Christmas Card 2010

Living With Laundry

There are so many great blogs out there that I enjoy following. Last week, there was a post on MoneySavingMom.com about time management. Ugh...sounds impossible, right? Not really. The author is much like myself (mother of 3, wife, blogger, economist *don't laugh, I try*, Christian) except she does not have an outside of the home job. Now, I know staying at home is a very tough job, but at times I feel like I would be able to keep my house tidier if I were there all day. It's my sanity that would be cluttered. *chuckles* She has some great ideas concerning time management, organization, managing home life, and thrifty shopping...my kind of gal.

Anyway, one of the listed items on the post to help with staying organized and caught up around the house was to always do one load of laundry from start to finish each day. Hmm? Sounds pretty easy. *shrugging shoulders* I decided to try this. Robert laughed at me when I told him of my plan. You see, usually we have no problem washing clothes, it's just getting them folded and put away that's the problem. Don't pretend like you don't know the scenario...tons of clean clothes piled on the folding table...throwing what you want to wear for the day in the dryer after spritzing a bit of water on the wrinkles. Oh yeah, you know you've done it...admit it! My flaw...finishing the task.

There are 4 steps to doing a load of laundry.
1)Putting laundry in the washer
2)Putting laundry in the dryer
3)Folding the laundry
4)Putting folded laundry away
Seems simple enough, right? WRONG! I get caught up in something else and that's it...I never return to finish the job.

Not anymore! I have started my new plan and it is working brilliantly! I figured out that what I was doing before was trying to do so many loads at a time that I got overwhelmed. The key is to getting yourself caught up (yes, this will involve an entire weekend of dedication to doing all 4 steps with every load of laundry). Once you are caught up, do just one load a day from start to finish. Yep, you have to complete 100% of the steps for this to really work. I can say that our laundry hampers look quite slim these days thanks to the new system. I'm alot less worried about laundry, and we no longer have to wait around the house half naked waiting for our clothes to dewrinkle! *laughing at myself and what you might be picturing*

Join me in the fight against loathing laundry. Leave a comment as your "contract" to yourself to stay caught up and post whenever you can about your experiences working the plan. Trust me, this will work for you. Happy laundering!

Pizza Pasta

One of my favorite OAMC (once a month cooking) recipes is pizza pasta. It is so easy, not to mention cheap, to make. Very few ingredients are needed to throw together a healthy and hearty meal sure to please the entire family. Hey, if I can get my 3 year old and 2 year old to eat it, anyone will! I've asked some of my adorable family members to help me out for this tutorial...here we go!



You will first need to gather your ingredients. Here, I've pictured everything you will need to make 4 pizza pastas (if using 8x8 pans, which I do for my family). Please note that you will actually need 4 cans of sauce...one decided to lag behind during the photo op. *oops* Isn't that the cutest 3 year old toe head you ever saw?!

M'kay. Start off by browning your hamburger. This is a little over 1 pound of meat. The great thing about this dish is that you can increase, add, or omit any ingredients you don't care for...just like pizza. Gotta love it! While you are browning your meat, in a large pot, boil enough water to cook 12 cups of rotini. The pasta is cooked al dente (to the tooth) in about 10 minutes.

While your hamburger is browning and pasta is cooking, open all cans (drain any juices) and prepare your "toppings". If you get a darling daughter and hunky husband to do this step for you, your meal will taste that much better! *winks* Cut your pepperoni into bite size pieces...we buy a package of pepperoni slices, so they get cut in half. I leave my mushrooms as they are in the can...the front of the can reads "mushroom stems and pieces". My aunt gave Robert and I a handy dandy chopper from Pampered Chef as a wedding gift...it gets used to chop the olives into bits.



Drain your pasta in the sink and let it sit while you move on. Now that your hamburger is browned, it's time to dump the sauce and all your "toppings" into the empty pot (your pasta is draining in the sink at this point). Ooh, look...already it's looking delicious.

Stir everything together and then start adding your pasta back in. At this point, I had to ask Lillie to let me do the work...the pot couldn't even hold all the pasta. Hopefully you have a larger pot than I do. *shrugs and rolls eyes* I have to mix in what I can and transfer some into a large bowl with the remaining rotini and stir...this happens a couple of times until it's all mixed together (I know, get a bigger pot already...that would be too simple). You can see what happened to the camera when I took over. *smiling* Lillie told me it was time for her to take pictures for the "blob"! So proud...a Martha, Betty, and Rachel in training.



Once everything is all mixed together, it's time to dish up your servings. Tonight we planned to eat the pasta, so I dished out a meal into an 8x8 pan and stuck it into my preheated oven (350 degrees). The rest is in this HUGE bowl and will be rationed into freezer bags that I've labeled with the contents and date...



As you can see, I sqeezed out all the air in the bags, sealed them, and then flattened them out. Yep, that's three whole meals stacked on top of each other. Once you pop these in the freezer and they freeze, you can store them upright (think bookshelf style) to save space! It always feels good to know that there are some "go to" meals in the freezer for busy nights when there just isn't enough time to put a meal on the table. When you practice OAMC, you do have time to offer a home cooked meal! *getting off soapbox to continue with my tutorial*

You cook the pasta in the oven until it is heated through. I usually stir every 10 minutes to ensure the pasta doesn't dry out. The dish will start to bubble when it's almost done...that means it's time to sprinkle on some mozzarella cheese. Pop the pasta back in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese. That's it! You're done! I like to sprinkle a bit of red pepper flakes on mine once it's plated. I never put it in the dish prior to cooking since we have youngins', but if you don't have to worry about giving anyone heartburn...go ahead...put it in there! Time for dinner! Enjoy!

Ingredients (4 8x8 dish meals)
12 cups uncooked rotini
1 pound hamburger
4 large cans spaghetti sauce
1 can mushrooms
1 can olives
1 package pepperoni
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Preparation
Boil water in large pot. Cook rotini for 10 minutes. Brown hamburger in skillet. Drain pasta and let sit while putting sauce and toppings into empty pasta pot. Stir toppings together. Add pasta. Bake in a 350 degree oven until heated through and starting to bubble. Add cheese and place back into heated oven until melted.



Directions For Using Frozen Meal

Thaw in refrigerator overnight or place in microwave to defrost on low setting until pasta will remove from freezer bag. The colder the pasta is when placed in the oven, the longer it will take to heat through. Keep stirring every 10 minutes until done and ready for cheese.

He's Made His List

...and he checked it twice! All 3 of my girls made it on St. Nick's "nice" list! What a proud Mama I am that Lillie, Claira, and Audrey received letters from Santa. *winks* Every year, thus far, he has written a special letter and sent it all the way from the North Pole. It must be a lot of work on his part *winks again* to write each and every boy and girl that make his "nice" list and put it in the mail for our trusty postal service to deliver. Checking the mailbox each day after Thanksgiving, in anticipation of her own delivery, is one of Lillie's highlights of the Christmas season. She was so excited Friday when the only thing received (as I was equally excited not to be getting bills or junk mail!) were 3 letters all the way from the North Pole!

Welcome Winter

One of my favorite times of the day is when I get to put my little Audrey to sleep at night. We both snuggle into Mama's bed and Audrey enjoys her last bit of nursing for the day as she drifts off to sleep. Usually, I join her by crashing into lala land myself. Last night, as usual, I fell asleep too early...hadn't picked up the house, dishes still undone, face unwashed...you get the idea. Around midnight I woke up realizing I still had work to do. I entered the kitchen only to be surprised that the small flakes of blazing snow had actually started to accumulate outside! It's officially the first snow of the season. For me, it is winter when the snow begins to fall. Here are some pics I snapped from my phone (this is the reason for poor clarity). I love how the snow settled into the crevices on our swing...it really pops the "Mannering"!

            

Sitting Pretty

I guess it has to happen...my baby has to grow up. I'm learning to be acceptant of her reaching milestones that I'll never experience with another baby. This saddens me, but I am excited that Audrey is learning and growing at an excellent pace. My little Audrey has started sitting pretty. Way to go baby girl!

Hey Good Lookin...

Whatcha' Got Cookin'? Well, tonight the Martha, Betty, and Rachel *hopes you get the associations* burst from my pores as I slaved in the kitchen from 3:30 to, well, now...9:07! The weather is cold and that means a hot pot of homemade chicken and dumplings in my household. Yes, I make it all from scratch! *beaming with pride* Just check this out...

It didn't stop there. Oh no, sir. What's better than chicken and dumplings on a cold night?

That's right...homemade cinnamon rolls! I haven't made these in ages, and I tried a new recipe. Let's just say if you love Cinnabon, I've mastered them!

Oh yes, that's rich cream cheese icing...again, homemade (surely you are drooling on your keyboard by now, right?)

YUM! Look...even baby Audrey has her tongue sticking out ready to inhale that large lump of deliciousness (not to mention sugar, carbs, and fat...but who's worried 'bout that?)



A Visit to Santa

Today we ventured out into the brisk winter weather to visit the season's favorite fella...Santa Claus! I can't believe two things...1) Claira didn't cry a bit. In fact, she was quite eager to get up and sit on the fat man's lap! 2) I managed to capture a picture with all three girls looking at the camera, looking happy,

and Santa not looking like he's about to drop the whole gang!

8 Years

I had a bit of free time after delivering quilts today, so I thought I would start our anniversary celebration off right by leaving a message on my dear Robert's truck. I amuse myself frequently at the things I come up with...8 years and we still do childish things to eachothers property *grins*