November Goals

 

As we come into November, I like to slow down a little and focus on the things most important.  I love the Holidays and have learned from my past mistakes that if I over plan, it's not fun.  In both November and December I try to wrap up my year long goals while taking time to enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the holidays.  

Here are my goals for November.  

1. Scrapbooking - 1) Finish my nieces book (a broken record) but this time it will be done.  As I mentioned in a previous post, if I need to I'm going to change the "story" of the book so I can finish it.  2) Complete 2 pages a day scrapbooking (so 60 pages total)  3) File all of the photos I have on hand right now and, once those are filed, order the April photos 4) The Spines - my goal this month is to focus on the top shelf of my scrapbooking shelf and make sure the albums all have page protectors and decide if I'm flipping any of the album covers for others.  

2. Reading - 1) Just read.  There is nothing better then curling up with a book.  I have a lot on my kindle :-)  2) Write my reading goal for 2021

3. Cleaning - 1) The kids bedrooms.  First up is Josh's stuff.  I plan to take a weekend (or 2 if needed) and just spend hours sorting and cleaning out (with Josh's help - he says he wants to get rid of TONS of stuff so we will see!).  Once that room is done, we will work on Nate's stuff.  2) With holidays coming I just want to take time and just simply clean.  I'm hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas this year so making sure everything is nice and neat is keay.  

4. Family - Very simply, Thanksgiving.  That is our focus this month.

5. Homeschool - Our goal is just to continue on track.  Both kids are going to finish some, if not all, lessons by Christmas as long as we keep going.  I also want to find some supplemental things for them to do when they are done until the semester begins in January (fun but educational)

6. Holiday PLanning - 1) Decorate outside for Christmas.  I usually watch the weather and pick a "warm" weekend day to do it all even if it is the beginning of November!! 2) Plan Thanksgiving - the food, the decorations, and all that fun stuff!  3) Get our Grinch calendar gifts-- keeping it super simple! 4) Make my gift plan for the kids so I know what to order and when 5) Plan our December so we do what is important to us first. 

7. The Basement - This is the bonus space.  If I can find time to do 20 minute sessions in the space, I will and if not, I won't. 

8. Piano - Just finding a way to get the kids through some lessons

9) Photography - Time to read my new book once section at a time and practice :-) 

10) Spiritual - Complete my Thanksgiving Bible Studies 

11) Misc - 1) Clean up the yard and fill in the holes 2) Have Josh finish his artwork from last semester  3) Pick out camping dates for next year so I'm ready to reserve them on time  4) I have an idea brewing for a vacation next summer but in order for it to happen I have to plan now and begin saving so my goal is to get it all planned so I can start saving for it :-)  5) Clean out the vehicles and set up my new organizing bins in each one (for lysol, wipes, extra bags, etc) 6) Make sure my November flag is hung up :-)  7 I cleaned the garage last month but there are 4 bins of "donations" that I put out there like 5 years ago HA!  While pulling them down to decide what to do with them, I found a basket and two bins I had been looking for for quite awhile so I've decided I need to go through those bins before I donate them!  

Halloween Costumes

 I think it is always fun to look back through the years at Josh and Nate's Halloween Costumes!  

Josh 2009

Josh 2010

Nate 2010

Josh 2011

Nate 2011

Josh 2012

Nate 2012

Josh 2013

Nate 2013

Nate and Josh 2014

Josh 2015

Nate 2015

Josh 2016

Nate 2016

Nate and Josh 2017

Nate and Josh 2018

Josh and Nate 2019

Nate (costume #1) 2020

Nate (costume #2) 2020

Josh 2020

Weekly Worship - The Father's House (Studio Version) - Cory Asbury

Cory Asbury creates some great music and this one does not disappoint.  Enjoy! 

2020 Weekly Photos #42

 Check out what we did this week! 

Saturday - We celebrated Josh!  For birthdays, they get to pick to restaurants and two activities to do and we spend the day celebrating them. 

Our first stop was Domino's pizza.  We really don't have a great take out pizza place and we all love Domino's so this was perfect.  We picked it up at the drive thru window and sat in the car in the parking lot and ate.  We laughed a lot :-)  

After lunch we headed to TreeRunner Adventure Park where Josh and Nate "hung from the trees".  It is a ropes course hung high up in the trees.  They were all strapped in and ready to go!  Nate did one course.  Josh did two.  Josh just loved it and wants to come again.  

Josh even went on the super big Zip line.  He so loved the whole thing and was so confident with every step along the way. 

After hanging out for almost 3 hours outside, we were ready for a treat so we picked up some frappes before heading to our next adveneture. 

Josh's second activity of choice was Sky Zone.  Now, Sky Zone just opened two weeks ago - he was very happy.  We are pretty conservative with doing inside things so this was a stretch.  I honestly did not think it would be quite as busy as it was (and the manager told me the same thing when I commented that it seemed like it was doing well!) but that's ok,  The kids had a great time jumping for 90 minutes and just added more adventure to their day.  Masks and hand sanitizer were used when needed so what else can you do, right? 

Now, Josh told me he wanted real burgers for dinner - not kid burgers but burgers adults would eat.  We talked about Red Robin but didn't really want to eat inside plus we knew the wait would be long on a Saturday night.  Then I remmebered that my brother Jeff said he loves Five Guys Burgers.  I told that to Josh and he said, "Well, Uncle Jeff is an adult so that should be fine." HA!  Let me tell you something . .. . best burger ever.  For real.  And the fires?  Holy Moly - they were "Fair Fries" - the kind you get at the fair!!  Good thing there isn't a five guys closer or I might have to get a burger more often!! 

And yes, we sat outside and ate - it was 32 degrees HA!  We were thankful for this out door picnic area by the burger joint because it would have been SUPER messy trying to eat the amazing burgers in the truck!! 

He was one happy kids after "his" day! I love when the day is a success! 

Sunday was a pretty low key day after our busy day on Saturday.  We did some cleaning/pick  up around the house and enjoyed watching some amazing football games.  (I love down to the wire wins!) 

Monday  - This week brought changes.  Our friends have moved to two weeks of virtual learning so they are here all day.  This time around they actually have lessons they have to attend starting at 8:00.  So, now, my school day begins at 8:00 and goes to 3:00!!!  It actually is not bad - I don't have to do much for the other two except make sure they stay on task when their teachers are teaching via Google Classroom. 

Tuesday - More school.  Nate worked on a portfolio (a project) today. 

He made dough.  The project was on determining whether a chemical reaction happens.  His teacher made Putty on the live lesson since most kids do not have Borax sitting around at home but they made dough on their own.  Nate loves experiments and he is really good at putting his thoughts into words when it comes to explaining the process so he really excels at things like this.  

Wednesday - Just a school day.  We had the mid-week blahs and it was hard to get through the day but we all did it.  There is alot of schooling going on with 4 kids on computers most of the day!  

Thursday - Guess what we did today?  School HA!  Josh and Nate worked hard all day and successfully finished all of their schooling for the week so Friday is a free day.  This is especially a big deal because our friends still have to do school tomorrow.  

Friday - Our Halloween Festivities began! 

Nate had a special live lesson today and got to wear his costume.  He had to give three clues to his classmates and once they guessed, he got to share his web cam and show of his costume.  Activities like this fill his bucket! 

Once Darryl got home, we headed into the next town over for our normal fast food dinner out before going to a drive through trunk or treat at a church.  For this event, Josh was a referee and Nate, a Ketchup Bottle (yes, he has two costumes HA!)  Love these costumes! 

Finally, a friend shared an address of a great Halloween display which wasn't far from where we were so made the extra 10 minute drive and it did not disappoint.  

It was a great week! 

It's Halloween!

 Wow, it's Halloween.  Scary, isn't it?  (See what I did there?!)  October has seemed like a super long month for some odd reason.  I mean, it's not like we didn't actually do things this month because we did!  More then we normally do yet I feel like it will never end!  

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - It's our "eating out" night.  We are going to a drive-through trunk-or-treat too! 

Saturday - Halloween!!  We normally go to my mom's for dinner which is still the plan before we "hit the town" for candy! 

Sunday - Homemade Subs - sub buns, meat, cheese, and veggies!  plus chips and salsa/Mexican dip.  Later, for dinner we will have homemade pizza 

Monday - Roast, Veggies, and Noodles (Yum!) 

Tuesday- Crock Pot Fajitas and Salad (Today is voting day so I wanted an easy dinner!) 

Wednesday - Pork Chops, Parsley Potatoes and Peas (Not my favorite but Darryl likes them!)

Thursday - Coconut Chicken, crash potatoes, and mixed veggies 

October Goal Recap

Quite Honestly, I'm not even sure I should do this post.  As I've said in other posts, school is all consuming right now.  Or maybe I'm making it the top priority this year since we have nothing else going - no field trips or co-op -- just school.  Right now, we are on track to finish most subjects before Christmas giving us a nice long break!  But, I will still share this because it helps me track what I do and don't get done!  

 

1. Scrapbooking - This is my most fun goal yet it is the one that I usually accomplish the least on each month.  Here's my goals: 1) Finish my nieces book.   I just got a new printer so I can finish printing letters and get the book to her.  2) Order April Photos - 2011, 2017, 2018, 2020.  3) File the photos I ordered last month by date so they are ready to scrapbook 4) I'm working on shifting some albums a little based on album color to make them work better.  So, my goal this month is to start with 2001 (the year we got married) and put albums into the correct colors (this is hard to explain).  I also want to make sure that page protectors are on everything and, depending on the year, add the memorabilia to those albums.  Plus, order imprinted spines for at least 5 albums.  This goal is one of those where I'm just going to go one or two yers at a time as I organize so lets see how far I get this month. 1) the graduation book is not done.  I'm still waiting on some letters.  If I don't get them soon, I'm going to finish it as is and send it just to finish it by year end!  2) I haven't ordered April photos but I have uploaded them and sorted them.  I decided to wait to order because I have to sets to still sort and store.  I'm going to wait to order until I catch up on that first. 3) I have not filed the photos I ordered yet!  4) I have not started with the album shift/spine orders.  

2. Reading - I truly love to read.  I love curling up with a good book and a foo foo coffee (I need to put a kurieg on my Christmas list so I can enjoy my foo foo coffee again!) and reading the afternoon away!  Anyway, I used to be much better and setting my reading list goal for the year and for the month and actually accomplishing it!  Well, that's the 1st part of the goal 1) Set my reading goal for 2021 - How many books I want to read, what non-fiction books to read, etc. which means doing some research on some topics I want to study/learn more about.  2) Read - read every day.  This really isn't a hard goal because I usually kick back after my extra kids leave and read for 30 minutes or so until it's time to make dinner  3)Read 1 non-fiction book this month!!1) I sitll need to set my reading goal for 2021 2) I did Read!!  3) But I did not read a non-fiction book!!

3) Cleaning - Last month I created a great calendar to follow to accomplish my goals and it did work - it at least helped me focus.  It broke down the living room and basement into 20 minute (or so) tasks each day.  This month the room of choice is Josh and Nate's bedroom.  It is crowded since we took the bunk beds apart. It's time to be "mean" (ha - not really, I am so not that mom!) and go through all the bins, games, boxes, etc. and clear stuff out.  I'd love to be able to get even a shelf or two out of the room to open it up.  I actually have high hopes of cleaning off a plastic storage shelf and being able to move it back to the basement!  Oh brother.  This did not go well.  I cleaned out the boys closet but that is as far as I got!  I realized that I need a couple of good weekends to accomplish this instead of 20 minutes a day so I decided to push it to November.  I started on the master and got 1 day of cleaning in and never got back! Oh well!  I just haven't had the time during the day to focus on the deep cleaning projects. 

4) Family - This month is Josh's birthday so we will focus on that this month.  Darryl and I also have a weekend away planned.  I also need to go through the boys clothes with them and clean out anything they don't want or have outgrown.  (this kind of goes along with cleaning their room).  Once done with that, I will need to get them some pants/long sleeves.  This is all done! 

5) Homeschool - My only goal in October is to get into our schedule and to finish the month on schedule or ahead of schedule.  Nate has a month portfolio that is due by January - we've set a goal to finish it in October so it's done.  We are right on track and Nate's MATH portfolio is about half done.  

6) Holiday Journal/Planning - It's REALLY time to get this journal out and look at Thanksgiving plans.  I'm hosting this year so I want to start grocery shopping for some things early.  It's also time to start thinking about Christmas.  I actually just ordered a few stocking stuffers.  I need Christmas lists from both Josh and Nate.  I'd like to be at least started by the end of the month.  Finally, I just ordered Nate's Halloween Costume but Josh is undecided so I still need to get his.  Finally, I want to make a plan for taking the boys shopping for their people.  I feel like that is always a rushed pressure and I would instead like that to be done early this year. I've read through my Journal, I'm making the menu for Thanksgiving.  We are all working on Christmas lists.  Josh has his costume.  

7) The Basement - I'm continuing on with my calendar plan - 20 minutes a day or organizing.  I'm transferring everything into see through containers and also transferring everything into easier to carry containers instead of HUGE heavy containers!  I spent about 40 minutes in the basement - I made great progress but have a long ways to go 

8) Piano - This kind of goes with homeschooling - Josh and Nate will start having "seatwork" time which will include piano practice.  I also want to get the piano tuned this month.  I miss our weekly lessons which gave a reason to practice - we are struggling to get this back into the routine! 

9) Photography - Time to read my new book once section at a time and practice :-) Nope! 

10) Spiritual - Read my daily devotional Nope! 

11) Misc - 1) Clean up the yard and fill in the holes 2) Have Josh finish his artwork from last semester 3) Get new tires on Darryl's vehicle Done!  4) Take the AC units out of the windows (I'm glad I put this off - I was still running them at the end of September!) Done! 5) Pick out camping dates for next year so I'm ready to reserve them on time  6) Organize the bathroom cupboard - it just needs to be done and can't wait for the month I deep clean the bathroom!  Done! 7) I have an idea brewing for a vacation next summer but in order for it to happen I have to plan now and begin saving so my goal is to get it all planned so I can start saving for it :-)  8) Clean out the vehicles and set up my new organizing bins in each one (for lysol, wipes, extra bags, etc) 9) Make sure my October flag is hung up :-)  Done! 10) I cleaned the garage last month but there are 4 bins of "donations" that I put out there like 5 years ago HA!  While pulling them down to decide what to do with them, I found a basket and two bins I had been looking for for quite awhile so I've decided I need to go through those bins before I donate them!  

What we are eating - Ham and Cheese Crescent Breakfast Bake

 It's been a bit since I've posted a recipe but this week I made something that was actually really good!  

This is Ham and Cheese Crescent Breakfast Bake and it was surprisingly good.  I love to have breakfast for dinner but was tired of all of our favorites.  I was doubting this one because, in the past, anytime I've added liquid (the eggs in this case) to crescent rolls to bake, the rolls never quite bake but are all spongy.  That was not the case this time.  The crescent rolls were cooked perfectly and the egg just filled in all the cracks.  The filling was perfect too.  I cut this recipe in half, using only 1 regular size tube of rolls, and I still had plenty of filling left.  

I served the breakfast bake with sausage balls (which Darryl said was the perfect combination) and fresh fruit and dip.  I also baked some scones.  

This recipe is a true "keeper".  It would be a great dish to take to a brunch or a ladies event.  

You can find the printable version of the recipe over at Plain Chicken