Establishing a routine

I feel like my kids behave better and are all together happier when they are given direction and know what to expect. Lately I have been trying to find the best daily routine that will help things go as smoothly as possible. Without a routine things can get awfully chaotic around here! And with the time change and with days getting shorter, we spend most late afternoons and nights indoors so have had to make some adjustments. After trying some different things (what to do right when the kids wake up, when to end play time, when to cook dinner, what to have the kids do right after dinner, right before bed, etc), I have finally found a routine that works best for us. For now at least! It seems like whenever I feel like I have things down something happens and my world is turned upside down again... like what we'll be bringing home 4 months from now :)

Here's what our daily routine looks like:

* Read books to whoever wakes up first until another little body joins us
* Breakfast
* Clean up breakfast while the kids play
* Get dressed, make bed
* At this point, up until dinner, our days vary a lot and are very flexible. Sometimes we'll meet up with friends for a playgroup, go to the library, go to the grocery store, play in the basement while I exercise or work on some project, go to the park (although our park days are almost over... sad!), color, play with playdough... whatever we need or want to do
* John goes to school from 11:45-3:30. Joe takes a nap and I get some one on one time with Dan... reading books, doing puzzles, making preparations for dinner, baking cookies or bread... I quite enjoy this time of day!
*Dinner around 5:30 or 6. I've been trying to do all the prep work and cleanup earlier in the afternoon so that all I have to do for dinner is put something in the oven or open the crockpot. This has helped a TON. The kids are usually a little tired and always hungry right before dinner and demand a lot of my attention. Being prepared for dinner is probably the thing that has helped the most with things running smoothly at night. Especially since I'm usually on my own (Pete hasn't been getting home until 7 or 8... thus the need for a good routine!)
*After the kids bring their dishes to the sink they head down to the basement or wherever they've been playing all day to clean up while I clean up dinner. This is also another part of our routine that has worked GREAT. We usually make it a race, and the kids have become mighty fast!
* Pajamas
* Brush teeth
* Read books (John has to read 20 minutes each day for school)
* Read scriptures
* Say prayers
* To bed! Phew! If I can get the kids to bed by 8 I consider it a success. That leaves 2 hours or so for me and Pete. Then it's off to bed for me and time to do it all over again!

What things do you have in your routine to help things run smoother?

Family artwork

Over General Conference weekend, Pete, the kids and I worked on creating some art to put in the kids' bathroom. I found these frames at a garage sale for $1 each, then painted them red with some leftover paint from another project. I saw some similar artwork at a children's hospital and used that as the inspiration. Pete drew the smaller one for Dan to color, and I drew the bigger one for John. But half way through coloring, the kids decided they wanted to work together so they could finish faster (I don't think they understood that that wouldn't save any time in the end... oh well). I love how they turned out! The kids LOVE to color, so this was the perfect project to keep them somewhat busy so we could listen to Conference. And now their bathroom displays some very cheap (yet priceless!) artwork.

Tutorial: toddler trick-or-treat bags

A couple years ago I made some trick-or-treat bags for my kids that were basically two pieces of material sewn together with a handle on each side. But I quickly realized that these bags weren't going to work very well: they dragged on the floor when the kids were holding them down by their side, and my youngest wasn't coordinated enough to open the bag with both handles to put the candy in. So this year I got a little smarter and made (what I think is) the perfect trick-or-treat bag for young hands! They have one handle, a nice big opening that stays open so the candy can be easily dropped in, and they're short enough that they don't drag when held down to your side. AND they still have plenty of room to fill up with candy. The perfect bag!


Read on for the tutorial...

Homemaking for the modern mama

My friend Nicole from The Sleepy Time Gal recently posted some thoughts and ideas for her series "Homemaking for the modern mama." She has some GREAT ideas that I can't wait to try! She also has a growing list of links to other peoples blogs that have to do with all things homemaking. So if you want to get ideas on how to save money, organize your home, how to get your kids involved in the housework, live more green, etc. then check it out!

Here are a few posts from the series that I can't wait to dry:

Homemade laundry detergent:


Homemade wool dryer balls:


Creating a cleaning station:

Making photos look professional

Do you ever take a picture and wish it could look more professional? My sister recently told me about Photoshop actions you can download from The Pioneer Woman and I had to share it. It's amazing! You can download actions right into Photoshop that can give your photo a different look with one click of your mouse. The actions can be downloaded for Photoshop or Photoshop elements (so you do have to have one of those programs... sorry). But it downloads right into Photoshop... I literally had to click my mouse twice, and wahlah! There they all were, waiting for me to give them a try on my favorite photos. I've been having way too much fun with them.

Here are a few of my favorites:

First, here's my original photo:


Fresh & Colorful:


PW's B & W:


Seventies:


Old West:


Colorized:


Give it a try!

DIY: Twig Spider Web

A couple weeks ago I made this spider web out of sticks the kids and I found on a hike. I got the idea from Pottery Barn who has one for $129! I guess there's has lights on it, but still. I didn't spend a single penny on mine. To make it, I first cut the sticks to the right lengths and laid them on the ground how I wanted them. Starting with the sticks on the outside edges, I hot glued them together then wrapped wire around each intersection. Then worked my way in, finishing with the very center where all 7 sticks come together. I was thinking this would be something I would use for one year then throw away when Halloween is over, but I might just hang onto it!

Favorite after-school snacks

I am always on the search for healthy snacks for the kids and have recently found some great ones that I wanted to share. We usually have a snack in the late afternoon when John gets home from school, and I try to have the snack be one that is satisfying but not too filling so they'll be hungry for dinner. Here are a few of my favorites:

Homemade Kettle Corn


Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Start with 3 kernels of corn in the oil, and when they pop add the rest of the kernels and sugar. Give everything a quick stir and then cover with lid. Once popcorn starts popping, pick it up and give it a quick shake every few seconds until popcorn slows down. Remove immediately from heat and pour in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and serve! This ended up being enough popcorn to feed our little family of 5 during a movie night. No one could stop until it was gone!

Apples With Homemade Caramel Dip


We recently went apple picking and came home with enough apples to last the winter! Seriously. I was wanting to try them with something new and found a recipe for this homemade caramel dip. It made a TON, we still have a big bowl full in our fridge. But the best part is that leftover carmel tastes almost as good as it does when first made, you simply pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds or so. The caramel isn't super healthy, but you eat it with apples right? :)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 can (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk

Directions:
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the remaining ingredients, raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly (will take 5-10 minutes). Lower heat to medium and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, let cool and serve with apple slices.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus


Ingredients:
1 can (15-oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic
1/3-1/2 cup chopped roasted red bell pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Tahini
juice of half of a lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon cumin

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. If additional liquid is needed, you may add a tablespoon or two of water. Serve with crackers, cherry tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, or whatever you have on hand. Healthy? Very!

What are your favorite snacks?