Wordless Wednesday - spending time with my sis'

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Menu Plan Monday

It is here Monday morning, and you know I walked into my kitchen and freaked out- I didn't have a menu planned for the week! I usually sit down on Sunday and do it. This weekend was so full of parties and baby showers, I didn't have a moment to do it! So this is what I have come up with. The end of the week may be subject to change. Anyways Have a Tasty week!!

Monday: Taco bake, black beans and corn
Tuesday: Ham, scalloped potatoes, some other kind of veggie
Wednesday: White Turkey chili
Thursday: Sausage and penne pasta
Friday: BBQ Ribs, twice baked potatoes, green beans
Saturday: chicken, fried rice, egg rolls
Sunday: Spaghetti pie, salad, garlic bread

Dessert of the week- I am making a bunch of no-bake cookies. One of my faves - cannot wait!

For the Love of Jesus and Coffee

OK- Today being Fat Tuesday, doesn't that just sound like such a wonderful excuse to just indulge? I am not a big eater, but when I used to work in an office most of the girls were catholic and we had a major feast all day long. They would bring in some pretty good food too. I am not of Catholic faith, but did attend Catholic church with my best friends from 6th grade through my senior year and always gave something up for lent. It is one of those things I feel like I really should make a choice to sacrifice something that gives me enjoyment for the LORD. So this year it didn't take long to decide that my coffee will have to go. Ahhh!

I have had many relationships with coffee over the years, but lately it is what I run for the second I am out of bed and I don't just stop in the morning. I will start up another round about 3 PM when I am feeling like crashing again. When I first found out I was pg with my first child, I was like this too, I would drink it all morning long. I quit drinking it right then and there the moment I got the positive result. Went without it the whole pregnancy, but wouldn't you know the day I brought him home from the hospital my dh ran to the store and I asked him " Pick up some Vanilla creamer please?" and off I was drinking it again.
So today will be my last day of coffee until after Easter. So if you run into me today, I apologize if I am running 300 miles a minute - It will be the coffee talking ;)

Just something you do when you want to show Jesus how much you love him :)

Menu Plan Monday - Presidents Day

Another week of planning meals! Yay! I thought by now this would be easier and I think I am just trying not to repeat too many meals, but I think its okay to rotate some family faves a few times a month, right? One thing is nice this week is since today being Presidents Day, we had our niece spend the night last night and we had pizza, so I have a whole menu ahead of me without pizza on it! WOW! Oh and the meatball stroganoff last week was a big hit! The kids gobbled it up. Always a good thing to find a recipe they will happily eat!

So here goes our week:
Monday: Chicken Enchilada Bake, Refried beans meal total $5.11, $1.02 per person
Tuesday: Pot Roast and Veggies $ 8.00 meal, $1.60 pp
Wednesday: Chili and cornbread $4.25 meal, $.84 pp
Thursday: Maybe beef and noodles if we have Roast Beef leftover- we usually do.
Friday: Boxed meal ( I know, gack) or leftovers $3.00 box meal
Saturday: Dinner out Mom and Dad AGAIN!! Kids get Fish sticks and mac & cheese $3.00
Sunday: Chicken Parmesan, spaghetti, salad and bread sticks $10.10 meal, 2.02 pp

Okay kids are getting hungry, fighting over mousetrap game. Better go make them some blueberry pancakes. mmmmm.
For more menu plans, be sure to check out Laura's blog.
Have a blessed week everyone!!

Where is my camera when I need it?

Ok-as a blogger, there should be one thing I am never without, that would be my trusty camera with video. Today is one of those days when the $100, 000 funniest video shot has been lost. I didn't realize that the kids were doing the bell choir during church today. So I was surprised when I saw the kids lining up to come into the sanctuary. (And glad I brought a brush with us and brushed my 4 yr old Elena's crazy hat hair before taking her into her class!!) They did so well, it always is funny to watch the preschoolers play the bells. Some of my other friends children have had some performances in the past that have been pretty funny. Not mentioning any names here... Jenn and Stacey.... ;p Today I watched miss Elena doing so well, concentrating so hard and when it would be her turn she truly was pleased. Once they were done and all is quiet Elena pipes up " TEACHER, I DID GOOD!!" Oh I laughed so hard I cried! Oh out of the mouths of babes. I soo needed that laugh today. Thank you my wonderful child!!

Winter Wonderland?

You hear the weather forecast and sometimes you get the snow they predict, for us sometimes it goes right over us and hits the snow belt. So I was a bit surprised when I opened my window yesterday morning to see this! The Newspaper said we had 14 inches of snow! I didn't think we would get much seeing how we have had such a mild winter. But it snowed for over 24 hours and we sure were hit!
Dh did his duty and spent 3 hours outside with the shovel and snowplow. The kids were devastated because it was just too cold for them to go out and play. They did have a treat watching dad and all the neighbors blowing a lot of snow around. I hope they can get out in the drifts at least one of these days - some of the drifts in our yard are as tall as the baby! But around here they aren't calling for temps in the 30's until next week :0

This is our deck, off to the right you can see the handle of a big wheel bike that was left there. Hard to believe it was a few weeks ago the kids were outside playing and riding bikes! There are icicles everywhere these are the only ones I would take a shot of, haven't been out in the snow yet! Too Cold! The kids are really enjoying looking at the mounds of snow. Not loving 3 days of school off in a row though!

Wordless Wednesday - Dreaming of warm weather fun..

For more wordless wednesday go to Wordless Wednesday or Five Minutes for MOM! Have a Wonderful Wednesday and Happy Valentines Day!

Snowed In

Thanks for the birthday wishes girls! and KC for the song. How very sweet :) It took me the whole day but I fuddled through it and am feeling better today! I think I should of just scheduled some kind of break for myself, I was regretting spending the day just doing my regular "duties" . Anyways the day has past- another year of my life has begun.

Today was yet another snow day, We have been hit with the blizzard all the weather people were predicting. I, being a SAHM don't actually mind the snow days, it is kind of nice to HAVE to take a day or two off . I was disappointed this morning though. My daughters preschool was cancelled, My sons kindergarten was canceled and MOPS was cancelled for me and the baby. Dh was walking out the door when I heard the news and I got all (pretend) dramatic and clung to him " NOT MOPS! I wanted to go to MOPS today!! Waa, Waa. "The kids looked at me like I was crazy. I kind of was as today was Chocolate day and those mommas know how to make some chocolate goodies:)
Probably was a good thing though since we are in the midst of our shape up challenge and although I have been doing decent at getting in good workouts(4 in last week, 1 so far this week) my diet could still use some shaping up and I have no will power with a buffet of chocolate and baked goods! We'll have to make some minor adjustments to that I guess.

Today being snowed in wasn't bad though. We tried to do some things to make the day fun. Finished up all the kids Valentines for their classmates and teachers, some other snowy day craft activities and since the kids have been fighting a little cold, Ethan requested chicken noodle soup for breakfast so we decided to have a mix-up day. We had lunch for breakfast, dinner for lunch and breakfast for dinner. They thought that was the greatest!
They have already called off school for tomorrow and I am guessing AWANA will be canceled tomorrow night as well so I better head over to family fun and look up some things to keep us busy tomorrow! Fun suggestions are always welcome:)

It's my Birthday and I'll blog if I want to!

Ever have one of those days like you know you really should be doing about 100 other things?? As I sit here in my pjs and robe and watch the time tick by, I really don't want to do anything else. Its not that I have anything relevant to even be doing on here, I just don't want to move. It's cold and snowy outside and I am just in sort of a funk. Usually birthdays don't effect me in this way. Usually I plan a spa day for myself and just treat myself. I have lunch dates and people to meet with. This year I just wasn't in the mood. My dh keeps asking me what I want to do and I just don't know! So for now I will just sit here, listen to my girls play with their toys next to me and do nothing. Just take another step into my 30's with stride.
Maybe I'll go take a morning nap with the baby? That sounds like a nice thing to do... I don't have to get out of my jammies to do that:)

Menu Plan Monday

I am gonna start next week adding some new recipes to our meals that we rotate. I keep finding so many things I wanna try!

Here is our week:



Monday: Hubby cooking - no idea what he is planning ;)

Tuesday: Turkey Rice soup, Rolls

Wednesday: Pizza, salad (I could do without pizza every week, but my family would strongly disagree) This week we are making homemade, maybe we'll make a heart shaped pizza??

Thursday: Meatball stroganoff, green beans

Friday: Smoked sausage, rice, mixed veggies

Saturday: mom & Dad are going out on a date:) Chicken nuggets, Fries and Corn for kiddos.

Sunday: Whole chicken, mashed potatoes

Dessert for the week: Grandmas butter cookies! We made a big batch of them and the kids helped me cut them out in heart shapes. yummy:)

I know I didn't write out the cost for each meal like I did last week, didn't have as much free time.
The meatball stroganoff is a new recipe this week. We make stroganoff sometimes with ground beef, sometimes with steak. The kids aren't always crazy about ground beef in casseroles, so here is a new take on it that I think sounds more fun.

Meatball Stroganoff:
1 sm onion
1 10.5 oz can beef gravy
1 14 oz can beef broth
4-5 meatballs per person
1 sm can mushrooms
8oz pasta
4 oz sour cream
Fry onion in butter for 2 min. Add beef gravy, beef broth, meatballs, mushrooms, and bring to a boil. When mixture is at full boil, add pasta and cook until pasta is tender. Add sour cream right before serving.

For More Menu planning, check out Lauras blog.
Have a blessed week!

Wordless Wednesday- A new friend

For more wordless wednesday click here or check out Five minutes for Mom.
Have a great Wednesday!

Menu Plan Monday

I feel like Mondays and Wednesdays are the only days I get a chance to get on here lately. Definitely need to organize my time a bit more to have more posts! So what is turning into my favorite day of the week. I put some time into it this week. I am one who will cut out coupons, but will leave for the store and forget them or really not take the time to use them the best way. This week while the baby was eating ever so slowly, I went through all the grocery ads, looked at the sale items and matched up where I had coupons. All in all I bought $130 worth of groceries and spent $72 :) I was quite excited! I will have to definitely schedule time to do that each week, it was a little thrill to see how they add up!

This week I have put the cost of each meal, and we have 5 people eat regularly so what it costs per serving. (I had a little time on my hands sitting with the baby who was a major slow poke eater this week)
Also this week I have posted a dessert for the week and will post that recipe. It is a new one, but the pic looks yummy:p I can't wait to try it.

Here's the menu:
Monday - Black bean taco salad $8.44 Total meal - $1.69 per serving (5 people)
Tuesday - Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread - $5.50 meal - $1.10 per serving
Wednesday - Pizza - $3.00 -2 12" pizzas. I got two Digorno pizza on sale w/ coupons CHEAP!
Thursday - Chicken Casserole, corn, crescent rolls - $5.62 meal - $1.37 per serving
Friday - Ham, cheesy potatoes, mixed veggies - This doesn't count really since the ham is leftover from a few weeks ago and I just spent $2.00 on the potatoes and veggies
Saturday - My birthday dinner at our aunts house! (FREE :)
Sunday - Whole Chicken, Garlic mashed potatoes, Green beans, Rolls - $6.00 meal- $1.20 per
serving.

The dessert of the week is S'mores Bars.
Here is the recipe:
8-10 whole graham crackers
1 pkg fudge brownie mix (13x 9 in pan size)
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup chopped peanuts

Arrange graham crackers in a single layer in a greased 13x9x2 in baking pan. Prepare the brownie batter according to package directions. Spread over crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min. or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Sprinkle with marshmallows and peanuts, bake 5 min longer or until marshmallows are slightly puffed and golden brown. Cool on a wire rack before cutting. makes 2 dozen bars. $3.94 total.

Thanks for checking out my menu! I will be sure to stop by and see yours too! For more Menu planning check out Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie!