Survival Mode

There are many times when life gets TOO crazy!

Sometimes the craziness is caused by a MAJOR life change - having a baby, moving, changing jobs...

But mostly it's those LITTLE changes that throw us OFF, leaving us feeling out-of-control and overwhelmed -
things like: an extra church assignment, sick kiddos, , even husbands getting some extra time of work. (don't get me wrong - we love our hubby's home - but it does require a change in our routines)

That's when we must switch our gears to SURVIVAL MODE!

In Survival Mode we must:

• Cut way back - say no to anything and everything you can!
• Focus on the bare minimum that needs to be done (rely on your MM's! Zone Defense and deep cleaning can wait!)
• Lower expectations!
• Call in extra support- pay a teen to help, ask friends to watch kids - even an hour or so will help!

As you can tell from my lack of posts - I'm in survival mode. I'll post as I can! Follow Me on Twitter (see side-bar) for organizing reminders!
Have a super day!

Food Traditions!

Happy 4th of July!
Here's my favorite holiday salad (my hubby says it's a dessert!

Wild Raspberry Delight

3 cubes of margarine
2 Tbs. Sugar
1 ½ cups flour
2 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
½ to 1 cup chopped walnuts
3 oz. pkg. raspberry jello
1 cup water
12 oz. pkg. frozen raspberries
1 tub of cool whip

#1 Mix 2 cubes of margarine, sugar and flour. Spread in a 9x13 greased pan. Bake 15 minutes at 350. Do not let brown! Cool.

#2 Mix 1 cube margarine, both pkg. of cream cheese, and powdered sugar. Spread over cooled crust.

#3 Sprinkle chopped nuts over all

#4 Dissolve jello in 1 cup boiling water. Add frozen raspberries, cool until the consistency of jelly. Spoon over nuts. Let set in the fridge until firm.

#5 Top with cool whip.

The Laundry that does END!

I know it feels that the laundry never ends - but if you've read about my laundry system - you know that I do TWO loads on most days - from start to finish. After that I can honestly say, "My laundry is DONE!"

One of the trick to getting DONE each day is to set-up an efficient laundry room.

An important part of an efficient laundry room is where to put the clean clothes. I like having COLOR-CODED laundry baskets - one for each family member! The kids are in charge of getting their clothes from their basket to their drawers.

I have a great laundry closet now. But in my previous, tiny laundry room, I used a small bookshelf and assigned a shelves to a each family member.

When the dryer buzzer rings - SOMEONE (usually the child closest to me at the time) folds and tosses the clothes into the proper basket. They know it only takes about two minutes so they don't usually complain!

NOW is a great time to find laundry baskets of all shapes and colors. It's back-to-school time and I noticed some great colors in Target the other day!

How efficient is YOUR laundry room?

Work Outside Wednesday!

My backyard in the summertime is filled with wonderful things like fruit-filled trees and children splashing in the pool! However there is some "not-so-wonderful" things too - like scattered pool toys and wandering weeds!

Here's how I've dealt with a few summertime items!

Fantastic Funoodles :












Tame the Towels:

Shelve the Supplies:

Gardening Gear:

Here's 4 GREAT summertime links:

Storing Outside Toys

The Summer List

Red Wagon Flower Project

Summer Fun Ideas

Happy Day!