July Goals and Accomplishments

You may remember (or probably not HA) That I had one main goal in July and that was to clean out the basement.  I am happy to report that I accomplished that goal (almost!)!  And, well, even a little more!

1) I emptied all of the containers and "junk" from the basement into the garage and set up a sorting station where I sorted stuff out to either keep it, sell it, or give it away (oh, and trash it!).  I am happy to report that I threw out about 8 bags of trash and took about 4 boxes to Good Will and have a good box worth of stuff to try and sell.  I took back into the basement about 1/4 of what went out.  The basement is clean, organized and everything has a home.  Now, I'm about 95% done but need to finish up stuff in the garage - we ended up with a 90 degree week so I focused more on the inside than stuff that was outside!

2) Thanks to a very hot week this week, I spent more of my "basement time" working on totally cleaning/organizing the "other" side of the basement too.  This allowed me to accomplish a lot more than planned.

3) I have sold a few things.  I'd like to sell more.

4) I also focused on things in other rooms too.  I cleaned out and cleaned the entire kitchen from top to bottom including cleaning out some things we didn't use/need.  I cleaned the entire bathroom too and cleaned out a lot of stuff that has been stuck back in cupboards since we moved here :-)  Plus our bedroom got a nice deep clean and I totally cleaned out the playroom and that included getting some toys the boys have truly outgrown out of the bins!

Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak

Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak
adapted from Side Tracked Sarah

I have put my crock pot to good use this summer.  It's been a great way to keep the kitchen cooler yet have some great food.  We are big comfort food eaters so this recipe for Salisbury Steak fits the bill.  It was really yummy and I will make it again . . .in the middle of winter.  HA  It's really not a summer recipe ;-) 

• 2 Pounds lean ground beef
• 1 Envelope of Onion Soup Mix
• 1/2 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs (can use crushed crackers if you prefer)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 Cup milk
•  Flour (enough to dip your patties into)
• 2 Cans cream of mushroom soup (or use cream of chicken, like I did)
• 1 Package Au Jus mix

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together beef, onion  soup mix, bread crumbs, egg, and milk.
2. Form beef mixture into 8 patties.
3. Dredge the patties in flour to coat
4. Brown the patties on both sides (You don’t have to fully cook them if you don’t want to since they’ll be cooking for 4 or more hours in the slow cooker, too)
5. Place the browned patties into the slow cooker, layering them if you need to
6. In a medium bowl, prepare the Au Juis mixture according to package instructions.
7. Mix in both cans of cream soup
8. Pour the mixture over the patties.
9. Cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, or until beef is done.

 

Teaching Tuesdays - We're In!

I posted a few weeks ago about our change in direction for homeschool and I just wanted to post that we got into Connections Academy starting this fall.  We are now anxiously awaiting our shipment of school books and computer so I can get everything set up. 

I'm still "anxious" to see how the planning will work and how we will get our work done but I know once I figure it out it will be good.  I'm also curious to see if the boys like their work books as much as they liked what they did last year. 

This year is a true trial.  If I don't love this system or don't think it is working for the boys, I will go back to planning our own curriculum and do our own thing.

Make It Monday - A Wrap Station

I have a love/hate relationship with gift wrapping.  I have tried various ways to have a "gift wrap" station but through the years have learned that the one place I wrap gifts is in our bedroom.  We have a high bed that is the perfect height for wrapping plus it gives me plenty of room.  I came across this great idea on pinterest from A Casarella and actually had the supplies I needed to create it.

This was my old storage idea:

This actually has worked well - it's just a laundry basket that I kept in the basement and it held all of the gift bags, ribbons, bows and tissue paper.  It just wasn't convenient. Plus, I really needed the basket to use to put Josh's stuffed animals in so they weren't always strewn all over his bedroom floor. :-)

This is the new idea:

The whole cart idea is awesome.  The top drawer holds wrapping supplies like scissors and tape.  Drawer two holds tissue paper; drawer three is ribbons, bows and tags and the bottom drawer holds gift bags. This cart rolls nicely into my closet for perfect, easy storage.  I had already stored wrapping paper in the bedroom behind a nightstand where it fit perfectly so this just completes the whole concept.

A note on gift bags.  Years ago, gift bags cost so much money so we all saved them forever.  Shoot, I had gift bags that were from our wedding 14 years ago!  Now, though, gift bags can be purchased at the Dollar Store for, well, $1.00.  I kept the really big ones and a few really cute ones but otherwise, I plan on keeping my gift bag collection to a minimum. 

Things My Kids Say

* Nate is very much into snakes.  It's caused from seeing a snake while camping but still.  He was watching U-Tube videos and asked if he could get snake.  He promised to find one that was perfectly trained.  I informed him that as long as he lived in this house, he would not own a snake.  He then asked if he could get one when he moved out some days.  I told him yes.  Then, thoughtfully, he asked, "Mom, will you come visit me if I have a snake?"  I told him I would as long as it was in a cage.  Then he said, matter-of-factly, "Well, I had better buy a wife who likes snakes!"  I have no idea where he got the idea that you "buy" a wife.  :-)

Family Fun - Camping Trip #3

We headed out on our third camping trip just a couple of weeks ago and it was not without adventure . . .even before we left. 

On Sunday morning we were working on finishing up loading; the boys were playing on the back porch; I walked out the back door so the boys moved out of the way and, at that moment I heard the neighbors mower (the neighbor across the road, mind you) hit a rock and then out of the corner of my eye I saw something flying through the air seconds before I was nailed in the jaw by a rock.  Darryl said he had never heard me scream like I did and knew something was wrong. 

Can you see it?  The bruise and abrasion?  Not the best picture, I know, but wow, did that thing hurt.  Thankfully nothing was broken, it was just really sore, I had a slightly lose/tender tooth for a few days and the bruise got worse before it got better.  This delayed our department a bit as I had to lay down on the couch with a bag of ice on my face for about 30 minutes. 

We finally arrived at our camp site and got everything set up.  The site was awesome because it was right next to a creek that the boys could play in!

 Our homemade sidewalk paint was a huge hit once again but this time it turned into more.  The boys took the cornstarch and baking soda and made pies on the ground before adding water and food coloring. 

 This photo.  We had a mouse in the next campsite over and Darryl was attempting to get rid of it with our little broom.  Honestly, the mouse was sick - probably poisoned - but I still didn't want the thing near our campsite!

My creek loving boys!  They played in this creek all week long.  They found tadpoles, minnows (which Josh caught), and "Lobsters" (crawfish) and . .. lost one shoe.  Oops. 

I didn't take many photos.  So here are some other highlights:

1) Swimming- this campground had a fabulous pool.  The boys and I loved it - they both would swim to the deep end (10 feet deep) with their life jackets (and me not far from them). 
2) Bike Rides and Playgrounds - The boys love having a little freedom to ride their bikes and they loved riding to the pool.  They amazed me because the ride to the pool is up a big hill.  They road it like it was flat.  Crazy kids.  There were awesome play grounds to play at too!
3) The Dam . .. and the Snake - For months before we went, Nate had studied the map of the campground so he knew there was a Dam /Dead end road.  We took a drive and were able to walk out on the dam where, at one point, I screamed as a snake slithered away as Nate just about stepped on him! 
4) The Rain . . and Storms.  Oh my.  The daytime was great; we had very little rain during the day but the night time . . holy smokes.  The first night a storm rolled through with such intense rain that Darryl and I got up and were outside making sure our awning kept draining.  The second night a storm rolled through with lots of thunder and lightening and tons more rain.  Even though we woke up to a slightly flooded campsite each morning and ate a simple breakfast of cereal both mornings while waiting for the rain to stop, as soon as the sun came out, everything dried up! 
5) The Parents!  On Tuesday, my parents drove over to "take over" for the rest of the week and camp with the boys.  It was great getting to have lunch with them and hang out by the campfire for a bit before we had to leave.  The boys then had an absolute blast with them the rest of the week.

We still have one more planned camping trip at the end of August and are tentatively planning one trip near the end of September. Then, it will be time to clean it up in October and "pack it away" for winter. 

Weekly Menu - Another Simple Week

We are still taking part in our self-imposed spending freeze so we are eating at home.  One thing I was reminded of as we've gone through this for just one week so far is how easy it was to say "lets grab something to eat" prior to this challenge.  Last Saturday, for example, temps were in the 90's and I really did not want to cook.  I fought a war in my head and finally stuck to my guns and made a simple stove top dinner.  Doing this breaks the eat-out habit that is easy to fall into, that's for sure.

So, here's our plan for the coming week

Saturday - We are planning to go to the big Free Fair today with the boys.  So, in order to avoid buying fair food (which I LOVE but is SO expensive!) we will have a late brunch and I'm going to carry over a recipe from last week and make Sausage Crescent Squares, Hashbrowns, and Fruit.  Then, I plan on making french bread pizzas for dinner - I saw the idea on Pioneer Woman this past week with lots of different topping ideas :-)

Sunday - Crock pot Stuffed Meatballs with Spaghetti, Salad and Garlic bread. Super easy and it will be ready after church.  For dinner?  Honestly, we might have pizza again since I'm sure there will be leftover "stuff".  Or, corn dogs and chicken nuggets :-)

Monday - An easy meal since Darryl has Physical Therapy on Mondays and gets home late - BBQ Cups and Fries

Tuesday - I "found" a ham in the freezer (ok, I just forgot it was there) so I'm going to cook that up in the crock pot and make some cheesy potatoes despite having to turn the oven on to make them!  Then we'll have baked Parmesan mushrooms (Darryl and Josh love them) and Rolls.  I might have a salad too since I'm not a fan of mushrooms.

Wednesday - Another crock-pot meal - Crock pot Ham and Scalloped potatoes.  I saw the recipe on Pinterest and it happens to be from AllRecipes.com which I have had good success with when it comes eto recipes.  Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Bread. 

Thursday - Darryl always has a Dr's appointment and PT on Thursdays so I'm going to make something I like :-)  Mongolian Beef and Fried Rice.  I'll probably make Mac and Cheese for the boys :-)

Friday - Shrimp Tacos.  I had a Shrimp recipe planned a few weeks ago that I never made so I figured this would be a good time to make them.