Not quite Black Friday, but our Ikea Trip

Since today is Black Friday, I thought I would write about one of the stores. I'm not out shopping today since I really like having money in our bank account. Plus, I'm trying to get rid of the clutter here at Bako Depot.

When coming back from LA, we stopped at Ikea in Burbank. There's a small drawer cabinet that I'm in love with, but after looking at Ikea's model, I think I can build a more sturdy version of it.

The first area we stopped at was the restroom and if you have small kids, definitely use the family restroom. Almost everything in there was designed for small children. There wasn't a small potty like we've seen at the mall, but there was a little step to get onto the big potty.

There was another step for the little sink as well. Plus, a rocking chair for breastfeeding moms. So kudos for Ikea for their wonderful family restroom! This definitely gave us the room to stretch all our legs before running around in the store.

Mommy! I can reach!

Free diapers and a little extra room if you need it. How wonderful

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving from the Bako Depot Family!

Can't touch this on Turkey Day!

Happy Turkey Day! From all the fur and feather kids

Cleaning with the Kids

Son, 3, Mopping

Am I the only one trying to get the house clean every week by myself? To vacuum, mop, shampoo carpets, wash windows, etc. The list goes on and on. So this week, I decided to recruit some help. I can't afford to hire anyone, so I used who I have around all day: the kids.

Daughter, 4, Vacuuming

Did I bribe them? Nope. Reward them with candy? Not a piece. So how did I do it? I asked them nicely. I informed them that mommy can't clean the entire house by herself and mommy can't do any fun stuff until the house is clean. Also, it takes teamwork to get things done faster. For some reason, they listened and were eager to help.

The kids have chore charts that they get stickers on and it was the first time they almost filled it. It was amazing. The kids are only 3 and 4, but really, they can almost do everything I can. They can vacuum, but its too heavy for them to push around. That's quite alright. This is a great way to let them be part of the family and teach them responsibility.

A few things kids can do:
Wash windows (sliding glass doors)
Mop
Dust
Wipe counters/cabinets

Good luck with your new inexpensive hired help. What a great way to get your house clean for Thanksgiving and teach your little ones how to help without yelling or scolding!

Look at all those stickers!

Travel size Pillowcase

Sewing. It's not my favorite hobby. I never really got any lessons, so it's sort of daunting in my opinion. I have a machine, but when it comes to sewing a straight line...you can bet it's going to be crooked.

Hubby bought a travel pillow for when he has to sleep in his work truck. Stores don't carry travel size pillowcases, or if they do, we didn't see any. That's alright. How hard could a small pillowcase be?

So folding the material to about the pillow size, I folded the seams over, sewed them, and viola. A small travel sized pillowcase.

This is the end result.

The pillow fits and all ends well.

Potatoes O'Brein

A freezer friendly plant based breakfast. How could breakfast get any better than this?

Potatoes. I'm not a huge fan of potatoes, however hubby and the kids are. I'll make them once in awhile since they really aren't that bad for you. They just need to be cooked the right way.

After purchasing large potatoes at the farmer's market one weekend, I diced them and boiled them for freezing. I also did so with bell peppers and onions.

First off, cook the potatoes in water in a large skillet or pan. I couldn't quite them brown since they kept burning and sticking to the bottom. I'm not sure how to get the potatoes that lovely brown, so next time I will try browning/baking in the oven. to get them that lovely brown color.

After trying to brown the potatoes, add the peppers, onions, and mushrooms. You can also add the canned Anaheim or jalapenos to it for more flavor.

Even though it wasn't brown, it was still good. The family ate it all up and wanted more. This is a great breakfast that you can make a double or triple batch to freeze for later. Talk about a filling time saver!

Hot Chocolate with Plant Milk

A nice warm cup of hot chocolate.

As the weather gets colder, hot drinks are in order. Blankets, sweaters, and a nice cup of steaming anything. This is a great time to pull out the slow cooker and warm up a cup of hot chocolate. If you're like me, you have a ton of soup in the freezer and enough hot chocolate packets to feed a third world country.

For Halloween this year, I handed out packets of hot chocolate. Definitely not a big favorite for the kids, but oh well. I don't need to buy candy. I'd rather be different and hand out something different.

When the kids want something warm to drink after a full morning of being outside, they want something warm and sugary. So it's a cup of lukewarm hot chocolate it is (with plant milk of course)!

Trying to convert them to drink plant milk hasn't been easy. So sneaking the soybean milk (meant to buy almond milk-oops) wasn't too bad. They actually enjoyed it!

Peppers in the Garden. Dead or Alive?

Cover on Pepperocinis and Tomatillos. Not even weighed down

Peppers in the Garden. Dead or Alive?

As we have now received frost and rain sprinkles, I'm officially declaring Bakersfield to be in the winter season. Most people have four seasons. Bakersfield only has two: spring and summer. I'll call it winter since I know this will drive most people crazy.



Either way, the frost has landed. It has turned many plants, including most lawns, an ugly brown. Ick. So, Ms. Busybody here at the Bako Depot (me aka Mommy), has put "pull plants from garden" on the to-do list since I've got the (small) greenhouse built.



I had a little extra plastic sheeting that I didn't want to just throw away or fold for next year. What did I do with it? I threw it over my pepperocini plants and tomatillos since they are still blooming. Seriously? Yes. Their little yellow blooms are still budding in the middle of November.

Pepperocinis. Full of peppers and still producing...

I don't have any idea as of why they are still producing when it's between 50-60 degrees during the day. Maybe they are waiting for the 80-90 degree weather to reappear soon? Or maybe it's because I asked them (yes, the plants) why they are still producing this late in the season.

The Anaheim plants produced small and sparse peppers this summer and then abruptly lost all its leaves. This left us green sticks out of the ground. I figured they would come back this summer, but no. Those Anaheims decided to be little stinkers and wait until November to even think about producing more peppers again.

Anaheim. Tiny peppers during summer. No blooms until recently.

 

Heck, my zucchini plants are still producing as well. They have blooms, but no veggie. That's fine. I guess I'll wait until all the tomato plants, zucchini, and peppers turn that ugly brown. I'll just have to continue and monitor them until I can bid them adieu.

Zucchini. Wilted blooms and wrapped around itself.