Routines, routines, routines

So Christmas is upon us, there are Christmas parties, school activities, plays, shopping, cooking, baking, wrapping presents, and well you get the point. And along with all those extra activities there is still being a mom, wife, and all the other responsibilities you have. If I didn't have routine in my life I know for a fact chaos would reign in my household. By routines I mean things either written down or on my mental checklist that get done every single day no matter what. Routines give a sense of security, comfort, and stability in our homes and are necessary to help reduce the mounting stress of the holidays.
Below are routines I do on a daily basis that keep my house running on a daily basis. They keep me sane on even my most busiest days (like tomorrow). I shall start with the my night time routines because if they are not completed my morning does not go nearly as smooth as it could.

Night time:
-I clean up the kitchen, I rinse all dishes even if the dishes don't all fit in the dishwasher. Just make a neat pile of dishes on the counter so they are easy to load in the morning.
-I pre-make our coffee so all we have to do is switch on the coffee pot when we get up
-I switch my laundry from the wash to the dryer and run it
-I pack any lunches for the next day
-check my calendar for tomorrow
-make sure all pack-backs and diaper bags are ready for the next day
-pick-up the living room
-and lastly before bed I turn the dishwasher on so the dishes are clean for in the morning

Morning time:
-Make bed
-get dressed and ready for day
-get girls up, ready, fed and to school
-empty dishwasher
-clean up breakfast and load any dishes left from night before
-start a load of laundry
-put away last nights load in dryer
-a five minute house pick-up (go through house picking up miss placed items and re home them)

Morning or Afternoon time:
-do housework assigned for the day (about 15 to 30 minutes) Note: I don't always get this routine done but as long as the others are taken care of this can be done when time is more friendly

As you can see none of the above routines take long to do, just a couple of minutes each, except for the housework one which is pretty flexible in itself. But keeping those simple things done on a daily basis makes mine and my family's life go so much smoother. I challenge you give a go at setting your own routine up. Just start with a few if you are afraid of being overwhelmed with it.
A website to check out that is Flylady.net. The Flylady created for me the foundation to the see the need for routine. I don't follow her exact suggestions any longer, but she is the best mentor I could have asked for when it came to learning how to organize my time and my home. By the way, her website and services are completely free. She is an angel from above. Check her out!

Pinecone Ornaments

Make homemade pine cone ornaments for little or no cost. My kids collected pine cones from a friends yard and we used leftover gold spray paint, glitter, a glue pen and some ribbon and raffia I had left over from previous Christmas's. So easy and the kids loved making them. Can't wait to see them hanging on the tree.

From the Pantry Cheese and Noodles

These noodles are so easy to make and I almost always have the ingredients in the pantry and fridge for them. They are great for lunch or a side dish and they don't take any longer than a box of mac and cheese.


Cheese and Noodles

spaghetti noodles for for broke in half
splash of olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup shredded cheddar
3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti noodles according to directions on package (I always add a splash of olive oil to mine to prevent the noodles from sticking). While spaghetti noddles cook place butter in small sauce pan over med/low heat and let melt. Add flour to melted butter, whisk together and let sit over heat for a minute. While whisking slowly add milk to the mixture whisking vigorously to prevent lumps. Add salt and pepper. Keep mixture over heat until it thickens into a sauce stirring frequently. Test to see if it is done by placing a spoon in mixture and pulling it out, if the sauce coats the spoon without sliding off then it is done. Add cheeses to sauce and whisk together. Pour on top of spaghetti noodles and toss, serves about 4.

Baby Its COLD Outside!

Wow it is really cold and windy here and expecting showers tomorrow. This cold weather makes me in the mood for warm yummy foods to keep us cozy in our house. 3 things I'm making to warm our bodies inside and out hot cocoa, bread pudding, and Creamy veggie soup, all my recipes and they are so yummy.

Hot Cocoa (so easy, but so satisfying)

6 cups of milk
3 tablespoons of cocoa
1/2 cup sugar

Add all ingredients in large pot and heat up slowly and gently, stirring often with a whisk. Do not allow milk to come to full boil. After heated through serve in mugs topped with whipped cream or marsh mellows.

Over the months I like to save the heels of our loaves of bread. I just stick them in the freezer and when I need bread for bread pudding, stuffing, or breading all I have to do is pull the bread out that I need and let it defrost for about half an hour. I consider it a free ingredient.

Bread Pudding

5 cups of bread torn into small bite size pieces
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups of milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8X8 pan and add bread crumbs to it. In a mixing bowl add the eggs and sugar, whisk together until well incorporated. Add spices and vanilla, mix well.
Well whisking egg and sugar mixture slowly add in the milk. Pour over top of bread being sure to wet all the bread with the custard mixture. Use the back of a spoon or your hands to press the bread down into the pan to make sure the bread has contact with the custard mixture. Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes. Let cool, but serve warm if desired, which is my family's favorite. We also serve it with a mixture of milk, nutmeg, and sugar poured over the top.

Creamy Veggie Soup

1/2 half cups cauliflower florets
2 medium potatoes
1/2 cup of leeks (cleaned)
3 large carrots or 4-5 small
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
6 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup of milk
1-1 1/2 cups of cooked chicken in chunks
salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut cauliflower, potatoes, leeks, and carrots into pieces of the same sizes. Place on sheet pan. Toss veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 30 minutes, mixing the veggies at least once during roasting time.
In large pot bring to simmer chicken broth/stock. Add veggies to the broth once roasting is complete. In either blender or food processor begin to add veggies and broth with ladle. Only fill the container 1/4 of the way so there are no spills or explosions due to heat expansion. Process until smooth or almost smooth depending on how chunky you like it. Ladle into a separate pot. Continue until all broth and veggies have been blended. Turn low heat under blended soup. Add milk, stir till blended, then add chicken chunks, heat through, salt and pepper to taste.