Sunday, October 28, 2012

Pinterest 66-78

66. Aztec Casserole: We eat this often. It's my step-sister's recipe.




67. Crockpot Cheesy Chicken & Rice:  This was okay, looked nothing like the blog pictures.

68. Chicken Ranch Tacos:  We all enjoyed this and it was really easy.



69. Bounce Baseboard Dusters:  I used my dryer sheets this week to wipe the baseboards.  It definitely picked up all the dust and pet hair.  We'll see if it actual repels it too.

70. Getting Rid of Ants: The list has several things but I needed an ant remedy so used cornstarch.  It does state it could take a while to stop seeing the ants because they have to take the cornstarch back to the nest.  But maybe it will help until the exterminator can come.

71. Back to School Fairy:  The back to school fairy came while Logan was at school on the first day.  And then she came a couple of weeks later when Sophie started preschool.  She brought new outfits and backpacks for the kids build-a-bears plus a couple of books, a toy, and hand sanitizer.



72. Budget Help:  I downloaded this to try using starting in November.  Mainly I wanted to keep track of my holiday spending, for gifts, supplies and decorations.

73. Clothes Dividers:  I created these before Sophie was born and made extra sets for my sisters who were also pregnant at the time.  I don't remember where I got the idea in the first place, but I used large yogurt container lids with the lip cut off.  I cut contact paper to cover the labeling and then added labels with my label-maker.  Originally, they were divided by size, then I switch labels to type of clothing.

74. Packing for the Kids:  I saw this before our summer vacation trip and my sister thought I was silly.  She has since used it herself when my nephew went to camp.  I thought it was useful because it kept the outfits together and whoever got the kids dressed (me, Daddy, or Aunt Kelly) didn't have to worry about which shirt went with which shorts.  It also made it easy when Logan just threw clothes toward the suitcase...we knew if they weren't in a bag, then they were dirty.  It also helped me make sure I had packed enough.  I labeled the bags Day1, Day 2, etc. so I knew everyday was accounted for.  I've also started doing this when the kids go to Grandma's since Sophie's pj's sometimes look like play clothes.  When I go to my sister's for the weekend, it's been helpful for planning special outfits for the kids activities.

75. The ol' Switcheroo:  I didn't start this in January, but I'll probably do that this next year.  What I've been doing is periodically looking to see which clothes are still backwards and making a decision about whether to keep or donate.  If I choose to keep (and it works seasonally), then I try to wear it ASAP.  It has also helped me to vary what I wear instead of grabbing the same blouse every time.  BTW, I am no fashionista, I live in jeans and Target tops.

76. Mini Rainstick Bottles:  I had gotten toothpicks for a teacher training so we used them to create mini "rainstick" bottles.  The kids carried them everywhere for a week.




77. Summer Fun Checklist:  Although we didn't get through all of the 200 items (2 different lists), I'd use the lists when I couldn't think of anything fun to do.

78. Card Holder:  Paul was playing games with the kids and one of them used cards so I pulled the egg carton from the recycling bin, cut it in half and each kid got one and all was well in the Walker house.


Monday, October 15, 2012

Pinterest Weekend 56-65

My sister and I decided to get together and make a bunch of freezer meals and also cleaning stuff that we'd seen on Pinterest.  (Ok, it was definitely more her idea than mine.)  The cleaning stuff I didn't care too much about but I was all over the freezer meals.  Bonus was getting to spend time with my bestest sister.  After I got to her place, she went to the store and got everything on our list while I watched the kids.  We did cleaning stuff on day 1 and meals on day 2.  Below is a list of everything we did:
1.  Dryer "sheets"



 2.  Laundry detergent:  We actually used 2 different recipes for this.  The first seperated and so we tried a slightly different version.  Although, I think it was my fault the first round didn't work.


 
This one looks much better.
 
3.  All-purpose cleaner
4.  Dishwasher detergent
5.  Carpet deodorizer
6.  Fabric refresher aka febreeze
7.  Daily shower cleaner to be used in a dish scrubber
8.  Powdered laundry detergent (not pictured)  (My sister found a recipe to try)
9.  Taco meat (just browned the meat and added the seasonings and water before freezing)
10.  Ranch pork chops (the original link has been blocked but the directions are on the pin)
11.  Teriyaki Chicken
12. Savory Chicken
13.  Brown sugar chicken
14.  Honey Garlic chicken
15.  Beef Stroganoff (my sister's recipe)
16.  Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole (not pictured)
17.  Cheesy Beef Enchilada Casserole (not pictured)

 
 We each came away with 9 meals (one set for each), plus the cleaners.  I'd like to do the meals every few months, tripling and quadrupling recipes we actually like and maybe adding some breakfast or lunch options from Once a Month Mom.

I've been using these for about a week and I like them all.  We all our pets, it's good to use the carpet powder and the febreeze often.  But they can be pricing so I would skimp, now it doesn't bother me because they are so cheap to make.  The scrubber in the shower has been great.

We've only had one meal (chicken enchilada casserole) and it was okay. I'd make it again but use corn tortillas instead of flour.  I'm sure there will be at least half the meals that we'll make again.  We had a great time, but I do need to get a bigger cooler to bring it all home.