get pricey but for me it's worth it. They boys learn to clean and in return are more careful about the messes they make. SCORE! for mom!

The toilet is always a problem area with boys but they are also responsible for wiping that down and around the floor at the base of the toilet. I am surprised at how much more careful they are in the bathroom when they have to clean the mess up.

We have had days of no playing with friends because they decided to fight the system sorta speak. They have to get their chores done to go play. If they don't they don't play. Very seldom is this rule broken. So, if they mess around they get to hear all the other kids playing while they are still stuck inside. UGH! Since this is a daily routine it doesn't usually take too long to get things picked up, beds made and clothes put away.

The rule is that if your friends leave a mess you have to clean it up. This has helped the boys be more responsible and speak up for themselves too. They don't like having to clean up all the legos by themselves. Josh had problems with this and no one cleaning up before leaving so he made his room off limits for a while. I think they learn to appreciate what they have and to take care of things better.

I live by the motto "A place for everything and everything in it's place". I try to organize the boys rooms to make clean up as easy as possible. They have different bins for sets of toys; legos, action heros, balls, etc. Plus each one has a bookshelf in their room. Once in a while I will go in and do a mom cleaning where I just organize books and what not. For the most part this works and they are able to control their own rooms.

Of course all this said, I am not above bribery at all. When we were (read "mom was") trying to unpack I gave them 15 minute challenges. Boys love challenges, especially when the reward is food! Mom supervised the cleaning and organizing and general unpacking of the bedrooms. When the timer went off I got to decide who had helped and cleaned the most with the best attitude. Josh can get the most done but he is 10 and doesn't always like the extra work. So with that I had to add about having a good attitude. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place got 1, 2, or 3 pieces of parade candy respectively. I managed to get 1 1/2 hours work out of them; above their regular chores! WHOO HOO! Then I sent them outside to run off the sugar energy.

We have also done reward charts. They got stars throughout the week based on overall attitude, behavior, and getting their chores etc done. Each Saturday night is family pizza night. We make pizza and watch a movie. They get "concessions" based on their stars. Some weeks they have had so many they couldn't use them all. Other weeks they had only 1 star. We even had a week where they had lost all their stars for bad behavior. That wasn't a very fun movie night.

Moving to a new area I have often said, "if we get ..... done then we can go ....". The boys know that I will follow through with what I say. If it's done- we go; if not- we don't. Simple and predictable.

Sometimes even I have been disappointed to not be able to go but that is how it is and the boys learn this quick.

Mostly, I make a point to tell them how much their help means. At dinner I unload to dad the days events and what each boy did. Just another chance to be in the spotlight. Perhaps I am trying to "kill them with kindness" but I think it all combined is working. Hopefully I don't have to punish them too often for naughty behavior.

What about at your house? Share your tips with me!

House cleaning tips

Trust me I am no June Cleaver. In fact I have often felt I just plain came up short. My house is not emaculate; I am not sure that word with my name has ever been in the same sentance. Rather my house is lived in. It is full of 4 rambunctious boys that are unceasingly hungry and have energy to power a rocket ship (which they often do after building ANOTHER fort in my living room). But as I was cleaning today I thought of all the times we moms and dads have wished for a "How to..." book on parenting. I doubt this book will ever be published as it would be outdated the moment it went to the printers, but I have learned a few things in my travels and thought that I would share them. So for this week, each day I will share a tip I have found on maintaining my sanity and some semblance of clean in a house of growing children- BOYS!- in the 21st century. 

I am a working mom. I craft, blog, facebook, scrapbook, excersice, volunteer, etc etc etc. The list never ends. In short, I am just an average mom. I use to believe "Molly Mormon" really did exist. I think I may even have met her a time or two. I, however, am not. I've learned that it's ok to let my friends see my house a disaster (albeit only my close friends and family). Why in the world would I say this you ask? Well, there's a story for this.... 

A couple of years ago I stopped by my best friend's house. She had been gone through the weekend and just returned from shopping. She was inside so I grabbed a couple of grocery bags and headed in to greet her. "In" meant going through her garage entrance. For most of us, this entrance is sacred and reserved for family only. Not even grandparents are to tread here and for good reason- it's usually a disaster area. I thought nothing of it though. She, however, was APPAULED! She commented on how embarressed she was that I saw the piles of laudry, the piles of dishes on the counter and in the sink, the sacks of groceries unpacked and the general disaster area we all experience after a weekend away with 4 kids. I told her it didn't matter- she had seen my house in a disarray numerous times and I already knew she was a great mom and a good housekeeper. No Judging Here! We laughed and talked then went on our ways. 

The next week she stopped by. I was in the middle of canning and it was one of "those days"! I said, "Rebekah, you've gotta see my kitchen!!" She couldn't figure out what was going on but went in to see..... Tornado Alley! *sigh* Yep, I invited her into see, not a clean sparking kitchen, but one in the throws of canning and food prep and simply a MESS! We laughed and I realized that we both felt a little better having seen each others house in the disaster stage. For me, a little pressure was lifted. I no longer felt my house had to be PERFECT every second of the day. Or not even every DAY for that matter. I mean who are we all kidding anyway? Who has a house of happy children in whose lives they are involved that also keeps a spotless house? (ok, don't tell me! please just let me continue to build my fantasy world!)

So for today my tip is to relax. My house isn't perfect and I don't expect yours to be either. 

HELLO! WE HAVE CHILDREN TO RAISE! 

We clean up first thing in the morning and then don't worry about it too much. I try to get the boys to pick up after themselves (tips for this to follow) which helps a lot too. Needless to say, if you are to drop by my house in the evening you will most likely find, remnants of Tyler's lego star fighter ship on the floor, the train book that Matthew was fascinated with for all of 5 minutes, Keegan's DS game sitting on the couch, Josh's latest book or books stacked around the couch and dishes in the sink. It will all be cleaned up again in the morning but for now, we are working and playing together as a family. 

So come on in. Make yourself at home. This house is lived in! 

"Mothers of happy children have dirty floors"

Oh, and mom, I haven't dusted yet today either. ;-)

Toys, Toys, and more toys scrapbooking

I didn't get too much scrapbooked today but thought I would share this page. Check out the blog train here:

Here is what I came up with......

There are lots of possiblities with this kit. 

I got the wordart from Bethany. I realized I need to spend some time downloading some more wordart. I figure that's a nice project for a hot afternoon. In a couple of weeks the boys will be in school. That will leave Matthew and I home alone during the day. I may be going stir crazy by the evening- OR I may really start to get some projects done. Either way it will be an adjustment for both Matthew and I.

Crockpot meals on the menu this week

I rather enjoy browsing through my cookbooks when I plan our menu. It reminds me of the great meals we haven't had in a while and helps to keep a variety on our diet. Today, I didn't worry so much about how many points. I'll figure those out later. I also didn't worry about matching up to what is on sale. The benefit of having a food storage is I can shop from there regardless of what is on sale at the stores this week. The other smart thing we've done is buying 1/2 a beef. We usually get it from my uncle in February and it lasts us almost a year, depending on how much chicken or pork I cook too. I have LOVED this! I have a freezer of meat and don't have to worry about adding that to my grocery list. The improved flavor of the beef is an even bigger plus. Win-win I'd say.

I am feeling the urge for a change in season. I usually do this time of year which is why I love the Mountain West so much. By the end of summer I am ready for fall cooking and cooler temps. Think homemade chili and cornbread! Or potatoe soup! Perhaps it was with that thought in the back of my mind that I managed to plan several crockpot meals this week. Either way it should be a good week. I will be incredibly busy with other projects, work and school registration, it will be nice to let dinner cook throughout the day. So without further delay....This weeks menu......

Beef Stroganoff

Pinwheels

Navajo Tacos

French Dip Sandwiches

Chicken Stacks

Homemade Pizza

Sunday Chicken

If you are interested most of these recipes came from "Girlfriends on the Go" recipe book. 

I bought it several years ago and organized a meal swap in our neighborhood. It was fantastic! 5-7 ladies cooking enough meals to exchange. Meet, trade and head home with 25-35 meals to put in the freezer for those CRAZY nights that everyone is going a different direction. We did this for quite a while. Perhaps I will have to check on starting it in our new neighborhood. School nights tend to get crazy! Check out the book. The recipes are great to eat right away or cooked later after freezing.