Nesting, Cooking, and Goodbyes

It’s only Wednesday. I feel like this week should already be over! I have done a lot this week though at the same time, it seems like I’ve done nothing. I blame it on full force nesting and stressing. I spent Monday moving our furniture around in our front room to try to make it have a learning space for virtual learning. I’ve cleaned (dust, sweep, mop, wash the curtains, wash bedding) everyday. I’ve been cooking and looking for new quick and easy recipes. I’ve been price comparing (but not buying). Yesterday I turned in my work stuff and got to say “Goodbye” in person. Maybe not goodbye. Maybe “See you later.” I don’t like goodbyes and especially not with people I have enjoyed working with and making friends with so much. The people you work with can make all the difference in your work life. I was blessed with AMAZING co-workers. I’m still on the fence about my new co-workers (my kids)! Just kidding! I love them but it will be a new challenge.

As I mentioned, I rearranged our front room. I really wanted the hubby to make some desks for the kids, but the truth is, we don’t NEED them. We have some side tables that will work. We don’t NEED to spend the money. So, while I would love the desks, we will do without them for now. I don’t know how long the kids will be doing virtual learning at home. If the end tables don’t work out I will think of something! I was able to separate the kids so I can watch them both and help out where needed but they will each have their own space. Baby and Little Red have a space behind them to play. I moved our couches to the other side of the room to make an “adult” space. It is not how I ever pictured my front room, or a play room, or an education space, but with limited space, it will work! I have a few things I want to do to try to have a little more organization, but those are wants, not needs at this point.

The biggest change in that area is that the kids are responsible for keeping their space clean. That is now part of their chores. If it is not clean, they lose privileges. That may not sit well with everyone, but we do try to teach our children that, as members of the household, there are certain expectations for them as well. They have things they have to take care of. They are responsible for keeping their education/play area clean, putting their dishes in the sink, putting their shoes and dirty laundry where they belong, and cleaning up their outdoor space. They also have chores they do to earn stars. If they earn those stars, they earn a prize or sometimes cash. Some of those chores include: putting clothes away, sweeping (vacuuming) their rooms, “mopping” their rooms (with a Swiffer), brushing their teeth without being told to do so, taking a bath without complaining. If they choose to do chores on top of that (sweep the hallway, make their beds, etc.) they get extra stars. My daughter loves to dust and both my sons LOVE putting clothes away! They all love to “sweep” and mop so they often request to do other rooms. Is it perfect? No. Is it teaching them to be responsible people? I believe so. Again, this may not be for everyone. You have to decide what is best for you and your family, but it works for our family.

The bigger kiddos and I cooked up a pancake pizza at my daughter’s request on Monday. My daughter pulled out her recipe book, found a recipe and we started to make it. Unfortunately I discovered my corn meal had weavels, so we had to improvise. We used a pancake mix, added some Italian seasoning, added our eggs, and cooked it up. Sadly we had already used eggs for our first recipe we were following so I had 4 (really 6 because of egg mishaps) that were going to go to waste. The sheet pan pancake recipe I use only calls for 1 egg so 4 was way too many. The 4 eggs had 1 cup of milk in it so they were pretty runny. I did NOT want my eggs to go to waste though. I hate wasting food. I got creative. I added 2 more eggs and then added in some flax seed. It wasn’t perfect but it helped soak up the milk. I turned those eggs into scrambled eggs and added some cheese! They were eaten the next day for breakfast! Win, Win! No eggs were wasted! The pancake pizza was pretty tasty. It was gobbled up. The kids were excited to have helped with dinner! Check out some pictures from my Instagram site on our cooking adventure!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDaHq1vnmOi/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

This morning I was working on price comparing. We will need a few snack items to get us through August and the start of virtual learning. While I was price comparing, I saw the ads for hatch chiles. Man, I discovered those tasty little things a few years ago when I was doing a produce co-op. They sure do add a yummy flavor! Some stores sell them already roasted, or you can roast them on your own. My favorite recipe that I had added hatch chiles to was mac n cheese. I don’t remember what recipe I used or where I found it, but I did find one on Pinterest that I think sounds yum! You can find that recipe here: https://pin.it/5OuRwha. I have not personally tried this recipe, but it sounds good! Since I have already done my August shopping and cooking, I will be skipping hatch chile season this year, but I would encourage you to try some hatch chile recipes if you can! If you try some, let me know how you like them! Feel free to post in the comments!