Friday, April 30, 2021

Weekly Menu - Back to Reality . . Kind of

 We really enjoyed our time of family fun (and have a few days left!) but it is kind of back to reality.  Here's the plan for the upcoming week

Friday, Saturday, Sunday - We are enjoying our last weekend of fun so I don't plan to cook much

Monday - We will probably grab one last "take out meal"

Tuesday - Tacos

Wednesday - Pork Loin in the Crock Pot, Baked Beans, Mac and Cheese and Green Beans

Thursday - Pulled Pork BBQ (Made with leftover pork) and French Fries plus left over baked beans! 


It's a super easy week :-)  I like easy weeks of cooking! 

Thursday, April 29, 2021

April Goal Recap

 I'll be honest, April was not very productive.  We had some surprise plans in place for our kids so most of my planning, prepping, and preparing focus was on our little surprise get away vacation.  Even with spring break in the midst of it all, I still didn't get much other stuff done!  So, I'm "behind" on some of my year long goals.  I'm hopeful to start to catch up a little in May!! 

Honestly, you don't even have to read any further HA! 

Here are some goals for April:

1. Complete 30 pages in Scrapbooking (toward my 365 total page goal)

2. Complete March 2020 photos

3. Complete March 2021 photos

4. Complete July-August 2016 photos

5. Complete March 2011 photos

6. Complete any 2016 and 2011 scrapbooking goals from February

7. Take part in the April Virtual Crop

8. Order the next set of Photos on May 1st. 

9. Order Album spines for my Heritiage Albums

10. Read my April Books

11. Complete my Decluttering tasks for March AND April 

12. Steam clean the living room carpet

13. Make my first batch of Macaroons

14. Organize the "toy room" area in the basement

15. Go on one Date with Darryl -- DONE!  

16. Plan our next adventure to visit at least one of the great lakes

17. Update my Holiday Journal through Easter

18. Work outside - we have multiple things to get done from putting up some plywood along the fence to keep the dogs from fighting to some minor landscaping.

19.  Clean and re-organize the garage

20. Clean the oven 

21. Stay 100% on track with school - and even get ahead throughout April.  We are on track to finish by late May and I'd love to finish by mid-May instead. -- This actually got done because we were taking an extra week off! 

22. Darryl has a list - like we did last year.  It includes small house projects that need to get done like hanging my flagpole or filling Josh's punching bag.  

Friday, April 23, 2021

Menu

 This weeks menu post isn't really a post :-)  We have some family fun planned for the next 10 days so while we will be eating some breakfast/brunch/lunch things, we will also be enjoying some "dinner on the beach" and "yummy take out".  

While planning our family fun, I wanted to come up with some simple yet tasty ideas of "brunch" ideas - which thing week means more of food to eat sometime between 9:00 and 12:00 AM HA!  Depending on what we have planned for the day, we will be out and about at different times!  

Here are some basic ideas I came up with: 

Pulled Pork BBQ sliders (you can buy really good pulled pork BBQ in the refrigerated section at the store so you just heat it up in the microwave!), Macaroni Salad, and Chips. 

Sausage Mc(master)Muffins, and Fruit (Plus, there are english muffins for another day if needed)

Sandwiches/Roll-ups - Ham or Turkey with cheese and veggies, Macaroni Salad and Chips

PB and J Sandwiches or English Muffins with Peanut Butter

Frozen Pizza and Chips


Lots of easy things!  We are really looking forward to our family week of fun!! 

Friday, April 16, 2021

Weekly Menu

 Welcome to another week of eating HA!  Sorry my blog has not been super exciting lately but . . .well . . ..life isn't super exciting either!  We are staying home and doing school for the most part so there isn't a lot to write about.  I had planned to share my latest Co-Op plans but our co-op has been delayed due to the rising numbers in Michigan.  Anyway, we still have to eat and I even have to cook most days!  


Friday - Our weekly "eat out" night.  

Saturday - Our weekly "eat in" at my mom's.  She told us she's just making what she has in the freezer and I said, "Well, if we don't like it - there's always ice cream" HA!  

Sunday - Pizza Night.  I'm not quite sure how this became a weekly thing but it sure is nice to have Piza on Sunday night. 

Monday - I made my Meatball Soup last week and Josh loved it and has asked for it again.  So, Meatball Soup and French bread for the win! 

Tuesday - Taco Tuesday!!  It's been a few weeks.  It's time. 

Wednesday - Amish Breakfast Casserole, Fruit and Dip, and Lemon Muffins

Thursday - Chick-Fil-Lay Nuggets and Fries

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Big Daddy Weave - All Things New (Official Lyric Video)


I heard this on the radio for this first time a week or so ago and it really spoke to me.  Enjoy.  

Saturday, April 10, 2021

2021 Week in Photos #13

 This week started off with Easter and followed through with a nice spring break week with no school and even our friends had the week off!  I focused on some of my big projects, we had to get my vehicle fixed and the plumber was here too!  

Saturday - This was the "prep" day.  Darryl and I had a date day so I could pick up some treats from the Flour Child Bakery.  Otherwise, I just prepped food and activities for Sunday. 

Sunday - Happy Easter!  I posted these photos on Facebook but wanted to share them here as well. 

We started out our day with breakfast - Amish Breakfast Casserole, Blueberry Coffee Cake, Deviled Eggs, and a Cheese Ball and Bagel Chips (From Flour Child Bakery!) It was so yummy!  Josh, Nate and Nana all opened their Easter Baskets and then we live streamed my friend Pastor Jason LaFlamme's church for Easter Service.  
After a great service, we had Sunday School where we did an Easter question scavenger hunt and worked on solving some other fun Easter puzzles. 


Nathan and Joshua

We had the annual Easter Egg hunt at our house 
And, Nana hid eggs at her house too!! 

We ended our Easter Sunday with a wonderful dinner at Nana's house - Ham, Cheesy Potatoes, Fruit and Dip, Corn and Peas.  Plus I had Cupcakes and Cookies from the Bakery - which we were all way to full to eat at the time!!  

It was a very relaxing, enjoyable Easter Day! 

The rest of the week we just enjoyed our spring break.  I did some organizing in the basement getting ready for the plumber to come and give an estimate.  I worked on co-op class stuff and did some scrapbooking projects.  It was a great week! 

Friday, April 9, 2021

Weekly Menu

 Welcome to another week of eating!  HA!  Last week summer arrived - close to 80 degrees and humid!  Uugg!  I'm not quite ready for summer yet!  I love the nice cool, dry days of spring! Now that spring break is done, it's time to buckle down and get as much school done as possible.  Trust me, by mid-May we are done and it is hard to spend hours a day on school when the weather outside is calling us to go to the park:-) 

Here's the plan for the coming week

Friday - It's eat out night :-)  Last week, since the weather was nicer and it was still light out - we did what we did last summer - we did the drive thru "hop" and ate in the car.  It was fun.  We will probably do that again! 

Saturday - Dinner at mom's 

Sunday - It's pizza night!  

Monday - Meatball Soup and Rolls

Tuesday - Chick-Fil-Lay Nuggets and Fries

Wednesday - Amish Chicken and Noodles and Green Beans

Thursday - French Toast Sticks and Breakfast Meats 


These are all carry overs from last week  because we had lots of leftovers from Easter Breakfast and Dinner so we had that a few nights last week instead of what was planned.  I'm also doing my normal Fridge/Freezer/Cupboard clean out that I do ever 6-8 weeks which just means I'm trying to use some things up that have been sitting in the freezer/cupboards for a month or so and need to get moved out!  :-) 

Saturday, April 3, 2021

2021 Week in Photos #12

 I realized how few photos I took in March when I ordered photos on Thursday.  It shows how little we have done this month too - school, school, and appointments HA!  BUT, the doctor and dentist appointments are done for 6 months to a year so that is good!  Everyone is healthy and has good teeth HA!  

Here's a look back at our week: 



This week we celebrate Dash's 2nd "gotcha day".  Dash is a huge part of our lives and we are all so thankful that we adopted him two years ago!! His favorite thing is to sleep on the couch snuggled in between people - especially as Josh, Nate and I do school on the couch. He loves belly scratches, his Norwhal toy, and being with his family.  


April played the all time April Fools Day Joke with snow on April Fool's Day!  Actually, I loved it :-)  I wouldn't have even minded a little more of a "snow storm" just for one last breath of winter before summer arrives!  


Friday, April 2, 2021

Weekly Menu

 Our spring break has started!  Even as homeschoolers, we enjoy our spring break and the opportunity to not have to do anything related to school!  I also enjoy it because it allows me to get some things done and checked off the never ending list!  Yes, I have lots of things I hope to get done over the next ten days . . .the questions is . .. how much will I actually do HA!  Sometimes my motivation takes a vacation too!  

Here's the plan for meals for the coming week - it is very "chickeny" since I have a lot of chicken in the freezer. 

Friday - Dinner out.  We have a Tropical Smoothie that just opened yesterday so I'm hoping to try it for dinner . .. unless the line is too long in the drive thru! 

Saturday - Dinner at home tonight (since we are having Easter with my mom!) Crescent Chicken Club roll-ups and fries

Sunday - We are having Easter dinner with my mom :-) (And she is cooking!) 

Monday - Amish Baked Chicken, Noodles, and Green Beans

Tuesday - French Toast Sticks and Bacon/Sausage 

Wednesday - Chick-Fi-Lay Nuggets and Fries

Thursday - Meatball Soup and French Bread


Lots of favorites this week - even if most of it is chicken 

Thursday, April 1, 2021

April Goals

 April!  Spring is here and April is the month that where we start to work on some outside projects before it gets too warm.  We don't love yard work, truth be told, so we take advantage of cooler spring weather to mark things off the list.  

Here are some goals for April:

1. Complete 30 pages in Scrapbooking (toward my 365 total page goal)

2. Complete March 2020 photos

3. Complete March 2021 photos

4. Complete July-August 2016 photos

5. Complete March 2011 photos

6. Complete any 2016 and 2011 scrapbooking goals from February

7. Take part in the April Virtual Crop

8. Order the next set of Photos on May 1st. 

9. Order Album spines for my Heritiage Albums

10. Read my April Books

11. Complete my Decluttering tasks for March AND April 

12. Steam clean the living room carpet

13. Make my first batch of Macaroons

14. Organize the "toy room" area in the basement

15. Go on one Date with Darryl

16. Plan our next adventure to visit at least one of the great lakes

17. Update my Holiday Journal through Easter

18. Work outside - we have multiple things to get done from putting up some plywood along the fence to keep the dogs from fighting to some minor landscaping.

19.  Clean and re-organize the garage

20. Clean the oven 

21. Stay 100% on track with school - and even get ahead throughout April.  We are on track to finish by late May and I'd love to finish by mid-May instead. 

22. Darryl has a list - like we did last year.  It includes small house projects that need to get done like hanging my flagpole or filling Josh's punching bag.  

That's where we are this month!  I feel like April is a little "busier" as our co-op is doing a shortened 6 week session so my Friday's are fuller and, right now, Nate has state testing 3 days mid-April.  I'm still hopeful the state will cancel those again this year!