So I'm learning that sometimes you can't follow a meal plan. In the past I've done menus and after two weeks I stopped making them because there were days where I didn't follow it exactly and felt like I failed. But, hey guess what? I have kids.
There are days where plans change, and therefore menus change. So do bedtimes and school schedules and all sorts of other stuff. But that doesn't mean I give up on all of our routines and such, which is a good thing because anarchy at our house is unpleasant to say the least. I've seen it before, and I'll not go back on my own accord.
We didn't camp last weekend (thanks to Idaho weather where it's been snowing and raining and too windy to take an asthmatic toddler out). That means we didn't have camping food, which means my menu got all messed up, but that's okay. It's still saving us money on shopping day (which is tomorrow for me), and helps keep me a little bit more sane. Okay, scratch that, because sanity runs thin around here, but the meal plan does help me feel like there's one less thing 'up in the air' from day to day.
Anyway, here's the plan for this week...
Monday - Cheese Quesidillas, green beans, Spanish rice.
Tuesday - Chicken and Rice, peas and carrots.
Wednesday - Pizza Pasta, green salad.
Thursday - No idea yet. Something with beef to even out my chickeny week. Will be inspired by coupons and sale ads this afternoon.
Friday - Chicken Jenn (an easy yummy meal, chunks of chicken, diced green and red peppers, diced onions, a can of alfredo sauce, white wine, and whatever seasonings Hubbs adds: throw it all together and serve over rice or noodles).
Saturday - Meatball Subs.
Sunday - Pork Ribs I think. Not sure of sides. I don't grill stuff, so I'll have to talk with Hubbs to see if he's interested in firing up the grill.
I'm off to clip and gather coupons, write my list, and peruse the fridge for whatever leftovers may play a part in lunches this week.
Later, gators!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wow, it's Wednesday?
So here's my Meal Plan, even though it's not Monday.
Sunday - We had chicken with diced onions and some sort of home made marinade, thanks to Hubbs. Green beans and rice rounded off the meat-veggie-starch requirements.
Monday - I've been ill, and Hubbs graciously allowed pizza. Epic failure, however, was finding a coupon that would have saved us $7 three hours after the pizza was devoured.
Tuesday - Hamburger Helper, cheeseburger macaroni. It's my kids' favorite, and it's cheap. And I'm sick, remember??
Wednesday - Spaghetti w/red sauce, salad and rescent rolls. I'll make Hubbs white sauce for his since he doesn't like red sauce (I know, he's weird.)
Thursday - Pork Chops, butter noodles and carrots. I really hope I'll be feeling better by then.
Friday/Saturday/Sunday - CAMPING!! Woo Hoo!!! Camping meals are obviously a little different than table dinners, but the main difference with us is that we're not so stuck to the meat-veggie-starch routine. Side dishes include potato, macaroni and pasta salads, and veggies are usually non-existent unless we get inspired to do veggie kabobs, or find good corn on the cob.
Friday - Burgers and dogs.
Saturday - Pork Spare Ribs, in Hubbs' delicious 'ancient Chinese secret' rub.
Sunday - Chicken quarters.
Hope this gives someone an idea, though this week is probably not so inspiring. However, I'll say again, it helps me having it committed to paper. Or screen. Whatever. =)
Later, gators.
Sunday - We had chicken with diced onions and some sort of home made marinade, thanks to Hubbs. Green beans and rice rounded off the meat-veggie-starch requirements.
Monday - I've been ill, and Hubbs graciously allowed pizza. Epic failure, however, was finding a coupon that would have saved us $7 three hours after the pizza was devoured.
Tuesday - Hamburger Helper, cheeseburger macaroni. It's my kids' favorite, and it's cheap. And I'm sick, remember??
Wednesday - Spaghetti w/red sauce, salad and rescent rolls. I'll make Hubbs white sauce for his since he doesn't like red sauce (I know, he's weird.)
Thursday - Pork Chops, butter noodles and carrots. I really hope I'll be feeling better by then.
Friday/Saturday/Sunday - CAMPING!! Woo Hoo!!! Camping meals are obviously a little different than table dinners, but the main difference with us is that we're not so stuck to the meat-veggie-starch routine. Side dishes include potato, macaroni and pasta salads, and veggies are usually non-existent unless we get inspired to do veggie kabobs, or find good corn on the cob.
Friday - Burgers and dogs.
Saturday - Pork Spare Ribs, in Hubbs' delicious 'ancient Chinese secret' rub.
Sunday - Chicken quarters.
Hope this gives someone an idea, though this week is probably not so inspiring. However, I'll say again, it helps me having it committed to paper. Or screen. Whatever. =)
Later, gators.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tot School
My son Booger is advanced. I hate sounding all braggy, but it's true. By birth, he should be finishing second grade, but according to the assessments we completed today, his vocabulary and reading comprehension are at a solid eighth grade level, his math is somewhere between third and fourth grade. There aren't any history or science assessments that I could find, but since our local school system doesn't start history until fourth grade and science until fifth or sixth, I imagine he's ahead in those as well.
I didn't do this on purpose. When he was born I didn't actively set out for him to be Malcolm in the Middle (maybe that's stretching it, he's not *quite* that smart). I didn't start with flash cards and math drills while he was still in a high chair. I didn't intentionally teach him at all. I read to him a lot, and as soon as he went into a big boy bed (16 months) he would sneak out at night and bring half the bookshelf over to the nightlight. Other than reading, I didn't do anything special.
I did, however, have a home day care. I originally started "just watching other peoples' kids" to earn some money. I soon learned that bored kids are bad kids, and also discovered that God blessed me with the ability to teach. So I designed my own preschool curriculum and started advertising home base preschool program. From the time Boog was 8 months old, he sat at Circle Time with the preschoolers, or went to story time at the local library. He participated in all of the arts and crafts, obviously in an age appropriate manner, and all of the field trips. Booger got smart by osmosis.
I don't do home day care anymore, nor do I teach preschool. While homeschooling Booger (as lax as it was this past year) I realized that Weenie is getting old enough that she doesn't take a morning nap and will need something to keep her occupied. While going through the curriculum choices for Booger (and FINALLY have made some choices, more to come on that), I wondered what on Earth am I going to do with Weenie to keep her busy? I've become very familiar with other homeschooling moms who blog about having various ages of children to teach (please check out the buttons listed to the left, they are some fantastic ladies and they offer a plethora of knowledge on all sorts of stuff). So between perusing other homeschooling moms' blogs, I've decided that Weenie isn't too young for an actual curriculum. I've designed curriculum for the preschool age, and thought it would be easy to come up with a toddler curriculum. However, with all of the different roles I play (wife, mom, home school teacher, Sunday school teacher, youth group teacher, college student, housewife, etc.) the thought of doing one more thing nearly made me sick to my stomach. So I did some more research. There are free, online, pre-made toddler curricula out there on the world wide web! Who knew?!
My goal with Weenie is to provide three intentional activities a day (I cannot for the life of me remember who else said the same thing, but I thought it was a great idea and if you're reading this and have said the same thing in your own blog, please comment so I can give credit where credit is due!). I will be combining two different pre-made curriculum programs, (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready, by June R. Oberlander; and an online program I found at http://www.pammshouse.com/toddlers) and working in activities I get emailed to me by a fabulous fellow Tweeter who has an awesome webpage (http://www.play-activities.com/)
How about you guys? Do you have a toddler that you're using a curriculum with? What has worked with you for scheduling time with little guys versus the big guys? What does this look like at your house? I'd love to hear from y'all!!
And I promise, next post (okay, maybe post after next) will be about Booger's curriculum, and how our family does scheduling and such. Until then, later gators!
I didn't do this on purpose. When he was born I didn't actively set out for him to be Malcolm in the Middle (maybe that's stretching it, he's not *quite* that smart). I didn't start with flash cards and math drills while he was still in a high chair. I didn't intentionally teach him at all. I read to him a lot, and as soon as he went into a big boy bed (16 months) he would sneak out at night and bring half the bookshelf over to the nightlight. Other than reading, I didn't do anything special.
I did, however, have a home day care. I originally started "just watching other peoples' kids" to earn some money. I soon learned that bored kids are bad kids, and also discovered that God blessed me with the ability to teach. So I designed my own preschool curriculum and started advertising home base preschool program. From the time Boog was 8 months old, he sat at Circle Time with the preschoolers, or went to story time at the local library. He participated in all of the arts and crafts, obviously in an age appropriate manner, and all of the field trips. Booger got smart by osmosis.
I don't do home day care anymore, nor do I teach preschool. While homeschooling Booger (as lax as it was this past year) I realized that Weenie is getting old enough that she doesn't take a morning nap and will need something to keep her occupied. While going through the curriculum choices for Booger (and FINALLY have made some choices, more to come on that), I wondered what on Earth am I going to do with Weenie to keep her busy? I've become very familiar with other homeschooling moms who blog about having various ages of children to teach (please check out the buttons listed to the left, they are some fantastic ladies and they offer a plethora of knowledge on all sorts of stuff). So between perusing other homeschooling moms' blogs, I've decided that Weenie isn't too young for an actual curriculum. I've designed curriculum for the preschool age, and thought it would be easy to come up with a toddler curriculum. However, with all of the different roles I play (wife, mom, home school teacher, Sunday school teacher, youth group teacher, college student, housewife, etc.) the thought of doing one more thing nearly made me sick to my stomach. So I did some more research. There are free, online, pre-made toddler curricula out there on the world wide web! Who knew?!
My goal with Weenie is to provide three intentional activities a day (I cannot for the life of me remember who else said the same thing, but I thought it was a great idea and if you're reading this and have said the same thing in your own blog, please comment so I can give credit where credit is due!). I will be combining two different pre-made curriculum programs, (Slow and Steady Get Me Ready, by June R. Oberlander; and an online program I found at http://www.pammshouse.com/toddlers) and working in activities I get emailed to me by a fabulous fellow Tweeter who has an awesome webpage (http://www.play-activities.com/)
How about you guys? Do you have a toddler that you're using a curriculum with? What has worked with you for scheduling time with little guys versus the big guys? What does this look like at your house? I'd love to hear from y'all!!
And I promise, next post (okay, maybe post after next) will be about Booger's curriculum, and how our family does scheduling and such. Until then, later gators!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Meal Plan Monday
If you have read any of my Tweets, you'll know that I detest cooking. Hubbs is a killer chef, but he works 3p-11p and therefore he isn't here to prepare our meals. That leaves me struggling in the kitchen. I used to peruse the grocery store freezer section for casseroles and easy stuff, box dinners and the like. Since our new budget plan is in effect, those things really add up and we're trying to cut our grocery bill. So while I'm not baking from complete scratch, I am having to actually cook. Breakfasts and lunches are a free for all around here, three out of four kids and a husband can prepare their own daytime meals, and it saves me time and frustration. So all I do is dinner. My mother-in-law has taught me that each meal must have a meat, vegetable, and a starch.
Monday - Philly Cheese Steaks (is that all one word?), the peppers and onions count for the vegetable and the buns count for the starch. I'll add a salad for myself to fill up so I only have half a sandwich, as I am trying to eat a little healthier.
Tuesday - BBQ Chicken, corn, and an envelope rice (we get the store brand because they're cheaper and taste just the same).
Wednesday - Tortellini w/ white sauce, crescent rolls and salad. I have Youth Group on Wednesdays, so it's always a quicker meal as we have to be out of the house by 5:45 and don't get home until after 9.
Thursday - Pork chops, carrots, and an envelope noodle.
Friday - Chicken Patty Parmigiana, broccoli and rolls. My kids love this, and it's not too expensive and it's easy, so it's a meal I'm keeping from my lazy days. Coat a baking dish with a layer of red sauce, plop as many frozen chicken patties in there that will fit, cover with a layer of red sauce, top with shredded cheese, cover and bake at 350* for 20 minutes or so.
Saturday - Leftovers, we call this Fend For Yourself day.
Sunday - No idea yet. Sundays are our big family dinners, since Hubbs is home with us, and he usually prepares this meal. He says he cannot be held down to a menu plan, as he is inspired on a whim and goes to the store to get what he needs. This goes against all I know about budgeting and cutting a grocery bill, but I let him have this freedom because whatever he comes up with is always mouth-watering delicious.
Hope this helps someone out there. Just posting it and making it concrete has helped me! Thanks!
Later, gators!
Monday - Philly Cheese Steaks (is that all one word?), the peppers and onions count for the vegetable and the buns count for the starch. I'll add a salad for myself to fill up so I only have half a sandwich, as I am trying to eat a little healthier.
Tuesday - BBQ Chicken, corn, and an envelope rice (we get the store brand because they're cheaper and taste just the same).
Wednesday - Tortellini w/ white sauce, crescent rolls and salad. I have Youth Group on Wednesdays, so it's always a quicker meal as we have to be out of the house by 5:45 and don't get home until after 9.
Thursday - Pork chops, carrots, and an envelope noodle.
Friday - Chicken Patty Parmigiana, broccoli and rolls. My kids love this, and it's not too expensive and it's easy, so it's a meal I'm keeping from my lazy days. Coat a baking dish with a layer of red sauce, plop as many frozen chicken patties in there that will fit, cover with a layer of red sauce, top with shredded cheese, cover and bake at 350* for 20 minutes or so.
Saturday - Leftovers, we call this Fend For Yourself day.
Sunday - No idea yet. Sundays are our big family dinners, since Hubbs is home with us, and he usually prepares this meal. He says he cannot be held down to a menu plan, as he is inspired on a whim and goes to the store to get what he needs. This goes against all I know about budgeting and cutting a grocery bill, but I let him have this freedom because whatever he comes up with is always mouth-watering delicious.
Hope this helps someone out there. Just posting it and making it concrete has helped me! Thanks!
Later, gators!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Birthday on a Budget
I know I said I was going to write about picking new homeschool curriculum, but it hit me this morning that Booger's birthday party is this weekend. I thought I'd share how we're going to do this whole shin dig on a budget...
My theory is this - boys don't care about pretty stuff. They don't care about streamers and banners and plates that match. Boog isn't into any theme of any sort, so Iron Man or Star Wars won't be invited. Boys want to run around like lunatics with a purpose, and food, so we're doing backyard games and a Sundae Bar.
First, The Tangle. I have random yarn in my art closet in several different colors. I'm going to tangle them up and wrap them around the different playground structures in the backyard, making sort of a web. Each player will get assigned a color of yarn to untangle, the first person to bring me their entire string untangled from the rest wins.
Second, a relay race: The famous suitcase relay, where two teams will race against each other to run to a suitcase, put the clothes on, run back to the line. There they will have to put on a blindfold, dump out a basket full of footballs and basketballs, then with the help of their team mates' shouts will have to find the balls and them back in the basket. After that's done, they'll go back and undress, pack up the suitcase and then go tag the next person. I'm already tired.
Then, a game of Clothes Pin Balloon Tag. Players will get 3 clothespins on the back of their shirts, and a balloon tied to their ankle by a 12 inch piece of yarn. The object is to pull the clothespins from your opponents' shirts without getting your own pulled. Once a person's clothespins are all pulled, then you can pop their balloon. Last player with a balloon wins.
Last, to settle everyone a bit, a game of "Who Am I?" Each player will write down an object or person on an index card. All cards will be placed in a lunch sack, then each player will pull out a card, without looking at it, and tape it to their foreheads. Using yes or no questions, each kid will have to guess what or who they are.
For the Grand Finale, a Sundae Bar. For less than $20, I can get a big bucket of ice cream, a thing of chocolate, strawberry and caramel syrup, crushed peanuts, maraschino cherries, and whip cream. Paired with a homemade cake and sugar free juice, a yummy treat for both belly and bank account.
For goodie bags, the dollar store has cheap cellophane theme-less birthday bags. I'll get some party favors from there as well, squirt guns and such, and the $5 bag of candy from the grocery store.
All in all, cheap and easy fun for Boog and twelve of his friends. Yes, twelve. There will be twelve 8-9 year old little hooligans running around my backyard this Saturday afternoon. If you don't hear from me soon thereafter, please call for help.
Here are some links to where I got the ideas for the back yard games... Some games look great for youth group (I plan on using some of these for my Wednesday night crowd), family reunions, or just goofin' off in the backyard. Hope y'all have some fun!
http://www.momswhothink.com/birthday-party-games/outdoor-games-for-boys.html
http://www.bostonclown.com/PartyPlanning/boys_games.htm
http://www.gameskidsplay.net/
Later, gators!
My theory is this - boys don't care about pretty stuff. They don't care about streamers and banners and plates that match. Boog isn't into any theme of any sort, so Iron Man or Star Wars won't be invited. Boys want to run around like lunatics with a purpose, and food, so we're doing backyard games and a Sundae Bar.
First, The Tangle. I have random yarn in my art closet in several different colors. I'm going to tangle them up and wrap them around the different playground structures in the backyard, making sort of a web. Each player will get assigned a color of yarn to untangle, the first person to bring me their entire string untangled from the rest wins.
Second, a relay race: The famous suitcase relay, where two teams will race against each other to run to a suitcase, put the clothes on, run back to the line. There they will have to put on a blindfold, dump out a basket full of footballs and basketballs, then with the help of their team mates' shouts will have to find the balls and them back in the basket. After that's done, they'll go back and undress, pack up the suitcase and then go tag the next person. I'm already tired.
Then, a game of Clothes Pin Balloon Tag. Players will get 3 clothespins on the back of their shirts, and a balloon tied to their ankle by a 12 inch piece of yarn. The object is to pull the clothespins from your opponents' shirts without getting your own pulled. Once a person's clothespins are all pulled, then you can pop their balloon. Last player with a balloon wins.
Last, to settle everyone a bit, a game of "Who Am I?" Each player will write down an object or person on an index card. All cards will be placed in a lunch sack, then each player will pull out a card, without looking at it, and tape it to their foreheads. Using yes or no questions, each kid will have to guess what or who they are.
For the Grand Finale, a Sundae Bar. For less than $20, I can get a big bucket of ice cream, a thing of chocolate, strawberry and caramel syrup, crushed peanuts, maraschino cherries, and whip cream. Paired with a homemade cake and sugar free juice, a yummy treat for both belly and bank account.
For goodie bags, the dollar store has cheap cellophane theme-less birthday bags. I'll get some party favors from there as well, squirt guns and such, and the $5 bag of candy from the grocery store.
All in all, cheap and easy fun for Boog and twelve of his friends. Yes, twelve. There will be twelve 8-9 year old little hooligans running around my backyard this Saturday afternoon. If you don't hear from me soon thereafter, please call for help.
Here are some links to where I got the ideas for the back yard games... Some games look great for youth group (I plan on using some of these for my Wednesday night crowd), family reunions, or just goofin' off in the backyard. Hope y'all have some fun!
http://www.momswhothink.com/birthday-party-games/outdoor-games-for-boys.html
http://www.bostonclown.com/PartyPlanning/boys_games.htm
http://www.gameskidsplay.net/
Later, gators!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Here I go...
Okay, so after taking entirely too long to put together the pretty stuff here, I thought it was time to actually say something. I suppose the point of this blog is to sorta share what's going on in my life, as a Christian homeschooling mom of three and a half kids (I have a stepdaughter, I love her tons and tons but she has another mommy too so we only get her half the time). With the age span of my children, our family motto is "Never a Dull Moment" because, well, somebody always has something going on... From teething to cell phone bills, there is always some level of chaos around here. So, blogging it out might ease the pandemonium inside my head.
I plan on sharing how I do things around here, as far as homeschooling, household organization/management, and other Mom Issues. As we have very recently gone from two incomes down to one, I am new to the whole budget thing. One of the first things we're working on with budgetting is cooking, because I hate to cook but freezer meals and easy prep stuff is too expensive. So budgetting and cheap/easy recipes should make their way to this loveliness too.
A bit of a background for those who don't know us...
I'm Jenn, married for nearly ten years to a fantastic man, I call him Sgt FancyPants but from here on out I'll just call him Hubbs. I have three and a half children, seen in pics on the left side. My oldest son is technically my step son, but he has been mine for eleven years. My stepdaughter lives with her mother, and we see her twice a year. I homeschool my 8 year old because he is WAY too smart for the public schools here, and I will be starting a toddler curriculum with my youngest next month. I have been in the Early Childhood Education field for twelve years, working in all sorts of different positions within the career field. I also teach Sunday School and the Wednesday night youth group at our church, and am in school for a degree in ECE before eventually getting my Master's in Occupational Therapy. I hate to cook (I know I said that already, but I despise it so much that it deserved another mention), love to read, and we're big campers. And we have two dogs, because life isn't hectic enough.
Later, gators...
P.S. Next entry: picking homeschool curriculum...
I plan on sharing how I do things around here, as far as homeschooling, household organization/management, and other Mom Issues. As we have very recently gone from two incomes down to one, I am new to the whole budget thing. One of the first things we're working on with budgetting is cooking, because I hate to cook but freezer meals and easy prep stuff is too expensive. So budgetting and cheap/easy recipes should make their way to this loveliness too.
A bit of a background for those who don't know us...
I'm Jenn, married for nearly ten years to a fantastic man, I call him Sgt FancyPants but from here on out I'll just call him Hubbs. I have three and a half children, seen in pics on the left side. My oldest son is technically my step son, but he has been mine for eleven years. My stepdaughter lives with her mother, and we see her twice a year. I homeschool my 8 year old because he is WAY too smart for the public schools here, and I will be starting a toddler curriculum with my youngest next month. I have been in the Early Childhood Education field for twelve years, working in all sorts of different positions within the career field. I also teach Sunday School and the Wednesday night youth group at our church, and am in school for a degree in ECE before eventually getting my Master's in Occupational Therapy. I hate to cook (I know I said that already, but I despise it so much that it deserved another mention), love to read, and we're big campers. And we have two dogs, because life isn't hectic enough.
Later, gators...
P.S. Next entry: picking homeschool curriculum...
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