#100HappyDays

3/8/14 Creativity Knows No Bounds

3/6/14 Role Play

3/5/14 4-yr old Organization

3/3/14 Pure Happiness

3/1/14 Sleepy Boy on His Momma

Christmas ideas 2013

McCoy
-Monsters University on Dvd
-Leap Pad app card
-Dress up clothes
-Cheap preschool computer games

Tenessa
-Black solid socks
-Brown solid socks
-New pillows (4)
-Lounge pillow
-amazon gift card
-TendaCare Essential Oil (for Charley Horses... Please!)  Please contact MaryAnn Walker.  :)  Or give me the money and I can order it... but I need it!
-retractable ku keychain lanyard
-baggie rack (I'm gonna be making a lot of frozen crock pot meals and this will help!)

Whit
-multi-use tools, screwdrivers, wrenches
-cool knives
-brown belt size 38
-KU memorabilia
-High-vis clothing (orange/green)
-cabelas, bass pro gc
-QT, chipotle, wendys gc
-xbox gc for map packs for ghosts

November-December

November-December

• Christmas Cards
• go ice skating
• make a thankful tree
• make a Jesse tree
• make a schedule of Bernard's visits
• finish my stocking

September-October

September-October

• get pictures taken for Christmas cards
• go to a pumpkin patch
• clean out the cars
• make dinner five times a week (as long as Whit is in town)
• clean out the bathroom
• get rid of 7 bags of stuff for goodwill

July-August

July-August

• organize the garage
• stitch on my stocking at least six times
• bake some cookies
• put together frozen dinners-- at least 12 crock pot meals
• go to Bridges of Hope (july)
• re-examine financial situations

 

May-June

May-June

• organize half of the craft room
• clean out the pots and pans cupboard and under the stove
• plan all musicals for next year
• paint rooms in the house
• clean out the extra bedroom
• stitch on my stocking at least six times

Goal/To-Do List for January-February

Here was my January-February "to-do"/goal list.  I crossed off the items I got done.

• read 2 books (I read a total of 13 pages of one book, about 26 pages of another, and about 40 of another-- so nope.)
• clean out the extra bedroom closet
• clean the cars  (I did this on March 1, oops!  And I also only cleaned out the van.)
• organize under the kitchen sink
• stitch on my stocking at least six times (I did this not once.)
• make dinner at least five times a week (as long as Whit is in town)

When you look at this list, it looks like I only didn't complete two things.  I got the car clean, just a day late and it isn't the best, but it's still much more functional.  I also talked to McCoy about the importance of putting toys away when we get out the car.  He seemed to buy it-- at least for now.  

So, the two big things on my list-- read 2 books and stitch on MY stocking didn't get done.  Interesting how the two things that didn't get done were things for myself.  Why is that?  I know I need to spend more time on doing stuff for myself, but I just can't seem to do it.  To be honest, I completely forgot about this particular list.  I mean, I remembered it, I just didn't keep it on the forefront of my mind everyday.  Maybe March-April will be different.

Here's to March-April!

March-April

• organize the garage
• organize the cups cupboard
• plan and plant gardens
• stitch on my stocking at least six times
• go on a dinner date and a movie with Whit
• plan summer vacation

I think this is doable!  Well, maybe not the "organize the garage" part.  But I think the rest is!  So, let's get to it!

Happy March!  (COME ON SPRING!)-- This girl is tired of the snow.

March-April

March-April

• organize the garage
• organize the cups cupboard
• plan and plant gardens
• stitch on my stocking at least six times
• go on a dinner date and a movie with Whit
• plan summer vacation

A Few Recipes

Here are a few of my recipes.  Yes, they are all good (to me anyways!)

Potato Kielbasa Skillet

YIELD

 4 Servings

ACTIVE TIME

 15 minutes

TOTAL TIME

 30 minutes

---

INGREDIENTS

• • 1 pound red potatoes, cubed
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 3/4 pound smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 cups fresh baby spinach
  • 5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

---

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Place potatoes and water in a microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until tender; drain.
  2. In a large skillet, saute kielbasa and onion in oil until onion is tender. Add potatoes; saute 3-5 minutes longer or until kielbasa and potatoes are lightly browned.
  3. Combine the brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, thyme and pepper; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Add spinach and bacon; cook and stir until spinach is wilted. Yield: 4 servings.

A Freezer- Crock Pot Meal

Italian Chicken in The Crock Pot

Crock Pot

OR Place all ingredients in a zip-loc bag and freeze.  Don't forget to include the date.

---

INGREDIENTS

• • 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
  • 16 Ounce Bottle of Italian Dressing (I used non fat)
  • 1/2 Cup of Parmesan Cheese
  • 1 packet Italian Seasoning
  • 4 to 6 Potatoes scrubbed cut in half or wedges (you can peel if desired)
  • 1/2 bag of mini carrots

---

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Spray crock with Pam
2. Squirt a small amount of Italian dressing at bottom of crock-pot.
3. Place two chicken breasts in crock.
4. Pour some of the Italian dressing on the chicken.
5. Sprinkle half of cheese onto the chicken.
6. Sprinkle Italian seasoning onto the chicken.
7. Place next two chicken breasts into crock-pot, if possible not directly on top of the first breasts.
8. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of chicken.
9. Pour carrots on top
10. Pour more of the Italian dressing on top of chicken and carrots.
11. Sprinkle Italian seasoning onto the chicken and carrots.
12. Place potatoes on top.
13. Pour the remaining Italian dressing on the potatoes.Sprinkle Italian seasoning on the potatoes.Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
• **I use a whole bag of carrots, because I LOVE crock pot carrots!  I have heard that some people have a problem with freezing potatoes.  I have never had a problem with it before-- but that doesn't mean I won't ever!

Shopping Spree

I've gotten back into the cash envelopes and budgeting thing again.  I was really good for about a year, maybe less-- that was two years ago.  I did the Dave Ramsey thing and I was doing so good.  I think I stopped doing so well once summer hit.  I was shopping more and making dinner less.  I just kind of gout out of the routine and fell behind.  This year, I wanted to get back into the swing of things.  And so far, I think I've done pretty good (yeah, I know.  It's only February).

I have been messing around with menu planning for awhile now.  I went shopping every other week (per Dave Ramsey-- he says you should make your budget when you get paid.  Whit gets paid every two weeks, but I get paid every month-- we went with Whit's pay periods).  So, I went shopping every other week on Whit's payday.  I got really good at that.  I figured I could shop for a longer period of time, if I really planned it out.  So, this year, I have been making my menu plans for the entire month and shopping at once.

Some things that I have learned or tried to do: I always include SEVERAL crock pot meals.  Let's face it, I have to use my crock pot at least twice a week (definitely on Tuesdays and sometimes on Thursdays).  I also plan to make my meals that use up the fresh produce first.  So, for example, during this month, I planned on having Potato Kielbasa Skillet (which uses fresh spinach leaves).  I make sure to schedule that pretty close to shopping day (we are having this tomorrow night).  I also try to give myself some wiggle room.  Because as much I love to plan, things always come up.  Whit's working late, or I have dinner with my mom or I don't feel like having that meal that particular night.  I also always try to include something really easy (like Hamburger Helper).  I also try to schedule in a day of leftovers-- usually before trash day. :)

These meals do not include lunches or breakfast.  I usually always eat leftovers for lunch (and Whit usually goes out to eat for lunch).  We have cold cereal in the house for breakfast, but for the most part, McCoy eats at school.

My most recent trip to the store, I spent less than $200.  I cut a few coupons (maybe like 10 or so), but not many.  I also didn't shop "bargins" or anything like that.  Everything was normal price.  But, I stuck really close to my list.  In the past, I would have down on my list "two cans of cream of mushroom soup" and I would buy like 4 or 5.  Why?  I don't know!  But this time, I stuck close to my list.  I did have 3 cups of chicken broth and I bought 3 cans (because I need more liquid in my crock pot meals-- because I'm gone so long during the day).

I made 10 frozen crock pot meals already!  I made two of each: Italian Chicken for the Crock Pot (which has potatoes-- freezing them is no problem for me), Chicken Tortilla Soup, Saucy Pork Chops, Ham and Pineapple and Colorful Chicken Casserole.

I also want to mention, that I didn't just buy canned food.  I bought two big bags of baby carrots, two pounds of potatoes, celery, cilantro, fresh spinach leaves, bread and LOTS of meat (6 pounds of hamburger, 6 pork chops, 12 chicken breasts, a family ham, two ham steaks, and a package of polish sausage).  

I also bought (not on the list-- shame on me!), two packages of Reese's peanut butter hearts, a case of Diet Cherry Pepsi, deodorant, toilet paper, night-time underwear (big boy pull ups!), minced garlic, two boxes of cereal, extra sour cream, and cough medicine.

I'm just going to say, "Not too shabby!"

:)

Master Menu List

Here is our family menu list.  I will be adding to this as the time goes on.  My goal is to get about 30 meals that are my "go-to".  Preparation in 15 minutes would be ideal, but not required.

1. Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets
2. Taco Bake (Doritos style)
3. Sunday Chicken
4. Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas (prep is longer)
5. Sloppy Joes
6. Scrumptious Sailsbury Steak in Mushroom Sauce
7. Salsa Chicken (crock pot)-- Freezer meal
8. Mexican Soup (crock pot)-- Freezer meal
9. Pesto Chicken Pasta (summer)
10. Pasta Crab Casserole-- Freezer meal
11. Meatloaf
12. Lemon Pepper Chicken
13. Italian Chicken in the Crock Pot-- Freezer meal
14. Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas (marinade-- long prep)
15. Fafafel with Cucumber Sauce (long prep)
16. Chicken and Bows
17.

Sides:

1. Zucchini Fritters (summer)
2. Red Potatoes
3. Rice
4.

Menu Plan for Jan. 7-13

Here is our menu plan for Jan. 7-11.

Monday, Jan. 7-- Mexican Soup (Crock Pot)

Tuesday, Jan. 8-- Easy Chicken Bake

Wednesday, Jan. 9-- Leftovers

Thursday, Jan. 10-- No dinner...

Friday, Jan. 11-- Chinese food

Saturday, Jan. 12-- Orange Chicken in the crock pot

Sunday, Jan. 13-- Dinner with the Schales

Menu Plans for Jan. 1-6

Here is our menu plan for Jan. 1-6.  I know it's not a full week, but I wanted to start in january.

Tuesday, Jan. 1-- Roasted Chicken and Red Potatoes

Wednesday, Jan. 2-- Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets

Thursday, Jan. 3-- Sloppy Joes

Friday, Jan. 4-- Fajitas

Saturday, Jan. 5-- Leftovers

Sunday, Jan. 6-- Pizza from Wal-Mart

January-February

January-February

• read 2 books
• clean out the extra bedroom closet
• clean the cars
• organize under the kitchen sink
• stitch on my stocking at least six times
• make dinner at least five times a week (as long as Whit is in town)

A Different Take

That post could start a billion sentences... "A different take on the world" "A different take on life", "A different take on... me"

It will end like this: A different take on New Year's Resolutions.

It seems as though I only write blog posts after Christmas and during the summer.  I wonder why that is?  No, I don't. I know why, I'm not in school!! :)

Here is my different take on New Year's Resolutions.  Instead of giving myself one thing to work on per month, like I've tried the last two or three years, I'm going to give my self a list of things to do that have to be completed in a two-months' span.  These can be things like "clean the car" or "read a book".  But they don't have to be completed in a month's time-- rather just giving myself extra time.

So, here is my list.  I have the right to change this list as many times before January 1, 2013.

January-February

• read 2 books
• clean out the extra bedroom closet
• clean the cars
• organize under the kitchen sink
• stitch on my stocking at least six times
• make dinner at least five times a week (as long as Whit is in town)

March-April

• organize the garage
• organize the cups cupboard
• plan and plant gardens
• stitch on my stocking at least six times
• go on a dinner date and a movie with Whit
• plan summer vacation

May-June

• organize half of the craft room
• clean out the pots and pans cupboard and under the stove
• plan all musicals for next year
• paint rooms in the house
• clean out the extra bedroom
• stitch on my stocking at least six times

July-August

• organize the garage
• stitch on my stocking at least six times
• bake some cookies
• put together frozen dinners-- at least 12 crock pot meals
• go to Bridges of Hope (july)
• re-examine financial situations

September-October

• get pictures taken for Christmas cards
• go to a pumpkin patch
• clean out the cars
• make dinner five times a week (as long as Whit is in town)
• clean out the bathroom
• get rid of 7 bags of stuff for goodwill

November-December

• Christmas Cards
• go ice skating
• make a thankful tree
• make a Jesse tree
• make a schedule of Bernard's visits
• finish my stocking

Christmas Traditions

This year, I thought I would try to make the festivities more about McCoy and less about me.  I tried to incorporate several things I either saw on Pinterest, got from my mom, or just thought up on my own.  But I overdid it, and the poor little fellow was just overwhelmed.

Countdown to Christmas included:

• a chocolate advent calendar-- of which we still have about six boxes left to open, 
• a Christian advent ornament calendar-- this was a set that I bought before McCoy was even born.  You read each little book about the story of Jesus and then you hang it up on the tree.  I had a little tiny tree that I put by the nativity set and McCoy sat through a total of about six books.  They were too hard to understand for a 3-yr old.  We have about 6 more books left to open.  Except for the Christmas Eve book-- it had baby Jesus on the front cover so of course McCoy wanted to open that book.
• Bernard.  Well, that was a fun one.  It made getting McCoy out of bed great every morning so that he could go find Bernard.  That was fun.
• Book Advent-- I saw this on Pinterest.  And although I had most of the books already, McCoy really sat through only about half of them.  I will be wrapping these up again next year, should I decide to keep it.

So, overwhelming McCoy with a count down to Christmas? I think so.  What's really sad is that I'm not really even sure he knew what Christmas was about (gifts or Jesus).  I kept saying "Oh you have to be good, or Santa won't bring you anything!"  But he didn't care.  He would reply to me, "I don't like Santa".  He didn't really understand the excitement of Christmas until it was actually here.  Next year will probably be better.

What advent should I keep and which should I do away with?  I also want to do a Jesse Tree like my friend Suzie did.  And I think I'll have to keep Bernard.  That was just too much fun.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.  

Giving Thanks: Day 5

Today I am thankful for Daylight Savings Time.

Even though everyone else is thankful for the extra hour of sleep that they got, (which I did not), I'm thankful that the mornings were much easier for McCoy to get up and ready.  In fact, this morning we were out of the shower by 5.  Yes, I know!  We left our house at 5:55 (normally we leave at 6:15).  It made my morning a pleasure!

Not to mention, last night, McCoy was asleep at 6:30 pm!  He didn't have a nap, but he was in a fairly good mood all day yesterday.

I'm not ready to give up naps, but it seems like the weekends are usually nap-free in our house!

Giving Thanks: Day 4

Today, I am thankful for the beautiful sound of handbells!

I was a member of Rezound handbell choir for a while, until I started grad school.  Something had to give and since it was taking up a lot of time (rehearsals that were 3 1/2 hours long and concerts that took the whole entire weekend), I had to give up bells.

To take its place, though, I started a handbell choir at our church.  We only practice for an hour a week, and the church is located 5 minutes from my house.  Although we've had our ups and downs, I am glad that I'm a part of the group.

Giving Thanks: Day 2

Today I am thankful for my freedom and although right now it seems as if I have none, I really am thankful that I am an American.  I will be even more thankful if the right person is chosen to be president in a few short days.

November: Giving Thanks Day 1

Today I'm thankful for candy for breakfast.  It's the day after Halloween and although McCoy didn't get nearly as much candy as I was hoping, I did snag the good ones.  I mean, I "checked" the candy, and the "good ones" were actually the "bad ones". :)  So, I had to take them out of his basket.  You know, for protection purposes.