Meal Planning for January done

Following the meal plan for December didn't go quite as planned.  We ended going out a couple times for various reasons, and I didn't feel well at all last week, so hardly cooked meaning many recipes didn't get done.

The beauty of it - whatever I didn't make, I placed on my January meal plan.  I also kept a few recipes that my family, including myself, has shown to love.  I only had to find 4 new recipes from my various stacks to add to the calendar.

And voila, it took me 20 minutes.  How crazy is that?  I always feared meal planning because it was so time consuming, but I must admit... this method so far is saving me lots of time.  Additionally it's taking the stress out of what's for dinner tonight.  And bonus, I'm saving money because I'm only buying what I need (ok maybe plus a few treats here and there).

If you need motivation, it's doable! I'm not saying my method will work for everyone, but if you've been struggling with meal planning, try it out. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed family time <3

It's beginning to look at a lot like...

...the craziest time of the year!!

This weekend was Sami's 2nd birthday.  I had selected her birthday theme this summer.  I don't know about you, but when I'm up at all hours of the night with my baby girl and she's basically asleep until I put her in her crib... I browse Pinterest to stay awake.

I came across this pin and I knew Sami's 2nd birthday would be a tea party.  Birthdays in the winter months tend to restrict the type of party you can have.  It's either snowy and you can't do much outside or it's too cold, or just looks drab.  Who wants to have an outdoor party in Colorado in the middle of December?  Not this mama.

It turned out great, I'll be sure to post more about what I did in case there's interest, but there's a few pictures below to peak your interest.

So craziest time of the year?  Starting in mid-November, it's crazy time in my family.  My husband celebrates his birthday in mid-November, followed by my brother's birthday 2 days later.  Now, we can't celebrate with my brother since he's in Canada, but we still call him and try to send him something (I do have something for him - just haven't sent it yet...).

A few days later it's Preston's birthday.  Now we don't throw a party, but we do a lot for #SpreadHappinessForPreston and it takes a lot of preparation, and it's also a mentally challenging day.  For more information on this event you can visit my other blog: Spread Happiness For Preston.

Less than a week later it's my birthday, which often coincides with American Thanksgiving weekend, and three days later it's my father in-law's birthday.

Exhausted yet?  Don't be, we're far from finished.  We get a little reprieve, but 2 weeks later it's my mom's birthday, followed by Sami's birthday 2 days later, followed by Christmas a week later, followed by my dad's birthday on New Year's Eve, and followed by my mother in law's birthday the day after New Year's.

We hosted Thanksgiving this year and it was a little chaotic... we cooked all day, the house was warm and the kids (Sami and her cousin) weren't having their best day - no naps didn't help.

Once that was over, I really started mapping out Sami's birthday all the while Christmas shopping and shopping for her birthday gifts.

We're also hosting Christmas which I'm super excited about.  I love hosting.  I still have to wrap all the presents I bought and figure out what I'm going to cook.  My sister in law is taking care of appetizers, and my mother in law is making a roast beef and a ham... I've just got to figure out the sides and dessert.. Mashed potatoes are a must, as is my meat pie (have I talked about my meat pie?  I'll have to do that and type up the recipe).  Possibly sweet potato parmesan fries so that Sami will eat something since she oddly won't eat mashed potatoes lately.

I've rambled on more than I intended.  I meant to just let you know it's been crazy.. I didn't go through and clean up a drawer like I wanted to this weekend.  Our visit with Santa didn't go as I'd envisioned (Sami was scared of Santa).

I constantly feel like I have a million and one projects on my mind.  Anyone else?

• Finishing the Minnie/Mickey Mouse puzzle I started so that I can glue it and hang it in Sami's room like we did with a baseball/Cubbies puzzle for Preston's room (which is now Sami's room and has stayed a feature of her room).
• Scrapbook Sami's artwork from daycare.
• Make picture albums with pictures I've had printed out (and print out more).
• Go through all the boxes in the basement and purge before we start remodeling in the Spring.
• Organize the office because it needs it.
• Go through all my drawers and get rid of what I don't wear.
• Ditto with the closet and organize it.
• Find a way to organize the pantry so that it's not a disaster area every 2 weeks.

Below are some of the posts you can look forward to.  Probably not this week or next week, but soon. :)

• Sami's party.
• Yes I still give my daughter 1 bottle a day.
• She does watch TV and I think to some extent it's helped her vocabulary.
• I need to become better about tending to my garden (and flower beds).
• Mom Guilt

I invite you to email me (tsunaze1@gmail.com) or comment below if there are any topics you would like I discuss.  My intention with this blog is to make you feel like you aren't alone in your struggles as a working mom.  My intention is not to tell you how to go about your life, or how to raise your child.  I will share what I do, and what works for me, and what doesn't work for me.  Perhaps you'll find that what works for me, works for you too.  Or maybe something that didn't work for me, you'll show me that I can make it work.

In the event I don't post again until Christmas, I wish you a wonderful Christmas and happy times with your family.  If you don't celebrate Christmas, I wish you happy holidays and hope that you enjoy lots of family time and hope that you build memories that last.

Best wishes,

~Cat 

Toddlers and "No"

There are many parenting techniques and philosophies out there.  I'm not here to preach that my way is the only way, or the best way, or even the right way.. because we are all different as are our children.  I'm learning as we go.  I will never judge you, and hopefully you will not judge me.  I am open to constructive discussions though :)


I know there are parents who don't say "no" to their children, or not until a certain age.  Our daycare does not say "no", which can probably lead to confusion for our almost 2 year old since we do say "no" and have been saying it since she was rather young.


Side bar - I can't believe my baby will be 2 in a couple days... where does the time go?


Our thinking is that she's going to hear "no" all her life and we feel that being prepared to hear "no" at a young age, will make it easier come early adulthood.  It also makes certain things easy for us.  She knows there are certain things around the house she isn't supposed to touch, and other things that she's not supposed to do.

Is she perfect? Does she always listen? Absolutely not, but I can tell she tries hard, and as toddlers do, she also tries to test limits.  It can be cute... and it can be aggravating!

For example, she hasn't tried to open advent calendar doors without me, even though the calendar is something she can easily reach.  You can see my post on her advent calendar here.

A big struggle we have right now is for her to come to us when we ask her to.  I think it's an important skill to learn as we begin to use the stroller less and less.  It'll be vital in crowded areas, or when close to a road.  Especially since she loves to wiggle her hand out of ours.  She doesn't like to "come here", or "come here please", or "come see Mama".  She often runs in the opposite direction. Granted we are in the house when this happens, but I struggle with it.

I feel like she's been a little better about it lately, but it scares me still.  Does anyone else have this issue?  What strategies do you have if it isn't an issue?  Or what strategies did you use if your kids are passed the toddler stage?

My sock drawer

In a previous post, I mentioned that I was listening to podcasts, specifically meal planning podcasts to try and find ideas that would work for me.  And sure enough, I found something that has been working rather well for the past couple months.  You can read that post here.

Do I always make what's on the meal plan? No, but I've been sticking with the plan 3-4 meals a week and that's a big win in my book.

As I was searching for a meal planning podcasts, I stumbled upon a podcast titled Meal Plans & Freezer Cooking.  It wasn't what I was looking for, but the podcast was interesting, and the host, Noni/Dana, was engaging and she briefly talked about what her podcasts are usually about - not meal planning but about keeping a clean home for people it doesn't come naturally to.  It certainly peaked my interest since I'm a terrible housekeeper.

Once I found what I needed from meal planning podcasts, I went back to Dana's website and started listening to her podcasts.  I started with number 1 and am currently still listening to them on my commute to and from work.  I relate to a lot of the things she talks about.  I don't think that my house has been as messy as she says hers has been.  I also don't consider myself a slob (her blog/podcast is titled "A Slob Comes Clean").  However, I do have messy tendencies and certain areas of my house have been terribly, terribly messy (hello master bedroom closet!).

I really liked that she said she runs her dishwasher every night, and hey! I do dishes and run my dishwasher just about every night.  Sweet, I'm on the right track and I didn't even know it!

She has some really interesting concepts.  I'm not following her daily and weekly tasks but I like her ideas on de-cluttering and "the container concept".  I linked that podcast in the event you are interested. The concept is basically that containers aren't just Tupperware.. a drawer is a container, and if you can't close it, you have too much in there.... and that doesn't mean you need to find another container to fit what's overflowing out of the first container.  It means you need to get rid of what doesn't fit.

Easy concept and I probably knew this because hey it's pretty logical, but I think until she spelled it out for me, I didn't quite grasp it as evidenced by my sock drawer...

Oh my sock drawer... all my drawers.  They are overfilled and half of what's in them, I never wear.  Does that just happen to me?

To get back to my sock drawer, it's probably the worse of all because I can't even close it.  You can see for yourself with my picture above.

I was hoping to get this post out late last week and see if anyone else wanted to join me in de-cluttering their sock drawer this weekend.  Obviously I didn't since today is Monday and I'm just now posting it.

I stuck to my plan of de-cluttering it, and I tossed probably 20 socks that didn't have a match, another couple pairs that had holes, and I put aside 7-8 pairs to donate because I've never worn them...

I'm happy to report that I can now close my sock drawer, for the first time in who knows how long.  And, getting it cleaned up, took no more than 10 minutes, probably closer to 5 minutes.

My plan - do one drawer every weekend, and then start tackling the closet - little by little.  It goes hand in hand with what Dana talks about.  Thinking about cleaning up all my drawers, or my whole closet is overwhelming.  It feels like it will take hours and I don't have hours.  By doing a little bit every weekend, it's not as overwhelming, and I make progress every week.  The more I do, the closer I get to the goal of all my drawers being de-cluttered, and all my closet being what it should be instead of a dumping ground.

Anyone want to join me and clear a drawer next weekend?  We can keep each other accountable.  :)

Paper, more paper and even more paper

It happens too often that I bring in the mail and don't have time (or don't think I have the time) to go through everything right then and there.  I try to bring it in once or twice a week, but let's be realistic, it's sometimes every 10 days or so.  My mailbox isn't attached to my house, but it's not like it's blocks away.  It's maybe 6-7 houses down the street.  A nice little walk you might say.

It's not the first thing that crosses my mind every day... unless I'm expecting an Amazon package.. because right?? :)

I'll usually make a conscious effort to go get the mail when I know we have bills that should have arrived or when I realize...wait when's the last time I got the mail?

More often than not, I stop on my way home from picking up Samantha so that I can pack all the letters, papers, advertisements and junk-mail onto my passenger seat since there's usually a truckload by the time I think to go.

And then what happens? It gets placed on the kitchen table or on the couch or somewhere it shouldn't be and I eventually go through it making a "keep/look through" pile and a "toss" pile.  And instead of taking 10 to 20 steps to go throw out the "toss" pile, it stays on the kitchen table/couch/other random table... in case I can add to it once I go through the "keep/look through" pile.  And then it grows and grows as does the "keep/look through" pile because I just don't get to them, or ignore them.


As I'm trying to make improvements in my life, I have been trying to take 2 minutes to make a "toss" pile as soon as I bring in the mail, and then I actually toss it.  The "keep/look through" pile is still a work in progress.

My most recent "keep/look through" pile grew legs and I didn't realize it until I was shopping this weekend and thought "shoot, I bet you I had a coupon".... Out of site, out of mind.

The pile had grown legs - I found it this morning.  Where did I find it?  On our oak desk which over the years has become a place we throw that type of paperwork when we need it off the kitchen table/couch.  Or if we are in a rush because people are coming over.  It has a convenient roll down cover you see...

Sigh...

I organized that desk a couple weeks ago and it was finally looking great.  I know what I'm doing tonight...  Luckily, it's not a monster pile.  It's probably a couple catalogs, a few store advertisements with coupons and maybe another couple things.  This is improvement.

Two weeks ago, during one of Sami's weekend naps, I went through a pile that was probably... I'm really embarrassed to admit... about 5-6 inches thick.  This had stuff from months and months ago, if not over a year ago.  At least 80% of it was junk.  For too long this has been cluttering my desk (and floor...).

Even more embarrassing, a few years back we cleaned the office because it was messy and getting overrun with paperwork... well I placed all of it in a plastic tub (18 gallons I think).  I was going to go through it in the next couple weeks.  I'm sure it's still in the basement waiting for me to go through it.  More sighs... Worst thing is, it's probably 80-90% junk mail.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my bills...  I used to be so organized.  I would file my bills every month after paying them and keep them in a file cabinet.  In the past years, I've tried to catch up with that filing once or twice a year.  But do I really need to keep them?

What do you do with that type of paperwork?  And medical bills, and all that?  I'm starting to wonder if I need to keep them... I don't get a paper invoice for Comcast (TV/internet services) anymore and I pay through my bank's bill pay module.  I haven't missed not having the paper bill in my file (or "keep" pile).  That makes me think that I could just toss my bills once they are paid, but I'm leery.  What do you do?

Advent Calendar for a 2 year old

My husband got me a lovely advent calendar for Christmas the year we had Sami.  A tradition for me and Sami to have for years to follow.  She was a week old at the time, and the prospect of filling it in the years to come was wonderful.

But let me tell you, finding things that fit in those little doors for a one year old, and a now a almost two year old, is not the easiest of tasks!  While she doesn't put everything in her mouth anymore, somethings still do end up in her mouth, especially if she's teething.  I have to be mindful of that when getting things for the calendar.

I had that hardest time last year figuring out what to do.  This year was still a challenge but it was definitely easier.  Since I had such a hard time finding things to put in the calendar, I thought I'd share in the event others have similar calendars and are having trouble coming up with ideas:

Day 1 = Minnie Mouse slippers - one barely fit as you can see above. I hid the other one and gave it to her after she got the first one out.

Day 2 = Window gel clings - Christmas/Winter decorations - these definitely won't fit, so I wrote a little note a la scavenger hunt "Go look on the patio window".  I decorated it on Friday morning so that after we read her the note, she'll be all surprised.  She loves those types of decorations.

Day 3 = A Donald Duck "Fisher Price Little People" toy.  She has Mickey's house with a Mickey Mouse and Minnie, but I thought she might like getting some of the other characters.

Day 4 = Mini stuffed Nemo (which didn't quite fit in and she's been able to see it and kept wanting it.  This is definitely teaching her patience.

Day 5 = Expanding towel - I got this at Target in the $1-$5 section.  It's a small cylinder right now and apparently it becomes a towel if you add water.... stay tuned...

Day 6 = Minnie Mouse ornament - since she's been soooo into Mickey and Minnie this year (I may have to switch this item to a different day if our tree isn't up - we get a real tree every year and are getting it this week.

Day 7 = Duck & Goose Christmas book - I love these books and so does she.  I can read the same one to her over and over again... a new one will be nice, lol.

Day 8 = Bows for her hair.

Day 9 = Squishy baseball.

Day 10 = Daisy Duck "Fisher Price Little People" toy.

Day 11 = Spoon & Fork (plastic handle, metal spoon & fork part - with of course Minnie Mouse on them.

Day 12 = Find it fast flash cards - We discovered she loves flash cards while in Hawaii.  These have 4-5 Christmas themed items on them and you're supposed to name them and see if she can find them fast.

Day 13 = Elmo books.

Day 14 = Goofy "Fisher Price Little People" toy.  He's wearing a chef's hat for some reason.

Day 15 = Disney "Tsum Tsum" Mystery Toy.  Hopefully it's something she can play with, but it may be too small for her... I'll have to monitor and see...

Day 16 = Hawaiian flower barrettes.

Day 17 = Minnie Mouse dress (it's her birthday, so she gets something special this day).

Day 18 = Hello Kitty luggage tag.  I'll be putting it on her school bag that she takes to daycare.

Day 19 = Mickey Mouse ornament.  Last year, I got a rainbow ornament for Preston.  I figured this year we'd get him a Mickey Mouse ornament since Sami got a Minnie Mouse one.  I plan to have Preston's new ornament in the 19 box each year.

Day 20 = Another Disney "Tsum Tsum" Mystery Toy.

Day 21 = Stuffed mini Hello Kitty (similar to the mini Nemo).

Day 22 = New pair of pajamas for everyone.  We put them on that night, go get some hot chocolate &  drive around the neighborhood to see the lights everyone has put up.  She loves seeing the lights on the way home from daycare so far, so I'm guessing she'll love this!  Which makes me excited, because I love it too.

Day 23 = Coloring book, stickers & Mickey "Fisher Price Little People" toy.  Like Goofy, Mickey is a chef...

Day 24 = Minnie Mouse Robe.  It's Christmas Eve, so she gets a special something on this day too.


I think I wrote down somewhere what I had in her calendar last year.  If I can find it, I will share it.