Baking Blunders

On Saturday I devoted my whole day to Christmas baking. After spending two hours at choir practice, I came home and got to work. I wanted to try two new recipes this year but I was confident they would work out fine. The first one I started was a recipe of Martha Stewart's that she makes for her own family every year-- Noel Nut Balls. Sound yummy right? I followed the recipe exactly and things were going along great. However, when I got to the part that said "form dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for three hours", I ran into some problems.

The dough was so crumbly it was extremely difficult to get into a ball. It stuck way more to my hands than it did to itself! Finally, after much effort, I got it to mostly stick together. After its three hours in the refrigerator, I was supposed to take the dough out and roll it into balls to prepare it for baking. There was just one problem... the dough was literally as hard as a rock! I couldn't even press my thumb into it at all! I finally ended up putting the whole ball of dough, bowl and all, into the preheated oven to soften it a bit. It worked and I was able to bake them, and roll them in sugar.

Here's the final result. And after all that?? I found them to be not very tasty. They tasted like a ball of crunchy butter with sugar on top. Martha Stewart, where did I go wrong?

The other new recipe I tried was called St. Nick's Dove Sticks. I saw the recipe on the back of the holiday peanut M&M's bag and thought they looked so yummy and easy. First, I had to made a graham cracker crust with peanut butter and margarine. I was to press it into the pan. Slight problem though-- the crust was so sticky it would not press! It did get all over my hands though. I finally got it down using a rubber scraper and proceeded to melt the hundred Dove chocolates (okay, okay, so maybe it wasn't that many but after unwrapping them all it seemed like it!) and pour them over the crust. That part went smoothly and I felt my confidence returning! Finally, I placed M&M's on top of the chocolate and refrigerated it to let it set.

Now, the picture on the back of the bag shows the sticks in perfect little rectangles. However, when I tried to cut them this is what happened:

They were not cooperative. The crust was still very sticky, the chocolate broke into pieces, and everything fell apart, including me! I was so tired after working on these things (plus chocolate covered pretzels) and so bummed that they didn't turn out the way I expected them to.

I was feeling a little teary and so my husband came over, wrapped his arms around me, and said, "Don't worry. We get a lot of Christmas goodies from people that look yucky but they always end up tasting good." Hmmm, thanks?

Next year I am going back to my old stand-bys: Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies, Rachael Ray's Five Minute Fudge, and Chocolate Covered Pretzels. I'm good at those ones and they always look pretty too. And if you were one of the people who were so unfortunate as to get my goodies this year, I'm sorry. Try the Dove sticks though. They may not look pretty but they taste like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. :)

Just Fake It

A few years ago I went to my mom's employee Christmas party with her. We happened to be in town so my husband and I offered to accompany her as my dad was working. Or maybe he was there and we just went too? Hmm, I'm finding my memory is a bit fuzzy on the details because now I am picturing my little brother there as well and possibly my daughter. Anyhow, I do have a point I promise!

The hostess had the most beautiful tree I have ever seen. It was about twelve feet tall (was a real tree) and ornately decorated to perfection. The presents under the tree were perfectly wrapped too. Each one in it's own square box with sparkly paper and elaborate bows. The gifts all coordinated with the tree in classical harmony. It was so pretty. As I gazed upon the tree through the night, I realized how shabby my presents really did look under my own tree.

I became conscious of the fact that the gifts under my tree were mismatched in cheap paper with ugly shiny bows. We had recently gotten a new Christmas tree and I wanted my presents to not only match my tree but go along with the theme of the room as well.

I decided to start wrapping gifts in kraft paper with a country Christmas theme. The ornaments on my tree are all handcrafted for the most part so I knew kraft paper was the way to go. Plus I love how thick it is which makes wrapping easier for someone like me who is wrapping-impaired. :) I also desired to adorn my presents with fabric bows too but I knew that would be time consuming and expensive.

So this is what I do instead. I just fake it! I put my prettiest presents at the front of the tree. Then I use cheap plastic bows on the ones that go under and at the back of the tree. This way I have the illusion of having all these fancy gifts but without all the work.

It works for me and although my tree will never look like the one I saw at the party, it is now much more me and I like it that way. :)

Christmas Crafting Just for Me

 Last week I took some time off from house upkeep and took some time for myself. I've always loved hand-crafting things but admittedly, the more kids I've had, the more I've set my own interests aside to concentrate on motherhood. I know, however, that I'll be a better mommy if I take time to cultivate my own talents too. So I did!

 First, I created these cute winter snowmen scenes. I love snowmen and most of my Christmas decorations consist of them. These snowmen were so easy too! I have a large collection of scrapbook paper that I don't use often. I tend to be somewhat of a paper hoarder. :) Anyway, I've had some mulberry paper for probably ten years and have never used them because I didn't what to use them for. I discovered, however, that they work well for landscape pictures. I used two different kinds for the snow in my scenes, another for the angel wings and one more for the pine garland too.

I didn't have any white design paper so I made my own by taking plain white card stock and rubber stamping small snowflakes in light tan all over it. The result was rustic-looking paper perfect for country snowmen. Self-adhering buttons and various patterned papers complete my cute snow guys. The words are 3-D scrapbook stickers my mom got me last year for Christmas.

I re-purposed some old wooden frames by first painting them with a shiny bronze paint. Then I applied a crackle medium and let it dry. Finally, I painted a top coat of Rockwood Red paint over the top. I love how they turned out!

And we can't forget this snowman can we? I love wooden crafts. Someday, I hope to have my own saw that cuts out wooden shapes so I can create whatever I want. I bought this guy at Hobby Lobby for a whopping 3 bucks! A little craft paint, some sparkle glaze, and lots of love later and he's all done!

Now I have three cute new Christmas decorations, four happier kids, and one happier me!

Making Christmas Memories

I have always loved Christmas. My mom, in my opinion, did a great job making the whole month special for her kids and it is something I have striven to do as well for my own family. As I was reflecting upon what made that time of year special it was never anything to do with presents. All of my most favorite memories revolve around family togetherness.

I loved loading up in the car to drive to the Kaibab to find the perfect tree. It was always so much fun to get to play in the snow and eat a snowy picnic together. My mom, no matter how busy she was, always made time to make her grandmother's old-fashioned butter cookies for us to decorate and then we would deliver plates of them to our neighbors. When we were teenagers we added reading the Forgotten Carols to our list of traditions. It was something I looked forward to all month.

One year, when I was in elementary school still, I remember coming upstairs to find my parents sitting in the living room cutting out snowflakes. I discovered that my dad has a hidden talent for making beautiful and unique snowflakes. I secretly went down to my room and tried to make my own, but sadly, they fell short, but I vowed that someday I would develop a talent for making beautiful snowflakes just like my dad. It took a lot of years to perfect my snowflakes but I have learned to make creative and pretty snowflakes just like him. I have received many compliments on the snowflakes I create to hang in the windows.

As I said before, I have tried to make Christmases memorable for my kids too. A few years ago I was feeling extremely crafty and created a Christmas Memory Advent calendar for my family. The goal was to create something that we could incorporate all of our favorite things to do at Christmas time and create family togetherness and memories at the same time.

The calendar itself was quite simple to make. All it is is a large piece of felt on which I sewed a felt Christmas tree to and three rows of felt sewn into pockets for the traditions. The ornaments on the tree are decorative buttons I found at Michael's. They are hung on the tree by hooks made of floral wire which I hot glued to the tree. The title letters are simple foam letters and the snowmen on the sides are pieces of scrap ribbon. Each day the kids reach into a pocket and pull out an ornament to hang on the tree and a tradition to do.

As far as the memories go, I wrote down things we do every year like attending the Ward Christmas Party, looking at Christmas lights and decorating Christmas cookies. I also included lots of family activities such as going on winter walks, watching Christmas movies, and doing good deeds for each other. My kids love it and look forward to seeing what the calendar is going to say everyday.

The Christmas season is not meant to just be endured. It is not meant as a time to get and give presents or attend parties and fill every moment with activities. It is a time to remember the true meaning, the birth of our Savior. For without him, none of us would ever have the chance to return to our Father in Heaven. Our families are so important to this plan. I hope we can all make the time, just as my mom did, to make wonderful Christmas memories and make it a time of year that will be remembered for years to come.

Chill Out on your Carpet

The other night Nathan and I were relaxing in the living room. We had endured a hectic weekend and needed some time to just sit quietly and de-stress. After a little while we decided we needed to rearrange the furniture. Did you know that rearranging furniture is a proven stress-reliever? I don't know why exactly. Maybe it's the exertion of pushing around heavy furniture or it's symbolic to rearranging things in your life to a more harmonious way. Who knows, but it always works for me!

Anyway, after we had moved everything around and were satisfied with the results we were left with unsightly indentations in the carpet where the couch and chair had once been. I remembered reading recently in an Ask Heloise column in Good Housekeeping Magazine that if you place ice cubes in the divots and let them melt it will cause the carpet to spring back up. Well, I tried it and sure enough by morning I could barely see them! After vacuuming, I couldn't see them at all. It worked great and that's definitely a little trick I'll use again and again. :)

Christmas in a Bin

One bin for each kid!

Yes, I know my last post was also about Christmas. It's because I'm trying to tell you something... Get your Christmas shopping done early so you can enjoy the Holidays!

My husband, Nathan, is my perfect match. He and I complicate each other in every way. Where I am weak he is strong and vice versa. We also share many of the same traits. One of them is list making. We both love to make lists and plan ahead!

Nathan and I start planning Christmas in September. We start by making a running list of all the presents we want to buy, complete with estimated prices. As we think of more things we add them to list or subtract them as we learn more about what our kids and each other really want for Christmas. Then we get to work collecting the gifts. Most of our shopping is done online which is much less hectic and much more convenient.

Each of our children have a bin in the garage numbered with their corresponding birth number. As the gifts arrive, they go in the bin to await wrapping time. My mom used to hide our presents in her closet and there were a few times that things got lost in there only to be found years later. Hmm, there's probably still some lost in there!

Thanksgiving weekend, the tree goes up and the presents get wrapped. They're all bought by then so why not? Nathan helps me wrap and we get through them in about a week. Then we have the whole month of December to enjoy the Christmas season. No last minute chaos at our house. See how much Christmas shopping you can get done this month. The less stress the better!

Christmas Shopping Online

The older my kids get the harder it is to buy Christmas presents for them secretively. We used to be able to throw things in the cart unnoticed but now they notice every tiny thing I put in there! In order to keep the magic of Santa alive it has become increasingly necessary to come up with other methods to get my shopping done.

Two years ago I did all of my Santa Claus shopping online. I always like to get my shopping done early and since we had an impending move at Thanksgiving and I had a husband who moved right after Halloween, it was also my only choice as I knew we would be homeless for the next month.. If you are interested in doing your shopping online here is how I went about it. This method will also work for normal Christmas shopping as well.

First: Make a list of all the items you wish to purchase for each child. If you are on a budget, include that in your list as well.

Second: Decide which stores you will be shopping at and stick to those stores only. If you let yourself get sidetracked by every online store that carries your toy it'll quickly become overwhelming. The stores I used were: Target, Wal-Mart, ToysRUs, KB Toys, Kmart, and Amazon.

Third: Now comes the tedious part! When you can find time, visit each of the sites, find the toys your are looking for, and record their prices. If you are fluent in Excel this could easily be turned into a spread sheet. If you are Excel-illiterate like me then just stick to a Word document.

Fourth: Take notice of which stores offer free shipping or other deals and shop accordingly. Amazon has free shipping on orders over $25 but you have to purchase items directly from them or through a vendor that participates in their shipping policies.

Here's an Example of what your list could look like:

Aftyn:
My Little Pony RC Scootaloo on the Go!
Wal-Mart: $19.97
Toys R Us: $20.99
Amazon: $19.99
KB Toys: $27.99


Fur Real Friends
Wal-Mart: $12.97 (Pig)
Toys R Us: $13.99 (Panda)
Amazon: $13.95 (Honey Bear)
Kmart: $14.99 (Dalmatian)
KB Toys: 14.99 (Dalmatian)

Things I learned:

• Wal-Mart always had the lowest price on toys HOWEVER they rarely had exactly what I was looking for. Kmart was the same way. On a good note Wal-Mart offers free shipping to their stores on many of their items. All you have to do is go and pick up your stuff.
• I figured that ToysRUs would always be the most expensive but I was pleasantly surprised by how close they were to Wal-Mart.
• KB Toys was consistently the most expensive EXCEPT for they had the exact push car I wanted to buy for Gavin for about 15 dollars cheaper than anyone else so you just never know!
• Although Target seemed liked a great place to look for toys it was very disappointing in its selection and I ended up elliminating them from my list.

So which store did I end up buying the majority of my presents from? Amazon. Even though they weren't the cheapest venue they do offer free shipping. After calculating all of the shipping costs into my purchases Amazon was the cheapest route by enough to convince me. Happy shopping!

Love Your Linen Closet

Here's what my linen closet looked like before-piles of barely folded sheets, mismatched, and unorganized.

 I am fortunate enough to have oodles of storage in my house. Whoever built it must've had something in common with me because I love to have a place for everything. I have two linen closets (actually three if you count the tiny one tucked in my girls' bathroom) which enables me to have one closet just for towels and one just for bedding.

The bedding closet has proven to be a big pain for me. I've never been able to keep it looking neat and it's been a big trial to keep everything from getting mixed up. This is mainly due to a certain husband (who shall remain nameless) who just grabs random sheets in the middle of the night if one of the kids has an accident. I LOVE that he is willing to help me out in the middle of the night but didn't like that everything was getting mixed up, or that the kids would end up with queen-sized sheets on their bed which I'd have to go back and replace and end up having to wash yet another sheet set. It just wasn't working for me so... I decided to change it!

Ahhh, so much better!

I found these super cute Martha Stewart fabric drawers at Home Depot in the organization section. They cost me $7 each which I didn't think was too bad. I then got to work.

1. First, I went through all the sheet sets I had and got rid of the ones that I didn't need.
2. Then, I separated them by person.
3. I kept only three sets of sheets for my kids (two cotton sets and one flannel). Nathan and I have two cotton and two flannel sets.
4. I placed each person's sheets in their drawer and labeled it with their name.
5. I also reserved one drawer for throws and one for guest sheets.
6. I folded all of the extra kid quilts and put them on a shelf.
7. Finally, I folded all of the guest quilts and put them on the floor of the closet since they are bigger.

The end result is so nice! Not only does it look great but now Nathan, oops, I mean that person who shall remain nameless, and I can find exactly what we need in the middle of the night.

If you don't have as much space to do this as I do, no worries. Clear out some space in each person's closet and put their sheet drawer there instead. The drawers are relatively compact so you don't need much space at all! Have at it!

Winterize Bedrooms

I don't know about where you live but here at my house fall seems to have finally arrived. The air is crisp and chilly now and the nights have gotten cool enough that our furnace has kicked on a couple of times. This weekend I took the time to winterize my kids' bedrooms. It's a tedious task I must say but alas it has to be done and there's no time like the present, right? Here's how I went about it:

1. Prepare beds for winter. Take off all bedding and wash it with hot water and bleach if possible. This kills any bacteria and dust mites. Replace summer sheets with flannel sheets, add an extra quilt, and remake beds.
2. Open up windows to air out one last time before it's too cold to do so.
3. Replace summer pajamas with winter ones in drawers. Determine which are too small and which still fit from last year. Put summer p.j.'s in flat plastic boxes and slide under beds.
4. Replace summer clothes with winter clothes and again determine which still fit and which don't. Store summer clothing in flat boxes and slide under beds.
5. Finally have your kids try on their jackets and winter shoes to see if they still fit from last year.

Winterizing is not so much fun I must say but it's a relief to have it done and I've been able to make a big check mark on my never-ending to-do-list. Try and get yours done this week too!

Cubbies!

I've been trying to come up with a solution for our laundry room for some time. I wanted it to be multi-functional yet still look nice (since guests have to walk through it to use the bathroom). I not only wanted it to be a laundry room but also a mudroom for my kids to put their jackets and shoes when they walked in the door.

We decided to make a trip to IKEA to see if we could get some ideas. Here's what Nathan and I came up with... cubbies! Each child has two cubbies, one for shoes and one for jackets, hats and gloves, whatever the current weather calls for. We also bought some cool hampers to be used as my laundry system. I am totally stoked about how it looks and how functional it is! Is it sad for me to be so excited about storage?

Feelin' Fallish

Here's my front porch (with a newly painted door!). I wrapped foil leaf garland around the railing and made fall leaves out of scrap book paper for the windows. A scarecrow sitting on a mini bale of hay greets guests who drop by.

I love autumn. It is my favorite time of the year and I always go all out to decorate my front porch and the main floor of my home. I take all of the wall decorations off and replace them with something fall-themed. Some of the decorations I have made myself and others I have purchased at my favorite craft stores, Michael's, Jo Ann Etc, and Hobby Lobby.



My hall tree. I made the fall arrangements sitting on it as well as the barn and scarecrow on top. So cute!

My beautiful piano. Everywhere in my living room you'll see glittering autumn leaves scattered about. It looks so pretty and since my kids aren't allowed to play in the living room they stay put!

It takes me a good hour to pull everything off my walls and put new things up but I love it. Fall time makes me happy and so do my fall decorations. My challenge to you is to make or buy something new to decorate your home with this fall. You deserve it!



This is a close up picture of the fall rag wreath that hangs on my front door. I made it a few years back. It is so pretty!

To learn how to make this super easy wreath click here!

Laundry Lowdown

Once upon a time a discontented queen used to do laundry for two princesses, a tiny prince, and the king of the castle all in one long and tiring day. Her back would ache from the countless hours she spent sitting on the floor folding each article of clothing. Then she would wearily lug all the baskets of garments up the two flights of stairs to be lovingly placed in the drawers and hung in the closets of each member of the royal family. Laundry day was the day of the week she dreaded the most.

One night, while resting in her bed chamber, the lovely queen thought to herself, "There must be a better way to get the laundry done in a more manageable way." That night the queen had a dream. A dream in which she lived in a magical land where laundry duty was divided into one load a day, stretching across the entire week. The people in the land were very happy because they now had a queen who wasn't exhausted and grumpy after laundry day. When the queen awoke, she knew what she had to do. Here is her system:

• Buy inexpensive laundry organizers. Mine are made of PVC piping and mesh bags.
• Divide your loads into one for each day, Mon-Fri.
• Make signs to place above each hamper to reduce confusion. I wrote the day of the week in the top right corner and whose laundry it is very big in the center.
• Each sign should be a different color so if you have kids who don't read yet, they'll still know where to put clothes.
• Start one load each morning and while that is washing, fold and put away the previous day's load, thus having the laundry done before morning nap!

Since creating this system, the queen has realized that most loads don't need to be done weekly and she has in turn reduced her laundry stress greatly. She has taken the day that used to be reserved for washing royal clothing and turned it into Mommy Project Day. There is happiness throughout the land.

Look Your Best, Feel Your Best

Here's me, freshly showered, makeup on, and ready for my day!

I promised myself a long time ago that when I became a mother I would not "let myself go" so to speak. I've seen it happen too many times before. Mothers these days seem to think they are wearing some sort of badge of honor if after they have kids, they get to walk around all the time looking like crap! Well I'm here to tell you that this happy homemaker never looks like crap, at least not for very long. :)

Long ago I made a commitment to myself that even if I wasn't able to get anything else done during the day, I would still shower, get dressed, and put on makeup, no matter what! Why? Because it makes me feel happy to know that I took some time for myself. I am not the type of person that can go shopping in pajama pants. I saw a woman like that once. Her child was dressed with combed hair and she was wearing her pajamas, hair uncombed, and her ensemble was completed by a pair of grubby-looking slippers. I'm sorry, but if the image you want to portray to the world is, "I'm a mom and my kids come first, therefore I've stopped caring about myself." then by all means, you keep on shopping in your p.j.s!

However, if you want others to say, "That woman cares enough about her kids to recognize that if she doesn't value herself to allow some 'me time' then she'll be a more stressed out mommy." That's the way I see it and I make time in my day to look my best.

A good friend of mine once asked her husband to prioritize what he wanted to see when he walked in the door after a long work day. She gave him these four things to choose from: A "hot" wife (meaning she had taken the time to shower, fix her hair, and apply makeup), a clean house, happy kids (meaning they were being quiet and occupying themselves), and dinner on the table. She told him to choose which one meant the most to him and then she would try her best to accommodate him. What he said surprised her. He said first and foremost he wanted to have a wife who looked "hot".

I asked my husband the same thing thinking he would choose seeing dinner hot and ready for him on the table. I was just as shocked when he prioritized that last and put me first. So not only does it make me happy to look my best but it makes my man happy too. It's a win/win situation! :)

So how do I accomplish looking my best everyday? I guarantee you my life is just as busy as yours. I have four young children, three who are still at home with me during the day, and one who is a nursing baby. Yes, I am busy! It's really quite simple though. It's important to me and so I make it a priority. I don't start the day off cleaning the house. I've tried that before and while I was able to get the house clean, I found I was never able to get those extra minutes back to take care of myself. Usually I get myself ready during the baby's morning nap or if I have to take my daughter to preschool I shower the night before so I have one less thing to accomplish in the morning.

When I look my best I feel my best which makes me a happier person in general. However, if you don't care how you look then just disregard this whole post and keep on shopping in your pajamas. You just won't see me joining you!

Chores for Kids

One of Princess Aftyn's jobs is to wipe off the little table.

Ainsley and Aftyn are only almost 7 and almost 4 and do they do chores? Absolutely! In my opinion, as soon as a child gets to be around 2 they are capable of picking up after themselves and my kids do! Everyday at 4:00 it is chore time at my house and the girls are responsible for 7 chores:

1. Pick up all toys/belongings on Main Floor
2. Pick up all toys/belongings in Basement
3. Pick up all toys/belongings in Bedroom
4. Put away all shoes
5. Wipe off tables
6. Make bed
7. Put clothes away/in hamper

And guess what? They do these chores all by themselves! The only thing I do is break up the occasional fight.:) I also provide encouragement when needed especially for Aftyn who has a shorter attention span.

So how do I do it, you ask? Simple. I have easy organizational systems for toys so it's very quick and easy for the girls to put away their things. And after all the chores are completed, they get a small piece of candy (like a Starburst), and get to add seven coins to their Reward jars. See: http://littlelockards.blogspot.com/2009/03/tip-of-week-rewards-system.html.

I have explained to my kids that they are part of a family and it's their job to help make the house a happy place to be by picking up their stuff. Small children love to help and it makes them feel important. They also love getting candy!

Helpful Hints:

• 
  
  Whenever I hear Ainsley or Aftyn say, "But Mommy, I don't want to do chores..." I simply say, "That's fine if you don't want to, I'll do your half, but I also get your money and candy when I'm done..." It works every time!
• 
  
  If you've never had your kids do chores before but are wanting to give it a try, I suggest you do the chores with them the first few times to help them get the hang of it. A chore chart is also a great motivator, especially if they get to use stickers on it!
• 
  
  For really young kids I have found it most successful to give them specific tasks to do. If you say, "Pick up the living room," it can seem too overwhelming and chances are you'll meet resistance. However, if you say instead, "Find all the blocks in the living room and put them away..." It makes it seem much more manageable.

Chores are a great way to boost confidence in kids and give them a sense of accomplishment. It also gives Mom a little break to put her feet up and relax while the kids are cleaning up all the messes...

Well, one can always dream!

Queen of the Castle

You've heard the phrase "king of the castle" right? If you're a 1950's housewife then that phrase should definitely ring true. However, in this day and age things have changed dramatically. While the husband is still head of the family I no longer think he has "Lord of the Manor" bragging rights. How often does a working father really spend at home anyway? What gives him the right to have a say in how the household is run, organizationally speaking? None I say. This is why I am declaring myself "Queen of the Castle."

You should declare yourself that too if you're a homemaker like me. True my husband's job made it possible for me to have the house I live in, but without me it would still be a house. I am the one who makes my house a home.

Seriously, I don't barge into my husband's place of work and start telling him what to do, where to file his work, how he should talk to his boss, etc. That would drive him crazy! It's just the same for me. If ever Nathan tries to usurp some of my power, I calmly but sweetly remind him that the household is my job and therefore I ultimately decide how it is run. If he puts up a fuss about something then I just wait until he's off to work (and do it anyway).

Now don't get me wrong, Nathan and I still share responsibilities. He does the dishes every night, for example. He also puts the kids to bed and gives them their baths. We pay the bills together, we raise our children together. We are a team but when it comes to our occupations, he is a computer guy and I am a homemaker and we don't step on each other's toes.

So now that we're clear on who's really in charge, let's have some fun, shall we? After all, who says it has to be all work all the time? A household is more than a full-time job to run with kids and all in the mix but there's still some ways to make it your own. Set up organization methods that make sense to you. The rules for the household are also in your domain. If you don't want the kids to play in certain rooms then make it be so. If you want them to clear their dishes and put away their shoes then declare it for all to hear!

And of course we can't forget decorating! If the household belongs to you then you might as well like how it looks, right? You should, I suppose, be somewhat sensitive to what your husband's dislikes are. If he hates pink and ruffles adamantly then don't go overboard in that department but don't let him do the decorating either! If my husband were in charge of what went on the walls we'd have Nintendo posters and GI Joe paraphernalia galore. No thank you! Instead I let him think he gets a say by letting him put up some posters in our loft and the kids' playroom, places where no one else sees.

Respect your role as Queen of the Castle and your family will as well. Don't let anyone else try to tell you you're not in charge or I guarantee chaos will ensue. Keep control over the home beneath your reign or it will control you. You're a gentle but firm queen... remember that.

Pantry Perfection

With four small children I have a very limited amount of time to prepare meals, every second counts to be able to get things done, especially for my very impatient 2-year-old. :) Clutter and chaos drive me crazy and literally make me panicky. So I have organized my pantry in such a manner that I can easily find what I'm looking for. I've done this using several different sized bins and containers.

Here's how to get started:

1. Pull everything out of your pantry one shelf at a time (taking the opportunity to discard things you don't need)
2. Categorize items in a way that makes sense to you
3. Make a list of all the categories so you'll know how many bins to purchase
4. Once you've purchased the bins, organize your food accordingly
5. Label each bin
6. Place food back on shelf according to genre

Helpful Hints:

• Use different sized containers for different sized foods ie small flat baskets for spices, deep bins for flours and sugars, pourable containers for pastas, etc.
• Don't waste money looking for storage items at a specialty store, the cheapest places I have found are Drug stores and Wal-Mart.
• Keep similar foods together ie all baking items on one shelf, all cooking items on another, breakfast, drinks, etc.

Examples of what could go in each bin:

1. Bread (include peanut butter and extra jellies)
2. Packaged dinners (Mac n' cheese or Hamburger Helper)
3. Rice
4. Flours/sugars
5. Soups/sauces
6. Oils/Vinegars
7. Misc. baking
8. Baking chips/nuts

Organize your pantry in a way that makes sense to you and be sure and let your husband and kids in on the system so it always stays nice and neat!

Compartmentalizing Cleaners

The way my house is set up people have to access the bathroom on the main floor via my laundry room. This fact bugs me to no end but it is what it is so I do what I can to make it blend in. There used to be just one long shelf above the washer and dryer where I kept all my cleaning supplies. Talk about an eye sore and I could never find what I was looking for without knocking things off.

My awesome husband recently bought me some utility cupboards to sit on top of the existing shelf so I could hide my cleaning supplies (and stop complaining). I took it one step further by categorizing my cleaning supplies and and putting them in their own bin. I love a good organizing project! The "bins" I used are actually CD crates that I found at Wal-Mart in their back-to-school section. They cost a whopping $1.50 each! They are just the perfect size to hold a few bottles and are easy to carry around. Here's the categories I used to organize my cleaners:

• Cleaning Rags
• Specialty Cleaners
• Dusting
• Laundry
• Carpet
• Bathroom

Now whenever I need to get something specific I just reach for the bin! It makes my life easier and I hope it will make yours too!