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A Schedule for a Quarantined Day

April 19, 2020 by Tasha Hackett 2 Comments

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Let me check my schedule: Create a workout parody video. CHECK

Who’s having fun?! We are!? (Hint: I schedule fun into my week.)

I schedule Saturdays for playing and Whew! Just finished creating a silly work-out video with my family. We dressed up and I donned some bright pink lipstick. Blue tights, overlaid with my swimsuit. Nothing like a little family fun to get the day going.

“Wow,” you say, “Tasha’s family is so cool. I wish I could be as cool as her.” Well, don’t let me fool you. We completely trashed the house and had cheerios for breakfast all week, pre-packaged chicken nuggets three days in a row because my mind has been so overwhelmed with I-don’t-even-know that I couldn’t think past the next five minutes and then it was time for another meal… and another meal. What is it with these people!? Didn’t I just feed them? I don’t know what day it is anymore. My mom’s birthday was on the 17th and I almost missed it because I was a week behind (thought it was only April 11th) **Face Palm**

I have bad days and good days, BUT I have a daily routine that keeps me mostly sane during this quarantine.

The only way I have survived is maintaining my schedule. Do you have one? Years ago I scoured the internet looking for a Stay-At-Home-Mom routine and didn’t find one I liked. So I made up my own. It morphs through the years, each new kid and season changes it.

Morning Routine and Homeschool Life

The ideal perfect morning would look like this, but more often than not I crawl out of bed at 7 because the baby’s still not sleeping through the night:

5:30 AM Wake // Pray // Meditate on scripture // Stretch

6:00 AM Make bed // Shower // Dress

6:15 AM Drink water // Put (frozen or premade) breakfast in oven // Read // Study

6:45 AM Empty dishwasher // Start laundry // Set out breakfast

Lots of help around here!

7:00 AM Wake kids // Help the littles with Morning List

Too often I let my day start here.

Kids’ Morning List: Make Bed, Get Dressed, PJs Away, Diaper in Trash, Drink Water, Go Potty, Fix Hair, Read Daily Verse, Take Care of Pets. (This list is an anchor and must be done before breakfast.)

Meet Tippy! Our friendly pet rat.

7:15 AM Breakfast and Tidy Kitchen (Kids Help: Clear the Table, Wipe the Table, Sweep the Floor.)

8:00 AM House Blessings (Each kid has a separate daily chore. Gather laundry from all over the house, empty trash, sweep bathroom), Extra Daily Chore, (This will be anything that needs done to maintain the home such as wiping the mirror in the playroom, dusting the piano, vacuuming around the furniture, watering plants, sweeping the entry, lining up shoes, etc. We skip this when breakfast runs late.)

8:30 AM Walk Outside, Online Workout, or movement of some kind. (If nothing else we pretend to be a variety of animals. I have a 7, 5, and 3 year old, so they like that, and we have to keep moving throughout the day because, you know, kids and energy.)

Quack! Quack! Off we go.

9:00 AM Morning Time // School

Morning Time with the Kids, My Favorite!

I learned this term from A Humble Place, but it is a Charlotte Mason homeschooling idea. This is the heart of what is most valuable in our home education. Not worksheets and tests and homework, but singing, and poetry, and beautiful ideas.

Our Morning Time can take anywhere from 10 minutes to a full hour depending on the moods of the kids and what we have going on for the day and if we started on time. I won’t go into much detail, but this is bullet points of what we cover; if short on time, we don’t do everything listed:

Pray for God to speak to us and bless our day

Bible story or scripture to think about

Song from our Hymnal: We sing all the verses to the same hymn for an entire month

Review one or three other hymns from previous months

More Singing: American Folk songs, silly songs, National Anthem

(I excuse myself to put the baby down for a nap right around here, I don’t know what they do while I’m gone for 10 minutes, but they’re all still alive in the living room or on the couch when I get back.)

Pledge of Allegiance

Poetry: We love poetry! This is a lovely book: Favorite Poems Old and New, Selected for boys and girls by Helen Farris. We read 1-5 a day depending on how we feel. I ask, “Shall I stop or read another?” The answer is usually, “More!” I pick one that I like and read it every day for the month along with the dailies. By the end of the month the kids are reciting it with me. We have found many poets we love, Carl Sandburg and Robert Louis Stevenson, to name a couple.

Art Appreciation. We look at prints of famous paintings. We don’t worry about educating ourselves on the style or anything. I just show them the picture and talk about what we see and what we like. “If you were in this picture, what would you be doing?” “What are they doing here?” “What do you suppose he is thinking about?” “Do you think she is sad?” (You can buy many of the prints here. So far Peter Bruegel the Elder is our favorite. Who knew!?)

Nursery Rhymes. Great for little guys and surprisingly still applicable through elementary. I love watching my three-year-old learning along with the 2nd grader. I often find them reciting these while they play through-out the days.

We close with the Lord’s Prayer, sing the Doxology, and a simple Benediction, “May the Lord be with you.” And we answer each other, “And also with you!” (My boy used to say, “May the Yord be wif me.” It was lovely.)

School Time!

Working mostly quietly

After our official Morning Time is over, the youngest wanders off the to play with cars and little animals while I read a chapter book. I find narrative stories that are engaging, yet not dumbed down in the least. A.A. Milne’s “Winne the Pooh” we have read multiple times. Currently we’re reading Richard of Jamestown by James Otis. We’ve read all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and Chronicles of Narnia. If we are short on time I’ll skip this because Dad will read to them in the evenings, too.

We have many nooks for individual play and quiet time.

I do 10-ish minutes of a reading lesson with the Kindergartener out of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Engelmann. This will take us much longer than 100 days because we do the same lesson two or even three days in a row because she was getting frustrated. Slowing it down has been amazing for her confidence. She is now excited to see progress instead of discouraged when it was difficult. With the 2nd grader we’re using McGuffy’s Eclectic Reader Series a lesson a day, then I assign copy work to both of them. Copy work is often short. We desire a few perfectly written words rather than a whole page of sloppy handwriting. My kids have surprisingly neat handwriting.

The Kindergartener is done with school for the day. The 2nd grader has math practice, or learning new math skills; he’s going through the Math-It packet (Elmer Brooks), and The Complete Book of Math Grades 1-2 (School Specialty Publishing), he looks up a word in the dictionary and we read the definition together, finds a country on the globe and then finds the same country on our large wall map. We then talk about how we could get there from Nebraska. Those things are listed on his schedule; he can complete many of them on his own.

If you’re looking for some simple curriculum that invites family participation, memorizing scripture AND serving your community, I highly recommend Laura’s ebook Learn Your Letters Learn to Serve. This is INCLUDED with your club membership! (Everyone cheers!!)

This map makes us legit homeschoolers, right?

We are often done by 10:30 AM. The kids have free time until lunch. They find all sorts of things to do on their own. (See, and here you thought my kids stuck to a boring schedule all day long.) They have access to craft supplies where they make paper puppets on popsicle sticks and put on shows, draw comic book-style scenes, draw pictures, my girl will often copy her reading lesson to show it off to Dad, they have train sets and blocks and tents, they build towers and dress up and generally make messes everywhere. If it’s nice they run around outside.

Can you find all four!?

I do a variety of things. I may play on my phone, (I know, I know…Instagram is sucking my brain out.), meal prep, do a special project with one of the kids, sew something, read books, call my sisters, clean the bathrooms or other chores, go outside and check on my plum trees (THEY HAVE BUDS THIS YEAR!!), and put lunch in the oven.

11:30 AM Wake up the baby from his nap. Read to him, snuggle, and play.

12:00 Dad comes up from his basement cave where he’s working from home and we eat lunch.

Afternoon

All help tidy the kitchen, switch laundry (2nd grader’s chore), get ready to go outside.

Family walk or outside time (if the weather allows)

Free time

One of many daily creations.

2:00 PM Nap time for baby, quiet time in separate rooms for everyone else. They are not allowed to talk to me or each other until 3:00. The 3 year old usually falls asleep in my bed. I don’t know what the 5 year old does, but she stays in her room with dolls and books and things. The 7 year old plays Legos and looks at picture books and draws in his room.

Finally, I check-out from mom-life in whichever room is the cleanest and causes the least amount of stress, and get incredibly snippy if anyone tries to talk to me during this time. With my laptop I sit and write and write and write. I blog (like now), but mostly I am attempting to write a novel. It’s been three years in the making but I am determined to finish it this year… #goals. I’ll keep you up to date if I ever finish. Because it’s on the schedule, I’m much more likely to do it.

My office!

If I absolutely don’t feel like writing, I read something I want to read and eat a yummy snack that I don’t share with anybody.

3:00 PM The bigger kids are allowed to come out of their rooms and play quietly in the house or go outside. The younger two generally sleep longer.

He naps in my bed because he shares a room.

4:00 PM I close the laptop and come out of hiding. Wake the baby if he’s still sleeping. Dad joins us and we play outside, fold laundry, work on a home project together, grocery shop, meal prep, etc.

5:00 PM Dinner and kitchen clean up.

Evening

6:00 PM Family time. House clean-up, outside time, reading books, listen to music and play, dream and draw plans of the house we’re going to build someday, discuss important things like the most deadly animal in the world: Tiger or Mosquito, I might sew something, paint pictures, kids take baths, go on walks, etc. If I don’t schedule this time in, we miss it! This is my favorite part of the quarantine: Daddy is home every evening.

Group project: Removing wallpaper!

6:30 Baby is ready for bedtime routine and he’s asleep by 7:00

7:00 Dad puts the older three to bed. I finish cleaning the kitchen, fold laundry, bring the laptop back out to work some more, sew something, paint something, waste more time on my phone.

Tasha sitting at sewing machine because playing is on the schedule

One of my many hobbies.

8:00 Lights out for the bigger kids

9-10: Lights out for me. And up again at midnight and 3 AM with the baby.

OKAY!!! That’s the basic outline of our day. Not every day goes by this schedule exactly. But the framework has SAVED my kids and me. They know what to expect, and Dad knows what to expect. They don’t have to ask me “Can I go outside?” “When is lunch?” “Am I done with school?” The answer is on the schedule.

What keeps you grounded?

Beep Beep! The bus is leaving.

Do you have a schedule or routine? Does your family know what to expect each day? Do they know what’s expected of them? This schedule has been a life-saver, but it’s been through many transformations. It will look differently this summer and next fall when Dad goes back to work.

Tell me, how is your day planned out?

Tasha, friend of Laura is a stay-at-homeschool-mom to four kids. When she’s not writing about money and birthdays and how to survive anything, she can be found Instagramming for Laura @heavenlyhomemaker, producing something from a variety of creative hobbies, sneaking treats she doesn’t want to share with her family, and repurposing old shirts into toddler dresses. She and her family recently bought two-acres of prairie and are dreaming of a little house to build on it.

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Want an update on how my new organizational binder is (or is not) helping me?

June 1, 2016 by Laura 10 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

A few weeks ago, I started doing this radical thing called “write stuff down so I don’t forget” in a never-heard-of-before item called an “organizational binder.”

I know. I’m one of the first to do it. This type of thing has never been done before. No one has ever heard of it. Planners? Calendars? What even are these?

Sarcastic much, Laura?

You know what? You people who have been doing this list thing since you learned to write words? You just laugh all you want. I’ve always been a “write-it-down” rebel. I’ve never wanted to be tied down to any list. Lists stress me out – as if writing it down means that I’ve failed if for some reason I can’t cross it off at the end of the day. There were too many days I’d leave too many items unfinished and un-crossed off. Boo.

So instead I just kept my 40,000 item to-do list trapped in my head, swirling around, all day long. This is the main reason I’d stare blankly at my children when they’d ask about having friends over on Friday. In order to answer, the file cabinet in my brain had to pull out several drawers, and then the brain papers scattered, which means I provided several different facial expressions before I’d finally answer the can I have friends over on Friday question with put them in the pantry when you’re finished answer.

What? My kids are used to it.

But enough is enough, so finally a few weeks ago I began to get better about writing down the absolutes of my schedule. I printed all my favorite organization pages from the Homemaking Bundle and put them together in a cute binder. I didn’t want to hate my lists, so I did this instead:

If it has a day attached to it (such as Hannah’s reception, 2:00 Saturday, April 30) I write that down on the specific day. I’d already been doing some of that, because even I have understood the importance of writing those kinds of details on a calendar.
If it doesn’t have a day attached to it but is only an I hope to get this done sometime before Malachi graduates in 2023, I write it on a general list. After all, if I wrote it on Monday and didn’t accomplish it on Monday, then I’d be mad at my list and we’d be right back where we started.

You never knew I was so high maintenance did you?

How’s my new organizational binder treating me, you ask?

Splendid, I’d say. (Channeling my inner Mary Poppins there. Or was it Bert? Whatever. I’ll add look up who used the word splendid on my never ending to-do list. Oh, no, wait. I remember. It was Mr. Banks. Okay, moving on.)

As I begin each day, I write down the must-do’s and the hope-to-do’s in my binder – in separate sections. As they come to me, I jot down meal ideas on the meal planning page. As I think of recipes I want to try to invent and posts I want to write, I write them on a different list.

Now if my kids say, “Can I have friends over on Friday?” I look on the calendar and say, “Yes. We’re free.” This isn’t nearly as much fun as telling them to put their friends in the pantry, but it is more efficient.

Here’s the truth about my organizational binder that I finally recognize and why I can stop being a “write-it-down” rebel:

My planner doesn’t own me.

I own my planner.

So what if I write down an idea based on a plan I have for the day or the week, but other needs arise and I don’t get it all done? Who even cares? I only need to do what I do. Not getting all of it done isn’t a symptom of failure – it’s a reality of life.

Words on paper mean nothing (unless it’s the Bible or like a marriage certificate or something, but you know what I mean). But the simple act of writing down all the to-do’s and getting them out of my swirling head has truly been helpful. I shall continue this revolutionary idea of writing lists in planners.

Maybe you all should try it sometime. No pressure.

Are you a writer-downer? Or do you tell your kids to put their friends in the pantry?

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The Day I Gave Up and Decided to Make Lists (It’s Time for Laura to Get Organized)

April 27, 2016 by Laura 7 Comments

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Everyone thinks I’m organized.

People say to me, “If I was organized like you…” or “I’m sure the reason you get so much done everyday is because you’re so organized…” And I’m like, “Are you for real? Have you seen my closets?? My desk? The cabinet that holds my Pyrex?!”

cabinet_clean_out_2

I cleaned it once. In 2011.

You guys. I am not great at organizing. My cabinets are a crazy mess. My closet doors won’t close. I don’t know who (if anyone) has a soccer game tomorrow (though we probably have three). When someone asks, “Can you do such-and-such on Tuesday, May 3rd?” I say, “I have no idea. Can you ask me May 2nd?” Thinking beyond today is just about more than my brain can handle.

This hasn’t always been me. Back when I had more time (before I had kids? definitely before I started this blog) I used to write everything down and keep track of my schedule better. Ironically, the busier I have become, the less organized I am.

Shall we all say it together? “Laura, that doesn’t make any sense. Get it together!!!!!”

You get it together.

Whoa. My inner sassy teenager just came out.

Speaking of teenagers – mine are all in charge of keeping track of their own schedules. This is partly why I can check out when it comes to every single thing that needs to be done each day. My sons are the ones who have to tell me when they are reffing soccer, when they have a sports practice, when they have a deadline, and when they have to be somewhere for an activity or obligation. They keep track of their own schedules so that I don’t have to be their brain and mine too. I think we can all be thankful for this.

asa soccer 2015

Still though. Not being more organized has gotten me into trouble more than once, and here’s what I’ve decided most recently:

It would probably help my overloaded spaghetti brain situation if I were to get the to-do lists out of my head and down on paper instead. Maybe?

This is so obvious.

I think part of why I’ve shied away from paper organizational systems for so long is because none of them have worked well for me. They seem too boxy – too one-size-fits-all. Since my life doesn’t fit in a box (read: Laura isn’t normal) I’ve not appreciated specific “here’s how to do it” systems.

Ways I actually am organized:

I do plan meals pretty well.
I always have plenty of food on hand.
I have binders for my work related paperwork and keep very good track of income and expenses for tax purposes.
I make lists for my kids with their school work requirements. (Once. At the beginning of the school year. Then I adapt it as needed and print it off each week.)
I keep thorough transcripts for my high schoolers.

notebook 2

So sure. I’m organized in some ways – just not in all the ways. But in regard to all the ways I’m not organized – I can’t keep up any more so I’ve decided it’s time to try something new.

I came to this conclusion after a heart-felt discussion with my husband (read: Laura was overwhelmed and teary-eyed again). You know how I’ve told you that this teenager-filled season in my life is busier than ever and how the responsibilities are more intense and I keep trying to figure out what is wrong with me now that I’m not keeping up as well as I used to? Every few days it seems I have to overflow from the overload. I have the most long-suffering husband. How many times can he hear me say the same things over and over?

It was during our most recent Laura is overwhelmed same song second verse conversation that I concluded, “Why do I keep doing this? I love everything God is doing in our family and beyond. We’re in the middle of a lot and this is just what it is right now, isn’t it? From now until we get all the boys through school – I just need to buck up and go with it, don’t I? This is it. This is life right now.”

In other words, “I will be okay again sometime after the spring of 2023.”

I made myself an Organization Binder

Just after my conversation with Matt I thought, “Well, duh. I just got (and skipped over) an entire section of books and printables on Organization in the Homemaking Bundle. What if I actually looked at it?”

So I opened it, prayed over it (for real), and asked God to show me what might help make life more doable right now.” I went into it with an open and even eager mind. Just because organizational systems haven’t worked for me in the past doesn’t mean they can’t work for me now.

As God helped specific resources from these choices rise to the top for me, I printed out each page that I felt would benefit my organizational efforts. Then I put them all into a binder. I mean, if I’m going to get organized, I’d better start by putting all my stuff together in one place, right? Also – I should make it cute. Okay then.

organizer1

I colored it myself!

organizer2

Once my binder was put together, I actually started writing stuff down. I made lists. I worked through worksheets. All-the-while, I prayed. I suppose that’s been one of my hang-ups with organizers. I don’t want to be tied down to a to-do list that I’ve created myself. I want to be Spirit led! But how about I ask the Spirit for guidance while I’m making to-do lists? It’s a win-win.

organizer 3

So yay me! I’m writing words on paper in a binder and it is making a difference. Too simple? Of course. I think the most profound changes begin with the most simple ideas. I’ve just been a little too stubborn to relent and do the obvious.

So here we are. I love my life and all its crazy craziness. But the truth is that between homeschooling, keeping up with teenagers, working full time hours, feeding the family, keeping up (ha!) with housework, and being involved in ministries – if I don’t become at least a little more organized, I’m going to be in a constant state of overwhelm. Nobody needs to live that way (or live with someone like that). Phew.

Tell me your status with being organized. Are you like me – organized in some ways but not others? Where do you shine? Where do you need a little extra guidance?

P.S. Notice how I didn’t show you picture proof of how my closet doors don’t close. Be grateful.

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Build Your Menu Planning Notebook

November 17, 2014 by Laura 7 Comments

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If you could find the perfect combination of cute, practical, helpful, easy, and affordable – would you finally be convinced that menu planning isn’t such a drag after all? If someone could hold your hand and walk you through everything you need to do to plan healthy meals for your family – would you jump on board and enjoy the ride? If you found a menu planning system that was just right for you, instead of a one-size-fits-all mess that leaves you frustrated – would you say, “sign me up.”

It’s here! You are going to love the Build Your Menu Planning Packet. Your fun is just about to begin, and just wait till you see the extra special spin we’ve put on this so that you can bless others too!

The Build Your Menu Planning Packet is a resource that will not only simplify your grocery shopping and meal planning organization – it will make the job easy and enjoyable. This packet is full of 124 pages of printables, offering you guidance (and cuteness!) in everything from stocking your pantry, to planning simple menus, to freezer cooking, to having company – and everything else in between.

Here’s a tiny peek into the planning categories this packet includes:

In each of the categories you see above, you’ll get to pick and choose from your favorites, printing and putting together a notebook that’s just right for you. Don’t like some of the styles? Skip it and print the ones you do like! Need your notebook to be heavy on Freezer Cooking Planners but don’t need the Lunch Box Planners? Okeedokee. The planners you like and need are the ones that make it into your notebook.

Here’s a list of each section of the Build Your Menu Planning Notebook Packet:

Basic Ingredients to Keep On Hand Lists

From chicken to beef in your freezer, to cans of tuna and salmon in your pantry – knowing what meats you like to keep on hand for meal preparation is very helpful. The same goes for baking supplies, dry goods, and all other ingredients you use regularly in your kitchen. Within each category on the worksheet, fill in each ingredient you find beneficial to have available in your kitchen in order to efficiently put together basic meals.

Once filled in, use this page as a guide for grocery list making, as well as for a general guideline to help you keep your kitchen well stocked.

Fruit and Vegetable Inspiration at a Glance

We all need many servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Challenge yourself to include more of these nutrient packed goodies in your diet. Use the Fruit and Vegetable Inspiration at a Glance sheet to offer you fresh ideas and to open your mind to variety. Be sure to fill in the blanks with more of your favorite produce items.

Menu Favorites Cheat Sheets

These worksheets are super handy for keeping a running list of all your favorite recipes and meals. They are organized by category so that when you plan your meals, all you have to do is glance through your Cheat Sheets for inspiration and ideas.

Menu Planners

This section is loaded with a wide variety of menu planning pages to help you schedule meals for each week. Choose your favorites, mix and match, print and enjoy!

Grocery Checklists

Choose and print your favorite Grocery List worksheets. Tear them out of your notebook one at a time as you plan your menus and make lists of items to purchase at the store or online.

Online Shopping Lists

If you purchase groceries online from sources like Amazon or Vitacost, it’s helpful to have a running list so that you remember what to order once you make it to the computer.

Freezer Cooking Planners

You might find that making meals ahead of time and storing them in the freezer for a quick meal will save you lots of time and money!

“What’s in the Freezer” sheets

Have a freezer full of meat, fruits, vegetables, and prepared foods? Make lists of what’s in your freezer and attach it to the front of your freezer for an easy reference so that you don’t have to dig around to see what’s hiding behind the frozen chicken.

Planning Ahead for Company Worksheets

Hosting guests? These worksheets will help you plan your menus and prepare meals efficiently so you can enjoy your company.

Baking Day Planners

Need to get some baking done so that you’ll have easy-to-grab snacks and breakfast foods for your family? Use these worksheets to help you plan.

Lunch Packing Planners

If you need to pack lunches for school and/or work, creating a plan will help you do this more efficiently. Fill out any of these worksheets to help you and your family prepare healthy lunches to go.

Cover Pages

Find one that fits you. Print it and slip it behind the clear protector on the front of your binder.

When I built my personal Menu Planning Notebook, I printed 52 Weekly Menu Planners so I’d have one for each week of the year. Some of the planners work well for the way I plan, so that’s what I printed. I chose my favorite designs – the ones that really jumped out at me.

After I had my Weekly Planners in place, I picked my favorites from all the other planning choices: Freezer Cooking, Baking Day, Getting Ready for Company…

My notebook is all put together now, and working on it seriously makes me giddy. Pretty pages, just waiting to be filled in to help me with organization as I work to feed my family? I love it!

Now the even better news.

Anytime you buy an eBook or downloadable packet like this, you get to use it for yourself, and that’s it.

Here you go! Let the Menu Planning Notebook building begin!

Build Your Menu Planning Collection

$9.95

[wp_eStore_fancy1 id=14]

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Gratituesday: Making Headway

April 18, 2011 by Laura 22 Comments

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I know, I know…I haven’t posted the storage room pictures (aka freaky-mess-scary pictures) yet. You talked me into at least taking the pictures and they’ve been uploaded and everything. But I just didn’t see how posting my scary storage room pictures would be a good thing to share for Gratituesday.

I am thankful to have a storage room and enough stuff to make it messy, but still, I like keeping Gratituesday a place of refreshment…not a place to make you run screaming away from my site.

And so, I’ll wait a little while longer to post those pictures (but really, they are coming soon). In the meantime, think grateful thoughts and don’t try to imagine how messy my storage room is. It’s Gratituesday, after all.

I will share that while I was getting myself very dirty and having some very productive storage-room-cleaning-out time today, I found a nice stash of big plastic storage containers. I love glass jars best, but for bulk dry ingredients, it’s great to have big ol’ plastic buckets and jugs for storage. I forgot I had these containers, so I was very happy to dump out the dust and dead crickets (told you that room was scary) so that I can use them again!

I got them all washed up, so soon they’ll be ready to be put to good use in my new organizational system for food storage. I’m very excited and feel good about the headway I’ve made so far!!

I also feel very filthy. Yuck, this is a dirty job. :)

In case you were curious, I made this simple Stir Fried Chicken and Veggies for dinner
tonight using the food we have on hand. All the kids love this meal and it is so easy to make!
(And yes, that was really on the menu for tomorrow, but I switched the two night’s dinners.
This is what happens when you’re busy cleaning and forget to put the roast in the crock pot.)

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!
Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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Breakfast Organization (With Some Great Giveaways!)

February 1, 2011 by Laura 347 Comments

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At the mention of my family’s Oatmeal Rebellion, many of you piped in with your ideas for quick and easy breakfast ideas. You shared some great suggestions, which made me excited to mention some more. You can NOT have too many helpful breakfast ideas in your back pocket. Although I don’t really recommend keeping your actual breakfast in your back pocket. That would be a bad situation on so many levels.

While Sunday mornings are a bit crazy as we all try to get out the door looking halfway presentable…I’m going to also venture to say that every day can be hectic at breakfast time if we don’t have a plan. My kids are hungry from the moment they wake up. One of my boys would actually eat my leg if I didn’t shove an egg in his mouth as he rolls out of bed. He is that hungry. You’d think I didn’t just feed him four helpings of dinner the night before (and a snack before bed).

One of my best recommendations for us to keep our Breakfast Time Organized is to plan ahead. But my best, best recommendation is that if at all possible…make breakfast the night before.

If I can, I bake our next day’s breakfast muffins or bagels or quick bread while I’m making dinner the night before. Or, I’ll start my pancakes or waffles to soaking. Or, I’ll mix up a Breakfast Casserole to have ready to bake the next morning.

It’s easy really…to make breakfast the night before while I’m cooking dinner. I’m already in the cooking mode. I’m already making a mess. Might as well make a bit of a bigger mess and get breakfast baked up too, right?

Then, after dinner, we get the whole kitchen clean (LOVE our Kitchen Chore Chart!) and put our breakfast on the table for the next morning (unless it needs to go into the fridge because leaving out a raw Breakfast Casserole would be about as bad as putting your breakfast in your back pocket).

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You’ll find links to all of my Bread and Breakfast recipes on this page, but I thought I’d highlight my favorite “make-ahead breakfasts” for you here:

Add some fruit or a smoothie or a quick scrambled egg to round out these meals! Planning ahead and cooking ahead can save money and help your family to eat much healthier too. It’s much better than letting my son eat my leg, is it not?

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Part of this complete breakfast (and part of these giveaways) are brought to you by Say Mmm. Excited to hear more?

First, I encourage you to visit Organizing Junkie, who is sharing how she is using Say Mmm to create printable grocery lists. If you’re a blogger, you can link up your recipes and grocery lists with Say Mmm. Organizing Junkie shares how. I’ve shared about how I appreciate Say Mmm’s features for menu planning, grocery list making, recipe organization and more.

Then, be sure to visit each of the following sites who are sharing their wonderful organizational strategies.

Organizing My Kitchen {and Yours Too!} from Finding Joy in my Kitchen
Getting Organized: Menu Planning from Home Ec 101
Say Goodbye to Disorganized Meal Planning from Once a Month Mom
New Feature: Printable Grocery Lists + Giveaway from Organizing Junkie
Organize with Less from The Happy Housewife
Help Getting Organized from Brian at Say Mmm

Are you ready to hear about the giveaways already?

Thanks to Say Mmm, you have a chance to win one of four copies of Organizing Junkie’s book Clutter Rehab here at Heavenly Homemakers. Or, you could win one of three subscriptions to Say Mmm Plus (you can use Say Mmm for free, but subscribing to their Plus plan gives you even more great options!). And…I’ve thrown in three copies of my Do the Funky Kitchen ebook too, to help jump start you on your way to having an organized (and functional!) kitchen.

Leave a comment here for a chance to win one of these ten great prizes!

Plus, be sure to visit the above sites for additional chances to win!! If you visit all the sites and leave comments, you’ll have SO many more chances to win!!

This giveaway is now closed…thanks!

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