Recap of April Goals

I realized on May 2nd that it was time to do new goals but first I want to recap my April Goals!

1) Scrapbooking.  I'd like to make this a focus in April.  1) Make sure that all photos from January-April are uploaded to snapfish  2) Order one months work of photo pages 3) Order 1-2 months worth of photos 3) Scrapbook, dare I say, all of the current photos I have on hand  I had a great month of scrapbooking!!  I uploaded and ordered lots of photos; I order several months of my digital pages from 2010 thanks to a great sale, I also scrapbooked all of the photos I had on hand at the writing of my goals PLUS more!  Several weekends I set up my scrapbook area and scrapbook a good portion of the weekend!  It's been glorious!  I also picked up two albums to wrap up 2 years of scrapbooks finally AND have put together lots of the 2010 albums!  Yeah!  I feel like all of a sudden I started making progress

2) Reading - My goal this month is just to read.  I'd like to finish a book or two :-) I READ!  Yes!  The weather has been nicer so I tried to sit outside on my swing for at least 30 minutes on the nice days and read.  I was trying to remember how many books - I think at least 3-4 total.  

3) Cleaning - Complete my 20 days of cleaning list for the month.  This month my main focus is the bathroom and then also beginning to help the boys clean too.  They need to go through all of their bins and piles in their room(s) and clean stuff out and organize it better so they know what they have! A friend of mine started a "Five Months of Flylady" group so I shifted my plans to fit more into the Flylady plan.  I spent one week deep cleaning in my kitchen, one week deep cleaning in the bathroom, and one week cleaning the Master bedroom and the boys rooms! I also picked up lots of stray things in the dining room and living room.  I finished up some projects (with Darryl's help) in Nate's room too.  

4) Family Time - We have Easter to celebrate this month!  It might look different then past years but we will still celebrate!  This is my birthday month too so we will do something to celebrate :-)  (Even if it is at home!) Plus, board games, video games and movies! I know we watched at least one movie as a family, played a few games, and went to the beach for my birthday!  We had a great month at home!  

5) Another main goal this month is my niece's graduation book - I want to get photos picked out and send out the letter to my family to get them working on letters! I have some photos ordered and the letters are coming in! 


6) Darryl's list - 1) Run the 2nd ethernet cable 2) Help Josh with his telescope and VR headset 3) Work on a way to display Nate's boards Shoot, that 2nd eithernet cable isn't even on his list HA!  Darryl set up Josh's VR headset and it is awesome; Nate's board display is all set up!  Darryl has also hung up a new swing, worked on getting rid of an old loveseat that has been outside, cleaned the bathroom lights, washed the outside of the windows and more!  It's been great having him home HA! 

7) Homeschool - To end April current.  This will be hard, honestly, because of our scheduling right now but I'm hoping to get there.  Also, I want Nate done with his Michigan History Project and his Opinion Paper.  I want Josh done with his Social Studies project and his Opinion Paper.   School has been crazy.  We have kept pushing and I'm also teaching the two kids I babysit.  Well, what I'm doing is making sure they get through their work.  The 4th grader is pretty independent but the 1st grader needs more help.  The good news is that my 4th grader has become super independent and he loves it so that has helped.  We finished a lot of things in April.  We still have a couple of papers and projects to finish but we are just doing one step a day! 

8) My MISC list - 1) Go through everyone's clothes, clean them out and figure out what is needed 2) Clean out my truck.1) I did go through clothes, measured my kids and order some things.  They finally each have a couple pair of shorts!  2) I completely forgot this was on the list - probably because we aren't going many places!  

9) The basement - I'm hoping to pick up about 4 bins this month and then work on sorting stuff - I've been working on getting rid of all the bins that aren't see through and transferring stuff into clean bins making it easier to see what is in each one.  This also allows me to declutter stuff! I started out strong!  I have gone through at least 4 bins, I cleaned the laundry room and the toy room plus I cleaned off a whole shelving area.  I'm kind of at a stand still until I get a couple more shelving units - that should go on my list for May! 

10) Music - Work on a piano and a vocal song for the future! Because we can't go to piano lessons, I'm teaching the boys piano . .. that's about all the music I can get in right now. 

11) Co-Op - Our Co-op ended kind of abruptly this year so I'm looking forward to the fall.  I want to start working on my classes so my goal this month is simple - two finish 2-3 weeks worth of lesson plans for each class (2) I'm teaching.My classes are planned totally! 

2020 Weekly Photo #17

A quick look back at the week!

Saturday - We had a quiet day at home.

Sunday - We headed to Muskegon to our favorite beach just to get out of the house!  It was also for my birthday since that is something I always like to do!

Monday - It was my birthday!  I know we took some photos but they didn't upload so I'm not sure what happened! 

Tuesday-Friday - We did school and Darryl did some Honey Do Projects!

 The boys mowed the lawn on Friday 

 On April 1st, we took a photo at the start of the "Stay Home, Stay Safe" 30 days at home campaign.  So, on May 1st, we took another one! 

Another great week!

Weekly Menu

We've enjoyed a couple of great meals on the grill this past week and now that Darryl is home we are hoping to do some more grilling!  We continue to eat at home pretty much all of the time with rare treats of eating out.

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - Frozen Lasagna and Garlic Bread.  While at the store, I saw this in the freezer  and remember how much I don't like to cook on Friday nights (thus Frozen pizza HA) so I changed my menu and decided to do the Lasagna!

Saturday - We are planning to go on a drive to check in on my Father-in-law so he has asked us to pick up some KFC. 

Sunday - My Mom is bringing dinner!

Monday -Meatball Soup and French Bread

Tuesday - Tacos!!

Wednesday - Pulled Pork, Mac and Cheese and Applesauce

Thursday - Spaghetti and Meatballs, salad and garlic bread

2020 Weekly Photos #16

This week was actually pretty quiet.  Plus, my regular camera lens is not working so I only have my telephoto lens which makes snapping quick photos in the house hard.  I have to say, "Wait, everyone back up!" HA!  I'm going to have to check and see if the camera stores are opening back up yet!

Here's a look back at our week:

Saturday - We hung at home, I scrapbooked and my mom brought us dinner!

Sunday - We hung at home, I scrapbooked, and we treated the kids to their favorite take out places - the first time we ate out in a month.

Monday - Our main focus today was school.

Tuesday - More school today :-)

The dog LOVES having us all home, all the time. 

Wednesday and Thursday - more of the same! 

Friday - We actually did some stuff! 

 We finally got a new swing and chains to replace the one that broke last summer.  Nate was especially happy as he loves to swing.  They also love to play "kick the ball" while swinging! 

 The boys finished their AWANA books this week so I printed certificates for them!  

We ended the night with a bon fire to burn some brush.  

We get a lot of Apples in the kids breakfasts/lunches that I get from the school so our new favorite thing is to have apple crisp on Friday night.  We surprised my mom tonight by stopping by her house with some crisp and cool whip!  

That's our week!  

Weekly Menu

Who would have thought back in mid-March that we would still be in a lock down/stay at home state at the end of April.  I'm so thankful that my family has stayed healthy so far through all of this and we continue to pray that it stays that way in the coming weeks and months.

While there are lots of things we miss, this time at home as been good too.  Meal planning and grocery shopping were things I had gotten "lazy" in but now, it's a well oiled machine.  Eating out used to be an easy to just do but we've broken that habit and it is now a rare treat.  Hopefully we can keep up some of these new "normal's" once we return to the old normal!

So, here's the plan for eating this next week.

Friday - A friend posted a recipe this week for Crockpot Creamy Chicken Nachos so I'm going to try it!  I'll serve a salad alongside.

Saturday - My mom is bringing us dinner!

Sunday - I'm hoping for nice weather so we can grill out - Chicken on the grill, baked beans, veggies, and biscuits. (If not, we will just cook the chicken inside!)

Monday - It's my birthday!  Steaks on the grill, "daddy fries", Fried Zucchini and Garlic Bread.

Tuesday - Pork Loin, Mashed Potatoes and a veggie

Wednesday - Ham and cheese quiche,

Thursday - BBQ Pulled Pork and French Fries

2020 Weekly Photos #16

Here's a look back at our week (just a few days late!)

Saturday - we hung at home all day.  It was a nice relaxing day!

Sunday - Easter!  It was a different Easter this year as we are stuck at home.  Our day included an Easter Egg Hunt, a great Easter Dinner, taking dinner to my mom, and we colored Easter Eggs.

 Haircuts needed and no new clothes this year for Easter photos :-) 

Monday- Friday . .. We did school every day and stayed inside since it was cold, rainy and yes, even a little snow! 

Weekly Menu - a little bit late

I realized that I forgot to post my menu on Friday!  I know my brother, Kel, enjoys seeing what we are eating!  Last week, honestly, when I planned the menu I wasn't sold on it.  Then there were things I couldn't get at the store and that threw me off a little bit too.  In the end, we ended up with some great leftovers one night and then I made spaghetti one night because it was easy.  As I planned for this week I tried to be a little more intentional and make sure that I planned meals that would be easy to find ingredients for and easy to make :-)

Friday - Pizza.  Just frozen pizza along with a corn and black bean dip to have with chips.

Saturday - My mom brought us dinner.

Sunday - The original plan was actually sloppy joes but the kids have been so great about not asking for things that Darryl and I decided to relax our "no eating out" policy during this stay at home time and surprise the boys with their favorites.  Little Ceaser's Pizza for Josh and McDonald's for Nate.  They were so surprised! 

Monday - Sloppy Joe's and French Fries

Tuesday - It's  Taco Tuesday :-)

Wednesday - French Toast Sticks (Meijer had them in stock so I bought three boxes to have in the freezer!!!), sausage, bacon and fruit.

Thursday - Zuppa Toscana Soup and Muffins.  I decided we needed to have a favorite soup one more time before it starts to warm up!