Menu Monday

Trying to stay on Menu.  Last week we ate a lot of turkey.  I was recovering from a weird cold.  I baked a turkey and it fed them all for several days.  This next week, everyone is required to make one meal a week to help out.  More if they would like.  We will see how this goes.  So if there is a name next to a menu item, that is who is cooking that meal.

Sunday
B- Cherry Crescent rolls
L - Sandwiches/soup
D- Chicago Deep dish pizza and salad

Monday
B - Breakfast out - Fasting blood work is being done. So going to Bob Evans afterward
L - Salmon cakes and rice
D - Fried Japanese Noodles - (Caty)

Tuesday
B - Waffle sandwiches
L - Cheeseburger macaroni soup - (Joey)
D - Snacks - Pizza Bagels

Wednesday
B - Caramel pecan rolls
L - Potato/cauliflower soup
D - Hot chicken sandwiches w/ sweet potato fries (Joey)

Thursday
B - Pumpkin muffins and fruit
L - Noodle soup w/ grilled cheese
D - Butter chicken with rice

Friday
B- Pancakes
L- Chicken salad
D- Chicken parmesan w/ noodles & salad (Brayden)

Saturday
B- Biscuits and gravy
L-  Big Mac Salads
D- Taco rice bowls w/ side of corn & beans (Lydia)

Why I plan.....
Who isn't busy?!?!  Kids schedules, schoolwork, work, WOW!!  Life just does not stop!

When I create a menu, I include our schedule on it also.  In fact, I type the schedule into the table that I created first.  Then I know what is going on that day, and I can plan crockpot meals or even know if I need to have a make-ahead meal ready.  I do not use a fancy downloadable calendar, I simply use Microsoft Word.  I have a table I created on there.  At the bottom, I keep a running list of menu items that either I want them to try or food that is loved by all.

Hope everyone has a great week!!  See everyone next Monday!

When Life Gets Busy....Work Around It! - First Day of Winter Fun

Joe was finally home this week.  He had been out of town off and on for two weeks.  So what did we start out with on Monday....doctor appointments and more PT.  We killed time between appointments at the local coffee shop. 

I treated myself to new tennis shoes.  I'm a bit of an Under Armour groupee.  I really like their clothes and shoes.  I like how long they seem to last, so for me it's worth the extra cost.  I just watch for them to go on sale.  I got a good deal on these at Kohls.

Another game on the road.  Joey and I rode with the team this week.  This was a pretty good game that night.  Brayden had to work, so he didn't get to come.  Most of the games have been on the nights that he works.

Lydia and I worked on taking all our fall decorations down and packing them up.  This is her snowman jar she made off of a Pinterest picture.

They visited Iowa in State Geography.

Lunch was loose meat sandwiches and corn.

Caty found this sweater and fell in love with it.  It cracked me up when I saw the van roof when the sun hit her sweater and reflected.

We got some workouts in during sports practices.

And I worked on a scarf gift as much as I could.  This scarf has taken longer because of the pattern.  I had to pull and redo many stitches.

For Thursdays game, I baked both teams basketball cookies.  This took a little longer than I planned, but I think they turned out cute.

The girls started the days leading to the American Revolution in history reading and videos.  Brayden is still working his way through a fraction refresher.  Caty is having a love-hate relationship with her first introduction to official pre-algebra.  And I discovered that Lydia is struggling with her math level.  She kept telling me that she was getting 100%.  I hadn't checked the last couple weeks, since normally she was getting that grade.  Turns out she was getting half that.  Since you can delete and redo lessons in Teaching Textbooks, that is what we are doing.  I am sitting with her for each lesson though.  I am keeping her from rushing through each lesson and failing it.  Trying to make sure she understands it.

Lydia worked at the zoo on Friday night.  I had developed a nasty cold.  But went with Joe to take her to work.  After a quick trip through Meijer, he got Packos.  Something he hasn't had in a while.  If you have every watched MASH, you will have heard of Tony Packos from Klinger.  This is an iconic place to each in Toledo.

Saturday morning brought the First Day of Winter.  I had been planning this since the First Day of Fall...lol.  Collecting little treats since then too.

We got them all new socks that match their personalities.

I planned out themed meals, at least Breakfast and Dinner since Lydia worked at the Zoo.  For breakfast, I made hot cocoa Cream of Wheat.

They did some winter crafts.

I got the decorations changed on my ladder in the living room.

Dinner was Snowman arms and Blizzard Pasta.  Parmesan breadsticks and cheese tortellini pasta with alfredo sauce.  And we watched a winter movie.

Saige loves car rides.  She sees us put on our shoes and flips out wanting to go.  I'm going to have to buy her a seatbelt though.  She moves too much in the vehicle.

Hope everyone had a great week!!

Chemical Volcanoes, Visiting Indiana, and the French & Indian War

December has been a busy month for basketball.  Which means a busy time for me.  Keeping track of work schedules, class schedules, and sports schedules have been a challenge this month.

Lydia had another riding competition.

And we started listening to Little Women to prepare for coming to see the upcoming movie.

In Geography we visited Indiana.  All the kids but Caty were born in Indiana.  We used to live in Northeastern Indiana, and it's where Joe is from.  Caty though is pure Buckeye....lol

State geography meal was pork tenderloin sandwiches.

Caty made Hoosier Sugar Cream pie.  She got a little crazy with the cinnamon and nutmeg.  Everyone enjoyed it.

Major flashback.....me as a senior!!

In Science we worked in volcanic eruptions.  This was ketchup, vinegar, and baking soda.

This was potassium permgamate and glycerine.

We did some experiments adding water to the mixture.

To see what an underwater volcano could look like.  It was very cool

So then we made an underwater volcano.  This was just the lava lamp in a jar project.  It's water, oil, food coloring, and alka-seltzer tablets.  The younger kids thought this was great!

The girls and I snuck off to finally see Frozen 2.

Beautiful full moon we enjoyed on our way to drop off Lydia at the stable to work.

In History we covered the French and Indian War.  Watched some videos from Crash Course History also.

The girls working on their art books while we killed time at McDonald's between pick-up and drop offs.  I have to time things out when Joe is on trips and I'm the only driver.  With Brayden's work schedule and the travel game schedule, it was by the minute most of December.

Home game finally!  Joey is great on defense.  He likes playing as long as he's not pressured to take a shot.

Lydia started writing a story.  She became obsessed with it.  It still needs editing.  But she has been several hours working on it so far.

Caty had to make a family tree in Japanese for her class.

She woke up one morning and decided she wanted scrambled eggs for breakfast.  So she made her own.

Lots of PT this week, and had to balance in chiropractor for Lydia too. The PT said the combination could help her knee and back.

I spent as much time crocheting as I could.  I carry it wherever I go, just in case.

When Joe was in Tennessee he went ax throwing.  So we found a spot for us to go out to.  This was interesting, and a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

I eventually hit the target a few times.  Got a couple of center shots.

A dear friend of ours got married over the weekend.  I helped out in the kitchen making food and clean-up.  It was such a beautiful ceremony (I saw pictures) and reception.  We had a lot of fun.

Hope everyone had a great week!!