• Weekly Menu Plan
    Menu Plan

    Menu Plan Monday 3/2/15

    Harumph! While NO week ever goes exactly as planned, last week set some sort of record in our going “off plan.” So, you’re going to see some repeats here since we never ate them in the first place. We’re still in “eat what we’ve got” mode in our efforts to clear out the overabundance in our freezer and our pantry. My husband had the audacity to suggest that I post a picture here of one or both of those things, and while I’m all for “keeping it real” there is no way that I want to memorialize either one of those disasters for ME to have to be reminded of them.…

  • Menu Plan
    Menu Plan

    Menu Plan Monday 1/13/2014

    It’s January. Where did December go? It just seemed to disappear in a whirling, twirling craze of wrapping paper, lights, Christmas preparations and celebrations, late nights, little sleep, LOTS of eating out, and then . . . finally . . . we all got sick. That began on Christmas day when my little guy woke up at about 3 in the morning (around 45 minutes after my husband and I had finally collapsed into bed) with croup and a scary round of stridor. For about an hour we thought an ambulance wasn’t necessary but an emergency room visit might be inevitable. Finally, the steamy bathroom alternating with the COLD outside…

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  • Menu Plan
    Menu Plan

    Menu Plan Monday 12/09/2013

    I’ve done a TERRIBLE job of menu planning the past couple of weeks and as a result we’ve eaten out too much and just eaten REALLY, REALLY badly. Time to get back on track! So, here’s the menu plan for feeding people this week: Monday Cold Cereal Apple, PB, Granola Sandwiches (or Banana PB Dogs) Classical Conversations Tutor Party, so Daddy’s handling dinner for the kiddos Tuesday Oatmeal Hummus, Chips, Apples Out Wednesday Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins Roasted Chicken with Roasted Butternut Squash and Green Beans Community Dinner at Church Thursdsay Leftover Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins Crockpot Beans and GF Cornbread Shrimp and Alfredo Pasta Friday Gluten Free Pancakes BBQ Chicken…

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    Menu Plan

    Menu Plan Monday 11/18/2013

    I had a WONDERFUL time at the Ladies’ Retreat with our church this weekend! And, now that I’ve done two days worth of dishes, surveyed the house, declared it a disaster zone, and called off our regularly scheduled plans tomorrow to deal with it, it’s time to get this week on track with a Menu Plan! You’ll see that tomorrow’s breakfast plan is what I like to refer to as the “out of a box” variety. We don’t actually do cereal all that often. Sometimes, though, it’s just the fastest way to get people fed. A few months ago, I was trying to figure out a way to add flavor…

  • Weekly Menu Plan
    Menu Plan

    Menu Plan Monday 11/11/13

    We’re mostly planning tried and true meals for this week’s menu plan.  I’ll be headed out on Friday for a Ladies’ Retreat with our church. That means that I don’t have to feed anyone for 24 hours at the end of this week. Woohoo! Daddy’s in charge!! Daddy is much cooler than Mommy (and throws the menu plan out the window), so there is no telling what’s in store around here. It’s probably best that I don’t know. I tend to spoil all the fun. So, here’s the plan for feeding people this week: Monday Eggs, Gluten Free Biscuits, Fruit Smoothies Sweet Potatoes and Side Salads Roast Chicken, Green Beans,…

  • Ants Header
    Home Management

    Saturday Special: Kill the Colored Ants!

    We have ants. Again. We live in a fairly old house, and it’s just not sealed as well as it should/could be. About every 2 or 3 months, we get a good rain (like night before last) and a colony of ants decides they need to seek shelter by moving into our house. I don’t know about you, but I HATE ants. My husband says we need to name them and call them our “kitchen friends.” He is not in charge of dealing with the ants, obviously. He IS in charge of the videoing around here (see below). You’ll see that we are pretty easily amused. I’ve tried all sorts of…

  • Organizing Paperwork
    Home Management

    Organizing Paperwork

    Some time last year, I got SO tired of my counters always looking like this: The amount of paperwork that comes into this house is just insane! I try to follow all the paperwork management rules: touch it once if possible, immediately toss whatever we don’t need, etc. but there is just a certain amount of paperwork that we need to hang onto, either for a short while or for the long-haul. After thinking it over for a little while, I decided to create a system of file folders and to use one of the doors closest to the counter that is usually the “Hot Spot” for all this paperwork…

  • Laundry Organization
    Home Management

    Laundry Organization and Child Labor

    There are days when I think it would be SO much easier if I just did all the picking up and cleaning, table setting and clearing, and general chore duties around here myself. If I went that route, there would be the following advantages: It would be done. It would be done like I want it to be done. It would be done when I want it to be done. I can’t bark orders/nag incessantly at myself. On the other hand, the following things occur to me that outweigh my desire to just get things done now, quickly, and well: My children are capable . . . often of MUCH…

  • Gluten Free Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins
    Menu Plan

    Menu Plan 10/14/2013

    Muffins, muffins everywhere! Obviously, we enjoy a good muffin around here. Pictured above are the Gluten Free Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins. I’ll share the recipe soon.  It’s just not QUITE perfected. It’s got an endorsement from 50% of the family, but 2 of us are holding out for a little more of a “Wow!” factor.  Hopefully, we’ll get there this week.  We’re also in the mood for the fall flavors of pumpkin, apples, sweet potatoes, and soup around here, but because it’s actually still pretty warm, we’re just not ready to give up the watermelon that’s still showing up at the Farmer’s Market! Plus, when you’ve got a kiddo that…

  • Menu Plan

    Menu Plan 10/7/2013

    Time to start easing into the Fall food! Pumpkins and soups, coming up!  It must be Fall, because around here, a lot of leaves got swept up and moved to the chickens’ area this weekend! The chickens are very happy to have some new playthings, but I think the kiddos are going to be vying for their own leaf pile to jump in on the next leaf-sweeping go-round!  In the meantime, here’s the general game plan for feeding everyone this week: Monday Pumpkin Spiced Oatmeal Black Bean Soup, Chips, Apples and Melons Roast Chicken, Roasted Asparagus and Carrots Tuesday GF Pancakes Pasta and Salads, Grapes and Apples Crock Pot Baked…

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