• What’s for Dinner: Our Weekly Menu Plan

    Last week was great because I felt a lot better and was able to spend some extra time with my family.   This week’s menu is tailored around items we currently have in the food and pantry as well as using up leftovers from parties and Thanksgiving.  Our main meal was ham this year for Thanksgiving.  Here is our menu plan for the upcoming week:

    Our Weekly Menu Plan

    • Monday (Beef or Seafood Entree):  Leftovers (still eating up some of the great food from Thanksgiving)
    • Tuesday (Kid’s Night to Cook):  Kids in the Kitchen – Ham Sandwiches, Fresh Fruit
    • Wednesday (Chicken or Vegetarian Entree): Chicken Bake, Vegetables
    • Thursday (Pasta or Pork Entree):  Ham and Rice Casserole, Salad
    • Friday, Saturday, & Sunday:  Leftovers, Family Preference, and Hosting

    I have a general pattern I try to follow for my weekly Menu Plan (for example Monday we have a beef or seafood entree and so forth).  It is my goal, at least in the beginning, to have at least the main dish and one side planned.  I will put together the remaining side dishes (veggies / fruits) based on the food items that need to be used up first and compliment the main entree.

    Setting a weekly menu plan helps me utilize my time better, thus freeing up extra time to spend with my family.  On the days that I am working longer hours I can prep the meal in advance so it will be easier to pull together once I am home.  As I go through the menu planning process I will try to share some of our favorite family recipes.  If there is a specific recipe you would like please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate (some recipes are a toss together meal and I do not use any set measurements).

    As a family of four our life can get busy.  What’s for Dinner is our weekly menu planning series and one of the ways to help keep us organized, on schedule, and within budget.  Our family typically eats 6 to 7  dinner meals at home a week.  We do try to go out to eat at least once a month as a special treat.  Breakfasts are eaten at home before work and school, lunches are eaten at work, school, or home, so dinner is our main meal together as a family.  Dinner is our time to reconnect, share, and enjoy being together after a busy day.  Our weekly menu plan covers Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday only because the weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) is our time to spend with family and friends.  The weekends tend to be more spontaneous and my husband (who is the better cook) likes pitching in therefore we keep the menu open for variety.  We use up the leftovers throughout the week for our lunches and on the nights that we are busy or can’t cook.

    Photo by Liz

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    Thankful for a much better week now that I am feeling better and had some down time with my family.  We had a blast celebrating Thanksgiving, my birthday, starting to decorate for Christmas and more.  Hoping to have a really productive week (maybe I will get caught up on some tasks).

    Last week’s goals

    Family Goals

    1. Read to the girls and have them read to me daily – we read together, but I really didn’t keep track if we did it everyday last week
    2. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    3. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed – it was a short week of school with the Thanksgiving Holiday
    4. Attend After School Activities – we did the activities on Monday and Tuesday,  but took off the rest of the week for the Holiday
    5. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    6. Celebrate Thanksgiving
    7. Start Decorating for Christmas
    8. Family & Friends Game Night to kick off the Holiday Season – we had a blast
    9. Work on Christmas List – got started

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week – didn’t get it done with the Holidays
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Finish reading The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith – working on it
    4. Reading / listening through my Bible – doing the 90 day plan through YouVersion – I got a little behind on the reading when I was sick but almost caught up

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Thanksgiving Meal – Menu, Prep, and Enjoy
    4. Tackle Fall Cleaning & Organization Projects (Focus – Cleaning for Thanksgiving Celebration)
    5. Pay all upcoming bills
    6. Winterize the Garden
    7. Put any new printed pictures that we receive this week in the photo album – got some of them put in albums but need more photo albums

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Write and Send Out Community Group Email
    3. Send out the Alms & Legs Food Team Meeting Notes

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Payoff the Van – working on it
    3. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses (we are trying to build this back up because we had to take some out for unexpected expenses recently.) – getting there slowly
    4. Stay within Christmas Budget – staying on target at them moment

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Read to the girls and have them read to me daily
    2. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    3. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    4. Attend After School Activities
    5. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    6. Finish Decorating for Christmas
    7. Work on Christmas List

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Finish reading The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith
    4. Reading / listening through my Bible – doing the 90 day plan through YouVersion

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Tackle Fall Cleaning & Organization Projects
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Write and Send Out Community Group Email

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Payoff the Van
    3. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses (we are trying to build this back up because we had to take some out for unexpected expenses recently.)
    4. Stay within Christmas Budget

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

  • November 30-30-30 Challenge: Saying Thanks 30 Ways to 30 People for 30 Days (Days 22 – 24)

    As I was reflecting back on the many amazing blessings in my life I realized that don’t let those around me know how much I truly appreciate them enough.  The idea of participating in a “thankfulness” challenge for the month of November was started a few months ago when I purchased cards for my family to send out for the Thanksgiving Holiday (see the picture of the front of the card below).

    It is my wish to show my gratitude to the people I interact with day to day.  For the month of November I am planning a 30-30-30 Challenge.  It is my goal to say thanks in 30 ways to 30 people for 30 days.  Each day I plan to do at least one activity expressing my thanks to one person every day for thirty days.

    Note: Thanksgiving week I had to group a couple items together into one day since we had a full schedule and we were seeing some of the people we want to thank on the same day.  Although in the list they will be separate.  Thanks!

    Day 24

    Who:  Mailman

    We have lived in our house now for ten years and during those ten years we have had the same mailman.  His name is Sam, he has two black labs, and he only lives a few streets away from us.  How do we know all this information about our mailman you ask?  Well, first we try to make a point to talk with him whenever we see him and leave random gifts / notes of appreciation for him during special Holidays.  We figured out where he lived, quite by accident, when we were out going to garage sales one Saturday morning and happened to go to one at his house!  He stays busy delivering mail so the best way to show our thanks for all the mail he has delivered to our house is to stick a note of thanks and goodies directly in our mailbox for him to pick up when he drops off the mail that day.  We try to do something little around the Christmas Holidays for him as well.  It only takes a few moments to write a note of thanks and/or put something nice in the mail yet it brightens the day of the person who comes to our house almost every day to deliver our mail. 

    Day 23

    Who:  Mommy’s Helpers / Store Clerk

    I didn’t really have anything that I had to have on Black Friday so I didn’t even venture out of the house until almost 11 am and even then I only went to a couple stores (mostly to the pharmacies to pick up health & beauty deals to re-stock our family with toothpaste and such).  One of the girls decided to go with me to one of the stores to help.  She pushed the cart through the store, helped me pick out the items, and was a good sport.  Now that it is the colder weather our lips tend to get  more chapped and one of the items that we picked up for free was chapstick (which my litter helper was really interested in what I was going to do with it).  After checking out and saying thank you to the store clerk (and asking her about her family) I gave my helper the free tube of chapstick.  She was soooo thrilled with that tube of chapstick it totally made her day!    Later at another store I had two helpers.  That store was offering a free candy bar so I had my two helpers pick out 1 candy bar that they could split, they picked out mint M&M’s to share.  Even the little stuff can mean a lot to people when we take the time to say thanks and show appreciation.

    Day 22

    Who:  Family

    I have so much to be thankful for in my life.  Not only was it Thanksgiving it was also my birthday.  It was a perfect day of celebration and relaxation, just what I needed.  I spent the day having fun with my family.  The food was great, we played games, read books together, and had a blast.  Sometimes the best thing you can do to show appreciation to people is to spend quality time together which was my primary focus for today.  I did call, text, email, etc…..several other family and friends to wish them Happy Thanksgiving but otherwise the day was spent focusing on having fun with my family.

  • Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

    I just finished leaving the book Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls.  This series was one of my favorites growing up as a kid.  The girls loved it so much that they begged to start reading the second book in the series right away.

    The book is about a little girl named Laura Ingalls who grew up to write the Little House books.  She lived in a snug little log house deep in the woods of Wisconsin in the late 1870s with her Pa, Ma, older sister Mary, and baby sister Carrie.

    This is the first book of the series and a great one to read to your kids. We have an older version of the book (from when I was a kid), but the story is exactly the same.  They even have a picture every few pages that the girls enjoyed looking at as we read together.

  • Funfetti Cake Batter Chex Mix

    Brina helped me make three different types of chex mix for a party earlier this week and they were a huge hit! 🙂   The three recipes were Caramel Party Mix (Gluten Free Snack), Puppy Chow, and the new one Funfetti Cake Batter Chex Mix. I have been making the Puppy Chow since I was a kid and the Caramel one for a few years now (thanks to a sweet friend who shared it with me), but I adapted the Funfetti Cake Batter Chex Mix from Six Sisters Stuff  which was a hit and great addition to our recipe collection.

    Funfetti Cake Batter Chex Mix

    • 6  cups Rice or Corn Chex Cereal (store brands work well too)
    • 12 oz Vanilla Almond Bark
    • 2 cups Funfetti Cake Mix
    • 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
    • 1 teaspoon Vegetable Shortening
    • 1/2 teaspoon Sprinkles
    Pour cereal into a large bowl and set aside. Mix the funfetti cake mix and powdered sugar in a large ziplock bag and set aside.
    Melt Almond Bark according to package directions.  Once melted add vegetable shortening to thin so it coats the chex better.  Pour the melted almond bark over the chex cereal.  Mix gently with a large spatula until the cereal is coated.
    Pour the coated chex cereal into the bag with the funfetti cake and powdered sugar mixture and gently shake to evenly coat the snack.  Scoop into a bowl, put a few sprinkles over the top and serve.
    • 2 sticks of Butter
    • 2 cups of Brown Sugar
    • 1/2 cup of Kairo Syrup
    • 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda
    • 1 box of Corn (or Rice) Chex Cereal (you can use store brands too)

    Put the whole box of cereal in a microwavable bowl.  Bring the butter, brown sugar, and kairo syrup to a boil.  Boil for one minute.  Make sure to stir constantly when boiling so it doesn’t burn.  After boiling for 1 minute add the baking soda.  Pour the mixture over the box of Corn (or Rice) cereal.  Microwave everything 1 1/2 minutes, take it out, stir, and microwave again.  Do this step 3 times.  It will evenly distribute the mixture and coat the cereal.  Lay the mix out on wax paper or the counter and let set.

    Optional: You can add pretzels, pecans, almonds, cranberries or whatever you want to the mix. (If you want it to remain gluten free do not add pretzel as pictured above, however, you can add nuts if they do not have any nut allergies)

    Puppy Chow

    • 9 cups of Rice or Corn Chex cereal (store brands work well too)
    • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
    • 1/2 cup peanut butter
    • 1/4 cup butter
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
    Pour 9 cups of rice (or corn) cereal into a bowl set aside.  Put the powdered sugar into a Ziploc bag and set aside.
    Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter on medium heat, stirring constantly. Once melted, add vanilla and stir well.
    Pour over Rice Chex cereal and stir with a rubber spatula until Chex is evenly coated. Add chex mixture to bag and shake bag gently until the powdered sugar is evenly distributed over all the mix.

  • November 30-30-30 Challenge: Saying Thanks 30 Ways to 30 People for 30 Days (Day 21)

    As I was reflecting back on the many amazing blessings in my life I realized that don’t let those around me know how much I truly appreciate them enough.  The idea of participating in a “thankfulness” challenge for the month of November was started a few months ago when I purchased cards for my family to send out for the Thanksgiving Holiday (see the picture of the front of the card below).

    It is my wish to show my gratitude to the people I interact with day to day.  For the month of November I am planning a 30-30-30 Challenge.  It is my goal to say thanks in 30 ways to 30 people for 30 days.  Each day I plan to do at least one activity expressing my thanks to one person every day for thirty days.

    Note: Thanksgiving week I had to group a couple items together into one day since we had a full schedule and we were seeing some of the people we want to thank on the same day.  Although in the list they will be separate.  Thanks!

    Day 21

    Who:  Classmates

    The girls spend several hours a day at school so they have had a lot of time to get to know the people in their class.  Thankfully the both enjoy school and their classmates are also their friends.  As a way to say “thanks” for being my friend today they took cupcakes to school to share with their classmates.

    Day 20

    Who:   Tutor

    As you have seen from previous days we have a little one that has some challenges due to dyslexia, therefore, we have been going to a tutor.  Her tutor is awesome! She takes the time to not only work with her one-on-one and give us ways that we can help here as well but she finds ways to motivate her.  Our kids love animals and she takes the time to share about her pets too.  Some days we even have enough time for the girls to give her horses a treat.  They always love getting a chance to spend a few extra minutes with animals.  Today, we gave our tutor a bag of carrots and a thank you note.  After lessons today we brought some carrots out so the horses could have a treat.

    Day 19

    Who: School Teachers

    Since they only have a couple days of school this week with the Thanksgiving Holiday the girls delivered their Thanksgiving gifts to their teachers today (Monday).  The girls took thank you cards and some sweet treats to give to their teachers today.

  • Family Fun: Our Cousins Came for a Visit

    Nano bugs play time

    Earlier this year Jake’s sister and her family came to visit us.  We had a blast spending some extra time with them.  The kids played well together and we were able to squeeze in a lot of fun activities.  Thankful for time spent with family.

    Going for a ride on the go cart or “green monster” as the girls like to call it

    It takes a team to change a baby doll diaper! 🙂

    Yes, that is a snake in his hands!

    Making litter bugs at Roper Mountain Science Center

    Trying out a new game

    A full hammock

  • Free Ebooks: eReader Girl

    Do you enjoy a finding free or discounted ebook deals?  Crystal at MoneySavingMom has launched a new website called eReaderGirl  where women can go to find free or discounted ebooks!

    Whether you have a Kindle or Nook this site will be a great resource for finding books to read.  Even if you don’t have a Kindle or Nook you can download an app that allows you to read them on your cell phone, tablet, or computer.

    The eReader Girl tells you about free ebooks available each day as well as discounted ebooks.  The ebooks are categorized by different genres.  They even have Children’s books listed for you.  Many of the ebooks you will find listed on the website will be free for a limited time so please make sure to double check the price prior to completing your order.

    You can follow eReader Girl on Twitter or Facebook too.  I am super excited about this website because our family loves to read books and can be often found reading together.  It is always a real treat finding a favorite book or one I have been wanting to read listed for free or at a great discount.  Hope you enjoy exploring this neat new site!