Weekly Menu - the one where we try to recover from going over budget HA!

So, with the ladies tea last week and needing to buy extra groceries to feed "a crowd", I went slightly over what I had budgeted.  With that in mind, I'm trying to plan this weeks menu in a fashion to come in under the grocery budget so that I can throw the extra back into our expense "account" for other things.  It's just what I would LIKE to do - we'll see if it happens.

If you are observant, you will notice that I'm shifting the menu by one day.  I'm now shopping on Thursday evening every other week so I need to have Thursday's meal already planned.

Friday - Seriously, didn't I just say we were trying to recover from last week - well it is a good thing I budget money for dinner out HA!  My husband has the weekend off so we will order dinner in for a "date night" after the kids go to bed.  I might even try to talk him into a Movie from Rebox . . .we'll see!

Saturday - We are celebrating Mother's Day today due to a concert tomorrow so my husband is cooking dinner!  The menu is  - Hamburgers on the grill and FINALLY using my new deep fryer and making french fries  (I forgot to buy potatoes two weeks ago OOPS!) and, if I get the recipe from a friend, Asian Cole Slaw.  I'm not sure what to do for desert - I'm thinking Strawberry shortcake (using strawberries I froze last summer - almost time to do some more!) w/homemade ice cream!

Sunday - As of this writing, we are all planning to go to Darryl's concert together.  That means we will go through a drive through after church and head home.  I think for dinner, we'll try Chicken Gyros.

Monday - Brats and Mac and Cheese, and Asparagus.

Tuesday - It's Taco night again but we are going to do Oven baked fajitas instead . . kinda like tacos :-) Tonight is Ladies Meeting - I plan on Taking Spinach Queso Dip, Nutella Dip and I might do those ham/cream cheese wraps just because they are also a great snack to have around home too.

Wednesday - Our go to meal - breakfast.  Sausage Gravy, Biscuits and fruit.  If Darryl ends up being home, I'll cook up some potatoes too.

Thursday - Darryl will be home today so, I think I'll make him grill.  BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and biscutis sounds good to me :-)

I'm also hoping to pick up some fun drink stuff.  Now, we don't drink alcohol but I do love "virgin" mixed drinks.  I saw a non-alcoholic Sangria on the food network I want to try; and I also love a good Cream Soda/Limeade drink too.  Not to mention Orange Juice, Diet Sprite and some smooshed strawberries YUM!  I try to drink lots and lots and lots of water but when I sit down on a mommy break, a "drink" sure is nice - especially as it warms up outside!

Too Cute and Pinterest Goals

I decided to do both my "Too Cute" and Pinterest Goals all in one post this month because I'm going to do it a little differently.   I'm going to first give links back to the previous goal lists which house all of the updates.  Then I'll share any new ideas I'm hoping to get done this month.

Starting with Too Cute Ideas:

I started this process in February, looking back at January's Post.  You can click HERE to see the updates.
That month went pretty well; I have two outstanding things to finish but it just requires me picking up a few things.

Feel free to click HERE to check out March. I have more ideas on this page to complete but I think they will get done in some form or fashion this month.

Then, check out April's list HERE.  Ok, lets keep it real.  I did nothing ;-)  I did print the ideas and made my shopping list but due to some events (like my birthday) in April, I ended up without much extra money in my craft budget to do anything.  Here's hoping I can get some things done in May!

Here are a few things that I'm adding to my list for what is considered, "May's Too Cute Goals" on top of finishing up some other things from those other posts. 

From THIS post, I would like to make:

And then from THIS post:

And . .from THIS post

That is MORE then enough to keep my busy.!!

Now, on to Pinterest ideas:
So, I'm not going to re-create the wheel.  Last month I did a post highlighting things I need to get done; since I already did that - you can just click HERE for a refresher :- )

Again, I'm hoping to knock some of these outstanding ideas off my list this month so I can move on to new ideas for the summer.

Too Cute Not to Toot

Mother's day is quickly arriving so I thought I would start with this cute Mother's Day craft.  It is something I only found on Pinterest (it links back to a photo) but I think it is a easy, cute idea.  It would be great for a classroom but also for a Sunday School class or Day care :-)












This idea from Crissys Crafts  is a great idea for the garden.  My kids are a little young yet, I think, for this craft but it would be great for VBS with older kids or even for older elementary kids to make at the end of the year.  I'll be tucking this one away to make in a few years.

Yes, we still have a little while until the 4th of July but I loved this simple wreath from Swell Chel.  I still have my Flip Flop Wreath to make but I'd like this wreath up by mid June . .. so that flip flop wreath needs to get up soon :-)

Here is a super cute idea for Mother's day too!  It is a card with a questionnaire to fill out as well.  The questionnaire is over at The Crafting Chicks and they give a link in that post for the instructions for the card.

Here's a cute craft that could be used for Memorial Day or 4th of July.  It comes from Multiples and More and yes, again, it is a little "old" for my kids but it will go into my idea binder to use in another year or so :-)

Happy Crafting!

April Preschool

I knew going into this week we wouldn't do much - if anything.  I starting babysitting this week again after a three month break and my main goal was get the Munchkin and Princess into a good routine and to then mold our daily routine around that.  Remember my Schedule post from about a week ago?  Well, I am following it to some point.  I am getting up at 6:00 am and getting my morning routine done so that I'm ready before 7:00.  Which is good since I've had kids up at .. 6:15 this week (that needs to change - I need that quiet hour in the morning HA!).  I am going to bed earlier but it is more like 10:30, not 9:30 BUT that is better than the 12:00 I was doing :-)

This week the boys all played outside alot, I spent a lot of time in the bathroom - with three little boys at the early stages of potty training, well, the bathroom is a popular spot.  (Man, I wish we had two bathrooms!), and I just did a lot of not much :-)  On Thursday, Darryl took the boys to his dad's for the day and that just left me home with the two I babysit.

I also spent this week planning (making lists) - planning projects, planning school stuff, planning how I will survive another summer with out dying of heat stroke :-/

A few photos of the fun we had this week :-) 

 Yes, I shared one photo yesterday but this shows how very happy the boys are to have the swings up :-)

 This past Tuesday was Parent Watch Night at gymnastics so we got to see what the kids are doing.  It was super cute to watch them do each of the various things.  One thing we noticed - the balance beam is not Josh's friend HA! 

The plan is to do more lessons this coming week but I will admit, I'm starting to get "Summer fever" and am having a hard time wanting to do school (I'm making note of this so when I plan a "real" schedule - not preschool - we can be done by the beginning of May!)

A Very Random Sunday Post

1. A week ago we put the last of the play scape together that we got from my brother last May.  We had chosen not to put the swing set side up last summer because I didn't want to have to push kids on swings all summer :-)  BUT this year they are loving it.  The boys have learned to swing on their stomachs and Josh has already learned how to "pump" his legs to make himself go higher on the swing without any help.

2. On Saturday our church hosted a Ladies Tea.  It turned out very nice and the food was great, if I say so myself ;-)  A friend and I did all of the food . .. I need to make notes on my "Famous" Chicken salad so I can remember how much I REALLY needed for a group of 25 (Instead of having SOOOO Much left over HA!)

3. We finished our first full week of babysitting on Friday for two kids and my house still shows the effects of that and cooking for the tea.  I know I like Sunday's to be "days of rest" but today will be a "day of recovery" to get my house ready for another week.

4. I'm ready for our vacation.  It is still two months away.  That seems like a very long time.

5. As much as I am enjoying flip flops, kids without coats and boots, and the ease of summer time living, I'm not looking forward to the HEAT.  We've already had a few humid days in the 80's and it made me a little anxious about what is to come.  Yuck.  Should I mention that I wear Flip Flops almost all year - unless there isn't a path shoveled. . .I wear them HA!

That's all for today. 

May Goals - Is it really May?

You can check out how I did on my April goals by clicking HERE

This is what is on my Radar for May:

Home
1. Buy the first three gallons of outside paint and start painting!
2. Replace the front porch
3. Landscaping - My goal this month is clearing out the flower beds in the back yard and make that a living space.  We need to do some things to the kids play scape; plant some flowers, and do some other decor items.  This will probably carry over through the summer but I'd like to at least start this month
4. Make the playroom downstairs a . . .playroom!  The cubby hole I would like won't happen right now but I'd like to have the rest of it done before the heat of the summer starts.
5. Work on the new office/craft space/classroom - Making spaces work for us is one of the key goals right now and our tiny third bedroom was . . . a bedroom, an office, a bedroom again, a classroom, an everything room and now, it is going to be my space.  Ok, that sounds selfish but in a way it will be - it's going to be my craft space, the office/planning area for class, sometimes the classroom depending on what we are doing and I'd like it to be a second TV room to use when guests are here to give the kids a place to watch a movie.  My goal this month is to plan and budget for things like new window treatments, art for the wall, a desk/storage area, chairs or futon, new carpeting ect.  It's already painted the perfect color so now I just get to transition it to what I really want :-)
6. The Kitchen - this is my on going project.  I'm re-working some of my cabinet storage and have a few other cosmetic ideas I'd like to do.  Plus, I'm saving for the counters and floor . . .


The Kids
1. The Diaper Challenge - unbelievably, we are so close to success.  My goals now are to get them both into regular underwear AND to get their own stupid pants on LOL  One of the boys is 100% trained and the other is about 50% trained.
2. Preschool lessons - We are kinda wrapping up our semester so things are moving slower.  With more nice days, the boys just want to go outside and play which is fine by me.  I do plan on doing some theme units and having some crafts on hand to do on rainy days or when the boys ask.  But doing lessons every day right now is not a "must".  I also have picked out the curriculum for the boys for the fall and want to pick that up this month so I can use the summer to print, punch holes, prep crafts and be ready for our year.
3. The birthday board - I just want to get this started - once it is started, I think momentum will make me get it done before the October birthday!
4. Chore Chart - REALLY want to start this idea this month.
5. Go to the Kite Festival in Grand Haven - this is on the calender already; as long as the weather is nice we will go!!!

Me 
1. Scrapbooking -  My goals this month are to:   A) Put memorabilia in 2008 album - the albums have been done for well over a year but I have a whole envelope full of stuff that I need to add or throw out. B)Stick all pages in the 2009 Album- thanks to a sale I was able to order the last pages digitally for 2009.   C) Even though I technically finished the boys baby books I have some "wrap up" work to do like order imprinting for Nate's album, put page protectors on ect. so I want to get that done.  D) Stick 2013 pages down for Jan-Feb and order March and April photos.  E) I also have new software updates to put in my creative memory software and stuff to move to my new hard drive -I'd like to get that done this month too.
2.  That's all for "me" this month - I'm slipping behind on those scrapbook projects so I really want to focus on those

Marriage
1. Get dental insurance - it is really a simple thing to do
2. Order the word a day calender and do it
3. Subscribe to the sentinel
4. Pay ahead on our truck

Travel
1. Go through our camping stuff and get the supplies that we need
2. Plan our first camping trip - fun things to do with the boys
3. Prep for our June Vacation - want to prepare a theme unit to do in June, create travel books for the boys, and make any needed reservations.
4. Make initial plans for vacation for Darryl and I in November
5. Plan and budget for our Anniversary weekend trip

Crafts/decor Photography
1. read "How to Photograph your baby and do it
2. Make a list of 100 things about me
3. Make Nate's John Deere Blanket
4. Do Pinterest and Too Cute Projects
5. Find racks to hold current Scrapbooks in the living room (a pinterest idea, actually)

Organization
1. Finish the basement
2. Organize manuals into three ring binders
3.Organize our tax documents into a file box
4. Organize DVD's - need to order system from Amazon
5. Get racks to hang under the cabinets in the kitchen to store recipe binders

Food Friday - Crunchy Cheddar Chicken

Crunchy Cheddar Chicken
adapted from . . . a Facebook Post

Of the main meat proteins, Chicken is probably my least favorite.  Therefore, I'm always trying to find recipes that make it taste good and, guess what?  This one did not disappoint!!.  The coating is flavorful, the chicken was moist and the gravy was the perfect compliment.  I served the chicken with (Bob Evans) Mashed potatoes and some veggie that I don't remember. :-)  I did cut this recipe in half - the chicken breasts I used were HUGE so I started with just two and we had left overs. 

Ingredients:
2 pounds chicken tenders or 4 large chicken breasts cut into strips
2 sleeves Ritz Crackers
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup milk
3 cups cheddar Cheese, grated
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Sauce:
1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:
Crush crackers.  If using chicken breasts and not tenders, cut each breast into 3-4 large pieces.  Pour the milk, cheese, and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans.  Toss the salt and pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk, and then the cheese.  Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers.  Then press the cheesy coated chicken into the cracker crumbs and press it in. 

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.  Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken. Cover the pan with tin foil and back at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.  Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.

In a medium sized sauce pan, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk.  Stir over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot.  Serve over chicken.