Cupcakes Kisses 'n' Crumbs: August 2017

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

30 August 2017

Nightly Routine for Easier Mornings

Our mornings start EARLY, and I hate to get the day started on the wrong foot. Sometimes that happens anyway, but most days I can do a little work the night before to make mornings run smooth!

It doesn't take long, and every minute is usually worth it.

I leave about 15-20 minutes before bed to run through this routine real quick.

Journaling

The kids each have a little journal in their Good Morning Basket, I try to just write them a little note, or reminders for the day, if something is our usual schedule.

Prep Lunches & Coffee

I am much more with it in the evening than early in the morning, and that coffee is important :)

Breakfast Prep

Just check to make sure nothing needs to be thawed or put it in the Instant Pot

Dishes

Because waking up to an empty sink is AMAZING!

Laundry Prep

I just put a load in the washer, and if it's full already I will start it, if not I just wait for the mornings dirty clothes.

Quick Overall Tidy

Walk through and put things in the right room, bedding and put trash in bin

Check Planner

To make sure we don't have anything out of our norm the next day!

Self Care

Take care of my teeth and hopefully something to counteract these wrinkles lol

Getting to bed on time is Self Care too!

Do you feel like you stay up later and later just to have a little alone time, time where you aren't doing kid stuff, or doing something for someone else?

That was me for years! Ended up being more tired in the morning and everything was more difficult. I switched it up and went to bed earlier, and get up earlier and have MORE time for me and I am not a tired groggy mess in the morning!

Anything you do routinely at night to help with the next day?

24 August 2017

Peanut Butter & Jelly Energy Poppers

Just finished up our second batch of these! So good!

1c oats (mix and match quick and old fashioned however you please)

1/4 PB. We used Wild Friends Sugar Cookie PB

1/4c Roasted Salted Sunflower Seeds

1/4c PB chips

1/4C Honey

Freeze dried fruit or dried cranberries

Mix everything but the fruit together in a bowl. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes or more. It's usually more for me because I have other stuff going on to!

When you have time, add the fruit, maybe 1/4c? I didn't measure, then roll into balls. We used a small cookie scoop to make them even. Chill in fridge or freeze for later.

Perfect snack or lunch box addition!

17 August 2017

Easy Breakfast Plan

This has been helpful for us in the past, last year was kind of a wash. This year though, this year HAS to go smoother! I've done some prepping already and am printing this for my planner!

This might not be perfect and it might not happen every week, I still want to have it so I have something to fall back on when things feel like they are getting out of control!

I've made these pancake poppers in bulk because they are easy to grab and go! Super easy to make too! Whatever you like for pancake batter, then spray a mini muffin tin well, bake 12-14 minutes at 350! I made a bunch to freeze and we will just pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds when it's time to eat them!

We've got bacon and cheese, blackberry, raspberry with protein boost, sausage & maple and apple spice poppers all ready for school in 2 weeks!

I keep yogurt cups and have the dry ingredients in our breakfast bucket! Granola, dried fruit and plastic spoons, just in case!

Summer has it looking slim! Need to restock the spoons and fruit!

Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats! So many variations for flavors! Easy prep the night before, filling and not expensive! I picked Wednesday for this because we rarely use the IP for taco Tuesday'

Eggs, bacon and toast is a little more work for me but I feel like I should have my life together by Thursday of each week lol. I also have a stack of bacon egg and cheese English muffins in the freezer if that is not the case and I am still failing.

Friday is typically chaos for me. The day I play catch up and I don't really want to add extra dishes in the morning or worry about it. We have leftovers, yogurt, cereal sometimes and the kids can choose to make their own stuff too!

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I wont recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

10 August 2017

Muffin Tops

Muffin Top Cookies? Just plain ol' Muffin Tops?

There isn't more sugar like in a cookie, but they are shaped like a BIG cookie. Call them what you want, they are easy and delicious and the kids will like them! They aren't dense like a cookie, lighter, like a muffin but the oatmeal in these ones gives them oomph!

I've made multiple varieties but don't always track what I add.

For these I did though! Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.

I just used my basic muffin dry ingredients

1 3/4 AP Flour

1/3C Sugar

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/4 tsp. Salt

Then I just added about 1C ish of liquids + 1 egg for the basic recipe.

For this one I added

1 BIG ripe banana all mashed up

2 Eggs

and 1/2 C Oats for bit of texture

1/4 C Mini Chocolate Chips

***The batter should be about muffin batter consistency, maybe slightly thicker***

Play around and try some different combos.

Bake 13-15 Minutes at 350 on a greased cookie sheet

I use a big cookie scoop to measure them equally

09 August 2017

Quick Kitchen Tip

I was just going to do a quick video to show this time/space saver for us but it's been one of THOSE days and there was not even a 10 second space where it wasn't chaos over here. So here it is instead. Our utensil drawer is FULL, it's tiny and I don't think I can purge anything else!

So rather than have the kids open that drawer over and over all day, and to save some space. This is where we keep our apple slicer. It's been a must have here since we have kids in various stages of teeth missing, braces etc.

Do you keep any frequently used items in an unusual place?

08 August 2017

Back to School Organization~ Cleaning Cards

I shared our updated Chore Packs last week, over the weekend I put together the cards for each room. These are not jobs that will take hours, just a checklist of a few items that each take a couple minutes max. Having some help do these few chores a couple times a week will sure help me, and help these kids learn how to keep the spaces they frequent tidy.

I don't expect the bigger kids to need these for long, after a few weeks they will have the routine down, until then, they are laminated and have a spot easy to access. I also attached a dry erase marker because a certain 7 year old I know and love will want to check them off! It might add more time to the job than the actual job, but if it encourages him to helpful, I will take it!

I've got a card (just small, 4x6) for Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom, and Family Room.

Email me if you would like them too, free :)

FolkHollow@gmail.com

01 August 2017

Back to School Organization~Chore Cards

Sorry, sorry, sorry for even bringing it up. But today IS August 1st which means school will be in session before we know it :( I don't love that at all, but I do want to make sure it all goes smooth!

Honestly, the last 2 years or so have kind of had me/us in a funk! Baby, re-doing a home, health issues and overall busyness just have not worked in our favor. To combat that busyness that isn't going away I need routine, and scheduling and structure. No way can I just toss that on the kids the first day of school. I haven't updated our CHORE CARDS in years, those need an overhaul, and our weekly and daily routines need an overhaul too. We don't expect them to be followed 100% every single day, but having a plan in place that we hopefully meet 80% of the time still REALLY makes a difference.

We are starting by adding chore packs again, and hopefully practice morning routines in the next couple weeks.

So this is the new chore cards. They are more work because the kids are a lot older now, I mean it's been 5 years!!! And these are all things that *might* need to be done. I promise we don't expect them to clean the coop everyday :) I left some blank because I laminated mine and wet erase markers work great on them! Sometimes we have chores that are just for a season, or a few weeks and I like to have the option.

Happy to share these printable sheets! Just email me (FolkHollow@gmail.com) and I will send you the file! I just had mine printed on card stock (using the floral as a back side), laminated them and then used these rings and a hole punch to keep them handy and together!