Can we say productive???

I've been so incredibly lazy lately and for some reason last week I felt the need to get a few things done. I started going through the kids rooms and cleaning out drawers and closets to see what we needed to get for the upcoming school year. There were a few tears involved (mostly mine) but their clothes have been sorted. Now I just need to go through toys and rearrange closets so that we can fit another person in this house. Unfortunately there is still a pile in my room of clothes that need to be put away or sent to DI, but that's a job for another day.


To continue in my productiveness I then went out shopping for all the items that I had written down that I felt we needed before school started. I must admit I did awesome. I should have taken a picture, but I didn't, so I'll make a list for you, even though you probably don't care. I got Ains 2 pairs of pants, 2 shirts, and underwear, John 2 pairs of dress pants, 2 dress shirts, and dress socks, me 2 maternity shirts, Owen 2 pairs of sweats, one pair of jeans, 1 T-shirt, a pair of shoes, and a little toy for $120. I shopped a lot of end of year sales last year so we didn't need too much, but I knew the longer I waited the crazier things would get so the time was now. And now we are ready for the fall!


The following day I started my canning. It was a little annoying this year because I had several things that needed canned, but small quantities of each. In 2 days I canned green beans (I only got 7 jars, but they were leftover from my garden and I didn't want them to go to waste) I bottled a batch of apricot jam because I was given apricots and I'm pretty sure there's a rule somewhere that states that if you are given free fruit, even just a little bit, you have to make it into something.


I also bottled something called chili sauce that my Grandma Welch used to make (it was a sauce that was really good on meat and to put in tomato based soups). I made a deal with my mom that I would make a big batch of chili sauce and split it with her if she would make a big batch of salsa and split it with me. The chili sauce would have been good, except that a certain someone (who will remain nameless syd) wrote the recipe down wrong and I added an insane amount of vinegar. So now we have a sort of hamburger relish. Luckily it only made 16 jars, so we don't have a ton of it. But I will admit that I was brought to tears as I was sitting on the couch with my back aching so bad I couldn't stand up from all the work I had done that day realizing that my work was all for naught. At least I don't have to bottle salsa now! Just some freezer jam and tomato sauce and I'm done preserving for the year!


The next day (I know...you all thought I was done!) I made 4 loaves of wheat bread and 8 loaves of zucchini bread. I still need to get a batch of white bread done and I need to do something with the 4 cups of shredded zucchini sitting in my fridge. I just needed to get some of my produce off my hands. I figured that if I was going to go to the trouble to grow it, I was going to use it. Now I can rest for a while and wait for more of my tomatoes to ripen, peppers to grow, and zucchini to sprout.

And by "rest" I mean start doing the Christmas shopping that I feel has to be done before I give birth, and shop for new bedroom furniture for Ainsley's room (I currently have NOWHERE to put baby clothes), and get the kids ready for Halloween...although I'm not planning on it, I guess there is a chance that this baby might come on time, but I'm planning on November 8th.