Christmas Fun

This past weekend we had big plans.  Plans that had been on the calendar for months and months.  It was the weekend of Nate - the weekend to celebrate his birthday which is the 22nd.  But, we live where it snows and snow it did.  Friday night into Saturday followed by some freezing rain and well, all of our plans changed!

I had enough warning though that on Thursday night (So much time to plan HA!) I picked up the supplies to make some simple gingerbread houses and the supplies to make Christmas cookies.

 I found a great video tutorial on Facebook from The Penny Hoarder that showed how to make a gingerbread house for less than $5.00.  It was pretty close.  The base is a box of Gold Fish crackers (like a milk carton we all used to get in school) and then use Graham Crackers and Frosting to build the house.  I got most of the supplies at the dollar store so it was really in expensive.

For first timers, their houses turned out great.  I learned a few things this year and I think next year will be even better.

We also had fun watching some movies.  I had recorded Frozen when it aired on one of the channels a few weeks ago so we watched that and then we watched Elf.  The boys laughed and, quite honestly, are so enthralled with Santa right now that they loved the whole premise.

Finally, the boys cut out and decorated cookies today.  This was also a first.  I did take photos but, considering that both boys were in underwear while doing it (they are crazy) I decided not to share HA!

So, even though our plans have been delayed - we still ended up with a great weekend with lots of Christmas fun.

Ironically, just this past week I was feeling like we've been too busy this year with other things to really enjoy the fun Christmas things.  Last year I really worked hard to "protect" our Christmas and made sure we enjoyed the season, this year I felt like we were pushing to get through the basics and that was it.  So this weekend was really a great, unexpected thing and it reminded me of the importance of stopping and just enjoying life as a family.

On a side note, Nate will still get his day - we will be celebrate this coming week :-)

Christmas Is Coming

Christmas is coming.  Can you believe it?  

Isn't that pretty?  Nope, not my house . .. but it is beautiful!

I finished up the last of the shopping on Thursday night.  Most of the gift buying was done but I still needed to get the odds and ends like batteries, bows, and balloons for the birthday boy! 

So now, it's time to wrap, gather and pack.  I have my list and I keep checking it (twice, three times and more!) trying not to forget any detail.  (If only I could find that extra set of keys that I put somewhere that I could easily find but haven't seen them in two months!) 

Another snow storm is supposed to drop another 6-10 inches this weekend.  I love a good snow storm.  I picked up the supplies to make some simple "gingerbread" houses with graham crackers and supplies to decorate Christmas cookies.  

I don't have a menu to share - it's pretty simple the rest of the weekend and then, I don't have to cook for awhile.  We have wrapped up school and are on break already (well, I said . ."I'm done!" so we are on break HA!  We do have a few odds and ends to wrap up - hopefully tomorrow!) 

So, Christmas is coming.  Family time will be a-plenty and we are all looking forward to just that, for sure.  

Now, if only my 6 (almost 7) year old would STOP changing his Christmas list . . .. every five minutes! HA! 

Weekly Menu - It's been awhile

We've been busy.  That's all.  With the holiday, Christmas things kicking into gear and planning for the holidays, I've been hoppin'!  Plus we've been pushing hard with school to finish a little earlier than planned for Christmas break meaning I have less time to get stuff done during the day since I'm spending more time on school.  I finally took time today, Friday, to plan out our menu from now until we leave for Christmas so I thought I'd share it.

Friday (Today) - Chicken and Dumplings.  My kids are not fans of Chicken and Dumplings (the tradgedy!) so the kids get Chicken Nuggets and Fries.

Saturday: We are going to finish up all Christmas shopping Saturday afternoon with the boys and then grab something to eat in town.

Sunday: After church will be a quick meal of Chicken Noodle Soup (I always use the leftovers from Chicken and Dumplings to make my Chicken Noodle Soup!) and French Bread.  Later in the evening, everyone can choose from the fridge/freezer for dinner.

Monday: I'm going to try a new recipe - One Pan Balsamic Chicken and Veggies.  I'll serve it over some pasta with garlic bread.

Tuesday: Creamy Chicken Burritos, Rice, Beans, and Chips and Cheese

Wednesday:  Darryl has practice and, quite honestly, I don't like cooking when he isn't here HA! The boys and I have been grabbing a pizza from Little Ceasers the past few Wednesdays.  It's cheap and we all like it!

Thursday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Corn and Biscuits

Friday: Tonight we are meeting my mom to celebrate Nate's birthday with her.

Saturday:  And today we get to eat out at Nate's choice of resturant to celebrate his birthday!

Sunday: I have a concert and Darryl is working - the boys are going to my Mother-In-Laws after church and will eat lunch with her; I'll grab lunch on the go.  A busy day!

Monday:  - It's time for vacation :-)  Yeah!  No cooking for me for over a week!

Weekly Menu - It's holiday time!

This coming week is one of the busiest cooking weeks of the year!  Thanksgiving always means lots and lots of cooking but it is all fun.

Saturday - Taco Casserole, Salad, Pico and Guacamole.

Sunday - Stuffed Shells, Salad and Garlic Bread.  Then, in the evening, our church hosts the annual Thanksgiving dinner.  I'm taking Yeast Rolls with Cinnamon butter, Mini Boston Cream Pies and Taco Salad (because I love it and that's all that matters!)

Monday - Root Beer Pulled Pork, Daddy Fries, and Fruit

Tuesday - Lemon Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans, Biscuits

Wednesday - Homemade Pizza.  Yep.  As far from Thanksgiving as we can think of :-)  This is my own tradition.  We are going to eat so much great food over the next few days that I try to do something simple the night before

Thursday - It's Turkey Day!  In my house, we wil be enjoying some snacks throughout the morning and then enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with desserts later in the afternoon.  I don't mind making a lot of food because we will eat leftovers in various forms over the next few days.

Friday - Today is true leftover day.  We will pull all of the leftovers out for dinner and I will probably make some Mac and Cheese to keep the kids happy too :-)

I'm still here . ..

Where has November gone?  I'm not sure but it's going fast.  We've been running like crazy since mid-October and, ironically, I feel like that things are slowing down as the Holidays approach.

So, I'm still here, I just haven't had time to think about blog posts OR I haven't been around to write them between field trips, kids activities, and a weekend away scrapbooking PLUS a sick dog well, I have taken on a Dory mindset, "Just keep swiming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming!"  Yesterday, I actually accomplished a lot of things around the house . . .well, except school.  The munchkin had the day off school so I let the boys play  - and they got to play outside in short sleeves because it was so warm.  Meanwhile, I talked boxes and bins that have been sitting around since . . .well for near six months.

The holidays are coming so I'm hopeful I will actually have time to regroup and get back into writing again!

Weekly Menu

Life is busy right now.  It seems as if the hours are filled and trying to fit in everything during the day just isn't possible.  The main reason that this post gets done is simply that we have to eat and in order to eat I have to plan!  I find it hard to believe that we are into November and Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away.  For now, though, I'm just focused on the coming days.  We are still trying to eat a little healthier but I've made some gross meals (usually lunches) lately so I'm tweaking it some and making sure that dinner is something we really truly like - it makes eating rice cakes with peanut but for lunch a little easier ;-)

Saturday - Fish, CousCous, Broccoli and spaghetti (for the kids - fish is not in their wheelhouse of food HA!)

Sunday - Pork Tenderloin, Mac and Cheese and Carrots.

Monday - We have a field trip so we will be eating on the road as we head for home.

Tuesday - Amish Baked Chicken, Mashed potatoes, corn and biscuits

Wednesday - Homemade Beef and Barley Soup and Garlic Sticks

Thursday - Chicken Wings and Fries

Friday - Sloppy Joes and Chips

Saturday - Darryl is on his own as I will be busy scrapbooking!!

Weekly Menu - Changes!

It's weekly menu time but I'm going to highlight some changes.  As this posts, I'm still enjoying some wonderful non-cooking time and I'm loving my break but, as we get ready to get back into the groove in the coming weeks, Darryl and I want to focus on eating healthier and changing some of our habits.  We have young kids and realize that we need to work on being a little more healthy on a daily basis.  Now, don't get me wrong, we still enjoy the good comfort food and have some fun food but if we can make these changes it will be good!!

The other thing is my new grocery store night is . .. Friday.  I know.  That's so exciting.  I was trying to go to the store during the day with the kids just to keep the nights free but it was really impacting our school time so it's back to evening shopping and Friday is a free night right now.

Here's the plan :

Friday - Monday - We are still having fun :-)

Tuesday - Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Steamed Broccoli, Brown Rice and Salad.

Wednesday - Grilled Steak Salad, Raspberries, Minestrone Soup and whole wheat rolls

Thursday - Pampered Chicken, (a new recipe that I'll share if it is good!), Broccoli, Couscous, and grapes

Friday - Mustard Crustard Fish (I'll see what looks good at the store), Brown Rice, Honeydew Melon, Asparagus, and whole wheat rolls

Doesn't it all look yummy?  I think the biggest change is just eating "fresher" and no mixed dishes like cassaroles OR pasta!