Family Fun - Sparks Practice

One of the things we enjoy about our church is the fact that they have AWANA for the kids.  Nate is a Cubbie and Josh is in sparks.  Last night Josh had his first Sparks games practice and, as a bonus, Nate got to play too since a few kids were gone. 

 The boys had a great time running around and chasing each other in the games. 

 Nate and one of his friends from Cubbies - it was so cute to watch them together.

Weekly Menu

We had a great week.  I remembered everything for once; we did not go to Applebees as planned because Monday night ended up being a night of running errands so we grabbed McDonald's once we were done.  It's just another normal week :-)

Saturday - Darryl does dinner :-) 

Sunday - Today my parents are coming; my dad is preaching at our church so then they will be coming over for dinner.  On the Menu is Swiss Steak, Baked Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes in the crock pot, green beans, fruit salad and rolls.  Later for dinner the plan is to warm up some leftover chili. 

Monday - Amish Chicken, Buttered Noodles, Corn and Rolls - a very blonde dinner :-)

Tuesday - Lasagna, Green Beans and Garlic Bread

Wednesday - Sausage Gravy and biscuits and Fruit

Thursday -Tomato Basil Chicken and French Bread

Friday - Need I even say it?  Tacos!

I am getting back into doing some baking.  Both breads and cookies.  It's nice to have those tasty things on hand :-)

What We're Eating - Chili Cheese Dip

Chili Cheese Dip
adapted from . . ME! 

This is a throwback to our Superbowl Snack night.  Right there in the front and center is the Chili Cheese Dip.  We've been enjoying this dip for YEARS and just love it.  

1 can of Chili without beans
1 8 oz block of cream cheese, softened
2 cups shredded chedder/jack cheese

Mix to combine, cook for about 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven and enjoy with chips! 
 

Teaching Tuesdays - The Countdown to May

We had a really great week last week despite a little shake-up to our schedule. The munchkin ended up without school on Monday due to ice cold temps and Darryl ended up home at about 9:30AM because his cab broke down.  We still had to do school though.  Then, on Tuesday, the munchkin was off again on a schedule day off but we still had to do school :-)  Why?  Because we had to take Thursday off for doctor appointments!  The boys did great though and powered through despite lots of disctraction.  Josh finished his Math book this past week so now we are filling in with supplemental stuff for awhile.

 A few weeks ago I mentioned that we went to Baker Bookhouse.  I picked up this devotional book that we have been reading every night since.  I grew up with my dad reading "Leading Little Ones to God" so I was excited to find something to share with my kids.  I love that the stories are current and always relate back to scripture.  So this may not be actual school related but it is something we are learning.

 Why, yes, the boys sometimes go shirtless even in the middle of winter. 

Or, just wear PJ's all day long since no one can go outside anyway.

 As we work towards the end of the year, Nate is starting to hit a lot of review and one of those items is this great flashcard review.  It comes from Confessions of a Homeschooler and is part of her K-4 program that I purchased last year.  We use small manipulative to help with the addition.  Josh is also using this for review as well which makes it a great tool to use throughout the week.

 Josh reading another book for his Phonics lesson.  It impresses me to see how he is able to sound out each of the words and figure out the story.

 Nate working on his flashcards.  He is my bouncy kid so keeping him moving is very important.

 We are also working on Time.  This is something we started at the beginning of the school year but I put it away as it seemed the boys were working hard on just learning the new concepts being presented.  This has worked out perfectly because both boys have either finished their math (Josh) or almost finished it (Nate). 

 Nate continues to work on cutting and gluing - he has improved tremendously throughout the year - it seems like a little thing but those fine motor skills are so important. 

 Josh loved working with the flashcards for some simple review.  Really, he just loves doing what Nate does so I try to give him that freedom once his regular work is done. 

About a year or so ago, I found these letter searches over at 123 Homeschool 4 Me and printed them off.  I never used them at the time but pulled them out to use for review these last few weeks of school with Nate.

Make It Monday - Snacks

One of the things I'm really working on lately is snacks.  Without a doubt mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and evening snacks can totally derail any healthy eating plan.  I've found some healthy, tasty snacks that are really helping me not miss ice cream :-)  (And not buying ice cream is always a plus too HA! )

1) Several weeks ago I picked up some pre-packaged snacks that contained meat, cheese and almonds.  I loved them but figured I could make them at home just as easy.  This past week I bought a smoked ham and used the for the meat but my favorite thing to do, as weird as it may be, is to marinade a sirloin steak in soy sauce and garlic then pan fry it, cut it into small pieces and use that in the with the cheese and almonds.  The steak (yes cold) is beyond tasty and I crave it!   The other bonus?  Josh absolutely loves this healthy snack too.  The nuts are not his favorite but he loves the little containers of meat and cheese.

2. Fruit filled Jello.  The first week, I used sugar free Strawberry Jello with strawberries which was good but then I tried raspberry jello using some of the frozen raspberries I put up last summer.  Talk about fabulous!  I add a little whipped cream and it is the perfect evening snack.  Josh is my Jello lover so I have also made him containers of Jello which he loves grabbing for a snack. 

3.  Some other snack ideas:  Vanilla Wafers - it's a nice sweet snack that doesn't carry a lot of "weight".  I take time each week to portion out things into bags like Vanilla Wafers, crackers to go with spinach dip, or anything else that needs to be divided up.  I also love hard boiled eggs with a little sweet mayo (think of egg salad but just dipping the egg in the mayo).  Another treat is yogurt with walnuts. 

Family Fun - Darryl's Birthday

Darryl's birthday was this past weekend and we had a little fun celebrating this yearly milestone.

His celebration started on Thursday since we had no kids :-)  They went to stay with my parents for a few days so we enjoyed a dinner favorite of Dill Shrimp Pasta and relaxing in a quiet house.  Friday did not go as planned as we woke up at 3:00 am (When Darryl gets up for work) to find that we had frozen pipes.  Well, most specifically one pipe - all of about 12 inches of it -  but it was the pipe coming from the well which meant that we had zero water.  We spent Friday trying to get that taken care of and were thankful when the plumber showed up at about 3:00 pm and fixed it in about 10 minutes.  So then, we went to dinner at the Chinese Buffet and enjoyed a tasty, relaxing meal.  I had Saturday planned out for some fun.  We started by heading out to our new favorite Mexican Restaurant for a fabulous lunch before heading to Birch Run for some outlet shopping.  We enjoyed wondering through some stores and picking up some good deals.  Once done there, we headed to the movies and saw McFarland - I highly recommend it!  Since our lunch was so filling, we opted for some diner food for dinner and headed to our favorite Coney Island to get some awesome food before arriving at my parents house.  It was a great day for sure!

Sunday was Darryl's actual birthday.  The boys were very excited about the big day. !

 We enjoyed a great Taco Bar at my parents house after church.  My sister-in-law and nephews and niece joined us.  After dinner came the Carrot Cake!

 The boys gave Darryl their gifts that they picked out for him - they were super cute as they explained each of their gifts. 

 The family!

The Hat was a true favorite and still is :-)  I will admit that Nate looks the cutest in it but Darryl isn't have bad :-)

Overall it was a great weekend :-)

Weekly Menu - It's March Already!

I had much better success last week with remembering everything at the store.  Finally!  I'm continuing to work on getting the grocery bill lower.  I can say that since November, I've shaved about $100.00 off each month which means since November, I'm down about $300.00 in a month.  Now, if only grocery prices would drop, I could save more money :-/

Here's the plan:
Saturday - I list this as "Darryl Cooks" :-)  It gives me the freedom to not cook or I plan pizza if I see in the week ahead that we have many eating out days.  At this moment, I'm planning for Darryl to bring home dinner.

Sunday - This is the first day of our missions emphasis month and, since I'm on the missions committee, we get to stay and eat lunch with the missionaries.  I'm supplying rolls.  I know, exciting HA!  Then we'll have leftover Chili from last week for dinner. 

Monday - BBQ Stuffing Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and biscuits.

Tuesday - Applebees :-)  This is a new "tradition".  Kids eat for $0.99 so it makes for cheap eating.

Wednesday - Pancakes and sausage.  I may try a new pancake recipe just for kicks.

Thursday - Cook's Choice!  Braised Short Ribs over Cheesy Grits.  I'll serve a nice salad and some rolls to go along with this new recipe!

Friday - Do I even need to say?  Tacos!