Homemaking Organized Blog

Archive for December, 2010

My daughter has been singing this refrain the last couple of days.

At five years old she’s caught between needing to be within sight and old enough to play by herself.

Strangely enough she said this to me this morning about 5am. Her father’s morning preparations for work served to wake her up (light sleeper) and she asked me was there anything she could do because she was bored. I said “yes, go back to sleep.”

But on any other given day when we’re at home and it’s just the two of us these are some things I have around for her to dig into.

Oh did I mention she was off the computer and videos for a while too?

So this is what I came up with…

1. I made a craft box. I have tons of stuff I bought for homeschool and since if I let her have free reign she would use it all up in a day instead I pulled a few things together and have that for her. Have some pre-cut shapes for her to glue or sew together with yarn too. Items to include… feathers, beads, pompoms, tissue, card stock, glue, chenille wire, eyes, etc.
2. Make a grocery store with her animals. Since last year…earlier this year I made her a ton of felt food and she she already had the grocery cart the only thing left was the cash register. She came up with an ingenious register on her own.  We had a small desk organizer no longer in use. It has a small drawer. She filled it with spare change (where did she get that?) and off she went.
3. Dolly time. Mommy and daughter sewed up some doll clothes (got me more in touch with my serger) and now baby doll has a new lease on life.
4. I had a spare sticker book stuck away for moments such as this.

Well this is in addition to her other toys which for some reason have ceased to exist for her. Let me know please on what great at home activities you have for your young’uns.

This Giveaway has ended

The winner is #7 Karen Congratulations!

I love to bake and I tend to do a lot more baking during the holiday season. My reasons….

1. Butter is on sale
2. Baking warms up the kitchen and heats up the house
3. The great cookie recipes come out this time of year
4. My birthday is around the corner (not really sure that is a reason but I want you to celebrate with me yummmm…)
5. It’s great to share cookies with family and friends.

I also have great baking memories. We make it a holiday tradition to share treats of special recipes we’ve discovered through the year with extended church family as we ring in the New Year. I admit this year for me it’s various strains of popcorn BUT I digress…

With a little help from Betty Crocker, GladWare® and the Safeway Family of Stores, you can bake up a frenzy and share your goodies with friends and family. Whip up a plate full of cookies using a recipe from BakeSweetMemories.com and host a cookie exchange. What a great way to get together!

For great holiday recipe ideas, how-to videos, and tips for hosting your very own cookie exchange, visit BakeSweetMemories.com. While you’re there, be sure to play the new Sweet Memories game that gives you the chance to instantly win free Betty Crocker products!

And to help your baking I have a quickie giveaway.

Giveaway Details

One entry will win the “Happy Holiday Treats” prize pack that includes a package of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix, a GladWare sample pack and a $25 Safeway gift card (also valid at Dominick’s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, and Genuardi’s).

To enter…

1. Leave me a comment preferably with your favorite cookie and where I can find the recipe (cookbooks are permissible).

Extra Entries…

1. Tweet about this post

2. Blog about this post and trackback (makes me count less)

Pertinent Information

The winner will receive a prize pack that includes a package of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix, a GladWare sample pack and a $25 Safeway gift card (also valid at Dominick’s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, and Genuardi’s). This is courtesy of Safeway, Betty Crocker, and Glad through MyBlogSpark.

US only (no PO Box) Sweepstakes ends 12/24/10 at 11:59pm PST. Winner(s) will be notified by email and listed on the blog.

You will need to provide me with a mailing address so if you are uncomfortable with that please don’t enter.

In this season of giving this scripture keeps coming to my mind…

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. II Corinthians 9:7

We get all happy and jovial about giving this time of year but what about the rest of the year?

The needs don’t go away when the holidays change.

Long after the songs are sung, the presents are opened, the trees have been recycled and life has turned back to  ”normal” everyday put a moment of giving into your schedule. Whether it be daily, weekly, monthly or what have you give cheerfully and of your excess. You know what you have in excess. Whether it be time, talent or goods.

A while ago I picked up a Bible at an Estate sale and inside were these miniature cards that had lovely vintage graphics and a scripture printed on them. In the same manner I’ve made up a printable for you with the above scripture printed on it.

Enjoy~

If you’ve been looking for a good Menu Planning Software Shop’NCook 4 is here. Compatible with both Macintosh and Windows it’s the perfect supplement for your Menu Planning.

There are three versions depending upon your needs. In a nutshell here they are…

• Shop’NCook which will let you organize your recipes with nutritional analysis, and plan your grocery shopping list.
• Shop’NCook Menu which will let you organize your recipes with nutritional analysis, plan your menus, and pull together an organized shopping list
• Shop’NCook  Pro which will let you organize your recipes with nutritional analysis, plan your menus, pull together an organized shopping list AND do a cost analysis so you know what you are spending.

There is much more to each software program including the ability to add recipes VERY EASILY and send your shopping list to your phone or something which I haven’t quite mastered yet.

Find out more Shop’NCook Menu Planning Software

Just a note in case you were wondering. About 20 years ago our extended family moved from celebrating Christmas to celebrating the Birth of Christ and having a birthday celebration for Jesus outside the sphere of Christmas.

We have omitted the gift giving, the tree and decorations (much to the chagrin of some friends)and instead prepare and share in a dinner worthy of a King. Complete with cake and plenty of joyous song.

I could go on and on but really it’s a decision arrived at with prayer.

It’s as simple as that.

Interested? Here is some more information on Christians and Christmas

Should a Christian Celebrate Christmas

We have a family joke about Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

We like to a put an emphasis on the old part. This is because sometimes it can seem like you do everything you can to teach your child a certain way or to drive home a life point and they don’t seem to understand, or want to understand until they are much older.

I was thinking of this the other day as I had to bribe our dear daughter to clean up her mess. She is one of those children to whom everything is a treasure and she knows when you have tossed out that broken piece of something, that old dried playdough, or that scrap piece of paper with a red crayon mark on it.

And yes I’ve done all those great things with her since she was old enough to walk. Put toys away at the end of the day. Put something back before you get out something new. Chores list. Got her some really cute mini cleaning stuff from the Montessori catalog. Have her help me clean. She’ll do it and loves to do it but it doesn’t stop the mess making.

She really challenges me in the cleaning department and tests what skills I have in keeping a home clean.

But woah! Just yesterday she was upstairs in her little play room area (To get specific it is that great unused space at the top of the stairs that we use for play and homeschool.) and as I was coming up the stairs she commented that she was putting things away and cleaning up to make it neat.

I was shocked because this time she actually was putting things away. Not just dumping them on a flat surface or throwing them in her room. She was recycling paper scraps. She put pens and crayons back where they belonged. Her dolls and stuffed animals in their bins and her play food back in the kitchen.

I breathed “finally”.

It’s been a long road and it is definitely not over but now I see some light at the end of the tunnel.