Tuesday~Taking Stock~Tackling the To Do's

So.....
Yesterday was a hot topic.
It seems we all are in the mood to organize, purge and de-clutter.

I know, I know.
Some of you just wanted to see my book nook.
Which I'll show ya.....tomorrow.

Pinky, swear.

It's nothing fancy but super sweet for me.

Plus, this way I leave you with something to look forward to seeing.

Today was about the kitchen.
I am one of those girls who loves a clean kitchen.
A great menu plan.
And plenty of meal options, starters and snacks on the ready.

And sadly.
I have really become lax in this area.
Which was causing me a great deal of frustration.

Plus. The price of groceries has become outrageous!!!

So, I decided to tackle it this morning.
And let me tell you.....it feels amazing!

I started off by doing a deep clean of my refrigerator.
I actually started that yesterday in anticipation of today.
I took everything out, scrubbed it with soapy water and vinegar.
Went through all of the condiments and mostly empty bottles of this and that.
Tossed left-overs.
And re-evaluated what I needed to use up, and what I could menu plan off of for the rest of the week.

Then this morning, starting at around 7:00 am.
I made a punch list of what I wanted to accomplish.

Starting with unloading of the dishwasher from the night before.
And throwing a load in the washing machine.
I then made a batch of my chocolate syrup. Love this!
Followed by a batch of granola. Love this!
Laundry Soap. Love this, too!
And....
Boiled a dozen eggs for potato salad and deviled eggs. (Tomorrow's dinner)

Made myself a cup of piping hot tea and quickly realized....
That after being woken by a little someone.... multiple times last night.
I needed something with a little more punch to it.

Bring on the coffee.

Oh coffee, how I love thee.

And....how I pay dearly for consuming thee.

I then thawed out about 5 pounds of hamburger for frying and making sloppy-joes.
(Tomorrow's dinner, again.)
I also like to portion off some for pizza and quick add in's for fast meal prep.

I stuck a whole frozen chicken in the slow cooker.
Seasoned it generously, and added celery, carrots, and potatoes.
I will use this later in the week for chicken pot pie, BBQ chicken pizza, and chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes.

Then, because I have some potatoes that I need to hurry up and use.
I will be making this Potato Leak Soup for supper tonight, that I found over at the Nourished Kitchen.
And throwing these scrumptious little bread-sticks along side.

I also strained, and froze 7 qts of homemade chicken stock.

And phew, that was all before lunch.
But, by this time I was starving and wanted a quick fix for lunch.
So I made some Sandwich Roll Cheese Pizza's.

*Recipe to come.*

They were a hit.
Giving us that taste of summer using some home canned pizza sauce.
So yummy.

I did a major clean up of the kitchen.
And got my boys busy doing school.

We have been off for 2 weeks.
I know.
That's a long break.
But truly.
I didn't realize how much we needed the break until we took it.
And today, we dug right in and it felt so good to get back in our rhythm.

This job of mothering and teaching 24/7, while extremely wonderful, right, and gratifying....
Is hard work.

And mama, between illness's and loosing Callie.

Needed to rest.

Then, this afternoon I whipped up these Blueberry Muffins that Kelly posted about, and waited for a bit of company.

They were delish~

I had a special visitor coming over to teach me the fine art of.....

Ear candling!

I know, right?

Have you done this?
Do you know what it is?
Do you want to know how or why to do this?

I took photos of the whole process!
It was amazing!!!
Crazy.
But amazing!

I will share if you want to see....
Or did I loose a whole slew of you on that one?

I'm sorry.
What can I say?
I love all natural, crunchy, homeopathic, holistic....blah, blah, blah.


And finally. My kitchen is clean. Supper is getting started. School is done. The boys did great.
Friends are over playing.
The weather is warm enough for the kids to get out and run, jump, hoot and holler.

And I am making plans for Wednesday.

Here are some of the things that I want to get done this week.
Sort the boys' books.
Sort the boys' toys.

They have officially moved into the same room and it's been very nice.

And since doing so. I am in the process of turning the other bedroom into a school room.

But, shhhhh.
Don't tell my 9 year old.
He is currently under the impression and wishful thinking....
That he has 2 rooms.
One he dresses in, sleeps in and plays in with his brother.
And the other he considers his sanctuary.
Private sanctuary.

Ha!

But, not for long. ;o)

Dig my way out of my e-mail box.

I have boxes of baby stuff to drop off at our local pregnancy center.

Kitchen cabinets to organize.
The master closet.
And some random drawers here and there.
I also need to tackle our mud room and utility room.

Sheesh.
I'm starting to feel like a real slacker by listing all of this.
What do I do with all of my time, anyways????

My goal is to head into spring planting and summer gardening with a delightfully organized home.

Yes
Yes
Yes!

And here is what is coming up as far as posting at the Sweet Country Life.

The book nook.
Organizing my bulk pantry items.
A few fun sewing projects.
A few fun artsy and science projects for your children.
Homeschooling and the learning different child.
Soaking grains. I know some of you have asked about that.
Morning routines.
Evening routines.
All day routines.

And whatever else comes up!

Any particular order that you would like to see these topics?
That is of course....AFTER...the book nook.

I think that should keep me good and busy for the next 7 months or so.

Happy Tuesday~

Kristin

Edited to add:
I started this post at 4 and finally got to hit publish at 10.
And just thought I would tell you....the soup was AMAZING!
I didn't use dill though.
Used a ton of smoky bacon and added a little organic frozen corn.
And my family gobbled it up and the muffins were a hit, too!
Try them!
Really.

XO