Already Done

Well, it's not even noon and my to do list has become my already done list.  Granted, there were only 3 tasks on my to do list, but I like to aim for achievability.  Don't want to damage my self-esteem by making my to do list impossible...like, by putting more than 3 items on it.

So, my list?  Do you want to know what I've accomplished so far today?  Well...

(I woke up, showered, got dressed, made the bed, prepared breakfast for MC and myself, ate breakfast, escorted MC to his room to retrieve clothing, supervised/assisted MC's lunch prep, cleaned up and put breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and food that someone else left out away, refereed 3 sibling skirmishes, brushed Roger's teeth, unclipped Roger's mittens, walked MC to the bus stop, said hello to Pal's dad and sisters, boot skated on our "pond" with Roger and Pal)

1. Cleaned the sink

(picked up and put away approximately 100 small toys, books, misc. papers, and other things that were not where they belonged, took a load of laundry out of the dryer and put another in the dryer, made the guest room bed, supervised Roger getting dressed, which involved not less than 4 screaming episodes because he didn't like the shirt I picked out and didn't want to go get a substitute himself)

2. Vacuumed the living room, hall, laundry room, master bedroom and guest bedroom

(studiously avoided looking at Roger and Pal as they danced to Third Day's Christmas Offerings CD because they would be "too embarrassed" if I watched them, sorted through the mail from 2 days ago that never made it past the mud room, looked through 3 catalogs and recycled them, cleared off the dryer, took supper out of the freezer, made a snack for Pal and myself)

 3. Made banana muffins with my "helpers" using the.best.banana.muffin.recipe.ever.

(washed and dyed egg shells, washed dishes, doled out marbles for the impromptu marble run made out of a tape measure, made lunch for the kids, made lunch for myself and ate it, cleaned up from lunch, assisted with building and testing lego boats)

Aren't you proud of me? I did all 3 things on my list! And maybe you can understand now, why I strive to keep my to do lists from being overly ambitious.

The recipe:
One day several years ago, I wanted to make banana muffins but discovered that I had no margarine or butter in the house. Since we lived 40 minutes away from the grocery store back then, I went on a hunt for a butter and margarine-free banana muffin recipe and found this one in a fundraising cookbook. It was a happy accident, because these banana muffins taste so good. I mean, I liked banana bread before, but after finding this recipe I loved banana bread.

1. Cream together 1/2 c. vegetable shortening, 1 1/3 c. brown sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract
2. Add 2 eggs and beat well, then add 1 c. mushed bananas and stir
3. Add alternately with 1/4 c. sour milk*, 2 c. flour, 1 t. baking soda, and 1/2 t. salt
4. Blend in 1/2 c. chopped nuts (I use walnuts).
5. Bake at 350*F in a loaf pan for an hour or in 18 muffin tins for about 25 minutes.

So yummy!  Thank you, Margaret Scott, whoever you are...

* For sour milk, use 1 T lemon juice and add milk to make one cup (so for this recipe, put 3/4 t lemon juice in a 1/4 c measure, then add milk to the 1/4 c line).  Or, I suppose you could just use sour milk...

Tip: I don't know why, but some people, including a few in my own family, don't like nuts.  To make some with nuts and some without, just leave out the nuts and put some of the batter into muffin cups.  Then, when you have enough nut-free muffins, just stir some nuts into the remaining batter and divide between the remaining muffin tins.  To easily distinguish the two, I use muffin papers for the muffins that don't have nuts.

For other great posts about cooking with kids, check out Whatcha Making Wednesday over at The Ramblings and Adventures of a SAHM