Outside Fun {in Pictures}

Weekly Goals & Menu Plan {Back to School - Week 2}

WHOA! Time out!

Back to school...week 2?!

That's right! This mama has 2 days to actually get things done! Without little people running around asking for numerous things that they may or may not actually need...most of the time it is not a need.

But, hang on! Before we get going on that business, let take a look back at last week's happenings.

 {MONDAY}

 Andrew worked on his project for the 1st day of school :) We had to add pictures and things showing why he is special. When he was finished and we talked about it. He said, "Wow. I have a lot of big boys that are uncles." I said, "You do! That must be one of the things that makes you special, huh?" He said, "I think maybe so. And, I'm almost 4! I get to have big boy legos!" Haha! 

{TUESDAY}

 

 Top left: Andrew's first day of school!!

Top right two: Alex and Mommy's morning out / Andrew's apples that he drew at school

Bottom: We headed to the park for lunch and some fun in the sun after pick up time. 

{WEDNESDAY}

 

 I'm usually very worried if it is too quiet in the house... But when I looked around the corner to see just what was going on, I found the sweetest thing... They were working on a puzzle together!

{FRIDAY}

 

 Andrew came home with a yucky cough and nasty nose on Thursday...fun. Happy back-to-school, right?! Well, luckily, it only lasted through Sunday morning. But he rested up most of the day Friday and is MUCH better now! 

 After his long nap Friday afternoon, he woke up to a parking lot in the living room. Gotta love that! 

 And, after the tape was set up...Mama needed an afternoon pick-me-up iced vanilla coffee (which I'm making in just a moment again!)

We also got in a family game night on Friday, too! Love me some Candyland. But, BOO! What is up with the new version of Candyland. I need the original. It is QUEEN Frostine...not Princess Frostine.. Why did she get demoted?! Ugh...lame... But, apparently, I am the only one that cares about the issue with the characters being far from right... 

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 Last Week's Goals:

 

Family Goals:
1. School starts this week for Andrew! Re-read our back-to-school books this week. Bed by 7:30pm / Up at 6:30am
2. Family game night - Yay!
3. Continue working on the "Glory Be" with the boys before bed Andrew knows all of this prayer now!!! Alex has most of it :) YAY!!

Personal Goals:
4. Rise and shine! Waking up at 5:15 now due to school this week. Ok, only 1/2 of this happened. Really it was 530 not 515. And, I "slept in" on Friday. But, I'm crossing that one off anyway! ;)
5. Keep reading through Catholic Mom's Cafe, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy, and Glorious Grace in the morning.
6. Finish up getting hospital bag together. Didn't even touch this thing on the to do list...

Home Goals:
7. Crafting: Start working on football scarf / If fabric comes in this week for Austin's quilt, then I hope to start on that, too. Ok, the scarf is just not going to happen... But!! My mom sent me a bunch of batting that she had and it came this week. And! The fabric is here, too! So I am doing this tomorrow!!
8. Organize: Laundry room / under our bathroom sinks My laundry room is evil... I gotta come up with a way to make this area stop getting out of hand. It also acts as a "mudroom" of sorts... Suggestions?

Bonus Goals:
9. Austin's room to-do list/timeline YES! Now to just start crossing things off!
10. Freezer cooking to-do list/time line Now I just have to get to baking :)
 

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This Week's Goals:

 

Family Goals:
1. School starts this week for Alex! And, lunches will need to be packed this week for them, too!
2. Family game night - Yay!
3. Continue working on the "Glory Be" with the boys before bed

Personal Goals:
4. Wake up at 5:30 to keep reading through Catholic Mom's Cafe, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy, and Glorious Grace in the morning.

5. Finish up getting hospital bag together.

Home Goals:
6. Start gathering items for Andrew's birthday party!

7. Crafting: Austin's quilt!!

8. Organize: Laundry room 

Bonus Goals:
9. Purchase party supplies for Andrew's birthday

10.Bake 3 of the breakfast items on freezer list

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Menu Plan!

 

Monday: Labor Day! Brats, potato salad, and cookies!!

Tuesday: Fall Harvest Bake (recipe) and Monster Cookies for Alex's first day of school!

Wednesday: Chili in the Crock Pot

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza, Popcorn, Movie Night

Saturday: Parmesan Crusted Tilapia, Green beans, Carrots (recipe)

Sunday: Cheeseburger Casserole, Salad (recipe)

 

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What a week! hope y'all have a great one!

 

 

 

 

Weekly Goals & Menu Plan {Back to School - Week 1}

Hello! Welcome to the Back-to-School, Part 1 Week! :) Andrew starts school this week!! But before we get on that topic, let's take a look back at what happened last week, shall we?

{MONDAY}

It was a sad morning... Sure, I woke up bright and early, but there was NO coffee creamer in the house ANYWHERE. Oh, it was so sad... 

 

But, I did plan out the boys' lunches/snacks for the first full week of school. So that is something. 

  We did head out and got some coffee creamer (and by some I mean 3 huge things so we wouldn't have THAT again...) after breakfast - thank goodness! We also ran to the library for some book hunting. 

{TUESDAY}

YUM. 5:30 AM Coffee :) 

Tuesday was "Meet the Teacher Day" for Andrew! YAY!! He is so excited about his new classroom! 

After lunch, we headed home to get out some back-to-school books and get a few to-do's done. 

I love these little books! 

Eddie Gets Ready for School

If You Take a Mouse to School

Sea Monster's First Day

The Mine-O-Saur

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

The Night Before Preschool

Mama's jobs for the day:

Clean up that stinkin' hall closet that is filled to the top with puzzles and games! 

 MUCH better! Now to just add a few labels...

 And, of course, under they boys' bathroom sink. You would be amazed at what I found under there... 

{WEDNESDAY}

Project day :) Fun! 

 What do you think? They boys are still so excited that I made them a railroad crossing sign for their room! Just a few more small things to add and their room will be 100% DONE! 

 We did this project while Alex was napping, so when Andrew and I got to the drying stages we ran out to grab the mail. Look what came for Austin! Awesome. Gotta love fun things from Zulily!

{THURSDAY}

Working hard on his school work. He had to count how many of each shape he would find, then write the numbers. He did a great job!

{SATURDAY}

 

 Guess what we FINALLY did...?!

HELLO! We FINALLY painted Austin's room! YAY!! The color is called "Mineral Deposit" from Sherwin-Williams. I love it! Now, I can really finish up this room. YAY!

While, the paint was drying, I was able to get a few things from the attic that I knew I had saved...like my baby bjorn and the pack-n-play (that has the bassinet/changing table parts). But, guess what my husband found!

HAHA!! Apparently, I only saved the essentials in case of a new baby! Too funny! Yep. All Packers things ranging from 3 months to 18 months. That. Is. Hilarious. 

{SUNDAY}

 Birthday Party Time! We headed over to Gerald's house to celebrate his 3rd birthday. The boys loved that pinata! Check out that face Andrew is making. He CLEARLY needs to be on a t-ball team! Maybe next year... 

My hot Sunday night date...with my planner, massive lists, and a fun drink sans the much-needed/wanted rum LOL It's orange juice, sprite zero, and pink lemonade. Jason had some then said, "We need some brandy." Haha! It was pretty good, even if it wasn't  a "real" fun drink.

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So, you can see that some of those things I wanted to take care of actually happened. Let's see how the rest turned out:

Family Goals:

1. Work on schoolwork on off-days after breakfast Done!

2. Family walk after dinner Yeah....so didn't happen. Apparently Baby Austin doesn't want to do that...

3. Work on learning the "Glory Be" before bedtime (they almost have this one down!) We have all the words down except for the "world without end" part. So, it is a work in progress. But, isn't that how it should be with your faith? ;)

Personal Goals:

4. Wake up at 530 am...fun! (Though, it really isn't all that bad. This will be the 3rd week in a row now) Happy to report that I am now waking up BEFORE the alarm clock! Ha!

5. Read Catholic Mom's Cafe, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy, and Glorious Grace (part of the Hello Mornings Challenge) in the morning  It is so wonderful to have the mornings start like this.

6. Begin gathering items for hospital bag with the thing that are ACTUALLY needed/used (some of these lists are ridiculous, people... Who puts these things together? Not REAL moms that's for sure). This is only partly done. I did get most of the things set aside, but not all.

Home Goals:

7. Crafting: Football scarf from old Packers shirts of mine (similar to this) / Make train Crossing sign for boys' room The Packers scarf is just hanging out for the moment. I have the materials and such set aside. Maybe this week. But, I did finish the train crossing sign!!

8. Do: Paint Austin's room...for cryin' out loud! It's is supposed to be the perfect weekend for this - keep your fingers crossed! OH. HAPPY. DAY!! The room is FINALLY painted!!!!

9. Organize: Hall closet and under boys' bathroom sink / Go through scrap fabric stash for smaller projects for Austin Done, done, done! Now to decide on those smaller projects. I have a list. Just not sure what all I want to make.

Bonus Goal:

10. Andrew's Birthday Party To Do's: Order invites / Decide on menu / Chose 1 or 2 activities (all with Andrew's help - he cracks me up!) I love having my helper boy Andrew :) We got all of these things done for this part of the planning. Yay! This is going to be a super fun party! :)

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This Week's Goals:

Family Goals:
1. School starts this week for Andrew! Re-read our back-to-school books this week. Bed by 7:30pm / Up at 6:30am
2. Family game night - Yay!
3. Continue working on the "Glory Be" with the boys before bed

Personal Goals:
4. Rise and shine! Waking up at 5:15 now due to school this week.
5. Keep reading through Catholic Mom's Cafe, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy, and Glorious Grace in the morning.
6. Finish up getting hospital bag together.

Home Goals:
7. Crafting: Start working on football scarf / If fabric comes in this week for Austin's quilt, then I hope to start on that, too.
8. Organize: Laundry room / under our bathroom sinks

Bonus Goals:
9. Austin's room to-do list/timeline
10. Freezer cooking to-do list/time line

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Looks like a much easier week than last now that Austin's room is painted, huh? Our menu is pretty easy, too. Thanks to a few requests from preschooler #1 aka Andrew :)

Monday: Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken, Rice, Broccoli

Tuesday: Spaghetti / Dessert: ABC Treat Bars

Wednesday: Bean & Cheese Burritos, Chips/Salsa

Thursday: Pizza / Dessert: M&M Cookie Bars

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Grilled Chicken, Salad, and Fruit

Sunday: Ham & Cheese Sliders, Chips

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Did I wear anyone out with all of this yet? Well, it's not going to slow down anytime soon, that's for sure! Andrew starts school in the morning, so be on the lookout for a fun post about him tomorrow!

Have a great week!

5 Things I Hope to Get To...Now that preschool has started

1. My 1/2 hour of reading in the car! I'm currently reading The Chaperone on my Kindle (and I'm halfway through it thanks to these moments!). While I LOVE being the first or so person in line for my little man, I also love this time in the car. And, yes, Alex is in the car, too. But he is either "reading" a book of his, having a quick snack, or taking a catnap. So it still works out pretty well. 

2. Ugh, not that I want to... But I have GOT to organize the madness that lurks in "the box." I have this big storage bin that I gathered all of our papers in and it needs to be organized. Luckily, Money Saving Mom is to the rescue! She is currently doing an organization "challenge" on this exact thing!

Money Saving Mom

3. Walking the different trails in our town. I have actually spotted a few and have only done one of them towards the end of last school year. I know, I know... I really should take both of them. But, we go on family walks after dinner and Andrew walks Max with some supervision. Alex and I really enjoyed our walks last Spring, so I hope to get back on that this week. 

4. Freezer cooking!! I actually did get to this last weekend. I am so glad that I am getting back into this. There is just SO MUCH that goes on between right now and January that having dinner DONE is the best thing ever. I made 9 dinners last weekend all from this awesome blogger! Thanks! We are LOVING the dinners so far :)

Just a shot of my freezer's insides overflowing ;) 

5. Finishing up our Summer Scrapbook!! I have just about 4 weeks left to add to the book. Thank goodness for Shutterfly and their easy-peasy ways of scrapbooking!

Click the picture if you want to see it bigger - just a screen shot of the first pages of the book (1st day/last day of school comparison. Still can't believe how fast he grew!!)

BONUS: Going to the grocery store or Target with ONE child. As much as I love my Andrew, he has gotten to the "I want ___" and/or "I need ____" stage. And, Alex has just now gotten to the "cookie"  with Mommy's coffee stage. LOL I can handle that for now. What sillies. :)

**Linking up with**

Mom of 6

1st Day of School!! {Prek-3}

WHAT A WEEK!!!

Andrew started PreK-3, this week!! :) He was (and still is!) so excited about school! The night before we got ready by reading a few "back to school" books.

Of course, like last year, we read The Night Before Preschool!

We also read If you Take a Mouse to School and The Mine-O-Saur. Jason read Andrew and Alex the mouse book while I was getting their treats out. I made rice krispy treats for every one - yum!

Then, we reminded the boys how it is nice to share and not be a Mine-O-Saur. Then, once they got into bed, we read the last book. So sweet :) 

The next morning, Andrew was SO excited to go to school! He couldn't wait!! He wanted to leave when he got up, but Jason and I told him that breakfast always came first. He didn't want his tummy to be sad. Of course, he has become a smarty pants and reminded us that he does have snack time at school. Goodness... Speaking of snack time, here what he got for his first snack:

This was his little snack baggie from last year. It is from a shop on Etsy called Pineapple Spice (she may not be in business any more. I cannot find her store now.)

 Ready for school!! 

 Looking for his teacher and friends. 

Found someone he knows - his teacher!! Time to go! We love you :) 

Alex and I went to get a goodie and coffee at Starbucks. Alex wasn't too interested in it...he was trying to figure out where Andrew went. I told him he went to school. He said, "Coo?" And, then got a little bit sad. Poor guy misses his buddy. 

He got over it pretty quick once we got back, though. He helped me make cookie pops for Andrew :) 

While those were baking, Alex worked on some school work of his own. This week I am introducing the ABCs to him. I wish I had gotten pictures of what we were doing, but he was so involved and interested in school stuff like Andrew, that I didn't want to interrupt. I'll definitely get some next week when we do the letter A. I am following the lesson plans from Totally Tots - "Now I Know My ABCs." I love their website!! 

Books Alex and I read this week:

Chica Chica Boom Boom (Alex walks around the house now saying BOOM BOOM! Andrew really liked this book, too!)

Alligator Alphabet (library book)

The Jet Alphabet Book (this was a book that my little brothers gave to them that they read all the time!)

All Aboard ABC (Andrew's favorite book from the fabulous Rachel!)

 

We are also working with our Leap Frog Fridge Phonics, too. We had just ABC out this week, but next week the letter A will be out only. 

It was time to go get Andrew, and Alex dropped everything to run to the door. He was kind of annoyed he had to wait the 2 minutes to put his shoes on...LOL

 As you can see, the shoes never went on either.. And he is he asking where "And go?"

 Home from school!! Told us he has a great day and went right back into the routine - hot dog? playground? LOL 

 This is the sweetest thing EVER. Andrew got to pick a prize from the treasure box and he wanted to share it with Alex. LOVE IT!

I just love it :)

Lunch at the playground - so happy that this weather has been AMAZING these past few weeks. We were out he until nap time!

It was a great start to a great first week of school for Andrew (and Alex!). The first day, Alex was upset that Andrew left. The second day, Andrew was so sad that Alex couldn't come to school with him. I wonder what will happen next week.

Heading Back to School This Week!

Well, the summer has come to an end. The weather man seems to disagree, however. Last week, we had open house at Andrew's school. He is SO excited to go back. He has a few of his friends from last year in his class, too. Here is a look at what we have been doing for the back-to-school extravaganza.

 School supplies for the little big man :) That's not even all of them... I have a few more items to grab. Of course, stores have been emptied since the end of July, so yeah... I think schools should send out these supply lists in June...  But, since most of these things were similar to last year. Guess who will be stocking up for next year? ;)

 Ready to meet his teachers!!

We put together small "welcome back" gifts for his teachers, too. I found those apple containers last year in Target's dollar spot - glad I saved them. I almost used them for the end of last school year. Target had like NOTHING this year. Everyone else got their first, I guess. I have never seem Target so empty of products!

Checking out the goods in his classroom

My little guys is SUCH a BIG BOY!! 

Let the school paper parade begin!

Back-to-school central! I'll have another post on this shortly :)

Alex doesn't get to go to school this year, but we couldn't leave him out! He gets to do a bunch of fun things with Mama while Andrew's at school. 

Well, that is us getting ready to go back! Stay tuned! The first day of school pictures will be coming up later this week! YAY!