June Goals

June.  Can you believe it?  Half the year is almost gone and I feel like we just were waking up on New Years Day!  Seriously, this year is just flying by.

I recently sat down and made a "brain" list for the last part of May.  Basically I took all of May's goals, some misc things that had been sitting on my to do list forever, and ideas from my 100-1001 list and just made one master list.  I knew I wouldn't complete it but figured it would become my June goal list.  I kinda flounder a bit in May because I started babysitting again and had to get into a new routine/plan.  Honestly, I'm still working on that - the house is a zoo most days so I spend a lot of time in the kitchen or dining room where it isn't so crazy.  With that said, I have instituted a new concept for the boys (all three of them) and that is "Chime Time Clean up Time".  Every day when the clock chimes 11:00 and 4:00, they have to stop what they are doing and clean up EVERYTHING - putting everything back in it's proper home and making sure the floor in their room, the living room and the classroom is cleaned up.  We do it in the morning to keep me from going insane by 1:00 in the afternoon and we do it at 4:00 because I feel that it is only fair that the munchkin help clean up before he goes home.  We've only done it for a week and it really has helped.

So, here's what is on my radar for June.

Craft Related Plans
1. Organize my scrapbook paper bag - it got accedently dumped one day by my husband and I haven't taken time to fix it since that time.
2. Erase tabs on my picture dividers
3. Organize Memorabilia for each year so it is ready to go in the scrapbooks
4. Finish up the boys albums including ordering the last bits and pieces
5. Finish up2008 album - just page protectors - hoping to be able to order enough to finish this album :-)
6. Finish up my first blogging book and budget to order it
7. Birthday Board - MUST get moving on this :-)  - Clean out the bin downstairs and get a new one that is clear; make the birthday banner that is in one of my posts
8. Finish saving photos from Memory Manager; delete stuff off of my computer; install new updated programs
9. Make our chore chart and get moving on that concept (tied into our new daily pick up times above)
10. Read Sections 1 and 2 in "How to photography your baby" and do it!!!
11. Make a list of 100 things about me
12. Finish up the John Deere blanket - which will be Nate's truck blanket
13. Purchase racks to hold 2-3 scrapbooks on the wall in the living room
14. Make Seatbelt pillows
15. Make two summer wreaths
16. Quite books - complete the barn page
17. Make Boo Boo Bunnies
18. Make Beach towel blanket
19.  Get letters for "Wash your hands" sign
20. Get H-L and decorate them for my ABC Wall

Travel/Vacation
1. Read through Disney stuff and make a goal date to take the boys
2. Go through camping stuff and start packing
3. Pick up all needed supplies for this camping trip
4. Make Travel bags for our vacation
5. Print off maps/daily stuff/budget/ etc for our vacation
6. Pick our anniversary get away weekend
7. Look at reasonable ideas for our vacation in November so we can start saving

Paperwork
1. Do Feb-May gas receipts (got a little behind on work paperwork oops!) 
2. Get Dental Insurance
3. Order Word a day calender
4. Subscribe to our local paper
5. Make one $25.00 payment on the truck

Homeschool
1. Plan our June and July calender (yes this should be done but since I'm writing my goals a week earlier then this will post . . this still needs to get done!)
2. Go through our school bins and clean them out
3. Print out 4 theme units to use this summer on rainy days
4. Put together about 8-10 crafts to be able to pull out on any given day
5. CLean out the "junk" basket in our classroom
6. Check out the Alligator Sanctuary and Mooville for a fun trip
7. Prep our calendar for next school year to complete all of our lessons.

Yardwork
1. Weed by the garage and lay down mulch.  Find something to plant under the crab apple tree - maybe a few Hostas.
2. Clean out the patio "bed" - would like to plant something there that is hardy and pretty.
3. Power wash the house
4. Paint the house (at least part of it - not sure how far we will get in June)
5. Plan out something new for the front of the house so we can maybe plant some stuff this fall

Organization
1. Finish the basement - my nemesis.  It isn't for lack of trying, trust me. 
2. Set up the play room (the boys are asking for it all the time)
3. Organize our tax documents in our file
4. Put together the car organization kit
5. Organize our DVD's.

Classroom-to-Office area transformation
1. Get carpet laid (someone is giving us nice carpet that they are replacing in their home so we just have to have it "laid".)
2. Measure, measure, and measure for what I want in there and then budget it out at IKEA.  Can't WAIT to be able to get my stuff.

Home Projects - a lot of thinking more than anything
1. The Living Room - we've lived in this house for 10 years and I'm ready for a change :-)  I have ideas of what I want but I want to really put together my idea board so we can tackle this project this winter.  Need to really budget this project out starting with flooring (Yikes!)
2. The kitchen - need to do the countertops and the floor.  :-) I have prices for them but have time to save since we don't do major indoor work in the summer - too hot!! (Paint never ever dries in this house in the summer!)

Lots and Lots on the radar this month.  I like to have lots to choose from knowing when I start that I won't get it all done.  Especially with a camping trip and a vacation thrown in (Which means any project that costs money most likely will get put off . . and just planned for  . . except maybe painting the house - we have to get moving on that one! )

Food Friday - Cranberry Punch

Cranberry Punch
adapted from Cafe Zupas

Isn't that pretty?  Plus it is Oh, so good!  I love a good "punch" or mixed drink and am always on the look out for something simple yet tasty.  This fits that bill.  I mix up the juice portion and put it in a jug in the fridge, then, when I want a drink, fill a glass about 2/3 full of the juice and had about 1/3 of some Sprite Zero and it is perfect. I also really like a good punch that doesn't call for ice cream/sherbet.  Yes, I love both of those in a punch but sometimes a nice cool, crisp, non-creamy, drink sure is nice!


Cranberry Punch
32 oz. cranberry juice
1 cup orange juice
1 cup pineapple juice
2 cups ginger ale
Mix all ingredients and serve.
 

Weekly Menu

Time to recover from crazy shopping weeks :-)  This next week is going to be super simple meals as we recover from one holiday and look ahead to camping in another week or so. 

Friday - Spaghetti and Garlic Bread

Saturday - I'm hoping to take the boys out for part of the day to the mall to play or something so we will meet Darryl for dinner in town as a treat.

Sunday - I might actually stay for the church potluck today.  We'll see.  I'm thinking a little tray of snack bites - like Chicken Poppyseed roll-ups and those cream cheese ham roll-ups.

Monday - Waffles and Sausage - super easy and so good.

Tuesday - Tacos.  I have left over chicken taco meat in the freezer.  Might need to add one more chicken breast to it to have enough but it will be good I think.  Of course, chips and "sauce" as that is Nate's favorite part of Taco Night.

Wednesday - The Big D has practice so I'm not even planning anything.  I always have Mac and Cheese on hand but a lot of times the boys and I like to get a treat :-)

Thursday  - I will be prepping for camping this weekend (I actually plan on going to the store on Wednesday evening to get the last of the stuff we need so I can prep all day today).  I think that some Easy Broccoli Soup and French bread will be good.  I know, soup in the summer is silly, but it sounds good, actually, and really is so easy to make. 

That's it for this week.  Hoping to keep the grocery bill way down so that camping doesn't blow the entire budget out of the water :-) 

Memorial Day Weekend

What a difference a year makes.  Last year, it was HOT and HUMID and just not comfortable around here.  We went to the beach on Memorial Day because it was so awful at home and it was a good 30 degrees cooler there - it was awesome.   This year - the weather is perfect.  Sunny, not humid, and in the 60's and 70's.  I love this weather.

We had a great three day weekend mixed with fun, family, work and relaxing.  Lets start with Saturday!

My parents came over for the day for two reasons.  1) It was my mom's birthday and 2) My dad is helping us build a new front porch.  We were all very excited to have Papa and Nana coming over.  Here's a fun story - the boys and I got up on Saturday (I let Darryl sleep in some - he deserves it!) and Josh told me that he needed to take a shower because his hair was standing up and he couldn't have stand up hair for Nana's birthday HA  So yes, he took a shower, got himself dressed (even picked out his own clothes), brushed his teeth and washed his hands - then said, "Now I'm ready for Nana's birthday" HA!  (He loves his Nana very much!!!) While my dad and Darryl got to work on the deck (which started with like 3 hours at Menards to get everything they needed - YIKES!) my mom decided to weed my flower garden and trust me, I was not going to argue with her on that one :-)  She does good work!!  We also had a lot of fun with the boys who made us laugh hysterically many times throughout the day.

 The birthday girl reading on the swing :-) 

 That is a whole lot of wood for our porch - wow. 

 A before shot with the old deck ripped out.  We need to power wash our house - that is next on the list.

 Papa and one of his helpers.  Josh was in his element today - helping all day long.

 Nana busy wedding my flower bed.  She does awesome work :-)

 Papa's other little helper.  He also liked helping Nana weed the garden too . .. or at least he liked to look for bugs!

 Looking at the plans for the porch and doing a whole lot of thinking and planning :-)

We ended the day with cake and ice cream and presents for Nana's birthday before 4 (very tired) people headed home.  Yep, my parents took the boys home with them - they boys have been asking for a few weeks when they can stay at Papa and Nana's again so this worked out perfectly for us for them.

 SUPER excited about the birthday party that is about to happen.

 Josh had to stop our Happy Birthday Song because he wanted to sing it all by himself HA!

 My dad is going to love this photo - I burst out laughing after I took it :-)

My mom had some awesome faces while opening presents . .. this is just one of them :-) hehehe

Sunday - Darryl and I have been so looking forward to these two days without any work and, quite honestly, without the boys.  We love our boys TO PIECES but, wow, I need some silence every once in awhile.  Our Sunday consisted of . ..sleeping in until almost 10:00, doing nothing until at least Noon, eating leftovers for lunch, and then doing whatever we felt like for awhile HA!  One thing was on my list for the day - I wanted to go get some mulch, annuals, veggie plants and a few grocery items for the week.  That's it.  Anything else is a bonus.  We did eat out for dinner, planted those flowers, laid some mulch and then got a treat later that night (Frappes and Fries, YUM!)

This area by the garage is not completely done but we had a rainy Monday so I did not get back outside to finish it.  I hope to get it all weeded this week, lay down the mulch and maybe pick up a couple of plants to go under our tree (which you can't see in this photo).

Monday -We did nothing :-)  We slept in and did not much of anything until about noon.  Then got ready and went out to lunch at Applebees.  We came back home and, guess what?  We did not much of anything again - it was cool and rainy so doing outside work was not going to happen.  Instead I did some research for our curriculum for the fall and Darryl worked on his music.  After making a simple dinner of Mac and Cheese we headed out to get our favorite Fruit "Smoothie" at a local Ice Cream shop.  That was a great way to end the weekend.

Here's a photo of our deck in process:

Like I said, it was rainy so I just took this photo out the front door.  I can't wait until it is done so we can stand on it :-)

Back to normal life on Tuesday except my boys don't come home until Tuesday evening.  Now we start gearing up for our first camping trip of the year.  Lots of things to get done in the next two weeks :-) 

Too Cute Not To Toot

Welcome back :-)  What a great way to return after a blogging break - with fun craft ideas. 

I love photos.  Love Them.  So when I saw this idea from over at The Winthrop Chronicles, I feel in love with the idea.  I'm getting ready to redo my family photo wall so I think this concept might make an appearance soon!

Quotes are one of my favorite things; for as long as I can remember I've hung to great quotes and now, thanks to vinyl word art, I can put lots of them on my walls!  Well, when I saw this idea from over at Cait Create, I knew I wanted to save it to put on my boys wall.  She sells this piece in her Etsy Shop so I may just pick it up there instead of trying to make it (Plus I like to frequent Etsy Shops that I feature on here out of craft respect!) .

This idea is simple enough AND cheap enough to give it a try to see if it works especially with three little boys in the midst of potty training and a litter box that resides in the bathroom.  This idea comes from The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking.

The Family Handyman shares a way to organize your garage but what caught my eye was this ball holder shown below.  We are saving to buy a decent storage shed to put in the back yard for the kids stuff.  Yes, you read that right.  A place for their bikes, balls, bats and more so that they don't have to go into the garage anymore.  This would be great in the storage shed (someday) to put all of the balls in to keep them from rolling around.

So, I first saw the photo I posted below and loved the idea of the "get movin' dice" but when I went to Hands on as we Grow, I found lots of other "get active" ideas for kids I want to check out to use this summer as well.

So, a crayon carrier is not a new idea and I'm even sure that over the course of the last few years I've posted at least one of these before but, instead of searching for the one I posted, I thought I'd share the tutorial from Prudent Baby because it looks so simple.  I need to start putting together the boys travel bags for our vacation at the end of June; these carriers AND a new coloring book would be a great addition.

Josh has been asking me when I am finishing the playroom downstairs so maybe this will be my motiviation and inspiration from For The Love to get moving on it.  (Really, I need to get the other side of the basement done so I have room to move some stuff out of the playroom . . .if only we would quit have minor water issues that cause minor floods . . .. maybe I could get it done!)

Ok, I think I'm done with ideas for this week ;-)  Lots of fun stuff to think about!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  Hard to believe it is the official start of Summer!  

Before I say anything else I need to say one thing:

Happy Birthday to my Mom!!

WHOO WHOO!

It is her birthday today and she is actually at my house "celebrating"!  

What are your plans? 

Today, my parents are here helping us replace a porch and enjoying some family time.

The kids are going home with them and my husband and I are enjoying a couple of days of doing whatever we want at home.  

My plans?  I have a few crafts on my radar to finish up; I want to do some very minor landscaping (mulch, some annuals to look pretty in my garden area and maybe a few veggie plants.); the basement.  Yes, you read that right.  I want to get the basement done - or at least a chunk of it.  No kids, no pressure, no hot and muggy days - this is the time to do it. 

We, as in my husband and I, want to get the covering on the play scape and clean out the garage. 

With that said, I'm taking a much needed blogging break and don't plan to have anything posted until Tuesday.  So enjoy your holiday and lets get ready for summer!!! 

      

Food Friday - Ken's Fruit Salad

Ken's Fruit Salad
adapted from . . .the family

One of my brother's developed an allergy to certain type's of fruit several years ago (Apples, pears, melons, ect) which made us get creative with fruit salad at family gatherings.  This version has become a family favorite and I often take it to gatherings.  I will admit that it is a more pricey salad due to the fruit used but it is well worth it - especially when the fruit is in season :-) Right now, I almost always have a bowl of this in the fridge - my kids like to pick out their favorite fruits!

Ingredients:

1 jar (or 2 cans) of Manderian oranges with juice
1 pint of blueberries
1 sm carton blackberries
1 sm carton raspberries
1 carton of straberries

Directions:
Wash all of the fruit.  Slice the strawberries in half or quarters.  About 1 hour before serving, add the oranges with the juice and stir.  (the juice helps blend all of the flavors.)

The salad does last several days but for serving fresh the first time, the oranges should be added within an hour of serving (other wise some fruits like the raspberries and strawberries may start to get soft).