Hi friends,
Thanks for coming along with me on this lovely blog journey.
I’ve reached my goal of blogging 5 days a week for a year, and I’m finished, thankful that you’ve read along, and moving on with my “spare time” to other goals.
I hope that I’ve imparted some of my own brand of wisdom on parenting, organization, good food, money and cleaning.
Much love to you all!
Amy
Hi friends,
Here’s a fun, quick financial exercise:
Pick a favourite meal. Look up the cost of that meal online at your favourite restaurant, like if it’s a fettuccine dish from a psata place that cost $15.
Then, next time you’re at the grocery store, make a little list of the cost of the ingredients for the same meal and compare the costs. There are definitely a lot of meals that cost less to make at home, and a few that are cheaper at a restaurant, Check and see which ones are worth buying and eating where 😀
Amy
Hi friends,
Here’s a lesson for your from the don’t-make-my-mistake book.
When you plan your summer camping or vacation schedule, take a look at your whole summer together as a block and then decide where you should schedule those times.
We were so excited to go camping and hang out this summer that we accidentally booked 6 weekends in a row away from home, and also there were a few streaks of camping 3 weekends in a row. It was way too much and we were running around like crazy chickens to get our errands run in between. It isn’t fun!
So, we are making notes for the rest of the summer and next year on the calendar to say that we will camp one weekend on and one weekend off in the future, and plan home weekends with errand running, company ad staycation fun.
Write it down so that you remember your plan for next summer too!
Amy
Hi friends,
Summertime and the chore list for your kids can get outside!
Here are a list of things that your kids can do to help you outside these days – make it fun by having an outside job jar or bingo sheet to cross off.
– Clean up dog poop
– Water the garden/trees
– Sweep off the porches/decks
– Pull weeds
– Hose off the house/decks/porches
– Clean up the shed/garage
– Cut the grass
Have fun with it!
Amy
Hi friends,
I accidentally turned my vacuum cleaner upside down recently – and yikes!
The amount of hair and debris in the beater bar that spins over the carpet was really gross.
In 5 minutes, I cut out the hair coiled round it with scissors, and pulled it out, and then wiped down the bar and as much as I could reach inside the machine with Lysol wipes. These are perfect for the job because the cleaner dries very fast, and you don’t want the inside of the vacuum wet.
Then, I wiped down the outside of the vacuum with more Lysol wipes since it was really dusty and dirty.
It was a quick & dirty job that’s now clean and sparkly.
Amy
Hi friends,
Another summer crockpot recipe for you to try out at the cabin, the trailer or the house!
Crockpot Summer Chicken Noodle Soup:
– 3-4 chicken breasts (I usually use frozen ones since I forgot to take them out the night before)
– 1.5 c. chopped carrots
– 3 stalks celery, chopped
– 1 med. yellow onion, chopped
– 3 tbsps. minced garlic
– 3 tbsp. olive oil
– 8 c. chicken broth
– 1 c. water and 3 tbsps. chicken base (or bouillon)
– 1 tbsp. each – thyme, rosemary, celery seed, chicken seasoning, salt and pepper
– 2 c. broad egg noodles
– 1 tbsp. lemon juice
Add whole chicken breasts, diced carrots, onion, celery and garlic to your crockpot, drizzle with olive oil. Cover with broth, water, chicken base, and spices. Stir, and cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.
Remove cooked chicken onto a cutting board, allow to rest for 10 minutes, then dice into bite sized pieces. Meanwhile, add noodles. Increase crockpot heat to high, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Stir in diced chicken, lemon juice, stir and serve.
Yum
Amy
Hi friends,
Let’s talk about saving for a big ticket item.
Here’s my plan that I use:
– Pick an item to save to save for
– Make a savings plan: I want a $250 TV and I want to save for it in 5 months. I’ll take $25 out per payday, $50 a month, and put it in a mayo jar in my house.
– Price shop/look up reviews for the item while I save for it
– Decide on what I’m going to buy
– Buy it at the end of my 5 month savings period
Try it!
Amy
Hi friends,
I love a collection – I have a few: owls, vases and books.
A collection is a group of like items, but they must be limited and organized in order tone a true collection.
To organize your collection, gather all of the items together. Once you have them all assembled where you can see them, like on your dining room table, get rid of the ones you don’t like as much, or were given to you and they’re not your favourite, or if you have doubles.
Once you have your whole collection together and have rid yourself of the unloved items, find a spot for your collection. My books are on a high ledge shelf in my office, my vases are in the kitchen alcove and my owls are on the living room mantle. Once you’ve chosen a spot, you have a limit to your collection’s space. When it’s full, the collection is closed.
Happy Organizing and enjoy your collection!
Amy
Hi friends,
It’s summertime for real, and in this house, that means double chores for double money.
DOUBLE CHORES FOR DOUBLE MONEY – SUMMER 2015
For allowance on a regular month, the boys have regular chores and they are paid their usual amount. For example, Max is 11, and his regular chores are: cleaning the bathroom once a week, cleaning the yard of dog poop once a week, swiffering the floor once a week, doing his laundry once a week, feeding the dog in the morning every day and letting him outside, and setting the dinner table daily. Then, I pay him his age ($11) bi-weekly.
In the summer, I offer them a chance to earn double chores for double money. So, then, Max has to agree to do the additional chores on the pic attached plus his regular chores, in exchange for being paid each week. The catch is that he has to choose a goal to save for in advance and that the money he earns each week has to be saved until the end of the summer, when he can buy his goal item(s).
It’s a fun project, this is our fourth summer of double chores, and this year Max is saving for roller blades and Nick for a scooter. The added lesson to this is that the boys really cherish and care for the items that they work so hard to save for.
Amy
Hi friends,
Here’s a quick and day way to freshen up your garburator.
Throw in –
1 handful of ice cubes, 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1 chopped lemon or lime.
Then, run the hot water while you turn on the garburator. Let the water and the garburator run for at least two minutes until everything is flushed through.
Amy
organizedcanadianmama 