apologies again!

Life is busy...I know I need to make more time to get on here but I just don't have it lately. I have one kid that stays up late (she's so my daughter) but that leaves me with little "mommy sanity" time at night. My son wakes up BEFORE my alarm clock even goes off to get up and take him to school. Needless to say I am one tired mama!
I need to make myself more a priority (I have made this same pledge 10,000 times) and do the things that I enjoy (aka stress reliever) but I am such a mom and always put myself last.

Vent, Rant, Rave
I have been miss negative lately....my favorite thing (meaning object..no I am not saying I love something more than my family) is my sewing/embroidery machine. This is how I make extra money for the family and I also LOVE sewing, creating in general. But lately it's turning on me...It keeps jamming and has broken 8 needles in the past week!! I have had this machine 2 years and have only been through 15 needles it's entire life and now 8 in one week!?!?!? Also when I monogram it's bailing out TONS of extra top thread and ripping fabrics. ARGHHHH
I have read all the troubleshooting things...it must be male b/c it only works when it "feels" like it.
Yesterday I had to make two bows for a friend with her daughter's first initial ONE STINKIN LETTER! I did the first one no problems....then the second one it snagged, broke a needle, activated the safety device, broke another needle etc... you get the idea. A simple little project that should have taken me 5 minutes took 40 minutes and I only got one bow done!!

Sorry had to vent! My hubby could care less about all things sewing

Getting to know you...

So I just found this blog on another blog I read frequently and thought it looked like lots of fun so had to give it a try! It's supposed to be on Sundays but since I was on here fixing to do my MPM I thought I would do this too!

The questions..

1. What year did you graduate high school?
1995

2. What part of your body do you neglect the most?
thighs

3. Beach house or Lake house?
lake house...I am a fair skinned redhead...beaches and I don't mix

4. Mac or PC?
we are a house divided! I am a PC girl but my hubby is a Mac guy so we have a corner desk with both of them side by side

5. Did you wear braces?
nope

6. If you could be one person for a day..living or deceased..who would you be?
Reese Witherspoon I would love to just hang out with her being a fellow southern girl and a mom

7. How many times have you moved in your life?
oh goodness probably 13 or 14 but all around Memphis area

8. Would you rather cook or clean?
COOK COOK COOK

If you want to play too copy/paste the questions and then list them on MannLand5's blogroll

MPM

It's been awhile I know but I am trying to get back on track here! Back in January my hubby switched to working nights and so our bigger meal of the day was lunch before he went into work. Then the kids and I would just do soup/sandwiches for dinner.
Then in February we stopped homeschooling and sent Parker back to public school so the only time we truly have meals together is on the weekends! Hence me not making elaborate meals much at all (ok so I have never really made elaborate meals but anyway)

This week is spring break so we are actually having lunches all together again!

Monday - Meatball subs & Pineapple
This is my son's new fav0rite meal and it's quick and easy which is a bonus for me!

Tuesday - Taco Pie

Wednesday - White Beans with Smoked Sausage
Soak the white beans overnight drain and rinse
Put into crockpot with chicken stock and beef seasoning (I use Lawry's)
Chop up smoked sausage and add
Cook 4 hours on high (but be sure to stir occasionally and check to see about adding more water/chicken stock) or 6-8 hours on low
I also make cornbread or corn muffins right before I serve

Thursday - Chicken Monterrey Potatoes & Green Beans
marinate chicken in Italian dressing (I usually do this overnight)
Put chicken in a 9X9 baking dish I usually add a little more dressing. Cook 20 minutes on 350
Top chicken with Monterrey Jack cheese and cook another few minutes to melt the cheese
I cook usually roast the potatoes (new potatoes cut up spread out and topped with olive oil and salt/pepper) and do the green beans with a little Italian dressing and Parmesan cheese

Friday - Tortilla pizzas

Saturday - going out for a family dinner!

Sunday - at the inlaws

Boy did I get off easy this week! Get more recipes and menu planning ideas here

such a slacker

Life has been crazy...I mean all the time to get on here and blog...especially MPM but life has been crazy!
I wanted to get back on track with the New Year and here it is March 11th and i am finally sitting down to do this!

Menu Planning Monday

Monday....oh wait it's Tuesday since I am a slacker lately! Life has been very busy and was at the doctor for over 4 hours yesterday getting all kinds of tests run still trying to figure out what is going on with my daughter! Hence I never posted yesterday! (I am just ignoring the fact I never posted last week)

I actually plan my menus every Thursday to grocery shop on Fridays (hubby's payday) so I am going to start listing my menus Sat - Friday since I don't always know what I am making next weekend!!

Saturday - went out to eat since we were going to Zoo Boo at the Memphis Zoo!

Sunday - Spaghetti
Ground turkey and used whole wheat fettuccine pasta

Monday - Taco Bar

Crockpot Tuesday - White Beans and Smoked Sausage
soaked beans overnight then rinsed and threw in the crockpot with chicken broth and cut up smoked sausage sprinkled with some lawry's seasoning
Also made Sally Lunn bread in the bread machine

Wednesday - Chicken Noodle soup
Once again in the crockpot Chicken broth (I use the fit & active in a box from Aldi) cube up chicken, frozen veggie mix and a few fun spices. Let simmer all day and then the last 30 minutes before dinner throw in a bag of egg noodles

Thursday - Chef Salads
chop up lettuce, boil eggs, chop up whatever lunchmeat is on hand, whatever veggies I have then set up a salad bar

Friday - Chicken Parm Sandwiches
Grill chicken breasts then top with (leftover) spaghetti sauce and some mozzarella cheese on a hamburger bun
Baked french fries

what we are eating this week or Menu Planning Monday

It's Monday again...where did this week fly? It's also that time of year where allergies kill me so I am all kinds of stopped up and full of sinus pressure! Find more great menu planning ideas here
Since I am feeling all blah I am keeping it easy this week (not that most weeks are hard or anything) i.e lots of crockpot cooking! Slow Cooker Liners are my best friend!!

Monday - Chili and homemade bread
Cooking chili with ground turkey in the crockpot

Tuesday - Pork Chops potatoes and green beans
Cut up potatoes and throw along with the green beans in the crockpot. Add chicken broth to cover. Season pork chops (I am using cajun seasoning this time) and place on top

Wednesday - Italian chicken broccoli and homemade bread
EASY recipe....boneless skinless chicken breast in the crockpot
Cover with Italian dressing and a few shakes of parmesan cheese viola!
I will just steam the broccoli a little before dinnertime

Thursday - Spaghetti with sausage
Whole wheat pasta, homemade tomato sauce (I always make a double batch and freeze half)
Also I am don't like tomatoes but eat it usually once a week in spaghetti sauce b/c I love my family. I read in this month's Kraft Kitchens mag about adding a little cream cheese and basil to make a creamy basil sauce. I tried this last week just in my bowl and it was YUMMY!!

Friday - Taco Night

Saturday - Chef Salads

Sunday - going to the in laws

Hope everyone has a great week! Thanks for reading!

MPM

So glad that it's starting to turn cooler so I can get to making soups and fun meals in the crockpot!

Here is what we are having this week and also go here for many more ideas!!

Monday - Potato Soup with bacon

Tuesday - going to CiCi's Pizza for my son's 8th birthday (we let him pick and since pizza is his favorite food he picked this...mainly for the dessert pizza)

Wednesday - spaghetti
Whole Wheat Penne with spaghetti sauce and homemade meatballs

Thursday - Breakfast
Pancakes and Turkey Bacon

Friday - Crescent Hot Dogs homemade macaroni and cheese
Used the $1 off Pillsbury Crescent Rolls coupon

Saturday - Taco Bar
Ground Turkey meat, soft and hard shells and all the fixins

Sunday - Vegetable Soup in the crockpot

Hope everyone has a great week....I am feeling rather old having my baby turn 8 this week!

Birthday Celebrations Weekend

I am Exhausted (with a capital E)
Parker is turning 8 on Tuesday and all he wanted partywise was to have his best friend spend the night and order pizza. I was excited since that meant less money and less planning on my part! We decided to have a small party at our house just for the grandparents and aunts/uncle/cousins in town.
The boys stayed up until midnight...quite humorous as this was the MAJOR goal of the night. I got them to lay down a watch a movie in their sleeping bags about 10:30 and they kept waking each other up whenever one of them would start closing their eyes! My son kept asking "How much longer until midnight?" I got so sick of this question but boys will be boys...so finally it was midnight. They jumped up and down in delight! They could now say they stayed up until midnight
Best part of the night was they were both asleep by 12:08! Cracked me up!

I will soon post pics of the little get together and what turned out to be adorable (if I do say so myself) XBox controller button cupcakes

Monday...

It's that time of the week again....sorry I missed last week craziness ensued again.

Here is what we are having this week for dinner! Go here for many more menu planning ideas

Monday - Teriakyi Chicken with brown rice
Thrown chicken, teriakyi sauce, and crushed pineapple in the crockpot then make brown rice right before ready to serve also steaming some broccoli to get some green veggies in

Tuesday - Taco Pie casserole
Cook ground beef/turkey add taco seasoning, cut up tortillas (I usually use corn and use my pizza cutter) into strips place in bottom of 9x9 casserole dish, then layer taco meat, refried beans, shredded cheese (taco blend is yummy) then do another layer of tortillas and so on....until you reach the top then cook about 20 min just to warm up beans and melt the cheese

Wednesday - dinner at church

Thursday - Chicken fried rice
Making extra brown rice on Monday to get cold in the fridge to use
There are many recipes for this online I just cook an egg in the wok and remove...then cook cut up chicken breast, add frozen veggies, and when chicken is cooked add the rice and soy sauce just keep stirring then add back in the egg (chopped up)

Friday - homemade pizza
Make pizza dough in the breadmaker roll out and let everyone top their part with whatever goodies they want

Saturday - turkey burgers with roasted new potatoes

Sunday - not sure yet...I know I am a slacker but we will probably have leftovers or sandwiches etc...

Lunch with the Ladies

I am very excited about today! A friend from my high school youth group is coming in town. We haven't seen each other much over the years b/c she hasn't lived here in Memphis in quite awhile! We keep up with each other through facebook and I went to her wedding shower last year. There were 4 of us girls that used to do everything together! The last time the four of us were together Parker was about 1 1/2 and Julie was pregnant with her first (Parker is now almost 8 and her son is in 1st grade) It's been awhile!
Sherrill is in town and Julie is driving up from Little Rock so we are all having lunch today! Turns out I was the only one bringing kids so I called up my mom to see if she could watch them and of course she will never pass up the chance to spend time with her wonderful grandkids!
I GET TO GO TO A KIDLESS LUNCH WITH OLD (ok not old in age since we are all staying 29) FRIENDS and I am way too excited about it!

Menu Planning Monday

Here is the menu this week Find many more menus here

Monday - Spaghetti with sausage
whole wheat penne, tomato sauce, sausage, homemade Italian bread

Tuesday - Chicken Pot Pie
quick to put together the kids love to help with this one and YUMMY

Wednesday - dinner at church
Taco Night

Thursday - Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo salads
I know pasta twice in one week but I don't like tomatoes and I do spaghetti 3-4 times a month the family can have pasta the way I like it every once in awhile
Doing it the cheaters way....Alfredo sauce from a jar and cooking up the chicken in a skillet

Friday - Bacon Cheeseburger Roll
Yummy and a fun alternative from pizza

Saturday - Chef Salads
Chopped up lettuce, cut up tomatoes, boiled eggs, turkey lunchmeat, (and I am going to cook some extra bacon to crumble up on Friday night) let everyone make their own salad

Sunday - Fish Stick Tacos
Little bit healthier way to eat fish sticks and my kids love these! We use salsa and lettuce on them

craziness that is my life

We have been very busy lately and I have been neglecting my blog! So sorry blog...see further proof I am not a Supermom!
I have been busy making bows and monogramming like crazy! It's a total blessing that I am getting so many orders and I still want to set up my etsy shop I set up the account for like 3 months ago! (pictures were too big and I can't figure out how to size them but working on it I promise)

Homeschooling started back a few weeks ago and it's going well BUT Parker has already set in on the "doing the least amount he can as quick as he can" mode. Everyday it's a struggle to get him to do all his work! VERY frustrating! Everyday it's "can we just skip Math?" or "Why do I have to read this AND do worksheets about it?" While I keep my cool trying to explain YET AGAIN that we are required to do 4 hours a day (this has NEVER happened) and to be content with the 2ish we do. If he was back in public school he would be there for 7 hours...granted most of that is waiting in line to go to the bathroom or go to lunch or go home but still....
Just a little Saturday morning vent!

Happy Birthday to my Mom and hope everyone has a great week!

Monday...

I can't believe I went another week without posting anything between Mondays! Busy week still getting back into the swing of things with school. Also started speech therapy with Lyndee and it's totally the middle of our day and I am so scared I am going to forget it completely one of these days! Last week I remembered 20 minutes before it started...luckily we live 3 minutes away!

On to the good stuff...our menu!
I ROCKED the budget this week...using coupons to get a few things at Walmart (two items I got paid for) and then only spent $26 for the week at Aldi. All in all I came in $10 under my $50 a week budget!

Monday - breakfast turkey bacon, biscuits, eggs
the kids have been begging and I have to admit it's quick easy and yummy so I don't mind!

Tuesday - enchiladas
we were supposed to have this last week but I ended up doing like tostadas with the corn tortillas so I still had plenty tortillas and the enchilada sauce left

Wednesday - New potatoes with soups
Jeff has Chili on his and I have broccoli cheese soup on mine! The kids usually have some "character soup" on nights like this (Campbell's soups)

Thursday - playground with the kids
Jeff is getting more work done on his tattoo so I am taking the kids to a restaurant with a playground so we can burn off some energy!!

Friday - hot dogs baked french fries and fruit
Another quick and easy meal but I had a B1G1 coupon and got these great sounding Angus hotdogs so figured we would grill out

Saturday - Spaghetti homemade Italian bread
what would a week of me posting on here without spaghetti be?
I always "mix it up" this week I am doing homemade meatballs, whole wheat rigatoni, and adding some pesto to the sauce

Sunday - BBQ Chicken corn, green beans
grilling out. Doing corn on the cob in foil packets with butter and cajun seasoning. Green beans in a foil packet cooked with butter and bacon. I will probably do some bread in the bread machine too


Hope everyone has a great week!!

what we are eating this week

It's Monday again....where did the weekend fly? Lyndee had her 3 year old check up and got a fly shot on Friday so our weekend was not very fun! She was miserable!!
Here's what we are eating this week. Find many more menu planning ideas at orgjunkie.com


Monday - Oven Fried Chicken corn green beans and homebaked french bread
haven't tried this before but going to try it tonight!

Tuesday - Enchiladas refried beans
using ground turkey and corn tortillas

Wednesday - Spaghetti homebaked Italian bread
yes I know it's a weekly thing but it's my hubby's favorite meal and the kids ask for seconds so we have it a lot!
This week sausage as the meat and using whole wheat penne noodles

Thursday - breakfast
Pancakes, turkey bacon and maybe eggs (see what I feel like by Thursday)

Friday - Chicken Lo Mein
I am adding broccoli this time hoping the kids won't notice shhhh

Saturday - homemade pizzas

Sunday - going to the in laws

My baby is 3!!!

My little Lyndee turned 3 on Monday! I can't believe it...seems like yesterday we were finally able to bring out little 4 lb. 14 oz 8 day old baby home from the hospital!




We had a Dora/Diego party on Sunday with family and a few friends! I got her a pink shirt (which of course I monogrammed) and a cute orange skirt so she could be Dora!

I did a cupcake tree with Dora rings on top, we made yellow bracelets like Dora with pony beads, and all Lyndee cared about was presents presents presents!!



Here is her opening a few of them with the help of her cousin Whitney, friend Ella, and her Nana


She got tons of goodies including some PJs for her "Hello Kitty" (technically mine that the kids got me for Mother's Day but she's taken it over)
Here is a pic with her in her new PJs along with Hello Kitty on her birthday eve!



Here are the favor bags I made for all the girls (Parker was the only boy there and he was too cool for monogramming

Fun was had by all and now I have to work on Parker's 8th birthday party which is in 6 weeks....whew

Birthday weekend

My little girl turns 3 on Monday! I can't believe it. I honestly feel like she was just in my tummy!
We are having a Dora/Diego party (shocker I know) and she's getting the concept a little! We have been singing Happy Birthday all week and she blows "out the candles" at the end of the song. Also we have been practicing saying thank you after each present. She kept going to get some of her presents out of the closet (my oh so smart hiding place) so I had to go ahead and wrap everything and they have been on top of the entertainment center since. She keeps pointing them them saying "mine". So she kind of knows what's going on!
We are having the family that is in town and then one of our good friends with 3 girls that Lyndee adores over for the party! Small and sweet but has to be that way in our little house! Which reminds me I should be cleaning the house "company worthy" yes there is a difference in cleaning levels....instead of sitting here typing!

Menu Planning Monday

Well it's Monday again...time to post the menu Get many more MPMs here

Monday - Chicken N Dumplins
I have never made these before but thought I would try! I am using this Cracker Barrel recipe so I will let everyone know how it turns out! This is a family fav so I better not screw it up!

Tuesday - Steaks with Potatoes and Green Beans CROCKPOT NIGHT
I am using some more of those "free mini steaks from Schwann's" but this time in the crockpot.

Wednesday - Dinner at my parent's house (finger foods..yes it's a pun)
It's a surprise dinner for my dad...it's the anniversary of him having two fingers amputated (long story I will get into some other time) and he jokes on the 12th of every month about where is his card or anniversary present so now for the one year anniversary my sister and I are surprising him with an anniversary party!! If you know my family, especially my dad, you will totally understand this whole thing!

Thursday - Sausage Roll Pizza and salads
Get a french bread loaf (I use the one in the can or make dough in my breadmaker)
Cook sausage (you can also use pepperoni, ground beef, whatever other pizza topping you like) Drain.
Mix in a bag of shredded mozzerella cheese, fresh parsley and a handful of bread crumbs...mix until cheese is melted then on the laid out bread dough scoop mixture down the middle then ROLL the dough! Cook according to regular bread instructions

Friday - Chicken Parm Sandwiches baked french fries
Cook Chicken Patties put on a bun topped with cheese and tomato sauce
Couldn't be easier

Saturday - breakfast
Pancakes and turkey bacon

Sunday - My little Lyndee's 3rd birthday party is today! Haven't figured out dinner yet!

Hope everyone has a great week!! I have been busy as heck trying to get everything ready to start homechooling next week!! On top of throwing a birthday party Sunday and getting the house ready!

Getting Back in the swing of School things

This weekend is tax free here in Tennessee for Back to School stuff!
I have gone through everything seeing what all we need for the school year! The only big thing I need to buy is a dry erase board! I didn't buy one last year since we started the school year in the middle and just went with what we had but I think it's going to be a big help and lots of fun to be able to write spelling words, practice math etc...
Also Office Max is doing some great specials (as is everywhere else) I am going today to get some 1 cent Sharpies 12 cent rulers and 5 cent folders and notebooks!
Gotta love those deals!

Monday......

This is getting repetitive lately since I haven't been posting much besides MPMs but still I am getting those done! woohoo
Getting everything ready for a new year of homeschooling so we have been busy!

Here's what I am cooking this week! Check out tons more menu planning ideas here


Monday - Frito Chili Pie
My hubby lived in Texas for a few years so this is one of his favorites! I always make a double batch of chili and freeze half so this is a QUICK meal! Just reheat chili, put fritos in the bottom of the bowl, add chili, and top with cheese (I usually put a dallop of sour cream on mine if I have some on hand)

Tuesday - Pineapple Chicken Broccoli
Crockpot Tuesday..everyone should know this by now! I love crockpot cooking
Put chicken in crockpot top with teriakyi sauce and crushed pineapple in a can and viola!

Wednesday - Brats, corn, and green beans (mini corn dogs for the kids)
Grilling out Bratwursts on the grill, then doing some cajun corn/green beans and baking some mini corn dogs for the kids since they aren't thrilled with brats to quote my son "this is a funky tasting hot dog"

Thursday - Taco Night and refried beans
Ground turkey tacos with all the fixins

Friday - Steaks baked potatoes
I got these mini steaks free from Schwann's since they were doing a new customer $10 coupon so steaks were delievered to my front door and I owed .08 cents tax! That's a frugal meal!!

Saturday - breakfast
quick, easy, crowd favorite

Sunday - dinner at the inlaws

Hope everyone has a great week!!

Just another Manic Monday

Crazy busy summer so far I hope we are staying home chilling quite a bit this week! We are doing a few fun things with friends but I think the kids and I all need a calm relaxing week!

It's time to plan the menu (totally had a time to make the donuts flash as I typed that) Get tons more recipes at one of my favorite websites


Monday - hamburgers baked french fries
nuff said nothing special just burgers on the grill but yummy all the same

Tuesday - Chef Salads
Chop up lettuce, boil some eggs, cook some bacon, and set out all the other fun toppings

Wednesday - Chicken Lo Mein
spaghetti and chicken cooked in teriakyi sauce (I usually sneak in some stir fry veggies)

Thursday - Bread Bowl with soups
I make the dough in the bread machine!
I usually warm up some frozen chili for Jeff and do a can of broccoli cheese soup (adding more cheddar and broccoli of course) then Campbell's character soups I got on sale for the kids

Friday - Hot Dogs mac n cheese
Nuff said on this one too except that I used that free Oscar Meyers pack of hot dogs coupon so yay!!

Saturday - going out with my hubby
See previous post about him winning us concert tickets

Sunday - leftovers or might be going to the in laws I can't keep straight which weeks we go!