A great read

I've seen links to this article posted several times over the last few days and finally read it.  Once I read it, I wanted to share it because it's really pretty good.  We as moms (and dads too) are busy building cathedrals every day.  One brick at a time.

Invisible Mother

Enjoy! 

April Goal Recap

Here's the recap of my April goals.  To be honest, after I wrote them, I don't think I ever looked at them again - it was a busy, fast month! 

So what is my main focus for April?  I'm struggled with this because I wasn't really sure what I wanted to focus on until it kind of hit me - planning. 

1) Plan our summer - I did this last year and it helped focus on some things.  I make calendars for June-August and try to put ideas on it for each week.  We don't do everything on the plan but it helps me not miss some things we'd like to really do. This is on my May list so obviously it didn't get done in April 
2) Make sure my Holiday binder is up to date which includes planning when to buy things like Halloween Costumes, birthday items ect. Summer flies by and then all of a sudden we need stuff - It helps to spread that stuff out. So, I pulled the binder out of the drawer on April 30 . . so I at least thought about it! 
See - keeping it simple :-)

As is always the case, I have a few other things I'd like to get done this month:

1) Get everything I need for Easter.  (Easter Outfits for the boys, Eggs for hiding in the yard, and the other things for their Easter Baskets) And, plan Easter Dinner. So, I thought I had this all together until one of my kids Easter outfits didn't fit . ..  on Easter morning!!  Ugg!  Trust me, I'm making some specific notes for future years to make sure that doesn't happen again. 

2) Put my new Shelves together and organize my scrapbooks on them. Done!!! 
3) Make a list of anything needed to complete those scrapbooks Not Done! 
4) Order March 2019 photos and 1 month of older photos (I can't think of what Month I'm on - but I have it written down) Done! 
5) Order 1 month of digital prints (there is a coupon that is good for this week so I'm hoping to get that done!) Not Done! 
6) Paint the dining room.  We figured if we are putting shelves together, we should paint so we don't have to move the shelves! Done!! 
7) The boys have multiple projects for school that are due by June.  My goal is to get them all done this month! Not Done! (I sense a pattern HA!) 
8) Dare I even list the basement?  Well, I'm going to but it's not high on the list this month.  It's my birthday month so I try to avoid things I don't like HA! Not Done! 
9) Do something fun for my birthday!  Darryl and I have talked about it a little but I haven't formulated a plan yet :-0 Done! 
10) Clean out and organize the play room. We are going to be doing some furniture rearranging in May thinks to getting some furniture from my mom when she moves.  In order to make that a smooth transition, I need to clean and organize :-) Not Done! 
11) Clean out my truck.  Winter was hard on it because I never cleaned it since it was so cold.  It's time to take it to the car wash and vacuum it out like crazy! Not Done - what?  it has STILL been winter!  
12) Clean the Master Bedroom.  It doesn't take long - just have to get rid of the piles!! I totally did this and then got more piles.  Until the footstool is out of the room (it goes with a chair I'm selling soon) I think it just attracts piles!!  

May Goals

I usually do a recap of my current month goals before I post the new goals but I'm doing it backwards this time!  No real reason other than this post is ready first :-) 

I'm doing my goals slightly differently for the month of May.  I have a very specific list of things that need to get done for a few reasons.  One, we are trying to finish up school and two, my mom is moving and we have some things that have to get done!

With that in mind these are my goals for the month of May

1.  Finish School.  And I mean everything.  Since my actual goal is May 15th I think getting it done by May 31st should be ok.
2. Clean the playroom. Sell the chair and ottoman that are in the playroom. Trash the broken recliner that is in the playroom.  Move our current couch into the playroom to make room for a new couch we are getting from my mom that won't fit in her new home.  (this has to be done by May 9th!)
3.  Clean the laundry room area.  We are being gifted a washer and dryer but, since I haven't had either in over a year, the laundry room has become a storage room.  I have to clean stuff up and out to make room for the delivery people to actually, well, deliver. (this has to be done by May 9th also!)
4.  Wash all of the upstairs rugs - I usually do this a few times a year and has summer approaches, it is time to get the winter dirt and salt out of the rugs.  I figure I should do this while I'm still making trips to the laundromat!
5. Finish the decor in the dining room - just have to have Darryl hang the last few things since he needs to add anchors to a few things (and, well, hang things straight!)
6. I have four simple scrapbook goals for this month - a) count how many page protectors I need to finish up some books that don't have them b) Sort the last batch of photos I order last month c) put the digital pages in the protectors I bought last month and add them to the album. d) Order April 2019 photos as well as the next month I'm on in 2014 (I think it's 2014 - I'll double check before I order! )  I'm trying to stay current on my photo order and also work on catching up on some other years - it makes scrapbooking easier when I actually have the photos!
7. Plan our summer - I did this last year and it really helped me focus on some specific things and make sure we didn't miss anything we really wanted to do !
8. Finally set up my dental cleaning - I was going to do this earlier but decided to wait until my mom was here so I have somewhere to drop the kids while I go to the dentist :-) 
9. Get Josh into the orthodontist.  We've had a couple of delays due to needing a baby tooth pulled; state testing coming up (I wanted him to focus on that and not on his teeth) to name a few things but he should be in braces by the end of the month.
10.  Plant some flowers.  Darryl and I were just talking about this - how we'd like to have some nice flowers/plants but neither one of us enjoy yard work HA!  I do have the goal of planting some sunflowers this year - they are easy and we all enjoy them - and maybe some wild flowers too.  Also, I have a deck planter I want to get some plants in as well.  I also saw a friend did some veggies in some pots . .. I might do that with some zucchini (yes she does hers in a pot) and some beans maybe?  Just some things I like to eat fresh. 

I think that's enough for this month - If I can accomplish the bulk of this list, it will be good! 

Sunday Worship - You Are Good

We attended a church about a month ago where Darryl's group was playing.  A father/daughter duo sang this song and it was just so simply pretty.  I'm hoping that maybe I can get Darryl to play it for me and I can sing it at church soon.

Our Week in Photos #16

What a fun week we had!  I always notice that from Mid-April until the end of May we tend to get busy.  The days get nicer, we have holidays, and year head things that keep us hopping!

On Saturday we enjoyed a couple of Easter Egg hunts - well, Nate and I did.  Josh decided on Saturday morning that he wasn't "feeling it mom" and didn't want to go.  I know he's getting a little older so that's ok but we did miss him! 

 Nate and all his "loot" - notice the wind blown hair?  It was WINDY at the egg hunts but at least it wasn't raining this year! 

On Saturday evening we decorated eggs.  This year I bought a big kit with lots of different things to use to decorate the eggs.  Both boys said they liked what we did all the other years better - which is making egg dye with koolaid and just dying them HA!  Lesson learned!  Keep it simple, sister! 

Sunday brought Easter!  We always start our day with church - the baskets "magically" appear after we go to church and are waiting once we get home. 

 After dinner I managed to get a few smiles from the boys for pictures.  

 Josh

 Nate

And then we had the annual Easter Egg hunt at home - it's amazing how fast that bunny hides the eggs.  They boys and their bags HA! 

On Monday the boys had haircuts, we ate lunch out and ran a few errands.  

 Harley - we love him dearly :-) 

 Nate and his friends hanging out on a beautiful afternoon. 

 Josh hanging out with his friends on the xbox. 

 You can't see it well but there are buds on my willow tree which is the sure sign of spring (yet as I write that, we have a winter weather advisory for Saturday night HA!) 

Wednesday night were AWANA awards at church.  Josh got to be the flag bearer. 

 Nate with his AWARD for finishing his book.  He also finished all of the silver sections which is above and beyond what is done in club. 

 Josh holding his award.  He also finished his book and the silver sections. 

 After the ceremony, the kids all played some of their AWANA games for the parents to see. 

On Thursday we met friends at the local park - it was a beautiful day! 

Finally, on Friday night we attended the AWANA fair.  This is such a great night of games and food where the kids get to earn tickets to "buy" things at the store.  The boys had so much fun.  Because they completed their books and the silver sections they got a free pass which means they could play as many games as they wanted and get as much food as they wanted without needing to worry about "points".  It's a privilege to earn that! 

Such a great week! 

Weekly Menu

Can you believe that we are upon the month of May???  Wow!  I feel like I need to make up a menu for June, July, and August with about 14 meals and just rotate them to keep life simple.  But I don't know if I can really do that and stick to it!  I feel like we've really gotten stuck deep into dinner/eating ruts due to schedules and I'd like to get back out of that but I haven't quite figured out how to make that happen yet. 

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - There is a fair at church tonight which includes free food (good food too!) so we will eat something light at home (sandwiches) but get things like Soft Pretzals, Sloppy Joes and Ice Cream at church!

Saturday - It's my Birthday!  We are driving over to my mom's for the weekend.  After dropping the boys off, Darryl and I are taking off for the day.

Sunday - We will be with my mom and we are going out for lunch before we head for home. 

Monday - Practice; TKD; it all keeps us hoping.  Sloppy Joes and Mac and Cheese makes everyone happy.

Tuesday - Chicken Almondine and Green Beans.  I had this on the menu a few weeks ago but didn't make it.  Since I have all of the supplies, we will eat it tonight!

Wednesday - We have nothing tonight.  No AWANA, no band practice . .just family!  I haven't made stromboli in awhile so I think that's what we will do!

Thursday - Tacos.  With Piano right in the middle of the dinner hour, something that I can have done before we leave is good.  Darryl can eat when he gets home; we can eat when we get home! 

Here's a recap from last week:

Friday - Tacos; That's exactly what we had!!

Saturday - KFC with my mom; We switched to Pizza Hut but still ate out :-)

Sunday - Easter Dinner - of course, that's what we ate

Monday - Scalloped Potatoes and Ham; I didn't feel like making it so we just ate leftovers!

Tuesday - Broccoli Cheese Soup; I made baked potatoes and we had other leftovers.

Wednesday - BBQ Cups and Fries; We had BBQ Cups and Mac and Cheese

Thursday - Swiss Steak - NOPE!  I made the Broccoli Cheese Soup instead!

Easter Dinner

I know I already posted about our Easter but I wanted to share our actual Easter dinner menu. 

Now, first up, let me share a little history on my take on Easter Dinner.  Four or five years ago, I said I would never cook Easter Dinner again.  Easter Sunday is such a jam packed day from arriving early at church for breakfast (we didn't go this year) or Choir practice (which I did go to this year), Easter baskets, Easter Egg Hunts and Easter pictures!  It's just crazy.  Well, that "one" year, we came home and I spent a good hour getting dinner on the table and then I spent a good hour or more cleaning up dinner.  I finally sat down that day at about 6:00 at night and it was not a good day for me.  Since then, I stuck to my guns and haven't really cooked.  A couple of years we went to my in-laws but they years at home we either went to KFC and got food to go or I bought everything premade!  Well, I did cook this year and it wasn't as bad because my mom did 95% of the clean up HA!  BUT I told Darryl, I won't cook it again!  Next year we are going back to our unofficial tradition of getting KFC for dinner! 

Anyway, this is what was on our menu this year!

Traditional Ham - I am able to get a small enough ham for our little family that I just stick it in the crock pot on low for about 3 hours - just enough to warm it through.

Cheesy Potatoes

These are a family favorite in our house - I'll have to share the recipe soon!

Ken's Fruit Salad

This recipe is in honor of my brother - he is allergic to alot of fruits so my sister-in-law created this using just fruits he can eat and we all love it!

Pineapple Jello Salad

Yum!  I had this at a graduation openhouse and just loved it so I got the recipe (which I will also have to share!)  It is just so good. 

Baked Beans - another great recipe we all love

Roasted Carrots

And for dessert I make a Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake.  It was something new; it was good but considering the fact that there is still 3/4 of it in my fridge, I don't think it was great.

Some years I have considered doing brunch - a egg casserole, cheesy potatoes, fruit, and some sort of pastry but I don't usually think about that option until the night before HA!