Finished another book on tape today....it was abridged, but I really enjoyed it.   It had me crying on the freeway at times.  

Little Earthquakes - Jennifer Weiner - 4/5

Hubby will be home soon and he wants me to go with him to run a  couple of errands.  This is the first moment I have had to blog today.  It has been one busy day so far!  

YESTERDAY

I was very busy for work.  I had 4 homevisits, which took up most of my day.  My last appointment was at 7:00pm and I didn't get home until after 9:00.   I then went straight to bed.    I woke up in the middle of the night at about 3:00am and could not get back to sleep so I had to get up for a bit. 

TODAY

I had to get up early and get on the road right way.  I had to appear in court this morning for a placement review.   While waiting to be called into court I was able to return a few phone calls.  The court hearing was very quick.   After court in Hastings, I drove to Fridley to order Josh's Senior Pictures.   When I got there they told me I had the wrong price brouchure.  Hmm....it was the one they mailed me when I made the appointment for his pics.   So the packages were more expensive than I had thought.  ARGH!!  Plus one of the packages had changed completely.   It was a mess.....after everyone's order was placed the grand total was $700.00.  WOW!!!    Josh's father and my ex-hubby placed orders as well so that included their orders too.  

Then I came home and Erik and I worked on memorizing his combination and lunch PIN.  We wrote out his checklist for before school and one for after school.  We went through his school supplies and put his name and team# on each of them and packed his backpack.   He picked out his clothes for tomorrow morning and is all ready for the first day of school!   He is a little nervous, but is excited.    Tomorrow when he is at school I am going to wash all his new clothes and reorganize his dresser.  We are lableing two drawers for school clothes and 2 for weekend.   My hubby is very particular about the quality of school clothes so this should ensure Erik doesn't wear weekend clothes to school.  

Erik, Josh and Amy went to the mall and school to run a few errands.   I went to Pier One and Office Max looking for a basket or shelf thing to organize the shelf by my laptop.   I ended up finding something to use at Office Max.   I will have a shelf to sort stuff into Josh, Erik, Tommy and Mail each day.   I have alot of organizing to get done this weekend.   Erik will be gone at his Mom's from Friday until Monday and Josh is going to the fair on Saturday and then going to his Dad's from Sunday through Monday.  So it will be a quiet weekend with hubby, Tommy and I.  

-TOMORROW-

First day of school!!   Both older boys start school tomorrow.   I will be home and working on projects around the house.  My first project of the day will be Erik's dresser and closet.  

SUPPER:   Black Beans and Rice, Mexican Salad and Strawberries/Bananas

GRATITUDE:   I am grateful for a few days off to be home for my boys first days of school.   If only I could be a stay at home mom! 

Hubby should be here any moment....gotta run!  Later!

Good Morning....two more days and my children will be back in school.  Yeah....I look forward to the structure of school.  This week I have been waking them at 7:00 and having them shower and stuff.   They had been sleeping in until about 10:00 each day so we are doing our school routine this week to get ready for school starting on Thursday.   I jsut have to figure out how we will be staggering showers since 4 of us need a shower each morning. 

-YESTERDAY-

I switched my evening meeting last night so we could attend a meeting at church about the ideas we have for the church.   The church will be adding on and enlarging.   We now have a school at our church which is expanding to include 1st grade this year.   They are planning on building a life center that will be added to the church.  Space is always an issue since we are a growing church.   We didn't get home until later and then I figured out the order with Josh for his Senior Pictures.   After we were done with that it was time for Tommy and I to go to bed.   Tommy fell asleep pretty good.   I only read for a few minutes and was asleep myself. 

Josh watched the kids for us while we went to church.  He even did the dishes without being told.   Go Josh!  Everyone has a night they are assigned dishes and Mondays are Josh.  

-TODAY-

Busy day for me!  Hopefully my truck runs ok, the service engine light came on yesterday again.  ARGH!!   I have homevisits at 9:30, 2:00, 5:00 and 7:00 this evening.   I doubt I will even make it to my office much to today.   I should be able to stop at my office between my 9:30 and 2:00 meeting to have lunch.   I might get my book on tape done today since I will be driving alot.  

-TOMORROW-

Wednesday is my last day of work for the week.   I have to appear in court in the morning for a placement review and then I am off.   I will head to order Josh's senior pictures as soon as I am done with court.   Than I am off until Tuesday.  I took the first few days of school off so I am available for the kids in case they miss the bus or anything.  It is a new school for Erik so I just want to be available.  

Erik and I will be working on getting his backpack together and things organized.  I am not sure what will work for him, but we bought the supplies the school recommended and then we will accomodate throughout the year as things progress.  They wanted him to have a separate notebook and folder for each class, but I am not sure that will work the best for Erik.  We will see.....

I have a long list of projects I want to get done over the long weekend.  One project I have to get done is redoing my dining room chairs.  I have them all pulled apart and we can't use them.  We need them many nights since we have alot of extra people for meals.  Last night I had 7 for supper so we were unable to fit around the small table, but couldn't use the big table since the chairs aren't done.  

I also will be conquering paperwork and getting the kids notebooks ready for the year.  I have a notebook for each child with their important info in it so I can easily find what I need.   I also have a shelf by my laptop that has puzles on it that I will make into my shelf so I can keep my notebooks all in a central place.  They are in the computer room now and my laptop is in the dining room.   So everything of mine will be in the dining room soon.  It is always a great feeling to start the school year organized. 

SUPPER:  Hubby is making Hamburger Helper as I won't be home.

GRATITUDE:   Erik doing so well getting up this morning!  Overall I am grateful for how well Erik has been doing. 

Good Morning.....IT's Monday....ARGH!!

-YESTERDAY-

I didn't get everything done I wanted, but got quite a bit done.   I went to Menards while Tommy was sleeping and had some more house keys made and bought a new door handle for the downstairs bathroom.  Once I got home Tommy woke up and he and I went outside for a bit.  Then hubby took over so I could make supper.   Hubby loved the sloppy joes said they were his favorite recipe for them.   I have a couple of diffrent ones I make. 

After supper Erik and I did  a quick clean up of the living room and dining room.   I then worked in the kitchen for a bit.   I cut up and sauted about 15 green peppers, which are frozen and in the freezer for future recipes.  While that was cooking I mopped the kitchen floor really good on my hands and knees.  

At around 8:00 I started Tommy's bedtime routine.  He went into the bath and was in bed with me by 8:30, but he really didn't fall asleep well at all.  So I had to turn the light back on and I read for a while and he cuddled with me.   I finished my book:

Delectable Mountain - Earlene Fowler - 4/5

I started reading East of Eden for a few minutes before falling asleep.

-TODAY-

I have to reschedule an appointment tonight since I found out there is a meeting at church tonight that they called and wanted me at.  ARGH.   I hope I can swing it.  I will then stay and work late tomorrow night instead.  I need to have a 7:00 meeting with a family this week.  

I have weight watchers weigh in today.   Will not be pretty.   Oh well......

-TOMORROW-

Working late.....I have alot of homevisits and school visits tomorrow so I will be out of the office alot!   I just got a few new books on tape so I will have something to listen to at least.   I just started Little Hurricanes by Jennifer Weiner.  

Both boys are awake already since we are practicing on gettting up early since school starts on Thursday!   Erik will bein the 7th grade and going to school in our district for the first time.   Josh is starting his Senior year......oh my don't get me crying again!

Time for me to hit the shower and get ready for work.   Hope you all have a great Monday!

SUPPER:   Teriyaki Chicken Breast and Vegetables

GRATITUDE:  Snuggles with my little boy.....and him asking "what's your favorite color?"

RECIPE:

Sloppy Joes II This is the recipe my mother used for sloppy joes, and it    always gets compliments! Prep Time: approx. 10 Minutes. Cook    Time: approx. 30 Minutes. Ready in: approx. 40 Minutes.    Makes 6 servings.    Printed from Allrecipes, Submitted by Tamara 1 pound lean ground beef 1/4 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard 3/4 cup ketchup 3 teaspoons brown sugar salt to taste ground black pepper to taste Directions 1 In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground    beef, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids. 2 Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown    sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30    minutes. Season with salt and pepper. This recipe is featured within our Allrecipes cookbook. If    you would like to learn more, please click http://allrecipes.com/arcookbook/.

MORNING......SUNDAY......CHURCH AND RELAXATION!!

-YESTERDAY -

Yesterday was a great!  We had alot of fun on our End of Summer Celebration!  We stopped at the library and then headed to the Mall of America.    The van isn't working correctly and of course that will have to go in and get fixed.  WHen you use the breaks it pulls really bad to the left.  

Daddy taking a nap before we head out on our END OF SUMMER CELEBRATION!

Tommy and Erik on the Bus Ride!

Erik, Tommy and Daddy.......

Tommy and Daddy on the little kids roller coaster.  He loved that!

Josh on Bumper Cars.

Erik on the bumper cars.....

My boys at Underwater World......

Our Family at Underwater World Adventures! 

We had a great time, we spent about 4 hours on rides at Camp Snoopy.   Tommy liked the Sponge Bob movie ride, which we went on twice.  Hubby took the older boys on rides and I had Tommy most of the time.  

We also went to Underwater World.  That was cool.....the sharks and string rays were cool!    After Underwater World we went to Old Navy and bought two more pairs of school pants for Erik.  He now has 4 new pairs so he should be good for school.    I have spent so much money on school clothes for him...YIKES!!!  He needed everything since we only really had summer clothes and a few weekend clothes. 

Then we went to Red Lobster.  Tommy fell asleep on the ride and got a little nap.   We had to wait a bit for our table to Red lobster.   We all had a ton to eat.  The kids had crab legs and lobster, their favorite!  Tommy had popcorn shirmp and loved it. 

We were stuffed afterwards and came home and vegged the rest fo the evening.  I went to bed with Tommy around 9:00 and woke up around 12:00 since hubby hadn't sent the other children to bed yet.  ARGH!!  So mean mommy had to send them to bed.  I am sure they will be a joy to wake up this morning for church.  

-TODAY-

I hope to finish my book today.  Immax3, I am enjoying the Earlene Fowler book, I really like the characters!    I should finish this book up today and then I will start East of Eden for book group.  I need to saute some green peppers to have in the freezer for recipes.   I have alot of them and they are starting to go bad.   I have some fruit to cut up for the week as well.  

I have a couple of loads of laundry to do and just relax in general!    I might work on one of my dining room chairs...we will see.    I might try and add a few more recipes to my website as well.

SUPPER:  Sloppy Joes

GRATITUDE:   Fun times with my family!   

-TOMORROW-

Working late on Monday, I have a 7:00 homevisit.   ARGH!!   I understand I am suppose to be at a meeting at church as well, so we will see.   Monday seems like a regular day!  I will only work 3 days next week and then I will be off Thursday -Tuesday!  Yeah!!!

Have a great day!

NEW RECIPES ADDED TO MY WEBSITE:

BARBECUE CROCK POT CHICKEN

CHICKEN AND WILD RICE SOUP WITH MUSHROOMS

CROCK POT CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS

SKILLET LASAGNA

SMOTHERED HAMBURGER STEAKS

TATER TOT CASSEROLE (MENUS4MOM.COM)

REFRIED BEANS

SPANISH RICE

BARBECUED MUSHROOM-TURKEY BURGERS

BLACK BEAN AND VEGGIE WRAPARITOS

Good Morning.......Happy Weekend.....I love the weekend.....

-YESTERDAY-

I was done with my meeting in Hastings a little after 3:00 and I was done working for the week.   I had my grocery list all done so I stopped at Aldi on the way home and got most of my groceries there.  I spent $43.96 at Aldi.   I then drove over to Rainbow and got the remaining items of groceries that I could find at Aldi.  I spent another $21.08.   So I did really good and I stayed within my $75.00 a week budget for groceries.   I spent only $65.00 for a week of groceries.   I make a meal every day and I feed anywhere from 5 to 7 people each night.    I am really liking the Menus4Moms.com site as follow that menu plan is cheaper than SavingDinner.com, which I have done as well.   Last night there was 7 of us for supper and the Tater Tot Casserole, Celery Sticks and Watermelon lasted jsut fine.   Everyone liked it too!  

After supper I went with Josh, Amy, Erik and Kyle to Half Price Books.   Josh needed to sell some books and he needed someone who was over 18 with (me).    Of course I couldn't leave the store without buying some books.  I bought 3 on clearance for $1.00 each.  So I only spent $3.00.   I love books...what a weakness.  Then we stopped at CVS to pick up my meds for my asthma.   I also picked up some sudafed for Erik.  I think he has some seasonal allergies.  He is very stuffy and sniffly right now.   The sudafed seems to help him just fine. 

Then once home I finished up dishes while hubby and his bro watched Football.   Tommy and I headed to bed around 9:00.   Not too exciting of an evening.  

-TODAY-

END OF SUMMER CELEBRATIONS!!   We are ending our reading race and I am not sure if I won or Josh!    I have one more book at add to the list.   But I give a small prize to everyone that read.   But the winner gets $20.00....hope I win!   Mall money!!   We will head to the library this morning and than after lunch we are going to the Mall of America.    We have unlimited ride bracelets for Camp Snoopy and we need to get Erik a little bit more school clothes.   I hate rides so I will be avoiding them!   I vomit way to much on them, not fun!   I even get motion sickness on longer car rides.  Not fun!   But, shopping will be ok.   After we are done at the mall we are going out to eat at Red Lobster....YUMMY!!!!    That will be our day.....

-TOMORROW-

Church in the morning and than hopefully not much else the rest of the day.   I want to jsut relax.  Most of the laundry is caught up so I don't have that to do this weekend.   I will hopefully get some reading done.  

SUPPER:   RED LOBSTER....

GRATITUDE:   My children still wanting to do things with me.   I enjoy jsut running to the store with them.   They are funny!!

AUGUST MENU   8/26/05 - Tater Tot Casserole, Celery Sticks and Fruit 8/27/05 - RED LOBSTER 8/28/05 - Sloppy Joes/ Corn on the Cob 8/29/05 - Chicken Breast/Ranch Pasta/Sugar Snap Peas 8/30/05 - Hamburger Helper/Veggie 8/31/05 - Black Beans and Rice/Mexican Salad/Strawberries and Bananas    SEPTEMBER MENU   9/1/05 - Fried Ham Slices/Squash & Onions/ Biscuits and Grapes

9/2/05 -Chicken & Cheese Quesadilla/Yogurt & Pineapple/Broccoli Salad

9/3/05 -Chicken Salad Pita Pockets/Honey Nuts Peaches

9/4/05 -LEFTOVERS

9/5/05 -Slow Cooker Enchiladas/Corn

9/6/05 -Marinated Steak/Veggie/Melon

9/7/05 -Chinese Chicken w Cashews on Rice/ Fruit

9/8/05 - Spaghetti/Salad/Garlic Bread

9/9/05 -Tex-Mex Pasta Skillet/Salad/Biscuits

Michelle - Hope your allergies are getting better....

Here is the recipe for the Tater Tot Casserole.  I make it a little different than this normally, but am going to try this recipe for a change.  I might add a can of mixed veggies or green beans to it as well.  

Tater Tot Casserole

• 1- 32. oz package frozen Tater Tots
  
• 1/2 lb. browned ground beef (from freezer)
  
• 1- 16 oz. container sour cream
  
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  
• 1 can cream of celery soup
  
• 1- 4 oz. can mushrooms, drained
  
• 1 pkg. sauteed onions (from freezer)
  
• 1- 6 oz. can French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9x13 casserole pan. Place frozen tater tots in bottom of pan. Sprinkle beef over tater tots. In a bowl, mix sour cream,cheese, soups, mushrooms, and sauteed onions. Pour over beef. Top with French fried onions. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

 

GOOD MORNING.....HAPPY FRIDAY!!  YEAH!!

-YESTERDAY-

My allergies are really bad.   I made it through my work day yesterday.  I signed my paperwork for my raise at work.   I am getting a 91 cent raise an hour!   Yeah....every little bit helps.  I ended up not going to book group.  I just didn't think I could sit on a yatch for 2 hours.   My eyes were so itchy and I felt terrible.   So I came home and went to bed.  I slept until about 8:00 and then got up for a bit.  At about 9:00 I went back and layed down with Tommy.   We are working on getting everyone back on our school schedule and that means getting Tommy to bed earlier.   He went to sleep fine and then I got back up.   He actually fell asleep within 20 minutes.   I took more antihistamine and tried to sleep.  I read for a while until I could fall asleep. 

-TODAY-

It is raining and raining here in Minnestoa.   I woke up the kids early today, summer is over and sleeping all day is OVER.   Erik has lost the priveledge of watching TV before bed and now there is NO TV.   He also lost a quarter yesterday from his Dad.   Josh works today so Erik will need to go to Bonnies.   I am very lucky that Josh has watched Erik all week for us though.  Erik prefers to be with Josh. 

My eyes are still very itchy, but I am hoping the rain will help.     Not much planned for today.  I have one meeting in Hastings with the school there about concerns with a client.   Should be intense.   We will see what big leagues they pull in.   I really am not that scary.  After the meeting I am coming home and starting my weekend!  

I hope to maybe work on a chair or two tonight.  We will see....I also want to finish my book so I can start East of Eden. 

-TOMORROW-

We will go t ot the library in the morning and then it is our End of SUMMER Celebration!    This is a family tradition we started many years ago.  We celebrate the end of summer.  We usually go to a hotel for the weekend and have a great family time, but this year we are going to Camp Snoopy and out to eat at Red Lobster.  My kids love Red Lobster, but we haven't ate there in a few years so it is a nice treat!   My BIL Steve will be going with us too.  

SUPPER:  Tater Tot Casserole/Celery with Cheese/Watermelon

GRATITUDE:  I am grateful my hubby did dishes and laundry last night.   This morning I am grateful for the rain.  I am hoping it helps with my allergies.