Guess what I did!

So, last week I went into the kitchen and noticed that the light was on in the Microwave.  I proceeded to try and shut the door and discovered that the latch was broken.  I was not thrilled because my Microwave is only about 5 years old.  I did what we all do - I went to Google for help and came across this super how-to video!  It made me happy to see that I could fix it!

Then, on Thursday, I decided to try it.  It took a few tries to get the inside of the door off but I did it!  Then it took even more tries to get the latch put back together but guess what?

I DID IT!!! 

I fixed our Microwave! 

My kids thought I was crazy.  I went up to both of them and said, "Hey, say Mom, I think you are cool" (which they did) and I said, "Say why are you cool mom", which they did again and I yelled - BECAUSE I FIXED THE MICROWAVE!  HA!  Then Darryl called and I answered with, "Hello, this is your awesome, amazing wife who just fixed the microwave.  How are you?" HA!  I am so not a "fixer" - really I'm not - so to actually fix something was amazing! 

Vacation Favorites

There has been talk recently in our house of vacations.  Not that we have one planned but just that we would all like to take them!  That has me thinking about what we would do.  Usually, we just take a camping trip or two throughout the summer but, beyond that, we haven't done much.  Naturally finances are always the biggest concern but until the boys where old enough (which they are now) spending money on a trip just wasn't what we wanted to do!  They are much more fun now though so it would be fun to go.

So, what are we thinking?  Darryl and I would both love to go to the ocean.  Specifically to Gulf Shores Alabama.  Darryl picked this area out several years ago has the "perfect place" and it's on his wish list for us to go and get away.  I was just looking at rentals there last week and, going in the off season (January) is not too expensive but we run the risk of things being closed.  I might do some checking though, and see if I can figure out what activities are still open!  The kids toss out ideas like Canada (remember the days when we could just drive across the bridge in Detroit without any concerns?  Now we have to get our drivers licenses updated to even consider it!) but Darryl and I would like to take them to Gatlinburg!  We've been twice and just loved it.  I think the boys would love the cabin and the Smokies!  Not to mention the cool drives, hikes, and more!  I just saw too that they opened a Pedestrian Suspension Bridge which would be awesome to walk across!

I also thought I'd share some photos from some of our favorite trips :-)


We've been to Las Vegas twice and would go back again!  We love all of the sites and also to just go exploring.  We love to rent a convertible and just . . .well .. drive!

We've also been to Tennessee twice - Gatlinburg!  We rent a cabin in the mountains and just enjoy the Smokies and also all of the Touristy stuff!

Sunday Worship Still

Just such a pretty song.

Our Week in Photos #17

This week started with a birthday and ended with a special visit!  In the middle we had 4 days of state testing which meant early mornings and daily drives to Grand Rapids.  By Friday the boys and I were done. . .tired . .. ready for the weekend!

Saturday was my birthday!  We went to my moms and dropped the boys off.  Then Darryl and I headed to the Detroit area where we had a fabulous lunch at Red Lobster before heading Metropolitan Beach (where we got engaged).  It was a beautiful day to walk around and enjoy being outside.  We also stopped at Morley's Chocolate to pick up a few treats.  From there, we went to see a movie.  There really wasn't much out so we decided to see Shazam.  It was kinda fun but it was also creepy with science fiction twists in it.  Not something I would normally see but sometimes going outside the box is good too.  Finally, we stopped at Mega Coney Island for a late dinner.  During all of this I never took one photo HA!  Oops!

On Sunday, the boys gave me their gifts (they were in bed by the time we got home) before we headed to church.  After church, my mom took us out to dinner at Culvers before we went back to the house.  I took some photos after we got home at some favorite spots around my mom's yard since she is moving soon. 

 My dad built this little log cabin 25 years ago (Give or take) for the grand kids.  It was pretty important to take a few photos of the boys with it! 

 Monday was a normal school day before four days of testing.  On Tuesday-Friday the boys had state testing.  We had to leave home by 8:00 every day (we don't usually function until 9:00 HA!).  While one boy was taking a test the other boy and I had to sit out in the hotel lobby killing time.  I remember last year I said, "I should save money and we can stay at the hotel to make it easier. .. well, that's when I thought one had tests in the morning and one in the after but three nights at a hotel with meals out would have been too much!  HA! 

Friday brought a little more fun.  After Josh finished testing, we had about 40 minutes to kill before lunch so we just stayed at the hotel and played on Ipads before heading to Olive Garden for lunch.  We choose Olive Garden because I had a gift card which meant "free lunch" and free is always good.  After that, we had some more time to kill before a very special visit!  The boys opted for time at CatchAir.  So that's where we headed!

 This little boy attached himself to the boys as soon as we walked in.  He wouldn't leave them alone (which drove the boys nuts after about 20 minutes!) The photo above really shows how big Josh is getting.  Yikes!  He's growing up! 

 That's Nate coming down that slide! 

 And Josh at the top of the slide

 The little boy trying to convince the boys to play his games - which they wanted to play without him by this point! 

After we were done at Catch Air we drove to Panara where we met up with . . .. . my oldest brother Kel!  This was an extra special visit because they are only in the states from Brazil for a couple of weeks.  They happened to be "driving through" on the way to my nephews house so we all made some time to meet!  

 My brother and the boys.  

My sister-in-law was getting her hair cut so we went over to see her too.  (Do you notice that Josh is almost as tall as her!) 

My sister-in-law, Deb and the boys.  Wow, my kids are tall HA! 

It really was a week with fun things!  

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!!