Freeze!

Sorry, you only get to see the 'After' shots on the freezer. Trust me, they were about 10x worse than this - or maybe even a 100x worse. I had some stuff encased in ice crystals - I have no idea what it was, I just had to throw it out. And do you see all the Mozzarella? I am never buying big bags of that again. Besides, do you know that all the pre-grated cheese is packed with cellulose (plastic) to keep it from caking together?

Repeat after me: I shall only buy (small) fresh blocks of mozzarella cheese from now on. Sheesh!

The thing in the black rectangle - that is a frozen bite stick. We use it to torture help Tyler with his bite, chew, & swallow reflexes. That canister with the white lid is where the cornmeal is stored so we can make, from scratch, the ultimate in Cornbread recipes - it is so moist and delicious, and quite possibly the most fattening thing you'll ever eat.

Did I mention it's delicious?

Here are some other GeMoOrgNo people:
Lazy Organizer
Multi-Tasking Mommy
My Pursuit of
Just About Perfect

Baking Splendor

Oh! and while I'm thinking about it, see this post for a fun, edible Thanksgiving centerpiece tradition.

Before you don your aprons this Thanksgiving weekend and prepare to put even June Cleaver to shame, you might want to take just a few minutes and assemble a baking bin.

I got the idea from "Confessions of an Organized Homemaker". I keep this bin in a cabinet right under the spot on the kitchen counter where I use the stand mixer.

It has all the odds and ends in it (except for cookie cutters - they have their own bin) that I use for baking and mixing. It doesn't always look this tidy, because my toddler likes to 'bake' too. The bin is a dishpan that cost $1.50 at Wal-meh - there are some great things about that place, if you can overlook all the 'Made in China' tags.

In my pantry, I also have a baking shelf.

It is stocked with flour, sugars, oats, vanilla, baking soda, and just above it are the chocolate chips. Are you wondering why I keep those just out of reach of the littles?

This is a WFMW post, visit Rocks in my Dryer to see what works for others.
This post did double duty as a GeMoOrgNo Post and a Talk About Tuesday post. Here are some other OrgNo people:
Lazy Organizer
Multi-Tasking Mommy
My Pursuit of Happiness
With an Angel on my Shoulder
Just About Perfect

Organize the Paper stuff

I have recycled another organizing picture, but this time I want to tell you my system.

If you have anyone in your family that requires frequent medical care, then you know how time consuming it can be to keep track of it.

I keep a three inch binder and a 3 hole punch in the cupboard above the phone. As EOBs come in, I file them in the binder (by date of service) under the family member's name. I use those post-it flags and stagger them down the side, so I can easily flip to each person's section.

As the bills or the Statement of Services Received come in, I match them to the corresponding Explanation of Benefits. I always leave the actual medical bills in the front pocket and the dental bills in the back pocket until I have something to match them up with.

Also, there are several methods for paying off said bills, and ignoring them while hoping they'll go away isn't the best one for your credit score's health.

Ask the office or service provider what arrangements they can make with you. A lot of the time, there is a cash discount for paying in full. If that amount seems to be too much, most places will break it down into 3 monthly payments and will even auto charge your credit card so you don't have to remember to make the payment each time.

Some will only let you do the three payemtns thing if you pay half the balance and then 3 payments (which is really 4 payments).

If this post didn't make any sense at all to you, I either wrote it really poorly or you don't have anyone who requires frequent medical care in your family - and that is another reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving season.

If I can clear things up a bit, please email me. I love this kind of detailed paper work. Really, I do. Maybe in my next life I can be an insurance adjuster - one who is actually nice to people when they call.

This has been a GeMoOrgNo post, to see more organizing fun visit these players:
Lazy Organizer
Multi-Tasking Mommy
My Pursuit of Happiness
With an Angel on my Shoulder
Just About Perfect

GeMoOrgNo - Bathroom Style

That title might have been a touch misleading. This isn't about the cuteness of bathrooms, but rather the functional, practical side of them. The definitely least glamorous side.

Here's the "girl" drawer. The organizer is one of my favorite $2 finds from IKEA. I also use them to organize my girl's hair stuff.

And dun dun duhdun............The under the sink pic. The cleaning products are in back and the extra hair care products, lotions, and soaps are in the front containers.


I also have one of these on the back of the toilet to hold spare rolls of TP and feminine hygiene goodies. Maybe this was too up close and personal, but it works for us. If you have very young children, you'll still want to store your cleaning products and such up high.

This has been a GeMoOrgNo post, visit the other players for more ideas:

Lazy Organizer
Multi-Tasking Mommy
My Pursuit of Happiness
With an Angel on my Shoulder
Just About Perfect

A smoothie that's actually good for you and tastes great!

Somehow, my camera could not quite capture the fruity goodness of the following recipe:

3 c. 100% fruit juice (I used Dole 100% Kiwi Strawberry)
1 apple, quartered (I used a NZ Pacific Rose)
1 banana, peeled
1 c. frozen fruit, no sugar added (blackberries or marionberries turn it purple)
2 handfuls of spinach (I know it sounds ugh!, but trust me, you don't even taste it)

Blend it until there is no recognizable spinach-ness to it. Drink up! It's really good and makes a healthy breakfast. If you have kids that dislike their dark, leafy veggies don't let them see you make it. I promise they'll drink it right up.

If your kids don't care about how green the smoothie looks, frozen tropical fruit is very tasty.

I'm counting this as a GeMoOrgNo post - you know, organizing your fruits and veggies.f Any takers? I want to hear what you think. I suppose you could also add some protein powder, but my kids don't go for that kind of flavor.

Organize your school lunch

Since my kids have gone back to school, I've instituted the "Lunch Box." Also, if they want a cafeteria school lunch, they have to buy it with their own money. Mean? I don't think so, it's just one step closer towards personal responsibility and healthier eating (all snacks aside).

In it, I keep juice boxes (only 100% juice) and snack items.

I have graduated from lunch making. My kids are old enough to make their own (ages 8-13). They make a sandwich, grab a fruit from the fridge, a snack, and a juice from the box.

I change up what snacks I include in the Lunch Box to keep a little variety. Sometimes I'll put in some pudding or fruit cups and plastic spoons. Or sometimes I throw in one or two bagged homemade cookies, or granola bars. I have ice packs for their lunch bags, so they can even take a yogurt or turkey sandwich sometimes.

It sure makes my life less stressful when getting them off to school. This has been a GeMoOrgNo post. Other participants:

My Pursuit of Happiness
With an Angel on my Shoulder
Just About Perfect
Multi-tasking Mommy
Lazy Organizer

Corn Chowder and a little GeMoOrgNo

I made a vegetarian soup last night. It even had directions to make it vegan. I didn't go that far, I was too tired.

I was pleased with the recipe. It was a spicy, sweet soup with potatoes, onions, corn, lime juice, chilies, a host of spices and a little cream.

I cut some white corn taco shells into strips and fried them up. I garnished it with salsa and a dollop of Daisy. It was pretty good and the kids didn't hate it. I think I'll fix it again.

Now for the GeMoOrgNo:

I bought these hooks from Osmond Design (I think they were about $20-25 each). They are hung one right above the other and hold our family's coats, bags, and caps.

I love them. Please excuse the curvature - in real life they are straight, but I was unable to get them to photograph that way.

I'd link you to the other participants, but Lara's site appears to be down.

Organize your snow gear

It's that time again. Time to pack up the beach towels; there'll be no more running through the sprinklers or swimming in the pool this year.
Time to bring up the snow clothes bin. I like to put a clothes pin on each set of gloves or mittens. I also put mittens on one end, scarves in the middle, and hats on the other end.

Then I put the snow pants on top and slide it into the cupboard under the laundry room sink.
Voila! Organized snow gear. The beach towels go down to the storage room to live in a similar bin until next Spring.

Want to see more Organizing Pics? Head over to the Lazy Organizer for GeMoOrgNo all this month.

Organize your Yogurt

You probably never have this happen in your house - The Great and Terrible Yogurt Wars.

As in: "You've had more yogurts than me, this last one is mine"

But if you do, help is just a Sharpie pen away. Just write each child's initial on the lids of the yogurts. In my house the favorite flavors are Orange Creme, Lemon Burst, Key Lime Pie and the youngest one gets all the strawberry. They start out with equal amounts and know they can only take the ones with their initial on them.

Simple? Yes! and that's the beauty of it.

You need this kind of Organizing in your life

Edited to add this exciting announcement:
Here is your chance to win some of those Organizing Bags that you've been waiting to try. If you already know of their loveliness first hand then you know you can never have too many! The winner will receive one bag in each of five sizes. The contest is open to U.S. and Canada .

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post, and then go and visit The Lazy Organizer and leave a comment on her post. If you visit each of her affiliates’ posts and leave a comment, that's that many more chances to win. She is giving away one set of bags but the more comments you leave the more chances you have to win. (One comment at each post please.)

She will choose a random winner on Friday and notify him/her by e-mail. If the winner doesn't respond within four days she will pick a new winner. (you must post a valid email address to win)

Yep, that's right, the kind of Organizing with a capital O.

I love these bags. I ordered the 8 bag sample kit for only $30.00 so that I could test drive all the sizes. Each bag has a see-thru pocket in the front that Lara suggests putting a name card or project label in (it also just happens to accommodate my cell phone perfectly), as well as a handle - I love that feature - so the bags can be hung on hooks, can you say convenient? How about tidy? How about extremely affordable?

As a crafter, I think the extra large size is wonderful. They are perfect for holding applique quilt blocks, yarn & needles for a sweater project, 12x12 scrapbook pages, or any other project you can think of. (4 for $25)

Hands down, I love the large Organizing bag (picture at top) the best! I'm going to order three more to hold a coloring book and pencils for each of the girls and Russell's drawing supplies for when we're in the car. It's also how I pack my baby knitting projects around. I'm considering throwing out my game boxes and storing the board games in these - I may just have gone a little mad with that last idea. (4 for $20)

The medium Organizing bag is great for holding a couple diapers, my portable huggies wipes container, and a spare onesie (for those times when I don't want to haul the entire diaper bag). I'm using them as church bags for the girls, too. I put their 2nd set of scriptures, underlining pencils, scripture mastery cards, and a small notebook in each one. No more looking everywhere for odds and ends when Sunday rolls around, now they have a special bag just for Sundays. The label pocket lets them easily tell which one is theirs. Oh, and Karen, wouldn't these be great for storing those activities for the deafblind simulations? I'm just sayin.' (4 for $15)

The small Organizing bag is great for storing bits and bobs, thread, circular knitting needles, embroidery floss, flashcards, puzzles, snacks, markers, glue sticks, hair stuff, stickers, or a mini first-aid kit. It is Mom's little organizing buddy. (4 for $10)

The extra small Organizing bag is perfect for housing your lip gloss, clippers, and on-the-go makeup; or your cash and credit cards when you go swimming. You know all that stuff that tends to roll around in the bottom of your purse and you can never find it? Put it in here. What? You expect me to believe that your purse is not an dark abyss you are afraid to reach into? (4 for $10)

Try these out by clicking on the "Organizing Bags" button in my sidebar, browsing around, and placing your order. Lara will be hosting a giveaway for these bags soon, so be sure to check back here in the next few days - you'll definitely want to win some. All proceeds from your purchases will be donated to the Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation. Thanks and Happy Organizing! With a capital 'O'....

While you're here, why not look around at some other fun stuff?
This is a Works for me Wednesday post. See Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer for other ideas or see my other WFMW tips:
Secret to beautiful wood floors
Sunday Jar
Brand Loyalty
Family Fun
Math is fun
Kids in the kitchen
Behavior incentives
Road trips w/kids
Longer lasting cut flowers
Job charts
Kids' snacks
Sensory garden
Traveling w/baby

Family reading material

The Carnival of Family Life is up at Sandier Pastures. I've included my tips for fun with Kids in the Kitchen.

Check out the different submissions and find out how to submit your own family life article for the next carnival.

Kids in the Kitchen

The kitchen seems to be the heart of most homes. Even if you don't cook, you eat and clean up in there.

My kids have always been with me in the kitchen. There are times when I shoo them out to have it to myself, but mostly we're all in there.

Even a two year old can help unload the dishwasher if the dishes are stored low enough for her to put them away. Nothing gives them a sense of accomplishment and self esteem like helping around the house. Here are a few more things from my bag of tricks to make it fun and easy for kids to help in the kitchen.

1. Aprons - everyone should have one. In fact, there are cheap decorate-it-yourself ones at craft stores everywhere. But, just for kicks, why not buy cute aprons like these?

2. Baking Bin - I keep my measuring cups & spoons, spatulas, liquid measures, wooden spoons and cookie scoop in a dishwashing tub in the cupboard by the mixer. At 99 cents they are the cheapest storage container (& no lid so you can see everything).

3. Parchment Paper - for easy cleanup and fluffier cookies. Trust me on this.

4. Order - line up the kids and let them take turns measuring and then dumping in the ingredients. That way everyone gets a turn and you keep your sanity.

5. Kitchen Scissors - This is for you, not the kids (sharp enough to cut through bones). These are the best 1.99 I've ever spent. Have I told you how much I love IKEA? I keep them on the top shelf in my pantry.

6. Gloves - I do not love the texture of raw meat and let's not get into the sanitary issues. Whenever my kids mix up a meatloaf or handle chicken, they put on some latex-free gloves. Any medical supply store will have these for about $7.00 per box of 100 (it'll last a long time). The gloves can be big for small hands but a rubberband around the wrist does a good job of keeping them on (just remember to cut them off and throw away the gloves when you're through).

7. Assign a cooking night - Have each child cook with you. Start with one night a month and work up to once weekly. It's a great way to squeeze in some quality time even if you're just heating up prepared food.

For other Works for Me Wednesday tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer or see my other tips:
Behavior incentives
Road trips w/kids
Longer lasting cut flowers
Job charts
Kids' snacks
Sensory garden
Traveling w/baby

On the Road Again

When we take road trips, we have found a few things that are really helpful.

Besides bringing:
A book on cd or a good read-aloud book
Kids' music
Catalog for eye candy (our favorite is Lakeshore Learning Supply)
A dvd player (I'm pretty mean and only let them watch a couple)
A small bin with an activity/coloring book for each child, car games, & colored pencils (only twist up crayons, because of melting issues)
A small handiwork project (if we're going to be more than 8 hours in the car)
Their own pillow & small blanket
Water bottles (with their name on them)

I also prepare on-the-road snack bags. I use a paper lunch sack, and write their name on it. I put snack portions in ziploc bags of a few favorite snacks (Nibs, Bugles, Teddy Grahams, Chex Mix-Honey Nut, carrot sticks, apples slices pre-dipped in Sprite). Chocolate is too messy for the car - leave it out. This limits the amount of snack food, but gives them control over when and how much to eat.

It is funny to see how each child eats or saves their snacks. Sometimes I throw in a dollar for them to pick their own thing out when we stop for gas. Everyone likes a little mad money, I just like to limit the madness to a dollar.
I also like to bring a clean, damp washcloth in a baggie for quick cleanups. Baby wipes will do the trick too.

(Also, you'd be surprised how quiet the kids can be when perusing a great catalog).

More of my favorite parenting helps:
Chore Chart
Snack Bags
Traveling with Babies
Sensory Garden
Or check out a whole host of parenting tips helps at Rocks in my Dryer

10 weird organized/unorganized things about me

Playing along with Lara at the Lazy Organizer -

1)I have a place for everything, but everything most definitely is not in its place.

2) I clip my keys to my purse strap so I will be less likely to lose them. A purse is much easier to find than keys.

3) I think my attention span is worse than Lara's. You can call me up and arrange to meet me at my house in say, a couple hours from now, and I won't be here. Not because I don't like you and was trying to stand you up, but because I completely and totally forgot.

4) I use this pill box to organize my pills. I only take 3 a day, but when you take them everyday it all seems to run together. I put all three in one compartment and can store 28 days worth at a time -I'm ready to travel! Of course, it helps if you actually remember to bring the thing with you.

5) I organize my kids' snacks so they can't pull a fast one on me.

6) I was a perpetual shoe-dropper. My usual stash was under the toe kick of the kitchen counter, but now I put them in these:

7) I have this OCD thing with my dishwasher. I like it loaded a 'certain' way. Even though I know the dishes will still get clean, I will go back and reload it that way.

8) I should not be allowed near a labeler

or masking tape and markers.

9) I organize my daughter's hair before she goes to bed (tangle prevention 101)

10) I put my plates, bowls, and plastic cups in a lower cupboard by the fridge. This makes it easy for them to put the dishes away, or get them out.

How about you? Do you have any weird organized/disorganized things about you?

An update with a side of levity, not brevity

Thanks to those who listened to my introspective post yesterday. I've pulled it, because it stirs too many emotions for me. Thank you Montserrat for your comment.

I attended Justin's funeral Tuesday morning. It was one of the most spiritual, touching services I've been to. The family pictures on the program were so - well, you could just feel how much they loved him by looking at the pictures. They were wearing white shirts and khaki pants and in one of them all of his siblings were kissing him at the same time while mom and dad embraced all of them. There was so much joy in their faces they were radiant. That is what I want my family to feel for each other.

I suppose there are some changes I need to make. Far too often my children have felt the worry, the tension and the stress of what we're dealing with. We are going to put F-U-N back into the picture.

We will meet with the surgeon (who happens to look a lot like this guy) on Thursday. I'm pretty sure he will suggest waiting for 5 or 6 weeks to see if the tumor has stabilized at this smaller size before deciding whether surgery is necessary. We're just concerned that the tumor will start growing again now that it's not being assaulted with chemo and end up being too large to remove.

We found out today that the Tumor Review Board will actually discuss Ty's case next Monday, and we will have their opinion on June 5th.

If there is going to be some time in between now and the next step, I'd like to put us all on a plane and go somewhere with sandy beaches to walk on, hammocks to nap and listen to the surf in, and dolphins to swim with. And for just one week, put all of the medical stuff behind us to reconnect and enjoy each other.

Now for a tip from your friendly neighorhood uptight gal - there is nothing like sinking your hands into the earth and ripping out scores of weeds by their little, rooty hearts to make you feel great. Try it, it's very satisfying. It's even more so if you forget to put on your gardening gloves first and you can feel each finger wrap around their noxious little stems.

This only applies to weeds though, not people. Wrapping your fingers around anyone's noxious little stems will only get you into trouble and we're trying for stress relief here.

Every once in awhile, I have some questions rattling around in the back of my mind - none of them important - but they're still there. Like that song from the Muppet Show that gets stuck in your head when you hear it -


Does anybody remember the Muppet Show?

Anyway, as I was wondering:

1) Where did these come from? French Manicure Acrylic Toenails are kinda cool, in a creepy way. Too bad I didn't invent them - I'd be living on that island I was going to buy in the South Pacific by now. At least you don't have to worry about how to zip up your jeans or pick up change off the counter like you do with acrylic fingernails. Probably, the biggest hazard is to your sleeping spouse in the form of an accidental (or not) toenail bloodletting - some of those puppies are pretty long.

2) Do your plastic container lids "multiply and replenish" every time you close the cupboard door? I think I have about 1/10th the number of containers as I do lids. Maybe the containers have just up and run off with the mates to the socks in my unmatched-sock bag. The numbers come out about right.


3) How come, no matter how late at night I'm out driving, I always arrive at a stop sign the very same time someone is driving through the intersection, but there is no one to be seen before or after them for miles? This is so strange to me - why do I arrive at a deserted intersection at just the same time as the only other driver out and about?

4) Can you take a doctor seriously when he looks like the bad guy in an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie? This is, of course, a reference to my son's surgeon. And I'm really just blowing off steam here - he's a very good surgeon who just happens to look like an actor. Who plays bad guys in movies.

5) How come a teaspoon of frozen OJ concentrate gets rid of the hiccups?

I'll save the rest of my many musings for another posting.