Menu Plan Monday through October 14, 2012

Yes-I know it's Tuesday and I'm a bit late.

Do you menu plan?  It's one of my favorite household chores to do.  I started about 3 years ago and I look forward to it every week.  Cooking isn't for everyone but I truly love being in the kitchen and creating a dish for the people I love.  I don't even mind the cleanup. 

It also helps me keep grocery spending under control, shop the sales and use up what I already have.  I use coupons but am in no way extreme.  If I can save a few dollars each trip, I'm happy.

My Mom is a great cook and both of my Grandmothers are excellent in the kitchen.  So, maybe it's genetic?  I thought I'd start sharing my menu in case you need some inspiration but also for myself.  If I get stuck in a rut then I can look back for inspiration.

Monday-Chick-Fil-A-Rory loves their sandwiches and I do too!

Tuesday-Shake-n-Bake chicken breasts, green beans and applesauce
Wednesday-Open Face Lone Star Burgers, fries and fresh pears
Thursday-leftovers
Friday-Cheesy Chicken & Mac
Saturday-Lunch-Chicken Crunch Supreme
               Dinner-Buttermilk Waffles
Sunday-Lunch-maybe out to Raising Cane's
             Dinner-leftovers

So, there you have it!  Happy Cooking!

If you need more inspiration stop by I'm an Organizing Junkie

Lego Land Adventure

We had a great weekend.  It's been busy but we had a blast! 

Cosi is one of our favorite places for hands on adventure and this weekend they opened a new exhibit...Legos!  Rory loves building with his Lego blocks so I knew this would be a big hit.  Uncle Seth also shares his love of Legos so he happily agreed to go with us.

I think everyone's favorite part was the building section. There was a whole floor of the biggest legos we had ever seen and Rory and Seth dove right in to build a tower.

It was long before we were all building and this is what we came up with!  Rory said it was a "train bridge."

 

 

 

Aftewards we had some time to explore outside and discovered that our city is actually very pretty!
It's not quite our old hometown but a very close second, don't you think?  I may be forever biased...

We didn't realize but we were so close to the Police Memorial and so glad that we were able to see it.  Thankful for the ones that have sacrificed their lives to keep up safe.

 We ended the day with a nap and a little stretching...

Sewing Project

My first hurdle in becoming more "homemade" was a birthday party invite for our neighbor's little girl.  Rory and the little girl play together quite a bit and we have become great friends with this family.  We both are "not from the area" so we end up doing things together.  I racked my brain on what to get a 2 year old little girl for a birthday present but was coming up with very little.  Her family is moving at the end of the year so I didn't want to buy a bulky toy that would not move well and clothes didn't seem like a good option since the climate here does not match where they are going.  I wanted to get something special that would mean more than a toy or outfit.

Then it hit me!  Her mom and I took a sewing class earlier this year and we made aprons.  It fits in perfect with my "homemade lifestyle" journey.  So, if her Mom has an apron then she needs one to match!!  Perfect, right?!? 

I made my own pattern out of tissue paper and purchased fabric to match her Moms.  What do you think?

Rory was a willing model so here is what it looks like on...

I asked Rory if he would like one and he said "yes" but promptly said "airplanes on it."  Lemons just don't fit his style!



An American Family...

I think my fascination of the 40s-50's started when the American Girl books came out...my favorite character was Molly.  Do you remember those?  She grew up during WWII and her Dad was a doctor in the miliarty and her Mom worked rolling gauze and filling medical kits.  Women made most of what their family had and if they couldn't make it or didn't already have it they did without.  Neighbors helped each other and shared resources.  It was the day of Rosie the Riveter.

My first real experience of being a Rosie was Christmas a few years ago.  Josh was at work and I decided to put up the Christmas tree and string the lights.  He doesn't really enjoy that part and I'm very particular about how the lights look...very particular.  It's easier to do them myself rather than re-do what someone else has already done.  I was up to the very top part of the tree with two strands of lights left...plugged them in and nothing.  Tried a different outlet and still nothing.  I could have cried.  My tree wasn't finished, there were no working lights left and we really didn't have the money to go spend $20 on new lights.  So, I sat there with those strands of lights and wiggled each bulb until I figured out which was loose and within a short time I had them working!!!  I have no electrical experience but I can now change out Christmas lights on a strand like a pro!

With all that being said, I'm on a new quest to live more simply.  This world whizzes by at a crazy high technological speed and I so desperatley want to slow down.  So, I've channeled my inner Rosie and am ready to try and do new things.  I want to do this for myself but more importantly for my boys who I love so stinkin' much!

Introduction again

So, let me re-introduce myself and my family since it has been so long...way too long.  Josh and I have been married for 6 years-wonderful years!  As you can tell we were expecting a baby two years ago...well, he arrived in May of 2010.  Rory happily made his arrival a few days early and we are now the proud parents of a toddling two year old.  He keeps us hoping from day to day and I really couldn't be more happy.  We recently moved to Central Ohio last year and that has been a learning experience.  Finding a new church, meeting new people, new doctors, finding new grocery stores.  It's been over a year and I can now navigate most places without the help of my GPS.  A step in the right direction I think.

Josh's job keeps him busy and in his spare time he likes photography and watching movies.  I will share some of his great work in the future.  My newest interest is sewing.  I just whipped out a couple projects on my machine and will also share pictures.  By whipping out I mean that it took me way longer than it would take someone who could actually whip a project out.  Rory is just as happy as he can be.  He loves to jump, run, explore and figure new things out.  He seems very interested in music these days which makes my heart happy.  It's so rewarding to see him find new things and explore the things he loves.

I am hoping to use this blog as a way to share with family and friends but also use it as our family's journal.  I want to be able to look back in 5 years and see the documented amount of fun we had.

That's us in a nutshell. Stop by and visit anytime!

Epiphany!

So, I realized that I've been spending all this time reading other people's blogs when I have neglected my own.  Doesn't make much sense, right?  So, with that in mind I'm back in the blogging world.  We may not be newlyweds anymore and you may have guessed by the previous post that we are the proud parents of a 2 1/2 year old son but better a late rocky start than never?

Since we are so somewhat far away from most of our family and friends I'll do my best to keep everyone updated on our happenings. :)

Week 12 Pics

Well, I didn't think I would have to resign myself to stretchy pants so soon but I already have a bump! It's a small one right now; kind of looks like I need to hit the gym or eat smaller meals.  And  yes, I feel as exhausted as I look, but that should get better soon; or so they say.  None the less I know it's all worth it and I'm thankful for every symptom I have because I know it's ultimately a good thing.  We are very excited!