One major tip that helps me manage much of my chaos is a little old fashioned; it's a day planner. I use a day planner to help me stay semi sane, it helps me be where I need to be and helps me stay on task. I know I could use my phone but, its not the same. I can't easily write down, plan or look up stuff. Finding the right day planner can also be tricky. I don't like the little check book size ones because they are too small. I'm also too cheap to buy the big huge nice and fancy ones. The Homemaker's Day Planner is perfect for me and my needs.

First of all I love how the monthly tabs are separate from the week tab. Why? Simple, I like to use a butterfly clip or paperclip to help me keep my place for the current week.  Usually other planners have the month, then each week broken down. So when I open up to this week, but need to look at the month as a whole I have to un-clip and flip to find it. When its separate I can look at each month as a whole to help get quick ideas of what the month is like, or to count if it's the 3rd Wednesday of the month and so on. As a side note I know some people rip out pages when they have passed them, I don't for several reasons. One main reason is it helps me track at the end of year how many dr appointments I went on so I can track mileage and cost for my taxes. Quite often I have to look back to see when I last did something or if I missed something. Hence why I clip to easily get to my current week, but still need all my past pages for reference purposes.
The very front of the homemakers day planner has a year breakdown for this year and next year. I love this so when my kids came home in September with dates I needed to remember for next year but I don't have next years day planner yet I can jot it down. Then when I order my next years day planner I can transfer the dates. Plus I can highlight or mark plans for trips or things that I need to keep in the forefront of my mind.

I also love how each week has a place for tasks. Sometimes I need to make a list of things that need to happen in general during the week. Like call the dentist, buy a light bulb for the fridge, or take something back to the store. Sometimes I have things that don't need to be scheduled exactly on a certain day, but need to be done in general.

I love the menu part of each week too. I usually plan 5ish meals a week and will switch them around during the week, but overall I like to have the week planned for meals. This helps me make sure I have all the ingredients and helps things run more smoothly. Some days we have piano at 4:30, scouts at 6, I have church responsibilities at 7 and my husband is working late. Those days are great for one of my quick meals like grilled cheese and tomato soup. Other days I have nothing scheduled and I can plan a more elaborate time consuming meal.  Knowing what my schedule is like, while looking at my grocery store circulars for sale items then writing it down helps lesson the chaos at home. Not to mention this helps save money on groceries or gas money for too many grocery store trips. Less hungry whiny kids plus non-stressed mom plus saving money equals much happier family dinner memories.

The back of the day planner has tear out grocery lists. I love this! For instance when I realized I needed a new battery for my fit bit, I wrote it on my list. When my son realized he ran out of cream cheese for his bagels he can add it to the list. This way I don't go to the store 5 times before I remember to buy either items, It's right there for me to see.

Its that time of year where my January is already starting to fill up. Kids basketball, husbands work seminars, church functions, school activities are adding up and its time to write them down so I don't forget or over extend myself. I am using the homemakers daily planner and love it. It saves me so much time knowing what is going on when.  Click the picture above or go to http://www.homemakersfriend.com/index.html to purchase yours.  Now the next tip is to not loose your planner, because when that happens I feel like I lost my whole brain somewhere!

This post is going to start different than planned. It was going to be about how angel hair pasta cooks fastest, and how to keep some spaghetti (or other pasta sauce) on hand can help make a fast dinner. In the end I think it's about how chaos can even sneak a few points in there too sometimes!
Yesterday was a long day. So when I was making my quick pasta dinner I grabbed a jar that Hormel sent me to review. I saw pictures of tomatoes and garlic with the words thick and chunky on it, and assumed pasta sauce. I even decided to try my new app and make my first gif to go along with this pasta dinner post. After I poured it in the pot I thought, something is off about this pasta sauce. Sure enough that's because it's not pasta sauce, It's salsa! Good thing I caught it, cause that would have been some weird pasta!

To add to my crazy week I thought I would add my favorite snack. It's Skippy peanut Butter. It goes with so much stuff! I like it plain, with celery, raisins, on crackers, on toast, or sometimes with chocolate. I tend to be an ornery mom when I'm hungry. So Skippy makes me more of a yippee  mom! When I fell full i can be more spontaneous and fun. Peanut butter has the protein I need to fill up and goof off.  Here's some of my Skippy Yippee's moments from last week of just goofing off and enjoying life as a craze (not ornery) mom!

Baby Cell Phone Selfies

Mario Kart Tournament

Let me start out by saying I am not a huge hot dog fan. I don't eat them very often, but if I do I like them 3 different ways. Grilled, in central park with mustard or with Hormel Chili. Since I don't have time to bust out the grill, and I'm not in New York, then that means its time to bust out the chili dog.
Hot dogs are one of my kids favorite things to eat. They are super easy to cook as well, whether you boil them or use the microwave they don't take very long at all. Although my kids just like to dip theirs in ketchup Dad and I like ours with Hormel chili. Dad likes his hot dog  in a bun with cheese and jalapenos, I sometimes like mine just like my kids- plain on a plate, no bun. Either way adding the chili elevates the usual hot dog into something more hearty and tasty for my husband and I.
Another thing I like to do if my eyes are bigger than my stomach and I heat up too much chili is make Cheese and Hormel Chili Dip. Which can also be great if you are going to a Halloween party this week and need to bring a dish to share. You can get the easy recipe here. Next time I suggest  dipping bell peppers in it.
What else do you like to put Hormel Chili on?
In the spirit of full-disclosure, I’ve partnered with Hormel Foods as part of the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger Program. Throughout the year I’ll be receiving product, coupons, giveaways and promotions. However, no payment was given or expected for posting about the program, and as always, all opinions given here are fully my own 

I don't know about you but this is going to be a crazy week for me. I have 1 child having surgery, practices, Halloween activities, church responsibilities and other time consuming things going on.  I like to have a few go to recipes that I can go to when having a day (or in this case a week) that I need a quick dinner using ingredients on hand. Sometimes the hard balance with this is healthy dinner vs. quick dinners. Several days this week I am going to post some of the things I make for my family in a pinch and how I like to make them more mommy and daddy approved.
Since yesterday I had some time to cook and prep for the week I decided to make fajitas for dinner. Diced some yummy bell peppers that have been awesomely priced, added some chicken and made fajitas. Fajitas with a wheat tortilla and some non fat plain greek yogurt makes it  a win for me. Chicken, cheese and tortillas made it a win for my kids.
Then tonight we are using the leftovers to make a crockpot tortilla soup. I threw the leftover fajitas in the crock pot and added about a cup of chicken broth, black beans, kidney beans, corn, diced peppers and a can of enchilada sauce. My husband likes to eat his with tortilla chips, while my kids mix their soup with sour cream. Depending on the diced peppers and/or enchilada sauce it can come out a little spicy.  Another nice thing is sometimes if I have a ton left over I freeze the soup, then next time I'm in a pinch again all I need to do is reheat and serve.
This is one of my favorite use of leftovers into a different recipe. What's yours? I would love to know. Comment, tweet or facebook me yours. Maybe I'll share it with everyone :)

I was having a rough "mom" day recently when I decided I needed a nap so I could wake up refreshed and a happier mommy. Although while I was resting this little girl decided she needed to bathe in the Vaseline. I mean the entire Costco size tub all over her! Her Legs were coated (and drawn on), her entire dress was coated as if made of Vaseline, her arms, neck, face and last but not least her entire head of hair. Now I have had kids get some Vaseline in their hair before but not like this. Not an entire mask of it. So I called my hair dresser mom friend, asked Facebook for advice and googled it. Here is what I found based on top ideas and suggestions.


Corn starch was my #1 favorite. I went through a whole box. I sprinkled it throughout her hair let it soak some up then squeezed tons out. I did that 2-3 times. Then washed it with dish soap. Dish soap is meant to help cut and fight grease. I did that twice before washing it.
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My hairstylist mom friend recommended a clarifying shampoo as well. This also helped out when I was washing in between all the different household products I found.
In the end I must have washed her hair a dozen times, because she laid there for almost an hour. Even then her hair was still pretty greasy over the next 2-3 days till after a few mores wear and washed it finally came clean.

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What a busy and fun weekend we had! Friday was a tight squeeze do to a last minute doctor appointment, so we had a quick frozen pizza for dinner. Then we met Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Jacob at Kadan's Art show. He is very talented and we are fortunate enough to have someone local who teaches art from her home. He loves it!





Then for Easter dinner I invited my parents over to join us. My kids love when we break out the china and have a "fancy" dinner. We had a yummy roast with lots of vegetables. Everyone in my family, kids included, loved fruits and vegetables. As you can tell that was mostly all our side dishes. A nice laid back dinner, with good conversations and company was the perfect end to a long week.

What I still couldn't figure out was where it was coming from? She then ran back into Yesenia's room to only come back out with Kadan's other boot to repeat the confetti tossing.