2020 Weekly Photos #20

I missed last week - oops!  I'll share photos form both weeks!

May 16th ---

 My tree bloomed!  I thought we might lose the blooms because of a late frost but they survived and looked beautiful! 

Nate loves to swing! 

May 17 -- 

 Look how close they are!  Just before this photo they were actually sitting on the back of the chair -- right. next. to. each. other. !!

May 25- My Mom's birthday! 

 We got her a pack of her favorite TP :-) LOL 

May 27th -- 

Josh in his year end Live Lesson

Nate in his year end Live Lesson

Last week we pushed hard to finish school.  This week, we got to slow it down a little and just enjoy the year end Live Lessons.  Next week is the last official week of school! 

Weekly Menu

Hello!  It's another week of meals HA!  Darryl made some amazing BBQ chicken on the grill for Memorial day/my mom's birthday . .. .we need to do that more often HA!

Here's the plan for the coming week!

Friday - Pork Roast, Sweet Potatoes, Veggies and Crescent Rolls (This was supposed to be yesterday but I forgot to take the Roast out of the freezer so we had pizza on Thursday!)

Saturday -  Dinner at my mom's :-)

Sunday - Sweet and Sour Meatballs over Rice and Garlic Bread (I will probably leave some meatball's "plain" to go with spaghetti because I "might" be the only one that is a true fan of Sweet and Sour HA!)

Monday - Marinated Pork Chops (Hopefully on the grill!), baked beans, veggies, and yeast rolls

Tuesday - Taco Tuesday!

Wednesday - French Toast Sticks and Sausage

Thursday - BBQ Chicken on the grill, Mac and Cheese and corn.

Keeping it simple :-)

Weekly Menu - The Unofficial Start of Summer!!

Wow!  It's Memorial Day Weekend!!  It's crazy!  We don't have any big plans other then getting together with my mom  . .. well, that's because it is also her birthday!  We are still eating at home 99% of the time.  Actually, every weekend I say we aren't going to go out - but we usually end up getting something out one evening - a lot of times we take off for a drive and stop somewhere to eat in the car.  The kids enjoy it and so do we! Oh, and we didn't grill out nearly as much as planned - it RAINED for half the week!

Here's our plan for the week:

Friday - Pizza and salad

Saturday - Going to my mom's!

Sunday - Brats, Fruit Salad, and Fries

Monday - Memorial Day and My Mom's Birthday!  The plan is BBQ Chicken on the grill, baked beans, Fruit Salad, Lettuce Salad, and Rolls

Tuesday - Sloppy Joes and Daddy Fries!

Wednesday - French Toast Sticks, Hashbrowns, and Sausage

Thursday - Pork Loin, Baked Sweet Potatoes, and Mac and Cheese

So, that's the plan!!!  :-) 

2020 Weekly Photos #19

We had a pretty quiet week!

Saturday - We stayed home!  It was a cooler day and we just hung out at home.  Eventually we headed out for a drive and ended up at Dairy Queen where we just all ordered what we felt like HA!  Then we enjoyed our dinner looking over the little lake in town.

Sunday - Mother's Day!  My mom came over for Burgers on the grill.  I forgot to take a single photo!  It was a great  day!

Monday - Josh had to finish up a science project for school.  He had to create a water filtration system.  He used a Frappe cup (from McDonald's), rocks, dirt, gravel and a coffee filter.  It filtered out everything . . .he even was brave enough to take a drink HA!

It was actually warm enough on Monday that Josh filled up a hole in the yard with water and played in it!!  Yes, PJ's are normal attire right now. 

Tuesday - Friday - School and more school.  We are just a few weeks from the end of the school year and pushing hard to get done as soon as we can!  They boys also had their weekly Zoom Sunday School class on Wednesday night! 

Weekly Menu

Welcome to another week!  I've labeled this week as "grill week".  I've decided to take advantage of Darryl being home and hopefully he will grill dinner for a few nights.  When he is working, it's hard to grill when he doesn't walk in the door until after 5:00 and he's tired! 

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - Steak, baked potatoes and garlic bread

Saturday - Hamburgers, fries/tater tots

Sunday - My mom is cooking!

Monday - Pork Chops, baked beans, and veggies

Tuesdays - Taco Tuesday!

Wednesday - Biscuits and Gravy and hashbrowns

Thursday - BBQ Chicken, Noodles and Veggies

Keeping meals simple still.  The grocery store is actually fairly well stocked now but some of the recipe specific items are still hard to find if they aren't "normal". 

2020 Weekly Photos #18

A look back at our week

Saturday - We went for a drive and took Darryl's Dad lunch.  We were thankful for nice weather so we could sit out in his pole barn and not go into his home. 

Sunday - We watched church at home and my mom actually came over for dinner.  Darryl has been off work long enough that we felt like we could do this now. 

Monday - School.  It was a long school day. 

Tuesday - School.  It was also Taco Tuesday and Cinco De Mayo!

 We enjoyed Tacos for dinner! 

Wednesday - We had school (do you notice a pattern) and the boys had their zoom Sunday School class.  Darryl and I enjoy it too - their teacher is really good! 

 Why this random photo?  Because my most used camera lens quick working about 4 weeks ago.  I still had my zoom lens, which meant I had to back WAY up to take photos and then my new 50 mm lens which is meant for close ups.   After looking at the cost of repairing the lens and seeing the price drop on Amazon, Darryl told me to order it since it would be less to buy a new one then to get it fixed!  I was very happy to get the new one :-)  

Thursday - More School.  Darryl has started helping with school which I'm thankful for so that I can help our friends with their work too.  He does math and helps with all the Social Studies Projects! 

Friday - FINALLY!!!  Sadly (ha!) all the kids had school to do.  Nate and Josh each had a project to work on , the extra's had pages to correct and pages to finish.  We try to avoid school on Fridays but not this week!  Plus, the princess and I made homemade Ice.  In her Social Studies unit this week they talked about making ice cream so I got out my Ice Cream Maker and we made that today for fun. 

The princess enjoying our ice cream! 

I'll be honest, I'm about done with school.  Normally we are done by about May 15th but not this year.  I'm having a hard time getting projects done with the kids and keeping myself motivated enough to keep the kids motivated HA!  We will get it all done, no worries! 

Weekly Menu

My family expects to eat every. single. day. HA!  This is one of the first weeks since the shut down that I don't feel like planning.  There was a different week that I didn't plan well so cooking didn't go well (or at least I wasn't motivated much) but this week I'm like . .. blah!  So, I went back through recipes and tried to pull out some recipes that are easy but we really like a lot.

Friday - Last week I bought a Frozen Lasagna and it was perfect.  Just toss it in the oven and, bam, dinner is done.  So, my plan is to do this again.

Saturday - I have a bacon wrapped pork loin I picked up a few weeks ago on sale so I'm going to put that in the oven.  We'll have baked potatoes, and a veggie with it as well.

Sunday - It's Mother's Day!  Dinner is Hamburgs on the grill, Potato Salad, Fried Zucchini and Strawberry Shortcake.

Monday - BBQ Cups and Fries.

Tuesday - Amish Chicken, Noodles, and a veggie

Wednesday - Breakfast for dinner!  French Toast Sticks, Sausage patties, hashbrowns and fruit.

Thursday - Spaghetti and garlic bread!

Easy food but good food - both which make it easier to cook every night!

May Goals

We are still in "Stay Home, Stay Safe" mode around here.  Even as things start top open up a little, we are sticking pretty close to home! We are more along the lines of letting the rest of the people go out first and then see what happens.  :-)

I do have some goals for May!

1) Scrapbooking.  I'm going to continue on with my goals in April.  1) I'd like to continue to order photos - I'm currently working through 2016 and 2019.  I'd like to get 2-3 more months order for each year 2) I'd like to continue to make time to scrapbook a few weekends this month.  3) Wrap up the projects I got stuff for last month - a couple of albums that need to be filled and to continue on with 2010 going into an album.  

2) Reading - My goal this month, as the weather allows, is to spend at least 30 minutes outside a day reading.  Soaking up the sunshine is good for the soul and being outside really works wonders on keeping me sane HA! I've gotten into a couple great series of books (I had book 1 in each series) and have order the rest of the books so I'm looking forward to reading.   

3) Cleaning - To continue to follow the flylady plan. As I write this, I'm supposed to working in the kitchen but school has really taken up a lot of time so I am "behind".  The goal will be to spend time in all areas of the home throughout the month. 

4) Family Time - We enjoy being together.  We have enjoyed going for drives on the weekend the past few weekends so it's mostly just spending time together.  

5) Another main goal this month is my niece's graduation book - I want to get the basic layout done by mid-month so I know I have photos for each page and also get as much scrapbooked as I can based on the letters I've received. 

6) Darryl's list - I can tell you that he has a honey do list a mile long and it just keeps getting longer plus he has added teaching Math to both boys and sometimes Social Studies - especially working on their projects with them.  This has helped me out a lot as I work with the other two kids. 

7) Homeschool - My goal is to be done with all lessons by May 31st.  We might still have a couple products to finish up the first week of June but if we can have everything else done I will be happy! 

8) My MISC list - 1) Clean out my truck  (My MISC list is pretty small right now!) 2) The Garage!  This is also on Darryl's list.  We want to get the garage as organized as possible including getting rid of lots of things by donating them to a group that does a garage sale to benefit the teen center in town.  Ultimately, we are hoping to get our garage door fixed sometime in the next few months too. 

9) The basement - 1) Pick up two new shelving units for the basement. 2) Once those are purchased I will start to organize what I have in bins downstairs so that I can clean stuff out easier.  3) Move the things out of the basement for the garage sale "people".  (That will open up some space too!) 

10) Music - My main goal right now is to just keep the boys moving on piano

11) Co-Op - I'm also working on my lessons for homeschool co-op.  I'm hoping to get 1-2 complete lessons done for each class.  This means having my "teacher copy" put together and everything else ready to make copies once I know how many students (I'm going on faith we will have classes this fall) 

12) Photography (this is new on the list this month!)  One of my goals this year was to take a photography class but, right now, I'm not sure I'll be doing that.  I just bought a new lens I've wanted for a long time with some birthday money so I want to research how to use that lens better and I also know that there are some great classes being offered on line too.  

13) Spiritual Goals - (this is new on the list this month) This was also on my list for the year.  1) I need to get my Bible Study book out where I can see it every day!  2) I would like to start it :-) 

14) Dates with Darryl :-)  I'm not sure how to write this goal - but while he is off work, we enjoy sitting on my swing in the afternoons, drinking a coffee together.  So, we want to do that while we still can (while he is off work).  

15) The Yard (this is new this month)  It's the time of year to think about the yard.  1) I have a planter box on my deck that needs flowers.  2) I want to plant sunflower seeds this year FOR REAL! 3) Clean out the weeds in the sand box and maybe even fill it with sand again.  Nate says he's too old but I think if there was sand in, the kids would all play in it.  That's about it :-)  As much as I love beautiful flowers and such - I hate yard work so I keep it super simple!  (I think I need to get the kids to help me plant the sunflowers - which they will, I'm sure HA!) 

My "word" for the year is Perfect Peace and, has weird as it sounds, I feel like our family has found some peace during these times.  I think it is because we stopped.  For the first 4-5 weeks we did nothing - we didn't eat out, go anywhere, do anything.  We just stopped, stayed home, and enjoyed being together.  We have now gotten take out as a "treat" a few times and gone for some drives - all of which we all enjoy very much.  Even though the cause of this "stoppage" isn't a good thing - it has brought about some rest that I think we needed.  Yes, we miss things and people but sometimes, we also need to rest.  

So, there ya have it folks.  Since Darryl went off work, my schedule kind of got tossed about (Yes, Kel, my schedule, I'm just like you HA) but I'm working on getting back on track to get more things done during the day so I can enjoy scrapbooking all weekend and doing things as a family.  

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