Weekly Menu

Last week was awesome.  I didn't cook for 4 days in a row.  Not a stitch.  That is my ideal break from life!  Then we ate Paninis a couple of nights in a row.  THEN I'm cooking a turkey today so my house will smell so good!

Here's what is on the plan for this coming week.

Friday - We have a funeral to attend this afternoon so I'm not sure what we'll do for dinner.  We may just pick up McDonald's just for the sake of "easy".

Saturday - Time to use up some turkey!  I think that "Chicken" and Dumplings along with a salad sounds good to me!

Sunday  - And, as you know, I always turn the left overs into Chicken Noodle Soup and add some rolls to make it a yummy dinner.  We'll have this after church.  For dinner that night, well, I don't like to cook so probably left overs/Mac and Cheese for the boys.

Monday - Crispy Orange Chicken, Rice and Egg Rolls - a carry over from a week or so ago.

Tuesday - Rainbow Chicken - I saw this recipe on Pinterest and, unlike I usually do, actually read the recipe to see if I thought we would really like it.  I think it is a pretty straight forward dish with some good seasonings and we love roasted veggies.  Some simple fried rice will go well with this along with some biscuits.

Wednesday - Applesauce Glazed Pork Chops, Pasta w/mixed veggies and Biscuits.

Thursday - It is time to have a winter favorite - Beef Tips and Noodles!  Yum!

What I'm Reading

Women Living Well
This week I read chapters 4 and 5.  Ironically chapter four dealt with media and how it now takes up so much of our time; the same topic I read in "7" also.  I think that the main point Courtney was trying to get across is to not allow media to identify you and your life but, rather, allow God,to define everything about your life.  Chapter five talked about Bible Studies and Mentor Groups.  I have to be 100% honest and say that this chapter felt slightly like a sales pitch for Good Morning Girls.  Now, please understand that I think GMG's is a wonderful source of accountability and Bible study and I think that the success of the program is fantastic.  this specific chapter just didn't speak to me a whole lot.



"7"
The chapters I read through this week included one on giving up all media for one month.  No TV, texting, e-mail, facebook, smart phones ect.  EEEEKKK!!  One of my own personal goals this year is to unplug a little more but I am not into giving it all up.  I need my sanity!  I moved on to the chapter on waste. I don't mean trips to the bathroom either ;-)  This chapter touched on the whole idea of planting a garden, buying at thrift stores and more.  I have to admit that this is not my forte.  I am not about recycling or saving the earth so I'm having a hard time coming up with a way to apply this to my life but I'm still thinking!

As I'm reading this book I am thinking of what my own personal challenges will be for each of the topics she discusses.  My goal right now is to finish up this book by the end of the month and I plan to start my first challenge(s) in February.  


Power of a Positive Mom
Well, I didn't read a chapter in this book.  Oops!  So,instead I will say that my goal for next week is to have read Chapters 2-4 and do the book study questions..

I've actually picked up a couple of new books to add to my reading list for this year.  One is a book my mom picked up at the bookstore for me and the other is one that I saw at the bookstore.  Looking forward to sharing those soon!

What We've Been Doing

I thought I would share the fun we've been having without the kids here :-)

I don't have a ton of photos but Darryl and I have had a lot of fun!  On Friday, once parents left with the boys and the parents of the extra kids pick them up, Darryl and I headed for town.  We had reservations at PF Changs - a resturant we had never eaten at but had heard so much about that we finally decided to try.  First I'll say, it was good food . . kind of unique but good.  We got egg rolls which were not the best I've had but weren't awful either.  I also ordered some Crab Rangoons which were actually the best part of my entire meal.  Dinner was good but not nearly as good as the hype.  How's that for a middle of the road review?  After dinner we went to see a movie - We saw Book Thief which was a really, really good movie.  Yes, we also enjoyed popcorn and lemonade :-) 

Saturday morning we slept in (such a rarity!) and hung at home.  I had to run to the grocery store and then we got ready for this . . ..

 We attended a wedding for a "kid" we've known for 12 years.  He and Darryl have been friends for all of those years and it was such a privilege to attend.  We got to hang out with all of the folks that Darryl used to work with and it was just plain fun.  I can chalk this up as one of the most enjoyable weddings we've attended in a long time.  And no, I did not take my camera.  I told myself that I wasn't going to take it to weddings anymore unless it was an immediate family member and guess what?  It was SOOO nice to not take photos!

Sunday was a totally 100% "veg" day.  Sleeping in; hanging out in PJ's all day; Watching football without interruption.  We did receive news part way through the day that a Pastor friend of ours had passed away from a massive stroke suffered just that morning.  He was 46 and leaves behind his wife and 6 kids.  Not what we were expecting at all.  It is still a little surreal.

Monday morning I took Darryl to work so I could have the truck.  After coming back home (he goes to work at 3:30 AM) I will admit that I got a Sausage Biscuit from McDonald's on the way in because my stomach was growling and I was so glad I did.  Why?  Because when I got home, I crawled into bed, snuggled under the covers and went to sleep without being hungry.  It was such a relaxing sleep . . .something I seldom get it seems!  I got up and got ready to head out for a day on my own!  My first stop was lunch at Grand Traverse Pie Company - my all time favorite lunch place.  From there I started shopping :-) 

 This lamp is my favorite purchase.  See, Nate's lamp broke months a year ago and I just have never found one that I liked to replace it.  I promised myself that I WOULD get him one this week while he is gone.  So, while at Target I found this awesome Dinosaur lamp.  It's my favorite item because I know he is going to be so excited when he sees it! (Mom, don't show this him please! ;-) LOL)

Some more of my treasures!  I had to much fun wondering through Target, Hobby Lobby, Bed Bath and Beyond and more. 

My new decor for the door thanks to Hobby Lobby.

And finally this.  My poor truck is stranded outside of the garage.  Why?  Well, my garage door is broken :-(  When I was leaving home today I noticed the door did not shut so I hit the button again and noticed the door was a little crooked.  Once we got home, Darryl checked it out and one of the giant springs broke.  We have had this happen once before years ago and it is fixable but this time it has also bend some of the metal pieces that hold it all together so I'm not sure what it will entail to fix it.  I'm just thankful it happened after I got out of the driveway . . .that spring is a lethal weapon AND I would have been unable to get out of the garage. 

For the record, my Christmas decor is still outside.  Maybe it will come down today ;-)

Homeschool Corner

As I mentioned last week, we are having a lot of fun learning in different ways and we started out this past week with a "winner".   Are you ready?

 Yes, we learned about Static Electricity.  On Sunday morning while I was . . . .well, still resting in bed . . .they decided to unzip one of the bean bags to see what it looked like on the inside.  They discovered it looked like snow and decided to create a snow storm.  It was everywhere.  I really couldn't (and didn't) get mad especially when Nate looked at me and said, "Mom, you don't have to say it, I won't do this again."

 The good news is that my boys love to vacuum and begged and begged to vacuum so I let them.  Two hours later we were done.  Granted, little bean bag pieces of puke showed up the entire week in the oddest places like in the sink, on my desk, in our lunches . . ..

 We also learned that grape Popsicles turn months purple (except by the time we got the picture most of it was gone!)

And that if we put our hand closer to the camera, it is blurry.  (And that "white" Popscicles taste really good . . .kinda like Lemonade.)

And, finally, we learned how to turn a table upside down and use it to do gymnastics.  Josh did this too but I was unable to get a photo. 

I think it is time to get back to book learning .. oh wait, the kids are gone this week :-)

Things My Kids Say

*One morning, when the boys got up, they walked into the bathroom and Josh had something in his month - it was a cough drop.  He said he had a cough.  Then told me Nate never got coughs.  That is when Nate piped up and said, "The little people that live in Josh get sick and make HIM sick but the people that live inside of me, mom, never ever make me sick."  I wasn't sure whether to laugh or . . .maybe be more than a little worried that they think they have "people" living inside of them.


Apparently my kids weren't very creative this week because that is all I have!

The Kids Are Gone, The Kids are Gone!

Ok, maybe I'm little too excited but the boys have gone on a sleepover (a multiple day sleepover) to Papa and Nana's house.  They haven't been gone for a few days since just before Thanksgiving so I'm ready for a break.  Don't get me wrong, the older they get the more I miss them when they are gone but, lets get real, a 4 and 5 year old are pretty demanding AND extremely active. 

As is normally the case, I like to plan some things while the kids are gone and this is no exception!

1) Friday -(by the time you read this - these things should be done!)  the kids leave on Friday afternoon.  I have one goal for the afternoon and that is to get the Christmas decor down outside.  I probably would have done it earlier but I didn't want helpers.  I know, I know, that is terrible ;-)  But, I can take it all down in about 15 minutes by myself but with helpers it takes about 2 hours PLUS they would want to play in the snow when we were done.    Once the extra kids leave, my husband and I are heading out for the evening on a date (my gift to him -a date a month!) We are going out to dinner and to see a movie (I think!).  We may go to the bookstore too depending on time.

2) Saturday (Today!) - Ready, I'm going to sleep in ;-)  Ahhhhhhh!!!!  Then I'm going to scrapbook.  That's right.  Scrapbook.  We have a wedding to go to late afternoon/evening but until it is time to get ready I can actually get some things accomplished.

3) Sunday - Ready?  I'm going to watch football and scrapbook :-)  I'm so excited to get to do some of my hobbies!

4) Monday - Unbeknownst to me when I planned this time without the kids, the extra kids won't be here today!  So, Darryl's gift to me is giving me one day out by myself each month.  Today is my day.  I'm going to take Darryl to work, come home and go back to bed for awhile before heading into town for the day to window shop, do some returns and then meet my husband for dinner before we head home. 

5) Tuesday - Ok, today I need to get something done.  That is really putting away the Christmas Decor.  When we undecorated, I threw everything into bins but not neatly and it is all piled downstairs.  I'm going to get everything in the right bin and pick up the basement.  It shouldn't take more than about an hour or so.

6) Wednesday and Thursday - Depends on when the boys come home.  Not anything major planned.  :-)

Lets see how much scrapbooking I can get done this weekend!

Food Friday - Tenderloin Sandwiches

Tenderloin Sandwiches
adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Okey, this is the beef that was used for our Sandwiches - I guess I never got a photo of an actual Sandwich!  This was another one of our appetizers for Christmas Eve and they were so good.  I learned something . . .I went to the store and asked if they had any Beef Tenderloin (thinking it would look like a pork tenderloin) well, thankfully the meat guy was very nice and showed me where one was and then said, most people refer to it as a Filet or Filet Mignon.  OHHHHH So that is why it was $5000 for that roast (ok not quite but you get the idea HA).  I ended up picking a different cut of beef that was much less expensive; next time I would buy a sirloin, though, so it would be more tender.  I served the Hawaiian Rolls with these to use as buns and we had Honey DIjon Mustard, little corn cobs (like you see in Chinese food) and block olives as topping.  Next time I would make a good coleslaw to use as the topping instead.

Ingredients

2 whole beef tenderloins, trimmed (trimmed weight 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup crushed tri-colored peppercorns
Dinner rolls, for serving
Grainy brown mustard, for serving
Horseradish sauce, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Brush the tenderloins with the olive oil and then roll in the crushed peppercorns. Place the meat on a roasting pan and roast for 20 to 25 minutes. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before thinly slicing.

Serve with dinner rolls, grainy mustard and horseradish sauce.