Look What Happened!

I was in the bathroom with the boys last night and caught a glimpse of Z standing next to me in the mirror. You are not going to believe what I saw! My little 5 lb 12 oz baby is now 12 years old and TALLER than his mama! I don't know who gave him permission to do that, but I would like you to take it back. Now, please, thankyouverymuch. Ehem, okay, sorry, I know I can't stop it now, but seriously at 12 years old?!? I kept checking his growing progress over the last few months, but some how he not only caught up to me but passed me! I even made K take a picture of us today, so I could really see it!

Z is not really mad, his dad was just being goofy taking the pictures.

I hope you all have a very nice rest of the day. Excuse me, I have a sudden urge to get rid of all my flats. You may even find me muttering something about how could this have happened...

Until next time,

Menu Plan for the Week 3-28-10

I am so excited because I am on SPRING BREAK! I have been looking forward to no commuting, no tests, and hanging out with all my men for a few weeks. We have a whole lot of nothing planned! My kind of vacation! Well, not really. I have had a busy weekend. I did the monthly grocery shopping and got most of the rest of the garden planted. I still need to plant a few things, but it is so good to have so much done already.

I am hoping to get a lot of things made for the freezer this week. The last weeks of the school year are always crazy, so any help I can give myself I'll take! K and I bought a large electric griddle today, so my pancake and French toast making should be much faster. I can't wait to try it out!

Here is what we have planned for this week:


Breakfasts: Cereal, Oatmeal, Biscuits, Muffins, Pancakes, French Toast, Waffles, Fruit


Lunches: Ham or PB & J Sandwiches, Leftovers, Fruit or Veggies, String Cheese, Hard Boiled Eggs, Granola Bars, Fruit Leather


Dinners:
Sunday- Enchiladas, Refried Beans, Spanish Rice

Monday- Beef Tri Tip, Loaded Mashed Potatoes, Salad

Tuesday- Tacquitos, Refried Beans, Spanish Rice

Wednesday- Roasted Chicken, Red Potatoes, Broccoli

Thursday- Leftovers

Friday- Homemade Pizza, Salad

Saturday- Hamburgers, Ranch Potatoes, Salad

Find more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie.

Until next time,

Good News

K interviewed for a new job on Tuesday and yesterday he got a letter in the mail that he had PASSED the oral interview and should be contacted hopefully in 2 weeks about the position! Since it's local government work we know it is a looonnnggg process to get a position, but it is progress! I was so nervous when I saw the envelope and K took a minute before he could open it! I guess he was nervous too.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that he does get the position. I think he would like it and it would keep him busy! He's been super busy around our house, but having a steady paycheck again would be wonderful.

So after many months of uncertainty I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel. That my friends is a finer thing! Join Amy over at Finer Things Friday to see what's making others happy this week!

Until next time,

Pioneer Spirit

This weekend K and I worked our land! I know I crack you all up ~ worked our land! We were pulling weeds and tilling the garden to get it ready for planting. I always love working along side K, it's a good time to talk and just be together. We are so blessed to have gotten, in my humble opinion, the best lot in our whole subdivision! We have so much yard to use for our ventures into gardening!

Today, after school, we ran to get a few more things at Lowes and planting commenced! We called out the troops and assignments were given. I missed most of the assigning part because I was trying to cook dinner around the planting party! We were able to plant strawberries, yellow and red onions, green onions, corn, okra, red potatoes, a raspberry bush, and a black berry bush. We're far from done, but it was a good start and the boys had fun. I grabbed my favorite Christmas present and got a few shots of the action...enjoy!

The wonderful row digger!

The excellent seed/bulb planter!


The men working together to get the seeds covered.
(That huge group of plants in the background is the broccoli
that is STILL producing from last summer's planting!)

And last but not least...




The pitiful pooches who want to be in the garden with everyone so very badly!

Join Laura over at Heavenly Homemakers to see what everyone is grateful for on this Gratituesday!

Until next time,

It's Still Clean!

Last weekend Z and I tackled his OUT-OF-CONTROL bedroom mess. I cannot just tell him to go clean it because he just gets too overwhelmed. I went in with boxes, tape, labels, and a trash can for us to try to regain some control in his space! No, there are no before shots because I am, ehem, too chicken to post such a mess! After about an hour or so and some rough spots we had his space back up to my preferred state of order. Hopefully I can get a bookcase to store his gaming stuff and books so we can get the boxes out, but that will have to wait until we can get to Ikea again.

In a miraculous turn of events his room is still clean 5 days later! I can see the carpet and he hasn't stacked stuff all over his dresser again! We may just be making progress in increasing his desire to keep things orderly. By golly I think he likes things in their place!

That my friends is definitely a finer thing in my book!!

Join Amy for Finer Things Friday to see what is making others happy around blogland!

Until next time,

Generous Friends

Last year K and I added some citrus trees to our garden, but they are still babies so no fruit yet. Even though our trees aren't producing we are still getting all the vitamin C we need around here. Over the past two years we have been abundantly blessed with oranges and lemons by a friend K and I have known since college (he's the reason K and I stayed together after we first started dating!). He takes time to pick, clean, and deliver a box of amazing citrus to us on a pretty regular basis. He knows we like juice around here and a bowl of oranges on the counter is always a good thing! I also think he comes over to try to corrupt the boys, but that's a whole other story!!

Yummy-ness waiting for us!

These oranges are not just a nice treat. They are truly the best oranges we can get around here! So today I am very grateful for our friend and his amazing orange tree! Our family loves seeing him come up the driveway with a box in his hands!

He brought so many I had to leave some in the box!

Head on over to Laura's at Heavenly Homemakers to see what everyone else is grateful for this week!

Until next time,

Menu Plan for the Week 3-14-10

This is a busy week for us! I have parent conferences for my students and for my own boys. I had to do a little pre-planning to make it work, but we're all scheduled and ready to go!

We had a great weekend. I had some groceries to get Saturday and asked the little boys if they wanted to go with me. They said yes and we had a very good trip. We even used a gift card I had gotten to get hot chocolates for all of us after hitting the chilly farmer's market. I had just enough left on the card to cover all three of our drinks. It was so nice to be able to get the boys a little treat without having to use any cash!

Sunday was busy too. After seeing the Target ad I had the boys all try on their shorts, so I could see what we needed to get for the summer. I don't dare wait too long or the store will have fall clothes out and summer clothes gone! We lucked out with N he fit into L's shorts from last year so we don't have to get him any shorts for the summer. Z and L on the other hand are growing like weeds! Z has to get men's shorts this year. We didn't have much luck for him today, but I will be on the lookout for the next few weeks for what he still needs. L was easy as usual so he is ready for the warm weather! The hard thing about having boys is yard sales have slim pickings for bigger boys, so I have to keep my eyes peeled for retail sales. K says it's not fair I always find so many great things for me! I guess there are perks to being the only girl in the house…

Anyway, that's enough rambling! Here is what we have planned for this week:


Breakfasts: Cereal, Oatmeal, Biscuits, Muffins, Pancakes, French Toast, Waffles, Fruit


Lunches: Ham or PB & J Sandwiches, Leftovers, Fruit or Veggies, String Cheese, Hard Boiled Eggs, Granola Bars, Fruit Leather


Dinners:
Sunday- Beef Keilbasa, Ranch Potatoes, Broccoli

Yummy Ranch Potatoes!

Monday- Beef Fajitas, Refried Beans, Spanish Rice

Tuesday- Spaghetti, Italian Sausage, Buttered Bread, Salad

Wednesday- Leftovers ~ Boys' Parent Conferences

Thursday- Beef Tri Tip, Loaded Mashed Potatoes, Salad

Friday- Homemade Pizza, Salad

Saturday- Beef Stew~ potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, Fresh Bread

Find more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie.

Until next time,

Why I Am a Teacher

Sometimes when you teach you get kiddos that are challenging to say the least! Well our school had a little girl who would not speak to her teacher. Not in kindergarten, not in first grade, not in second grade. Here's where I come in, this little girl was sent to me by her teacher to see if I could get her to say anything. Well folks...after a little stubbornness (on both our parts) she did! I was so excited. I jumped out of my chair and hugged her. It was amazing to have a child that is a selective mute actually talk to someone she didn't know!

I don't know what I did differently than any of the other teachers, but it really doesn't matter now because she is TALKING! She has been moved into my class for the rest of the year and I am so excited to have her!

It truly is a finer thing to get through to a student that has not been able to be reached. I am so glad I was in the right place at the right time to experience this amazing event! I think we needed each other and as always forces beyond me put us together.

Join Amy over at Finer Things Friday for more wonderful life events!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Until next time,

Menu Plan for the Week 3-7-10

This week is starting out with sunshine. I hope it stays for a while. I am so ready for spring weather! This should be a pretty normal week for us, but K has a lot of projects he wants to tackle while the rest of us are at school. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the bedroom painting gets finished and that he still has time to tackle anything else on his list.

Here is what we have planned for this week:


Breakfasts: Cereal, Oatmeal, Biscuits, Muffins, Pancakes, French Toast, Fruit


Lunches: Ham or PB & J Sandwiches, Leftovers, Fruit or Veggies, String Cheese, Hard Boiled Eggs, Granola Bars, Fruit Leather


Dinners:
Sunday- Ravioli, Italian Sausage, Buttered Bread, Salad

Monday- Tacos, Refried Beans, Spanish Rice

Tuesday- Hamburgers, Onion Strings, Salad

Wednesday- Toasted Cheese, Soup

Thursday-
Breakfast for Dinner~ Waffles, Bacon, Eggs, Hash browns

Friday- Homemade Pizza, Salad

Saturday- Homemade Chinese~ Mongolian Beef, Lemon Chicken, Steamed Rice, Broccoli

Find more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie.

Until next time,

Another Birthday

Today is my blue eyed boy's 9th birthday.

I love this kid, he has so much enthusiasm for life you can't help but to be excited too! He is wise beyond his years and his vocabulary blows people away. The thing I admire most about Mr. L is his empathy for EVERYONE! He cannot stand to see a baby cry or someone hurt. He instantly wants to give comfort to babies by singing them a song or making silly faces for them.

He has a gentle soul that sometimes gets lost behind his Tasmanian Devil exterior! He is my bull in a china shop and the most likely to be injured at any given moment out of the three boys!

Because of L I have learned about stitches, casts, the handy dandy butterfly stitches, remaining calm while asking if he is bleeding under his head-holding hand, and the healing power of an Aloe plant! It really is a blessing he heals well and quickly.

Happy Birthday big guy! I love you lots!!!!!


I can think of nothing finer than getting another year with my babies! I relish and celebrate every minute I get to witness my boys growing into amazing men!

Until next time,

*This post is linked to Finer Things Friday.

Baking Time

This weekend I was able to get some baking in to stock up the freezer with fresh goodies! I had been slacking in that area, but this weekend I was able to break that trend. Baking is something I have always loved, but since we got our house I feel like I have the space to really do it right! So here's what I was able to get done in a few hours Saturday morning...

Honey Wheat Bread and Dinner Rolls

These were an oops! recipe. They were suppose to be soft pretzels, but they rose a crazy amount the first time I used the recipe. We thought they were tasty, but would be better as bread and rolls.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

I made enough to bake a couple dozen and freeze about three dozen little cookie dough balls for quick treats!

I love having my weekends to make goodies for my crew! I am grateful to have the space to make all of the food my monkeys enjoy and the time to get ahead of the busyness! Join Laura over at Heavenly Homemakers for more Gratituesday.


Until next time,