Summer Fun!

Happy Friday! I thought I would start the weekend by sharing some family pictures and giving the grandparents their fix for awhile. :)

Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend! Praying for rain here in Indiana!!

Andrew had fun in swimming lessons this summer.

Mr. Cool

The boys love these adorable matching chairs - early bday presents from grandma and grandpa C:)

enjoying his bike with grandma

3 generations of Colby's

having fun with the scooter that grandma brought over

The berries are starting to come in! I was hoping to make a pie or jam. Problem is that we keep eating them and I never have enough to do that with:)

we have also been getting  a ton of cucumbers! If you want some, let me know:)

met up with David for a picnic. It was a lot of fun!

We went to Wisconsin and Illinois for Father's Day weekend. First stop was our friend Cheryl and Mike's farm. Here we are visiting the chickens.

Their newest family members - the alpaca! Aren't they adorable?

teacher Cheryl giving a lesson about farming. :)

The boys had fun playing with grandpa T

and with grandma T too!

we had a father's day / my niece Jessie's birthday BBQ at my brother Dan's house. It was a lot of fun too!

the kids loved the pinata

and then onto David's parents in IL. Lots of fun on the tracker with grandpa C!

lounging in grandpa's BIG chair!

you don't have to be little to take a ride on the tractor:)

enjoying some time with grandma C.

 Thanks for taking a look. The boys are growing so fast! It's hard to believe that Benjamin will be 2 in a couple of weeks and Andrew will turn 4 in September! Time sure does move quickly.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Rebecca

Organizing Your Dining Room

It's Thursday and time to organize. Sorry this post is going up late in the day. I didn't realize my husband needed the digital camera at work today and like a true procrastinator, I was trying to add pictures to finish the blog today. I wasn't too happy when I realized I didn't have the camera to use. lol. Lesson learned. (maybe!)

 

If you are just joining us, we have been getting organized using Jennifer Ford Berry's Organize Now book.
 

It has some great info and tips on organizing various parts of our life and home. You can see past posts here:

Week 1 about Organizing Your Mind and Life Vision HERE,

Week 2 about Organizing Your Priorities HERE,

Week 3 about Organizing Your Schedule HERE

Week 4 about Organizing Your Cleaning Schedule HERE.

Week 5 about Organizing Your Personal Information HERE. 

Week 6 about Organizing Your Finances HERE. 

      Week 7 about Organizing Your Bill-paying System HERE.

        Week 8 about Organizing Your Receipts and Taxes HERE. 

Week 9 about Organizing Your Files HERE

                             Week 10 about Organizing your Magazines and Newspapers HERE.
                                               Week 11 about Organizing Your Email HERE
                                                Week 12 about Organizing Your Mail HERE
                                         Week 13 about Organizing Your Child's Toys HERE.

Week 14 about Organizing Your Crafts HERE.

Week 15 about Organizing Your Photographs HERE.

Week 16 about Organizing Your Purse or Wallet HERE. 

 Week 17 about Organizing Your Vehicle HERE.

                                                  Week 18 about Organizing Your Pet HERE.

Week 19 about Organizing Your Books, CDs and DVDs HERE.

Week 20 about Organizing Your Entryway or Mudroom HERE.

                           Week 21 about Organizing Your Family Room or Living Room HERE.

Week 22 about Organizing Your Kitchen Countertops HERE.

Week 23 about Organizing the Kitchen Cabinets HERE.
Week 24 about Organizing the Pantry HERE. 
Week 25 about Organizing the Refrigerator HERE.

Week 26 about Organizing the recipes HERE.

This week we are onto the dining room. I actually don't have a dining room in my house. Do you? When we bought our house, the sellers had the family room set up as a dining room. We use it for playing and for my music & me classes. :) If you have one, do you use it often?

This Week's Goals:

1. Sort through all dishes, china, candles/candlesticks, glasses, etc. Get rid of things that are broken or damaged or that you just never use. If things are chipped but useable, they may still be good for donating.

2. Put the items you are keeping in good places. Be sure you can access things easily that you use frequently.   

3. Get rid of clutter on the walls. Less is more! :)
 

4. Dust lampshades and clean window fixtures.

Tips:

1. Keep only things that you love and use. Don't feel guilty getting rid of something you inherited if you never use it. Give it to someone else in the family or a friend who will use it. 

2. Keep an everyday table cloth nearby to play games or crafts on the table. Make it a functional room for your family.

How often do you use your dining room? Is it an everyday room or just one used on special occasions?

Thanks for reading! Next week will will tackle the laundry room! Enjoy your day! :)

Rebecca  

Rhubarb Diaries

I posted awhile back about this yummy rhubarb crisp I made. It was delicious! I swiped some rhubarb from my parent's garden in Wisconsin over Father's Day weekend. My grandpa planted it many years ago when he lived where my parents do now. My brother took some and transplanted it in his garden last year so I thought I would do the same.

We took the rhubarb on Sunday afternoon and after visiting my in-laws in IL, brought it to our home in Indiana and planted it on Monday evening. It did not like the heat and was pretty wilted when we planted it. It actually got more wilted after this but I didn't take a picture to show. We thought it was not going to take.

We were hoping for the best. We used Basic H2 organic concentrate and I regularly sprayed the leaves with it.

It still wasn't looking too good after about a week. But then, some new growth started appearing!

And this is what it looks like today, not even a month later. 

The old leaves have disappeared but the new ones look green and strong. 

We are looking forward to seeing how well it does. Rhubarb will come back every year and also multiplies over time. My parent's patch is huge! I wish I had a picture to share.

Can't wait for more crisps and pies! Stay tuned for updates....:)

Have a great weekend!

Rebecca

Organize Your Recipes

It's Thursday! Here we go with more organizing!  

If you are just joining us, we have been getting organized using Jennifer Ford Berry's Organize Now book.

It has some great info and tips on organizing various parts of our life and home. You can see past posts here:

Week 1 about Organizing Your Mind and Life Vision HERE,

Week 2 about Organizing Your Priorities HERE,

Week 3 about Organizing Your Schedule HERE

Week 4 about Organizing Your Cleaning Schedule HERE.

Week 5 about Organizing Your Personal Information HERE. 

Week 6 about Organizing Your Finances HERE. 

      Week 7 about Organizing Your Bill-paying System HERE.

        Week 8 about Organizing Your Receipts and Taxes HERE. 

Week 9 about Organizing Your Files HERE

                             Week 10 about Organizing your Magazines and Newspapers HERE.
                                               Week 11 about Organizing Your Email HERE
                                                Week 12 about Organizing Your Mail HERE
                                         Week 13 about Organizing Your Child's Toys HERE.

Week 14 about Organizing Your Crafts HERE.

Week 15 about Organizing Your Photographs HERE.

Week 16 about Organizing Your Purse or Wallet HERE. 

 Week 17 about Organizing Your Vehicle HERE.

                                                  Week 18 about Organizing Your Pet HERE.

Week 19 about Organizing Your Books, CDs and DVDs HERE.

Week 20 about Organizing Your Entryway or Mudroom HERE.

                           Week 21 about Organizing Your Family Room or Living Room HERE.

Week 22 about Organizing Your Kitchen Countertops HERE.

Week 23 about Organizing the Kitchen Cabinets HERE.
Week 24 about Organizing the Pantry HERE. 
Week 25 about Organizing the Refrigerator HERE.

This week we are organizing the recipes! Do you have a ton of recipes? Are they organized?

 

As many of you know by now, I am always trying to be more organized! Hence the reason for this blog series. lol. So as you can probably figure out, my recipes are not organized either. This is something I gave up on a long time ago. Now I just use my favorite cookbooks for my recipes.

I also use the internet A LOT! I look at what ingredients I have and put something together after googling those ingredients. I love to cook, but do not like to measure. So this actually works well for me. I can put something together pretty quickly with a few ingredients and spices. I can't say it always turns out well, but it is usually edible and fun to do:)

Since many of you may not be like me and wing it with recipes, here are some tips that Jennifer has in her book.

This Week's Goals:

1. Put all of your recipes together in one place.

2. Get rid of recipes you never use or can no longer read.

3. Categorize your recipes (soups, veggies, salads, main dishes, desserts, etc) and put them into a storage place that works for you. (recipe box, binder with slipcovers, photo album, computer etc)

Tips:

1. Plan meals ahead. This is something I am always trying to be better at. It helps to have multiple recipes that use similar ingredients and stock up on those when you are shopping.

2. Crock Pot!!! I LOVE my slow cooker! As you can see in the above picture, I have a slow cooker recipe book and it's great. But just a few simple ingredients can make a great and healthy slow cooker meal. This was my life-saver when my children were first born.

3. Keep favorite internet recipes in a folder on your computer. This works well for me.

That does it for this week. For more tips on organizing your recipes please check out the Organize Now book. 

Do you have a favorite go-to recipe to share? I am always looking for quick, easy and healthy meal ideas.

Next week we are onto the dining room.  

Thanks for reading! Have a great day! :)

Rebecca   

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! What are your plans today? We don't have a lot of festivities in my town, so my family and I are laying low today. We have been having fun spending time together. Here are a few pictures from this morning. Enjoy!

The garden continues to grow! The tomatoes are up to the fence now!

Here are a few things we picked this morning. The peppers are "purple beauty" and "sweet banana"

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a safe and healthy 4th!

Rebecca