Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
days of summer
Oh these days of summer...they just go by too fast!
We have one week of school and three weeks of football in the books.
We've (so far) survived our change in schedules, but I'm not sure how many football games we'll attend this year. With Lydia's early bedtime and Kase's rambunctious demeanor, it's just a bit too exhausting for this Mama to handle by herself :)
 |
| Kase's first attempt (yes, first attempt at age 3) at sweet corn...he was not a fan! |
 |
| Even though it's a sweltering 100 degrees outside, Kase loves to be snuggled in the beach towels! |
 |
| This is REAL love...brother shares his race cars with sister |
This is Daddy's (and Kase's) favorite time of day!
Lately after we put Kase to bed he will get out of bed, sneak into the living room and sweetly say, "I'm having a little bit of trouble sleeping. Can I snuggle with you?"
How are we supposed to resist?
Some friends of ours gave us a baseball helmet...Kase thinks it's awesome to wear around the house.
Sis isn't so sure about this thing that sits on brother's head.
Molly was less than impressed with Kase's desire to help with her bath.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Use What You Have - Week 3
I'm a bit late in posting week 3...the week's gotten away from me! This was a busy week for us as school started on Tuesday, the kiddos went back to babysitter, and football had a full week of late practices. Usually when Daddy's not home Kase and I will have something easy (mac & cheese, hotdogs, grilled cheese, etc)...so Kase was NOT impressed when I brought him real food at supper. He's just going to have to get over it, I made a plan and I'm sticking to it!
This week I had frequent "moral dilemmas" where I wanted to just go get Subway or bowling alley (our two eat-out options in town) but thankfully I resisted and made what I had planned. Eating out is a HUGE weakness for me...I think I could eat out every single day. It's strange that I have this weakness since I love to cook!
Here's what's on my menu for week 3:
Monday: fettuccine (Kase calls this "white sghetti") w/ cheesy bread
Tuesday: porcupine meatballs, cheesy potatoes
Wednesday: grill chicken, pesto rice
Thursday: lasagna w/ cheesy bread
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: muffins (breakfast), grilled cheese (lunch), team night (supper)
Sunday: monkey bread (breakfast), leftovers (lunch), baked ziti (supper)
***Grocery bill for the week: $12.11!
3 weeks down, 3 to go!
This week I had frequent "moral dilemmas" where I wanted to just go get Subway or bowling alley (our two eat-out options in town) but thankfully I resisted and made what I had planned. Eating out is a HUGE weakness for me...I think I could eat out every single day. It's strange that I have this weakness since I love to cook!
Here's what's on my menu for week 3:
Monday: fettuccine (Kase calls this "white sghetti") w/ cheesy bread
Tuesday: porcupine meatballs, cheesy potatoes
Wednesday: grill chicken, pesto rice
Thursday: lasagna w/ cheesy bread
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: muffins (breakfast), grilled cheese (lunch), team night (supper)
Sunday: monkey bread (breakfast), leftovers (lunch), baked ziti (supper)
***Grocery bill for the week: $12.11!
3 weeks down, 3 to go!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Use what you have-Week 2
First, a reflection on Week 1. Overall it went very well, we had plenty of good food and it felt really good to get rid of some food from my pantry/freezer! There were only a few things that didn't go as I planned (like FORGETTING to menu plan our football team night on Friday...seriously how do you FORGET to plan to feed 75 people?!?!) Overall I was 8/11 on the meals that I had planned...not bad!
My second thought is that leftovers are so great, especially for Sunday lunch. Sunday mornings are hectic enough for us since we drive 40 minutes to church (which provides a much needed 40 minutes to prepare for worship after having a not-so-worship-filled-hectic morning!). It's hard enough for me to get everyone ready, out the door, and to church on time on Sundays, let alone prepare lunch! So, leftovers have become my new favorite Sunday meal. My family will have to learn to adapt.
Here's what's on my menu for this week:
Monday: beef stroganoff (yep, a repeat from last week, this one never got made)
Tuesday: Mediterranean pork chops, corn on the cob
Wednesday: beef fried rice
Thursday: broccoli chicken potato parmesan
Friday: beef stew
Saturday: pancakes (breakfast), chicken nuggets & fries (lunch), chicken pot pie (dinner)
Sunday: cinnamon rolls (breakfast), leftovers (lunch), Italian pork chops (dinner)
***Grocery bill for the week: $8.51!!!
Third thought...LOVE that grocery bill! :)
I've had a number of people ask me how to get started with this. Here's what I did. I went through my freezer and pantry and wrote down everything that I had, separated into meats, cream soups, canned vegetables, etc. Then I went through the meat/main dish list and tried to pair it with something in the other columns. For example, I had chicken in the freezer and paired it with cream broccoli soup and frozen broccoli from the freezer, red potatoes were bought this week...broccoli chicken potato parmesan! I also made note of those strange leftovers in my fridge where I only used a small bit. Again, an example is sun dried tomatoes in my fridge. I have a can of spinach in my pantry, purchased some feta cheese...Mediterranean pork chops! The other thing I would recommend is researching substitutes. Last week I made honey mustard pretzel chicken (which was delicious) but didn't have honey mustard in my fridge. The last thing I wanted to do was buy a jar of honey mustard so I researched a DIY honey mustard, and I think it was even more delicious than if I had purchased. Another thing I'm attempting this week is homemade chicken stock. I need some for Saturday dinner, but didn't want to purchase a can. So...when I cook the chicken for the pot pie I'm going to attempt some homemade stock...we'll see how it goes!
This is only week 2 of this process, but I'm loving it. Hopefully this will not only apply to my meal-planning but other areas of life as well!
My second thought is that leftovers are so great, especially for Sunday lunch. Sunday mornings are hectic enough for us since we drive 40 minutes to church (which provides a much needed 40 minutes to prepare for worship after having a not-so-worship-filled-hectic morning!). It's hard enough for me to get everyone ready, out the door, and to church on time on Sundays, let alone prepare lunch! So, leftovers have become my new favorite Sunday meal. My family will have to learn to adapt.
Here's what's on my menu for this week:
Monday: beef stroganoff (yep, a repeat from last week, this one never got made)
Tuesday: Mediterranean pork chops, corn on the cob
Wednesday: beef fried rice
Thursday: broccoli chicken potato parmesan
Friday: beef stew
Saturday: pancakes (breakfast), chicken nuggets & fries (lunch), chicken pot pie (dinner)
Sunday: cinnamon rolls (breakfast), leftovers (lunch), Italian pork chops (dinner)
***Grocery bill for the week: $8.51!!!
Third thought...LOVE that grocery bill! :)
I've had a number of people ask me how to get started with this. Here's what I did. I went through my freezer and pantry and wrote down everything that I had, separated into meats, cream soups, canned vegetables, etc. Then I went through the meat/main dish list and tried to pair it with something in the other columns. For example, I had chicken in the freezer and paired it with cream broccoli soup and frozen broccoli from the freezer, red potatoes were bought this week...broccoli chicken potato parmesan! I also made note of those strange leftovers in my fridge where I only used a small bit. Again, an example is sun dried tomatoes in my fridge. I have a can of spinach in my pantry, purchased some feta cheese...Mediterranean pork chops! The other thing I would recommend is researching substitutes. Last week I made honey mustard pretzel chicken (which was delicious) but didn't have honey mustard in my fridge. The last thing I wanted to do was buy a jar of honey mustard so I researched a DIY honey mustard, and I think it was even more delicious than if I had purchased. Another thing I'm attempting this week is homemade chicken stock. I need some for Saturday dinner, but didn't want to purchase a can. So...when I cook the chicken for the pot pie I'm going to attempt some homemade stock...we'll see how it goes!
This is only week 2 of this process, but I'm loving it. Hopefully this will not only apply to my meal-planning but other areas of life as well!
Friday, August 9, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Use What You Have - Week 1
When I was younger and when my mom wanted to redecorate or make a craft, she would do this ridiculous/embarrassing dance (love you Mom!) and this corny made-up song about "using what you have" to achieve whatever redecorating/craft you were wanting. I couldn't quite understand why my parents couldn't just "write a check" whenever they wanted something new...the whole thing of not having money just didn't make sense to me and my brother. I mean, so what if you didn't have cash...just write a check! :)
Now that I've become a Mom in recent years, and have also become responsible in managing finances, paying bills, saving, etc I find myself becoming very irritated when I go to make a menu for the week and cannot seem to find food to make a meal, yet we seem to have cupboards filled with food. It's similar to when I say "I have nothing to wear," yet I have a closet filled with clothes...strange how that happens.
So, I've come up with my own "use what you have" strategy, where I've gone through what I have in my house and have created a menu using mostly things from my freezer/cupboards. I plan to try to blog my weeks and fill you in on the foods I made, plus how much my grocery bill was the for week.
Here's week #1:
Monday: scalloped potatoes & ham, bread, fruit
Tuesday: pizza hot dish
Wednesday: cream chicken sandwiches, chips, fruit
Thursday: beef stroganoff
Friday: royal lasagna (a meat-free lasagna made with sweet corn and a white sauce)
Saturday: breakfast sandwiches (breakfast), pizza loaf (lunch), honey mustard pretzel chicken, french fries, green beans (supper)
Sunday: monkey bread (breakfast), leftovers (lunch), spaghetti, garlic bread (supper)
***Grocery bill for the week....$11.42!!! :)
Now that I've become a Mom in recent years, and have also become responsible in managing finances, paying bills, saving, etc I find myself becoming very irritated when I go to make a menu for the week and cannot seem to find food to make a meal, yet we seem to have cupboards filled with food. It's similar to when I say "I have nothing to wear," yet I have a closet filled with clothes...strange how that happens.
So, I've come up with my own "use what you have" strategy, where I've gone through what I have in my house and have created a menu using mostly things from my freezer/cupboards. I plan to try to blog my weeks and fill you in on the foods I made, plus how much my grocery bill was the for week.
Here's week #1:
Monday: scalloped potatoes & ham, bread, fruit
Tuesday: pizza hot dish
Wednesday: cream chicken sandwiches, chips, fruit
Thursday: beef stroganoff
Friday: royal lasagna (a meat-free lasagna made with sweet corn and a white sauce)
Saturday: breakfast sandwiches (breakfast), pizza loaf (lunch), honey mustard pretzel chicken, french fries, green beans (supper)
Sunday: monkey bread (breakfast), leftovers (lunch), spaghetti, garlic bread (supper)
***Grocery bill for the week....$11.42!!! :)
On a completely different note, check out Lydia's newest "trick"...she's pretty excited!
And just because I know how much people like to "compare" siblings' looks...here's teeny tiny Kase at 6 months:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)