I have so many things saved in my bookmarks that have found through blogs and other places. I really want to get into some of them! There are just sooooooo many of them (and I'm talking hundreds) that its hard to pick where to start!
I'm also incorporating this with Works for me Wednesday - Frugal edition.....
So - this weekend I'm going to start trying some of them out, hopefully with the help of my lovely daughter Ashlee. Tomorrow I'm going to spend doing my usual Saturday clean and make sure my washing is all up to date so when Saturday actually comes around I won't have anything to do.
Lets move onto some linky love now. Here are some things I would like to try out this weekend:
Stop using plastic zip lock bags!
We use so many lunch bags around here. You know those little snack sized ziplock bags. I'm really need good with washing and reusing them, I really can't be bothered...I know I know such waste. So here is a great tut about making your own reusable snack bags. I think they are a great idea but will probably add a little snapable flap to it so that it can be closed up for the lunch box. This is a maybe....
Don't buy them a bag for preschool - make them one!
Zach and Anna are in need of a little bag to take to preschool. Something that will just hold their lunch box, drink bottle and a change of clothes. I thought this would be a good idea consider I have a ton of ton of towels around here.
Make your own kids clothes and save money!
I wouldn't mind giving this a try either. I actually have a couple of pretty tea towels in the fabric cupboard that I kept just for something like this.
Then you have Shorts from tea towels! This also appeals to me. Tea towels can be picked up for very little in your local Sam's (or dollar store).
I love Baby Legs but we only have 1 pair each for the twins because the cost so much. Now I can get out the old stockings of Anna's and cut them up to make these. Great idea I think and would be a huge saving!
I think that would be it. I don't even know if I will get through them! We will see what the weekend holds.
This giveaway is incredibly awesome! Want to win a STUNNING sterling silver ring?! Head on over toMissie Krissie who has one up for grabs!
Missie Krissie makes the most stunningly beautiful jewellery. Unfortunately I didn't come across these in time to put in a Mother's Day order but will definitely be getting one of these some how!
I have actually wanted one of these since I first saw them here after following a link from another blog. So, a necklace with all my sweet babies names on it......anyone?! (hahaha)
While reading blogs this morning I came across some sad news.....
Sweet little Elizabeth who was born at 28 weeks just 2 weeks ago went gently into the arms of Jesus Sunday night. Please pray for her family at this time.
This brings tears to my eyes and really hits home. Having my own babies at just 29 weeks it really makes me remember how close we came to losing them and just what miracles they are!
Also keep in your thoughts and prayers:
Noah and his family - At just 5 months old, little Noah was shaken by his daycare provider. Can you believe that?! And is now in hospital with what is suspected - serious brain damage.
And little Kayleigh and her family - Kayleigh was in June last year, 3 months early. She is now 10 months old and is still in hospital. Read her story here. Things are not looking great right now and she will probably be brought home soon with nursing care until the time comes....
Click above to head over to Org Junkie for more Menu Plans!
For Christmas I received '4 Ingredients #2' by Kim McCosker & Rachael Bermingham and for birthday I received '4 Ingredients'. Great books! Highly recommended!
All these recipes are from those two books but some have been slightly modified for the slow cooker/crockpot. I will be adding some links and recipes later today but now I have to run off and get some grocery shopping done! Come back - they are all super yummy and super easy recipes! There is a lot of Lamb this week as we have a lot of it in the freezer and I want to use it up before the next lot of meat comes in (from FIL's farm).
Tues 5th May – Sun 10th May
Meals with recipes in BOLD - Recipes Added Below!
Mains:
Easy Casserole - with mashed potato
Chicken Casserole - with rice
Balsamic Glazed Lamb - with garlic potato and honey carrots
Chinese Style Lamb Roast - with roasted vegetables
Irish Stew - with mashed potato
Lamb & Bacon Parcels - with zucchini hash browns
Sides:
Easy Fried Rice
Garlic Potato
Honey Carrots
ZucchiniHash Browns
Kids:
Bugs in a Rug
Fish Cocktails
Vegetable Lasagne
Baby Meatballs
Sweets:
Jam Drops
Custard Tarts
RECIPES:
Easy Casserole
Serves 4 - 6
1kg round steak, cubed
500g bag mixed frozen vegetables, thawed
(or fresh vegies of your choice)
2 cups V8 juice
Place steak and vegetables in a slow cooker, pour over V8 juice, covering contents well. Cook for 3 - 4 hours or until meat is nice and tender.
NOTE: I will be using fresh veggies this time. I'm also making double and freezing half for another meal.
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Chicken Casserole
Serves 4
440g can condensed cream of chicken soup
8 chicken pieces
4 rashes bacon, roughly chopped
Vegetables of your choice
Fry bacon, place chicken, vegetables, bacon and soup in slow cooker and cook for at least 4 hours.
NOTE: Again I'm doubling this one for later meals
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Balsamic Glazed Lamb
Serves 4
12 lamb cutlets
1tbs. Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbs. Honey
2 tbs. fresh Rosemary Leaves
Heat fry pan, grill or BBQ. Mix last3 ingredients. Cook cutlets for 1 - 2 minutes each side or until just brown. Brush with baste and cook a further 3 minutes each side, basting occasionally. Drizzle some juice over cutlets once served.
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Chinese Style Lamb Roast
Serves 4 - 6
1.5kg lamb roast
375ml can evaporated milk
1/2 cup hoi sin sauce
Place the lamb into an oven bag. Combine milk and sauce. Pour about half over lamb (remander can be frozen for another time) and seal the bag, piercing a few holes around the end. Roast the lamb in a 180c oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes or until desired doneness.
NOTE: Left over meat is great on sandwiches for lunch!
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Lamb & Bacon Parcels
Serves 4
4 loin lamb chops
2 rashers of bacon, cut in half
4 tbs. wholegrain mustard
2 sheets puff pastry
Cut meat off the bone and trim fat. Cut puff pastry sheets in half and spread each generously with mustard. Place the lamb in the middle of the pastry and top with a half rasher of bacon. Seal edges and bake in 180c oven 20 - 30 minutes or until golden brown.
NOTE: Haven't tried this one before, maybe cook the meat before putting it into parcels?
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Zucchini Hash Browns
Makes 4
1 cup zucchini, grated
2 tbs. oil to fry in
2 eggs, beaten slightly
Mixed seasoning to taste
Heat oil in a heavy pan. Mix all ingredients together in a medium size bowl and gently drop 1 tbs. of mixture in hot oil. When brown on one side, turn over and cook on the other side. Stack on a plate and keep warm until whole batched is cooked.
NOTE: Kids love these!
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Bugs in a rug
Makes 12
3 slices brown bread
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup butter, melted
12 cocktail frankfurters
Preheat oven to 180c. Pierce frankfurters all over with folk. Spread tomato sauce on bread, then cut into quarters. Place frankfurter diagonally on each quarter of bread. Bring up edges and secure with a toothpick. Brush with melted butter. Place on greased baking tray and bake for 10 minutes until bread is crisp and lightly brown.
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Baby Meatballs
250g lean mince
1/2 cup mashed potatoes
Preheat oven to 180c. Combine ingredients. Roll into little balls and place on baking tray. Cook for around 20 minutes. Drain excess liquid before serving.
NOTE: I serve these with a side of greens.
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Custard Tarts
Makes 12
2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
500g premium vanilla custard
3 tbs. brown sugar
Preheat oven to 200c. Cut 6 rounds from each sheet of pastry and line a non-stick muffin tray with them. Place a circle of baking paper with some uncooked rice on each and blind bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove paper and rice and cool. Spoon an equal amount of custard into each and sprinkle with brown sugar. Place tarts under a preheated grill to melt sugar before serving.
NOTE: Another yummy filling is Caramel Top 'n' fill! Just beat caramel well before spooning into tarts and top with fresh whipped cream - delicious!
I've decided that I'm selling my bike and my twin pram and buying this!
What a BRILLIANT IDEA! Its costly, costing around $2100 (including postage though!) in Australian dollars. I personally think, for me, it would be a great investment. When you take into account that my bike cost $800 and the pram was $600, that's $1400 anyway. It would really be great to take the kids for a ride. Both Zach and Anna can fit in the front.
I'm back! Again participating in the Cindy's Eye Spy Sunday (on a Monday). This weeks theme is thanks to One Red Robin.
I have a real problem with blog reading - I'm hooked on it! I have hundreds and hundreds of blogs on my reader and if I don't read regularly it turns into a real disaster! BUT I can't stop, its hard to unsubscribe so usually I don't. I do however get many brilliant, awesome and excellent ideas from all these blogs and I love the insight into other peoples lives.
I am always finding new blogs to read. Reading one blog that links to another and another - whats a girl to do?! Here are just a few of my more recent finds....
{Firstly, photos have now been added to my organization post! }
Well this morning I've been completely humbled!
This post could turn into a really long one but I'm just going to cut the story short for you all.....I have been award 'A Sisterhood Award' by a lovely lady who's blog I read, but that's not all. Nicole from The Life of Us (who awarded me) is the partner of Luke, my eldest Ashlee's Dad, and the mother of Ashlee's two half brothers! We got talking a while ago after Nicole contacted me through Facebook. I bit of a shock but no Nicole I didn't think you were a loony :) Then a little while later I came across her on a forum I frequent, Essential Baby. We have never met IRL but its been nice to have contact with her. Maybe someday in the future we will meet?!
So there you go, a bit different but such is life.....now on to the award.....As Nicole puts it....
What is this Sisterhood Award I hear you ask?
Its an award that you pass on to other women whose blogs you read that you find encouraging, uplifting and inspirational.
Did I say yet that I'm extremely humbled?!
So I have choose just a few blogs that I find encouragement and inspiration from? Geez, that is going to be hard......lets try though.....
Firstly, super crafty CurlyPops! I tell you this woman makes me jealous! So many pretty things. So much talent! I have A LOT of her posts saved with awesome ideas on things to make, bake or just admire. I really look forward to her posts!
Next up, Retromummy! Another mummy to adorable twins. Lots of wonderful inspiration and adorable cuteness on this blog! Making, baking, fabric, knitting. Its really nice to peer into the life of another mummy of twins and see that you are not alone in your trials and tribulations :)
Then, Many Little Blessings. I find heaps of information and inspiration here. I started reading when she was the host of Works for Me Wednesday (which has now moved to We are THAT family). LOVE love love her Organisation posts. She always has so many great ideas and I have used a lot of them around my home.
Moving on, if you need a real pick me up check out [I] LoveLife! You can't read this blog, daily, and not feel happy. She is so up beat, happy, organised and talented! Not to mention those two ADORABLE little girls, Pilot and Penn! Aren't they just the two most original and gorgeous names?! Large, daily, happy photos to put you in the right mood. She is the first blog I turn to if I'm feeling a little down.
Oh I could go on but just one more.....I could not received this award and not pass it on to my beautiful sister in law Melissa at Remember to Live, Laugh, Love! Have I mentioned that she and my brother Dan are expecting?! Can you tell I'm soooo excited?! Melissa is a number one girl, and I'm not just saying that because she is my SIL. I have known Melissa for quite a few years and in that time she has never been anything less than a beautiful person. I can truly see why my brother waited so patiently for so many years to win her over. Melissa is crafty (when she's not under the weather with morning sickness! - hope your feeling better Mel!), talented, happy, beautiful and most of all a devoted Christian. She really gives me inspiration to live a better life. Melissa also has a online shop! Heart and Home, check it out!
That will be it for now. I could list HEAPS of blogs that are truly inspirational and maybe one day I will.......off now for a shower, I smell....hahaha. Zach and Anna also need a sleep. Anna was up again last night with Croup and her ever loving brother decided he needed to with her! Keep Anna in your prayers as we head into winter. Anna suffers quite badly in the colder months. Lets hope this year she doesn't have to spend most of it in hospital! Mitchell is at the farm today with Daddy so I'm going to try and make the most of it!
Today I didn't really have a plan. Was just going to go with the flow. Fridays are usually pretty hectic as all 3 little ones are home and its the end of the week so everyone is a little tired and grumpy. Woke feeling a little blah but soon got my organisation groove on and got stuck into it. Well as much as I could with 3 little ones to help out. I spent most of the morning picking up toys and reminding everyone that you don't need all the toys out at once and you couldn't possibly play with them all (and God knows we certainly don't have the room!). Once I admitted defeat it was time to move on......
I opened the Pantry Doors and discovered something that resembled this...
Ok, that's not my pantry but I forgot to take a before photo so that is going to have to do. After pulling everything out, tossing things out of date, finding boxes to use to organise and 2 bags of rubbish later! We ended up with this.....
{after} - its here!
Of course not with out some super help from Zach and Anna and with Mitchell playing with Thomas toys around my feet! There was cereal mess all over the floor and I started to wonder why I had ever started but its done and feel a little better now.
The cardboard boxes I used are not very pretty - yet (although you can't see them very well in the photo). I used chip boxes that I had been saving up for something like this. I plan on covering them fabric and a little mod podge like I did with Mitchell's special books box....and also labeling them.
{made last year to put Mitchell special books in that we don't want the twins into} - here it is!
I also got into the extra food storage cupboard and tidied that up in the same way. Again using empty cardboard boxes that I will pretty up when I get a chance.
I usually do a bulk shop of most used items when I am in Canberra or going through Canberra as groceries here are sooooo expensive. $4 - $5 for a loaf of bread! Up to $5 for 3 litres of milk! Not to mention all the school and cooking supplies we go through. I also bulk buy my baby wipes - almost $10 for a packet of wipes here that I can pick up at Aldi for about $3. While I use cloth nappies 100% of the time - ok not 100% as I send disposables to Daycare, for now - I still use disposable wipes but I have all the material sitting here to make washable wipes, just need to find the time to sew them! (I currently use flushable liners too but I think I will stick to them for now.) Alright, that may be a whole other post there so more on my cloth nappies later.
My next task is to empty the freezer (the one in the fridge - we also have a chest freezer but that's tomorrows job!) and organise that. I plan on listing everything I find and doing my upcoming meal plans from that. Between the fridge freezer and the chest freezer its going to save me hundreds I tell you!
{ Added: Here is the result of Brett's effort in the chest freezer! I'm quite impressed! Plenty of room now to stock up on meat! Thanks Brett! }
And also a HUGE thank you to Brett for this effort!
Underneath are the baskets I use to store my nappies in, on top of the lowboy. - they are over flowing a bit at the moment. I need another basket!
In the house we are currently staying in there is absolutely no hanging space in the kids room. All of the things that needed to be hung up were hung in my wardrobe leaving that very cluttered! Then I came up with the idea of adding a hanging rail from the roof! I purchased the wooden wardrobe doubler from Kmart when I was pregnant with the twins - Its hard to explain so this is it (except mine has a wooden rail)
Its brilliant and adds the extra hanging space I needed in the corner of the room. Now all the kids clothes are hung in their room and I have my wardrobe back!
For more Pantry/Wardrobe/Cupboard Organizing checkout Organizing Junkie!
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YesterdayZach, Anna and Mitchell were all in Preschool/Daycare and boy did I get a lot done!
* Bathroom/Toilet thoroughly cleaned, vacuumed and mopped * Kitchen cleaned and vacuumed and mopped * 5 loads of washing done, along with a pretty through clean of the laundry * Beds made, bedrooms dusted, wardrobes tidied and floors vacuumed * Lounge room thoroughly cleaned, dusted and vacuumed. Toys sorted and re-organised * All the sheets/towels etc folded and put away * Odds 'n' ends that usually end up stacking up on the dreaded piano in the hall put away
By the time everyone got home I had had a few minutes to enjoy my thoroughly clean and sparkling house before all hell broke loose again!
Now I'm off to put anybody under 3 to bed and get the 5 loads of washing off the line and folded before beginning my freezer task. Wish me luck!
