Freezer Cooking...

There was a time when I did Once-a-Month Cooking…oh, that was about 4 or 5 children ago.  Now, it is much simpler to double or triple recipes and freeze what we don’t need for that night’s meal.  This is also how I do meals for ministering to a friend in need, a new momma, or “just because” it’s nice to give someone a break.  There is no more real effort or time involved to make one or two extra batches of a recipe and since I try to stay with meals that are casserole or one pot types for those occasions, the mess is not any more than if I prepare one meal.

Some short cuts I take to make meals in a crunch include:

Smoked chicken pulled of the bone and cut into bites...use some, freeze the rest for another quick meal night.

• Freezing extra cooked chicken {pulled off the bone and diced} or ground beef…this method makes it a snap to cook a fast meal like Chicken Alfredo, spaghetti or Sloppy Joes, since the meat is already cooked.
• Freezing extra veggies in a freezer container then adding to it over the course of weeks.  This makes for putting together a homemade pot pie or veggie casserole or soup quick and saves on waste, too.
• Freezing bananas that are a bit too ripe for eating and saving for a future banana nut bread baking day 

Tonight’s meal is a Chicken and Squash Pasta Bake.  It’s the first time I am trying this with a few tweaks to suite our family’s taste buds.  SIMPLE, good tasting and feeds a large family {or 2}.  Works for me!

My kitchen helper for dinner today...cutting squash and onion are a great helper's role. 

This is where I altered the recipe a bit.  Instead of stir frying the squash & onion (omitted the zuchinni since I didn't have any) and added them to the boiling pasta.  Drained them altogether and returned to pot.  Finished by adding the cream, butter, cheese and herbs and then baked.  Keeps the kitchen messes LESS.

YUMMY...fresh squash, herbs, smoked chicken and the cream make this a delish dish!

 Blessings ~

Linked to:

Visit for more freezer meal recipes at their link up here.

How Do We Manage ALL Those Clothes?

Living in a large family forces one to be organized in order to keep order and peace in the home. Being organized helps us to be better stewards of what the Lord has given us. Our home is not large by most standards, especially for the number of people living in it, however it really is big enough for us. With each child, a little more creativity is tapped into {thank you Lord} as we re-organize to accommodate another blessing. One key is regular assessment of what we really need and either storing, selling or giving away what we don’t. This keeps our living area free from clutter.  With creativty comes the implementation of it and I have lots of helping hands to take it to the next step of putting it into action...taking the vision and applying it by DOING.  I am so thankful for a handy husband and sons who are going to know how to be just as handy by helping and doing!

Handling Current Sizes/Seasons

As you can imagine, a family of 10 has a lot of shoes, clothing and basic essentials. An area I will address today is the topic of managing all the clothes. For handling ‘current’ clothes, each person has a section of their bedroom closet for hanging items and assigned drawers {either with a built-in drawer unit in their closet or via a good ole dresser} for their folded clothes. I love the built-in units as they keep the bedrooms more open with less furniture needed. To further keep things uniform and orderly, we all have an assigned hanger color which helps when doing laundry.

My husband added this unit purchased from IKEA to our closet before Carolyne was born to accommodate her clothing, towels & blankets.

Closet system purchased from the home improvement store allowing for double rods for hanging clothes and storage shelves for personal belongings, books, etc.  When we built our house in 1995, all the closet had the standard wire rack with clothing rod...just ONE long rack in each closet.  That was also SEVEN children ago...wow, what the Lord has done!.  Our closets have all had a makeover to accommodate our changing and growing home.  Mark and the boys have been instrumental in getting this done and taking the vision I had and making it a reality...thank you Lord.

The good ole fashioned dresser...each of the boys in this room get one side for the folded laundry items.  This was my husband's dresser and continues to serve our family well.

Then these closet drawer units and double rods were installed into our other sons' closet allowing room for folded and hanging clothes.  Each son has a hamper/basket for their dirty clothes {which they wash themselves} that is also kept inside the closet.  I like these units better than the wire ones used in other other sons' room.  You can go here to get more design ideas.

On the other side of their closet we chose to use adjustable track shelving and baskets instead of drawers. Thus system uses brackets which wood shelves are screwed to and the brackets can be adjusted according to desired heights.  We also made the shelves go the full width of the closet unlike the other side with drawers, maximizing space.  This allowed it to be more customed for storing his belongings as well as using the baskets for folded clothing.  He slips his laundry basket under the last shelf for dirty clothes.  They slipped another Closetmaid type of drawer unit under the rods for storing games and such.

Same system was installed in the girls' room with double rods and drawers.  Each girl has a rod for hanging clothes and then this series of drawers is Elizabeth's.

This is the full shot of the girls' closets/drawers.  The center drawer unit is for Alyssa.  The right closet is identical to the left {see previous photo} with another series of drawers belonging to Kailynn.  Three girls' worth of clothing and it IS doable.  ;-)

How Much Do We Keep of Current Clothing?

The amount of clothing each person has is determined by what can be managed and what they can afford. We purchase all the clothing needs for our home and usually give new items during the year for birthdays or special occasions. When our children are old enough to work regularly, then they become responsible for buying items they need/want. Just as with any budget, they learn and establish a budget at a young age with funds set aside for such purchases. We have found that this is another life lesson and skill they will need when they have families of their own AND we have also found that whenever funds earned are exchanged for products, there is ownership that takes place and this in turns makes better stewards. {There is a cost associated with their purchase…work in exchange for goods…also helps them think twice about spending.}



I will say we could do even better in this area by further assessing what is REALLY needed. Having less, makes managing easier. Less to wash, less to care for, less to store. I have read others who only keep 7 days worth of clothing and a special outfit for church or occasions. That makes things very simple…I’m just not there yet.

Storing Out-of-Season/Outgrown Clothing

From early on, I saved the clothes purchased/given to our children and stored all outgrown items for future use with younger children. I have chosen to use the sturdy colored storage bins and labeled them according to contents. The out of season and outgrown clothing are kept in these bins in the attic until something is needed. I try going through them each season as clothes are rotated in and out, purging what is no longer needed or too tattered to keep.

I prefer the Rubbermaid or Sterlite brand colored storage bins.  I use them for clothing, holiday decor, toys, etc. and try to color code them according to the theme {Red - Christmas, Blue or Green - boys, Purple or Pink - girls, Grey - shoes, Taupe or Orange - Thanksgiving/Autumn, etc.} and label them to make keeping things in the attic organized, too.

What to Do with Clothing When It’s Been Worn Out

Clothing that is too tattered or outgrown is sometimes repurposed, like this great idea from Quinn at Reformation Acres!  Another repurposing idea can be to take all those favorites and make a quilt ~ what a great way to remember those sweet baby/children's outfits!  If things begin to accumulate to a point of more than may be needed in the future for other children, clothes may be passed on to other families or donated. IF a need arises for new clothes to be purchased…I ALWAYS keep an eye on the clearance racks and think ahead of the current season to replace more worn items. You’d be surprised what GREAT deals can be found on the clearance racks for well-made clothing…far better sometimes than buying consignment, thrift or garage sales…and the items are NEW. We also try bless others as items are reassessed, as we have been blessed with ‘new-to-us’ clothes, too. All these options really help to stretch the dollar.

Another way to stretch the dollar is to make your own clothing and I know many a family who are training up skilled seamstresses. This is an area I am not proficient in, but do sew enough to get by and not nearly as much as I would like. All my children will at least know the basics {including the boys}.

Managing the Dirty Laundry

I have written a post about our laundry system here which you can read to see how we handle this area of managing clothing in a large family. I haven’t deviated too much from this method, as I find this is what works for our family. Training our children from about age 9 on to do their own laundry helps to keep things from backing up. Up until this point the younger ones help with sorting, folding, delivering to each room, transferring clothes into the dryer or pulling them out, etc. We believe this helps them to be contributors in our society not just consumers…

Look what Mom found BEHIND the laundry hamper...no, no, no.  Someone's got laundry to do.  So, even with all the above...systems are only as good if they are utlized.  :-)   Here's a glimpse of REAL LIFE...

I hope that reading about how we manage the clothing for our family will help you and provide a few ideas to make your life a little easier…



Blessings as you seek to serve Him, even when doing the laundry ~

Linked this week to:

Raising Olives is one of the Mom's hosting this topic...

Sandy's DIY linky...click here to see others

Food Storage for Large Families

This week I’m linking to 4 Moms: 35 Kids ~ How Moms of Many Manage and posting on the topic of food storage for large families.  See links at the bottom to their sites for more ideas on making the most of your food storage area, maybe get some storage ideas and money saving tips.

Create this bench to store food buckets

Why have a food "pantry"?
Living in a hurricane possible location, having food on hand and a plan for keeping our perishables from spoiling in a power outage is just sensible. Building a food pantry has cost benefits for our family, too. As most large families, feeding the crew can be expensive if you don’t plan and budget appropriately for it. For this reason and others, I try to buy based on the best unit price and for certain foods will buy based on the healthiest choice. With the savings over time having a food pantry provides, healthier purchases can be made on certain foods while staying within our overall weekly budget. Basically speaking then we have three reasons for having a food pantry: cost benefit, preparedness benefit and nutrition benefit. Every family who has a food pantry will reflect the needs and priorities of that family with amounts of what to have on hand, the types of foods selected to store and the space allotted for doing so factors to consider.

Example of a 3-day emergency supply 

How do we build our food "pantry"?

As a large family, saving money and stretching the ever-decreasing valued dollar is a weekly endeavor. Over time and as our food budget permits, I make purchases when items are on sale, using coupons when available, but mainly focusing on the bottom line…the best unit price. I will buy extras of those sale items {only purchasing the items we like and use} and store them in our food pantry. This method helps to build having extras on hand of the items we consistently use. When meal planning, I have attempted to keep our meals simple, drawing from recipes that use normal, everyday ingredients. Having a meal plan helps to save money and save food waste.

Where do we make purchases from to build our food "pantry"?

1. Buying in bulk {i.e. Sam’s Club, Costco Wholesale Club, etc.}

2. Purchasing through a food co-op {i.e. BreadBeckers, Montana Wheat Company, etc.}

3. taking advantage of buy one get one free offers

4. using store and manufacturer’s coupons or competitor ads being match by select retailers {Wal*Mart will match any valid competitors ad for the exact item, Publix will accept select competitors’ coupons and some stores double coupons…ask your local grocery or discount chain in your area to see what they will do}

5. purchasing meat from local farm for no hormones, no antibiotics, grain/grass fed purposes {i.e. beef and pork}

Other options could include: purchasing from local farmers or farmer’s markets for fresh/organic produce or even an organic produce co-op, growing your own fruits and vegetables or bartering with those who do, and discount food chains or outlets.

Where do we store these savings and how?

I have posted on storage ideas in the past here, but this week I will cover more specifically our food storage areas.

1. Meats ~ if bought in bulk from the grocery or wholesale club, then we will repackage it into freezer bags based on our families’ consumption and date the package, remove air and lay flat in our upright freezer {maximizing the space}

2. Can goods and boxed items ~ I keep opened and a base amount in our inside kitchen pantry…I’ll call this my working pantry and my surplus is kept in our garage storage area.

     a. First, my kitchen pantry storage:

          i. Items such as pasta, dry beans, baking supplies, snacks, dry cereals, etc. of which we would use on a frequent basis are kept inside and stored in glass jars like these or these {both made in the USA}, Tupperware storage containers like these, plastic storage bins, or food buckets.

          ii. When my base count gets low, I will refill that item into its storage container {i.e. Pastas are removed from their manufacturer packaging and put in the labeled storage container designated. Dry beans are emptied from their packaging and kept in glass jars. Snack items such as popcorn, animal crackers, snack bars, crackers, etc. are removed from their manufacturer boxes and stored in their designated containers. This allows my kitchen pantry to stay organized, gives me a visual on when my stock is getting low {since the containers are clear} and keeps food from spoiling, as their containers are air tight.

     b. Next, my garage storage area {you can read a little about it here}:

          i. I now have floor to ceiling adjustable wall shelving {thanks to my dear husband} for storing my extra can items, boxed items and room for my 5 gallon buckets underneath {these are the ones with air-tight gamma lids on them}

          ii. I have used the old storage shelf for putting wheat buckets, canning supplies and seasonal kitchen supplies on.

          iii. I have a couple wire rack shelves for storing bulk paper products, storage containers and baskets {for our ongoing organizing & re-organizing projects in our home}, hospitality items {i.e. drink containers, trays and divided platters, chargers, etc.} and bulk drinks {water bottles, flavored juices, etc.}

3. Perishables ~ Items I will stock up on such as milk, eggs, cheese, in-season fruits and veggies are kept in our kitchen refrigerator with extras kept in our garage refrigerator. This method allows me to take advantage of sales, thus saving money in the long run.

For our large family, doing items 1-6 above are beneficial for our pocket books as well as our health. Side benefits from having a food pantry include having food during slow economic times {aren’t we there now?}, for preparedness in response to natural disasters {hurricanes, flooding, power outages, etc.} when trips to the store may not be possible and even ministering to others who may be in need.

I draw from the Scriptures in providing for our family without becoming out-of-balance or extreme. Our faith and trust is in the Lord to provide therefore, our trust and hope is NOT in our food pantry or earthly possessions. Here are a few to verses to encourage you as well:

• A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame. Proverbs 10:4-5 {not to be one who would seek riches of this earth, but on the contrary, one who is willing to work so their future is secure}
•  She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:14-16, 18, 20-21, 25, 27 {to be a woman who is resourceful, is profitable in her undertakings, is giving, is aware of the needs of her own family and insures those needs are met, is a preparer and secure in the days ahead and works diligently for her family}
• Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 {the balance…not to be so consumed with a food storage pantry and its contents…or anything else for that matter, that it becomes the hope and source of faith and trust ~ not to replace the Lord who is over all}

Basically, my hope is to be the best “keeper of my home” as possible, drawing from the Lord’s word for how to do that, gleaning from others so that we can be good stewards of what He provides and trusting in Him to provide for all our needs as He sees fit to do.

May you seek His direction for ways to maximize what space He has given you and His wisdom to prepare as He leads you.

Blessings ~

Linked this week to:

Visit Kimberly, Connie, the Headmistress of the Common Room, & Kim C

How We Order our Days…Scheduling and Chores for a family of 10

Look carefully then how you walk, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Ephesians 5:15-17

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slave too much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Titus 2:3-5

FACT:
There are MANY books and resources out there to help with this topic. Just type in the keywords “homeschool scheduling” and over 400,000 sites come up. “Chore charts”…133,000,000! I have gleaned over the years from the wisdom of several families who have gone before us and applied what was doable for our family. Each year is a new season and adjustments have to be made.


FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
Every family has to do what works for them…some may have children in school outside the home, some may have active extra-curricular commitments, homeschooling one or many, some may have home businesses, or maybe the husband travels a lot. Whatever your season or specific circumstances you may find having a schedule {or as I like to look at it, a “guide” for what my best day may look like} and a chore chart {where everyone contributes to managing the home they live in} may be a helpful method for keeping things running smoothly.

BACKGROUND:
Each year, I reassess where we are and what the upcoming year may hold for us. This year some of the changes in store for our family are: the blessing of another child {any time now}, additional commuting for our eldest to college classes and the obvious changes of our economic times which affect our home-based business in the construction industry.

Time management {scheduling, menu planning, chore charts, organizing} is something close to my heart and a topic I desire to minister to other families on. I am far from an “expert” on the subject; however I desire to provide encouragement, equipping and edifying to other families as they enter different seasons which may help them be better keepers of their homes. I recently hosted a Homeschool Mom’s Fellowship Night themed “It’s About Time”. It was a desire to come together with other homeschooling moms to encourage, equip and edify as well as glean from others.

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE TODAY:
At the Mom’s Night Fellowship, on the topic of chore charts {the first thing I revised for this coming year}, I covered how we do things. I distributed an “Age Appropriate Chores” list compiled utilizing a couple sources {no need to re-create the wheel} and my additions/notes. I shared past chore charts I created for our family. Since I have been scheduling/chore chart making for many years now, I simply go into my Microsoft Word program and make annual adjustments based on what the season of our life is that year.

GETTING STARTED:
After gleaning from “Managers of Their Homes” by Steve and Teri Maxwell, I started by making a chore chart.

1. The first step was to list EVERYTHING that needed to be done in a week.

2. I then calculated how long it would take to complete each task and what was an appropriate age for each one as I would assign them later.

3. The next step for me was to then begin to break down those chores as they would be assigned to each member of our family. For us, I found having a time in the morning {after breakfast ~ “Morning Chores”} and a time in the afternoon {before dad came home from work ~ “Afternoon Chores”} would work for us.

     a. Prior to breakfast and prior to bed we did “morning” and “bedtime” routines respectively. Morning routine included waking up, reading Bible, getting shower (if applicable)/dressed for the day, and making bed. Bedtime routine included picking up bedroom floor (if needed), having teeth brushed, PJ’s on and prayer with Dad.

4. Then I broke down what needed to be done each day and whether it would be best done in the morning or afternoon. My chore chart was done for Monday – Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon was/is reserved for activities or special projects and Sunday is our day of worship/rest.

5. After the list of chore items were broken down by assigned person & day, I created a table on Microsoft Word. {I prefer creating tables to making spreadsheets myself, but either would work if you chose to use this method.}

     a. I listed the headings across the top for each column as follows: Name of assigned person, then each day of the week through Saturday.

     b. My rows would then have, in age order, the first column down the name of each family member beginning with me and working down to the toddlers {not Dad since he works daily and also handles the extra maintenance items around the home).

     c. I then began plugging in the assigned chore for the day. {Clarification: I created two charts…one for morning and one for afternoon}

     d. Finally, I colored each row a different color to provide ease in viewing the chart and at a glance see who was responsible for what.


WHAT WORKS FOR US:
I have chosen not to assign tasks by the room on different days…a method used in Large Family Logistics. My method is to assign tasks based on frequency. For example, the dishes need to be done daily, laundry needs to be done daily, we choose to central vac daily, a quick wipe down of the main bathroom needs to be done daily, etc. Other tasks like dusting, straightening school closets or book cabinets, straightening dresser drawers, etc. are broken down by location and assigned one day a week per person. Other tasks may need two days per week…for us chores like: glass & mirror cleaning, taking trash/recycling to the road, etc. I know for us, if we chose only to do each room one day per week, the rest of our home would be out of order all week. When there are many people living in a small space, daily room assignments seem to keep our home in better order and clean.

This year's chore charts, daily schedules, college classes, extra-curricular schedules, etc. ~ all kept in front to back order in clear sheet protectors on our refrigerator for quick viewing.  {See the "Organizing and Time Management:  Part 2 post listed below for details on our "Command Center" ~ the hub of knowing the order of our days.}

SAMPLES OF CURRENT/PAST CHORE CHARTS:
I know it has been helpful for me to “see” a finished product and is an encouragement for how to apply what will work for us by viewing samples of someone else’s labor. I hope that you will be able to see and glean from some of our chore charts over the years and create a chart that suites your family’s season of life. I am also including a copy of the Age Appropriate Chores list I distributed at the Mom’s Fellowship Night to give you ideas.

• AM PM Chore Chart for 2011 2012
• Smith Family Chore Chart (Morning & Afternoon) 2010-2011
• Daily Chore Chart 2009 2010

A WORD OF ADVICE:
Training is imperative in any task. BEFORE you put your plan into action, you should make sure that children have been taught “how to do” the task they are being assigned to do. If you do not train, but only expect a task to be done, then you are setting your children up for failure and yourself up for frustration. The initial investment you put into training a child to complete a task, will provide much reward for you and your child. To train, be sure you “show” your child how to do the task a couple of times, then shadow them with instruction as they do it and finally allow them to do it on their own with you following up to check on how they did. Provide positive affirmation on the things they have done well, BEFORE making a point of correction. We all need encouragement.

Helping with transferring laundry...

Assisting with bread making...

Cheerfully teaching a younger sibling how to vacuum...and excited to help

You might also want to post a step-by-step checklist inside a cabinet door or drawer for them to refer to each day/week. Pictures help younger children…just my 2 cents. Be sure that what you assign is checked daily and that you have consequences in place for not finishing a job or finishing one well. {Please don’t take consequence out of context or to an extreme.} If it is important enough for you to assign, it should be important enough for you to check and acknowledge. More than chores are being taught here…character is being built and important life skills are being learned to make each person {from the youngest to the oldest} know they are a valuable part/contributor to the family as a whole.

OTHER POSTS I HAVE WRITTEN I HOPE WILL ENCOURAGE YOU IN THE AREA OF TIME MANAGEMENT:

• Scheduling Over the Summer
• Organizing and Time Management:  Are You Ready?
• Organizing and Time Management:  Part II
• Prayer, Planning and Preparation:  Part 4
• Logs, Schedules, Charts & More
• Prayer, Planning and Preparations:  Part 3
• Prayer, Planning and Preparations:  Part 2
• Prayer, Planning and Preparations:  Part 1

IN CLOSING:
I would love to hear from you, as a veteran in chore charts or a mom just starting out. We all have much to learn from one another and your comments can be just what may help someone else. Do feel free to share what has worked for you. May the Lord bless your diligence to manage your home well and provide wisdom along the way.

Blessings in Him ~

This post is linked with Raising Olives: Managing Your Week ~ 4 Moms and Large Family Logistics.

If you have been encouraged and would like to keep up-to-date on future posts {family, homeschooling, menu planning, organizing, scheduling, etc.} won't you subscribe to follow via e-mail or join this site through Google Friend Connect under "Those Encouraged".  I'd love to visit you, too.

Whole Wheat Bread...

Today is the day to bake much over due homemade bread!  Family cheers, as it has been far too long since loaves of bread and rolls have been placed in our oven.

We have been grinding wheat and baking for many years now, although of late have been more faithful with muffin making than bread baking.  :-)

The recipe we have used and tweaked is from BreadBeckers red cookbook, whom we purchase our wheat and other co-op items from.  The Slightly Sweet But Very Simple Whole Wheat Bread recipe is what our family prefers with variations of seasonings added to suite our taste at the moment (sometimes adding dill weed or whole millet or dried onion or different crust toppings like oatmeal).

I do not run short on kitchen helpers and today Alyssa desired to assist (looking forward to the day she does it all on her own).

The recipe (taken from the BreadBeckers red cookbook 2005) and tweaked:

2 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup olive oil (mild)
1/2 cup honey
4 tsp. instant yeast
1 egg (optional)...today we did
7 cups freshly milled (hard white wheat) flour
2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. rice bran extract

Combine water, honey and oil...blend.  The next we do in stages:  add 3 cups of flour, mix/knead; add 4 tsp. yeast, mix/knead; add 2 cups of flour, mix/knead; add egg, mix/knead; add 2 tsp. salt, mix/knead; add 2 cups of flour, mix/knead; finally add rice bran extract, mix/knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes).  Cover and place in a warm area to allow to rise until double (about 45 minutes).  Shape into loaves and/or rolls.  Place into lightly sprayed stoneware (my preference) pans, cover and allow to rise again until double (about 30 minutes).  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes for loaves, slightly less for rolls or mini loaves.  Makes two 1 1/2 pound loaves.

There is nothing like having our home filled with the aroma of fresh baked bread!  May you find time and pleasure in your bread making endeavours, as well as the joy of training your children in the kitchen.

Blessings in Him (the Bread of Life) ~

I have linked up with 4 Moms Bread Making Link Up this week...check out what other women consider their favorite bread recipe.

Breakfast ~ at our home

So, what does breakfast look like in our house?  Each morning, for the most part, we gather around the table together.  Before each "school year" begins, I work on menu planning.  Our menu plans include:  breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner.  These are guides providing benefits like:  eliminating the famous "what's for ...?", saves time and money, is designed to make meals manageable on busier days of the week, includes input from the whole family based on their favorites which makes for happy children & husband.

My breakfast and afternoon snack menus (unlike our lunch and dinner) are a one week plan, which means every Monday we have "x", every Tuesday we have "y", etc.  This makes the start to our day easy and keeping breakfast items on hand simple.

Here's our breakfast menu (click here for my printed form):

~ Sunday: Homemade whole wheat pancakes (a large batch is made and the leftovers are frozen in a gallon sized Ziploc to be eaten on Tuesday)...some mini chocolate chip, some cranberry chocolate chip and the others are plain

~ Monday:  Scrambled eggs, fried seasoned hash browns, toasted bagels

~ Tuesday:  Leftover frozen pancakes

~ Wednesday:  Eggs, bacon or sausage and biscuits

~ Thursday:  Homemade whole wheat muffins (made on Wednesday night in three batches...millet, mini chocolate chip and either blueberry or apple cinnamon)

Millet and chocolate chip muffins cooling while more are baking

~ Friday:  Yogurt, fruit and homemade whole wheat coffee cake or homemade cinnamon rolls

~ Saturday:  French toast or waffles

Typically, breakfast preparations are done by our oldest sons or on the weekends my husband...no, I am not the breakfast maker (only on rare occasions ;-D ).  We try to incorporate all the children in the kitchen at some point or another, giving them basic cooking skills that will help them when they have their own homes someday. 

"Give a man a fish, feed him for a day...TEACH a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime."  This statement applies to so many areas of child training...basic life skills are an important part of our family ~ cooking, doing one's laundry, helping with household chores, etc.  Not only are the skills learned helpful to them for when they are on their own, it is always a means of teaching them responsibility, building character and allows them to contribute to the family.

The few mornings when our oldest leaves early for work or classes or when my husband has to leave early for work, have been planned as easy to prepare breakfasts.  For example, Tuesdays...one of the older children can easily help heat up pancakes for everyone in the microwave.  Those that are home, gather around the kitchen table and have a time of prayer and enjoy our simple breakfast together.

Other breakfast favorites include:

~ Ham n' Jam croissants (quick and EASY)
~ Brunch Egg bake (usually make for special occasions and for Christmas morning breakfast)
~ Breakfast tortillas (when I make homemade tortillas, sometimes we will use the leftover tortillas to wrap scrambled eggs, shredded cheese and sauteed veggies or sausage altogether...delicious)

The sign of a tortilla maker on our table is a happy day!

What does breakfast look like in your home?  Who handles the preparations and is it a time everyone is still home, able to sit and start the day together or do schedules dictate a more varied start to the day?  Are your children incorporated into the morning preparations and if so, what parts do they play?  Every home is different, with different needs, schedules and priorities...what have you found to work for breakfast time?  Any tips or no-fail recipes?  Your comments are welcomed and a blessing to be able to glean from.

Blessings ~

To see how other families do breakfast check out 4 Moms:  35 Children where they are hosting Breakfast themed.

Also linking to Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Cooking Thursday.

Storage Solutions ~ For Our Family

This week’s focus at 4 Moms, 35 Kids is Storage Solutions. What fun…in our house with so many various ages and needs at any given time, I am always seeking to maximize our home’s space.


The best storage solution is NOT to have more than you need so that you limit the NEED for storing. Now, with that said, we also must be wise and good stewards of we have…so the answer isn’t to give everything away either. For those of us still in child bearing years, keeping items we know we would use with subsequent children is a good idea…or regarding schooling, keeping items we know we will use with children up and coming in various grades is also a good idea.


How do we utilize storage tools? I have done a couple posts in the past about organizing which may provide you a better understanding of how our use of labeling and baskets, bins, and totes are great tools we use. Maybe, seeing how we improved our school closet or pantry will provide you a few more ideas on maximizing closet space to its fullest potential.

School closet (normally has mirrored by-pass doors on this closet) is our foyer closet conversion...shelves were added (years ago), bins/plastic baskets, magazine racks, paper racks, and plastic drawers are labeled to help organize our materials better.

Our most recent project is remodeling one of the girls’ closets to accommodate a drawer system in order for “Little Bit” to have some dresser space. The local home improvement store carries this line of closet systems we have used in all our bedroom closets to fit our needs. Fairly economical and they have held up in all the rooms so far…so…

Closet emptied and new unit being installed with 3 separate closet rods...

In the bedrooms, I have combined the different closet systems with bins, baskets, hooks and storage boxes to help keep our things orderly. Labels are added on the containers to help everyone know where to put things. Hangers are color assigned to each person to help with putting laundry away and to keep closets looking uniform (see another picture at the bottom of this post).

 All out of season clothing or clothing that is outgrown is stored in the large Rubbermaid totes in our attic. I also utilize these totes for storing seasonal decorations, toys that are brought down for rotation purposes, baby/infant items and homeschool portfolios (not kept in the attic). I use our Print Shop program to print picture/word labels for the fronts of the totes so they can be easily located when needed.


In the living areas, baskets are one of the methods to increase storage. Books are typically kept in them to allow easy access and easy clean up. Now, we have a lot of books, but for the little ones I like to keep most of their books in a basket. We all have books on bookshelves and night stands, as well. Homeschooling has a tendency to cause book collections to GROW. An ottoman doubles as storage for baby toys (see picture at the bottom of this post).

Children's books are easily accessed for reading time and quickly put away using the basket storage method (surplus books are kept in the book cabinet or book cases).

 My husband (last year) added windows, vinyl flooring, shelving and paneling to our screen room to allow added living space that could be used daily no matter what the season/weather. I moved all the toys (after purging took place) to the now Florida room and put them in clear plastic bins, baskets and plastic dish pans with colored labels that include a picture of the contents and the content name. This has helped greatly to keep bedrooms clean and orderly, as well as keeping messes confined. Clean up is something even little ones willing can do because of the labeled bins with pictures. Love our space…great for play, reading and keeping an eye on the children when they are outside playing!

Our well used and enjoyed Florida room...adjustable shelves mounted to the wall to hold all the toy bins and plastic baskets.

An example of the Print Shop label I made to help identify each bins' contents...this picture/word label works great for helping little ones with clean up time.

Other baskets have been incorporated throughout the house for storing scrapbooking items on my floating shelves above my desk area or a hanging basket above my husband’s stand to hold charger cords for cell phones (see end of post).

I love using these floating shelves to hold books, scrapbooking tools, and display some special keepsakes. 

 Finally, not so long ago my husband added sliding wire racks inside our kitchen cabinets which I love (not an agape kind of love…just the practicality of them)! They have saved on bending and lifting of a lot of my HEAVY cookware…cast iron pieces and stoneware pieces (see another picture at the end of this post). Not only have they saved my wrists from lifting out of awkward places inside the cabinets BUT these sliding racks have allowed my cookware/bakeware to be better organized so that I can easily access all of them…which means they can be used….which means happy tummies. I’d say that’s a win win situation.



Sliding wire racks mounted in our cabinets to make accessing heavy cast iron cookware easy!


 So in summary…my preferred storage tools are:

• Baskets
• Plastic bins and totes
• Shelving and drawer systems

Labels whenever possible really help to keep things organized…be it labels from our label maker or printed off of Print Shop. So what storage solutions work for you? Leave a comment (I love learning new tips…) or participate by linking your storage solution post here.


Always seeking to maximize space with storage solutions for our ever growing family ~



And another section with one single sliding wire rack and one double tiered sliding wire rack to hold stones and glass bakeware AND our KitchenAid...all quite HEAVY!



Hooks are another method to utilize wall space for storage...a hanging basket for phone chargers, keys and ceramic plaques to remind us of God's goodness.

Our ottomon serves as a storage area for baby toys...

Baskets to hold cloth diapers/burp cloths, travel crib bedding, etc.; girls are assigned "pink" hangers so all their hanging clothes are neat.