Food Friday - Superbowl Style

Sunday, February 3rd, was Superbowl Sunday.  As you know, if you follow this blog, we love Football in this house so not only is Superbowl Sunday a day of excitement, we are also sad because, well, Football is done until August :-(  Instead of sharing just a recipe today, I'm going to share are day and give some links for a couple of new recipes I tried out.

We actually got snow!  The first week in February brought quite a bit of snow - especially Thursday - Saturday.  So, on Sunday, when Darryl got home from work, the boys got dressed for the snow and they played outside for well over an hour.  Sledding, shoveling, and then, sliding.  Darryl would fill the slide with snow and the boys would "plow" down it.  HA!  When Darryl finally came in, Josh laid down on the deck, face down, and cried ;-)  He loves his daddy!  No, I didn't play in the snow . . .I haven't bought boots yet and plan to buy them this week which means we'll have no more snow until next year :-/

Once we convinced the Snow Angels to come inside, I had fresh, hot donuts waiting for them thanks to my Mini-Donut Maker.  They are awesome and the perfect size for little hands (and for popping the whole thing in your mouth if you want to!!)  It was a great afternoon treat.  I then snuggled in on the couch to watch all of the pregame stuff, as did Darryl.  Josh set up the Game Cube and he played Pac-man for most of the afternoon (Don't judge - he is only allowed to play when Darryl is home - most specifically on Sunday afternoons so we can relax and watch TV too!) Nate wondered from toy to toy and snuggled with me for awhile too.

Before Kick-Off, I set up all of our snacks.

For this party, I made some old favorites like the Fruit Dip, Meatballs, and Shrimp Cocktail.  I will admit two things: 1) The meatballs overcooked.  My crock pots seems to cook really hot so I should have waited to put the meatballs in plus I tried a variation on my normal recipe and it wasn't as good.  2)The Shrimp Cocktail was lacking. . .the sauce was old (I should have checked it!) and the Shrimp, which was bought frozen was a little on the tasteless, mushy side.  I think I need to find somewhere to buy good, fresh shrimp for Shrimp Cocktail.   Then we tried two new recipes.  First up is something called "Texas Trash" or "Warm Bean Dip."

This recipe comes from Life as a Lofthouse and was probably the favorite of the night.  I have a cold bean dip/layered dip that we love but I wanted something different and this fit the bill.  It had great flavor and, would be even better if you threw some chopped lettuce, onions and black olives on your plate to make it more of a "nacho" style dip.Note: I did cut this recipe in half and made it in an 8 x 8 pan.

The second dip was Feta Dip.

This recipe comes from Clover Lane and is super easy . It reminds me of a Bruschetta but with a greek flair thanks to the Feta Cheese.  I didn't really measure - instead I just took out a dinner plate since ours have the "sunken" center and just layered the ingredients inside that area based totally on my eye :-)  This ended up being the perfect amount for my husband and I - there was just a little left so it didn't get wasted.  This was also really good but you have to like Feta Cheese to like this :-)

The game was fantastic - it was the best kind of Superbowl because it went right down to the last few minutes of the game and there were some "desperate" plays at the end to make it even more fun to watch.  Plus the team I was cheering for actually won this year!

If those appetizers look appealing to you - just click on the links and you should find them!  (If not, let me know and I'll get them to you.)

Happy Valentines Day!

I hope you get to enjoy a wonderful day!  My husband and I are enjoying a date day since the boys are with Papa and Nana and he has the day off.  I don't think we've done anything on Valentine's Day in . . .years! 

The "To Do" Index File System

Throughout the past year, I've tried out a few different types of organizers in order to find one that works for me.  Lets back track just a little.  Since college, I was a "Franklin-Covey" girl. My dad got me started with that system and I loved it.  I would get giddy walking into the store each November to buy my new filler for my binder and loved filling it all out.  It fit my lifestyle all the way through my last year of teaching.  I continued to use it when I worked at the bank but over that 7 years I found I really didn't "use" it,yet I just couldn't let it go.  I was paying a lot of money for blank pages.  Things really changed when I made the switch to staying home.  My planner sat on my desk and got dusty.  I found I needed a small pocket calender in my purse so I didn't need to carry a planner around in my hands.  It was at that point I started experimenting.  First, I jumped onto the Erin Condren bandwagon and purchased one of her great Life Planners.  The planner is awesome!  I love it and want one but . . I don't need one.  :-(  Again, lots of blank pages and, honestly, it was a pain to carry.  It didn't fit into my purse and I don't have enough hands to carry a purse, planner, diaper bag, and hold onto two boys hands.  So, in June I created a Planner System that I found over at The Oxford Place Diaries.  Again, I really loved the File Folder system.  My problem was the lack of space on my desk.  It was so crowded, I never could really use the system well. With that in mind, I realized I need to go smaller . . .

So, last October, I created my own system which I know has been  used by others but it came to my brain on its own so . .. I created it for me HA!

I picked up a 3x5 index card file, some index cards and some post-it label tabs.  (Do you have any idea how hard it is to find these little 3x5 index card files nowadays??)

Each tab represents a month.  Behind each tab, I label an index card for each day of the month (Friday, February 1st, Saturday February 2nd . .ect)

Each day, I write out my to do list on the card.  I also list any appointments at the top of the card so I remember what needs to be done. I can then easily leave this on my desk and mark things off as I complete the task.  This system has worked perfectly for me for over 3 months.

I'm also using this as a future tickler file.  I will save the previous years cards to review each month to see what I need to remember for the current year.  Everything from when the kids went to the doctor to when we went away for a special treat.  I also love that it only takes up a square on my desk and helps keep all of those big papers off of my desk (no more desk clutter!)  I carry a small pocket calender in my purse for my "planner" and that is more than enough.

My boys also love this little file so I bought them each one for their stocking so they have their own little papers to use instead of pulling out mine :-)

Too Cute Not to Toot

One of the projects I working on this winter is planning out our yard/landscaping etc.  When I came across this idea form Hometalk I thought it was adorable.  I would have to put a lock on it to keep my kids out of it but it is still a great idea!

Ok, I'm cheating on this one but I saw this idea from an Etsy shop and love it.  It would be so great for traveling - no more wet ziplock bags or hairy tooth brushes because they ended up next to the hair brush and for the price?  Why make it - just order it!

I'm not sure about you but we love Lofthouse cookies - those really soft sugar cookies with the fantastic frosting.  Well, authentic suburban gourmet. tested out a recipe she found on pinterest and then shares it.  Her photos make it look like the real thing but I wonder how close the taste REALLY is? 

Did you know Easter is just around the corner?  (I need to get shopping for some Easter outfits!!) Well, I know that we have Valentine's Day and St Patrick's day first but this idea from Simple as that blog was way to cute not to share here.

This idea is really a list.  I have great memories of my dad reading great books to me as a kid so I want to remember this list of books to read to the boys from Sarah Bessey.  I can attest that I've read most of those as a kid and/or when I was teaching - either to my students or as part of our curriculum.  They really are great books.

One last idea and this one is from HGTV.com and I think the boys would have fun making these this spring and hanging them in the trees.  Every year I say I'm going to hang some bird feeders in our trees but I never do :-)

Happy Crafting :-)

February Preschool

We slowly got back into the swing of things this week for preschool.  Very slowly but we did it!  I actually had plans for Monday and Tuesday but, our little friend who I babysit had a different schedule this week because his baby sister was born on Monday.  He didn't arrive until 10:30 both days so I kept thinking we would do school in the afternoon but I learned that .. .well, by the time the afternoon comes around I'm too tired to want to do school HA!

We did get out a favorite activity on Tuesday.  My mom got these awesome magnetic books for the boys at Josh's birthday and they love them.  Josh is able to match up all of the letters and all of the words for the books he has and he loves making funny faces with the magnets in the books as well.

I couldn't resist snapping some wonderful up-close photos of my boys!

 On Wednesday, we worked on finishing up all of our letter "B" worksheets. Josh was really working hard on tracing the letter "B" . . I finally got him to switch to a sharp skinny crayon instead of the big crayon. 

 Notice that Nate was very busy with peeling the paper off of the crayon - such concentration :-)

 Josh has finally started to master scissors.  Yes, I will admit that I held off on this activity because, well, who wants toddlers to know how to use them?  He was very proud of his finished product.

Yes, Nate is on the table.  That is his latest thing.  We worked on coloring by number, another new skill which Josh caught onto very quickly.

On Thursday we did some review and then worked on a craft (I'll share more later!).

 The boys working on our craft :-)  Josh lives in Pajamas - don't judge.  Nate still chooses to get dressed, which I am thankful for HA!

 Our Bible lesson today was on creation.  Once a week I try to read from this Bible and we discuss the story.  I then review it at dinner time and I would like to add an activity or two related to the passage the following week but I haven't done that yet.

 It was so cute!  I had just finished going through our flashcards with the boys; Josh asked for them and he then quizzed Nate on them all and did a great job.  I love to see them work together.

I LOVE those Faces!!

Finally, on Friday we celebrated a huge snowfall with a . . SNOW DAY!  My husband stayed home because the roads were so bad (he gets up at 3:00 am to leave - so the roads had not been touched. ).  The boys (all three of them) headed outside to shovel and play.

 Josh loved helping out with the shoveling - each of the boys have a small snow shovel so he used it to help clean off Darryl's car.

The boys were running around in the snow for awhile until Nate got a shovelful of snow in the face - then he was done and came inside :-)

No, we don't normally do "school" on Saturday but I thought I would include our activities on this post.  We ran some errands and then went in search of a hill that the boys could sled on.  They were so excited!  This was the first time we actually took them sledding :-)

 The boys decided that the sledding was not nearly as fun as running up and down the hill - this was Darryl saying "Oh, well" HA! 

 The boys took off in search of another hill for future reference and then took a short cut through the baseball field that ended up being a "long cut".  Darryl ended up having to carry the boys at one point because their legs just gave out from walking through drifts that were up to their knees.

It was a great weekend with all of the snow.  We did figure out that the "baby sleds" are not made for going down hills and we need to get a couple of saucers for sledding.  :-)

February Goals

Check out my January goals HERE!

Now it is time to plan for February!!  I'm using my 101 in 1001 goals list to plan my monthly goal lists in order to accomplish as many of those as well!

Home
1. Work on the landscaping/yard plan - this was on January's list but I really didn't spend time on it. I haven't even looked at this yet! 
2. Get a coat rack for the stairs and hang it up. This hasn't happened - I seriously forget to even look for one when I'm out!
3. Start saving to paint the house - the first big project that costs $$$. We are on target to get this done :-)

KIds
1. Start a Savings account for Nate- just so it has the same amount as Josh's so we can go from there. This is done!
2. Continue to try and conquer the diaper boys!! (I.e. Potty Trian!) A work in progress
3. Complete Lessons with the boys - goal is to finish letter C, Review A, B, and C and do lesson D. We had a slow month - lots of time away.
4. Do 3 activities (crafts, games, etc) separate from Homeschool We made birthday cards and also made a snowman craft.
5. Have a movie night with the boys and pop popcorn! Movies are not on the top of my boys list right now - this isn't hapening.

Me
1. Scrapbooking - I'm going to a weekend crop so with that in mind my goals are: 1) Complete July-October 2012.  So close!  I finished July- mid- October . . .
2. Get Earphones for the mp3 player and load music on it Another one of those things I just don't think about.
3. Increase my steps - I average about 5500 steps a day right now so I'd like to increase it to 8000 steps a day. Total Fail.
4. Read another book on my Topic Study Nope.
5. Begin Memorizing "The Sermon on the Mount" Nope
6. Learn to play 2 piano songs Nope
7. Work on healthy lunches for me - I struggle with this and go in cycles of eating really healthy, good for me lunches and eating crap because I'm digging through the fridge trying to find something to eat.  I'd really like to build a 4 week rotation of meals (overlapping many) just so that it is easy :-)  I feel like I was hardly home to eat lunch this month???


Marriage
1. Read and do The Husband Project Haven't even started it.
2. Get Dental Insurance Just didn't take the time yet
3. Order and begin "A Word a Day" Calendar ORDERED!!!
4. Open a savings account (membership) in my name for our true savings Done
5. Have a movie night with the hubs (I.e. I think we will actually be going out to a movie this month!) Done!  We actually saw two movies this month :-)
6. Plan March's budget before March 1st! Done!

Travel
1. Schedule at least one camping trip  Done - actually scheduled two - which is what we wanted to do this summer.

 Crafts/decor/Photography
1. Read "How to Photograph your baby" and do it! Grrrr - so easy yet I didn't do it.
2. Make a list of 100 things about me Nope
3.  Make the John Deere blanket for Nate Nope
4. Pick out 4 things from Pinterest to make/do this month In progress

Organization
1. THE BASEMENT It is about 90 % there!!
2. Organize Recipes into two binders.
3. Organize all manuals into three ring binders
4. Organize all of our tax documents into a file box

Holidays
1. Plan and do something fun for Valentines with the family (Note: The kids will be with Papa and Nana on Valentines day so I'm giving us the whole month to do something!)  Didn't do a thing - focusing on St  Patrick's Day!

Weekly Menu - the week with some fun stuff

This next week I don't have kids.  None. Zero. Zilch!  On top of that it is Valentine's AND I'm going away to a Scrapbooking crop!!! WHEW   Check out this menu!

Tuesday - We are just eating left over Sloppy Joe's from Sunday.  The kids leave today and I'm hosting ladies meeting so I'll be making a few snacks for the evening anyway.

Wednesday - At Christmas, Darryl and I were given a gift that has allowed us to be able to go away.  So tonight, we are using a gift card to go out to eat before heading to a hotel (thank you priceline and our friends for the gift!)

Thursday - We are spending the day together and have plans to eat out :-)

Friday - Darryl is on his own - I'm leaving to head North to scrapbook the weekend away!

Saturday- Darryl is still on his own!

Sunday - I'm not sure what time I will be home so, if I'm home for dinner, I'll grab something on my way in!

Monday  - The kids come home today so . . .I think I'm just going to make a kid favorite - BBQ Cups, Mac and Cheese, and Chips.

How easy is this week?? I LOVE it!!