December

It's December.  I love this time of year, I really do.  It's such a time of reflection and joy.  There really is one true reason for all of that and that is the reminder of Jesus' birth and what that means to me as a Christian.  I'm so thankful that I can trust in my savoir through everything!

As the end of the year approaches, it' time to lay down those final goals and plans and also plan for next year. 

Goals for December:
1) Send out our annual Christmas letter.  This is a tradition that I love - both sending and receiving.
2) Finish all Christmas Shopping by December 15th :-) 
3) Stay healthy :-)  I know that this is mostly out of my control but the last three years the boys and I have gotten extremely sick about mid-December and, two of those three years, I don't even remember Christmas because I was so ill.  This year, we want to stay healthy!
4) Wrap all Gifts by December 16th.  Actually, I want everything that is currently purchased wrapped by this weekend; everything else will get wrapped as it comes in.  It's easy to keep gifts hidden in a small house if they are wrapped!
5) Celebrate Nate's birthday in style :-)  The plans are already in place so all is good.
6) Enjoy our annual traditions of Christmas tree decorating, seeing Christmas lights, and more.  We are also helping my Father-in-law decorate this year as a new tradition. 
7) Put into writing my 2016 Theme word/goals.
8) Lay out a plan to get current in my scrapbooking in 2016. 

As you can see, most of the things on the list relate to the holidays.  Really, in December, I like to just focus on the season.  We have crafts to make, gifts to make, activities to do, and school to still get done too.  So lets make memories!

Make it Monday - November Goals

I don't think I posted anything about my November goals (and if I did, I don't remember!) but, a friend of mine set up a group on Facebook called "Nine in November".  We were supposed to pick nine goals we wanted to accomplish in November, post a photo of those goals hanging up somewhere (in our home, at work), and then update the group throughout the month.  I thought I would share those here with the final update.

Here's my nine:
1. Attack and corral the Lego Monster that has grown in the boys room. The boys will be gone at grandparents homes for about 5 days total this month so I will be able to attack it without any "help" DONE! I spent about 5 hours working on this which included moving a bookcase and doing rearranging in multiple rooms to make homes for their Legos.  I let go of my perfectionism in trying to sort and organize and instead just used how they played with them to sort them.  
 

2. Take down the Halloween outside decor (done) and put up the Christmas decor (don't worry, I won't turn the lights on until after Thanksgiving HA!) The Halloween decor was down the week after Halloween AND put away.  My original plan was to put up the Christmas decor early, while it was still warm, but I just didn't feel like it.  So, it's waiting a few more days because the boys want to help decorate and they are visiting Papa and Nana as I write this.  The decor WILL be up by the end of the week though!

3. Get the camper cleaned out and moved to its winter location (just to the other driveway DONE. 

4. Work in the basement including selling/getting rid of a train table, two toy boxes and a kids desk and finishing up an organization project that I started this summer. This project.  For real.  I hate dislike my basement.  Uuuggg!!!!  It makes me insane because no matter what we do it is never ever organized for more than a week.  A big part of it is that it isn't a "pretty" basement - just an old damp place.  I have goals though, I really do, they just always take a back seat to things that are more fun HA!  
 
5. Clean off and re-set up my scrapbook area/desk (Done). Make a list of projects to do and start working on them weekly (daily . . but that won't happen!) So, at the beginning of the month I clean my desk.  Now it is the end of the month and it is a pit once again.  Like the basement, my desk is a drop zone.  Everything lands on it and it just piles.  So, I plan on cleaning it off . . again. . .today (for real).  Once it is cleaned off, I need to get back to the photos. 
 
6. Write and stick to our November budget like glue so that December will be less stressful (hopefully) -DONE  I wrote it and we stuck to it the best we could.  I track most of our spending so I'm happy with that.  Decembers budget will be written by tonight and the same goal starts over for December. 
 
7. Finish outside work - putting away kid toys, my swing, ect and get they yard ready for snow! DONE. 

8. Have the boys try on their snow gear and replace whatever is needed. DONE. 

9. Do the closet/clothes switch for my husband and I - move winter clothes upstairs and summer clothes downstairs.DONE

I feel pretty good about what I accomplished  Now, I also wrote another list of goals as well - extra ones.  Ironically, I didn't really get much done on that list.  I might make those more of my December goals ;-)  

Family Fun - A Snow Storm

On Saturday, the 21st, we got our first snow storm of the season.  I had plans on Saturday that had to be cancelled but it ended up being a wonderful family day instead.

We hung out at home, the boys played outside in the snow, and we watched football.  Plus, we introduced something new to the boys.  Almost two years ago, someone gave us a Wii.  After checking it out while the boys were gone one weekend, we decided that they were not old enough to handle the Wii yet plus they were content with the Game Cube.  Well, Darryl pulled it out on Saturday and got it set up and now, we have two boys who are loving it!  Bowling, Golf, Baseball and more.  Shoot, we only introduced them to one game HA! 

I didn't take many photos but here are two photos of the snow - it really was beautiful!

Weekly Menu - The one wehre I don't cook a whole lot

Welcome back from your food induced coma brought to you by Thanksgiving.  Now we enter the season of food Christmas.  Our weekends get busy and our schedule gets full but I really love this time of year.  The busyness of this time of year makes being snowed in during January and February enjoyable :-)

Saturday - Darryl and I get a date day :-)  The kids are at Papa and Nana's - the yearly tradition - and we are going to do a few things we've been wanting to do.  There is a brand new Trader Joes in Grand Rapids so we want to go see what all of the fuss is about.  We usually like to head to a fun coffee shop and get coffee and a treat not to mention getting to eat out somewhere that doesn't specialize in chicken nuggets HA!

Sunday - Darryl's working. I'm sure we'll grab something :-)

Monday - We'll do the same thing we did a few weeks ago - off to Applebee's to enjoy cheap burgers that are really good!

Tuesday - Darryl's bringing home dinner

Wednesday - The kids are back so it is back to cooking HA! I have a recipe for Stromboli that I'm going to try tonight.  I love pizza . . .a lot. 

Thursday - Pork Chops, Mac and Cheese, Veggies, and Applesauce.

Friday - Tacos :-)  We are planning to attend a Nativity at a local church tonight so we'll eat and head out.  I love starting the Christmas Season focusing on the TRUE reason we celebrate.

Happy Thanksgiving

This video is a family favorite!

What We're Eating - Crock Pot Acorn Squash

So, this is not a difficult recipe . . .I didn't even take a photo because, well, I was hungry :-)

We enjoy Acorn Squash.  I know that not everyone does but, we'll, we do.  For the past 15 years, I've made Acorn Squash in the microwave.  It's easy and they are always cooked perfectly.  Thank you Betty Crocker :-) 

Now, over the past 6 months I've worked to make my crock pot an often used appliance so that there is a reason it sits on my counter.  I've succeeded by using it 2-3 times a week for something.  I came across a simple recipe for Acorn Squash and tried it just last night. 

Take one Acorn Squash and cut it in half; remove the seeds.  If desired, slice a small piece off of the bottom of each half so that it sits nicely in the crock. 

Put 1 tablespoon of butter in each half and sprinkle with brown sugar, if desired.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7.  They will be soft and buttery when done!  Yum!

Teaching Tuesday - A Break

As I'm writing this, it is Thanksgiving week.  The boys ended last week with two full days of school to make up for their time at Grandpa and Grandma's.  This week, I decided to do things slightly differently so we can be done with school ASAP and get as many days off for Thanksgiving break as possible.  Yesterday, Josh and I spent a few hours moving quickly through his lessons.  We had a story to write, math lessons to do, Science, Social Studies, reading - including recording two stories that Josh had to read.  WHEW  But, he finished and is done until the middle of next week.

Nate's day is today.  He only has a handful of lessons to do plus a painting project for Art. 

Then, it's time to enjoy the holiday and some time at Papa and Nana's :-)