Menu Plan for the Week 2-27-11

Another weekend has come and gone. How does that happen so fast?!? I was able to get our monthly grocery shopping done on Saturday and get all the freezer stuff portioned out and ready for use. It makes it so nice to be able to just grab something out and know it is the right amount for a meal. We're not good about eating leftovers, so I try to just make what we will eat for each meal.

We were able to make more progress on getting the Lego and Art room sorted out. K saw me with the camera and said, "Oh no, your mom is going to blog about this!" To which I replied, "I sure am!" wink, wink! I think it will be good for us to see where it was and where it is now. We already put the art tables to work last night helping Z make a project for his history class. Let me tell you having a designated space makes all the difference!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Here is what we have planned to eat for this week:

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

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

Dinners:

Sunday- Cheese Ravioli, Italian Sausage, Salad, Bread Sticks

Monday- Sloppy Joes, Corn, Salad, Bread

Tuesday- Kielbasa, Corn, Salad

Wednesday- Tri Tip, Rice Pilaf, Broccoli, Rolls

Thursday- BBQ Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus, Rolls

Friday- L's Birthday ~ Nacho Night

Saturday- Pizza, Salad

Find more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie.


Until next time,

Happy Friday

I love this song. It is spot on to life. So many of us get caught up in all the little junk that we forget all the great things that happen everyday!

I am working really hard not to forget "how big I'm blessed"!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Until next time,

What I Learned {week 2}

What I learned this weekend....

the boys are reflecting the attitudes K and I have developed, nothing like looking in a mirror to see something yucky. We are fixing this big time!

I want all of us to do some sort of community service, but I want the boys to be safe. Trying to find a good place for all of us to serve.

I love working side by side with K

I love it when K wakes up early and we get to talk without little people commentary

my boys really love reading

K and Z are good at doing computer projects together

the urge to be able to stay home full time and home school the monkeys is getting stronger

the boys and K have about a trillion Lego pieces

I love having the freezer full of the boys' favorite breakfasts

checking things off my TO DO list makes me smile!

What did you learn this weekend?

Until next time,

Menu Plan for the Week 2-20-11

We have had a quiet weekend, just what I needed! We had a couple of quick family outings. First to the farmer's market and then an ice cream run to Rite Aid for my birthday dessert! Yummy! Usually we make our ice cream, but cotton candy ice cream was calling my name. It is probably bad for you for a million different reasons, but it tastes so good. Going away from real food now and then can't hurt too much, right?!?

On Sunday we were able to start the clean up in the Lego/Art room for the boys. All I can say about that is, "holy smokes they have a lot of Legos!" Seriously, you will see pictures of this madness soon ;) I cannot wait to get this room set up for all their creating! I am so excited to get it finished and in use!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Here is what we have planned to eat for this week:

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

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

Dinners:

Sunday- Beef Stew, Rolls

Monday- Fettuccine Alfredo. Chicken, Broccoli, Buttered Bread

Tuesday- BBQ Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus, Rolls

Wednesday- Quesedillas, Veggie Tray

Thursday- Breakfast for Dinner ~ Waffles and Eggs

Friday- Pizza, Salad

Saturday- Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Salad, Rolls

Find more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie.


Until next time,

Visited {week 3}

These are some posts that pulled at my heart this week. I love reading about people's stories!

Lisa Leonard's sister Chrissie@ Lisa Leonard Design is sharing her story of adoption. We've gotten chapter one and two, but I am anxiously awaiting to read the rest of the story.

Courtney @ Life on Courtney Lane is back and sharing her family's struggles over the past year. I was so happy to see her blogging again!

April @ Funky Vintage Kitchen shared about healing and moving forward after miscarriage. I am still processing our loss, so I was right there with her!

Emily @ Remodeling this Life made me proud. She finished her half marathon goal! What an awesome accomplishment!

The creations these folks make inspire me!

Joel@ Made by Joel shares his awesome projects, toys and art. I love the little flower building toy he made for his daughter! I love the simplicity of wooden toys!

Tamar @ Nest Decorating is giving me my spring color fix with her jewelery and pictures. Seeing her color choices together just makes me smile. This necklace is just happy! I could do some damage in her shop if I had some extra spending money!

Organizing and getting rid of clutter makes my heart happy. I am totally looking forward to this challenge. I have one really bad room in mind. I cannot wait to get it set up and wonderful!

Tsh @ Simple Mom is starting a challenge called Project Simplify. I AM IN! It will be hard putting up some of the before pictures, but the after pictures will make it so worth the embarrassment!

I hope you enjoy these great blogs too!

Have a great weekend!

Until next time,

Happy Things

Last weekend I was working on my computer when the most beautiful colors filled my room.

The sun was rising with the most glorious shades of pink, purple, and orange.



I had to grab my camera and capture the beauty.



This is the reason I am so glad I am a morning person!

Doesn't it just make you smile? I love sunrise, it makes my heart so happy!

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Happy thing number two came on Valentine's Day. I asked K if he remembered the first Valentine's card he gave me. He just smirked and said he didn't. Well I started telling him about the Santa in a Ford Mustang card that he had given me. It was hilarious because my husband loves Ford Mustangs, so to him a card with a Mustang was the best gift ever. He had written something on the inside about how this card was better than any old mushy Valentine card, but if I really want a mushy card he would get one for me.

The best part of the story is I had kept the card in my hope chest and was able to dig it out to show him. We were laughing and remembering. It was so much fun! I am so glad I choose carefully when I save things. It brought back a lot of sweet times!

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We may not have a fancy life or a big bank account, but we have wonderful things all around us everyday. Soaking in the ordinary is what I am focusing on in my life. These days are definitely finer things!

Linking up to Finer Things Friday over at Amy's Finer Things!

Until next time,

What I Learned

What I learned this weekend....

the boys are old enough to play real board games now

said board games induce big belly laughter

these games also taught me to watch L like a hawk when playing Scrabble...nuf said

I really love taking naps with K on a quiet Sunday afternoon

Pillow fights with N and L are so much fun and nothing was broken, woohoo!

I can sew paper garland on my sewing machine, I really didn't think it would work

My boys loved coming home to construction paper hearts and a decorated dinner table

Keeping my house vacuumed and dusted does not take much time at all if I get on it every weekend

My boys are getting better and better at keeping their bathroom clean

I need to finish the aprons that are half-way finished, otherwise I feel like I shouldn't be allowed to move on to another project. I must finish them this week!

What did you learn this weekend?

Until next time,

Menu Plan for the Week 2-13-11

Busy, busy! That's been me this weekend. I wanted to try to get all of my weekend chores done by Sunday night, so I could enjoy my extra day off! I love February because we get extra days off school, it's Z's birthday month, Valentine's, and my birthday month! I don't know about you but my birthday month is always been my favorite. Usually nothing big happens, but it's fun all the same.

I was able to get the freezer restocked with some of our breakfast staples~ french toast and pancakes. Waffles are on the agenda for tomorrow! I love having things ready to go to make hot breakfasts for the boys. Knowing that I sent them to school with a good meal makes me feel better about them being able to concentrate and learn while at school.

Not much planned for the week, so I will be trying to get some more projects done around the house. I want to have a yard sale the first weekend in April, so I will be on decluttering missions until then. We had a really good sale last year, so I am hopeful we can do it again and get rid of more treasures!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Here is what we have planned to eat for this week:

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

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

Dinners:

Sunday- Beef Kielbasa, Asparagus, Noodles with White Sauce (I made a roux for the first time and it worked great!)

Monday- Tri tip, Broccoli, Potatoes, Rolls, dessert??

Tuesday- Tacos, Refried Beans, Spanish Rice

Wednesday- Hot Dogs, Creamy Mac n Cheese, Veggie Tray

Thursday- Beef Stew, Rolls, Salad

Friday- Pizza, Salad

Saturday- My Birthday! Fried Shrimp, Broccoli, Pasta

Find more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie.


Until next time,

Visited {week 2}

These are the blogs I have been bouncing around on this week. I have been a reader of Lindsay and Rachel for a while, but Mique, Katy, and April are new to me. It has been fun to look through archives and learn more about these ladies!

Lindsay @ Passionate Homemaking shared a peanut butter and chocolate treat I know my hubby would love!

Rachel @ Frugal and Simple Living shares her heart and her journey as a wife, new mama, and new rational minimalist.

Mique @ Thirty Handmade Days makes me smile! I love reading about her projects and life.

Katy @ no big dill has some mad sewing and design skills and is a mama to 5 girls! I love the little dresses she has been coming up with for Project Run and Play.

April @ Funky Vintage Kitchen is a blast! Her writing feels like we are gabbing on the phone! She has some beautiful wares in her shop, I love window shopping through her stuff!

I hope you enjoy these ladies too!

Have a great weekend!

Until next time,

Menu Plan for the Week 2-6-11

Weekends just seem to fly by these days! I am ready for a couple of three day weekends to get back on track. Being sick last weekend put a wrench in my usual routine. I think I am ready to tackle some more projects now that I had a week to recoup.

The garden is calling my name, I need to get out there and get it prepped for planting season! K started weeding and found some potatoes! This garden is going to be even better than last year! I am so excited! I think having a garden this year is going to be even more important with food prices creeping up more and more.

Evenings are going to be my sewing time this week. I borrowed my sister's sewing machine until I can get mine fixed or upgrade. K wants me to upgrade and I think I am more inclined to put my cash toward a new machine rather than keep fixing my poor over used baby. I think 13 years of hard use is pretty good! We will see what I can find. All I know is I have some more ideas floating in my head and I need to get them transferred to fabric!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Here is what we have planned to eat for this week:

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

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

Dinners:

Sunday- YOYO ~ You're on your own

Monday- Spaghetti, Italian Sausage, Buttered Bread, Salad

Tuesday- Grilled Cheese, Soup

Wednesday- Pulled Pork (freezer), Mashed Potatoes, Salad, Rolls

Thursday- Hamburgers, Fries, Salad

Friday- Pizza, Salad

Saturday- Beef Roast, Potatoes, Carrots, Rolls

Find more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie.


Until next time,

Visited {week 1}

These are the blogs I have been devouring these days...I love them and I am increasingly inspired by these ladies and their stories every day!

Lindsey @ The Pleated Poppy...she is a sewing mama of three like me! I love her voice and her style! She makes the most beautiful things and I think she is a fabric junky like me!

Maggie @ Gussy Sews ... I want to have her business and financial sense when I grow up. Not to mention beautiful things in her shop.

Lisa @ Lisa Leonard Designs ... what a lady. I love her attitude and her jewelery!

Meg @ whatever ... her pictures and her stories make me smile everyday!

I am in a creative mood, not unusual, but very strong right now so seeing these ladies in action makes me sit up and hit the sewing machine.

Of course these are not all the blogs I hop on, but these are some of my favorite creative ladies right now.

Have a great weekend!

Until next time,

Making Me Smile

It was an average Thursday,
but my camera caught my eye and these silly faces made me smile...

Happy Friday everyone!

Until next time,

Thinking

My mind is always racing. I mean always. I have 500,000,000 ideas swooshing around me constantly. Sometimes I wish I could just call a time out and have a moment to just write down everything into a list and call it good. I know a lot of other ladies out there can relate. So here's what I am going to do, I'm going to try to get some of those thoughts out and post them right here...it is completely random and free form, so take what you will from it...

I am frustrated as a teacher right now
I want to be sewing every day
There is a lot to do to set up a legitimate business
I want to be playing with fabric right now
K needs a new cell phone..his is MIA
I don't want to be coughing right now
Z's birthday was great!!!
I am such a lucky mom
I have more laundry to get through today
I should be resting, but I can't
I hope N has a good time on his field trip!
My class get's to go on a field trip next week
We still need the permission slips from the office
I want our debts gone and K's business to flourish
I love the bloggy world
So many amazing ladies out there inspire be daily to be more, but also to know I am enough
This house needs to be dusted and vacuumed in a bad way
I wish I had more energy this week
I have an awesome marriage
Drama annoys me
I love talking to people, but I don't want to hear the bad stuff over and over if you're not going to change it
It is so quite right now and all my boys are snuggled up
I love that L and N snuggle in one bed even though they don't have to share
I love that I get random hugs from my boys and that K always tries to make me laugh and smile

Whoa, that felt good! Sometime just releasing a few thoughts is all I need to quiet my mind just a tad!

if you got through this whole post you rock! If you didn't I totally understand!

Until next time,


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Linking with WFMW at We Are That Family

A Teenager

Today I am officially a mother to a teenager. How did that happen so fast??? I swear he was just born and I just became a mom a few minutes ago! My 5 pound baby is now bigger than me!

I have to say having Z was the most amazing and scary thing that ever happened in my life! I was so excited to have him here with me! What a blessing this kid has been!!

He is so very smart, I mean scary, genius smart. He blows his teachers and us away everyday! His sense of humor is amazing and he loves to laugh. This kid does not hold back the belly laughs. His imagination and memory are unbelievable! His heart is so big and his love for his family is so strong. I find it humbling that this teenager still loves being with his mom and dad. I guess we are doing a good job instilling the importance of a close knit family!

Every time he comes up to hug me I make note to cherish it! Every time we are cooking together in the kitchen I cherish it! I am loving watching him become more confident in the kitchen. He is so open to trying new things. I love watching him become so proficient with his computer programming. When K isn't here to help him get through a rough patch in his program Z pushes through until he figures it out. I guess the stubbornness K and I passed on to him is good for something! I love that he is so willing and eager to learn good life skills as well as all his academic pursuits.

I cannot wait to see what the world has in store for Z. He has so much to offer this world and I know he is going to be an amazing man!

Happy Birthday Baby! I hope you continue to enjoy life and all it holds for you!

Love lots,
Mom

Sick Day

Just so you know I H*A*T*E being sick.
Colds, flu, allergies it doesn't matter the cause.
I am an equal opportunity hater of being ill.

Well guess what found me Sunday? Yup, the nasty keep you in bed, make your head pound and stomach sick flu. I was not a happy camper, no sir re. Doesn't the flu know I am a mama and I have boys to take care of, things to do, and a house to keep? I realized trying to be superwoman wasn't going to help, so I rested and slept and let my body fight off the invaders!

But guess what, it only knocked me out for about 1 day because we have been working on building up our bodies by eating whole foods and using natural remedies when we feel a cold coming on. I really truly believe that little bug didn't hang around long because my body has really built up its natural defenses.

I am grateful today for the bloggy world and my friend B who opened my eyes to the importance of good solid nutrition as a main source for physical health! The flu might get in, but it won't be able to hang out long!

I am feeling a million times better today just in time to become a mama to an official teenager (more about that in another post)! Holy smokes!

Until next time,


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Linking up with Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers