Tools for Moms of Readers

I think most of us moms want our children to grow up to love reading. Not just for the pleasure of reading, although that is important too, but because if they love reading it will assist them in loving to read and study God's Word.

While I am not sure what we did to deserve such book loving girls - Baby already seems to love books - I am very grateful for the Lord's gift.

There is one problem when you have children who are avid readers, the problem of finding enough books to put in front of them! Frequent library trips help, but when they are taking out the same books time and again, it is time to get our own copy if possible.

Here are some tools that have helped us tremendously!

The first obvious tip is a library card. We have 2 - one for our county library and one for a city we don't live in. This city lets all California residents have a card to their library, for all but 2 cities in California it is free, and their library has one of the best children's sections I have seen! Cities will not advertise this, but many do it. Also, many seminaries and colleges will issue you cards, but they usually charge an annual fee, and many churches maintain lending libraries for their members or members of their denomination.

Friends of the Library - while you are at the library, be sure to check out their used book section usually called Friends of the Library, there are great gems in there!

Swagbucks - I search the internet a lot, often looking for coloring pages (best results are "topic coloring page" such as "turtle coloring page"), you accumulate points randomly as you search, usually once a day if you search a lot, and then you can cash those in for rewards such as $5 Amazon.com gift cards!

Paperbackswap - I use this to get rid of books that are left here by guests or that are passed on to me that I have no intent of reading or that have not worked out for whatever reason. For every book you mail (at your expense, usually between $2-3 depending on if you print your postage and get tracking), you get a credit to request a book, which is sent at the sender's expense. So far I have been able to get almost all the original series of Magic School Bus in hard cover by using the wish list function! Plus I have a few friends who prefer to be given used books so I wish list hard to get or new books for them...after all, I have posted lots of their books! Also, when you join and list 10 books they give you 3 credits to get you going.

Amazon.com and ChristianBooks.com (links on sidebar) - both these carry an excellent selection of books at discounted prices! Amazon has year round free shipping on orders over $25 if you are willing to wait for your order a couple extra days, and ChristianBooks offers promotions on shipping a couple times of year. I love that I can make my book money go further, and that I can find a selection of books on a topic to choose from rather than the take or leave it I get when I go the local bookstore.

Bookstore Discount Racks - All I have to say about this is hardcover Winnie the Pooh Treasury for less than $10, 501 Science Experiments for $6. And woo hoo!

Costco and Target - be sure to check out their books when you are there as they are nicely discounted!

Birthday and Christmas - books are excellent gifts for our girls and I let people know that! Both our girls have Amazon wishlists that I maintain so that our families can easily find books for them. I also let them know what topics are of interest to Miss Pear so they can be on the look out!

Rewards - occasionally we want to reward our oldest for something such as good sharing when we have company who is not good sharers or some extra special help she has been or an accomplishment, and this usually comes in the form of books.

Sharing and Trading - we also pass books back and forth with our friends and neighbors. This works great, we just make sure to clearly say which books we want back, and which books we don't want to see again!

Personal Library - the final tool is the personal library in our home. We have carefully picked books for our girls, and when we have made a mistake we have been willing to admit that and either pass the book on or list it on Paperbackswap.

Of course, no list of tools for moms of readers is complete without a couple sources for reading lists, which are easy to come by, but hard to come by good ones.

By far my favorite is The Read-Aloud Handbook: Sixth Edition. It was really the confirmation that we were on the right track with reading to little ones who could barely hold their heads up, and a challenge to keep it up! We loved the reading lists in the back, they have been an excellent jumping off point for us! We have given numerous copies of this as gifts.

The other one I have heard excellent things about and I trying to get my hands on a copy is Honey for a Child's Heart.

These are tips that truly work for me!

So, what have I missed? What are your favorite sources for books? What are your favorite reading lists? We moms of avid readers have to help each other out, so please share your favorites with me so that I can have new ideas too!

WFMW: Excellent Read Alouds?

I am on the hunt! Amongst my friends I am known for my shopping skills - finding the teapot for a wedding gift no one else could, finding the best children's books, knowing the good sales and grocery deals, knowing when to buy what produce because it is perfectly in season etc.

So I am somewhat shocked to admit I am at a loss. Yes, you heard me, I need something and don't know where to start looking, don't have a list to work off of, and don't know where to find said list.

I even tried the library and struck out!

You see, I am on the hunt for a list of excellent read alouds for my girls. Both will sit and listen to chapter books, and I would like to encourage that! We have always made it a point to read both at and above our children's reading level, and it is wonderful!

But my list of read alouds is mighty meager.

So please help me out!

What are your favorite read alouds?
Do you have a favorite read aloud list you refer to regularly?
Don't worry if they are to up there for our girls, I am looking for good reading material for me too! I mean...I would love to have lots of time to preview them! Yeah, that's it!

Taming the Stash

So we had our 2 week ob appointment this morning (which went well) and it used up all my energy, so I had lunch upstairs to save my trip back down stairs for supper. While eating my lunch today I was reading through Bloglines and I came across this post from Coupon Cravings about controlling your shopping when your stash is huge - and actually looking at it to see how big it is!

I think we do pretty well at controlling our stash. I follow a few simple rules.

1. All household items that are not the one in use go in the garage in the old bookcase. All like items are stacked together. (So all the laundry soap is together so I know that I have 3 or 4 bottles there!)
2. All like pantry items are stored together with assigned places in the kitchen, overflow of canned or bottled items in a smaller bookcase in the garage, cereal and the like on top of the cupboard so that mice don't invade our garage and help themselves.
   
3. All medicine and toiletry items are stored under the bathroom sink in our bathroom.
4. All baby extras, except for diapers and wipes are stored in the girls' bathroom.
5. All diapers are stored in the appropriate girl's closet, all wipes are stored in Baby Pear's closet except for a back up package in Miss Pear's (who only wears diapers at night).
6. Once we have more than a 6 month stash I only buy that item if it is free, a money maker, or I have to roll CVS Extrabucks this week and that item is on special.
7. Pass on what we accumulate too much of. We have friends who are youth pastors and friends who are older and taking care of their parents who need a little help, and they are always happy to take whatever we have extra of. So if my stash gets out of control I ALWAYS have a home for it...that is not mine!

While I am not in full deal mode shopping at the moment, we did decide to try and keep our CVS ECB's going as they are good for a month, and Mr. Pear is very adept at shopping there (plus gatorade for flu season, toilet paper and kleenex is all on special this week). But unless there is a fabulous deal, or the ECB's are going to expire this week (like some are), I have not been worrying about it too much. This is a season to make my stash work for me, and enjoy the benefits of that hard work of creating it, not a season to be trying to build it up. Although I must say, a well stocked pantry has been such a blessing to us!

Well stocked and managed pantry most certainly has worked for me! Check out the other WFMW tips at Shanon's!

How do you manage your stash and keep limits on yourself so that you are not overwhelmed?

Geography for Hockey Fans

This may seem out of season, talking about hockey in July and all, but the NHL has a tradition where the winning team of the oldest trophy in North American sports, the Stanley Cup spends a day with each member of the team. And they can take it anywhere in the world they want - most return to their home town, and pretty much do whatever they want. (The keepers of the cup accompany the trophy, keep it safe and shiny (never mind the dings and dents, they get those out), and move it from player to player).

This turns out to be an excellent geography assignment! So far the cup has toured parts of the US and Canada, and it will spend time overseas. (The NHL boasts lots of European players).

The NHL has established the Stanley Cup's own blog which is updated with the Cup's exploits. And while large quantities of champagne and beer have been consumed from the Cup, many of the players are husbands and fathers, so the day of celebration often involves eating cereal out of the cup for breakfast (and later on ice cream) with the kids and sweet family moments.

So a map of the US and Europe, and some stickers, along with the blog, and you have yourself a geography project as you track the Cup around the world! (If you have a AAA membership be sure to get your maps there for free!)

Plus, a lot of the players focus on sharing the cup with those who helped get them there, so you have some pretty inspiring stories too!

Hockey, the Cup, and geography - works for me!

(Plus the Cup has a very long and rich history - just think of all the homeschooling lessons this one trophy can help teach!)

Where is she now?

We are in the unenviable position of trying to explain to Miss Pear why she cannot call her grandmother whenever she wants. You see, grandma is not home. She is on a bus tour to Alaska.

So we are playing the "Where is Grandma" game. Also known as I lost her, can you find her?

We posted maps to cover her whole trip, and then got bus stickers, train stickers and boat stickers.

Each day we take her itinerary, and see where she is now. On the map of Canada we mark it with a little angel sticker. On the map of the province or state we use a sticker marking whichever mode of transportation she is taking (except the day she toured Denali park - we used bears that day).

So far it is helping her understand - grandma is still not home.

But it is also giving us a chance to talk about maps, things that are en route (we like to color printed coloring pages), and I think Miss Pear is having fun - and seeing as she just turned 3, what more can you ask for in an early geography project! Plus, she has always been fascinated with maps!

Any way, it really is working for us!

Heartburn Home Remedies

The funny thing lately has been that the worst of the pregnancy symptoms has not been the discomfort as my tummy grows, has not been the nausea, has not been trying to find clothes that fit, it has been the heart burn! And the usual methods of helping have not been working!

So last week I broke down and called our help nurse that we have through our doctor's office. What surprised me was all the natural and home methods she had to help! Surely I cannot be the only one with this problem, and so I thought I would share!

She recommended:

• five small meals instead of the usual 3
• sitting up after meals no matter how much I feel like laying down - a compromise is to sit with feet up on a stool, or some such arrangement.
• avoiding spicy food
  
• eating peppermints when the heartburn hits
• having a few sips of carbonated soda (decaf of course) when heartburn hits
  

While the first three were ones I was familiar with, the last two were not, and they have worked the best! So that is definitely what works for me!

And I would throw in enjoy baby kicking and moving because that definitely makes me feel better about the whole heartburn issue! :-)

Do what you can, then relax

Lately I have been feeling behind on a lot of things. I am barely doing the baking for our family, let alone enough to be sharing with others. I am barely managing to cook our meals (food is still not my friend at 23 weeks of pregnancy), let alone commit to taking a meal to another family. My house is basically clean, could be neater. My laundry is cleaned, but not all put away.

Then top that off with the desires to serve more nutritious meals, to buy and grow more organic, to do better at stretching our budgets, to follow the examples of my dear friend who is the pro at cooking nutritious, organic meals and running a "green" house.

Yet I don't see her on the days when she is overwhelmed.

There is always going to be someone doing a better job at what we want to be doing, but then there will be areas where they are struggling too.

We accept in our spiritual lives that it is a journey, we walk with the Lord, we follow Him, it is a process of sanctification.

We accept in our children's lives that they are learning and growing.

We even accept that doctors are "practicing."

But we hold ourselves to the impossible standard of excellence.

So my tip for today?

Do the best you can, do what you can, then relax. This is not an opportunity to be negligent or lax, but rather an opportunity to be more joyful!

If you want to make more nutritious meals commit to serving a vegetable or fruit with every meal for the next week - a doable goal! And easier for your family!

If you want to cut back on your meat buying plan one meatless supper this week, and another next week, then after a month or two work in a second one!

Focus on gradual changes, think of it like a journey, and then enjoy it. Take the pressure off yourself so that you can enjoy caring for your family!

When making changes think baby steps not a sprint race.

Also, understand what is reasonable in your corner of the world, in your family and for your family!

I live in California, I will not get the deals that MoneySavingMom does in Kansas, but I can get some good ones!

I do not have the option of buying a portion of organic fed cow or a share of a grain CSA as they are not available here. But I can pick up organic fruit when it is priced right and use my back flowerbeds to grow fruit and veggies organically.

When I started doing our own baking I started with the biggest problems of nut contamination and slowly worked my way into doing all the baking. It was not an instant thing! (Although with an allergy to manage I was pretty motivated to move pretty quickly!)

My husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, and a pasta lover. To feed him funky health food in an immediate change would freak both him and my daughter out, but I can slowly try different things and hang onto the things that work! (And doing my own baking helps!) Plus with the fruit trees in the back yard we would like to see if we can make our own juice!

We don't have a grain mill, but are slowly saving for one so we can mill our own grain and it be more nutritious, and while I will start with basic wheats I will slowly be able to try different grains! In the mean time, I do the best I can with what I have!

And yet, when so many are having a hard time with the rising cost of groceries, our grocery/household budget remains unchanged from a year ago as I have learned to maximize it. In fact, I am under budget from the start of the year by over $200!

And when I think back to where we were a year ago, and where we are now I can see the baby steps of changes adding up.

And lest you think I write this for you, know that I am writing these words to strengthen and encourage myself.

So do what you can, take a baby step in a direction of growth, and then relax and enjoy the blessings of your life.

That is my Kitchen Tip, and it also works for me!

Overnight Invalid Cooler

I don't really have a good name for this contraption, all I know is that with a two story house, we use this whenever someone is sick enough that night time stairs become an issue!

Basically, you take a cooler and fill it with the necessary items, and a basket and fill it with the necessary items as part of the bed time routine, and that way there is no groggy up and down the stairs.

Recovering from Miss Pear's arrival by C-section (little darling flipped to breach at 37 weeks and would not budge, feet and head up, bottom down) the cooler was filled with ice and bottles of water we kept refilling! The basket was filled with granola bars for night time nursing sustenance, and pain killer so that I could always find it.

When I first broke my toe a week and a half ago the cooler was filled two bags of ice for night time icing (they do not give pregnant women pain killer, just ice and Tylenol), water and gatorade as I was having a bit of dehydration. The basket was skipped and the Tylenol was just set beside the basket. What was important was that my husband could find everything when I cried out at night! Goodness knows that for the first few nights I was going no where fast!

This tip is kind of odd, but it has saved our family so many steps up and down the stairs, thereby preserving our precious sleep and making us all happier in the morning!

We even do a simple version of this when we have colds or something that is not really serious because it just works so well!

Using Up Leftover or Stale Bread

Maybe I am the only woman this happens to, but I kind of doubt it. No one in our family will eat the heals of bread! And occasionally it seems like the last 3ish slices of bread get kind of dry. Okay for toast, but not much else. I absolutely hate to throw things I can use away, so if I do not have enough to make a batch of Overnight French Toast with it, I always put these chunks of bread in the freezer for the following uses:

Breadcrumbs - thaw bread, run through blender or food processor, and spread out on a half sheet pan to dry out (to avoid mold). If the crumbs will not dry out in a couple hours, or if you have the oven on any ways, place the pan right where the oven vents (ours vents at the back and "blows" onto the back elements), or pop it in the bottom of the oven when you are doing something else to get them dry. Store extra in air tight container.

Croutons - the recipes for croûtons vary, but all include using older bread, cut into bite sized cubes, tossed with flavored oil and baked. Search your favorite recipe site until you find one you like.

You can make your own homemade stuffing mix - no more shelling out for Stove Top!

You can take a couple of dried out pieces of bread and just crumble them up into your ground meat mixtures in place of bread crumbs - much more tasty! (If they are really dry you can run them under a bit of water to make them more manageable.)

I save all the raisin bread to make dressing (stuffing) for our roast chicken! So much better than just plain bread!

Or you can also make one of my favorite casseroles from the More With Less Cookbook (link on sidebar)

Garden Supper Casserole page 138 in my book

2-4 cups cubed soft bread
1/2 c shredded sharp cheese (because I use the 4 cups of bread I also use more like a cup of cheese)
2 Tbsp margarine, melted

Spread half the mixture in a greased 1-2 quart casserole and top with:

1 cup cooked peas (I just use frozen) 2 sliced carrots

Saute until tender:
3 Tbsp margarine
2 tbsp chopped onion (we like a little more, so I usually use more like half a medium onion)

Blend in:
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is bubbly.

Stir in:

1 1/2 cups milk

Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.

Stir in:
1 cup cooked beef, chicken or pork diced (I always use chicken)

Our this mixture over the peas and carrots. Arrange on top:

1 large tomato, sliced (optional)

Sprinkle with remaining bread mixture

Bake uncovered at 350F for 30-35 minutes.

(my changes to the recipe are in italics)

Bounce Static From Your Skirt

I am finally returning to Works for Me Wednesday after a LONG break, basically because I finally have something to share!

Easter Sunday we were heading out the door for church when I realized I had REALLY bad static cling in my skirt, the light flitty spring ones that are actually two layers, and one layer was as static-laced as the other - it almost looked like I was wearing culottes! I kid you not!

And we have no static guard to help.

Humidity was below 20% so it was not just going to fall out on its own.

So I figured if Bounce sheets were good in the dryer for keeping static in out of your clothes, it was worth a try.

There was no time to change so I asked my husband to rub the inside of my skirt with a bounce sheet. He looked at me kind of weird, but agreed. And it WORKED!

The funny thing was that as soon as he was done with my skirt our daughter (almost 3) walked up to him and said, "My turn!" Her dress was almost as bad as mine!

So, using a bounce sheet to get static out of your skirt works for me!

Which side do we gas up on?

My husband has a number of talents that at first kind of freaked me out, but that I have grown to both appreciate and rely on. I am incredibly geographically challenged, so when we first started dating, and we would be going somewhere we had never been before, and Mr. Pear would glance at the map and then LEAVE IT AT HOME, I would freak out, just a little bit.... But we never got lost. He is like a walking atlas, and if he has been there once, he can find it again, even years later!

When we were on vacation in September, I was surprised how he was always able to pull up the right side of the gas pump regardless of whose car we had! So I asked how he was always able to do that.

He pointed to the little gas pump by the gas gauge.

Then he brought my attention to the little arrow beside it.

Cars made in North America all have a little arrow beside the gas gauge icon pointing to which side the gas cap is on!

Am I the only one who did not know this?

So are you going to go out to your car and check?

Any ways, knowing what side to gas the car up on always works for me!

Speaking of gassing up the car, what are you paying where you live? Here in Southern California we paid $3.019 a gallon (discounted at Costco) last time we gassed up, but I am seeing it often at $3.25. (Which will probably make a whole lot of people feel better about what they are paying!)

Freezer Scones

My dear friend gave me a wonderful Christmas gift - scones for the freezer! They were delicious, and it was wonderful to have scones whenever we wanted with no fuss! She graciously shared the recipe with me, so now I am sharing it with you!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (skip if using salted butter)
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, or larger dried fruit roughly chopped) (optional)
• 2 1/2 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2/3 cups of buttermilk

Directions

1. Line an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all dry ingredient with cherries, if using, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add butter, and mix on medium-low speed until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, and mix until combined.
2. Turn out mixture onto a clean work surface. With hands, quickly pat mixture into a 16-by-3 1/2-inch rectangle that is 1 1/2 inches high. Score rectangle into ten triangles. Cover with plastic wrap, and transfer to the freezer for at least 2 hours.
3. (If freezing to pull a couple out at a time, remove from the freezer after about 2-3 hours, cut the rest of the way through, and freeze using the zip top bag method.)
   
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove dough from the freezer, and cut into triangles with a sharp knife. Place scones 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake until lightly golden, about 20-25 minutes.

Next up in the series, apparently in no particular order:
- Planning your shopping, prep and cooking
- Storing your meals revisited and revised
- Keeping track of what is in your freezer and what is the oldest
- Freezer lunch stash complete with ideas
- Freezer breakfast stash complete with ideas
- What little I know about having a group of friends who share freezer meals
- Books and resources I love
- Successfully freezing cookies and baking
- Answers to questions you post for me or email to me (email button is in my profile).


Previously in the series:
Introduction to the series
Why Freezer Meals?
My Usual Method
Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Pesto Butter and Chicken Cordon Blue
Chicken Enchiladas
Kitchen Day - Tortilla Soup and Enchiladas (How To)
Blessing of Freezer Meals
Lazy Lasagna - A Freezer Meal
Sauce for Freezer Meatballs
Pineapple Tuna Cracker Snack
Freezer Cooking with Limited Space
Orange Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Orange-Apricot Glazed Pork Chops
Converting your Casserole Recipes to Freezer Recipes
Converting your Meat Recipes to Freezer Meals
Triple Chocolate Cookies
Bacon-Macaroni Bake
Once A Month Freezer Cooking Simply Explained
Planning Your Freezer Cooking Shopping Session
Zip Top Bag Method
Italian Sausage and Tomato Sauce
Menu Planning
Freezer Cooking Online Resources
Asian Beef Kabobs
Honey Mustard Chicken
Swapping Meals with a Friend
January Swap / Orange Teriyaki Chicken
Freezing Cookies
Redeeming Freezer Burnt Meat

Redeeming Freezer Burnt Meat

I LOVE using my freezer to make meal time easier, and even swap freezer meals with two friends of mine.

However, when we moved in the late spring, our freezer did not get defrosted, just tossed on the truck for the 2 hour drive. It needed to be defrosted.

Then in the fall, the door did not close quite right, but was quickly found. But it needed to be defrosted.

Then there was all that hot weather, and our freezer is in the garage. And IT NEEDS TO BE DEFROSTED!

But where it is requires the garage to be organized before it can be defrosted safely, and we are having ceiling shelving put in tomorrow (I found a deal where it is cheaper to have a pro do it than to do it ourselves!).

The whole point of this story is that a pocket of frost developed where I could not see it, and has all but wrecked a couple packages of stuffed chicken. Rather than toss it, or feed my family shoe leather, I will be cooking it up and dicing it up, removing the tough sections (this is easier once the chicken is cooked), then freezing it by using the zip top bag method (each bag will have 1 cup).

So that takes care of the chicken, but 2 steaks also got touched. Yuck! So I put pepper steak and tacos carne asada on the menu for this week. Even though these are meals that I would not normally use this cut of meat for, it is a good way to use it up as it is not fit for barbecuing now!

Now the best tip would be to not let this happen, but things happen, so I am very happy that I am not going to lose this meat, and that it will still be usable!

(Oh, and I do not anticipate this happening in the future as I was given a FoodSaver for Christmas...but still, I will use zip top bags for a lot of stuff, and this can always happen!)

However, managing to not throw out expensive cuts of meat always works for me!

Next up in the series, apparently in no particular order:
- Planning your shopping, prep and cooking
- Storing your meals revisited and revised
- Keeping track of what is in your freezer and what is the oldest
- Freezer lunch stash complete with ideas
- Freezer breakfast stash complete with ideas
- What little I know about having a group of friends who share freezer meals
- Books and resources I love
- Successfully freezing cookies and baking
- Answers to questions you post for me or email to me (email button is in my profile).


Previously in the series:
Introduction to the series
Why Freezer Meals?
My Usual Method
Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Pesto Butter and Chicken Cordon Blue
Chicken Enchiladas
Kitchen Day - Tortilla Soup and Enchiladas (How To)
Blessing of Freezer Meals
Lazy Lasagna - A Freezer Meal
Sauce for Freezer Meatballs
Pineapple Tuna Cracker Snack
Freezer Cooking with Limited Space
Orange Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Orange-Apricot Glazed Pork Chops
Converting your Casserole Recipes to Freezer Recipes
Converting your Meat Recipes to Freezer Meals
Triple Chocolate Cookies
Bacon-Macaroni Bake
Once A Month Freezer Cooking Simply Explained
Planning Your Freezer Cooking Shopping Session
Zip Top Bag Method
Italian Sausage and Tomato Sauce
Menu Planning
Freezer Cooking Online Resources
Asian Beef Kabobs
Honey Mustard Chicken
Swapping Meals with a Friend
January Swap / Orange Teriyaki Chicken
Freezing Cookies

A New Year, A New Card and Gift File

This is my last post in this little mini series, and believe it or not, this is my best kept secret.

Except for the couple months after our daughter was born my cards are always on time, I don't forget, and I don't miss occasions.

My friends are always shocked, and impressed.

But the secret is, I make my computer work for me!

I have all birthdays and occasions in an online planner with reminders set for two weeks to a month ahead of time, depending on what is appropriate, and I look each Monday (other times too, but I make a point of Mondays).

I have an Excel file with 4 workbooks in it for Christmas Presents, Christmas Cards, Other Presents and other Cards sorted by date and recipient and includes item, cost, store, if I bought it, if it is wrapped, where I hid it, and if I shipped it.

While it is a big job the first time I set it up, now with each new year I save it under the new year, clear out last year's cards and presents, and it is all set with names and dates pre-filled, waiting to be filled with cards and gifts purchases all over again. It saves me from running to the store at the last minute, and wondering who in the world I bought that for!

Possibly over the top, but it really does work incredibly well for me!

Project Friday

I have a new thing that helps me out in the kitchen so much I just have to tell you! A friend of mine and I get together on Friday's for Project Friday. Now I would be lying if I said we managed this every week, it is more like every second week...almost.

But on Project Friday we get together to do a project or to finish a project, usually baking. So one Friday we made pie crusts, and took them home in disks ready for use. Last Friday we made gingerbread man dough. We have made bread, hot chocolate for gifts, and a ton of other stuff. As a rule, unless absolutely necessary, we don't do the actual baking, just the preparation of the dough and clean-up.

And with two sets of hands and eyes is makes light work and the children are all playing together where we can see them! (Or helping us).

As for sharing supplies and keeping it "even", we take turns at each other's houses, with the one hosting being responsible for suppling the ingredients, but if all of a sudden I am short molasses, my friend will share hers. In the end it all works out!

This has been a tremendous help to me, so I would encourage you to find a friend you can do this with too! It is also helpful for crafting activities too! And if you are wondering how to get your Christmas baking done, now you know what works for me!

AHH Panic! Chicken Parmensan

Welcome to the AHHHHH PANIC! Edition of WFMW. The what do you cook for supper at the last minute when your day has gone exactly opposite to plan and you have a sick child too?

I turn to my: Cheater Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Fingers
1 pkg of spaghetti
2 cans spaghetti sauce
shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese (from the container in the fridge, you know, the kind of powdered stuff)

1. Turn oven on to preheat to whatever the magic temperature is to cook the chicken fingers, and put a pot of water on the stove to heat to a boil (oh yeah, turn the stove on too).

2. Put appropriate amount of chicken fingers in 9x13 to cook, put in hot oven and cook per directions.

3. Cook spaghetti per directions, and drain.

4. Mix spaghetti and one can of sauce in pan.

5. Chicken fingers are cooked - great, take them out of the pan. Pour the spaghetti mixture in, throw chicken on top - I mean - artfully arrange chicken on top.

6. Pour sauce over chicken, sprinkle chicken with shredded mozzarella cheese and a shake or two from the parmesan cheese container you always keep in the fridge.

7. Back in the oven until the cheese is nicely melted, and serve, hopefully on plates.....

8. Take a deep breath and relax

9. Clean up - in my kitchen everything used to make this meal can go IN THE DISHWASHER!

Christmas Baking Lists

Two years ago I sat down and wrote down all the Christmas baking I do each year. This kept me from having to sit down each year and try to remember all the baking I do. So now, each year I just pull out the list and get started! It saves me SO much time!

On my list is:

Christmas Cake
Shortbread Cookies
Gingerbread Cookies
Cookie Square
Pink Icing Cake
Vinatarta
Mars Bar Square

Each year I also bake Cinnamon Buns ahead of time and pop them in the freezer, then Christmas Eve after supper I pull them out, let them thaw over night, and then warm them up in the morning for breakfast (with fruit and stuff, to tide us over to a big brunch).

If I make changes, or add stuff, I just update the list for next year!

And of course, I store it all in the freezer, and then use my special snowman plate and pull it out a plate at time so we always have variety!

This year I am going to also plan out my menus and then type them up so that I have a list because every year it is the same thing of asking myself what we do again!

My plan is by this time next year to have menu lists for all the special occasions in our lives! Of course, birthdays will still be a case of "What special thing can I make you?"

So that is it, it is a kitchen tip that works for me!

The Kitchen Bible

Now, maybe this is just me, and if it is, bear with me.

But sometimes, especially when I have A LOT to do, my attitude in my kitchen falters. I may not grumble, but I lose my focus of why I am doing this (to care for and bless my family) and cease to do my work to the glory of God (Col 3:23). Sometimes I feel overwhelmed, and sometimes I feel like just ordering pizza instead.

However, with the Fabulous Holiday Trifecta coming up (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years) and all that goes with it, and all the extra baking we do, I REALLY need to make sure I do this.

To help keep my attitude right in the kitchen and stay motivated I have my kitchen Bible. Gone are the days of morning long quiet times, and that is okay, but I still crave that feeding of the Word! So I keep a Bible open on the kitchen counter to whatever I need most. I read a couple verse and keep going, mulling them over as I go. I talk to my daughter about them, I think about it while I just keep going.

That Bible's only job is to get mussed and dirty because honestly, it does. Not badly, but occasionally there are spills or splashes, and pages get bent (thankfully not ripped, but tape would fix that too).

My kitchen Bible is not my study Bible, it is my kitchen partner, and while I prepare to feed my family, the Lord uses it to feed me. It never leaves my kitchen unless it is to be put on the kitchen table in the dining room, and then it quickly returns to the kitchen.

When I am done working in the kitchen I will close it, but it stays on the counter, just upright by the phone. And soon comes out again.

By the way, I started doing this in a kitchen so very small that I would put a cutting board across the sink for more space! I simply propped the Bible up against the wall and used something I was already using, like a cutting board, to anchor it!

This tip definitely helps me in the kitchen, especially during holiday season when I am in there all the more! So it is one of my best kitchen tips, plus it Works for Me!

WMFW Backwards Day! Family Night

Today is another BACKWARDS edition of Works-For-Me Wednesday. Which I love! You all gave me such wonderful ideas and tips regarding starting to home schooling that I have to try again!

I am trying to make one night into a special family fun night. Our daughter is 2 and a half. And I am just looking for some fun and easy ideas! Preferably frugal too!

What do you do for family fun night? Or to do something special as a family Sunday afternoons?

Canning Pears

I have always been enchanted with the idea of a full pantry of canned fruit and veggie goodness.

There were just two problems:
1. We live in California so we don't have a basement for a cold room, or room for a real pantry anywhere.
2. I am not so enchanted with all the work of canning, it is really hard, hot work!

But I was determined this year to can pears, pear butter and million dollar relish, which I did!

However, as a girl who loves process improvement I streamlined my Mother-in-law's instructions to a very easy, streamlined, few dishes method.

1. In your on the stove kettle (or you can use a pot and ladle, but this is easier) mix your syrup mixture (double or triple as needed):

• 3 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp Fruit Fresh (or the like)

Heat to a boil and then turn down to simmer.
(It would also work to heat it in your pot and then transfer it to a large measuring cup for easier pouring)

2. While this is coming to a boil make sure your jars and lids are ready.

3. Peal your pears with a vegetable peeler. Use a melon baller to scoop out the seeds, and your knife to slice (in a V shape) the rest of the core out.

4. As each pear is peeled, cut it and place it into it's jar. When the jar is filled with the amount of pears you are putting in immediately wipe the rim of the jar, pour the syrup from the kettle over it and pop the lid on. Work quickly so that your pears do not have time to brown.

5. As soon as you have a pot full of jars, immediately start processing them so that you can make time. (I had the water starting to heat to a boil with step 1) Process using your favored method (I like a covered dutch oven with boiling water 3/4 up the sides, processing for 30 minutes).

6. Remove processed jars from water CAREFULLY (silicon mitt is great for this) and place on cooling rack to, well, cool. Wait for the happy popping sound of the jar sealing.

7. Let sit for about 2 weeks before digging in....I know, but try!

By using this method I was done in a lot less time, and my dirty dishes were about half of the original method that involved blanching the pears, pealing and cutting them all, setting them to soak in a Fruit Fresh and water mixture while you cut so they would not brown, them placing them in jars method!

This method would likely work in canning any fruit that you are suspending in a syrup.

Works for me, and my favorite kitchen tip to share this fall! It worked so well for me that I assure you I will be canning pears next year! Now if I could just fix the lack of real pantry problem......

What would you like to preserve from summer's bounty for the winters?

(Plus, pears are on sale at Vons / Safeway / Pavilions this week for $0.39 a pound!)