Family Fun - A Field Trip

On December 18th, we had the opportunity to attend a field trip with our on-line homeschool group.  I was excited to surprise the boys with the fact that Papa and Nana were coming too . . .but that backfired on me a little bit as you will see in the photos below . . .

 After a super warm December, some colder weather arrived just in time for our mostly outdoor field trip!  Thankfully we all had warm stuff to wear and it really wasn't that cold .

 Josh is in the back . . .see that scarf on his face?  He never took it off and would not look at Papa and Nana because I was ruining his surprise of his lost tooth.  He did not want them to know he lost a tooth until Christmas when he could give it as a gift.  I'm thankful my parents understand his sometimes crazy ways and just enjoyed being with us that day even if Josh refused to look at them.

Our first stop on the field trip was a one room school house where the boys got to make a Christmas decoration for the tree and learn about school in the "old times".

 Another stop was to see Santa after riding the Santa Train.  Of course, Josh had no fear . . .. and neither did my Mother HA! 

 There was also some animals to see (but not pet . . .a couple of kids ignored the "don't put your hands in teh cage" and got bit by the rabbits and had to go to the hospital for stitches!)

At least Nate showed his teeth :-)

We had a great time and then got to drive home in a blizzard.  For real.  Total white out conditions but we made it home and all was good!

Weekly Menu

I did finally come up with a meal plan for this past week.  Ironically, the days that caused me the biggest concern last week when I went to the store didn't even happen!  The snow storm shut things down.  We didn't go on our field trip nor did I have my meeting.  Plus we did not have AWANA since the schools were closed on Wednesday.

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Saturday - We enjoy going out on Saturday.  Whether we order pizza or just go out, I don't plan on cooking

Sunday - We are heading to my parents to see my oldest brother and meet my great-nephew :-)

Monday - The boys still have gymnastics and I have practice.  This makes me for a tough dinner time!  I think I'll plan tacos because everyone can eat at their own time and it's an easy thing for Darryl to serve to the boys.

Tuesday - Roast Sticky Chicken, roasted potatoes, broccoli, and rolls

Wednesday - Chicken and Bacon Pasta, Salad, Garlic Bread

Thursday - IKEA Swedish meatballs, noodles, and green beans

Friday - Chick-fil-lay Sandwhiches, Cole Slaw and Fries

February Goal Recap

I love much of my motivation in February.  I also never once looked at my goal sheet until the other night when I worked on writing this post and realized how much I completely forgot about doing!

February 2016 Goals

** I did keep up with our monthly savings jars for both us and the kids
** I did track Darryl's income daily]
** I did finally start the deep clean in the Master Bedroom and got the closet area cleaned up  
** I did plan out our summer activties
** I have kept my fingernails and toenails nicely painted :-) 
** I did send a small gift to each of the new babies 
** I've worked on making our Sundays better by cleaning stuff up on Saturday night
** Darryl's birthday was a huge success with lots of fun. 
**I did purchase new rainboots for the kids
** Josh is signed up for baseball

As march is starting, though, I feel like I'm getting a little bit of that motivation back so I'm hoping to be more successful on my goals in the coming month. :-) 

 

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What We Are Eating - Baked Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Baked Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Adapted from Budget Bytes

I've been playing around with some different recipes lately and came across this recipe for chicken thighs.  We love chicken thighs plus they are CHEAP so that's a great thing!  This was an easy recipe to put together and it was super tasty. A few notes: 1) I seldom if ever use fresh ginger in any recipe and did not use it in this one 2) White vinegar can be substituted for Rice vinegar - which is what I do almost every single time!

 

Ingredients

• 1 (15 oz.) can pineapple chunks in juice
• 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1½ Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp corn starch
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1¼ lb.)
• 3 whole green onions, slice
• 4 cups cooked rice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Drain the pineapple juice from the can to use in the sauce (it should be about ¾ cup juice total). Save the pineapple chunks for later. Combine the pineapple juice, grated ginger, minced garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and cornstarch in a small sauce pot. Stir until everything is well combined and the cornstarch is dissolved. Cook the mixture over medium heat until it begins to boil and becomes thick and glossy. Turn the burner off and add the pineapple chunks to the sauce.
2. Coat a small casserole dish with non-stick spray. Arrange the chicken thighs in the dish so that they are not overlapping. Pour the pineapple teriyaki sauce over the chicken, allowing some to get under the chicken pieces.
3. Bake the chicken in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Top the chicken with the sliced green onions. To serve, scoop one chicken thigh plus pineapple pieces and sauce over a bowl of cooked rice.

 

Family Fun - The Start of Nate's Birthday

This is the first year in several that Nate and/or I have not been so ill that we skipped his birthday.  (The poor kid!)  This year we were healthy and really enjoyed celebrating this wonderful 6 year old!

We started Nate's celebration week with a birthday party with the Munchkin and Princess.  The 17th was the last day they would both be at the house so we celebrated with cake and gifts. 

 The boys love getting to decorate their own cake for their "friend party".  Nate helped me make the cake - he picked out a carrot cake.  Which was just weird since this kid is so picky and won't eat any veggies.  Yet, he loves carrot cake.  And yes, the more sprinkles the better!

 Oh my, the candles.  He put 60 candles on his cake because, well, he is six.  Some of the candles were almost burned out by the time I got the last one lit!

 Time for gifts from his friends! 

He got a couple of matchbox cars and a rocket.  It was one that shot in the air with a foot pump.  We only lost it behind the desk once ;-)

I'm so thankful that he got to finally enjoy a fun start to his birthday! 

Weekly Menu

So, the truth.  We've ate out a lot this past week - some planned; some not.  It started last Friday where my husband understand what a busy day I had and stopped to pick up some Fish and Chips at  a Fry Food take out place.  Saturday we ate at church; Sunday we ate out for Darryl's birthday; Monday night we ate out at after Gymnastics and Tuesday we grabbed fast food inbetween picking the truck up at the shop and running some errands.  Wednesday night I made dinner but Darryl didn't get home until almost 9:00 so he had already eaten.  Thursday night we ordered pizza thanks to a great promo from the local pizza place.  Get this - I cooked on Friday.  The chicken was raw so we couldn't eat it OR the veggies I had roasted in the same pan and then placed the raw, bloody chicken on top of.  I have no idea why it didn't cook either - it was in the oven at a high temp and I cooked it 15 minutes longer than the recipe called for UUUGG!

It gets better, I went to the grocery store on Friday but as I was driving I realized that I did not really look at the calendar before writing the menu/grocery list.  For one, I had planned corn dogs for Monday but realized we ate them for lunch on Thursday when everyone was home with a snow day.  I also forgot that we have a field trip on Tuesday AND I have a meeting that evening so I really need a crock pot meal.  Needless to say, I crossed off half the list and only bought what I need for Saturday and Sunday; I'll regroup based on what is in the freezer/cupboards and make a second run to the store on Sunday.  Or maybe we'll just eat out all week again ;-) HA!

Saturday - Today is a family birthday party so I just have to supply some party food - nothing big.  Keeping it simple.  I'm in charge of the cake and then I'm going to bring some Mexican Dip/Chips too.

Sunday - Lunch at church today so I'm just supplying green beans and a salad.  I'm not sure what we'll do for dinner. 

Monday-Friday - right now, I have no idea.  Some weeks! 

Family Fun - Family Christmas #1

One of our priorities during Christmas is family.  This includes our little family and our extended family  It is amazing how short the month of December is when you try to fit everything into that one month.  I learned a few years ago to take time in October, yes, October, and plan our holiday month to ensure that we do the traditions we love as a family and also have time to enjoy our other family too.

This year, one of our priorities was to visit my father-in-law and help him decorate for Christmas.  He lives alone so we knew that without a reason to put up a tree, he wouldn't do it.  My sister-in-law and her family came as well and this was a pretty special day.  This was the first time my Father-in-law had both of his kids and all of his grandkids over for Christmas in . .well, ever.  What a special day for him!  My sister-in-law and I bought all of the food to have a full Christmas Dinner (Turkey, Ham, Cheesy Potatoes, Salads, Veggies, Rolls and more)

 The boys love playing games with Aunt Kelly AND she loves playing with them which is awesome.

 Darryl and our nephew Levi had time to play guitar together - here Darryl is showing Levi some new things on the guitar.

 Good thing Levi was around - he had to go up in the attic in the garage and dig out the tree HA! 

 Where's Levi?

 There he is!

The boys got to decorate the tree - which they loved :-)