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Tuesday, October 12, 2010





Finally Learning

I feel like I am finally at a stage in life where I accepting what I am not great at and just finding short cuts in life to spend the time on what I am good at.

One thing I am horrible at is getting dishes done in the morning after breakfast. My kids love Eggs and pancakes for breakfast. That takes a lot of dishes and pans to get that kind of breakfast in motion. They usually finish breakfast right before we walk out the door to school, which then leaves a messy kitchen when I walk back in 30 minutes later. I get overwhelmed and hide from my kitchen sink the rest of the day. My sink then always finds me right around dinner when I am then even more overwhelmed because now I have to cook dinner and clean up dried egg and sticky, hardened syrup.
So I have finally started buying all those darling and fun paper plates at TJMAxx and T.Morning that only have a set of 12 but are $1.00. Not enough for a party but great for a constant arrangement in the mornings. I have no idea how the kids feel about it, but I love it! I love using these great discounted plates and then I just throw them away. I swear it adds 20 minutes to my day!
and speaking of plates. Have you all seen the new line of John Derian (New York Designer) at Target? If not treat yourself to a hide and seek game and look in every department to see what you find. It is pretty fabulous. I purchased the Honeycomb box for our office and this plate above. It is melamine and the perfect non-scary Halloween decor. (it is not made for Halloween) I have it on a metal easel in my Kitchen that I change every month with something new. Here is the online link if you don't have a Target near by, and if you don't have a target near by then give yourself a hug from me, that must be hard! (yet my husband would think that was the best thing ever!)

Do you have any other tricks for me to make my life easier?

12 comments:

michelle said...

Good thinking, Kristi! Way to give yourself a break.

I have a John Derian tray that I have on display that I looooove.

Tina's Blog said...

I use paper plates for breakfast, too, because I also have to run out the door to work right after breakfast - it is depressing to come home in the afternoon to dirty dishes still on the kitchen table.

Allison said...

It is hard. I just moved from a city that had just one and I thought I was deprived. Now I live 7 hours away from one I hate it. The only good thing is that that is where our closest temple is too, so each time we do a temple trip it turns into a Target trip too. I'm glad to be reading your blog again.

Amy @ OurScoop said...

Paper plates, the world's best invention! Especially after you've had a new baby and all you want to do is hold and cuddle the thing.

Funny you ask for ideas. I've been trying a whole bunch of new ideas to try to make my life easier. One of which, I try and cook dinner in the morning. Throw it together and put it in the fridge to be cooked at dinner time. Honestly, who wants to spend hours in the kitchen cooking dinner at that crazy busy time of day! That has been a lifesaver!

Another big help for me has been the "snack plate". It seems from the time my kids walk in the door from school to dinner time, they are starving and graze on everything in the snack cupboard. Granola bar after granola bar. I HATE thinking of after school snacks! Then, when I'm cooking dinner I'm all stressed because they are chopping at the bit to be fed. Ahhhhh!

So the snack plate has saved me. I use a section tray type of plate (from target) and put a bunch of little snacks on there. I use a toothpick at any chance. Rolled up ham with a toothpick, cheese squares, grapes etc... Apples, crakers, a cookie, even ritz crackers with PB & J (yum). The kids DEVOUR everything on that plate and are very satisfied til dinner. :) They beg for the snack plate when they get home. They love it! On days when we are on the go after school and I make them grab an apple or so, they whine for the snack plate. I can throw it together really fast or make it even before they get home.

Is this the longest comment ever? Lastly a new book I have discovered that has helped me. Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley. Great tips and time saving ideas. :)

LJ, DC and ML said...

Love that plate, I haven't seen the John Derian stuff yet, I'll have to take a peek!

patsy said...

I love this about you Kristi!

Thanks for sharing the great inspiration :)

I can't wait to check out the John Derian stuff... Oh How I Love Target!!
Now that my town is getting an In & Out Burger (opening this week!) and we have our very own Super Target- My life is complete.

Lauralee said...

great idea w/ the paper plates... one thing I have been doing this school year is packing all the lunches while my kids are doing the dinner dishes (I am always needed in the kitchen anyway) in the morning when we are all leaving for the day at 7:15, it is one less thing to think about! YAY!

Melinda said...

As bad as this sounds but we are a paper plate family. It is amazing how much easier it is to just throw the plates away. Plus it save a lot of space in the dishwasher not to add 7 plates every meal.

I love target. It just makes me happy.

stephanie said...

I like to give my kids a warm breakfast, too. So I make a double or triple batch of waffles or pancakes, cook the batter up, and stick the extras in the freezer. It's easy to pull some out and put them in the toaster another morning. Also, I fill the sink with water and the kids put their sticky plates in the sink to soak until I get to it later.

Liz said...

I like some of the ideas others have posted. We like to make a huge batch of pancakes or waffles and freeze the extras for the rest of the week.

Also, I was thinking this might be the perfect opportunity for you to teach your girls some responsibility in the kitchen. Have them scrape/rinse their plates and load them in the dishwasher. This is something I have my kids do, and I think it not only helps me out but makes them feel useful. Anyway, just a thought. I don't want to mess up your good thing with the paper plates. :)

Cara @ Gardenview Cottage said...

Someone gave my soapy sink water trick but I can't live without it. In the morning I fill up one side of the sink with hot soapy water then just scrape the plate into the trash and throw them in to soak. When I get around to them they are already clean and all I have to do is load them in the dishwasher. Plus if anyone comes over it looks like you are being productive and domestic! (when really you are putting off a dreaded chore!)

Jill said...

Somehow I missed this post, weird.

I think paper plates are a good plan for your high-effort breakfasts. I don't think I could face those icky dishes every morning! If only there was a good solution for the pans you use. Hey did you end up getting a griddle?