Happy Valentine's Day!

I love Holidays.  This year I really wanted to be a little more prepared for these fun little holidays but this one kind of snuck up on me!  I think with homeschooling and then prepping for the two class I'm teaching at our Home School Co-Op has kind of sucked my time up!  I forgot to even get out my few Valentine's decor item! 

Josh truly hates doing school on any holiday; he loves to do holiday themed things instead which is fine by me.  Eventually he won't enjoy all of the cute things as much (or at all!) so I'm going to enjoy it while I can!  He also likes to create his own decorations and plan a "party".

So this is how we spent our day! 

 We made Valentine's for our Co-Op party on Friday.  I fully intended to take photos of the boys working on their cards but I ended up right in the middle of it helping them and never got a break!  Instead I took a photo of the aftermath HA!  (And hes, that is a cup of Biggby Coffee on the table - that was my Valentines Treat to Darryl!  Coffee!)

 The boys each got to pick out two different Valentine's from my Pinterest folder that we could create.  I'll share more details about each of these in a later post but this is one of Josh's.

 And Josh's second choice.

 Nate's first choice.

 And Nate's second choice.

 Josh planned some fun games for us - there were hearts everywhere.  Darryl, Nate, Josh and I had to race to pick up as many as we could.  Nate won :-)  Josh also hid hearts around the house that we had to find . . .in the dark .. . using one flashlight.  I'm glad he loves this stuff :-)

 Dinner!  This year we went with an Olive Garden/Red Lobster theme.  Darryl and I had Zuppa Toscana while the boys had Spaghetti :-)

 I also made garlic, cheddar biscuits.

 Dinner is served :-)

 I also made a No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake (I'll share recipes in the coming weeks too)

 We ended the evening with some fun gifts. 

They each got a "Mermaid Pillow" (those pillows with sequins that flip over)  Nate had gotten one for Nana at Christmas and both boys loved it so I figured it would make a fun gift!  They also got a stuffed animal, Lego/Pokemon Cards, a book and candy. 

 Oh, and I woke up to this on Valentine's morning :-)  Hearts and Roses from my Sweetie :-)  He's pretty special!

It really was a fun busy day! 

The Well is Kind of Dry.

The well is running a little dry lately  I know it's a season and that's ok.  I think it's a combination of long school days, not a whole lot going on, and cold and snow.  Now, I love the beauty of the snow - especially when we get a storm where the world looks like a giant snow globe.  Yet, despite that, we've been a little homebound lately so that means there isn't a lot of exciting things going on!  Homeschooling takes up a good portion of my day - lessons for both boys, staying on top of their practice work, and making sure journals are writen, AWANA books are done, and papers are written.  I find it hard to accomplish much beyond that with the exception of laundry and dishes! As I sit here, waiting for Shaun White to complete his qualifying runs on his snowboard, I realize how easy it is to get lost in the mundane.  To live in past successes and wonder why you can't do now, what you could do then and so on.  It's easy to miss out on the day to day joys amidst the seemingly busyness of the day but really, I like to breath, and sit next to my boys and they ask questions and share knowledge, dreams, and hopes.  That is what "fills my well".  

The Olympics

Are you enjoying the Winter Olympics?

We are!  The boys get pretty excited as they approach - especially the opening ceremonies.  They love to have me print out a world map and they then keep track of all of the countries and how many athletes each country has competing.  Nate has about every country memorized on the map so it's an easy thing for him to do and Josh isn't far behind him. 

It's events like this that make me miss the more traditional style of Homeschooling where I could have put together a two week study of the Olympics for the boys but with our on-line program, it's really hard to add anything other than what is required. 

It seems that on this first weekend, it has been dominated by Ice Skating.  The boys are looking forward to Skiing and Snowboarding.  I look forward to seeing Shaun White.  I was sure he was done after the last Olympics so to see him come back is awesome (Plus he looks so much like one of my nephews - how can I not cheer for him!)

I just wish there was more to watch during the day but due to the time difference, it seems to run more through the night instead of all day! 

Did you ever dream of being an Olympian?  I know I did.  I dreamed of being an Ice Skater which is kind of funny since I can't ice skate to save my life HA!  I also loved watching the divers in the summer Olympics but I never learned to NOT plug my nose underwater so that caused a slight issue with that dream :-)

So, yes, we are watching lots of sporting events over the next few weeks.  It was a nice transition after Football ended to have something else fun to watch for a bit!

Our Week in Photos #29

It's time for a little catch-up in photos! January always slows down in picture taking and I just haven't take the time to recap our weeks lately either!  Time to get back into that routine :-)

 Josh and Nate spent a week with my mom and one of the things they did was head to the world famous Frankenmuth for the snow and ice festival.  Ironically I think it was in the 50's that day and they saw more melting than anything else!

 Behind them is a sloth - we tell Josh he is related to the sloth family because he is so slow HA!

 Finally, a picture of Nate with Santa Claus! (That was my mom's creative idea!)

 Last Sunday we got hit with a huge snowstorm.  A friend challenged her facebook "world" to stop and go outside to take pictures of your kids in the snow.  I did just that (PJ's and all!). 

 We got a lot of snow!  Finally!  And it wasn't so cold that we couldn't be outside :-)

 Nate is my snuggle bug.  He loves to sit with me every single night before bed.  Sometimes it is easy to forget that he is just a little kid (only 8).  I know these days won't last forever so I try to enjoy them as much as possible.

 On Wednesday of this past week, Darryl was home so after haircuts, we took the boys to the sledding hill at our local park - it was their first time on the huge hill and they  . . .liked the smaller hill in the middle better HA!  It was great because the hill was empty so we didn't have to worry about collisions!

 While the kids were sledding I enjoyed a wonderful coffee treat HA!  Darryl enjoyed his with me too - then got tired of the boys trying to figure out how to sled so then he headed out to help them :-)

Heading in from the snow (We had our little friend with us too - she was a trooper and just loved sledding!)

This has been a super snowy week - we got hit with another big storm (about 8 inches of snow) on Friday and are ready for round two on Sunday (expecting anywhere from 3-6 inches of snow). 

Weekly Menu

I wrote yesterday about being a short order cook ;-)  That was kind of tongue-in-cheek but as I'm writing this weeks menu the truth is I'm more focused on what I want to eat and then I'm adding items for the others in my family :-)

Friday - Originally I was supposed to go scrapbooking tonight but a snow storm is forcasted for today so I cancelled.  Too keep dinner easy for everyone one we are having breakfast for dinner - Pancakes, Bacon, Sausage, and Eggs

Saturday - Today is day two of scrapbooking so I'm eating there (Hopeful that I can make it as the storm is supposed to be over!) so I'm going to leave the boys to do a fast food run. 

Sunday - Sloppy Joes and Fries/baked sweet potatoes

Monday - Homestyle Pork Chops in the Crock Pot, Baked potatoes, and corn. 

Tuesday - Hamburger Steak with onions and brown gravy, Mashed potatoes, and green beans

Wednesday - It's Valentine's Day!  Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, and Salad with Starwberry Shortcakes for dessert!!

Thursday - Probably left overs :-) 

Life as a Short Order Cook

In reality, I have no idea what a short order cook is despite the vast number of cooking shows I watch on a monthly basis :-)

Sometimes it gets frustrating planning means because I have kids. HA!  In reality, I have one child who has very limited likes when it comes to food and one who will pretend he likes to try new things but then says he isn't very hungry.  Throw in the fact that my husband has dealt with major dental issues since June 2017 limiting what he could eat most of the the year to soft(er) foods.  We were just back to the point of being able to really eat out again when he ended up with some more severe dental pain and had to have more teeth pulled so we are back to very limited foods again. 

Ironically, neither of these items spawned the idea for this post but rather it was a flippant comment made by a mom at our homeschool co-op.  We serve lunch at our co-op since many of  us stay for afternoon classes and it makes it easy so we don't have to technically pack a lunch.  Last Friday, one of the moms helping serve lunch is one of those moms who cooks everything from scratch and her kids eat it all (healthy junk too HA!).  Well, Nate went through the line and refused her push of her purple carrots and broccoli but took a cookie and that is all he had on his plate.  She looked at me and said, "Jackie, is he really only eating a cookie?"  I was taken aback that she would judge but then quickly said, 'No, don't worry, he has a peanut butter sandwich."  But it kind of irked me that she would cast judgment on what my kid was eating.  The truth is, I never travel to any place where food is being served without a peanut sandwich or a pack of cheese cracker sandwiches because I know that Nate has limited tastes. 

Which brings me back to my new status as a short order cook.  I've kind of let go of super meal planning during this season of life and have rather embraced the idea of having food at each meal that each person likes and/or can eat.  That means sometimes, I'm cooking 4 things and guess what?  That's ok.  Over the next few months, my main goal is really to cook food that people like and can eat.  Amazingly, the other night, I cooked a meal that everyone had something they loved and could eat (Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Mac and Cheese).  I might seriously cook that meal every single week HA! 

So where am I going with this?  Food doesn't need to be a battle. Don't judge other parents on how or what their kids eat.  Don't look down on others who don't eat the same as you.  It's ok if my kids don't eat veggies (because, guess what - they aren't my favorite either!).  I don't need to force my kids to eat something they hate just to prove a point.  Instead, we just eat dinner, laugh, and have fun and as everyone in our house knows - if you don't like what is on the table, you can always eat a peanut butter sandwich!

Weekly Menu - The One with a Superbowl

This weekend brings one of our favorite days of the year.  It's superbowl Sunday!  Yes, we enjoy football in this house and look forward to the fun of this day all season.  I not only enjoy the game, I enjoy seeing who is performing - from the Star Spangled Banner to the half time show (not that I always watch it because sometimes it is DUMB!).  I enjoy the human interest stories that are showed throughout the day during the all day coverage of the events.  Of course, I enjoy the game - it is always a hopeful thought that the game will actually be . .. good . ..  .a nailbiter.  So, while I plan out fun food for Sunday, we will be eating simplier the rest of the week in order to try really hard to stay in budget :-)

Friday - Pork Chops, Baked Beans, Broccoli, and Crescents

Saturday - Ham and Scallopped Potatoes in the crock, Green Beans, Biscuits

Sunday - Superbowl!  I'm planning Sloppy Joes for lunch, followed by various snacks for throughout the afternoon and then wings for dinner. 

Monday - Total leftovers from Sunday. 

Tuesday - Spaghetti and Garlic Bread

Wednesday - Out before AWANA

Thursday - I'm not sure - Maybe it will be clean out the fridge night or just a chicken nugget/mac and cheese kind of night.