Updated 10:12am

Trying to keep to it! Today i woke up at 8am instead of 7am which is suppose to be my wake up time according to my schedule but since I'm so close to baby coming I'm letting myself sleep as long as the girls will let me. Got to rest up for the big production!

Anyways i didn’t miss much. Just started off on the 8am duties so I'm not rushing or feel behind. Actually i feel ahead a tad because i already started laundry and that isn’t on the list till the 9am duties.

I’m excited about this weeks flight plan (HERE) One big thing on my list of things to clean before baby comes is the laundry room, because i know the midwives will be down there doing laundry and right now it’s a dungeon! Well this weeks flight plan is focused on the ‘Main Bathroom and Laundry Room’. PERFECT! The main bathroom won’t be that big a deal cause i keep it pretty clean so i will probably focus most my energy on the laundry room. Yay yay!

Also another YAY: I love having breakfast muffins made and frozen. In the morning i can just pull out a couple and stick them in the oven to warm and breakfast is done! I have such a hard time eating breakfast so this has really helped me!

9:30am Check In:

• In Bathroom:
  • Wwiped off counter, toilet, walls, baseboards, drawer and cabinet fronts and light switch cover.

10am Check In:

• In Laundry Room/Basement:
  • Went through my laundry room ‘supply’ shelf’, cleared out the garbage and wiped it down and then organized it.
  • Cleared the garbage off the dryer
  • Wiped down the dryer and washer tops and fronts. It’s probably the cleanest it’s ever been >_<
  • Then i went through some stuff that has been piled up close to the laundry room. I boxed up in separate boxes: dog items, gardening items and outdoor toys. Threw away a lot of things! Put all the tools i found in a section so Hubs can put it up later.
  • That is only a small section of the basement. Still a ton to do down there! The basement is very unorganized and dirty :(

Now it’s time do some crafts with the girls :)

My 2yr did the crown picture frame on the left

My 3yr did the crown on the right

They decided where to put things, no help to me. Always surprises me how even they do things!

2pm Check In:

• In Laundry Room/Basement:
  • Rebooted the laundry
  • Cleaned up all my hanger mess
  • Swept the floor
  • Folded all the clothes and hung what needed it. That was 5-6 clothes baskets full of clothes.
  • Then re-filled baskets with folded cloths so Hubs later can bring them up. I’m not suppose to hall that much weight up stairs. 

Now it’s suppose to be relax, do what i want time. Think i might have a snack, drink some water. Might sew after that…. who knows!

So far i am really happy with my progress today. Laundry room looks great! I have all the laundry done but a couple blankets and whatever is hiding up in the Hubs closet. Not sure if i will get back down stairs today or just hold off till tomorrow. I still have a lot of regular house cleaning to do up here, dishes, floors, clutter to put away. But for now it’s time to take a break for the day!

After a little break I:

• In Laundry Room/Basement:
  • Rebooted the laundry
  • Started sweeping up the floors in the rest of the basement
  • Cleared a spot for the outdoor furniture
  • Carried the wicked patio furniture over to the back corner of the basement
  • Put all the big outdoor toys and the boxes of outdoor toys in the back corner as well.
  • Sorted through some more stuff and trashed a lot.
  • Swept quite a bit.

Ugh it’s still a mess but it’s a lot better. Made a lot of headway. I totally over did it though!

I managed to sit down for a little bit more and passed out for maybe 20min when Bob called that he was on his way home. At first he wanted me to take Anabel to her gymnastics class tonight but after he saw how bad i was feeling and how i was hurting he took her instead. That gave me some time to soak in a hot tub and relax a little bit…. a little bit i said. They whole time in there i was having some uncomfortable braxton hicks. But it was nice to soak anyways.

Right now I'm in the middle of making spinach pasta and crescent rolls for dinner. It will be done shortly so I'm going to sign off for the evening.

On to another busy day tomorrow probably :)

Link to full blog post of shopping trip: HERE

Just got done with my shopping spree for this week, although my shopping sprees have been lasting a lot longer then a week. Last weeks, weeks worth of shopping lasted 17days and this week i planned on more meals so it might last that long again. It lasted that long because some of the items i bought for certain meals where able to actually be stretched for more then one meal. Love it when that happens! Like the chicken i bought last shopping trip has still lasted and will be used for the Baked Chicken and Spinach Flautas and the Cheddar & Cracker Chicken.

Total i spent about $66 for this weeks shopping which i know will feed us more then a week, like i said. I was excited to get it down to $66. I budget $100 a week but my goal is $50 a week. So with the stockpile money i spent i guess it was over $100 lol but oh well… i could have done fine with just $66 for the week so that is good.

Also I spent about $48 in stockpile goods between two stores. That was 10 boxes of cereal, 4 packages of sausage rolls and 2 packages of bacon, 10 packages of cinnamon rolls and 4 packages of crescent rolls. That is an average of $1.60 an item. Pretty good!

So far for prepared meals i have stockpiled are:

• 2 (or more) Meals of Creamy Chicken Pasta
• Oven Fried Chicken Tacos
• Corn Dog Muffins
• Banana Bread Muffins
• Pancake & Sausage Muffins
• Scrambled Egg Muffins
• Cinnamon Rolls
• Bagels

In addition to those meals i have frozen i also believe that i will have extra Baked Chicken and Spinach Flautas, Southwestern Eggrolls & Quiche that i will be adding to my meal stock after this week.

That should be able to help me once my baby is born :)

I didn’t start on time so my schedule is pushed back an hour but it’s going pretty good i think.
This morning before i started i worked on this coming weeks meal plan and shopping list.

11am Check In:

• Got everyone dressed and teeth brushed
• Laundry rebooted
• Dishes rebooted
• I’ve done two Flight Plans so far:
  • Moved everything on counters and scrubbed counters.
  • Wiped down all the cabinet fronts.
  • And then i started my oven on a self cleaning just cause it needed it and why not?

Now I'm tired.
I’m going to go get the Meatloaf and Rosemary Potatoes out of the freezer and get in the crock pot for dinner and then i think I'm going to refill my water and take a break for a minute.
Not sure if i will get to my 15min of work out today since this is kinda like a work out for me anyways being this big preggo. Yesterday i did some Dance Central for 20min and that was fun but a huge thing for me.
I don’t want to over do it! But i know there is a lot more i want to get done today…. although if i stopped here i would be pretty pleased with myself.

1pm Check In:

• Scrubbed the inside and outside of my microwave.
• Scrubbed the front of the dishwasher.
• Put dinner in the crock pot
• Did Lunch
• Rebooted the laundry

Now i want a nap!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4-6 tbsp. vegetable shortening or lard
• 1 1/4 cups warm water

Instructions:

Recipe @ www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com

I'm really liking this website, she has so many good tips and recipes!

Recipe @ thenoshery.com

 

I made these and i think they are very yummy!

I recently bought 1lb of radishes because i had a price match for them to be $.98 for the whole pound. I got them knowing i love them on salads and figured i could cut them and freeze most of them. Before i tried to freeze them though i got smart and looked online to see if they are any good after being frozen. I found out that they are not good when frozen. So now i have all these radishes and don't know what to do with them!
I looked up recipes with radishes figuring i could make a few dishes with them and freeze the whole dish because i read that if the radishes are cooked they freeze better. Here are some recipes i found that look possibly yummy to me.

• Braised Chicken and Spring Vegetables
• Beef With Radishes (Stir-Fry)
• Momos (Tibetan Steamed Dumplings)
• Beef Tataki

I've been waxing philosophical chocoholical lately, as you can tell.  It may be cliché, and it may be expected, but when Valentine's day rolls around I'm in a complete chocolate state of mind. And why not? Chocolate supposedly mimics the feeling of falling in love via some crazy stimulant that gets released into our bloodstream after eating it.

I always like to plan ahead and prepare early, but this recipe requires little of that.  It's great for those of you who have little time to bake or fuss over a special occasion dessert. 

First, I'd like to talk about making the chocolate vessel.  It is SO easy and fun.  You'll need to buy a pack of water bomb balloons (some of you may know where I'm going with this) or if you can't find this small variety, any balloon 5" or less with do nicely.


To prepare, you should have a few balloons blown up and resting on a clean surface. Balloons can be full of static, and are prone to pick up any stray fiber, hair, or particle on a seemingly dust-free surface. I gave both my table and platter a good wipe-down with a damp cloth.  Lay out a large piece of parchment for the dipped balloons.  

I used a small bag of Ghiradelli semi-sweet baking chips, melted in the microwave at 30 second intervals. You'll want to be careful to not overheat your chocolate, or the completed cups will develop a chalky white film in the drying process. My advice would be to stir very well between heating intervals. 
You can also melt your chocolate in a saucepan on top of the stove on the lowest heat possible.  This takes a bit longer, but your chocolate is less likely to develop the chalky white film.


Transfer chocolate to a small bowl. Your chocolate should not be hot. If you find that it is hot, let it cool slightly.  Dip bottom of balloon into the melted chocolate and transfer to a piece of parchment paper.  Continue to dip balloons until all chocolate is used. 


Allow to dry for approximately 20 minutes.  You'll know it's ready when the previously glossy chocolate coating has taken on a matte finish.  

Now for the fun part.  After the chocolate has set, carefully cut the balloon at the top just below the knot.  Allow the air to escape slowly.  The balloon will pull away from the chocolate and leave a beautiful cup!



Occasionally you may experience a sticky balloon that doesn't want to let go of the chocolate.  If this happens, then imagine your vessel as a clock, and gently pull the balloon away at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00. Pull from the knot upward.  Your balloon should release. 


Now you can fill them with anything your heart desires.  My heart desired some Chai Latte whipped creme.  This is very simple to make.  All you need is some heavy whipping cream, dry, instant Chai mix and a little sugar.

I made some of the vessels into teacups (see above).  For the handle, just pipe some melted chocolate into a small candy-cane shape and allow to dry.  The handle can be adhered with additional melted chocolate.

I don't think I've ever had so much fun playing with chocolate.  I think this would be a great recipe to make with the kiddos, especially since the chocolate doesn't get too hot.  It's almost magical when the balloon pops and you are left with a perfect chocolate bowl.  I think  I may use my leftover bowls for ice cream, or perhaps a fruit and cream parfait.

Recipe @ http://www.thefarmersnest.com

What You Will Need:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup sea salt
• 1-2 slices of lemon
• 1-2 slices of orange

Directions:

1. Put the oil and salt in a bowl or blender.
2. Chop up the orange and lemon slices and put them in your bowl or blender.  If you’re using a bowl, chop them as finely as you can or omit them entirely.
3. Blend everything together and put in your container.  That’s it!

From: http://searching4hiddentreasures.blogspot.com/2011/02/home-made-laundry-detergent.html


DRYER SHEETS:

Ingredients:

1 container of your favorite fabric softener  (or better still, click here to learn how to make your own!)
a bucket
water 
2 sponges

Directions:

Pour fabric softener in bucket.  Add 2 parts water.  (Fill your fabric softner container with water twice and add to bucket.)  Mix well.  Throw in your sponges.  Ring your sponge out and add it to dryer with your clean, wet clothes.  Return sponge to mixture when clothes are dry.  

There you have it!!  Life is easier already!  =)

From: http://searching4hiddentreasures.blogspot.com/2011/06/dish-washing-detergent.html

• 1 quart (8 cups) of water
• 1/2 bar of your favorite soap  (I use Ivory, but you can use castle or whatever you like best.)
• 2 cups of vinegar to cut the grease  (I suppose lemon juice would do the trick too, but citrus takes the shine out of your silver ware too, so I use vinegar.)

Boil water on stove top.  Grate your bar of soap (I use my food processor) and add it to the boiling water.  Mix well.  Let simmer.  Remove from heat and mix with electric mixer.  Be sure the soap and water is mixed well so that it doesn't separate.  Return to stove and simmer a little longer.  Remove from stove and add vinegar (or lemon juice).  Mix with mixer again.  Let cool a bit.  Pour into whatever container you want to keep it in and let it sit for a while to thicken. (Be careful not to pour HOT liquid into a plastic container as it could melt the container and/or burn you.)  Mine fit into a 14 ounce bottle with a tiny bit left over.

(You probably don't need to mix as much as I did, but I didn't want it to seperate and I already had the mixer out - so why not??  You can play with it and do your own thing.)

There will not be any bubbles.  We have grown so accustomed to seeing bubbles that we don't feel we've cleaned anything without them, but we must remember bubbles don't clean things.  Soap does! 

Also ~ If your soap ends up a little too thick, you can simply dilute it with a little water until you like it.

Recipe @ http://realhousewivesofbc.blogspot.com

I started a new blog dedicated to couponing. Deals and ad matches are for local deals and stores in the Kansas, Wichita area.

Recipe @ http://beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com/2010/11/homemade-laundry-soap.html
Found in the comments that you are suppose to use 1 tablespoon a load but some do 2 tablespoons.
Going to try this since i have quite a lot of laundry soap supplies built up. They say it’s cheaper then the wet laundry soap.

Recipe @ http://www.wearenotmartha.com/