A Fat Lip

Can you see it?  That nice fat lip?  That's Nate and this is our first "real" injury.  Sure, the boys have had cuts and bruises before and even a few bloody lips but nothing like this.  At first we thought he had a few loose teeth but, other than I nice, big, bloody, split lip, he's fine. 

What happened?  On Friday afternoon, he was sitting at the top of our slide.  The munchkin I babysit was at the bottom of the slide.  Nate just doesn't stop so having someone at the bottom doesn't phase him and he just went down.  Well, his face hit the munchkins head and Nate is the one that got the battle scars!  Yes, he cried.  A.l.o.t.  Yes, I had to kiss his lip multiple times (because after all, mom's kisses are supposed to make everything better); in the end though, he's pretty tough :-)

Weekly Menu Plus

Welcome to June :-)  This past week was great - it was in the 70's with a great breeze and no humidity.  It made cooking dinners, making Strawberry Jam and baking easy.  The forecast is showing some hot humid days coming though so this weeks meals are going to be grill friendly, stove top friendly or crock-pot friendly!  I've mentioned in the past that our microwave was starting to die.  Sometimes it ran when it was off . . when you opened the door but I love my microwave so I made it work.  Well, I was eating up some corn for dinner one night and noticed that after cooking for 5 minutes it was still cold.  So I threw it for 2 more minutes and it was hot.  Then we tried to make popcorn later that night and it won't even turn on BOO!!!  Our microwave is also our oven hood so it is a little pricey . I think we are going to pick up an inexpensive counter top Microwave to get by with until we can save for a nice new, stainless steel hood/micro combo.  I'll loose counter space but I'll have my microwave.  Yes, I know there are people who think microwaves are bad but I'm not one of them! HA 

This weekend we have some busyness going on - on Saturday we are going to cross one item off of my (expired) 40x40 list - we are going to the Cereal Festival to eat Breakfast at the longest breakfast table :-)  I'm excited and am looking forward to just being able to say that I went!!  Then, my mother-in-law is hosting a big summer gathering for family so we are heading to her house for the rest of the day . . .or at least for a few hours.  We have quite a few things to get done this weekend; we also want to get back to making Sundays a relaxed day.  The kind that we grew up with - where all of the work is done by Saturday night so that you can get up, go to church, come home and do whatever you want for the day - watch TV, take a nap, work on a hobby, go for a family walk. So with that said, we may skip out on the party a little early to come home and finish up the last of our chores so we can enjoy Sunday.  Even on the Sunday's my husband has to work, we are going to aim for him to be home earlier enough in the day that he can still enjoy a day of "rest". 

Here's our menu:
Saturday:  Dinner at the in-laws (maybe).  I'm supposed to bring something but I don't know what yet.  I'm kinda floundering on it since I'm not sure if we will be there for dinner.  I may "cheat" and just buy some Amish Macaroni Salad from walmart so I can leave it there if we leave early :-) If we do, I'm sure we will grab a pizza on our way in to town.

Sunday: The plan is Hamburgers, potato salad, and chips with dip.  It is supposed to hit 90 with high humidity though so it is possible that we will get something out instead.

Monday: Brats, leftover salad, Baked Beans (I'm going to try my baked beans in the crock pot and see how they turn out), and a relish tray - pickles and olives.

Tuesday: Swedish Meatballs in the Crockpot (something new), with pasta, left over relish tray, left over sides from the beginning of the week

Wednesday: Breakfast Casserole (this is something new too - I love breakfast casseroles and this one is very different!) with a fruit salad

Thursday: Meatball Subs with Italian Pasta Salad

Friday: Chicken on the grill, corn on the cob and sweet potatoes (in the crock pot)

This is really a less than exciting menu but . .. when the summer heats up I am less than excited about cooking.  I really try to look ahead when planning - the simple truth is if the temps are going to hit those 90's with humidity, my husband and I agree that cooking in our house just isn't fun so then, I need to plan for eating out and not buy something we don't need!   I haven't even decided on cookies for the week yet . . .I'll do some sort of cookie bar so they will be done quickly!!

Food Friday - Cheese Danish

My husband and I both enjoy the classic cheese dessert.  It always seems odd to me because cream cheese has so many different flavors!  When I saw this idea posted on Pinterest it was too good to pass up so I made it for a dessert the other night and I can tell you that I will never buy the dry, flaky, tasteless Cheese Danish in the store again!!!

Cheese Danish
adapted from The Country Cook

I really have nothing else to add other than you should make these right away.  I did only make 4 (which is one roll of crescents) but made the full amount of cheese mixture and used almost all of it in the 4 we had HA!  It was sooo good!!!!

Ingredients:
For the Danishes:
2 tubes of Crescent Rolls
1 8 ounce package cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter (melted)
8 tablespoons light brown sugar

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, combine softened cream cheese with white sugar and vanilla extract.  Mixture should be creamy and smooth when finished (like cheesecake batter).  Separate dough into eight rectangles.  Seal perforations. Using a brush or spoon, spread melted butter all over crescent rolls.  Sprinkle each rectangle with about 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.  Roll up from long side; pinch edges to seal.  Holding one end, loosely coil each.  Now you want to get in there with you fingers and spread out the dough some to make room for the filling.  Just pull and stretch and make a nice dent in the middle.  Place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.  Then, mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.  Stir until smooth and drizzle over each warm danish.

Some Evening Fun

The weather has been wonderful here in Michigan - it could stay like this all summer, truth be told!  No humidity, sunny days, a slight breeze and temps in the upper 70's.  I know I'm dreaming and at some point (like Sunday) it will hit 90 again.  But for now, we are enjoying being outside - especially after dinner :-)

Yes, Darryl got up in the tree house with the boys and they loved it.  He even showed them how to pour sand between the cracks of the floor into the sandbox below!

 The slide is ALWAYS the fasted way to travel!

 I love that look of concentration on Nate's face.  It took all he had to get that full shovel of sand up the steps into the tree house!!

 Brothers.  Enough Said.

Josh getting bubbles in his face HA!  They love bubbles!

I hope you are enjoying your week!

Outside My Comfot Zone

Have you ever done anything outside of your comfort zone?  I did this week.  Ironically, it is something that didnt' used to be outside that zone but when you haven't done something in a long time and are doing it in a new environment, well, that comfort zone is gone!!!

In March, I joined the Lakewood Area Choral Society and I love it.  I have been wanting to join for a few years but our schedule didn't allow for me to make it to the practices so I just had to wait.  I am beyond thrilled to be part of this fantastic group - the director is beyond amazing and there is nothing better than being in a room with a bunch of people that love to sing. 

Well, on Monday night, try-outs took place for both solos in some upcoming songs as well as specials for the next concert.  Now, I've sung solo's in church since I was 13.  Over the past few weeks I worked on a song and had planned to try out for the solos as well . .. until I figured out that my comfort zone walls were being stretched.  See, I haven't even sung in church in over a year because we have been in between churches.  Yes, I miss singing.  Very much.  The first time to sing again is always tough and I doubted even trying it but . . .I did it.  I tried out for a special - as did several others so who knows :-)  What I did not do was try out for a solo.  I tend to be very uncomfortable when I don't know how the process works so tonight I sat and listened and watched to what other did.  It was actually very relaxed - the direction is really just listening for voices.  The good news?  There is still one solo that no one tried out for so I'm going to work hard on it the next two weeks and try out for it even if it is just to get the first time out of the way! 

Here is the song I'm singing:

(I apoligize for the quality of the video, it is the only one I could find)

We do have some upcoming concerts so feel free to check out the website for date :- )

And I'll let you know how my next try out goes too!

Too Cute Not To Toot!

I realize that it is not officially summer but, Memorial Day IS the unofficial start of summer and that is a good thing.  We've added our first pink color to our skin (yes, we are wearing sunscreen too!), swam in our new pool AND went to the beach, put up a swingset and are starting our summer fun plans.  I find myself looking more and more for ideas to do with my kids on top of crafts for me. 

We'll start with this great idea from Mer Mag for building a castle, well, I loved it.  My boys are starting to love things like pirates, castles, and dino's so I think this would be perfect for them!

I think this idea from Delia Creates for a B-I-N-G-O summer bucket list is beyond creative.  I plan on printing the free pintable and putting in my summer binder.  Right now my boys are not big on rewards but I think in years to come, they will so this will be a fun activity.

Oopsey Daisy has a guest post up and it is adorable - it's a Super Hero mask.  Guess what my June project is?? To make super hero capes for the boys . . I'm going to add these masks to the list!

Here's a great blog post from Spell Out Loud with a lot of ideas to do with preschoolers in the summer.  I'm going to have to print many of these and add them to our Summer Binder.

This cute idea from Dukes and Duchesses is great for a first year baseball player or I thought it would be great for a Father's Day Gift if your spouse loves baseball like mine does!  I'm thinking that I might have just found the fun part of the Father's Day gift for this household!

 

One of the things on my wish list/saving for list is an Ice Cream Maker.  I have the one I want all picked out and, to make it better, our niece has one so I know it really as good as all of the reviews!  This Limeade Recipe from The Idea Room sounds so yummy just as a cool drink but to make it into a slushy?  That is a double Yummy!!

My New Planner

You may recall when I posted this idea from The Oxford Place Diaries in a Too Cute Not To Toot post recently.

I'm always looking at new ways to plan my day so I decided to read through this post. At first, I thought it was a little crazy but the more I studied it and thought about how to apply it to my life, the more I realized that this is just what I've been looking for to be my "daily planner".  Now, last fall I got on the Erin Condren planner craze.  I will not lie, I think that planner is fun, easy to use and a great idea . . . if you have lots of stuff to write down.  All I really use is the monthly planner - not the planner as a whole.  I have also found that it is a little big for me to carry.  I'm a small purse kinda girl so I have to carry it in addition to my purse.  With this new plan, I'm going to go back to just the month-to-month small purse calendar eventually since everything I need for my days at home are in my new files.

 First up, this is the "new" corner of my desk.  It houses three binders - our Budget Binder, our Summer Plan Binder, and my Too Cute Project Binder.  I was able to get rid of the desk file and other things that just filled my desk.  This makes it so much more roomy.

 The way that this system works is simply that you create a file folder for each week of the year - yes, 52 separate file folders.  Each File contains the same basic information.  The photo above shows two files - the Manila File Folder is my planner for the upcoming week.  On the cover is the June Calendar so I can have a quick glance at the month and anything that is upcoming.  The second, patterned, folder holds all of the information for this weeks summer activities with the kids.  I did purchase labels for the file folders and all they say is "Week of June 4-10"  Yes, my week begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, at least when it comes to planning. For now, I am using a binder clip to hold in the left side and I stapled everything to the right side.  So, what is inside this weekly planner? Let me show you!

 There are two sides to the folder.  On the left side is my daily planner.

 I know it is hard to read but the long skinny column on the left hand side is my day- starting with 7:00 am and ending at 9:00 pm since I seldom have anything earlier than that or later than that in a day.  The 4 sections on the top are my routines - my morning, afternoon, and evening routine and also my kids routine.  This allows me to always keep those routines in my face but without having lose paper everywhere.  The large section in the middle is the To Do List - where I write down everything from phone calls to what bills need to be paid that day to paperwork I need to complete.  Finally, the full section at the bottom is my Weekly Goal Section.  As you now, I set goals each month.  In this section, I write down what specific item I want to complete on that day.  For example, with my declutter project - I want to complete 30 minutes in the basement and 15 minutes in the kitchen on that day.  I rotate the top sheet to the back each day - so yes, they all stay in the file. The Right side of the folder is my weekly information.

 The top sheet is broken down by day and I have entered things that repeat such as doing the zone cleaning for that week, spending 15 minutes deep cleaning the zone room, taking out the trash and changing the sheets.  If I have tasks that I need to do on a certain day I could also list them there (such as dentist appointments or hair cuts so I don't forget about them!)  Are you with me so far? 

The second page is more of a reminder page for me - it includes a list of what things I need to clean weekly in the bathroom, kitchen, and weekly home blessing.  Eventually I will list monthly chores here that need to get done but I haven't gone that far yet :-)

 Next comes the detail cleaning list - I just printed this from the Flylady site for now - eventually I will make it more mine but I was trying not to over think this when I created this plan.

 Behind that is my list of goals for the week - these tie in to my monthly goals but I write down specific things I need to get done this week to accomplish those goals. 

Then I included the list of things for our summer activities - it allows me to see what I need at a glance.

Finally, (oops I forgot to actually staple it in the file!) is the zone challenges for the week.  This allows me to see what zone task I need to daily without having to log into the computer to get it done. 

This is my file drawer in my desk.  The front folder holds the current months file folders; behind that are my Monday-Friday folders where I file things that need to get done throughout this week (one of my afternoon routine tasks is to go through the days file). My disclaimer on those files is right now they are very full - this week I plan on getting them caught back up and "slim" again!  Behind those files are the future files - I have created them through the end of December as of this point (I should state they are empty - I will fill them as I get to them.).  Then I keep a file folder with some extra copies of my worksheets.  Currently, I am not making a lot of advanced copies just in case I need to make some changes.  Eventually I would like to be able to print out about 3-4 months at a time so I can just pull them out.  Finally, the set of files in the back are by Month (Jan-Dec) - they are for scrapbooking.  This is where I file photos, ticket stubs, programs, etc that I want for scrapbooking.  When I'm ready to do that particular month, I can just grab that file and everything is waiting for me. 

I do plan on keeping each weeks folder and it will go into the back of the years folders.  This will allow me the freedom to look back at things as needed. 

I've tried all sorts of ideas to get my routines in front of my face daily - papers taped to cupboards,  laminated sheets on ring clips - but they all were bulky!  This is simple and just lays on my desk.  It gives me a place to file invitations right into the correct week without having to remember where I put them. 

Enjoy!