seasonal

Keeping Up With Schedules

June 15, 2013 By Suzanne

Guess what I did on the beautiful summer day…

Matching Up School / Phone / Home Calendars

We’re taking it easy this weekend because my daughter had eye surgery on Thursday and has to stay pretty low-key. And last week the paperwork & calendar for the 2013-2014 school year arrived. So I took time today to transfer everything from the school district calendar to our home wall calendar and my iPhone calendar that syncs with my work Outlook.

For my wall calendar, I again ordered my favorite Fly Lady wall calendar because I love the size and large spaces. I can fit birthdays, activities, and school closures all in one space!

On my phone, I have my corporate Microsoft Outlook synced with my Google calendar. So on my phone both home and personal appointments show up together in different colors. And if I need it to be on my work calendar (so I’m marked as “busy”) I can do that too.

Don’t Get Caught Off-Guard This School Year!

I do realize that it seems premature to be filling out calendars for next school year. But I’ll admit that it gives me a sense of calm to know that I won’t be scrambling around surprised that the school is closed for in-service day in mid-November! And with my Fly Lady 17-month calendar I don’t have to have 2 calendars to fit it all in. It starts in August 2013 and goes all the way through December 2014. Brilliant!

What did I do with that original copy from the school? I stuffed it in the back pocket of the calendar so that I can still access it, just in case. In case of what, I’m not sure!

How do you keep your family’s schedules in sync? I’d love to hear your tips.

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1 Comment Filed Under: Children, Electronic Organization, Homekeeping, Living Organized, Routines, Stuff, Time, To Buy Tagged With: Back To School, back to school ideas, calendar, electronic organization, organizing, organizing for moms, organizing with kids, preparing for back to school, products, school, seasonal, summer, Time Management

Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Sauce

September 30, 2012 By Suzanne

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We moved about 4 months ago. In that time I’ve been spending a lot of time enjoying summer, staying busy at my day-job, and figuring out just how we live in this new place. For that reason, you haven’t seen any organizing posts from me lately. But I didn’t want to totally neglect my readers and so I figured I share what I have been up to.

Today was a lazy Saturday. My 5-year old A & I made a pumpkin cake. It turned out deliciously!

I started with this recipe for Pumpkin Cake with Cider Caramel Sauce from Mandy’s Recipe Box but I made some modifications that matched my available ingredients and preferences.

For the cake, I used her recipe almost exactly.

The Original

Pumpkin Cake with Cider Caramel Sauce

1 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. oil

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin

2 eggs

Combine the first 6 ingredients. Add oil, pumpkin and eggs. Whisk until blended. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Cool and top with the sauce before serving.

My Adjustments

1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

2 tbsp flour (to adjust for high altitude cooking)

I was concerned there wasn’t enough spice in the recipe as written so I added a bit more.

It turned out beautifully. Exactly as I had hoped.

For the caramel sauce, I couldn’t make the recipe Mandy provided because I didn’t have any apple cider or juice. Instead I scoured my cookbooks and the inter-webs for a caramel sauce that I did have all of the ingredients for. What I found is that all the delicious looking ones on Pinterest all called for heavy cream, which I also did not have. I did, however, have a pint of half-and-half. Hooray. Now to find a recipe to fit it… Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond to the rescue. A search for Caramel Sauce Without Cream yielded this Easy Caramel Sauce recipe.

Ingredients

1 packed cup brown sugar

1/2 cup half-and-half

4 tablespoons butter

Pinch salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

Mix the brown sugar, half-and-half, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until it gets thicker. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat, cool slightly and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold.

I found that I needed to cook longer. It was probably 15 minutes total cook time for me. But I may have been using a lower heat. And I knew I wanted it a bit thicker for pouring over cake.

**The result was divine.**

After devouring a healthy sized slice with the family I poured the remaining sauce into an old jam jar to keep in the fridge. I can’t wait to pour it over some ice cream!

What delicious fall goodies are you cooking up this month?

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2 Comments Filed Under: Cooking, Homekeeping, To Inspire Tagged With: autumn, cooking, dessert, food storage, kitchen, seasonal

Birthday Party – Tailgate Style!

September 22, 2011 By Suzanne

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I’ve been absent from blogging for a few weeks. Between a birthday party for my 1 year old, back-to-back grandparent visits, back-to-school for my two older ones and soaking up the last few days of summer things have been busy around the Brown house. Hopefully you’ve been enjoying the craziness that comes with the end of summer.

In a break from my usual blog topics today I’m going to show you my 1 year old’s birthday party. Since his birthday this year landed on the opening day of college football we decided to take advantage and go with a football tailgate party.

The Menu

Chicken Wings with ranch
Fried Chicken
Veggie Tray
Grapes

The above were all courtesy of our local supermarket. The rest I made.

Pizza Bites

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it’s one of my new favorites. I did not make my own dough. Instead I spent $3 on a fresh whole-wheat dough ball from Whole Foods. This saved a lot of time. I went with the very simple pepperoni and a cube of mozzerlla for the filling but I suppose you could add whatever your favorite toppings are. A can of warmed pizza sauce for dipping and there wasn’t a single one left.

This recipe is courtesy of Annie’s Eats

Ingredients:
½ batch pizza dough (enough for 1 pizza)
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed (about 20-24 pieces)
Sliced pepperoni

For topping:
Olive oil
Italian seasoning
Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Lightly grease (Suzanne’s Note: I heavily greased my pan: aka Crisco to ensure they wouldn’t stick. I didn’t want to take chances) a 9-inch pie plate or cake pan. Divide the pizza dough into 20-24 roughly equal sized pieces. Take one of the dough pieces, top with a cube of cheese and a slice or two of pepperoni. Pull the edges of the dough around the fillings and pinch closed. Place seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.

Lightly brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and grated Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Serve warm, with dipping sauce as desired.

Chips & Salsa

One of the moms in my playgroup shared this salsa recipe for me and I love how light and simple it is:

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can sweet corn, drained
1 can Rotel Original tomatoes with chilis – I half drained this. I wanted some of the liquid but not too much
fresh cilantro, loosely chopped
lime juice – this is to taste. I like the juice from one whole small lime

Combine and serve. Yum!

Taco Dip

This is my version of a 7-layer dip

1 can refried bean
1 lb ground beef, cooked & seasoned with taco seasoning
lettuce, shredded in the food processor
tomatoes, chopped
cheddar cheese, shredded in the food processor
Rotele & green onions (chopped) to garnish

Buckeyes

I first discovered Buckeyes when I went to college in Indiana. Having grown up in California I had never heard of them. But one bite of these little balls of yum and I was hooked. This year I finally decided to learn to make my own. There are a lot of recipes out there but I used this one from All Recipes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (Suzanne Note: I used 6oz of chocolate candy coating instead of chocolate chips)

2 tablespoons shortening

Directions

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar with hands to form a smooth stiff dough. Shape into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball. Place on prepared pan, and refrigerate. (Suzanne’s Note: This is a good stopping place if you need to do something else. These will keep in the fridge covered in cling wrap for quite awhile)

Melt shortening and chocolate together in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat. (Suzanne’s Note: You can also melt in the microwave. Melt 1 minute, stir then continue melting 30 seconds at a time and stirring afterward until the consistency is right.)

Remove balls from refrigerator. Insert a wooden toothpick into a ball, and dip into melted chocolate. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down, and remove toothpick. Repeat with remaining balls. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.

Muddy Buddies / Puppy Chow

This is an old favorite from junior high. My friend Sarah’s mom used to make it occasionally and whenever Sarah brought it in her lunch she was very popular with our lunch crowd. As a kid we always called in Puppy Chow but I prefer the name Muddy Buddies.

9 cups Rice Chex® cereal

Peanuts (optional)

8 oz chocolate candy coating

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 Tbsp shortening

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Measure cereal into a large bowl. Add nuts if desired. Put into a 2-gallon zip top bag. If you don’t have a 2-gallon bag, split it into 2 1-gallon bags.

Melt shortening, chocolate & peanut butter together in the microwave 1 minute. Stir. Continue melting 30 seconds at a time and stirring afterward until the consistency is right.

Pour melted chocolate into zip top bag (or divided into the 2 1-gallon bags)

Zip bag and mix to coat.

Add powdered sugar. Seal bag and shake until well coated.

Spread onto waxed paper to cool.

Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Chocolate Pretzel Bites

Another recipe I found on Pinterest. But it’s originally from the blog Megster Meter.

Hershey’s Kisses
M&Ms – I pulled out just the blue, yellow & green ones
Pretzel Twists

Layout the pretzels on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Top with one Hershey’s Kiss. Heat 5 minutes at 275*. Remove from oven and gently push an M&M into the center. Let cool. Refrigerate to harden completely and keep them from melting before eating.

Football Cupcake Cake

Courtesy of Sam’s Club but if you have the patience it would be super easy to make your own.

The Decorations

Play Like A Champion Today sign

This greeted guests on our front door upon arrival. I promise it looked much nicer before being manhandled by my kids after the party. Big thanks to my dad who freehanded the letters

A House Divided wreath

In this house we are split between rooting for the Irish of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Michigan Wolverines. I made this wreath to reflect that. To make this I used:

1 Wreath form
Wooden letters
Navy spray paint
Gold spray paint
Ribbon – Navy, gold, yellow
Wooden footballs

First I spray painted the letters and let dry (actually my dad did this!)

While those were drying I laid out the ribbon and used a small bit of fabric glue to attach the navy/gold and navy/yellow near the centers. I wanted the ends of the ribbons to hang separate but wanted the middles where they were getting tied to always stay together.

Once the fabric glue dried I tied them on the wreath and used hot glue to secure them down.

Next I hot glued on the letters and wooden footballs.

Finally I made a hanger out of the navy ribbon by tieing it it some loose branches on the back of the wreath and looping it at the top to make the hook. The wooden football on the hook (hot glued) keeps it in place.

Pennant Flags

These served as both decor and party favors. They were super easy to make.

Felt “squares” (they are really more like 8.5×11) in school colors of your choice
Iron-On letters
Felt sticky-back footballs and helments
Wooden dowels
Hot glue gun

Cut the felt into the triangular pennant shape. Cut out the letters and iron them on – leave enough room to wrap the far end around the dowel. Wrap the felt around the dowel and secure with hot glue. Add footballs, helmets or other decorations.

Pennant Birthday Banner

To make this I used the same “varsity style” iron-on letters as from the pennants. Cut out triangles out of a piece of blue fabric I bought as a remnant. And attached them to leftover gold ribbon to make it hang. I have to give credit to my awesome parents who actually made this for me. It was my idea but they actually did all the work!

All in all the party turned out well and the kids had a good time. My baby loved his first cake (unlike his older sister) and the weather cooperated with a nice crisp fall-feeling kind of day. HUGE thanks to my parents who were visiting and were very patient in helping me create all the ideas in my head.

What’s your favorite tailgate food?

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2 Comments Filed Under: Party Planning, To Inspire Tagged With: football birthday party, kids birthday party, party planning ideas, seasonal, tailgate birthday party, tailgate party, tailgating food

Back-to-School Prep: Eye Doctors

August 3, 2011 By Suzanne

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In my neighborhood today was the first day of school! I can hardly believe it. I still think school should start the day after Labor Day. But school districts across the country disagree with me (as evidenced by the throngs of parents and children walking by our house this morning).

Whether your children are back in the classroom already or still have a few weeks to go, there is always time to get organized for the school year. On Monday you called to schedule the necessary sports physicals and immunization appointments. Today I want you to set up another important appointment for your children: an eye exam.

Even if they have never complained of vision problems, it’s still a great idea to have them checked by an eye doctor. If you don’t suspect any issues, an optometrist is probably just fine for an initial exam. But if you have a family history of vision problems (like me) or your child seems to be having trouble, head for the ophthalmologist. An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who will verify not just the vision of your child but the actual health of the eyes as well.

Making sure your children can see well sets them up for success in school. According to the Children’s Vision Information Network there are some common symptoms of vision problems.

Signs of Vision-Based Learning Problems
(source: Children’s Vision Information Network)

Headaches with reading or writing
Words slide together or get blurry when reading
Reads below grade level
Loses Place While Reading
Head tilt or closes an eye when reading
Doesn’t like reading or writing
Leaves out small words when reading
Hard to write in a straight line
Burning, itching, or watery eyes
Hard to understand what he/she has read
Holds book very close
Hard to pay attention when reading
Hard to finish assignments on time
Gives up easily, says “I can’t” before trying
Bumps into things, knocks things over
Homework takes too long
Daydreams
In trouble for being off task at school

For me, the peace of mind of having my children’s vision checked by professionals is worth the hassle of another doctor or the expense of a copay or a pair of glasses.

If your child isn’t yet school aged…

It’s a great time to see the eye doctor. Many common vision problems can be corrected if caught and treated early.

If your child is under 1 year…

Check out InfantSEE to find an eye doctor in your area who offers FREE exams to children under one year.

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1 Comment Filed Under: Children Tagged With: Back To School, back to school check list, back to school ideas, back to school organizing tips, organizing for moms, organizing with kids, preparing for back to school, seasonal, summer

Back To School: Prep Step – Doctor Visits

August 1, 2011 By Suzanne

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Welcome to the Dog Days of Summer! These hot summer days we all want nothing more than to squeeze a few last vacations, trips to the pool, stops at the ice cream store and runs through the sprinker. Soak up the sun, I say!

But while you are lounging pool side it’s a good time to think about something less enticing but still necessary. Visiting the doctor. Not for you (although I recommend that too) but for the kids. With back-to-school knocking on the door your childrens’ schools are going to start asking for a variety of medical things: health assessments, vaccination records and sports physicals. We all know they are coming and yet most parents will wait to schedule the appointment until we find the form squished in the bottom of a backpack. By which time you will likely have exactly half as long to get the appointment taken care of as the doctor has available time to schedule you. So call the doctor’s office today and schedule an appointment for the physical or other evaluation you know is going to be necessary in the next month or two. Look at last year’s calendar to see when you had the appointment if you want to make sure you’ll have the necessary forms from the school first. Then get on the doctor’s calendar and your calendar and rest easy knowing you won’t be trying to call for an appointment that needs to happen within the next 48 hours.

Oh, and a tip on doctor’s offices… if your pediatrician’s office seems to be constantly running behind schedule your appointment as the first one of the morning or first after lunch. You’ll be more likely to get in and out quickly than a mid-morning or mid-afternoon appointment.