Weekly Menu

This was our first week back to school so I didn't do much except school.  BUT one thing I did do was follow the advice of some pinterest post I actually read about planning menus and saving money.  So, I'm trying something slightly new this month.  I planned the entire month of menus (which I've kinda done in the past with my rotating month menu) but I also created all of the grocery lists for each week.  I can be more focused on buying what is on sale or that I have coupons for to save money.  Like many people, we have some weeks where there is more flex money than others so I'm trying to plan ahead for those weeks when funds are tighter (for example the vast majority of our bills are due the first two weeks of the month verses the last two weeks so my grocery budget is much tighter those first two weeks).  I promise to keep you updated on this new adventure and see if it really works.

Here's the plan for the next week

Saturday - I have Pizza on the menu but Josh has been begging to go to the Chinese restaurant. At the writing of this, I'm not sure what we will do yet.

Sunday - Grammys Swiss Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Carrots and Yeast Rolls.  The weather is cooling off so I'm looking forward to this wonderful meals once again!  Today is also the first Sunday of football so, for dinner we'll have Chili Mac.

Monday - Our schedule gets a little busy!  Today is the first day of gymnastics AND I have choir practice.  We will be crossing paths so I just have nuggets and fries on the menu

Tuesday - Asian Beef w/white rice, Store bought egg rolls and Mac and Cheese (Ok, this is for Nate - who is expanding his taste buds but is still pretty set on what he likes)

Wednesday - AWANA starts tonight which means quick and easy dinners are best since we need to eat and leave.  I love breakfast on Wednesday.  So, Amish Breakfast Casserole, Fruit, and Waffles and Sausage - that way everyone of us gets something we love HA! 

Thursday - Lemon BBQ Meatloaves, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and Yeast Rolls YUM!!

Friday - Tacos, of course :-)

Family Time - A Camping Vacation

A just over a week ago we had the opportunity to go camping again but this time we went for four days, which is the longest we have ever camped. We were traveling further away so I wanted to give us an extra day to actually enjoy the area and not feel rushed to get pack.  It was awesome.  I wish we could camp for four days every time :-)  This time we went to a little campground called "Betsie River Campground" on the recommendation of a friend.  It is near Frankfort MI.  Now, to keep it real, when we first pulled in Darryl and I were both like, ummm really?  What's so special about this place?  Once we got our pop-up set up (we ran into some obstacles getting it level due to unlevel ground) and figured out the campground we enjoyed it and we WOULD go back again.  Really, it isn't all about the campground - it is about the area and the area was fabulous.

 Once we set up and ate dinner, we went exploring into the adorable town of Frankfort.  What we discovered was out of this world - they have a public beach on Lake Michigan that is unlike anything I've ever seen.  It has a boardwalk that takes you to the pier so you can walk all the way to the water without walking in the sand (what is the hardest part of the beach? Walking in the sand!).  There are benches and a huge length of beach.  Not to mention the incredible sunset we got to see. 

 The boys loved the beach and the water.  There were some pretty decent waves - this is the first time they have really gotten to play in the waves.

 Love this shot - so much fun :-)

 We had perfect weather - the sunshine, and waves just made for a perfect evening.

 Before we left, we walked out on the pier.  The boys wanted to go to the light house but the waves were crashing up over the narrow walkway and we just didn't feel like, this year, it was the best thing.  I would be the one jumping in the lake since I can swim ;-) and well, I didn't feel like rescuing anyone!

We didn't get back to the campsite until just about dusk and then enjoyed a nice campfire.

 We got up on Sunday morning and relaxed for a bit - it was raining and cold so we headed to town for lunch.  There was an A and W restaurant that we thought would be fun. . .. 45 minutes later we finally got our not very good burgers, flat root beer and cold fries.  For real.  From there we headed out to Sleeping Bear Dunes.  The photo above is the 1st stop on the scenic drive.  It was just about 3 weeks prior that this are was hit by a good size tornado.  The number of trees that were down and the size of the ones taken down were amazing. 

 Checking out the scenery at one of the overlook stops. 

 This was at the top of the of the really high dune and the wind was out of this world.  It literally just about blew the boys off their feet. 

 My boys!

We ended the trip by stopping at another little beach before heading into Glen Arbor.  Now, Glen Arbor took the brunt of the Tornado.  Wow.  A lot of destruction.  From there, we headed back to the camp ground and had dinner (it was in the crock pot ready to eat!).  That night, the weather took a turn.  I had moments when I honestly thought the Pop-up was going over the wind was so strong.  We didn't get a ton of rain but, wow, the winds were like nothing I've heard/seen in a very long time.

 So, what do you do when it is cold, windy and rainy?  Do all sorts of fun things with balloons.  The boys had begged to do water balloons on this camping trip but, well, it was way too cold.  They, along with Darryl, spent well over an hour on Monday morning do all sorts of fun things with the balloons. We laughed a lot.

 We did finally emerge and headed to town for lunch.  After lunch, while driving through town, we saw these deer up on a ridge behind a house (a beautiful house which was for sale and I would have bought in a moment!).  We had fun watching them for quite awhile.

 We then went to the Betsie River Lighthouse.  The waves were intense.  The photos don't do them justice.  We walked along the beach for a bit and just enjoyed God's power!

 Can you tell by the trees how strong the wind is blowing???

 We toured the light house, even climbing to the top (yikes!  Not for the faint of heart!) before getting the boys photo by it.  They love light houses and want to travel to as many as possible.  We bought a poster with all of the Michigan Lighthouses and hope to get their photo by as many as possible!

 We headed back to town where we got Coffee, Fudge, Ice Cream and more!  Then went to a really awesome playground where the boys played "Pirates" with Darryl for awhile. 

We ended at another park where the boys played on the See Saws - which they haven't gotten to do before (at least not with us).  Once done, we headed back to the campground where Darryl got an amazing fire going (it was a little chilly out!) and we roasted Brats, Hot Dogs and Marshmallows.  The boys rode their bikes around, played in the little park at the campground and just hung out with us.

It was really a great camping trip!  We are still planning to go once more at the end of September - probably to our favorite campground, Muskegon State Park.  Hard to believe the camping season is winding down!

Weekly Menu - The one that REALLY has Labor Day

Boom.  It's here.  The end of summer.  For real.  Just last week I went through my recipe book and looked at all of those well loved recipes for those fall/winter foods like Lasagna, Chicken and Dumplings, Soups, and more.  I'm working on putting together my "simple" menu planning but for now, we are still dealing with some really HOT days!

Here's the plan for the coming week!

Saturday - We are allowing my mom to cook for the entire weekend ;-) LOL

Sunday - My Mom is in charge of meals :-)

Monday - Still hanging with the parents.  We'll head home after an early dinner - I'm sure my dad will grill out.

Tuesday - It's the first day of school so, as is our tradition from last year, we'll eat at Applebees - the Kids eat for $0.99 so it makes it a cheap dinner!

Wednesday - AWANA kickoff is tonight at church with Hotdogs for dinner.

Thursday - You mean I have to cook?? LOL  Ready?  Spaghetti and Meatballs.  Not even good meatballs either - I have a bag of frozen meatballs to use up in the freezer so I'll throw those in.

Friday - Tacos!!

"Flight School" - A New Book Release

I love to read, as you all may know so periodically I get the opportunity to share new books with you!  "Flight School" is a new release - check it out below!

New Novel From Christian Author Jason McIntire - "Flight School: One Summer, Many Choices"

If you've read The Sparrow Found A House by Jason McIntire (Elisha Press, 2013), you'll already know his style: Real-life situations addressed with equal parts humor and biblical wisdom. It's a combination reviewers find powerful. They've used the words intriguing, believable, captivating, and unique - among many others - to describe his writing. The Sparrow Found A House (which is available as a free Kindle download from Elisha Press) was also endorsed by Exodus Mandate, the prominent homeschooling action group. It tells the story of the Rivera-Sparrows, a newly-blended and newly-homeschooling family facing opposition from without and within.
Today Elisha Press is announcing the release of a sequel to The Sparrow Found A House - and to celebrate, they're giving away signed copies to four randomly-selected winners. You can enter the giveaway here, or go ahead and order the book on Amazon. It's $2.99 for the Kindle version, or $9.99 for the 256-page print edition.
Flight School follows the Rivera kids as they meet new friends, explore careers, and encounter the challenges and choices that come with adult life. As a homeschool graduate himself, Jason knows the things that matter most to homeschoolers, and how to write about those things in a way that will edify, resonate, and entertain.
"If you like Flight School," Jason says, "thank God. If you don't like it, blame me."
Enter the giveaway, or buy a copy now.

What We are Eating - Scalloped Potatoes and Ham in the Crock Pot

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham in the Crock Pot
adapted from Allrecipes.com

A few weeks ago, I cooked a ham I had in the freezer in order to use up some things that were getting closer to being "old".  The ham was good but then I used it in some other recipes and one of those was this recipe for Scalloped Potatoes and Ham in the Slow Cooker.  I wasn't 100% sure how this would turn out but sometimes you just have to try and, in Darryl's words, "I don't know why you would make this any other way.".  It really was good and super easy.  

Ingredients

 

• 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped cooked ham (I did not shred the ham - I just laid ham slices among the potatoes) 
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Add all ingredients to list

Directions

1. Place sliced potatoes in slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix together shredded cheese, onion and ham. Mix with potatoes in slow cooker. Using the same bowl, mix together condensed soup and water. Season to taste with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pour evenly over the potato mixture.
2. Cover, and cook on High for 4 hours.

 

Teaching Tuesday

One Week.  That's all.  I've read through the boys first week of lessons to try and get a grasp on what we do; we've had phone calls from the boys teachers; the boys still don't get that they have a "teacher" even though I'm their "teacher".  I miss actually knowing my whole year plan and instead am at the mercy of someone else planning. 

Next Tuesday we start! 

Make It Monday - September Goals

September means the official end of Summer, time for School to begin, and time to focus on finishing out the year strong with my goals.  It usually means cooler weather so I can get more done even though this coming week is being forcasted as "the hottest week of the summer".  Yikes! 

Anyway - this is what is on my radar for the coming month:

1.  Sell My Stuff.  I mentioned in a previous post that I've given myself until the end of September to get the stuff I sorted out of the basement sold or it goes to Good Will.  I have about 6 bins of stuff plus about 5-8 bigger items to try and sell. 

2. Do the finishing clean-up in the basement.  This will get accomplished by doing #1 above, purchasing the last shelf I need to store bins (which I have the $ for thanks to selling some other stuff), and getting the last of the rubber floor mats for the boys room (again, I've already sold stuff so I have the $ for these as well! Whoo whoo!)

3. Shelf by Shelf - This project I also mentioned previously.  It's so much easier to tackle one/two shelves a day.  I can clean the area (or empty the bin) and make sure everything either gets donated, trashed, or put in its rightful home in a matter of about 15 minutes.  It always amazes me how quickly things get cleaned out. A "shelf" doesn't really mean just a shelf - it's a drawer, cupboard, bin, etc.  I tend to "stash and dash" when I'm doing huge cleaning jobs like I did this summer with the basement so when I have random things, I pile them on a shelf (or shelves) and now, I can go through all of those items.

4. Scrapbooking - It's time to really focus on one thing.  Getting current.  I will be ordering digital pages, working on current photos and making sure that I am 100% current ASAP.  I'm not even setting a specific goal for September at this point - more like I need to plan during the first week on how I'm going to do this and then just do it every day.

5.  Birthday's and Christmas - With two birthdays and Christmas coming so close together I have to plan now.  I need to order the boys birthday shirts this month.  Plan what we will do for their birthdays, make gift lists for both birthday and Christmas and plan ahead for all things.  There are always Christmas activities we would like to do so I want to make sure that i plan then now so our family takes priority over other things!

6 The Outside.  Our yard has been neglected this year.  Right now, the grass is long because we have a huge underground wasp nest we are dealing with.  Darryl got swarmed not long ago while mowing and ended up with a pretty severe infection in both legs from the stings so he isn't too keen on mowing until the wasps are gone.  Planting new flowers wasn't high on my list because there were other things I wanted to spend our money on (like camping) but, it's time to weed and trim stuff back to get ready for fall.  This will happen closer to the end of the month but it still needs done.  Also, the pool will come down this month and we plan to do a small fire "pit" in the pool area since the grass is dead anyway (we did that this past spring too).  I might also try to get some bulbs to plant this fall - we planted some tulips last fall and it was fun watching them come up this spring. 

7.  The windows.  Yep they get their own category HA!  Darryl and I work together on this project since I'm not tall enough to wash the outside windows even wtih a ladder.  He does the outside while I clean the insides and spray down the screens.  It really doesn't take that long, it is just a pain to do.  We'll also pull the A/C units out sometime this month and store those away. 

8.  Family Activities - I'd like to get to a zoo with the kids.  Nate requested this early this year but I like to wait until fall to avoid the heat!  We are also planning to camp one last time near the end of the month. 

9. Planning - I've also started planning about what I want my theme word/focus to be next year.  It seems early, but it isn't.  I have an idea and want to research ways to actually implement the concept not only in my own life but that of our family too.  I have some other planning to do too - just taking time to write down some things/ideas/plans that I would like to accomplish not only for me but for/with the family too. 

10.  Financial goals - I'll be honest, the "no spend" concept in August didn't go as well.  I let it slide a few times and once it starts to slide it keeps sliding.  So, for September, I'm back to planning out our budget and not spending where we don't need to spend.  August was a much better month but we didn't end quite where we wanted to so I'm hopeful that September will put us back in the right spot.  I'm also doing lots of researching on ways to make just a little more income from home as the Munchkin will be in school full time. 

I think that's all for the month.  Now to take this list and break it down into some daily tasks that can be accomplished around school :-)