New to-do list

 It is funny after taking a break to relax (and panic) I mean, enjoy a water park with the kids, I find that my to do list needs re-evaluating. There are quite a few things that need to be added and a few need to be removed. Our school schedule alone could use a makeover. Also, it is time to get all those tax documents in order and get that mess taken care of.

red morning sky 

As January drags on in the same fashion as other post-holiday months, I am poised to take on clutter. I just hope to live through the onslaught of what could happen! Actually, the only thing that could happen is the feeling of space in an otherwise compartmentalized house. An open floor plan is so much more user friendly, in my opinion. These boxed off square rooms make it super simple to have clutter accumulate. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I cannot seem to get everything done in one day, what I mean by that is I cannot get all the laundry put away and not have someone or something interrupt the process. That was just an example.

Or night will come too fast and interrupt 

I am sure that I could accumulate just as much with an open floor plan, but the world will never know. This week DH declared to me that he does not want to leave this house. So, all searching, dreaming and thoughts of moving are done. At least for this week or maybe even this month, time will tell. The travelers announced that they will plan to be back home around the 26th of this month and stay for about 10 days. That makes me excited. I am happy to have the company and hopefully the help to get the garden started. Yes, it will be early, but the seeds will sleep in the cold and come up in the spring if all goes well.

Time is fleeting and some of the seeds must be started indoors. I am hoping that the youngest will help me this afternoon get some of them into starter pots. After lunch was made and the dinner started and Wednesday's beans were put into the pressure cooker, I sorted the seeds that I would for sure like to have started indoors and also the seeds that would have to be container grown due to the climate here.

seeds 

 and more seeds

I am trying to be proactive this week on the meal planning and not so much reactive. Whenever I become reactive, I end up buying the kids food from a fast-food place and we are trying hard to avoid that. That is why I started the beans for refried beans today instead of waiting until the day before I want to have them. Also, I did forget to buy any canned refried beans from the market, and I couldn't find any in the pantry. Tomorrow we are having ham and bean soup with cornbread. Not a kid favorite, but they have spaghetti and spaghetti letters available to them.

Today I felt more like a short order cook than any other time in the recent past. The youngest did not like any of the offerings, finally she ate the last of the spaghetti letters that I had on hand, so I will have to make more for the next week. We were also out of chocolate milk mix, chocolate syrup, hot cocoa mix, chocolate malt powder and anything else store-bought chocolate. With the lack of convenience foods available, I decided to make chocolate syrup as it would cover most of the things that we use chocolate in with one product. Call me lazy if you want but I'm tired of the kitchen for today.

The meals are planned for the week and if we stick to the plan, it will be nothing short of a small miracle. I bought a calendar at the Dollar Tree yesterday specifically to write down the proposed plan and what actually happened. Today already had changes posted. That is why I think it would be a small miracle if meal planning works for this "picky" group.

We started today with Malt-O-Meal. I knew that it would be met with less than stellar enthusiasm. I was prepared to offered negotiating flavors. I have on hand a few Dove chocolates. I thought they would make an enticing flavor argument. One child was willing to at least taste it, the other turned her nose up at the thought. The alternative was cold cereal and/or cinnamon toast. So much for being creative. Tomorrow is waffles or pancakes no alternative.

not appealing to me either 

I remember growing up it was, eat what was on the table or do not leave the table. There were no alternatives and thank heavens my grandma lived with us for a while, otherwise I would still be at that table and the new owners of the house would not be happy. Forget yelling child abuse, no one in that neighborhood would have listened nor cared. Every family had enough kids to claim the same rule, of this, I am sure.

northern beans soaking for tomorrow's meal

Chicken tortilla soup for tonight's meal

beans pressure cooking for Wednesday 

potatoes left from cutting today's French fries

Dumplings left from today (didn't meet her palate) 

The youngest wanted dumplings until I made them, then they didn't taste good enough. That was the last offering after hot dogs and fries, chicken enchiladas and cereal. She settled for spaghetti letters from yesterday that were left in the fridge.

what is left of the enchiladas from lunch

Well, I best close for today as there are more potatoes that need to be cut for fries later in the week and I may as well do it while the knife is still dirty from the cutting today. Also, I have a chicken that wants to roost in front of my window!

A little hard to see but she is there...