Weekly Menu!

I'm still a little caught off guard by the fact that it is May.  Remember back in January?  You know, the month that lasted a year?  Well, once January was done, February-April flew by.  I have no doubt that May is not slowing down either!!

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - We have a busy day with state testing and meeting up with my oldest brother for a few minutes while he passes through town.  So, I'm keeping it simple - Pot Pies and Yeast Rolls

Saturday - Taco Baked Potatoes.  I have left over Taco Meat (and Chicken actually) so I'm going to throw baked potatoes into the crock for the day.  Then we can have a little baked potato bar with Taco Meat, Shredded Chicken, Butter, Sour Cream, Cheese and whatever is in the house.

Sunday - We will be gone all day.  Darryl is working; I have a Choir Concert and the boys and I have to leave at 1:00 pm since we have to be early.  The concert isn't until 4:00 so we will be hungry afterwards.  I'm kinda leaning towards using some Olive Garden gifts cards for dinner but it will depend on the time.

Monday - Monday nights are TKD nights so we are running in a couple of directions usually.  I try to keep dinner something that the boys and I can eat early and Darryl can eat when he gets home. French Toast Sticks and Sausage sounds good!

Tuesday - Darryl has requested Beef Tips and Noodles so that is what we are eating!

Wednesday - we don't have AWANA anymore but Darryl often still has practice.  We might do Taco Bell or I will cook something easy like Pizza at home.

Thursday - Ham and Scalloped Potatoes.  I have yet to make this - it's something I really love - great comfort food - but it seems like I always feel like it takes forever to make . . .when really, it doesn't!  I can throw it in the oven as we walk all the door for piano and it will be done when we get home!


And, here's a recap from last 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!  This went just as planned.  I look forward to this night all year - I always get a sloppy joe and a soft pretzel with cheese YUM! 

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. Darryl and I enjoyed lunch out at Red Lobster and dinner at Mega Coney Island - two favorites! 

Sunday - We will be with my mom and we are going out for lunch before we head for home.  My mom treated us to Culvers. 

Monday - Practice; TKD; it all keeps us hoping.  Sloppy Joes and Mac and Cheese makes everyone happy.I switched to Tacos.  Just as easy but everyone loves Tacos!  

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! I ended up heating up the leftover Broccoli Ham Cheese soup from last week and made Crescents.  It was a great dinner. 

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! The boys and I just had freezer food - Corn Dogs, a frozen dinner and Mac and Cheese (Ok, not from the freezer) Darryl had dinner with his dad as he often does on Wednesdays. 

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! I had thawed chicken in the fridge so I made oven BBQ Chicken, Amish Noodles, and Green Beans.  Not an ideal meal on Piano night since it meant a later dinner after piano but what can one do?  (I do cheat and bring the noodle water to boiling before we leave - the water then boils quickly after we get back home to cut down on the noodle time.  I also make sure the oven is preheating as we walk out the door so I can get the chicken in as soon as we get home! 

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!