I also love to organize, and love finding new ways to become better organized.

With 6 kids in a house full of stuff our homeschool things can get lost in the shuffle. If we don’t stay organized we can spend a lot of our time looking for misplaced textbooks, pencils, assignments, etc. We have had days where it seemed like we spent more time looking for materials than actually learning. Keeping organized is especially important when, like us, you might not have a specific homeschool room. We keep the majority of our materials in our formal dining room. We also do the bulk of our learning in that area. The kids do their school work in different areas of the house other than the dining room. They just find a place that is quiet and comfortable, it could be their bedrooms, living room, kitchen or even the back porch. If they leave their things in all the places they work, things can get lost in a hurry.

I thought I would share with you some of the ways we keep things in order and how I hold on to a little of my sanity. There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to find something you are looking for!

First of all we try to have a “place for everything so everything can have it’s place”. We try to remind the children to put their thing in their place as soon as they are finished with it. Especially if we “catch them”! We also have scheduled ( 5-10 minute) quick clean up times through the day.

For each child’s textbooks we have “cubbies”. Which is basically our fancy word for shelf. Each child has their own shelf for things that are specifically theirs. I even have one for myself.

We have hundreds of books. To keep them easily accessible, I try to shelf them in order of topic. For instance, all the reference books go on a shelf, science takes up a couple, first readers take up one. It makes it much easier for the kids to find what they are looking for that way. To train them to re-shelf the books, I gave each child a fun, decorated paint stirrer with their name written on. When they took a book out to read they would put the stick in the mark where it went. When they were done they could replace the book easily.

To keep up with history materials: I have a shelf on the bookshelf that is just for the books we use for history. For the books that we are currently reading, I have a little stack of books on the end of the dining table. That way the kids don’t have to search all over the shelf for the assigned reading.

We also keep our bibles handy in the same spot. That way they are at arms reach all throughout the day.

We check out at least 50 books a week from our local library. With the amount of books we have, library books can get mixed in quite easily. And with the amount of books we borrow, the fines could add up if we are not diligent about keeping them separate. When we go to the library, each child has a backpack for the books they choose. This backpack hangs on the back of their chair. Once we get home, we have a special box that they put the library’s books in when they are done reading them. That way, the books are either in their backpack if they haven’t been read or if they want to read them again to renew or in the box to return.

I keep fun preschool things in the nearby living room. That way my preschooler can play and learn close by without distracting the big kids learning…too much.

I would love to hear some of your tips/tricks!

This is their great new home. We looked all over the internet for an small-ish, affordable coop and stumbled upon a local(ish) guy who builds them.

There is plenty of room for five hens. We started with six but the smallest one didn’t make it. The chicken house has wheels so you can easily move it from place to place in the yard. The ladder can be lifted by pulling the rope from the outside.

The coop has a lamp inside to keep chicks warm while they are small.  It also has a nesting box with a removable panel to collect the eggs.

You can also see the board running down the middle of the coop that they can use to roost on at night. The red in the picture is the light from the lamp.

Pac Man, Princess, Darth Vader, Cheap, and Pigeon love their new home.

Check out the segment the Today Show aired this morning on keeping chicken as pets.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

He is so proud of himself.

He is so smart.

He must have music in his blood.

We have been thinking of getting a few chickens to keep in the back yard for a while. Bantam is the perfect breed for our suburban yard. They grow to only 1/5 the size of a regular chicken and are really more for pets than for eggs and are definitely not for meat. But, it would be nice to get a few eggs. Chickens are a natural pest control and even their poop helps to fertilize the yard. They are also fun to watch!

We decided we couldn’t leave the store without them. To heck with the homeowner’s association!  But shhh…they don’t really need to know.

They really are cute, and fun to watch.

So now we are on the hunt for a coop to keep them in. Buying a prefabricated one looks like it might cost more than we want to spend so I’ve been looking at free building plans. They will be staying inside until they get all their feathers in. I sure am hoping they are all girls. I don’t think our neighbors would appreciate a rooster crowing.  Hopefully the neighbors won’t really notice, I am pretty sure they aren’t really allowed in our neighborhood. Rebels, I know.

This is our set up, for now. (And my messy kitchen)

I woke up like a million in one times last night worried that the heat lamp would melt the plastic bin, drop in the pine bedding and catch fire. I will be looking for a bigger bin today.

More on our chicks and progress of our coop coming soon.

For more on backyard flocks:

http://urbanchickens.org/

http://www.mypetchicken.com/about-chickens/

This recipe is for a batch of 14 plus two ugly yet still yummy end pieces.

Poppy Seed Rolls

1 cup whole wheat flour

3- 3 1/2 cups bread flour

2 1/2 tsp dry yeast

1 cup whole milk

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2  eggs

1/4 tsp fiori di sicilia (optional) substitute 1 tsp. vanilla

3 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbsp poppy seeds

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine 2 cups flour and yeast, set aside. In a saucepan heat and stir milk, 1/3 cup sugar and butter until it is almost completely melted.  Add to the dry mixture and set on low speed. Add eggs one at a time and the fiori di sicilia or vanilla. Once it is all combined beat at high speed for 3 minutes. Change to the dough hook and add as much of the remaining flour as you can keeping the dough soft. In other words, add less and not more if you can, just enough so it isn’t sticking to the bowl too much. Once the flour is in turn the mixer on low/medium speed to knead the dough for about 5 minutes. It should be smooth and elastic. As it is kneading, lightly grease a bowl for the rise, and two 9″ cake pans to bake them in.  Once the dough has been kneaded turn it into the greased bowl and let rise for at least an hour. It should double in size.

Punch down the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Turn on to a lightly floured surface and roll out into a rectangle shape about 1/4 of an inch thick. Brush on the 3 tbs butter. I actually ran out and made my own butter.

This is where I remembered to start taking pictures.

Give a healthy coating of poppy seeds, and about a 1/2 cup sugar.

Pay no attention to the fruit. I was also prepping to juice…

Roll the dough up, jelly roll style.

Then slice 1 inch sections.There are different methods to this. You can use thread to wrap around it and pull it but I prefer my serrated bread knife. The knife is conveniently an inch wide so I lay it sideways to measure and cut the pieces evenly.

Place your rolls in the greased pan. This is normally where I cover them with plastic wrap and throw them in the fridge.

In the morning, I pull them out of the fridge and let them rise to double in size. (leave the plastic wrap – or cover with a damp towel or they tend to dry out) It usually takes an hour depending on the temperature of the house. This particular morning it was cold, so I pulled out my dehydrator and set it on the lowest temp and set them in it to proof. It worked like a charm! They could have used a little more time but we were in a hurry.. While they are rising, I make the citrus icing to go on top and preheat the oven to 375.

Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes.

2 packages of cream cheese, bring to room temp

2 cups of powdered sugar, give or take to taste

2 small limes

1-2 tbsp of milk

In a stand mixer cream the cheese and powdered sugar. Squeeze the juice of the 2 limes in. Add milk if it is too thick one tablespoon at a time to the desired consistency. Zest the two limes into the mixture. Viola! Citrus Icing!

This icing goes great on my poppy seed rolls!

So, won’t you join us?

I am so proud to be her mother.  She has so many wonderful qualities. She is :

*a daughter of Christ, growing in his knowledge each day

*an energetic, fun -loving spunky young lady

* a beautiful daughter inside and out

* a talented musician in both the piano and the violin

* a dedicated runner

*intelligent and inquisitive

* extremely caring and thoughtful

* a blessing to her friends and family.

We were at an important appointment. This is when the child who only poops every 3 days or so decides it’s “time to go”.  There was a blowout involved. It was cold outside and I had forgotten to put extra clothes in the diaper bag. of course.

This is what happens when you have big sisters.

I am making this for 7 people so if you are making it for less, you will want to scale way back. If you omit the ice you can put leftovers in the fridge to save for later and add a little ice when you are ready to drink it. Because we drink smoothies most every morning, I do this for my late sleeping kid. The one who doesn’t like kale at all *teehee..

Kid Friendly Green Smoothies

1/2 a bunch of kale – stems and all. ( although I think if you take the thicker woodier bits off it tastes better)

1 cup of apple juice

I go ahead and blend it up a little to make room for the other good stuff now.

2 medium bananas

1 pear

a couple of handfuls of green grapes

1/4 of a whole fresh pineapple

1 cup of frozen peaches

1/4 cup coconut – fresh or unsweetened flakes

1-2 cups of ice

Blend again for at least 1 minute, you want to get all the coconut pieces pulverized.

Take a little taste, if it still tastes a little “green” add a little more banana.

ENJOY!

Juliana thinks they are great.

Even my most picky eater loves the green smoothies.

She drank the whole cup and went on to a second one! But she wasn’t about to touch those green beans!!