Hopping back on the Band Wagon!

I am not sure where this month went to?  And here it is the third week and I haven't posted much at all!  At the beginning of the month I went to a Youth Leader Retreat for our district.  I have engrossed myself with the topic of leadership right now and am reading a few books on it.  ( That will be another post for later. )  Since the retreat I spent the next week getting ready for AnQuenette's and Isaiah's birthday party.  And then I got sick-after I started getting better I had a DHR mid year visit and have done some HUGE purging.   I also have been working on a healthier me, which includes trying to walk 10,000 steps a day and logging my food everyday.  Being sick did not help me.  
One of the other things I have been working one, is identifying my passions in life.  I find I have many.  Is this good or bad?   Besides my husband and kids, I find that I love to talk about church ministries (which is why I find myself so interested in leadership right now),  fostering and adopting and homeschooling.  Which is a lot of things!  So I am trying to refine how I spend my time and focus on the things I really want to be involved in.  Unfortunately I am spending too much of my time playing Casteville and on Pinterest.  And spending so much time on them are not helping that trying to get to a 10,000 steps a day goal!  With all that said, Lent is in a few days so look for a post on how I am adjusting my life for 40 days.  
With the last three weeks of being off, I didn't get a menu planned for the month, tried to cook and freeze 15 meals, but got sick, and meals fell apart.  And since we are doing respite care for two little guys (we took care of them last year) 3 and 2 I knew I had to get this part into place.  They come on Wed and stay for a week.   So my dinners are:

Tuesday- Egg Salad Sandwich/veggies to dip /apple sauce/

Wed-Ash Wed-Rock Soup-crock pot

Thursday-Homemade Hot Pockets/cheese and crackers/yogurt

Friday-Tator Tots Casserole

Saturday-Tortellini and meatball Soup

Sunday-Shepherd’s Pie

Monday-Chicken Waffles

Tuesday-Tuna Sandwiches/veggies to dip/apple sauce

Wed-Dinner at Church

My challenge is on Tuesday and Thursday we are at swim lessons and don't get home till 7-on days Dan and I don't work out.  So I am doing sandwiches those nights.  With Baseball, softball and t-ball around the corner, I really need to become creative in my cooking, and the portability of my meals.  I don't know what games are like, and while I am glad for the concession stand, I can't always eat there.  (watch for more post of spring baseball/softball and how I keep life organized or not!)

Well with all that said, I am hopping back into the blogging mode again.  I will be also starting a new blog  "i foster and adopt 2" and inviting others to share their stores and advice with their experiences.  I hope by March to have that blog up and running.  And I also plan to make a few changes to my blog, so keep an eye out for that.  

And now I just count down to the cruise at the end of March.....how many more days honey!

Meals in Order part 2

So there was a picture of Pinterest that inspired me for this area.  So I started organizing this area with a few things. like important numbers, 5 weeks of meals, a board to write things on, and a few odds and ends.


I downloaded the meal planner from Momstoolbelt and lamented it.




Then I researched and wrote my ideas on it



Then I thought I should make up something that I could use every year-so I made this calendar-also from Mom's Tool Belt- and put in meals for Mon-Sat.  I put no dates on it.  On the bottom I made a list of Breakfast ideas and lunch ideas.  Then I lamented it!  That way I can use it year after year.











I also made and lamented lists for the freezer and pantry.



After rearranging a few things here is what it looks like now.


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Food, Grocery Shopping, Menu planning....

You know we have to do it.  Yep we are suppose to feed the kids.  Daily, at least three times a day, with snacks!!  Which means in order for that to happen you have to go grocery shopping.  Some love it, some hate it, but one way or the other we have to get food.  Unless you are rich and have a cook and butler who do all the planning, shopping, cooking, serving, and cleaning...sigh...yea you have to do it.
And if you have children like mine they are always "starving"!!  Or  the most favorite saying "Mom there is no food in the house!"  Now we are blessed and there is always something to find.  It may not be what they wanted, but there is food.
My sisters have been hunting coupons, and find the really good deals.  Find the sales, get the coupons buy it for nothing.  They spend a lot of time on this, and they send info my way.  So in my "Hunting" (yeah for all you Dave Ramesy fans) I researched Kroger's since we have this wonderful new store just around the corner!!  The online site was awesome.  First I was able to see the add, the click on the items I would like to save...it circled it for me.  Then after I was done, it created a list for me.  And also I registered my Kroger Card and I can down load digital coupons to the card.  There were other coupons that I am still figuring out how to print, so I couldn't use those.
So off I went to the new Kroger's store, which mind you was AWESOME!!!!  Robby went with me, there was a smaller cart (not the little cart-which they have for the little ones to push) he pushed with cup holders...so we got a slushy.  (They even have a Starbucks...but I was good!)   I had my cart.  He got some of the list I got other parts.  He thought this was like Disney or something!  And when all was said and done, I saved $63 with the sales and coupons!!

So the weekly dinner menu...
Monday was left overs
Tuesday-Stuffed Shells
Wed- Raviolis Soup
Thursday-Tamale Pie
Friday-Chicken Lasagna
Saturday-Joes to go

Keeping the House...

...One day at the time.  I love that saying...or maybe one moment at the time!!  That is the name of my new home journal notebook.
I love going to the web page Notebookingpages.  In it there are lots of great ideas for notebooks for the kids, young to old.    Since she follows much of what I believe in homeschooling I really have enjoyed her site.    She has had many freebies on it along with notebook pages you can purchase.
She has recently started a new adventure called the Home Organizations Notebook for us moms who are so totally not organized!!  When she announced this I just happen to pop over to her web site not knowing about this.  I was looking for calendars and a few other organizational forms just in her freebies.  And I found this....with gobs of forms and promises for new forms, I paid a small fee, but so worth it!
So I have created my journal...well I have the skeleton of it done.  (yes I know you all are thinking when did she do all this...I think same thing of you guys to, when do you do it all!!:):))  I have tabs for ...Homemaking-(cleaning and stuff like that), Family-(calendars), Business (For that business that is going to make a lot of money...any suggestions:)), Personal (my stuff, bible studies, prayer journals), Ministry-(I love this...cause I do lots at church),  Meals & Recipes, Financial (I don't to the bills, Dan does but I have some ideas for this area).

I still have much to do to organize this and as I do I will share with you all fun thing.  If you would like to check this out goto Mom's Tool Belt.  There are some free samples there for you to check out.  Let me know what you think.

Weekly menus Part 2

It is already Wed and I have changed the weekly menu like three times.  So here is the weekly menu so far:

• Monday-Sloppy Joes (we didn't do this last week because I forgot about the baseball game so we are there)
• Tuesday-Chicken sandwiches (Dan and I had a Foster Care Appreciation Dinner, so we ate there)
• Wednesday-Chicken Enchiladas (making a extra tray to freeze or give away)
• Thursday-we eat at church for AnQuenette's little school program
• Friday-Ball game (I find it easier to just feed the kids there.)

Next week is (well I will let you know next week-it is a Dan gone week so I want to find easier things to do.  Maybe even freeze some meals this weekend.  

• Monday-
• Tuesday-
• Wednesday-
• Thursday-
• Friday-

Weekly menus Part 1

This is my goal, to get a rotation of weekly meals going.   My sister beat me this week and actually has them done.  But I have in mind what I am going to do.  So here is this weeks menu.  I will move it over to a numbers sheet for breakfast , lunch and dinner.  But for dinner:

• Monday-Mini meatloaves.  I will make extra to freeze for another meal.
• Tuesday-Chicken potpie
• Wed- Sloppy Joes- I will make extra of these to freeze
• Thursday-Steak Fajitas
• Friday-Tilapia Fish
• Weekends are left overs and one meal out.

I am gathering a list of everyones favorite meals, so far I have about 35 items.  Next we will gathering a lunch menu.  Summer time lunch is very different just due to the fact that Jeremy is home.  But he does a lot of things like potpies and such. 

For breakfast we tend to eat cereal, waffles (store bought Costco brand), sausage biscuits, muffins, toast with peanut butter, fruit, sausage on a stick, pancakes, and eggs.  

So as I get more weekly menus done and organized I will post here.