Backpack Storage

Why do we put up with inconveniences or inefficiencies for so long before we act upon them? My latest "Finally!" moment dealt with our backpack area. In my mind, my children would come home from school every day, neatly line up their backpacks against the wall under the chore chart, hang their coats in the coat closet, empty their lunch bags and return them to their backpacks, and my nook would always stay picture-perfect clean. Yeah, I'm not sure whose kids were in that fantasy. Or which mom, for that matter. The truth is that if I reinforced it everyday, it could happen. But after a l...o...n...g day of teaching, being the backpack police is the last thing I want to do.

About six months ago, I was looking at the backpack hooks at school. "We should do that at home." Six months ago. Yeah. I knew the solution but had just gotten so used to putting up with the chaos that I didn't act immediately. Well, the latest Costco coupon book lit a fire under me. They currently have a 2-pack of hook racks for $14.99!!

That price was just too good to pass up. I may end up grabbing one or two more before the coupon ends on April 8. Unfortunately, this product is only available in-store.

The box includes the screws and wall anchors for hanging. And although the enclosed directions were less than helpful, it only took me about 20 minutes to get these on the wall, including trips to the garage to get supplies. The directions say you only need a pencil and a screwdriver--that's a lie.

Tools needed:

• pencil
• Phillips screwdriver
• level
• drill and bits (I ended up using the largest drill bit I could find. Sorry, I don't know what size it is.)
• hammer
• vacuum

To get enough room for three backpacks, I hung both racks side-by-side. I also hung them into the drywall only as the holes did not line up with any studs. Regardless, they are solidly on the wall, and I have no fear of them falling with the weigh of the backpacks.

Since hanging them up, I have only had to remind one child one time to hang up his backpack. The hooks themselves are a reminder of where school things belong. And my boys have commented about how much easier it is to get things in and out of their bags when they are hanging as opposed to sitting on the floor.

Another bonus: I can more easily sweep/vacuum the floor in this area.

When summer vacation comes and the backpacks go into storage for two months, these will become our swimming lessons/pool bag hooks. We're all looking forward to that!

Clark Summer Cooking Adventures, Part 2: April's Waffles and the Perils of Cooking

By far, the most popular things to make for dinner among the Littles are pancakes and waffles. They would eat pancakes and waffles for three meals a day if I let them. During the summer when they are doing the cooking, the rule is that only one of them gets to make breakfast for dinner each week. And we rotate who gets to do it. April got the first round of waffles this summer.

As I write this, I'm realizing that my favorite waffle recipe isn't yet on Near to Nothing! I'll have to post that soon. It's a yeast-risen waffle recipe which is great because you put it together the night before (for breakfast) or the morning of (for dinner) and let it rise in the refrigerator until you are ready for it. Kimiko's go-to waffle recipe can be found here.

In the shuffle of April's waffle day, we did not get the yeast recipe mixed together in time, so we went with the regular waffle recipe out of The Joy of Cooking. 

As I've said before, I try to let my kids do as much of the cooking as they can do on their own. April is now six years old and can do quite a bit on her own. For the waffles, she measured the dry ingredients (as I challenged her to double fractions), cracked the eggs, poured the wet ingredients that I had already measured out, mixed the batter, and poured the batter into the waffle iron. I took the done waffles out of the iron and transferred them to the oven to stay warm.

Batter should be lumpy. 

I LOVE my double waffle maker!

Sadly, this cooking adventure took a bad turn, and I don't have any pictures of the rest of the process or the finished product. The kids love canned fruit, but I hardly ever buy it. Since April was cooking breakfast, I splurged and bought canned peaches and mandarin oranges. April successfully opened and poured three cans of mandarin oranges into the serving bowl. But the peaches got her. :( As she was preparing to pour the peaches into the bowl, she sliced her thumb on the open can lid. It was a pretty clean cut, such that it took her a few seconds to realize what happened and it didn't start to bleed right away. But once it started bleeding, it bled and bled. After washing her up, wiping her tears, and applying a band-aid, I finished making dinner by myself while she rested on the couch.

Even though April's waffle night didn't end as planned, we still had a delicious breakfast dinner and she had a great time working in the kitchen up until her injury. Despite the painful experience, she's looking forward to her next turn to cook dinner. And because of her painful experience, I know she'll be extra careful with cans from now on.

Clark Summer Cooking Adventures, Part 1: Koda's Mac 'n Cheese

This is the best fact I could get out of him, silly boy.

It's summer! And that means my (Sumiko's) kids will be doing the cooking! Each kid is in charge of cooking and cleaning up dinner one night each week. Of course, they have Mom's help and guidance, but I let them do as much of it as they can.

Making the roux.

First week's meals are as follows:
Koda: stove-top mac 'n cheese
Keanna: penne rigate with creamy pesto and Japanese cucumber salad
April: waffles
Lukas: chimichangas and bean dip (he's my burrito boy!)

We started last night with Koda's mac 'n cheese. You can find the recipe on my baked mac 'n cheese post. The kid-preferred stove-top variation is mentioned toward the bottom.

One thing that I love about cooking is that it is a great teaching opportunity. As we cooked, we talked about the science behind what we were doing. Why do we add flour to the cheese sauce? To thicken it. How does flour thicken things? The individual flour granules act like little sponges--they soak up the liquid and swell up. Why do we stir the flour into the butter rather than just mix it directly into the milk? To separate the flour granules before they swell so we don't end up with lumpy cheese sauce. I love it! I get one-on-one time with one child, dinner gets made, they learn a life skill, and they learn the concepts behind cooking so they can apply them to other dishes.

Another great benefit of having the kids cook for everyone else is that it teaches them to serve and be grateful. Koda was so happy to make macaroni and cheese for his family. And they were so appreciative. Every other kid complimented him on his dish without prompting. My heart swelled as I sat at the dinner table and heard the kids showing love to each other. Having the kids cook means more time prepping dinner and more mess, but it is a small price to pay for the character rewards gleaned.

Proud of his accomplishment!

The Great Purge of 2017

Things. We have too many of them. And they are taking over our lives.

A simple Google search of "getting rid of stuff" returns over 3 million results. As a society, we recognize the fact that we have too much--so much that our possessions are getting in the way of more important parts of our lives. Yet we also live in a very consumeristic, materialistic society that always wants more.

Since this is the beginning of a new year, I recently sat down and looked at my purpose statement, mission statements, and long-term and short-term life goals (that will have to be a different post). For my home, my mission statement reads as follows: Maintain my home as a refuge and sanctuary where my family can thrive and grow and others can be refreshed and encouraged. My someday goal for my home reads this way: Live minimally and with organization and systems such that the care of the home is a joy and not a consuming burden.

How many partial bottles of dried paint do I need? NONE!

In order to fulfill my mission and reach my goal, I need to seriously deal with the THINGS. The STUFF. Not that I haven't been trying to do that the past few years, but this year I am going to make a noticeable difference in my house. The plan requires a two-fold approach. First, we are going to control what comes into the house. Second, we are going to get rid of at least 2017 things this year. Thanks to my friend Debbie for this idea!

As I write this, we are five days into the new year, and I've already gotten rid of more than fifty (50!) items! Throughout the year, I will post updates on my progress here on the blog as well as on our FB page. If you would like to join us in our quest to reclaim the space in our homes and the time in our day, please comment to let us know. The communal encouragement will help us all be more successful.

These are the ones I got rid of. I counted every
three as one item.

BTW, one of my favorite articles about getting rid of stuff can be found here.

What Day Is It?!?

We'd both like to apologize for our departure from our regular Monday, Wednesday, and Friday posts.  With the long weekend and my family now on summer vacation, I am completely confused as to what day it is.  As far as I'm concerned, every day is Saturday because Robbie and Keanna are home.  Yay for having the whole family on a school schedule!!

Anyway, by the time I realized yesterday was Wednesday, it was too late to get a post up.  And rather than confuse ourselves even more by putting one up today, we'll just wait until tomorrow and get back on our regular schedule.

So sorry to those of you who were looking for Wedensday's post.  We'll see you tomorrow!!

Still Recovering!

They love each other so much!  Lukas on the left, Koda on the right.

Hello, faithful readers!  Once again, we do not have a Monday post.  We're both still trying to recover from the craziness of Easter break!  So I thought I'd give you a little peek into our time together.  We took all the kids to the Picture People and walked away with some adorable photos!

Keanna is turning into a little lady much too fast!

We're calling this one Koda's business card shot:
"I can save you money!"

Lukas, on the other hand:  "Sure!  Trust your money to me!"

April's baby skin is so photogenic!

Be sure to check back for a food-related post!

Real Life: We're Not Perfect--Feeding Your Family for Near to Nothing without Cooking

Today's post may be a bit unpolished and chaotic because, honestly, that's how life in my house is right now.  I think most of you out there reading this have a tainted view of what Kimiko and I are really like.  It's easy to hide flaws and shortcomings behind a blog with great text and yummy pics.  I want to set the record straight on just a few of the multitude of ways we are not perfect.

These are old pics---April is bigger and has more teeth now.

1. Our kitchens are not always spotless and tidy.  I almost always clear enough clutter out of the way just barely enough to get it out of the frame.
2. I am great at organizing kitchens.  I am terrible at keeping them that way.  The cookware and dishes aren't so bad, but the pantry looks like it was ransacked and the plastic containers are taking up about ten times more space than they need to because I've resorted to just tossing them into the cupboard.
3. The inside of my fridge does not get the attention it should.  Too often I have to tell my husband, "Don't eat anything on the back half of the shelf."
4. I can't see the top of the fridge.  Consequently, it doesn't get cleaned as often as it should.
5. Sometimes we feel like quitting or cutting down immensely.  Occasionally life will be so hectic and we will be so dry on new ideas that it is hard to write.  Fortunately, we haven't both felt that way at the same time so we've been able to encourage each other through it.
6. Sometimes we just don't want to cook.  Our families don't always get a from-scratch homemade meal.

It is this last point that I really want to talk about today.

Moms get burned out.  It's just a fact of life.  I have been feeling that way for about a month now (potty training, sick kids, homework, broken dryer, house projects).  Life is just coming at me faster than I can deal with it.  And sometimes we just need a break from the kitchen and the dishes.  But we just don't have the money to go out to eat, not even occasionally.

What do I do in these situations?  Costco!  Ok, I guess that is eating out, but it is much more affordable than any restaurant.  You just can't beat a hot dog and 20 oz. drink (with refills) for $1.50!  And their hot dogs are delicious and really big!

I find it's less messy to have them dip in the ketchup rather
than put it on their hot dogs.  I simply use a cup lid
for their ketchup.

Don't want a hot dog?  How about a huge slice of pizza for $1.99 and a drink for only $0.59 (with refills).

It's HUGE!!

They do have other tasty things, but those are the items we stick with because they are the best value.

Our family of six can eat at Costco for $6.49 plus tax (plus some milk and a few bananas)!  Here's how:

Free                      Go through store and get samples if they are out
Varies (under $5)  Pick up box of milk and bag of bananas
1.50                      Robbie--hot dog and drink
1.50                      Me--hot dog and drink
1.50                      Boys--share hot dog; fill cups from home with milk; one banana each
1.99                      Keanna--slice of pizza; use boys' drink; banana
Free                      April--eats off my everyone's hot dog and Keanna's crust; banana
6.49 + tax + milk and bananas  TOTAL

We take our own straw or sippy cups and fill them with the
milk we've just bought.

Of course, this isn't something we do regularly or often.  Even $6.49 can add up over time.  And I don't want my family eating a lot of hot dogs and pizza.  But for those days when dinner just doesn't come together, it is just the thing for us.

How future rock stars eat bananas.

April's telling us what she thinks.

Costco is also great for dessert treats.  About once or twice a year we take all the kids out for dessert, usually to Costco.  In fact, we went last night for family night.  Only $5.55 plus tax for dessert for all six of us!  Robbie and I each had frozen yogurt ($1.35).  I shared mine with April, and the boys shared one (ask for water cups to divvy up yogurt!).  Keanna opted for a dipped ice cream bar ($1.50).

The following is the menu at the Antioch, California Costco, though the Concord Costco has at least one additional item:

• 20 oz. drink  $0.59
• Twisted churro  $1.00
• Chicken Caesar salad $3.99
• Chicken bake  $2.99
• Pizza (cheese, pepperoni, or combo)  $1.99/slice or $9.99/whole
• Hot dog or polish dog with drink  $1.50
• Carne asada bake  $3.79
• Very berry sundae  $1.65
• Nonfat frozen yogurt (chocolate, vanilla, or swirl)  $1.35
• Hand-dipped ice cream bar (w/ or w/out almonds)  $1.50
• Berry smoothy or latte mocha freeze  $1.45

So next time dinner just isn't going to happen and you want to hold onto your money, consider Costco.  If your Costco offers something else, please let us know in the comments.

And just because my kids are so adorable:

Today's Yummies!

So I went to add the photos to my sloppy joe post for today and realized that they are stored on Robbie's laptop which he has with him.  So I will add them later and get that up for tomorrow.

I thought for today I'd let you know what's on today's menu for our house.  Today Keanna's class is celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday, and I was in charge of brownies.  I sent her with a tray full of Kimiko's dark chocolate brownies (pictured above).

For breakfast, I made the boys train toast.  I didn't want to make eggs, so they just had the toast with some jelly and oranges.  In this case I toasted the bread on the stove then cut out the shapes.

Robbie will find chicken and loaded stuffing in his lunch (along with a brownie I snagged from Keanna's tray).

We will be having dinner with our church community group tonight.  I am making a huge pot of spaghetti sauce.

Someone else is making garlic bread and Caesar salad.

We'd like to know what's on your menu tonight!  Please leave a comment and let us know!

A Mommy Time Out

Image from:  www.drmomma.org

I regret to inform you that there is no post for today.  But don't worry--it will be here tomorrow!  This past week has been very busy and a bit stressful.  It all culminated last night when I had to put myself on time out.  Yes, Mommy's heart was ugly, and she had to take some time for a heart adjustment.  Lukas and Koda were a little giddy (and a bit confused) at the thought of Mommy on time out.  =-)  Anyway, today I will be making more of a concerted effort to show the love of Christ, depend on Him for my strength, and rest in His promises.  And tomorrow, you will have a post.

Cooking Strategies

These little hands are the reason I like to and have to prepare ahead for meals.  

Before I had my daughter, I worked outside the home 40 hours a week.  This meant that from the time I left in the morning and until I got home at night, I was gone about 9.5 hours each day.  Besides working, I also had to maintain a clean home, grocery shop, do laundry, make meals, and the list goes on.  Needless to say, I didn't have a whole lot of time to spend cooking.  I no longer work outside of the home, but I still don't have a lot of time to spend cooking.  I have many unplanned interruptions throughout the day (I'm sure anyone who's cared for a child knows what I'm talking about), and it just so happens that they often come when it's time to make dinner!  So I've developed some strategies for getting dinner on the table (almost always) on time despite limited time.

• Do as much prep work as you can throughout the day.  I tend to have a little extra time in the morning, so that's when I try to get some of my cooking prep done.  Use whatever time works best for you, whether it's in the morning, early afternoon, or the night before.  This includes:

• chopping vegetables.  Just put them in a bowl and cover with a lid or cling wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
• mixing dry ingredients.  For example, if we're going to have cornbread with our meal, I'll measure and mix all the dry ingredients ahead of time.  This also helps with cleanup after dinner, since I can get all the dishes used in prep (i.e. measure cups and spoons) washed and put away long before dinner!
• set all needed ingredients and utensils on the counter.  Some meals require quite a few ingredients and dishes/utensils, so I'll get everything I need out ahead of time.  That way I'm not scrambling around the kitchen trying to find everything when it's time to cook.
• shredding cheese.  It's often (but not always) cheaper to buy cheese in blocks rather than shredded, so I make sure my cheese is shredded ahead of time.
• Make the meal the night before or the morning of and simply reheat when it's time to eat.  This actually works quite well with many pasta sauces, as it allows the flavors to blend longer.  I've also been known to do this with casseroles, soups, and salads (just leave the dressing off).  In fact, this is sometimes my trick to making sure dinner's on time when we're having guests over.  For example, I'll make ham and potato soup earlier in the day and reheat shortly before the guests arrive.  I like to serve it with cornbread, so I'll prepare the dry ingredients and also assemble a salad ahead of time.  
• If you're making a casserole, assemble it ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to bake.  Just keep in mind that that since it was refrigerated, it will require a little extra time in the oven.
• One of my favorite tools for making dinner with little prep time is the slow cooker.  When I'm making something in the slow cooker that requires a bit of prep, I do it the night before and just keep it in the refrigerator.  That way all I have to do in the morning is take it out of the refrigerator, set the time on the slow cooker, and turn it on!  This was especially helpful when I was working!  Just keep meats and veggies separate until you're ready to turn the slow cooker on.

• Keep hot dogs in the freezer!  Lest you think I have my life together all the time and always prepare a homemade, from-scratch meal for my family, I don't.  Yes, there are those days where I just can't get anything together and it's always nice to know there are hot dogs in the freezer!  My husband passes right by the grocery store on his way home from work, so on these nights, I'll simply ask him to stop and pick up some buns.  It's one of the easiest meals and my family loves hot dogs!
• Make a double batch and freeze!  This works well with pasta sauces and soups.  I'll often double the recipe just so I have some extra to freeze for a quick dinner the following week.
• There are many other methods, as well, including freezing chopped veggies (I know people do this with onions and they can be chopped in the food processor); cooking, shredding/chopping chicken (or other meats), and freezing it; sticking raw chicken breasts (or other meat) in a zip top bag with marinade and freezing it (it marinates as it's defrosting); among many other methods.  If you have any time-saving or prepare-ahead tips, please leave a comment!  We'd love to have your input and ideas!