Life with Our Magnificent 7: Week 10

Welcome to the chaos we call our life & family!

My DH often says this is the chaos we like to call our family, or something to that effect. To answer the basic questions we here often: Yes! With 7 children we are busy! Yes! It often gets hectic, chaotic, crazy, & overwhelming, we love it anyway! No! We do not wish we had a smaller family we can't imagine our lives with less children, we love them all! Yes! It's tricky co-ordinating everyones schedules thank goodness for the FLYlady calendar (if you haven't heard of FLYlady I really recommend looking up her site!). Yes! We do cook a LOT of food, and we eat all or most of it in one sitting! No! You probably do not want to see our grocery bill, or how much we spend on clothes, footwear, sports, etc. each year! ;-) UPDATE 2019: We now have 1 of the original 7 that lives at home. We have added a 3 wonderful daughter-in-laws and an awesome son-in law, as well as 3 beautiful granddaughters and 3 handsome grandsons with our oldest 4. We have 2 adult daughters who have also moved to their own places.

Chaos, maybe, boring, NEVER! There is almost always something going on in our home, never a dull moment from the adult perspective anyway... you know kids, if it gets "too quiet" they are sure it's a sign of being bored! LOL

In 2008 we moved into a new "project home" I have posted some of the fun & craziness that has happened while replacing flooring, adding a furnace, roof, pantry, texture to the walls redoing a kitchen and much more.

2019 UPDATE: WE NOW have purchased a new "prject home = rehab home" that we hope to move into by the end of September 2019! Again feel free to join us for the ride as we continue our new adventure to upgrade get our home ready for move in! It has been interesting to say the very least!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Week 10 - My Holiday Plan

Time to use up the Halloween Candy & Start Planning for Thanksgiving, it's November Already!!!

NOVEMBER 3rd - NOVEMBER 9th

Week 10 - Kitchen (Thanksgiving Prep) - Cooking Space Week - Gifts & Giving

~~Undecorate & Take to Storage~~

~~Organize Kitchen~~

Organize Pantry

~~Organize Fridge~~

~~Organize Freezer~~

To get the Meal I want it is time to start planning now! What do you want for your Thanksgiving Feast?

~~Gather any stray Halloween Decorations, Costume Pieces, & Dishes.~~ Take to Storage

~~Update Decorations to Just Fall Theme~~

~~Clean up Kitchen Countertops, Streamline to absolute needs only~~

~~Bleach Countertops~~

Set up Baking Station for Holiday Season

~~Assemble~~ ~~all Dishes & Appliances needed to prepare Thanksgiving Dinner, put in 1 place~~

~~Clean Out Fridge, remove all shelves/door pieces, & scrub~~

~~Clean Out Freezer, remove all shelves/door pieces, & scrub~~

MONDAY -

TUESDAY -

WEDNESDAY -

THURSDAY -

FRIDAY -

Better work on this list if I don't want the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Menu!

Sure it Looks fun, wouldn't impress my family though, I don't think, then again...

Planning Ahead:

I love my Christmas Cookie Magazines, some of my best recipes are from these magazines!

~~Organize Holiday Recipes (Use Form)~~

~~Get out Thanksgiving Planner & Use it!~~

~~Plan Thanksgiving Menu (Use Form)~~

~~Plan Holiday Baking (Use Form)~~

Do Freezer Inventory (Use Form)

Inventory Pantry (Use Form)

Inventory Holiday Clothing (Use Form)

Plan Potluck Meals (Use Form)

Plan Potluck meals (Use Form)

~~Consider Freezer Cooking, even if just meats to make quick meals~~

Stock up on Serasonal Staples

Change your Smoke Detector Batteries & clean detectors

Update Family disaster Plan

Do Seasonal Safety Check

~~Buy containers for freezer meals, baked goods, & kitchen gifts~~

~~Plan on where to get Turkey for Thanksgiving (Check Ads)~~

~~Check Serving Plates, Glassware, & Silverware, do we need anything?~~

~~Mix 9 dozen Christmas Cookies, Freeze the dough in freezer in ziploc containers marked with cookie name, cooking heat, & time.)~~ Pumpkin Cookies

Bake 2 loaves of orange bread, wrap & freeze

~~Double on meal & freeze half for the holidays.~~ Golden Potato Bake

Put aside money for 1/3 of gifts to Buy, save receipts & get gift boxes.

Wrap & label packages

Address 25 Christmas Cards

Shop for Christmas Clothes, do we need tights, socks, shoes, ties, hair barrettes, slips?

Purchase a frame for this year's Christmas picture. Put the picture on the mantle

Order reprints of christmas pictures

Make snowflakes for front window & door

Make Christmas Cakes

Make Holiday Gift Rubs?

Make Cocoa Mix for gifts & guests

Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa

25.6 oz box of nonfat dry milk

16oz package mini marshmallows

12oz package mini chocolate chips

3 cups powdered sugar

3 cups carnation coffee-mate nondairy creamer lite

1 1/2 cup cocoa

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

Directions (on bottle): 3 Tablespoons per mug of hot water or milk.