Gahhh

I am STILL offline!!  I am so keen to get back on this challenge and finish it.

Fingers crossed that everything is right with the world by the end of the week and we will be together again....

In the meantime, I will brag about what a bunch of good looking kids I have xxxxx

Hiccup

Am having some issues with my Phone and Internet provider. Needless to say, I have no internet to keep up with the challenges.

As soon as my internet is back up and running I will get back on it, and then start researching alternate service providers. Any reviews you would like to share with me? Who would you recommend for phone and internet service providers (other than Telstra and optus)??

Hopefully I'll be back up and running soon. 

Meegs xx

P. S Hope all the Daddy's had a brilliant fathers day....  This is what our kids did for their Dad.....

Day 14 - The Office!

Well I was successful! Successful at doing NOTHING on today's challenge of tidying/cleaning Magoo's room...... *hangs head in shame*

Although I had a great lunch date with my mum! I made that quiche again and it was even more delicious than yesterday's!

Today's yummy quiche!
Jump on that recipe! 

It was great to catch up with her today! 

I also caught up on my washing! I am now up to date with the new routine! I now have 3 loads of colours lurking in the lounge room.. Today was definitely not as nice as yesterday, it rained and the wind was awful! 

Front View

I have a 7.5kg front loader washing machine..... On this clothes horse, is two loads of washing!!! A tip for you - items that would normally get hung up in your wardrobe, like shirts or jackets etc, hang up to dry, on your clothes horse, on a coat hanger! Not only does this save space on your clothes horse (or airer, whatever you call it), it also makes it easier to put it away! You don't have to fold it up to add to that persons pile, to be put away later -  it can be put straight into their wardrobe! This is fantastic for the kids' clothes, when there is usually only the one person responsible for putting all their clothes away.

Side View

Mr Magoo was extremely upset when he couldn't go outdoors and play today, but Miss Tilly made her own fun! 

"Camping" on the sofa, using a pillow case as a sleeping bag.

All the kids had a turn, and thought it was great fun! I think on Saturday we might set up camp in the lounge room... 

Another thing I did today, was tackle the enormous basket of odd socks { insert witty name for odd sock basket here, I couldn't think of one }.

Does your house eat socks??? Where do they go?? I have no idea why they always, always ALWAYS disappear! Sometimes its just easier to toss the lot, and buy new ones... I tell you what, I felt that way when I tipped all this onto the end of my bed.....

How does this happen??

Every time we came across an odd sock, we would throw it into the basket (an old washing basket) and every now and then, whenever we can be bothered, we will sort through it.

Jman and Miss Tilly decided to give me hand, and we actually found quite a few pairs. Miss Tilly finding the most! 

Nearly a pair!

Poor thing was shattered when I told her that these weren't a pair, and showed her stubborn streak by pairing them up anyway

I am looking forward to tomorrow's { day 15 } tasks. Tomorrow we are going to Clean the pergola area, de-clutter the gardens (weed) and organise the kids wardrobes.... { printable } and a { honey do list too }, which I will be making good use of tomorrow hehehehe 

Well I can tell you right now, there is no way I will be able to get the kids' wardrobes done! My pergola is a disgrace and will take up ALL my time! I will send the kids' out to weed my 1 and only garden bed.... They'll love it. They pick the little yellow flower weeds for me all the time!! Jman calls them "Honey Flowers" :)

Yellow weed 'flowers'

Might as well pull the plants out too, they're dead........ May they R.I.P.

I can't wait to show you the transformations tomorrow! It's going to be a good one!!!

Can you believe that we're almost ¾ of the way through! Only 1 more week { and 1 day } to go! I hope my mum was proud of me today when she came for lunch, and didn't have to shove stuff aside to eat at the table. I even showed her my new organising system in my drawers { which she rather liked }, and taught her a new way to fold her T-shirts { and I'm sure the fact that my bed was made wasn't lost on her either } :)

Don't forget it's Fathers Day this Sunday! I have Mr Misters' fathers day organised (well the 'gifts' anyway) and we have decided to go on a family picnic! Lists, lists and more lists (I love lists) to get organised. We have decided to go to a location that is about an hours drive from here. Somewhere we have never been before, and I'm really excited about it! 

What are your plans for Fathers Day? Do you have any Fathers Day Traditions? The kids prefer to make their Dad a present, and I have found some really nice printables, that I will share with you tomorrow night!

Ummmmmmm I think that's it!!! I feel like I have forgotten something..... Maybe because its only 9:00 pm, when I'm usually just finishing up at 11:00 pm lol.  Right - well I will leave it there for now! 

Talk to you tomorrow

Meegs xx

Day 13 - de-webbing

Is your home cobweb free?? OMGosh! They pop up quickly don't they??!!

I used the cobweb brush and zipped up the hallways and into the rooms to check... I don't know about you, but I didn't fancy lugging the hoover around JUST for cornices and cobwebs... Yes, I could have hoovered the floors while I was at it, but I had better other things to do :)

Yucky cobwebs on the landing!

As for the kids' artwork....... Well - I don't have any! Boo is in highschool now, so he doesn't bring home huge pieces of paper filled with green paint any more. Although today, he bought home some sweet and savoury scones he made in Home Eco! { they were yummy too }

Jman, although a preppie, hasn't brought much home at all! However I will be taking Kat's suggestion's on board { love the digital photo frame idea } as Miss Tilly starts Kindergarten next year! Kinder is a Killer for paint splats on paper!

It was such a beautiful day today!! Jman said to me this morning "It's a beautiful day today, maybe we should open the windows to let the wind in"! What a Fantastic idea, and when I told him he ran around all the rooms and opened all the windows. It was such a nice day, we spent almost ALL of it outdoors! I even got a little sunburnt :/

We even had lunch outdoors!

Mr Magoo, Jman and Miss Tilly enjoying their lunch outdoors!
Thank goodness its "clean up the pergola day" on Friday!

Although Magoo was the only one that ate it... Jman only managed half his sandwich, before proclaiming he was full (can't wait for his appetite to return, his ribs are showing) and Miss Tilly got through 1 bite before she took off to play!

Beautiful Blue Sky

Couldn't blame her with weather as beautiful as this!!!??

Mr Magoo enjoying some time on the trampoline

He is just starting to really enjoy boucning on the trampoline. Jman used to call it the "boing boing" when he was the same age hahaha

"Where's Jman?"

He has loved having his older brother home from school this week.  Although he is still extremely snotty and has developed a cough, I think Jman is starting to feel better... He crashes about 2pm-ish, when all he wants to do is sit and watch TV, and eats less than a sparrow, but I think he's over the worst of it.

I also had a friend pop over today and bring  some yummy no fail quiche for us grown ups for lunch. That was a yummy surprise. Jman and Miss Tilly had a taste and they both loved it! So much so that Jman asked me to make some for dinner!

So my friend Gaie, from Modern Mumma's Cakes and Bakes { find her on Facebook here } shared with me her recipe for her no fail quiche, and has given me permission to share it with YOU!

Cooking away!
I was hesitant to use my nice clean oven!
However is was soooooooo worth it :)

Not only does this taste delicious, it made my whole house smell delicious too!!

Here is the recipe!

Gaie's No Fail Quiche

• 6-8 Eggs 
• 1 ½ cups of Milk
• 1 cup of Grated Cheese
• ¾ cup of SR Flour
• 1 Onion - diced
• Garlic - to taste
• 1 Capsicum - whichever colour you like, but red makes for nice colour 
• Carrot - Grated
• Celery - chopped
• Bacon - chopped
• Whatever other veggies you can cut up or grate to chuck in it (like mushrooms or zucchini) 

Preheat oven to 170° (15-160° fan forced) 

Chop up and/or grate all the Vegetables. Sauté the Onions, Garlic and Celery in a fry pan to release the flavours and soften slightly (the celery in particular). 

Using a large Mixing Bowl, combine all the ingredients together and pour into a greased, oven proof dish. Season to taste.

Bake for about 45 minutes and viola! Done! You can make sure its cooked, by giving the dish a little shake. If the quiche wobbles a lot, then it needs a little longer.

Somehow the flour seems to settle to the bottom making the base! Its sooooooo yummy.

NOM NOM NOM 

This one I baked for 45 minutes at 160°. (I have a fan forced oven)

I am going to make another one tomorrow it was so nice! { the fact that I have an abundance of eggs has NOTHING to do with it hehe }

Right! So onto tomorrows { Day 14 } tasks! It's the Office!!! To clean, de-clutter and organise your office and desk! { printable } and we even get a To-Do List { here }

Well...... I don't have one!!! Although I will take note of her organising tips for when I do get one (and I will have by the end of the challenge, won't I Mr Mister!!!)  So fingers crossed I can do Mr Magoo's bedroom, that I was going to do last week instead.......... 

It's supposed to be nice again tomorrow, however I will definitely be putting Magoo down for a nap.... Playing outdoors all day sure did tire him out, but maybe a lil too much! He was so over tired and although he was asleep before 7, he was awake again before 10 *sigh*

Playing in the dirt

He WAS feeding the chickens lol

Playing on the trampoline

Wish me luck!

Talk to you tomorrow

Meegs xx

Day 12 - Dishwasher and Bathroom Cupboards

Dishwasher Day!! Today was a relatively easy day { as far as the challenge was concerned }.

Jman has now had a fever and been poorly for 5 days with a stupid virus, so he has been my main priority. I hate Winter and all it's bloody germs!!!

My Poor baby - Jman feels poorly

However I did get it done!!!

Here is the evidence!

Jug of Vinegar

1 and a half cups as Kat suggests

Eco Wash!

The sprinkling of the bi-carb! Jman helped :)

It was also bed sheets day on my washing routine, and some catching up to do as I might have accidentally forgotten to hang some washing out, that needed re-washing............

I got it ALL DONE! Washed, hung out to dry, folded and put away, and new sheets on the beds!! Go me!! The kids toddler bed/cot sized sheets were nearly dry when I needed the line space to hang out the sheets from my bed... I took them off, and hung my sheets on the line (it was a gorgeous day).

Instead of just chucking them (the toddler/cot linen) into the dryer to finish them off, or hanging them on the clothes horse, I ironed them dry!!  Yes, you read correctly, I.R.O.N.E.D! { please excuse me while I go and pick my mother up off the floor } Even Boo got off the school bus and put his hand to my forehead to make sure I was feeling alright! He said I felt a bit warm HAHA

So Tomorrow { day 13 } we're going to clean the cornices and de-clutter and organise the kids' artwork! { printable }

I have been using a cobweb brush to dust and de-web the cornices as I've cleaned each room, so I will do a quick run around up and down the hallways, and into rooms I've not tackled yet, and check over the rooms that I have already done, to grab the web's I've missed!

On that note, I'm off to bed, as I'm starting to feel blah, with a sore throat etc - I REALLY hope I'm not getting sick again! Hit me with all you're immune defence/strengthening remedies in the comments below - or on my Facebook page { The Developing Housewife }.

Before I say goodnight, I want to share a couple photos of Mr Magoo, who was such a sweetheart today, and was just happy to do his own thing....

Sitting in his Reading Corner with all his Teddies

Bless......

He loves his books, and loves to make up his own stories to the pictures!

Very rarely do I ever understand what he's saying, unless he's naming specific things in the book like, Car, Truck, Bus etc (he loves car books)








































Such a sweetheart! Reading to his Teddies.

















OK - Talk to you tomorrow night.... Enjoy the sunshine!

Meegs xx 

Day 11 and Mission Catch Up

Ok! I'm almost caught up!

I managed to get all of today's tasks done, and the oven from Friday's Task!

Today's Tasks were to clean the Washing Machine and to De-clutter and Organise the Linen Press.  I did a massive clear out of the Linen Press a couple of months ago, so this task wasn't too hard, I did however get rid of a few more towels and re-organised it. I will see if I can find some photos of what it was like before I did the big overhaul a couple of months ago, and share those with you as well!

I forgot to take before photos of the oven racks, so took a photo of them once they had been soaking in the bath for a while. Check out the colour of the water! Ewwwww!

Here are some Before photo's from Today:

Before - inside the oven

The worst part was the door! OMG it was orange!!!!! Only thing on the bottom of the oven was dust! All the gunk and crap fell into the grill thingy { insert technical term here }.

Before - outside of oven

I think this was filthier than the inside!

Oven Racks

Soaking in the bath! Still needed to use Steel Wool to clean them though ... Here are the after shots!

After - inside the oven

After - Outside of oven

Ooooooooooh Shiny!

Here are the before photos of my Linen Press:

Before - Door 1

A little untidy.

Before -Doors 2 and 3

I love the size of my Linen Press! I had a look for the old before photo (when I purged 4 garbage bags of linen we didn't use) and all I could find was this instagram one.....

Check out the before!!!

Holy Moly!!! I can't believe it was ever like that!!! How on earth did I find anything in that???? Here are today's afters: 

After - Door 1

After - another shot of door 1

After - Doors 2 and 3

Not much of a difference, but I did pull out and re-fold all the blankets and towels :)

After - Doors 2 and 3

Closer shot of the bottom towel shelves.... kids towels on the top (they each have their own pile) and mine and Mr Misters on the bottom.. Behind My pile are the white "Guest" Towels, and behind Mr Misters pile, are the towels we use then we go to the pool.

After - Doors 2 and 3

I didn't refold and sort the doona covers and sheets (top two shelves), but I did pull out and refold and sort the blankets...

When I washed the washing Machine, I did not use the instructions from the link I posted this morning { sorry Kat }. I did some research (gotta love Google) and I found another alternative! I have a 7.5 kg Front Loader, I put 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda in the washing powder part of the dispenser, and 1/2 a cup of vinegar in the fabric softener part. Run empty on a normal cycle (not too hot, I had mine at 60°), keeping an eye on the suds level. I didn't have any issues, but apparently it can be a little bubbly due to the washing powder residue.

I didn't take any before photos - but look how shiny my machine is! 

Oooooooh Purty!!! Looks almost brand new!!!

Tomorrows Task { Day 12 }is to clean the Dishwasher, and to de-clutter and organise the bathroom cupboard. { printable }

I did my bathroom cupboards when I did my bathroom, so I will use the time that I would have spent doing that, catching up on the tasks I missed last week. Fingers Crossed I get a bit done, Jman is poorly with a fever, head full of snot, and also getting his 5-7 yo molars! Poor kid :(

I sure hope its contained to just him and that Miss Tilly and Mr Magoo don't cop it, but we're never that lucky!! If one gets it, they ALL get it...

So after taking FOREVER to get this post done, I'm going to sleep! I am knackered!!! Probably still trying to recover from the weekend! It was my 30th (+3) birthday and I had a party! First birthday party in over 7 years! Below is one of my fav selfies from the night! I had a fantastic time, and I wanna take this opportunity to thank everyone who came and contributed! Without you there wouldn't have been a party xxxxxxxx

So good luck with your dishwasher { and if you don't have one and cleaned your cupboards when you cleaned your bathroom, then DAY OFF!!! }. Talk to you tomorrow night

Meegs xx

Birthday Selfies with a Bestie xxx

The Big Catch up!!!

I've Fallen Behind!!!! Gahhhhhhh

With all my party prep (and the party) I have fallen behind!! I didn't even get my oven clean! :(

So let Mission Catch Up begin!!!

Today's Tasks { Day 11} are to clean the Washing Machine, and De-clutter and Organise the Linen Cupboard! Here is your { printable }

Here are links on how to clean your Washing Machines :

• Top Loader Washing Machine 
• Front Loader Washing Machine

Talk to you tonight with today's progress and tomorrows tasks (and maybe a couple of party photos)....!!!  Have a good day!!

Meegs xx

Day 8, 9 and Oh what a weekend!

Week 2 and I'm already falling behind!! Gahhhhhh

Yesterday, as I don't have any of the rooms on the task, I decided to tackle Mr Magoo's room instead! Weeeeeeeell, that never happened!!! 

Miss Tilly had Dance in the morning, then I was bragging and showing off my nice clean rooms to my friend that came to visit, Mr Magoo was sleeping in it, then I had to take Miss Tilly to M+CHN (who wasn't there), do the school pick up seeing as I was in town anyway, then get Miss Tilly ready and back into town for a little Dance concert at a church hall....... It just wasn't going to happen!!! I felt like I had failed, so cheered myself up by doing my nails lol

Today, I decided to attempt it again! Seeing as the only main task was to de-clutter a junk drawer.  Weeeeeeeell............

Mr Magoo had a longer than usual nap, Miss Tilly nearly fell through a window and then Footy Training pick up! While Magoo was asleep, i did do the organising task, and got my Calendar/planner done.  I also spent some more time on the organising task for yesterday, which was to set up a Family Responsibility System. It's not completely finished, but I will share with you the drafts. :)

So my junk drawer.... It's supposed to be for kitchen wrapping stuff, like glad wrap and Zip Lock Bags etc, but it ended up with a whole lotta junk! Here is my before photo: 

So cannot see the kitchen stuff in it!

I took EVERYTHING out, wiped it out, then only put back in what needs to be in there! It looks so much better! Mr Mister said "Whoa! Now its a kitchen drawer again!" Here is my after photo:

After - Nice and neat!

All nice and neat again! Lets try and keep it this way ........

Also on today's tasks, was to organise a calendar or diary! I have my planner already, however it is still new and there were dates that Kat had suggested putting in that I hadn't added yet... So I went and did all that this afternoon.... I will be doing a full post on this when its finished, but here is a sneak peek:

This was before I filled it out.

I love it!! And I may have spent longer than needed playing with it....... and looking at it, and filling it out....

Here is a sneak peek at the Family Responsibility thingy:

The Kids' Special Jobs

Lets hope they stick to them, and that I can keep them motivated ! I have a tendency to just do it for them if they give up on it, instead of urge them to do it! I get into that frame of mind, that its easier to do that, than argue with them lol. I am going to make them up on the computer, all pretty, and interactive, so hopefully that will give them more incentive to use it and actually DO their special jobs.

So onto tomorrow! Tomorrow  { day 10 }we're cleaning the oven *groan*, de-clutter kitchen cupboards and do organise the Tupperware cupboard..... { printable }

OK - with everything else I have to do  tomorrow for my birthday party - the cupboards probably wont get done..... However I will clean the oven! 

I'm still feeling extremely deflated for not getting Magoo's room done this week like I wanted... and I am feeling a little overwhelmed at all I have to try and get done tomorrow. We have sports day, I need to pick up the cake, do the food shopping, and a few other bits and pieces that come with organising a party!! I wont be able to get Miss Tilly to Daycare either, so that means I will have 2 extra kids out in the miserable cold weather while I measure how far the kids can throw the discuss LOL { if I don't laugh I will cry hahaha }Oh and YAY!!! 2 weeks down..... we're half way through!!! 

So wish me Luck tomorrow! I hope you all have a great day! Enjoy your clean ovens!

Talk to you tomorrow night.

Meegs xx

OOOPS

Gahhhhh Sorry I missed last nights post!

Just a quickie to give you the links to today's tasks!

Today is { Day 9 }! Almost 2 weeks down!  { printable }

On the cards for today is to clean ceiling fans, de-clutter that junk drawer and organise a calendar/diary!!!

I'm off to get started! Have a good day!

Talk to you tonight

Meegs xx

Day 7 - The fridge, Cookbooks and Meal Planning

*Waves*

Hiya! How was your day? For some reason I am sooooooo tired! (its not even 8pm and I'm trying not to fall asleep!) 

Today was fridge cleaning day! Something I've been wanting to do for a loooooong time! But before I get onto that, I wanted to share something I forgot to add last night....

I mentioned on the Facebook page, that my washing got rained on only 10 minutes after I hung it out, but then it stopped as quick as it started, the blue skies returned, so I left it out there!

At about 3:30pm, when Boo and I saw this out the front window:

We ran outside to quickly grab the washing (it was 'colours' day on the new laundry routine) off the line. By the time I took this photo, grabbed a washing basket and bolted outdoors it was pouring!!! I was saying "nooooooooooooooooooooooo"!!!!! We even got hailed on!!! Now that hurt!!!

The hail stones on the almost dry washing

They felt so much bigger than that though!!!

LOL I just wanted to tell you that we got hailed on, and that it hurt and, and, and, and *sad face*

So onto the Fridge! Mine was disgusting! It had been quite a few months since I cleaned it last.

Before -  Fridge { inside }

There was a lot of out of date food in here! Mustard that went out of date in 2011!!!! OOPS...

Before - Fridge { outside }

Sooooooo much crap and clutter!

Once I had emptied the fridge of all the food and science experiments, I removed all the shelves and drawers and washed them in the laundry sink... Not only is the sink bigger - it kept them all out of the way while I washed the inside of the fridge....

I was out of hot water today, so had to boil the kettle a few times, to get some hot water to fill the sink, so as it was boiling, I cleaned off and wiped over the outside of the fridge.

The bright, white and shiny after photos:

Oooooooh shiny!

It is soooooo bright! I felt so much better after it was done. 

So nice and shiny it needed a close up lol

HAHAHA Purty!

With the food put back in

First thing Jman said when he opened the fridge to get a drink after school was "Whoa! the fridge is VERY clean!" That made me smile!

It looks so bare - but I wasn't about to go and do the grocery shopping, filling the fridge, knowing that it would only create extra work for myself when emptying it to clean it. So there is a tip for you - clean fridge before you clean it.

The next part of the challenge was slightly more challenging! De-cluttering the cook books!! Although it needed doing! 

Before - What cook books?

Can't see the cook books though all the medicinal crap in front of them! 

Before - Nup - still can't find them!

That is a shelf in my pantry with my cook books and overload of medicines! (that have mysteriously fallen from the shelf above) Not a pretty sight at all.. 

I find that with technology these days and especially the readiness and ease of the interent, that I was using that more than my cook books to look up recipes.. It is so much easier to "Google" it, or search online, than it was to find a cook book...

So what I decided to do was go through the magazines first, rip out the recipes I liked and add them to my Recipe Binder, then recycle the rest.

Here are some photos of my Recipe Binder, and I will do a full blog post on it soon. 

I have had this binder for about 5 years, it has 3 sets of 5 dividers. They're all pretty self explanatory, but will go into depth on what recipes I put in each one in another blog.

Once I went through the magazines, I went through the actual books! I kept the books that were gifts or handed down to us from Parents or Grandparents, and flicked through the others, looking for recipes I have tried and liked, or ones that I have wanted to try but haven't yet, marking the pages with sticky flags.

Once I had done this, I photo copied the page, removed the tags, and put all the books in a box to be donated (have a sleep over) to the lovely Miss Catherine x.

Setting up to rip and tag magazines and books

The books I tagged

The books I tossed { sorry the image is sideways }

Ready for their new home!

It feels a little bitter sweet to let these go - but I know they're going to a good home and my shelf looks a lot better for it....

After - recipe book cull

Much better!

The last part of today's challenge was to organise a Meal Plan... I have been doing meal planning for aaaages now, and if I don't do it, my grocery bill is almost double what it is when I do! Again I will do a seperate blog post { if anyone wants me to } on how I do my meal plans another time. 

Here is a picture of an example meal plan that I put up on the wall to avoid the "what's for dinner?" questions EVERY day! I find that the only people in my home that 'ask' all the time, are the ones that can read! The young ones don't ask at all! Or they ask "When is dinner?" Never 'what'.

Example Meal Plan

So what are you cooking for Dinner tomorrow night?

Now - Onto tomorrow's task!!! Tomorrow { day 8 } is kids toy room, craft room, spare room OR extra living room (only one of these).  Your { printable }

As I have neither of these rooms, I will be doing Mr Magoo's room instead..... His room is a mess (although not as bad as his brothers') 

Well that's me for now! Good luck with your Toy/Craft/Spare rooms...

Talk to you tomorrow...

Meegs xx