Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Weekly menu

It is hard to believe that summer is done.  It really is.  Yet life seems to get busier, doesn't it?  Here's our plan for the week!

Saturday- BBQ chicken pizza and chips

Sunday- We are going to enjoy the day with my parents and a couple of my brothers so I don't have to plan food!

Monday - Darryl has to get X-rays done again so this is a great outing for the boys and I and we go with him!  We will find somewhere cheap to eat! 

Tuesday - beef stroganoff, carrots and rolls

Wednesday - tonight is our first real night of AWANA so we will stick with simple breakfast for dinner.  Eggs, waffles and ham. 

Thursday  - soccer night and my parents are coming so we will have dinner with then after the game.  

Friday - tacos yum yum!  

Labor Day "Labor" and September Goals

It's been a good summer.  The weather, in my opinion, has been near perfect.  My husband has been home most of the summer which has been a real treat.  I've managed to cross a few things off of my to do list too.  Now, though, it's time to get back into my monthly goals and see what I can get done!

First up, how I spend Labor Day Weekend. (I know, thrilling, right?) Darryl was gone all day on Friday to attend his Dad's Wife's memorial.  I used the day to clean the living room and wash all of the quilts.  Plus I just wanted the house in a good state to start the weekend because I had no plans to clean this time around.  I even had time to catch up on a few of my favorite cooking shows that I had DVRed :-)  I had some simple goals to accomplish on the three day weekend:
1) Complete my two scrapbook goals for August - Scrapbook all of July 2013 and put all of the lose pages in albums, resort albums as needed and come up with a "need" list to finish all of those albums.  I can't order anything currently but I want to make a plan :-)  I also am working on a digital book for 2011 so I can order that sometime soon.
2) A little outside work depending on the weather - vacuuming and filling the pool, probably for the last time before we take it down in a few weeks; cleaning out the sand box which becomes a catch all when the yard gets cleaned up.  Do some minor weeding (I hate weeding).
3) Make sure our class stuff is ready for next week.


Second, my September goals!

The Home
Each month I am focusing on one area for some deep cleaning.  Last month I focused on the dining room and it was nice to have an entire month to get all of the little jobs done including washing curtains and spray painting an out of date frame.  I did not get the touch up paint done because my can of paint finally dried up and I need to replace it :-) 
1.  Deep clean the bedrooms/play room - these three rooms are small enough that cleaning them all in one month from top to bottom isn't a big deal.  Our bedroom is easiest to clean on a Saturday; the princess naps in our room during the week which makes it unavailable throughout the day.  That just leaves the playroom and the boys room which I can do in the course of one week each.  This is a great time to clean out toys, vacuum into the corners, clean baseboards and go through bins and boxes to make sure everything has a home and is being used or is useful.
2. September is key yard work month.  We normally get some much nicer days in September and it is time to weed, weed, and weed some more.  Plant some bulbs that will bloom in the spring and just make sure stuff is packed up.  We don't pack everything away yet (except maybe the pool) since we will have great weather through October but it is a good time to clean up and clean out.  
3. The garage is also on my radar this month - we have some things that need to go, some rearranging, and just over all cleaning.  I did quite a bit of that cleaning in August on some cooler days but have a little more to do. 
4. The "Wish list" - We have a couch and digital piano that are going to the trash so we need to schedule pick up for those items.  We are also replacing our entertainment center so we can really clean up the living room especially since my parents are giving me a chair/ottoman that doesn't fit in their basement now that my dad has moved his basement home.  I'm so excited to create a little corner in the living room :-)  So also on that wish list is to paint my living room.  I figure if we are getting rid of so many big things, this really is the time to paint before we move the new stuff in - these items are on the wish list due to finances but we'll see what I can find :-)
5. The basement - just need to take time to put away stuff that has gotten dropped down there and also put together my small pile for a (dare I say it?) garage sale in the spring.  I highly dislike doing garage sales but my boys are outgrowing things from toys to clothes and I see that I could probably make a little money off those items. 

School
1. Planning - I spent some time a few weeks ago to prep each weeks lessons for the first few weeks.  My goal this month is to get all lessons planned, copied and prepped through the end of October.  That allows me the freedom to only need to spend about 30 minutes on each weekend to double check that I have everything and review the lessons so I'm ready for the week.

Scrapbooking
A few weeks ago I made a scrapbook project goal list so that is where these goals are coming from.
1. Scrapbook to completion August and September 2013
2. Clean out the bin I have of misc memorabilia and finally clean it out.  It either needs to go in an album or in the garbage :-)
3. Finish the 2011 digital album and budget so I can order it by the date I have in mind.
4. Because this involves photos - Go through this summers photos and find a photo of Nate and one of Josh that I can blow up for my dining room wall.  We haven't been able to do professional photos yet this year and i need some new photos for the wall!
5. Because this involves photos - Our living room will be decorated as a lake Cottage feel once we are done with it so I want to find some of our favorite Beach photos and print them so I can frame them for the walls.

Misc
I love a Misc. category because I can put anything in this category and it's ok!
1. Birthday Plans - I am working on a plan for "Birthday Week Fun" and it MUST be done this month since Josh's birthday is in October
2. Christmas Plans - I want to go through my board on Pinterest for Christmas ideas and pick out what I really want to use this year.    Plus it is time to work on some Christmas ideas for the boys.
3. Halloween - Need to nail down the boys costumes and a few plans for October for some fun things to do and learn in school


At this writing that is all I can think of . . .my list tends to grow a little through the month but this is a good starting point!!