Weekly Menu

 This next week is one of the most normal, average weeks we've had in a long time.  There is nothing extra outside of the 100% normal activities!  

Well, I went down a rabbit hole.  I clicked on the "recipes" link at the bottom of my blog which links to any recipes I've tagged and just started scrolling HA!  Well, first I realized I make a lot of the same food I've always made which must mean we like it and I also realized I've forgotten about a lot of things I've made before!  Maybe that is why I stopped posting recipes every week - I don't make much new anymore!  Anyway, I'm going to add a few things to my menu this week that I've made before and see if we like them. I'll include links for those recipes that are posted on here on the blog. 

Friday - Amish Baked Chicken, Noodles, Green Beans, and Crescent Rolls

Saturday - dinner at my mom's

Sunday - It's Mother's Day!  Our church hosts a great Mother's Day Breakfast so we push Mother's Day dinner a little later.  The past few years I have enjoyed hosting for my mom - we have burgers on the grill, fried zucchini, and our favorite Amish Macaroni Salad.  Plus dessert! 

Monday - Meatball Soup and Crescents.  (I made this a few weeks ago - one of my favorite soups - but used premade meatballs and accidently used beef broth instead of chicken broth and it totally changed the flavor and I was very disappointed HA!  So I NEEDED to make it again because it is normally so very good!) 

Tuesday -  Tacos and Sour Cream Rice  When I originally post this I said that I liked that it was a Mexican style rice that was not tomato based.  I also said we really liked it so we shall see! 

Wednesday - This is youth group night :-)  

Thursday - Deep Dish Pizza I gave this recipe a great review so hopefully it is good!  The only difference between the last time I made it and now?  Last time I made one pizza - this time I will need to make two HA!  I'll make a salad to go along with the pizza as well. 

I found quite a few great ideas I want to "re-try" including some of my favorite summer drinks and some great dessert ideas!  

April Goals Recap

April was much more successful then the past few months.  It got derailed a little near the end when I ended up sick again for a but but overall I felt like I was able to accomplish alot. 

Here's my plan for April:  

1. Start fresh with the Declutter 365 for April.  Complete all of the April tasks then go back to Jan-March and finish up items from those months (Not every item on every day pertains to my home so it gives me time to "maybe" catch up.). Then also work towards the Flylady Declutter plan with doing daily missions and spending 15 minutes a day in the weekly zone decluttering and/or deep cleaning. (If decluttering is done, then deep clean) I'm not sure why it is so hard to accomplish these two things but I never even got to these once this month! 

2. Deep clean the Laundry Room.  Done! (and the washer is fixed too!) 

3. Deep clean the garage (hoping for more consistent decent weather to empty it, clean it, and organize it for summer) 

4. Finish the odds and ends in Josh's room.  (We had busy weekends in March - April looks a little more open!) 

5. Clean up the yard - get rid of junk that accumulates thanks to the winds of winter, clean up flower bed, spray weed killer where needed, and set up the yard ornaments. 

6. Replace lightbulbs Done! 

7. Go on a Date with Darryl (this is an every month goal!) Done!

8. Plan a family activity (the goal is once a quarter so I will put it in my goals each quarter until it is done) Done! 

9. Read at least 6 books this month Done!

10. DO my daily Bible Study.

11. Scrapbook :-)  

12. Clean out my file cabinet Done!

13. Clean out our firebox Done!

14. Clean out all of my music and organize it Done! 

15. Wrap up all things related to my co-op this semester - this includes putting everything away in the right place, organize all of my supplies that are in various places, and gather anything I won't use and donate it.  Figure out the Google work space access so I can upload documents for anyone on the Leadership Team to use/print/see. I stored my things away and as I am cleaning the basement I am sorting through things to use this next fall.  I have not figured out Google work space. 

16. Learn one piano solo.

17. Learn a song to sing in church. 

18. Update my home for spring/Easter (I'd like to have spring things that will stay up through May and a few Easter decor items. ) I did decorate for Easter!  Now to shift into spring.  My neighbor gave me a gift card for the Dollar Tree because I helped her with a project so I'm going to use that to hopefully pick up a few things. 

19. Buy and hang new curtains in my living room. So, I bought curtains and rods; I returned the curtains because I didn't like them and now need to order what I want. 

20. Visit Boulder Ridge Zoo with Josh, Nate, and my mom. 

21.  Attend various field trips/meet-ups such as our Bowling Field Trip, the teen brunch, the Butterfly Exhibit, and see the latest Paddington Movie :-)  Also, plan a teen game night for our Co-op in May. We did all the things!  I decided against planning the game night because we have other activities in May with our Co-Op 

22. Schedule my guys wellness check-ups. 

23. Go through my guys clothes for summer;  make a plan to purchase all that they need in the coming weeks.  (shorts, shirts, dress clothes, shoes - thinking about camps this summer and what they need) 

24. Deep clean the dining room - move "everything out" (as much as we can) and clean; wipe down baseboards, wipe down walls, touch up paint, rearrange, wash curtains, wash the rug (or maybe get a new one!).  Possibly get a new clock (I love clocks). Done!  There are a few big projects that I've slated for this summer so that I didn't get bogged down in the deep cleaning (repainting trip, cleaning and shortening the blinds, and cleaning my rug) 

25. Accomplish at least half of this months goals HA!  Done!  I counted 13 things done which is just over half!  

We Are Messengers - A Thousand Times feat. Cochren & Co. (Official Lyric...

Another song I came across while looking up others on YouTube - this is a fairly new song.  I tend to gravitate to slower, more meaningful songs so when I come across a more upbeat one - well, I need to share it! 

Our Weekly Snapshot

 This past week was super quiet, at least after the weekend of birthday fun!  That means the photos are limited.  We had a good week though with lots of time for school and the "ordinary" things like lessons and youth group.  

Enjoy these few photos of our week. 

I've already shared a lot of birthday photos but for the sake of the post I'll put a few here for Saturday and Sunday. 

On Friday Nate hung out with two other friends.  His one friend, Silas, needed to complete a dissection project so they all worked together.  (Nate's curriculum does not include dissection - so he was glad to be part of Silas's project!) I'm also thankful that they completed it at Silas' house with his mom supervising HA! 

That's all!  

Weekly Menu

 Welcome to another menu 🤣. It’s another super normal, quiet week which is great!  This is also my self proclaimed “eat from the freezer/cupboard” week.  It’s time to use up things that have been sitting around for awhile!! 

Friday - Spaghetti 

Saturday- dinner at my mom’s!  

Sunday - Stuffed shells and garlic bread 

Monday - Ham, beans, and potatoes in the crock pot

Tuesday - Pancakes and Sausage

Wednesday - Youth Group 

Thursday - spaghetti carbonara and French bread

My Birthday

 One of my brothers recently pointed out that my Wednesday posts are usually something joy related or whatever HA!.  So I thought I'd share about my great birthday weekend since it brought me alot of joy! 

I personally love birthdays.  I know not everyone feels that way but I feel like I have earned my year and love to celebrate that fact (some years are earned more than others ha!).  I big part of it for me is doing something I really enjoy, eating really good food (perferable that I do not have to good) and spending time with the most important people to me.  This year those things all lined up and it was just great.  Not to mention that having your birthday actually fall on a weekend is great!  

The celebration began on Friday.  Our Co-Op had a brunch meet-up for our teens so I was able to enjoy a wonderful breakfast at a local cafe and chat with a good friend of mine as we were the chaperones for the group.  I did not take a photo of my breakfast but it was an amazing omelet and rye toast.  I love breakfast foods but not always making them so this was perfect. 

This is such a great group of teens.  I thoroughly enjoyed the morning.  After everyone finished eating we all headed outside so they could all walk around town until it was time for them to be picked up. 

After that my guys took me out for the rest of the day (their gift to me).  We headed first to Linden to visit my dad's spot.  It's important to all of us to stop by when we can.  It's a nice time to remember and reflect on what a great impact he had on all of us.  My grandma is "right next door" too. 

Now, if I'm in my hometown I want to eat dinner at a long time favorite, Mega Coney Island.  the prices are STILL good and the food is always amazing.  

From there we headed about 30 minutes away to a concert - We are Messengers, Austin French, and Leanna Crawford.  The pastor of this church is a long time friend of mine - we attended church together years ago and were part of the college and career group plus this is the home church of one of my sweet Aunts (my dad's sister).  It is a smaller venue which is nice too. 

Leanna Crawford sings some of my favorite songs - they are heartfelt and just a great reminder of truth. 

Austin French is someone that Nate and I have seen a few times and he's just amazing.  He brings so much energy to a concert and always connects back to Jesus. 

We are Messengers are loud HA!  He even commented on that it would be loud because it was a smaller venue and he was not lying!  It was still amazing though- I especially liked when it was just him and his guitar singing a few songs.  He is Irish -with a thick accent.  At one time he kept saying something about "Prius".  I turned to Nate and said, "Why is he talking about a Toyota Prius? " Nate laughed and said, "Mom, he is saying PRAISE!" LOL  Oh well.  

We also had a great drive home - lots of talk about the NFL draft and who the Lions picked up (as well as other teams).  I just love hanging with my little family.  

Saturday was just another beautiful day. 

I enjoyed some favorites for lunch - French Bread Pizza, Pringles, and a coke zero. 

Then we went to my mom's later in the day to celebrate me!  I picked my favorite dinner - Her BBQ Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Bean Casserole plus she made Red Lobster Garlic Cheddar Biscuits.  It was AMAZING!! 

We played a great game of 5 Crowns.  I did not win . .. but I didn't lose either LOL 

My mom made a great dessert!  

My mom got me this awesome Gnome for my birthday!  I just love him so much!  He's homemade by a friend of a friend, so super soft and just plain adorable.  He brings me so much joy every time I look at him! 

Sunday was my actual birthday and it started with church :-) 

I love all three of my guys.  I'm so thankful for each of them and how much they make me laugh.  

I decided on Little Caesar's Pizza for lunch because I didn't have to plan dinner or cook dinner HA!  Plus it is so good (and we had gift certificates!) 

My guys then made brownies for hot fudge brownie Sundays.  It was fun listening to them all work together to make them AND they turned out amazing.  So yummy! 

The day ended with the annual burning of the Christmas Tree.  (No, this doesn't happen on my birthday most years but the weather was perfect so it did this year! Shoot, some years it snows on my birthday!) 

And, since we had a fire, we were going to roast some hot dogs but we were running out of time and the fire wasn't quite as hot as it needed to be so we started them outside and finished them inside on the stove.  They still tasted good.  We will try again - maybe next weekend since we have more sticks/wood to burn. 

It really was a great day . .. and a great weekend!  Now, on to a new year :-) 

MercyMe - Greater (Official Lyric Video)

So today is my birthday!  Yeah!  So I decided to pick a song from one of my favorite groups - Mercy Me.  This takes me back to the concert I attended with Nate last year.  The concert was amazing and attending it with Nate was even better!  So enjoy :-)