Weekly Goals: February 14-20

Baby in a cape.  Because it's a baby in a cape.

Last Week's Goals:

• Retest a few of the muffin recipes.  I made three this week: Cinnamon Banana Bread, which is ready for the book!, Lemon Blueberry, which I want to try a lemon glaze on, but is otherwise book ready; and PB Chocolate Banana, which still needs a bit of tweaking.  
• Finish reading Garbage Land. Not done.  I spent my time watching the free Dressing Your Truth video series (sign up in the "learn your type" box on this page) and the free Nick Stephenson "How to Get Your First 10,000 Readers" video series, which I signed up for on the recommendation of Crystal Paine.  Both were really interesting!
• Figure out an Iron Craft project for this week's challenge, the letter G.  Figured out something!  You'll see that post on Tuesday.

This Week's Goals:

• Finish reading Garbage Land, and decide between reading Dressing Your Truth or How to Get Your First 10,000 Readers (free ebooks I got along with the video series I mentioned).  
• Figure out my next muffin recipe to start testing.  I usually have at least 2-3 recipes going at once.  I have three levels of how I do this:
  
  First try: Figure out a flavor that sounds good, come up with the recipe and try it out.
  Tweaking: Work on the recipe and test it multiple times to make sure I have it just right, adjusting flavors and ingredients as necessary.
  Final recipe: Once I like it, make it one more time, take pretty pictures, type up the recipe.
    
• Clear the garage sale stuff out of our entryway and get it all organized in the corner of the garage.  Hopefully we'll have a warm(er) day that I can do this.

Stuff I Like:

Schoola!  If you haven't started shopping at Schoola yet, you're missing out.  They have good quality and inexpensive kids' and womens' clothing, both used and new, and they're really awesome about giving buyer credits or offering promos and deals to their users.  I've gotten a bunch of good kids' clothes there, as well as a few dresses for myself.

If that hasn't convinced you to sign up yet, here's one more good deal.  Sign up through this link and you get a $20 credit for free!   And through tonight! February 14, use the code LATTELOVE on a $20 or more purchase, and get a free $5 Starbucks gift card emailed to you by February 19.  So you get free clothes and free coffee!  Go sign up now.

More Randomness:

Fellow Downton Abbey fans: Can we just take a minute to appreciate the character development that is Thomas Barrow?  Season one he was this despicable awful person, and now in season six I feel so bad for how he's being treated.  Superb writing there!

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  If you click through these links, I receive a bit of a commission at no additional charge to you.  Thanks for helping my kids get clothes!

Quick Tip: Track Your Water Drinking With Ponytail Holders

I first saw this tip in a magazine (I think Weight Watchers? but I'm not sure).  Whenever you drink a cup or bottle or water, put a rubber band or ponytail holder around it.  Then you can easily see how many cups you've finished throughout the day.

I go back and forth between doing this and tracking the cups in the Fitbit app.  Neither is completely a habit for me yet, and I can't decide which one is easier.  But I figured I'd post this tip anyways, because it might work really well for you!

Things My One-Year-Old Is Obsessed With

Little people are funny.  And so, for a dose of humor today, I present Things My One-Year-Old Is Obsessed With.

This box of Rice Krispies.

Any family member's dirty socks.

The bath soap and cup we use for rinsing.

This box of envelopes, which must always be dumped out.

Her green bunny, "Bun-Bun".

Any canned food, which should not be on the shelf.  Also, bringing cloth diapers all over the house.  You know, in case we need one.

Also cool:

• Her brother's shoes, but only one at a time
• The tv remote
• Any Lego she can manage to find on the floor or pull off the table
• The kitchen garbage

What about the little people in your house?  What things do they think are the coolest?

Weekly Goals: February 7-13

We got a big snowstorm on Tuesday, and the boys are (for now) always willing to go help shovel.

Last Week's Goals:

• Test at least one recipe for the new book.  I made Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana for the first time (pictured below), and they were really good, but not quite peanut butter-y enough.  
• Do the February church newsletter. Done!
• Meal plan for the beginning of February, including our annual Superbowl appetizer dinner. Done!  This year we're having a taco bar, pinwheels, jalapeno poppers, and chocolate cupcakes.

This Week's Goals:

• Re-test a few of the muffin recipes I've come up with, including the lemon blueberry and the cinnamon banana bread.
• Finish reading Garbage Land.
• Figure out an Iron Craft project for this week's challenge, the letter G.  

Interesting Reads:

• In Search Of The Novel's First Sentence: A Secret History from Electric Literature (long article but interesting!)
• The Surprising Power Of Reading Fiction: 9 Ways It Makes Us Happier And More Creative from Courtney Seiter.
• How Doorknobs Can Help With Homesickness from Offbeat Home & Life.
• THE Best vs. YOUR Best from Simple Homeschool.

Quick Tip: Put Stickers On Your Washer and Dryer

This is my washer.  Next to each dial is a little sticker by one of the settings.  This means that my six-year-old and four-year-old can do their own laundry.  Mostly.  We're still working on measuring the soap.

But they know how to load the machine, and after checking to make sure each dial is turned to the right sticker, to push the start button.  Same with the dryer.  A four-year-old might not remember to wash his clothes in cold water on the cotton cycle, but he can match the knob with the sticker.

Life Lessons From The Kids

"I can't do this, Mom! It's too full.  There's not enough room for everything."  I looked at the magnetic board overflowing with characters.  When Jonah was trying to put every single piece on the board, he was right.  There wasn't enough space.

And it got me thinking.

This is how my life is too.  When I try to do every single thing, there's not enough space.

I explained to Jonah that it might be more fun if he just picked a few of his favorite pieces, and put those on the picture.  They would have enough room to shine in the picture, and he would have more fun.

The same is true for my life.  If I pick just a few of my favorite things, and leave space, those things shine, and I have more fun.

Iron Craft Challenge #2: Hearts and Flowers

I've been eyeing all the tissue paper flowers on Pinterest for some time, so I decided this was the challenge to make some for myself.  I went with Valentine's Day colors for a bit of cheer for our dining room table.

I used the tutorial for carnations here.  I colored the edges with a maroon Stampin' Up ink pen and a pink highlighter.  Both worked fine, so there really is no need for anything fancy.  And I raided the kids' craft supplies for a few coordinating pipe cleaners.

A cheerful Valentine's Day decoration: done!