Making a Schedule

This is a photo of the train station in Munich that I took when my son was really little.  Now let me tell you one thing - these trains run on schedule, to the minute.  If a train is going to be arriving late - even by just 1 minute - an announcement is made over the loud speakers.  If you don't understand German, you would swear it was some sort of emergency.  I mean really - being an ex-commuter of the Boston T and the San Francsico BART - I can tell you - Americans don't get minute by minute updates if something is running behind.  It is obvious that the Germans excell at making a schedule and sticking to it (in my mind at least!). 
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Maybe running a household is a bit like running a train station?  It is a job that is pretty much taken for granted until things fall behind.
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A big part of my JOB (and yes, running a household most certainly is a job, but one that I love) is running on schedule.  On my last post (meal planning) I mentioned my Aunt Patty (my Dad's brother's wife).  Now, see - Aunt Patty was the wife of my uncle, a WWII veteran (Uncle Jay is now 89 - so that will give you an idea of her era).  I like to refer to this generation as the generation of the Iron Clad Apron.  Because Aunt Patty always wore an apron - kept her clothes clean you know!  And I used to laugh at that notion, but now I totally understand the usefullness of an apron - for all sorts of things.  I love my aprons, especially the ones with BIG pockets.  I have several - all worn for different chores, but part of my "work uniform" if you will.  Anyway, Aunt Patty liked to schedule things.  Meals were posted.  Schedules were posted.  The house was run like... well - like a train station.  Everyone knew Aunt Patty's "nap time", dinner time, the day she delivered Meals on Wheels, the day she played bridge, etc.  And somehow, she always made it seem all so effortless.  The house was always clean, the Christmas cards went out on time and she faithfully delivered a birthday present to every niece or nephew up to their 18th birthday (an amazing feat in itself considering how big our family is!).  My Mom was the complete opposite so you have to imagine that for years and years my loyalties were on "Mom's side".  But now I realize, Aunt Patty was very wise!
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So, let's start with a schedule, shall we?
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I don't know what your life is like, what your work week is, or anything else like that.  You know.  So - go ahead - find some sort of calendar printout that works for you - and block off anything that is a set routine - work hours, commute, carpooling, church, Bible study night, choir practice, weekly get-together, volunteer work, whatever!  I work out of my home so I can combine lots of things and alternate back and forth.
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Settling into the school year - SET things on my schedule are:  Sunday - church, Monday -homework and library, Weds - Bible study, Thurs - quilt group.  That is it.  Beside the fact that I work full time AND have a household to run!
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Obviously - the household needs it own schedule!  Monday is always clean the downstairs of the house and strip the beds.  That usually takes me 2 hours.  Friday is clean the downstairs (again), plus the upstairs - another 2 hours.  Every night I try for a 10 minute clean-up for my son, plus a 1/2 hour clean up (me)- take care of what needs to be done for the night - the school sends home so much stuff - so there is that.  Add an additional 2 loads of laundry a week for our family (there are only 3 of us - so if you have a bigger family - add more time!) and we are up to.... maybe 5-6 hours of housework.  Add 2 hours a week for grocery shopping and putting it all away - because that is what it takes (this is a job I hate and give to my husband).  So - if you work outside the home and don't stick with a daily schedule - you are easily looking at 8 hours every weekend of "catching up" on the household stuff come the weekend.  I haven't even added mowing the lawn, cleaning out the car, dump runs or whatever else you might have to do around the house.  That is NOT including fixing meals, doing dishes, etc.  And if you have an appointment at the garage, doctors, dentist - well gosh - keep adding the hours.  All Momma's need an 8 day week.  The 8th day should be Momma day! 
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So - back to my schedule.  I have... my church, my son and his schudeul, my household, my meal planning and my work.  My son is in 1st grade so doesn't have a sports, drama, band or whatever schedule yet - but that will come.  Hello!  I also have ME and my husband and US.  Add in the DH schedule.  I hate grocery shopping and getting gas for the car - that falls into the DH schedule - I send him the grocery store with a list and do NOT complain if he gets the wrong thing.  It is worth it to me to send DH to the store.  DH doesn't like to be "scheduled" and that is fine - I keep a "floating" schedule for him and as long as I can keep crossing things off the "HIS" list without him realizing that I am keeping him on task - it usually works out pretty good.  Smile!
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Do you feel like you never get everything done?  Do you wonder why?  I used to be really hard on myself for not getting things done.  Now - I have a schedule.  I schedule the important things and TRY to get them done.  Everything else is bonus.  So - if on Monday (that is a busy household day!) I get my housework done, plus 2-3 hours at my desk (the work thing - you know), make a meal-plan (Meal Plan Monday), help my son with his homework (he gets his entire weeks worth of homework on Monday and we usually do it all on Monday at the library - he likes to get it out of the way for the week!), I would consider that a good day.  Did I sew?  No - but quilting group is on Thursday.  Did I clean the car?  No - but I can schedule that for a day when I don't clean the house.  As soon as I get my feet under me again and feel like I have a bit more energy - I will add my exercise classes.  Coming off a long summer of working, I just don't have the strength for that right now and that is fine.  I walk on the beach with my son instead - or if I am too tired - I still bring him to the beach and I set in my beach chair and knit, or maybe not.  That is ok.  One thing you need to realize about reading blogs - not everyone has the same schedule as you.  If you have small kids at home, work, keep the house and have a husband who also works outside the home - well, obviously your schedule is not going to be the same as someone else who is an empty nester and might work part time.  Do not compare yourself to someone else.
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Another thing to keep in mind is the seasons.  Come summer - if you have school aged children, you have a whole new agenda.  If you garden - than your schedule needs to reflect time spent in the garden.  Then comes canning season.  Or the harvest.  Then sports schedules.  School.  The holidays (I like to have most of my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving).  I work ALOT in the summer.  I am often in the kitchen by 6 am and don't finish until about 10:30 pm.  In the summer I don't worry about hair appointments, extra cleaning of the house, I absolutely do not volunteer for anything.  I work.  When I don't work - I spend time with my son.  I don't care what the house looks like - if it is nice out and I have some time - we go for a walk.  Come the big yellow school bus - my business is letting up a bit and I can ease into a different schedule. You need to realize what your seasons are and adust your schedule accordingly.
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By making a schedule I realize that I DO get things done.  I try to use my time wisely.  Having fun with my family and couple time is important.  As women - we need to detach from the fantasy of being "Wonder Women".  We can't do it all and should not expect to be able to do it all.  So make yourself a schedule this week.  Don't be too hard on yourself and don't make it too hard.  And - I think that maybe at the end of the week, you just might be a bit amazed of what you DID accomplish.  And remember - be flexible.  A schedule is to help you - it isn't supposed to weight you down.  Let everything else go that wasn't so important and if it was important - carry it right on over into next week's chart. 
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Excuse any typo's - I can't find spellcheck with Blogger's new format!

Meal Planning

Here are some photos for what I've made over the past 2 weeks:  Grilled steak with boiled potato and beet salad over wild greens with feta, pizza, crock-pot pulled bar-b-que pork, rice, frozen green beans, buttered roll and rice, salad with steak, crab & scallop stuffed sole with an amazingly yummy white sauce, rice and frozen mixed veggies, the little photos - 2 different soups (chicken black bean and elbow macaroni in tomato), pan fried haddock with buttered rice, frozen mixed veggies and roll, mixed salad, and grilled steak with a aspergus salad over mixed greens, baked sweet potato rounds and sliced tomato.

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Summer is crazy, hectic, busy around here.  With the arrival of the big yellow school bus (1st grade!) I am starting to catch up on my work.  Once school starts, it is important for me to have a set routine for meals.  It is important for me to have an idea of what we are going to eat so that we eat early.  School nights and all - early to bed, you know?

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I am a big fan of Meal Plan Monday - that is over at I'm An Organizing Junkie -

http://orgjunkie.com/menu-plan-monday if the link doesn't work just Google Meal Plan Monday - not only does her blog feature meal plans, but lots of other useful organizing helps.  I do a meal plan on Monday and plan for all 7 days and try to use the left-overs as well.  If I manage to accomplish 4 of the scheduled meals - I think I am doing really well.  It is almost like I give myself a "gold star" for the week.  Because that means - for 4 nights I didn't have to give dinner much thought.  Life happens and I never seem to get all 7 meals!   Anyway - do check out Organizing Junkie - Monday is filled with lots of links for lots of wonderful menus!

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Sometimes people ask me where I get my ideas for cooking.  I grew up with the saying of Wednesday is Prince Speghetti Night.  NOT that we ate pasta on Wednesday because my Mom was not a really organized cook - although she always did feed us.  We used to laugh at my Aunt Patty who posted her menu every week on the 'fridge.  Now, I understand the wisdom of my aunt.  She was from the era of the Iron Clad Aprons.  I wish she was still here so I could learn more tricks from her.  Running a household is a fine art!  So Wednesday is usually pasta.  Although - there is a blog out there that is crock-pot Wednesday - it is http://diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com/  Now, I love my crock-pot, but it just isn't scheduled for Wednesday in my house.  However, check out the blog because there are lots and lots of great crock pot recipes there.  I usually use my crock-pot every other week.

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Oops - off on a tangent!  So, Weds. is pasta.  Friday... well my sister started a tradition in her family years and years ago - Friday is pizza  and movie night.  I like that idea and have copied it.  Every Friday I mix up a batch of pizza dough.  Actually, I usually make lots of bread and rolls through-out the week, but on Friday I take 1 lb of the dough and make pizza.  Pizza is a great way to use left-over veggies or scrambled hamburger, etc. from the week.  For onions/peppers/mushrooms - I sautee them 1st in butter.  I roll out the dough, prick it with a fork and bake it for about 10 minutes - add the sauce and toppings and bake until almost done and then top with cheese.  My son just likes plain cheese so I make a bit just plain cheese.

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My husband likes fish 1X a week.  I like chicken 1X a week.  Guess what - there are 4 meals right there!  I like easy things from the grocery store like ham slices, bratwurst, taco mixes, etc.  If you switch out your starch - potato, sweet potato, rice, rice pilaf (I like grocery store blends), couscous, quinoa, etc. and switch out your vegetables - fresh veggies here are pathetic so I use frozen alot and like the smaller portions you are able to use and do use whatever is in season - you will have a nice assortment of food throughout the week.  I use this idea in my baking too - this week it was apple walnut bundt cake - but just a few weeks ago it was peach pound cake.  Do use what is in season!

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A favorite site for recipes is All Recipes.  http://allrecipes.com/ I get many recipes from here.  Don't try to make an entire meal with new recipes.  I might try a new side with a tried and true main.  Or - if it is a new main - then I make sure there are plenty of sides that we like.  Sometimes it happens that a recipe is a flop and it is a good idea to have something already made to fall back on!  But -  you won't find new favorites unless you are willing to try and risk the few flops.

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I have a 3 ring binder and any and every recipe that we like - gets thrown in there.  Every once in awhile I will organize it into catagories.  I always write right on my print out any changes I've made and how much we like it.  For example - here we seem to get small eggs - so I usually have to add an extra egg to my recipes. Favorite recipes from cookbooks get photocopied and added to the 3 ring binder.  I don't want to have to search through lots of different cookbooks when I want to cook something!

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There are lots of times when I just don't have the energy to fix even a simple meal even though it might be "scheduled" - and that is when I depend upon freezer meals.  I often make a big entree and freeze it into single portions for later.  This week I used a crock pot frozen entree - frozen bar-b-que pulled pork.  A big pork roast is way too big for my small family, but I won't pass by a sale.  So, I cook it all at once and portion it out into smaller containers and freeze.   I quickly made some rice, frozen green beans and buttered rolls - instant dinner. Figure out what works for you when it is frozen.  I often pre-bake lots of chicken breast, cube it and freeze it in 1 cup increments.  Great for making soup and other things.  Soup freezes well too as long as you haven't added the potato or rice - I often freeze portions before adding those things.   If I don't get to a scheduled meal - I usually put it back on my meal plan for the next week - sooner or later it will get its turn!  If you click on downloads on Organizing Junkie sidebar you will see a menu planner that you can print out - with a little grocery shopping list on the side - that is what I use.  Because I have a Mommy Brain and if it isn't written out - there is no way I am going to remember!
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Look at your calendar and see what your week looks like.  If you have to carpool to sports practice or something like that - then fixing an all-day roast might not be the best idea on that particular day.  But, if you made that roast on a slow day - had your roast dinenr and saved the left-overs... a hot roast beef sandwich might be just the thing for game night!  Roasts, hams, turkeys - all favorites in my households for the left-over meals you can make!
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And yes - there are nights that my son gets a hot dog, frozen corn and instant mashed potato for dinner.  Hey, I grew up on pancakes when Mom was tired.  It is my responsibility to feed my child, but every dinner doesn't have to be a magazine spread!
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Monday is right around the corner.  Won't you give Meal Plan Monday a try?  Monday is the perfect day to write your meal plan because the grocery store flyers come out on Sunday!

Cooking Right Along

August is a busy month in the kitchen for me and I've snapped a few photos as I've gone along.  These are all from the past week.  Peach pound cake with carmel glaze, bread, a lobster dinner (I do many, many of these!), fish soaked in buttermilk, roast pork.  I made that bread yesterday and it is almost completely gone so I will make more today.  I like to make 1 lb loaves.  If you like to make bread, invest in a good quality bread knife - makes all the world of difference in cutting!  In Austria we actually have a seperate meat slicer for bread.  Bread will dull a cutting blade so that is why we need 2 slicers.

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As we move into September things will slow down a bit for me.  On Tuesday my son starts 1st grade and then I will have the time to sit down and find my desk again.  My quarter is July/Aug/Sept so that is perfect timing!

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I'm looking foward to the remainder of September.  The weather is always so nice and my days a bit more evenly paced.  Even so, I woke up at 4:30 am today - it is hard to shake a routine!

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I had this thought last night after I published this post... my Nana would have said "cooking with gas".