Time to plan for... Johnny Appleseed Day

It's no secret that we LOVE apples in our house, and getting to 'celebrate' one of our favorite fruits twice every year is super exciting. We do huge things in the fall when we go apple picking, but we also have lots of fun on March 11th for Johnny Appleseed day. 

Every year we read the story of Johnny Appleseed and how he brought apple trees to areas of our country which otherwise wouldn't have had them. This is a great kids book and as they get older they can read it to you. 

We got our copy here on Amazon

I also found this super fun activity pack over on Teaching with Children's Books, that I think you will all love. 

Every year I make apple pancakes for breakfast, just use your favorite pancake mix and as soon as you pour the batter on the griddle add a very very thin slices of granny smith apples, they're super yummy. Here is my favorite pancake recipe. For pancakes, use 2 cups of the above mix and add 1 cup of milk and 2 eggs, they're delicious and quick to make. 

In her lunch every year I send apples and caramel sauce or apples and peanut butter, depending on the apples we have on hand. I pre-slice them in the morning and soak for 5 minutes in water with a tablespoon of lemon juice, it doesn't take on any of the lemon flavor, but keeps them from browning, you can also use citric acid if you have some on hand. 

For dessert I usually make my apple bread with cinnamon butter which makes for a great breakfast the next morning too. Last year I made apple cookies with cinnamon cream cheese icing. 

A fun tradition is at dinner, wear a pot on your head like Johnny Appleseed. The kids will love it. 

For Gwen's class I usually make "apple" cupcakes as a treat. 

What is your favorite apple recipe? Share in the comments below.

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Working Supermom Secret ... Stair Basket

If you have a two story home,  you know how often things find their way from the 2nd floor to the 1st and no one wants to make a hundred trips up and down the stairs, and it cab become a hazard just leaving it on the stairs and hoping someone will take it up when they're headed that way. 

I got this cute basket from Target and keep it on the stairs to keep everything corralled and to make it easier to carry it all up when I go up, because let's face it, who else is going to carry it up since it's all invisible. It's 8"x10" so it doesn't hold a lot, but it's perfect for the socks, Lego's, hair brushes, hair ties, etc. that make their wait to the living room. 

Amazon does have some great options as well, but they were a little pricier than I wanted to pay, and a little bigger than I wanted for the stairs. This basket is specifically made for stair storage and was the cheapest I found. With the below one, I was also concerned with how much more would I allow to pile up before taking it up, because even I have my lazy moments. 

If you have a two story home, what is your normal handling of things that need to go up? Do you run things up every time you find them? Stack on the stairs without a bin? Some other method? Share in the comments below, I'd love to hear your ideas. 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Time to plan for… Dr. Seuss’ Birthday

Dr. Seuss' Birthday is March 2nd, but we did our projects a week early for two reasons, one so I could share with you all, and 2 because we have soccer open house next weekend and weren't sure if we'd have enough time. 

We love Dr. Seuss in our house, so much so we read probably 2-3 books a week. This year Gwen chose 3 books for our Dr Seuss celebration, Cat in the Hat, The Lorax & Fox in Sox. So, we are doing some fun Thing 1 & Thing 2 hand-prints, making Truffula Tree cupcakes and a Popsicle stick fox.

I also started making some treats I was going to send to school with Gwen to her class before I realized that March 2^nd was a Saturday. In my prep for this year I had all the items cut and ready to go, I just needed to buy the packages of goldfish crackers. So in anticipation, I will share that here, for your preparation for next year.

Classroom present

For this you can use either small bags of Goldfish or small bags of Swedish fish depending on if you want to go sweet or savory. I printed 27 of these (in 3.5x5" and cut them out to staple to the bag of treats)

Fox in Sox Fox

3 popsicle sticks, orange marker, orange paper, googly eyes and a black puff ball. 

We used hot glue to glue everything together so that we could quickly play with them. 

*I had to print out a copy of the book title for the picture because she ran off to read the book (it's one of her favorites)

Thing 1 & Thing 2 paint handprints

This one is super easy, all you need is red, white and blue acrylic paint (or finger paint) a piece of paper and a black marker.

Voila! Gwen drew on my face and I drew on hers so that we were both helping each other out. She really enjoyed getting to paint my hands so I could do hand-prints too. 

Lorax Cupcakes

While we made our batter & icing from scratch, you can make this much easier by just grabbing a box mix and container of frosting.

Gwen added a couple little teddy grahams to hers because she said they looked like little Lorax men.

For the truffula trees there are 2 options, tulle & a straw or cotton candy & cookies, we went with cotton candy & Pirouinne cookies because it’s just too yummy.

Hope you enjoyed these super easy ideas and can incorporate some of them into your plans for next weekend. 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everyone loves my chocolate chip cookies and they're super simple and easy to make ahead of time. The biggest secret (not-so secret anymore) is my Butter Mix. I take 1 lb of salted (do not use unsalted) butter, 1 lb of butter Crisco & 1 lb of Imperial Margarine (other brands don't taste as good) and mix it together. I keep this in my refrigerator for all my cookie needs, It helps your cookies stay soft for almost any recipe. 

For a printable recipe click here. 



INGREDIENTS

• 2 and 1/4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (tapped & leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter mix 
• 1 1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

  
STEPS

1. Whisk 2 1/4 c flour,  baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. 
3. Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk. 
4. Finally, whisk in the vanilla extract. 
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. 
6. The dough will be very soft, yet thick, if it's sticky to the touch add the other 1/4c flour. 
7. Fold in the chocolate chunks. 
8. Put dough in a gallon ziplock and get as much air out as possible. Chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours or up to 3-4 days. Chilling is mandatory or they will spread and have an awful texture. 
9. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to slightly soften at room temperature for 10 minutes.
10. Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies) Set aside.
11. Using a cookie scoop, scoop 2 oz portions. Roll the dough into balls between your hands to smooth out.
12. Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and under baked. They will continue to bake on the cookie sheet. 
13. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
14. Make ahead tips: 
1. Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
2. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 4.
3. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months.
4. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. I almost always make double what I need and then freeze cookie dough balls and then place in a baggie so I can just bake what I need in between big batches, who doesn't prefer fresh out of the oven cookies on a week night. 

Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.

Welcome!!

If you came here looking for inspiration - I hope I give you lots!

If you came here looking for motivation - I hope I give you more than you're looking for!

You don't have to be rich, or a SAHM, or childless to have a clean, organized home and be so productive that everyone around you says "How does she do it all?" the answer, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all and not be stressed out while doing it. 

I've been blogging off and on since 2010 (mostly off), but recently I have really developed a passion for sharing my secrets, tips and recipes. I hope you can take some of the tips and tricks here and apply them to your own life to make even one moment simpler. 

I have a Facebook Group where I share lots of printables, reminders, and quick tips that I don't share here so be sure to check it out.