Luke's 6th birthday

It a very special boys birthday today.  Just 6 years ago around this time Luke was born.  He has been such a sweet addition to our house.  We needed a boy to teach us girls a thing or two. 

He is smart.  He is funny.  He has a million and one questions everyday.  He is very loving.  And for some reason adores his mom.  I will take it, because I am sure it will not last forever.

Everyone who meets him can't help, but to enjoy him.  He managed to sweet talk his way into the birthday button he is wearing above.  The sweet primary singing ladies birthday was on Sunday, so she was wearing the button.  Luke told her his birthday was in 3 days and he needed a button just like hers.  After church was over she gave it to him.  He could not wait to wear it to school.

Luke is such a goof.  I know most of his sisters get annoyed by him, but they all love him (I am sure).  I can't wait to see the things and places Luke goes.  I hope he will continue to be a chatter box and share with me all his adventures.

Friday Favorite: Lunch

 Grilled asparagus, strawberries, and cashews on a bed of spinach with a drizzle of raspberry vinaigrette.   Pineapple and a boiled egg on the side.

I really look forward to having no dinner leftovers to eat for lunch, because that means I get to eat a salad.  Seriously my favorite lunch is leftover meat and side vegetables or fruits all thrown on top of spinach or other dark greens.  In most cases, I don't even need salad dressing because the toppings flavor the salad.  Check out a few of my salads from the past month.  

All I do is start with a bed of greens (all of my pictured salads are spinach, but you can do any green leafy thing you want).  Add a protein meat, fish, nuts, cheese, eggs, cottage cheese is great too.  Pile on the fruits or vegetables.  Fruits and vegetables are really low in calories.  Plus, they are super filling.   I just think it is so easy to eat healthy.  Eat your veggies, people!  And something like this fills me up.  Don't forger your water. 

Flank steak and roasted red peppers on a bed of spinach.  Cucumber, carrots and ranch on the side.

Leftover meat (pork, chicken and beef there was only a little of all) from a restaurant and some BBQ sauce on the side.  A bed of spinach with carrots, cucumber, tomato and olives with ranch to dip.  

Pork from tacos, cheese, avocado and cilantro on a bed of spinach.  Carrots, tortilla chips and salsa on the side.

Coconut chicken, apple, and pecans on spinach with a drizzle of raspberry vinaigrette.  A few carrots to bulk up the meal.

Tuna, apple, and pickle on a bed of spinach.  Cucumbers and carrots on the side.

Fashion Friday.

You know when you have those internal debates with your self.  Well I did over this post.  I couldn't decide if I should post this or not.  It is a trivial thing.  Not a big debate post.  Anyway,  I couldn't decide because.  My pictures are not the greatest.  I don't profess to be a great photographer.  I couldn't decide because I am not a fashion blogger.  Although, I love clothes.  Like it is a disease.  I love new things.  I love putting outfits together.  I love to get dressed up.  I don't have an abundance of money or clothes.  I think it fun to mix and match what I have. 

With all that said, I wanted to share one trend I enjoy right now is the maxi skirt or dress.  I like to joke that it is like wearing pajamas.  And have nicknamed my maxi skirts "pajama skirt".  Seriously, it is like lounging around in a comfortable pair of pajamas all day.  Instead of actually looking lazy wear actual pajamas all day, you look cute and dressed up.

 

Here is me on two different days.   All ready for the day in my pajama skirt and looking good doing it.  So there's my fashion like post for you for the day. 

 

6th grade rocket launch

The 6th grade had their annual rocket launch last week.  The day was very windy and not the best condition for launching off a bunch of light weight rockets.  Amber didn't seem to mind one bit.

The kids all get to buy a rocket, build it and decorate, if they want.  Joel and Amber worked on the rocket together.  It wasn't the prettiest thing, but it was fun.

Most of the kids rockets ended up blowing 2 blocks to the South because of the windy conditions.

Getting ready to launch!

Amber's first launch landed on the school property.  The parachute tore a bit.  Then she decided she was just going to launch it again.  Hoping for it to explode.  But it didn't.  It blow 2 blocks to the South, which was the fate of many rockets.  I tried walking around to recover it for her, but never did see it.  Although I did see many other rockets.  All and all a good time was had. 

What's for dinner in April?

My meal planning post seemed to be a popular one.  I thought I could show you what my plan is for this month.  Maybe to give you some ideas or help you to see my meal planning process.

This month we have some meals that rolled over from March.  I also have leftover ham to use up.  And I am kind of hoping to clean out my big freezer this month and let it defrost.  Then the big freezer can get a good wash down.  So this is where my plan starts.  Use up the freezer food.  Use up the Easter ham in a different way, so the kids don't get tired of the same leftovers.  Also, make the dinners we skipped making last month.  Showing you my meals as divided by my protein categories.  For April I need 22 dinners.

Beef/Pork:

Ham & Mushroom Pasta (leftover ham)
Grilled Steak
Pulled Pork
Pork Tacos

Chicken/Seafood:

Enchilada Lasagna (using ground turkey)
Teriyaki Chicken
Coconut Chicken
Spicy Honey Chicken

Pasta:

Pesto Pasta
Mushroom Ragu
Chicken Parmesan
Baked Ziti

Soup/Salad:

Pasta Salad
Tortellini Soup  (using ground turkey)
Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
Potato Soup

Meatless:

German Pancakes
Beans & Rice
Mini Veggie Pizzas
Quiche

Free:

Ham Fried Rice (leftover ham)
Chef Salad (leftover ham)

The Spring Break Fun

We are one of the uncool families who does nothing for Spring Break.  I am one who believes you don't have to be going and busy all of the time.  We sort of hung out at home and relaxed. 

Monday:  I decided to do our little family Easter Egg Hunt after FHE.  We had a nice little Easter story, thanks to Joel.  Then headed to the backyard to find all the eggs.  It was nice to spread the Easter candy and festivals through out the week.

Wednesday:  Joel took half a day off from work and took us all to lunch and the Zoo.  It was such a perfect day weather wise.  Also, so great to have a day with the whole family.

Of course we had a great time seeing all the animals.

Luke's favorite was the owls and eagles.  We enjoyed all the new exhibits at the zoo.  On the way home we got our favorite after zoo snack, Nielson's frozen custard.  So good!

Friday:  The kids and I walked to the library and back home.  I haven't mentioned, but we (Joel, Me and Tori) get to go on a Stake Youth Pioneer Trek this summer.  We have been trying to spend lots of time walking and on our feet.  I am hoping I am not the Ma to slow her family down.

After the library and I cleaned up a bit.  The kids dyed their hard boiled eggs.  I just observed and help where needed.  Friday night, Joel and I got to go out on a date.  And I tried Pho for the first time.  Fun stuff!

Saturday:  We had a Hobbit watching party with a small group of friends.  We had bbq steaks with sides.  And the highlight was Caramel Cake.  Tori and I also watched YW Conference broadcast.

Sunday:  Easter Sunday, we all got to wear our new Easter clothes.  Of course we did the baskets and stuff, not pictured.  I made the girls skirts using this pattern.  They were actually quite simple and didn't take much time.  The girls all got to pick their fabric and a shirt to match their skirt.  Luke got a new shirt and new pants.  I really should get on board with making him something new for Easter too.

Today it was back to school.  Sad to see our relaxing weekend come to an end. 

Fitness Friday

One idea I had for this little blog was to share some of my favorite things; every so often.  One thing that is probably no secret is I love to Exercise!  It helps me feel good for the rest of the day.  It makes my head clearer.  I try most days to incorporate some sort of workout.  It really helps.  And it is not all about looking good.  I hope it improves and prolongs my life.

My favorite day of the week is Friday, but it is also the busiest.  My oldest has late start for school.  My youngest has early start.  The 3 youngest have early out for school.  The oldest has regular end to the school day.  So it feels like we are coming and going all day.  So Friday I like to do a super fast, super sweaty workout.  Thanks to pintrest I have pinned quite a few at home workouts to make my way through.  This weeks workout is shown below.

I completed it 3 times.  With a 15 minute warm up on the treadmill and a 5 minute cool down back on the treadmill.  Workout done in less than an hour.  Meaning I could be showered to get the youngest to Kindergarten.  Hope you enjoyed my favorite workout from the week!

Organizing my recipes

One part of meal planning is actually being organized with recipes and keeping track of recipes you might want to try.  I said in my Meal Planning Binder that I had a tab called Journal.   (Binder and tab picture below)

 

I have over time written down dinners which my family likes.  So when I am really stumped on what to plan for the month.  I can look through there and get some more ideas.  I also keep my Meal Planning Sheet for a year.  Then I can look back at say last March and see what we ate then.  Gives me more options or ideas.  You know what would be even better in my journal,  would be for me to write the cook book and page number which to find recipes.  I haven't gotten quite that far yet.

 

Also, in my Binder I have a clear page protect where I stash recipes from magazines we will be using and eating that month.  (Seen on the left of the above picture.  On the right is my Journal List of recipes my family likes.

Which brings me to... How do I keep track of recipes from magazines or recipes I have printed or jotted down on the back of an envelope.  (I never keep a whole magazine for a couple of recipes.   I always cut out the ones I want to keep and toss the rest of the magazine).  I have a separate binder from my planning binder where I store all these recipes.  I have divided sections in my binder; Dinner, Breakfast, Sides, Soup or Salad, Breads and Desserts.  Before the recipes go in the binder they sit in a folder (not pictured).  Once they are tried and I want to use them again then they go in a page protector in the binder.  Every few months, I go through my folder and trash anything that no longer sounds good or I am sure my family will never eat.  I hate lots of paper clutter.  So I try to keep as little paper as possible.

Once something is tried and I want to keep it for future, then and only then, it goes in the binder.  Above you can see one section.  Below you can see a snap shot of a couple of recipes.  And hey you can see my blue folder (where I keep recipes to try) on the left at the front of my binder.  There you go, that is how I keep track of recipes.

Now for Family Favorite recipes.  They used to be stored in a recipe box.  Years ago I moved them to a photo album.  They were just easier to wipe clean, see better and find; than when they were in a box.  Again with my anal organization ways.  I made tabs at the top, making it easier to find recipes in each category.  Pictured below you can see my Family Favorites recipe binder and tabs 

 

 

Now I tell you... this did not all happen over night.  Also, this is how I like to keep track of recipes.  It works for me, my family and my home.  Having a good organized system helps with the planning process in the long run. 

Anyone else have a organize system for recipes they want to share in the comments.

Condense version of meal planning

Summary and condensed version of my monthly meal planning.

1.  Get a binder.  Put a blank calendar and a meal planning sheet to write down what meals you want make for the month.  Divide meals up into categories.

2.  Plan your meals out for the month.

3.  Write your shopping list.

4.  Shop once a week.

5.  Stick to the plan.

6.  Prep and plan ahead for busy days.

7.  Don't stress!  Being prepared and having a plan should help you relax, so you can...

8. Enjoy dinner with your family.

If you are stressed out and not enjoying the process it is probably not the right way to plan for you.  Make changes that fit into your life and style.

I really like this quote from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, he says, " We build deep and loving family relationships by doing simple things together, like family dinner and family home evening and by just having fun together.  In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time.  Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home.  We talk with, rather than about, each other.  We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities.  We establish a divine bond with each other as we approach God together through family prayer, gospel study and Sunday worship."

*The underline words are documents I have shown below in the previous post.

Monthly meal planning

I know this is long over due.  And it is a long post so bear with me.  I have had some requests for this post.  There just has not been a  great time to sit down and type up a blog post.  As you can see I am not the most consistent blogger anyway.  Sorry for the tardiness.

Are you feeling kind of lost at dinner time?  With no system and what you think is nothing to eat?  I have been there.  13 years ago we moved into our first house (and we are still in that house) with one kid and hopes of expanding.  I never felt like I really had to be super organized mom with one child.  We just kind of ate simply, kind of like college students.  Lots of easy to prepare things.  It was when I had a 2nd child and was busy with my church calling as Activity day leader that I noticed we were eating out a lot during the week.  Simply because I was not prepared or it was just easier after a busy day to have food prepared for me.  Not healthy and not great for a food budget.  Eating out with one kid doesn't really cost too much, but start adding kids and eating out is a huge expense.

So I started weekly meal planning.  It was a way for me to keep track of what we were going to eat.  This also helped at the grocery store because I knew what I needed to buy for the week.  I no longer have babies, but grocery shopping is still not my favorite.  A few years ago, I got the crazy idea to try to plan meals for a month.  This way I can get my bulk shopping done the first week of the month.  Then the rest of the weeks are simply for produce, milk, bread, eggs and those sorts of things.

Weekly meal board which hangs in my kitchen, so I can see my meals for the week at a glance.

How did I start?  I needed a system to keep track.  I got a binder and made my own printable sheets to keep track.  I divided meals up by proteins.  But you can divide how ever you like (Mexican, Italian, meatless Monday, sandwich, soup, pizza, etc. Night).  Here's a little confession, but I don't cook Saturday or Sunday.  Saturday is for leftovers or we eat out 1 or 2 times a month.  Sunday is easy day.  We do more leftovers or something simple like smoothies, Julius, hot chocolate and toast, popcorn and cut up fruit, sometimes pancakes/waffles/french toast, eggs and toast, homemade soft pretzels to dip in sauce.  Those are some of my Sunday ideas.  I don't plan out those meals.  They are just whatever we want Sunday night.

My Monthly Meal Planning Binder

I also plan some time consuming meals and some easy meals because some nights are busier than others.  I want to make sure we have a good family meal before rushing off to the kids activities.  Usually, but not always, Friday is a pretty simple meal.  That way if Joel and I want to go out Friday night the kids dinner is easy to make.  Then I am not making a huge kitchen mess to clean up after coming home from a date.  Nothing kills the date mood than a messy kitchen.

I keep a pair of scissors for cutting my shopping list out, a pencil, a pen, and some post-it notes in my binder.

Tabs in my binder.  Menu Plan keeps my meal planning sheet and calendar.  Shopping list is just that.  Journal: I will have to expand on in another post.

At the end of the month I sit down with my binder.  The process can be really quick if I stay focused on the task and I should have it done in less than an hour.  Sometimes it spreads in to the next day.  I check my calendar and count how many days I need to cook for the month.  Also, looking for special days.  Like March has Erika's birthday, Pi (3.14) day, St. Patricks Day and Easter.  All together March I need 24 meals.  I carry over anything that may not have gotten used the month before.  I also plan for anything in the pantry, freezer or fridge that needs to get used up this month.  Sometimes the month before I am craving something, if that happens I have written in on a sticky note and stick it in my binder.  I ask the birthday girl what she wants for her birthday dinner.  I plan the holiday dinners, usually these dinners are traditions.  So by now I have about half my meals planned out.  I think of any family favorites we have not had for a while.  This whole time I am writing everything in pencil.  That way if I change my mind, I can erase.  To fill in the rest of the meals I try to have a few new to our family recipes.  I look through pinterest, search the internet, look in cookbooks, magazines.  By now I should have my number of dinners for the month written down.  All these go on my meal planning sheet.  Which is divided in categories by protein; Beef/Pork, Chicken/Fish/Turkey, Pasta, Soup/Salad, Meatless and Free.

Meal planning sheet in action

Meal Planning Sheet

At the start of a week I write what I want from my meal planning sheet on to a calendar.  (You can use a calendar like mine below or just grab a cheap calendar.  They have some in the dollar section at the Target at the end of the year.)  I also write the weekly meals on a white board.  (Except it is not white, shown at the top of the post.)  This may seem like over kill, but it helps me to see it better, what we are eating for the day.  After we eat a meal I cross it off of my calendar; and meal planning sheet and date it.  I do try also to plan my breakfast, lunch and snack.  I tend to eat better if I have a plan.  Not so much standing in the kitchen grabbing stuff aimlessly.

Monthly Calendar in action

Monthly Meal Calendar.  This one is blank, but I type the month and numbers in for me.  Looks cleaner.

Once you get all your meals for the month.  Write out your shopping list.  Like I said I try to get all my non perishable stuff at the beginning of the month in one big trip.  Cans, pastas, cereals, rice, spices, every thing that goes in my pantry.  Plus, all my meats and frozen goods.  I freeze all my meat in meal appropriate sizes.  I try to keep most of my pantry stuff in bulk.  So not every month is a big trip.  Plus I get all produce and stuff I need for that week.  I get extra bread too and freeze it.  We seem to run out of bread fast, but only some times.  Another tip:  Always write down something as soon as you run out of it.  Like right then, not later.  You will forget.  Or at least I do.  I also have a printable shopping list divided into categories.  This helps me be more efficient in the grocery store.  If I have planned well I should be saved from quick trips to the store for forgotten items.  And the rest of the month each week I should just be buying milk, eggs, bread, produce, yogurts, and the stuff we go through fast. 

Shopping List.  Divided in categories.

Now dinner time.  I try, doesn't always happen, but I try to plan ahead.  Get things chopped, divide up and prepped ahead of time.  Use your crockpot when you need too for busy days.  Prep dinner in the morning or afternoon if you are home then and going to be busy the rest of the day.  I believe there is no excuse to not have a homemade dinner every night of the week.  Every dinner gets a Protein, Carb (potato, rice, pasta, or bread) and a Vegetable or Fruit (sometimes more than one).  I don't usually plan out side dishes.  I just seem to add what fits with the meal or what we have on hand.  And I buy fruits and vegetables that look best at the store.  So it changes for the seasons.

So there is my way of planning.  I think there is many ways for people to meal plan.  I hope I have given you at least one idea or tip for you to use.  Cooking is a joy to me, most of the time.  I tend to show my love through my food.  I may not be the most talkative person, but if you come over I will feed you.  I like good food.  I also like to be organized.  Life just seems to be easier for me when I have a plan.  I know, I am a crazy planner.    I like to be surrounded by my family at the end of a long day, chatting over the dinner table.  This helps me to get to the end of the day with my sanity!

The Winter of 2012 and 2013

The snow has kind of killed all ambition to do anything.  This has been one heck of a winter.  Lots of snow, crappy air with inversion, and freezing temperature.  Makes you just want to wrap up in a blanket with hot chocolate and a good book/movie.  We have been keeping busy in these parts, while being mostly stuck in the house.  Good Christmas and holiday season, even if I didn't share pictures.

brain dump

So this is what I am thinking.... I want this blog to be a compilation of all the things I love to do.  So would it be good to have a blog that I use to write about or show things I am working on?  Like crafts, sewing, organizing, home projects, recipes, fitness, and of course mixed with a dash or two of family.  I want to be a better picture taker.  I want to create more.  I do not except to be the perfect blogger or be anything that may be considered amazing.  Just dumping ideas with the hopes that I can make sense of them all and do something fun in the process.

2013: New Year, new resolutions

I am excited for a new year.  2012 was a very good year and has me looking forward to another good year.  It helps to have a more positive attitude, I guess.  I am always looking to improve and better myself.  I know I am not this amazing blog writer.  And I hope if anyone reads my blog they at least get something out of it.  I mostly write this for me or my family, as a place to document our life.  As a place for me to put stuff down.  A electronic journal of sorts.  So this year I start a new blog and hope to have fun with it.  I have a few ideas in my head that I would like to do, but need to make sense of them and not get too carried away.  I don't want a time commitment and waste of time pit. 

End ramblings... I have a few goals in mind for the new year.  I am not posting every goal just a few.  Also, I want to focus on a few to keep things simple.  I am thinking this will be a year of simplicity and challenging myself at the same time.

Goals:
1. No toys in sacrament meeting.  I have gotten lazy with my youngest and he gets away with bringing too much distraction to church.  This will end.

2. Learn to can.  I really like my marinara sauce and homemade salsa.  I think it would be fun to can these both for our family.

3. Save money as a family for a big family Summer vacation.  This is in progress.  We are eating out less as a family and have a jar for our money we save.

4. I got this idea from a runner's group I am a part of.  I want to run the in miles for the age each of my kids will turn on their birthdays.  Which means I would need to run 15, 12, 9, and 6 miles this year the week of their birthday.  All my kids birthdays are spread out, so this will be do able.

5. I also am running another 1/2 marathon.  I really hope to PR (get a personal record), then I just may hang up my racing shoes.  I will still run, just not race.

6. Swim this year.  I am going to swim this year.  I had lots of time in the water this summer.  I had one very helpful lesson and need more.  But I am determined to swim.  To Challenge Myself, to not be afraid.


Those should keep me busy for awhile.   I have hope for a new year of simplicity, fun, challenge and growth.  This will be a good one.