Menu Plan for December 28th

I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Christmas. Ours was wonderful and thankfully our living room is recovering nicely from the barrage of gift-opening it saw. Now we get to focus on preparing for our new arrival in two weeks. I hope the time goes by fast as I'm starting to feel uncomfortable more often than not these days.

OK, so I didn't menu plan last week. There were several nights I knew we wouldn't be eating at home and, since I didn't feel good anyway, I decided to just wing it on the nights we were home. It seemed to work out just fine. This week, though, I'm back to my planning. I'm also hoping to double some of these and do some extra cooking this week (as my energy levels allow) in order to have meals in the freezer for after baby is born.

Monday - Brown rice and lentil casserole

Tuesday - Split pea soup

Wednesday - Beef potato casserole

Thursday - Corn Chowder

Friday - Watching the Rose Bowl at my parents, dinner there.

Saturday - Pork Chops

Sunday - leftovers (and I may cook the turkey I have in my freezer and divide it up to make multiple meals/casseroles for the freezer.)

So that's my week! For more menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie.

Have a blessed week,

Glennda

Menu Plan for December 14th

Wow, another busy weekend! But I'm now basically done with my Christmas shopping! Yeah!! I haven't really felt much like cooking lately, probably a combination of (advanced) pregnancy (only 28 days to go!!!) and busyness, so it took me a little while to come up with things that sounded good. And in the end, I may not stick to this completely :o) But I got it done and it's really the thought that counts, right?!?

Monday - Pot Roast

Tuesday - Hearty Turkey Cheese Chowder

Wednesday - Taco's/Burritos

Thursday - Honey Hoisin Chicken

Friday - Yumm Bowls (I'm finally going to try these, Rebeca!)

Saturday - Cookie decorating and then dinner at the in-laws

Sunday - Cookie decorating and then dinner at my parents :o)

I hope everyone has a wonderful pre-Christmas week! For more menu plans, check out Organizing Junkie.

Blessings,

Glennda

Diaper Bag

OK, so this is probably my favorite project so far. It was a lot of fun to put together, creating the pockets allowed for a lot of individual creativity. I really wanted a new diaper bag with this baby as I wanted something a little more girly and I've been a little frustrated with the pockets on the handmade bag I currently have. So I was really excited to create this the way I wanted. And I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. Hopefully I'll still like it when I actually start to use it! :o)

This is one side of the outside with one large pocket. You can also see the smaller pocket that spans the side seam.

Here is the other side of the outside. Both the poke-a-dot piece and the brown are pockets.

And here is the best I could do of the inside. It's not very easy to take a picture of the inside of a bag by yourself, lol. Basically one side has a big zippered pocket (the lime green) and then a smaller pocket on the front. The other side has two kinda tall skinny pockets with smaller pockets on the front. There is also a magnetic closure at the top of the bag.

I'm also working on a nursing cover in similar colors. It won't match perfectly 'cause I didn't want to use decorator fabric for it, but it will coordinate :o) I will post pictures of that also, when I finish it.

Blessings,

Glennda

Mei Tai

My favorite style of baby carrier is the Mei Tai, sometimes called an Asian Baby Carrier (or ABC). However, as with most baby wearing options, they can be rather spendy to purchase. So I have decided to make mine. Here is my latest version.

This is the side that will be closest to baby. I picked a nice soft material.

This is the outside. The lime green square is a pocket that is accessed from the side, like a sweatshirt. The green straps at the top will hook through loops on the straps (I haven't put the loops on yet) to keep the sleeping hood up.

This picture shows what it looks like with the sleeping hood in the down position.

Once again the colors in the pictures didn't turn out quite right, but I think it gives a good idea. The inside is light pink. The straps are chocolate brown. The outside is a cream with light pink, dark pink and lime green poke-a-dots. And the pocket and the hood straps are lime green.

Blessings,

Glennda

Baby's first outfit

We have a tradition of getting each baby a special outfit as their "first outfit". Really it's just the one we put on them to get their picture taken at the hospital :o) But, we put a lot of thought into picking just the right one and then, when they grow out of it, it goes in their baby box and no future children get to wear it. My hope is to give them each their first outfit either when they marry or when they have their first child. Anyway, I decided to make this baby's first outfit. So here are some pictures of it.

This is the front.

This is the back. I'm thinking I will sew matching buttons on the sides of the shoes.

BTW, the color is a pretty rose pink, the pictures kinda make it look orangish.

Blessings,

Glennda

Menu Plan for December 7th

Wow! What a weekend. I feel like I need a weekend to recover from my weekend, lol. Sorry I'm just now getting this out, I'm moving a little slow this morning.

Monday - Spicy Black Bean Soup

Tuesday - Crock-pot Rotisserie Chicken

Wednesday - BBQ Chicken Pizza

Thursday - Italian Lentil & Barley Soup

Friday - Mac & Cheese and Brownies for our Christmas Potluck

Saturday - Chicken Noodle Soup

For more menu planning ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.

Have a blessed week!

Glennda

Menu Plan for November 30th

Here is my menu for the week:

Monday - Potato Soup

Tuesday - Cheese enchiladas

Wednesday - Meatloaf

Thursday - Game night, we'll eat at my parents. GO DUCKS!!!

Friday - S-I-L's wedding rehearsal dinner

Saturday - S-I-L's wedding

Sunday - We will be celebrating Little P's birthday (his birthday is actually Saturday) at my parents with pizza, cake and ice cream :o)

Hope everyone has a wonderful week. For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.

Blessings,

Glennda

Menu Plan for November 23rd

Yes, I'm late with this. Hubby and I had a wonderfully relaxing getaway weekend at the coast and it's been a little difficult to get back into the swing of things this morning. But I did finally get my menu plan done, so here it is:

Monday - Nacho's

Tuesday - Spaghetti

Wednesday - Crock-pot rotisserie chicken

Thursday - Dinner at my in-laws; we will be bringing homemade eggnog & deviled eggs & possibly something else.

Friday - Dinner at my parents; My mom hasn't decided on the menu yet, so not sure what we will be bringing.

Saturday - Chicken tetrazini or leftovers.

For more menu planning ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.

Blessings,

Glennda

Menu Plan for November 16th

Well last week I was treated to dinner out twice and dinner at my parents once (I could really get used to this "no cooking" thing ;-P) so I have a few meals to bring over from last week. And, I get a weekend getaway this weekend (I am soooo excited for this!), so I don't have to cook on Friday and Saturday of this week either! So I've managed to make my menu around things I have already on hand and shouldn't have to go to the store. So without further ado......

Monday - Chicken Broccoli Divan

Tuesday - Swedish Meat Pies

Wednesday - Taco's

Thursday - Potato Bar

Friday - Some place romantic on the beach (hopefully!!!)

Saturday - Again some place romantic on the beach ;-P

For more menu plans and ideas, visit Organizing Junkie. I hope everyone has a blessed week.

Menu Plan for November 9th

Here is our menu this week. I will also be taking a meal to a family who just had a baby on Thursday.

Monday - Shepherds Pie (didn't get to this last week)

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Steak

Thursday - Crock-pot Rotisserie Chicken

Friday - Swedish Meat Pies

Saturday - Broccoli Chicken Divan

For more menu plans and ideas, check out Organizing Junkie. Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Blessings,

Glennda

October Birthday's

Both hubby and his brother have October birthdays. We (our immediate family) celebrated hubby's by making him a special dinner and spending time together as a family on the actual day. However, his parents and siblings wanted to celebrate both birthdays. So we planned a family gathering on the 31st to celebrate their birthdays and to watch the Duck game. We had good food and fellowship and got to watch the Ducks kick USC's butt!! Here is the cake I made for the event. I couldn't find goal posts anywhere in town, so hubby borrowed Peanuts K'nex and made some for me. It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself :o)

Blessings,

Glennda

Success!!!

We recently did a major clean and reorganize of the girls' bedroom. We needed to make room for another bed so that we could move Little P into their room. With the new baby coming in a few months, we will be needing the crib (and the space) in our room. And I wanted to make sure Little P had time to adjust to being in a big boy bed before she gets here. Of course I forgot to take before pictures (sigh) but I went through my computer and came up with a couple. They are a little old and they don't show the whole room, but they do give a somewhat decent representation of the condition their room was normally in.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Here is what the room looks like now. As you can see, we needed to move the beds around to make room for the captains bed. Now this is the best part: Their room has stayed this clean FOR OVER A WEEK!!! It's been wonderful! No more stepping on sharp little things in order to get to their bed to give goodnight hugs.

This picture shows what we did with most of their toys. I organized everything into bins of similar items. Now almost all of their toys are in those big blue tubs! They have to ask to get one out, so it is easier for me to stay on top of making sure they clean up what they are done with before they get out something new. So far it has worked really well and they are starting to get used to the process now, so the complaints have eased also :o)

So the next will be to finish reorganizing their play area out in the main part of the house. This is where they have their play kitchen (and all it's accessories) and their dress-up clothes. We have the dress-up stuff mostly done, but still need to go through all the kitchen stuff. And then it will be time to move on to our bedroom and closet (I'm not looking forward to this, it's a mess, lol). I am, however, looking forward to having the house organized and relatively clean before new baby gets here. Hopefully, that will help me keep from stressing over the condition of the house while I'm supposed to be recuperating!

Blessings,

Glennda

Menu Plan for November 2nd

Our budget is a little tight this week, so I've planned my menu around what I have on hand. Thankfully our freezer is pretty stocked, so it wasn't too difficult.

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Chicken Teriyaki

Wednesday - Taco Style Lentils and Rice

Thursday - Pot Roast

Friday - Goulosh

Saturday - Shepherds Pie

For more menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie.

Blessings,

Glennda

Menu Plan for October 26th

Here is my menu plan for the week:

Monday - Baja bowls

Tuesday - Crock-pot Corn Chowder

Wednesday - Brown Rice & Lentil Casserole

Thursday - Crock-pot BBQ Chicken

Friday - Tater tot casserole

Saturday - Potato Soup

For more menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie.

Have a great week everyone!

Blessings,

Glennda

Menu Plan for October 19th

Well, with making soup and cinnamon rolls for our cider pressing gathering and then going to the gathering, I didn't get my menu planning done till this morning. So it's a little late, but here it is:

Monday - Potato Bar

Tuesday - Onion & Blue Cheese Smothered Steak, Asparagus & Garlic Mashed Potatoes (it's hubby's birthday and this is his request :o) )

Wednesday - Shepherds Pie

Thursday - Black Soup

Friday - Hamburger Stroganoff

Saturday - Chili & Corn bread

Sunday - not sure yet :o)

For many more menu planning ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.

Blessings,

Glennda

Think Pink

It's Pink week at iHeartFaces in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Head on over to their site for more wonderful entries!

Blessings,

Glennda

iHeatFaces - Excited Week

It's "excited" week over at iHeartFaces. This is kinda an old picture of Munchkin, but it is one of my favorites! She was having a blast running from the waves on the beach.

For more "excited" photos, head on over to iHeartFaces.

Blessings,

Glennda

Menu Plan for October 12th

Yeah! I got my menu plan done! So here it is:

Monday - Breakfast

Tuesday - Oven Fried Chicken

Wednesday - Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Thursday - Pot Roast

Friday - Stir Fry

Saturday - Bean, Cheese & Rice Squares

Sunday - Split Pea Soup for fellowship

For more menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Blessings,

Glennda

Menu Plan for October 5th

Here is my menu plan for the week!

Monday - Black Bean Soup

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Burritos (I'm thinking I'll try this TVP and Bean mix)

Thursday - Italian Lentil and Barley Soup

Friday - Crock-pot Roast Chicken

Saturday - Chicken Noodle Soup

Sunday - Not sure yet.

For more menu plans, head on over to Organizing Junkie.

Blessings,

Glennda

Homemade Mac and Cheese

This is my fall back recipe for potlucks. It's easy to make, I usually have all the ingredients on hand and everyone loves it! I've had several people ask me for the recipe lately, so I figured I'd just post it here. Note: I don't always measure everything, so some of the amounts may need to be adjusted :o)

Mac & Cheese:

Approx. 2 cups Macaroni noodles
1/4 cup butter (or oil)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk (I use reconstituted instant milk)
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
1/2 to 1 tsp pepper (I suppose white is best, but I never have it, so I use black)
1 tsp mustard powder
1 to 2 cups shredded cheese (I just add handfuls till it tastes right! I think sharp works best, but you can use whatever you like)
Bread crumbs, optional.

1. Cook and drain the noodles.
2. Heat butter in a sauce pan over med. heat. Whisk in flour, making sure there are no lumps.
3. Slowly add milk while whisking. Bring mixture up to a boil. It will thicken as it boils. KEEP WHISKING or it will burn.
4. When it thickens, turn the heat down and add salt, pepper, mustard and cheese to taste.
5. Mix with the noodles and place in an 8X8 baking dish.
6. Top with extra cheese and bread crumbs if desired.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 15 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

I usually double this recipe if I'm taking it to a potluck. I will also sometimes use different noodles. I like to use ziti noodles when I have them (if I'm sharing the dish) because I think it makes the dish look more "elegant" :o).

For more recipes, head over to The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Blessings,

Glennda

School Update 10-02-09

As many of you know, we gotten off to a slow start with school this year. We have gotten some done even though it has taken 4 or 5 weeks (I lost track somewhere along the way!) to do two weeks worth of work! Anyway, here is an update of some of the activities we have done.

This was a activity to show how it is difficult to portray a map of the earth on a flat piece of paper because the earth is round. I drew a map of the world (it's a sad drawing, I know!) on an orange and then very carefully peeled it in one piece (or as best I could) and showed what happens when you try to lay it flat. We then had a tasty snack!

We also did a back yard habitat study, where we looked at a small square in the yard and recorded what we observed.

Here is Munchkin recording what she can see from a standing position.

And here she is doing some closer observations.

Here is Peanut doing her recordings. She claimed to not have a big enough piece of paper!

She really got into using the magnifying glass to look at things!

This is a project we did just the other day. It was a hands-around-the-world doll chain. We cut out a doll chain and then the girls colored the dolls to look like children from different places around the world. I didn't take a picture of Peanuts because, well, she decided to cut the heads off of all of hers! When I asked her why, she said "Because I wanted circles." I guess I should be thankful she can identify a circle!

So far this week has go pretty well. Hubby did have to take over science this morning, Munchkin and I seem to have difficulties with that subject. But, other than that, it has gone well. I'm looking forward to adding LA, math and spelling in next week. I also need to come up with some stuff for Peanut to do. So I guess I'll be doing some planning this weekend :o)

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Glennda

Menu Plan for September 28th

Well, I'm sad to see summer and the nice weather go :o( But I am looking forward to making more yummy soups and stews! And not being afraid of turning on my oven for fear of heating the house up! I'm hoping to get some baking done this week. I want to get some muffins in the freezer for quick breakfasts and I'd love to have some fresh bread :o) Anyway, here is my plan for the week (subject to change as always!):

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Taco Salad (we ended up at my parents watching the game, so didn't get to this)

Wednesday: Garlic chicken and broccoli

Thursday: Crock-pot red beans and rice

Friday: Brown rice and lentil casserole (This is hubby and I's anniversary, so we may go out to dinner!)

Saturday: Black bean soup

Sunday: Not sure what we are doing, so not sure what I'm making :o)

I hope you all have a wonderful week! For more menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie. She also has another give-away this week!

Blessings,

Glennda

Menu Plan for September 21st

This week we are trying to get back on track. With my sister's wedding this last Saturday (and everyone in my family but my husband in the wedding party!) things have been kinda crazy around here. School and chores got put on hold (you should see my laundry pile!). So this week I will be working on reigning everyone back in. I did my best to plan my menu around what I have in the pantry/freezer again, so I don't have to make a big trip to the grocery store (I might even get hubby to do it ;-)) Mostly, we just need produce and milk. We also have a ton of leftovers (including food from the wedding) so we will be eating leftovers twice this week along with having them for lunches! So, without further ado, here is my menu:

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Carne Asada

Wednesday - Chicken Broccoli Divan

Thursday - Beef Soup

Friday - Pork Steak

Saturday - Taco Salad

Sunday - Leftovers

For menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie. Also, if she has more than 400 people link up their menu plans, everyone will be entered for a chance to win the new Taste of Home Slow Cooker Meals cookbook!

Blessings,

Glennda

Attack of the Flowers!!!

So my house has parts and pieces of silk flowers all over. Plus flower tape, wire, wire cutters, ribbon and various other items needed to do floral arrangements. It looks like the the floral department at Michaels threw-up in various areas of my house. Here are a couple pictures to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

Here's a picture of my couch and coffee table.

And the window seat in my bedroom.

Now, why, you may ask, do I have flowers and such all over my house? Because my sister is getting married this weekend. She doesn't want real flowers 'cause she's convinced she'll get stung by a bee (she's allergic to bees) if she does. So she decided on silk flowers and asked me if I would do the arrangements for her. And since being pregnant; taking care of three kids, a husband and a house; homeschooling; working part-time; and being Matron of Honor wasn't enough on my plate, I said yes (sigh). Anyway, I thought I would share the results of my hard work.

Here is the boutonniere for the Ring Bearer (who just happens to be my son!). When I finished this one I held it up and asked my husband if he though Little P would wear it. He said "Sure.............If you put it on his back!" (sigh)

Here is one of the other boutonnieres. There are nine total: one for the groom; 5 groomsmen; 2 dads; and one for the pastor.

Here are the corsages for the mothers.

This is the toss bouquet.

This is a bridesmaid bouquet, there are 5 total.

This is the brides bouquet.

This is the brides bouquet from the side and it shows the ribbon-wrap. The ribbon-wrap is the same on all of the bouquets.

And, if all of that wasn't enough, I was called yesterday and asked if I could do the flowers on the cake as well. It seems the bakery has a picture of a cake with flowers on it, but they don't know how to do the flowers! Go figure!

Here is one of the flowers that will be on the cake, there are nine. I have removed the stem and attached some wire. Hopefully when I get to the cake Saturday morning it will be easy to arrange them on it!

This is one of the black pearly things I used in the other arrangements. I'm going to take some of them with me the day of and see if I can put them on the cake as well. However, at this point, I have no clue what the cake looks like, so I'm not exactly sure how I will decorate it!

Just to clarify, the colors in some of the pictures look a little orange. There is NO ORANGE!!! The flowers are various shades of pink (well, the stephanotis is white) with some black accents. So in case you haven't figured it out yet, the wedding colors are fuchsia pink and black. I will post pictures of the wedding and the cake later next week :o)

Blessings,

Glennda