Week in a Review

I missed the week in a review last week so this weeks will include a little from the last few weeks.

Last week, we wrapped up school.  We had odds and ends to do like a few journals, an art project, and some writing assignments.  My goal was to finish by Wednesday so I could spend Thursday prepping for Friday School.  That's exactly what happened - on Thursday I spent most of the day working on my class information for the class I'm teaching at Friday School.

Friday, we returned to our Co-Op (Last Semester we went on Thursday).  This semester we are staying the entire day.  The first three hours are spent in classes.  The boys are taking Mechanical Science, A Logic Thinking class, and then Josh is taking french and Nate is taking the class I'm teaching on Maps.

 The boys are also taking Tae Kwon Do again and are doing great. (Excuse their excessively long hair - they have since got haircuts!!)

This week, we started second semester and I created a new schedule.  I laid out their classes daily in a way that works better for us.  We focus on Language Arts in the morning along with their Live Lessons.  In the afternoon we work on the other subjects.  Our days seem to run much smoother and I feel like there is more teaching going on and less "lets get this done as fast as we can".

Josh and Nate (especially Josh) have been a little remorse about the complete and utter lack of snow this winter.  On Thursday, we started to get some flakes so Josh went outside in his coat and sat in the snow.  His excitement grew on Friday when we actually got enough snow that it stuck a little ;-)

On Monday this past week, the boys didn't have school due to teacher in service (yes, even with on-line school their "live" teachers have to wrap up grades) and, because it was the end of the semester, access to the lessons was blocked until Tuesday so I took the boys for much needed haircuts and then we went to the closest McDonald's with a playland and spent a few hours there.  It was a nice break from being home all of the time.

As you may notice, getting a picture a day did not happen!  I'm going to try for that again next week ;-)

Weekly Menu

I planned a great menu last week including breakfast and lunch (for me) so I wasn't just grabbing junk.  Well, I made the first breakfast - some kind of microwave apple pancake and almost threw up HA!  The texture was soooo nasty!  So, I enjoyed frozen waffles instead :-)  We had lots of leftovers this week so I just used those at lunch.  Then I planned one dinner - an Italian Meatball Soup . . .and it was a joke HA!  It was really like Meatballs in water with a few veggies so I made spaghetti and just drained the meatballs out of the soup.  Blah!  That's what I get for trying new recipes.

This coming week I'm sticking to more of what we already love.

Friday - We are going to clean up the leftovers from the week and I'll probably throw some stray weet potatoes and potatoes in the crock pot too.  Even though I went to the store yesterday, I still have some "odds and ends" from last week to use up.

Saturday - I'm not cooking :-)

Sunday - Chicken Scaloppini, Amish Butter Noodles, and Green Beans.

Monday - BBQ Cups, Crash Potatoes, and some type of veggie

Tuesday - Pork Chops and Scallopped potatoes and roasted cabbage

Wednesday - The boys and I always grab something before AWANA

Thursday - Chili.  (I want left overs to use on Superbowl Sunday!)

That's all!

Weekly Menu

I made it through another week!  I did go to the store on Monday night but it was just for a gallon of milk and that's to be expected so that's ok!  Not much else to say so here's the plan for the coming week:

Saturday:  Chicken Parmesan Bundles, Spaghetti and Salad

Sunday:  Darryl has a concert so we will eat out after that for lunch; Later for Dinner we will have pulled pork sandwhiches and fries

Monday: Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf, Sweet Potatoes, and Salad

Tuesday:  Enchiladas, Rice, and Salad

Wednesday;  The boys and I always get a pizza before AWANA.

Thursday:  Crock Pot Italian Meatball Soup and Garlic Sticks

Friday: Chicken Stir Fry

It's a pretty quiet week :-)

The Week In Review

This past week included fun and school!

The boys spent a few days with their Grandpa and Grandma at the beginning of the week.  The weather wasn't great but it warmed up enough for some sledding at one point.  Nate decided to try on the dogs winter coat - fits him pretty well :-)

 For Nate's birthday, he received a science kit which he has enjoyed very much.  A week or so ago, he made the volcano but hasn't had a chance to actually make it erupt.  There was an ice day on Thursday which gave a great excuse to get messy.  (And it tied in with science lessons that both boys were in the middle of too!)

 We spent Friday working on school work.  One of Nate's projects was to create a sculpture out of clay so we all worked together and created.  We are working on wrapping up the end of the semester.  My goal is to be done with all school work on Tuesday and then wrap up journal writing on Wednesday. Then the boys will get a break once again for a few days.

 Play time always happens in this house and on Friday afternoon these guys came out.  Power Rangers is a big thing in this house and the army guys have become the bad guys for the rangers.

 A big part of week was .  .snow and ice.  Two snow days this week (for the littles I watch) so usually I give the boys snow days too - it's easier and gives them all time to play.

The boys have some awesome Lego sets.  As they get older, the sets get more complicated so working on the floor is no longer a good option since it takes days to complete projects.  After taking the tree down, this corner opened up a great opportunity to set up a Lego station.  They each have a table with the perfect building spot.  We set up some bright lights for them and it's great to see them stop by their spot and work on Legos for a bit.

Weekly Menu

First of all, I had success last week.  I did not run back and forth to the store!  It was so nice (for real) to not be running to the store every night.  This week I went on Wednesday since I only had one kid with me that day and I'm glad I did.  I had dental work done on Thursday morning and because he froze my entire head, I was wiped out.  (He did repair work on repair work a dentist did 20 years ago on a stain from my braces so my entire nasal cavity ended up frozen UUGG!) Anyway, I feel like I shopped well and I have the food we need to last until I shop next week.  The best thing?  We have this awesome Dairy Store that opened called Mooville where we get our milk now AND they have a drive through.  So, when I need Darryl to grab a gallon of milk, he doesn't even have to get out of the vehicle!!

Friday - Homemade pizza and chips

Saturday - I have two options on the menu.  We will either eat out/bring it home or I planned steaks, sweet potatoes, and bread.  It just depends on what we do on Saturday.

Sunday - Our main meal is after church.  A roasted pork loin, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad and biscuits.

Monday - Pork Chops, breaded cauliflower and salad.

Tuesday -  Taco Tuesday!

Wednesday - Darryl has practice so the boys and I usually get a pizza.

Thursday - Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Broccoli.

I acutally planned and shopped through Friday night dinner so I know I have food without feeling stressed about shopping but still plan to do my shopping on Thursday.

The Week in Review

One of the things I enjoy doing with this blog is sharing what we do - especially related to school, learning and other various activities.  Some weeks we are boring and some weeks we are not but either way, looking at the week in review is a good thing.  Every year I think about doing a photo challenge related to taking one photo a day so I'm going to attempt to incorporate that idea into this week post.  I'm sure I will miss days and that's ok but if I can get most days I'm doing better than I've ever done before!

I decided on this topic/the photos on Wednesday, January 4th so that's where I'm starting.

 On Wednesday we focused on playing.  I think it is funny to see what they play with - Nate pulled out old school Mr. Potato Head.  Josh worked on some Legos.  Nate had almost completed this one but had one section left so he asked Josh to do it for him so he could start another one.

 Thursday we focused on games.  This is a game that Nate got for Christmas called Suspend.  It is an awesome game.  It is a game of startegy and is fun for kids and adults.

 This is just a picture of Harley the cat because he is so cute.

We ended our week with taking down the tree.  The needles were literally just dropping off so I figured it was time.  The boys helped despite the prickly needles.  Vacuuming it up was crazy.  I will say my vacuum is super clean now too :-)

As you can probalby figure out, we are not back into school yet.  Technically their online school started but I told Darryl that if I was doing my own curriculum, we would not start school until next week so that's what we doing.  The semester doesn't end until the 20th and we will actually be done with lessons close to a week early as it is.

Weekly Menu

Well, it's back to cookin'.  I thoroughly enjoyed my two weeks of little to no cooking (when I did cook, I kept it simple).  My sister-in-law made wonderful meals for us including breakfast and lunch.  What is better than being served food you didn't have to make that is super tasty three times a day?  It made me almost want to cook breakfast at home ;-)  (If only my kids would eat it, I would!)

This year, within my goals, I have a few specifics when it comes to menu planning.  One goal is to limit the number of times I run to the store.  I'm a once a week shopper - I've tried shopping for two weeks at a time and it is literally overwhelming not to mention I still go back for milk and fresh stuff AND spend more money.  Anyway, my goal is to go just that one time a week.  No special trips because I "need" something.  Darryl can always swing by our new Dairy Store which is opening in a few weeks, for a gallon of milk as needed.  I found that I was using the store as an excuse to get out of the house, which is fine, except instead of just buying a gallon of milk, I'd come home with 17 other things.  So, I told Darryl, when I need to get out, I'll say I'm going to the bank (which I will do) and then stop and eat a junior Frosty and read my book for 15 minutes.  :-)  I'm trying to plan better for the whole week and, in the long run, save some expense in the grocery budget.  The other goal is to establish a better month meal plan.  Even though I don't shop for more than a week at a time, by doing the basic month meal plan, I can pick up things that are on sale - especially meat!  The last area is my shopping day.  I'm going to try and stick to Thursdays.  The reason being is that Darryl often takes Thursdays off which means I can shop during the day.  I also like having a full fridge over the weekend since we all snack more :-) (I  say that and yet I already know I plan to shop on Wednesday next week since the boys will be gone HA! )

After saying all of that, this week is different because the boys will be at my in-laws for a few days which  means (wait for it . . .. ) I don't cook HA!

Here is our meal plan:
Friday - BBQ Cups, Tater Tots and Salad

Saturday - We have a family Christmas on my husbands side of the family today so we are all bringing snacks and salads.  I've finally decided on Taco Salad, Meatballs (Darryl's request), Cheese and Crackers (requested by both of the boys) plus No one mentioned dessert so I think I'll just make some brownies and M and M bars.

Sunday - Darryl and I are getting a rare treat - a day with no kids and no work for him so we are playing hooky (I know, don't judge) from church and spending the day together.  We both got money for Christmas and have some things we need/want so we are going to do a little shopping, enjoy some dinner out and just have fun.

Monday - Here's something we haven't done since this summer - we will eat at Applebee's.  Not sure if they still have the 1/2 priced burgers or 1/2 price appetizers but either way we'll still eat there.

Tuesday - I'm going to have Darryl bring something home - maybe Tacos from our favorite place.

Wednesday - The kids are home!  I'm planning spaghetti with stuffed meatballs (in the crock). The kids love Spaghetti and it is super easy :-)

Thursday - I love my crock-pot.  Tonight I'll throw a pork loin in the crock for Balsamic Brown Sugar Pork Loin, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans and Rolls.

Sounds yummy to me!

Welcome Back

It's 2017 and this is what I have to say:

 I didn't carry my computer with me as we traveled and then all of a sudeen it is January 4th.  

In the coming weeks I plan to share about our Christmas, my goals, and our school work and activities as a family.  I'm hoping to get back into the habit of blogging again even if just 2-3 times a week.  

So for now, may you have a blessed and WARM week (It is bitter cold here!)