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Mar. 29, 2008 • Regarding Amish Friendship Bread
Posted in Around the House
Yummy stuff, but it is quite an endeavor to keep up with Amish Friendship Bread!
As my aunt said when I told her I was baking some of this bread a few weeks
ago, "Ah... it's a mixed blessing." I've never been successful at
keeping up with this for long. In fact, it has been years since I have had some
starter. I was wondering if you could freeze the starter or adapt the recipe
at all, so I did a trusty Google search and quickly found some recipes and information,
at allrecipes.com.
Here are the recipes I found:
The editor's note for the starter recipe states that you can freeze the starter
in 1-cup portions. You have to thaw it for at least 3 hours before using it.
The comments for these recipes are very helpful too. I was able to play around
with the recipe that I was given and use up all of the starter. I did make four
new bags of starter that I froze. BTW, my instructions didn't say not to freeze
it! Please, no negative comments on this controversial topic! 
~Andrea
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Feb. 26, 2008 • My New Famous Landmark Curtains
Posted in Around the House
My mother-in-law made me some new kitchen curtains displaying famous landmarks.
Aren't they the coolest curtains ever? I still loved the old curtains that she
made me, but she insisted that I needed new ones. I have to say that I absolutely
love these! Of course, I'm still keeping my old ones because I love those too.
:-) You can click on the images if you want to see more details.
Thank you so much, Mom! These are the best!
~Andrea
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May. 11, 2007 • Baked Oatmeal
Posted in Around the House
We LOVE baked oatmeal at our house, so I am linking to my favorite recipe at Kristie's request.
Urban Homemaker has the recipe that we use:
Hot Whole Grain Cereals for Breakfast
She uses the two-stage method, so you soak the oats overnight in buttermilk, kefir, or yogurt (I use buttermilk). You can use sugar instead of Sucanat if that's what you have available - I only use 1/2 cup of either. I only use one egg. Yummy! It's sooo good!
Here's another one to try that uses precooked oatmeal if you have leftovers. It's from Large Family Logistics, so it's a big recipe:
Baked Oatmeal
Here's another one with "normal" ingredients:
Amish Baked Oatmeal
I wonder how this would work in a crockpot. Has anyone tried it?
Enjoy!
~Andrea
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Oct. 9, 2006 • Monthly Chores
Posted in Around the House
This post will cover most of our monthly chores. The chore lists are still works in progress; I will be editing the chore posts and bumping them to the top as we progress. For now, you can see my Scheduling Chores post for an explanation of how I implement our chore schedule. I will give an updated explanation of this once I get all of the actual chores up. Also look for my evaluations on our progress.
Scheduling Chores
Daily Chores
Weekly Chores
1st Full Week of Month
Bathrooms:
- dust top of cabinet and curtain rods
- dust ceiling and walls
- wipe down walls
- shake out rugs
- wash counter, sinks, toilets
- scrub tub
- scrub shower walls
- wash light switch covers and door handles
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- wash windows and mirrors
- wash shower curtain and change liner
- wash curtains
- empty garbage
- vacuum floors
- scrub floors
- fill soap dispensers
- put everything back, including rugs
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Back Entry:
- dust walls, ceilings, coat rack
- sweep stairs
- wash walls
- mop stairs & back entry floor
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Straighten, declutter, and wipe down:
- tops of dressers
- window sills
- shelves
2nd Full Week of Month
Kitchen:
- do weekly chores
- dust top of cupboards, fridge, pantry
- vacuum/mop under fridge/stove
- wipe down walls
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- clean oven
- wash curtains
- wash windows
- refill soapdispenser
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Entertainment Area (in basement):
- declutter
- straighten up (everything in its place)
- dust thoroughly
- vacuum thoroughly (including ceiling, divider walls & under furniture)
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Bedrooms:
- dust ceiling, walls, fan/light bulb area (turn off first!)
- straighten drawers
- wash windows
- dust top of door and wipe down
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3rd Full Week of Month
Family Room:
- straighten up (everything in its place)
- dust tops of curtain rods, ceilings, walls
- dust with cloth (move objects & dust underneath)
- wash light switch covers & doorwall handle
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- wash dog bed
- wash all windows
- vacuum (underneath all furniture except bookshelves)
- wash fireplace hearth & windows
- wash baseboards
- mop
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Library/Hallway:
- straighten up (everything in its place)
- shake mat (rug) outside
- dust with cloth (move objects & dust underneath)
- dust ceiling, walls, inside front door
- wash light switch covers & door handle
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- wash front door
- wash all windows
- vacuum (underneath all furniture except bookshelves)
- wash baseboards
- mop entryway
- mop wood floors with wood floor cleaner
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Bedrooms:
- clean under beds
- clean under dressers
- pick up/put away everything on floors
- vacuum & mop floors (wood floor cleaner)
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4th Full Week of Month
Basement (pick one area - craft or laundry - and cycle each month):
- declutter
- straighten up (everything in its place)
- dust thoroughly
- vacuum thoroughly (including ceiling)
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Bedrooms:
- straighten & declutter closets, including floors
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Extra Days Not in Full Weeks
Office (mom):
- declutter one area
- straighten up (everything in its place)
- dust thoroughly
- vacuum thoroughly (including ceiling)
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Aug. 4, 2006 • Weekly Chores
Posted in Around the House
This post will cover most of our weekly chores. The day for this is currently Thursday, but that might change. The chore lists are still works in progress. I will be editing the chore posts and bumping them to the top as we progress. For now, you can see my Scheduling Chores post for an explanation of how I implement our chore schedule. I will give an updated explanation of this once I get all of the actual chores up. Also look for my evaluations on our progress.
Scheduling Chores
Daily Chores
Monthly Chores
Weekly Chores
- dust top of cabinets and curtain rods
- wash counter and sinks
- wash outside of toilets and scrub inside
- scrub tub
- wash light switch covers and door handles
- wash windows and mirrors (with mom's help)
- shake out rugs
- empty garbage
- vacuum floors
- mop floors
- put away cleaning products
- put everything back in bathrooms (don't forget the rugs)
Family Room (12ds)
- straighten up (everything in its place)
- dust with cloth (top to bottom)
- vacuum floor, including underneath chairs and behind small bookshelf by door-wall
- wash door-wall windows
- wash dog beds
- mop
Library/Hallway (10ds)
- straighten up (everything in its place)
- dust with cloth (top to bottom)
- vacuum floor, moving light furniture and vacuuming underneath
- wash front door window
- wash light switch cover and door handle
- shake mat (rug) outside
Bedrooms (All)
- make beds
- throw dirty clothes down chute
- put clean clothes away
- straighten up (everything in its place)
- sweep or vacuum floor
- wash doorknobs and light switch covers
Kitchen (Mom)
- straighten counter (everything in its place)
- wipe counter
- scrub sink
- wash window
- wipe down inside refrigerator
- feather dust fan
- dust shelves
- vacuum floor
- mop floor
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Aug. 4, 2006 • Daily Chores
Posted in Around the House
This post will cover most of our daily chores. It is still a work in progress. I will be editing the chore posts and bumping them to the top as we progress. For now, you can see my Scheduling Chores post for an explanation of how I implement our chore schedule. I will give an updated explanation of this once I get all of the actual chores up. Also look for my evaluations on our progress.
Scheduling Chores
Weekly Chores
Monthly Chores
Daily Chores
- wipe down counter, sinks, toilets in both bathrooms
- swiff full bathroom and sweep half bathroom
- empty garbage in both bathrooms
Family Room (12ds)
- straighten up (everything in its place)
- feather dust (top to bottom)
- vacuum M, Th, S; sweep T, W, F
- damp mop
Library/Hallway (10ds)
- straighten up (everything in its place)
- feather dust (top to bottom)
- vacuum M, Th, S; swiff T, W, F
Bedrooms (All)
- make beds
- throw dirty clothes down chute
- put clean clothes away
- straighten up (everything in its place)
Kitchen (Mom)
- straighten counter (everything in its place)
- wipe counter
- scrub sink
- wipe one cupboard door & drawer
- vacuum M, Th, S; sweep T, W, F
- damp mop
Mealtimes
Before Meals
After Meals (work as a team)
- scrape plates, put dishes in sink (all)
- wipe table and chairs (10ds)
- sweep floor (12ds)
- put leftover food away (10ds)
- wash table dishes (9dd)
- wash pans after other dishes are done (12ds)
- dry and put away dishes (7dd)
- wipe kitchen counter (9dd)
- wipe down stove (12ds)
- take out garbage (10ds)
- put dirty towels/dishcloths in laundry (7dd)
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Jul. 7, 2006 • Scheduling Chores
Posted in Around the House
I have been busy working on chore and school schedules since I returned from Guatemala. We will begin schoolwork again on Monday (July 10) without spelling, grammar, or science. We will return to those subjects in September. This will be the first time that I school during the summer. I'm actually looking forward to it, although I don't necessarily plan on doing it every year. We began Tapestry of Grace Year 4 in February after being on a very light schedule for the first half of the school year. After finishing Unit 1, I decided to shorten Year 4 so that I can begin Year 1 when my oldest is in seventh grade (this fall). We did Unit 2 in 5 weeks, and we should be able to do the same with Units 3 and 4, finishing up before the end of September. I plan to start Year 1 the first week of October, after a weekend campout with some friends.  I borrow heavily from Large Family Logistics for the chores and house managing ideas. I worked on the chore schedules on Wednesday, and we began full swing on Thursday. What I did before was put the chores in an Outlook calendar and print it, but the kids never looked at it, and it was difficult to check up and make sure that everything was done. They are great about doing their chores, but I know that we can schedule the chores more efficiently.This time I kept the calendar posted, but I also sat down with my oldest son and made a list of daily, weekly, monthly and biannual chores for the family room (which became his assigned room). My second oldest and I did the same thing for the library and hallway (including the front entrance area), and I then did the bathrooms and back entry/stairway area, which my two girls will maintain. I took those lists and turned them into 1-page check-off lists for each assigned room (one for the Family Room, one for the Library/Hallway, one for the Bathroom/Back Entry). I also created a check-off list for bedroom chores (daily, weekly and monthly). I then used Large Family Logistics' Table Chore chart and Sample Kitchen Day (available in the Files section of their Yahoo group) and adapted them for my family. Everyone picked a color for their assigned room sheet and I printed everything out, posting the assigned Room Chores, Table Chores and Kitchen Day Chores on the refrigerator, and the Bedroom Chores on the kids' bedroom doors. Each check-off list is in a page protector. The kids check their chores off with a Vis-a-Vis. I erase the daily checks after my inspection and approval. I will erase the weekly chore checks at the end of the week and the monthly chore checks at the end of the month. We decided that Thursday will be our cleaning day, so yesterday we did our weekly cleaning. We deep clean a different section of the house each week, which is when we do the monthly chores for that room. The person in charge of the room will do the main chores, but we will all pitch in for the deep cleaning. We will all work on the kitchen every week on Kitchen Day (I haven't picked the actual day of the week for this yet). I plan on spreading the basement cleaning out over the month, so I still have to do that. We all work together on the laundry.I will post what the chore schedule actually looks like on another entry. I want to try to format it so that it is easy to understand.I worked on the summer school schedule today. I will be done with that by Monday and ready to begin! I will try to write an entry about that once we are settled into it (if it isn't time for the fall schedule). Signing off for now...In Him,~ Andrea
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The thoughts of a book-loving, home schooling wife and mother who wants to be available to serve her Savior in her family, home, church, and wherever He chooses to send her.
