Thought I'd Share Something {Different}

It's been a little chaotic lately...shocker...with all this "when are we moving" business. And, I will admit...I fell off the meal planning wagon. Actually, I fell off a lot of wagons. Maybe I should stop getting on them. They are dangerous, apparently. Ouch.

Anyway, I have got to regain that familiar sense of normal somehow. These past few months have been craaaazyyy. So, I jumped back on (I know...I just can't help it.) and made a menu for May 1-17. BUT! The best part...I put it in pencil. And, as you can see there have already been a few changes here and there. But, it's ok. This is part of learning to just relax. Which I am seriously bad at doing. But this is a start.

What do you think? What's on the menu at your place?

Oh, before I go....

Hahaha! We will be watching some Lego Star Wars in a bit. Sweet.

Menu Plan {Preparing for Lent}

Welcome back to our table! It's been a wild week/weekend at the house. Lots of stuff going on and such. Here's what we have cooking in the kitchen this week:

All recipes can be found at Budget Bytes! They are super yummy and super cheap to make.

If you noticed, our pizza nights (ok, except for this week...) have been moved to Saturday nights due to the Lenten season beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 5th. During this season of the Liturgical calendar we (Catholics, as far as I know...maybe other denominations) abstain from meat each Friday until Easter. So, Friday nights will be our fish/vegetarian nights. Last week, I made Baked Salmon with Lemon Pilaf - yummy! That one has been added to the "Lent List" for sure!

Also, I'm gathering books and things for the us as we come closer to the beginning of this season. Here are two that I plan on using:

Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit (Ave Maria Press)

Bring Lent to Life: Activities and Reflections for Your Family

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you celebrate Lent with your family? If so, what are your plans for this season?

What are your favorite fish/vegetarian dishes?

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Linked up with:

 

*This post contains affiliate links*

Menu Plan

Interested in these recipes? Click though to check out This Week's Menu & Freezer Plan board on Pinterest!

Menu Plan

graphic source

Isn't that the perfect design for the month of love? Total cuteness!

I have been making extras of most of my dinner to keep in the freezer. However, before I can get them to the freezer they are used up for lunches for Jason and/or the boys. I am going to be making some more apple-zucchini muffins this week - it's been requested by a certain 4 year old. How can you say "no" to that? Especially when he calls them "sneaky muffins" since the zucchini is in the muffin but can't be tasted? Too funny. I'm also going to make some pizza dough! Fun times! 

Here's the recipes I will be using this week:

Creamy (White) Chicken Chili (pin for later)

Chicken Philly Sandwiches (pin for later)

Spaghizza (pin for later)

Greek Chicken (pin for later)

Santa Fe Chicken Tortellini Casserole (from Betty Crocker Cookbook (Bridal Edition) (Betty Crocker Books))

Have a great week!!



*Affiliate links may be in this post**

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan

Sources:
The Tasty Fork
Six Sisters Stuff
Cooking Light
Kitchen Meets Girl
The Slow Cooker Cookbook [Kindle Edition]




This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase a product that we have recommended, a portion of the sales helps support our blog at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Weekly Menu Plan

Another great week of yummy food ahead! Check it out:

 
Isn't that a cute graphic? Shabby Blogs! They have some pretty cute things up for grabs if you are in search of something fun.

What's on your menu? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sources:
The Pioneer Woman (thanks Kristi!) 
The Slow Cooker Cookbook: 87 Easy, Healthy, and Delicious Recipes for Slow Cooked Meals
100 Dollars a Month 
International Slow Cooker Recipes 
Better Homes and Gardens

Weekly Menu Plan

Welcome back to our weekly menu! I hope you will find some yummy inspiration here, and maybe a few easy tricks to help make it go {almost} as planned.

Having three kids is HARD. But, it is doable once you figure out a plan. And, believe me...there needs to be a plan. I learned that with just having the two boys.

Now there are three. A plan is a most important element in making this - whatever you call it - work.

So, I came across a FABULOUS post about easy menu planning. Tiffany, of Peanut Blossom, is a genius! You have to go read her post about to menu plan the easy way!! If you need your life to be a tad bit more simplified...read it. Read it now. You know what...just stop reading this and go read that.

Ready to see what's in store for our table this week?

Graphic thanks to Shabby Blogs

"Ok, wait...what?! Popcorn for dinner?! You can't be serious...."

Oh, but I am.

I found another post from Zina, of Lasso the Moon, about how she told her kids they were having popcorn for dinner. How great is that? A night off from cooking AND you become the greatest parent that ever lived. Win-Win. Done deal.

See, after I make these yummy dinners... We do have leftovers. Some are divvied up for the freezer, some for Jason's lunch, and some for the boys' lunches. Or saved all together and used in a big buffet of sorts on Saturday for a free-for-all kind of lunch.

And, because it is a Saturday...that means Mass in the morning. So, we have to get to bed to be prepared for the next day and such. Movie is done at a decent time for the boys and popcorn for dinner.

Awesome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recipes from:

Crock On by Stacy Makes Cents

The Slow Cooker Cookbook

International Slow Cooker Cookbook

Once A Month Mom

Weekly Rewind: October 6-12

Here's a look back at the fun that was had this week! Enjoy!!

{SUNDAY}

 GO PACK GO!!!

 Working on some Lego Quests! Here they are working on building their own cars. Alex made one with wings and Andrew made one with a door, crane, and some sort of bulldozing contraption. Cool!

 More lego quests! This one was building anything you want using just one color. Monochromatic! Andrew thought that was a fun word to say.Alex built towers and benches. Andrew built a pyramid with a pool - he even put 1/2 a guy in the pool to make him look like he was swimming. LOL!! 

{TUESDAY}

I got Andrew's school birthday pictures back today and OH, MY GOSH! How cute is he?!?! I love that his teacher uses a little cake for the kids to make a wish and blow out the candles. Very cool!

{FRIDAY}

Just hanging out being a cool kid playing a game on his Leapster :)

 {SATURDAY} 

My fabulous friend, Kristi, threw me a little "stock the diaper" (baby shower) party yesterday. It was SO much fun!! The food was awesome - I mean, just look at that fruit tray complete with probably the best chicken salad on the planet. No joke. And the cupcakes were amazing. In fact, I am going to get one after I hit the "publish" button on this post! Don't you love those little baby bottles filled with the blue M&Ms? Cuteness! Andrew and Alex are using those little bottles for their babies, Tusker and Roary. Too cute. The diaper cake with the little fox blanket was made by another fabulous friend, Amanda. It may have been a smaller get-together, but I seriously do not think that we all laughed THAT much in a while! The stories that we had were hilarious, touching, and the best ones that I hope to remember forever. Good times!! Thank you for coming ladies!! Love you all!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you happened to notice that I did not include any goals for last week... Well, that was done on purpose. I have 24 days to go!!

Instead, I do have a few things on the baby to-do list that are left that I plan to share as November 6th gets closer.

Things like the artwork for Austin's nursery, freezer meals that I hope to get done, Halloween festivities, and a few days here and there where it will just be either Andrew/Mommy days or Alex/Mommy days. And, of course, a date night will be thrown in the mix, too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

This week's menu plan:

Sunday: Black Bean and Chicken Tostadas, Salad, Sliced Apples

Monday: Marmalade Chicken, Rolls, Green Beans

Tuesday: Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup, Fruit

Wednesday: Spaghetti, Rolls, Salad

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza, Popcorn, Movie Night

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 Austin update: Went to the doctor Thursday (10/10) and he is doing well. Right on track and everything. No signs of going early so phew! I don't have time for surprises! Haha! 

24 DAYS TO GO!! 

We can't wait to meet you, Austin!

 

 

This Week's Happenings

This Week's Goals:

Family Goals:
1. Pick up fall book from the library
2. Put together big brother and daddy bags
3. Go on a family adventure this weekend! Maybe something like this?

Personal Goals:
4. Wake up at 530 everyday this week.
5. Keep reading through Catholic Mom's Cafe and A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy
6. Catch up on my fav podcasts in the car while boys are at school and I'm out running errands. I'm back to listening to the Simple Mom podcast and the Inspired to Action podcast. These are great!

Home Goals:
7. Paint the frames for Austin's room.
8. Make another Fall treat! I made Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies over the weekend. I am thinking of making Apple Cider Floats this weekend!
9. Clean up front walk, trim bushes, weed the beds, etc.

 My Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies and some of my fall decorations :) Most of these went into the freezer for later!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Menu Plan:

Sunday: Grilled Balsamic Pork Chops, Red Potatoes, Green Beans

Monday: Meatloaf, Red Potatoes, Salad

Tuesday: Grilled Chicken, Fresh Fruit, Carrots

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Bean and Cheese Burritos, Chips

Friday: Pizza, Popcorn, Movie Night

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, what's going on at your House this week?

Weekly Goals & Menu Plan

Holy moly! It is September! And, almost the middle of September. Which means I almost have a FOUR YEAR OLD in this house! WHAT?!

Ugh. Time is flying by much too fast, people. Much too fast.

Well, let's not hold up the clock then...

Here's a look a what I tried to get done last week:

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. Yeah, I'm not reading through the Glorious Grace eBook anymore. It was a good way to start things, but it isn't a very good study guide in my opinion. So, I'm just sticking to the other 2 books for now.

5. Finish up getting hospital bag together. Didn't even touch this one this week...again...

Home Goals:
6. Start gathering items for Andrew's birthday party! Now just to get the things done this week before the party!

7. Crafting: Austin's quilt!! See my post here for the quilt!

8. Organize: Laundry room Never going to happen...

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

10.Bake 3 of the breakfast items on freezer list Ok, technically, I just got 2 of the items done. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

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. Start working on "The Our Father" - Andrew knows the "Glory Be" now and Alex has most of it. But, I was informed by Andrew that we should learn the "daily bread" one. It took me a moment to realize which prayer he was talking about... He is learning that one at school, so he knows some of it.

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

5. Finish up getting hospital bag together.

Party To-Do's:
6. Get the rest of Andrew's party supplies/groceries

7. Bake/decorate cake and cupcakes

8. Put up decorations for party

That's all I'm going to attempt to do this week. The weeks after the party leading up to Austin's arrival are going to be crazy!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Menu Plan!

 

Monday: Beef Taco Pasta, Salad

Tuesday: Southwest Steak Bowls

Wednesday: Sesame Chicken

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza, Popcorn, Movie Night

Saturday: TBD

Sunday: Brats, Hot Dogs, and LOTS of FUN!!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

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

 

 

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... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 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 :)
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

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)

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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!

Getting Back Into It {10 Weekly Goals + Menu Plan}

Hello, hello! We are officially down to one week before school starts! Andrew starts K3 next week and Alex (gasp!) will start K2 the week after. Holy moly, right?!

Anyway, I figure it is time to get back into the swing of things here. Yes, I have still been checking off goals I want to accomplish for the week. And, yes, I still made menu plans for the summer. But, I will be back to sharing those again (starting today!)

But, first...

Let's rewind back to the weekend! Which was...awwwweeeesssommme!! Seriously. 

 

Saturday was just a day for the mamas! Like...ALL DAY Saturday! I love my boys so very much, but being able to be out of the house for an entire day was so great. Not having to worry about whether or not we will get home in time for a nap. Not having to clean up after everyone. Nt having to worry about which restaurant has a kids' menu. It. Was. Great. Kristi picked me up at 9-ish and we didn't get back home until 530-ish. Ah-mazing! Wondering where we went? Well, we headed out to the Babypalooza (a baby an maternity expo for mamas). Sure this may not be our first times in this department being mamas already and all. We wanted the free stuff! Ha! Too funny! But, oh...we came home with BAGS of freebies - bottles, formula, giveaway entries, coupons galore, nifty reusable bags (which I love!), and LOTS of information. It was great. We even ran into a mama friend who got interviewed and was on the news the next morning! Very cool. I did grab a few freebies for the boys, too. Other than the ring pops, this may have been the highlight for them!

The doctors are ready for Austin! LOL

 

After that we had lunch and sat at the bar (yeah, I know...kinda mean since we couldn't drink. But, I'm sure we will get out again some time after our babies are delivered. By the way, I love a wonderful Pink Moscato and Cosmopolitans just in case there is a delivery service come November!). Then, we headed out to Buy Buy Baby to get Kristi registered. And, of course, I ended up buying something(s) for Austin! Check out his "going home" outfit!

 

  AHHH!!! Love it!!

And, how cool is that? His little outfit has Andrew's blue, Alex's green, and Austin's orange - complete with a little fox on the front! So. Stinkin'. Cute. And how about that hat?! LOVE!!

Once I got home with all of the goodies from Saturday's adventure, I was quite impressed (and surprised) at what I came home to... Wait... Wait... 

A CLEAN HOUSE! 

 

What?! Yes! A clean house, 2 little boys who already had a shower and their pajamas, and, of course, a wonderful husband! Awesome. A whole DAY for me AND a clean house... I don't need to win any other kind of lottery. That was the best thing ever! Thanks, guys!!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Of course, weekends do come to an end and real life must continue. So, on to this week's goals and menu plan!

 

Family Goals:

1. Work on schoolwork on off-days after breakfast

2. Family walk after dinner

3. Work on learning the "Glory Be" before bedtime (they almost have this one down!)

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)

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

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).

Home Goals:

7. Crafting: Football scarf from old Packers shirts of mine (similar to this) / Make train Crossing sign for boys' room

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!

9. Organize: Hall closet and under boys' bathroom sink / Go through scrap fabric stash for smaller projects for Austin

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!)

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Getting hungry after seeing all that I want to accomplish this week? No worries! Here's the menu plan (I actually have the next 2 weeks decided, but I'll just share this week's for now). 

Monday: Balsamic Chicken, Salad, and Fruit

Tuesday: Summer Pasta, Salad

Wednesday: Pancakes and Sausage (requested by Alex haha!)

Thursday: Leftovers/Sandwiches

Friday: Tacos, Chips and Salsa

Saturday: Grilled Chicken, Potato Salad, and Fruit

Sunday: Leftovers/Sandwiches

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Well, people. That is all I have for now. As I get some of these projects done, I will post them on our Facebook and Instagram accounts. So, drop by and check us out. Otherwise, you will have to wait until the end of weekend to see our progress. 

Have a great week everyone!

Menu Plan

Menu Plan

Check it out! Found a fun menu! Would you like one, too? Click here for the original post.

Menu Plan

Menu Plan

This week I am bringing out the slow cooker! Also, since we are in the season of Lent, our pizza/movie nights are moved to Saturday as we are meat-free on Fridays. Happy cooking!

Do you want a fabulous menu plan freebie, too? Check out this and more of Kelley's creations over at The Grant Life!