Another week seems to be flying by me.   Remember when you were a kid
and time took so LONG to pass....wow, that sure isn't the case when
you're an adult!

MONDAY

Monday was a busy day at work.   I am still working on organizing all
the donations that my co-workers are giving me for a family I work with
that had their home destroyed by fire.  We also had a section meeting
where the administration talked about ideas they had to lighten our work
load since our case loads are going to continue to rise with no new
hires in sight.  I currently serve nearly 70 families, which is becoming
unmanageable.  I was audited and my supervisor was happy with my work. 
Good thing!  I had a late meeting on Monday night.  I left there at
about 6:30 or so.  On the way home I got the worse headache I have ever
had in my life.  I could barely keep my eyes open to drive.  WEIRD!!  I
went home and went straight to my bedroom where I laid in the dark with
a cold pack on my head.  Hubby gave my aspirin and some percocet.  That
eventually got it to a dull roar so I could sleep.   Luckily I didn't't
plan on going into the office on Tuesday.

TUESDAY

Erik had as appointment for an assessment on Tuesday so I didn't go to
work.  I went to the meeting and then came back home to sleep. My head
still hurt a lot!  I did a few things around the house in the evening
and went to bed by 8:30 or so with Tommy.  He and I listened to Judy
Blume's Tale of a 4th Grade Nothing on my MP3 player.  He seemed to enjoy
that.  After he was asleep I got back up for a bit.   I looked through
my new Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious Magazine.  I finally
thought of a good way to mark the recipes each month I want to try.  I made a
copy of the index in back and simply highlighted the recipes to try.  I
will then keep that highlighted copy in a binder for future meal
planning. 

WEDNESDAY

HAPPY VALENTINE"S DAY!!

Another busy day,  I dropped Tommy off at Preschool and helped him pass
out his valentines.  I had gone through some of the books we had at
home and took some to donate to the library at the New Christian School. 
They don't have very many books yet and the kids are really enjoying
the Magic Treehouse Books so I gave some of those and Junie B Jones
books.  I think I will continue to keep my eyes out to find some more books
for them.  This is the school that Tommy will be starting in September. 
I might just see if I can find a lot of those type of books on Ebay to
give to the school.  I want to keep the set of Magic Treehouse books we
have for when I have grandkids.  Tommy and I enjoy reading them now! 
Of course I will keep my eyes out for good books for their library at
garage sales this summer as well.   We frequently donate to the school by
getting books and other learning items they need.  

Then I had to take the cats to the vet.  Robbie needed to have another
glucose curve competed today . He currently is getting 3 units of
insulin twice a day, but his sugar level is too high and he is vomiting
again.  Oh Joy!  Molly also went along to have a complete exam for the day.  
I stopped off at Wal-Mart and grabbed a movie my hubby wanted for
Family Movie night as his Valentine's gift.  He wants a notebook computer
and I think we will end up getting that for him in the very near future. 
He can never go on his computer now that it is in the basement as we
have to be upstairs to supervise Erik and everything.   So if I am not
home he has to be upstairs and even my laptop is in a place that doesn't
give you the best view of what is going on either. 

Well I am done eating my lunch so it is back to work for me.  I will
have to post this when I get home as I can't assess my blog from work any
longer.  Bummer!  Don't they realize that the 30 minutes while I eat my
lunch is the only free time I have all day!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day with your loved ones!!!

RECENTLY READ

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova  - 3/4 - Everyone loved this book, but I really didn't get that excited over it.  I had a hard time staying with it.  It probably would have been better to read this one rather than to listen to it.   I am not that big on vampire lore either.....

Happy Weekend....

 Hope everyone is having a good weekend.  Ours has been pretty good.   Friday I got off work an hour early and went to get groceries.  I decided that I think the best way to save even more money is to only shop twice a month.  Less opportunities to impulse buy if I am not in the store.  I bought two weeks of groceries any spent a total of $153.50.  That was with me going to three stores, Aldi, Bread Thrift Store and Festival.  Of course as always a majority of our groceries come from Aldi.  I also buy little convenience food, I cook most everything from scratch, which also saves money.   So my budget each week for groceries for the 5 of us is $80.00, so I was under that by $6.50.  This is very good since I had been over each week before by $10 to $15.00 each week.  I am pretty happy with the results, lets see if the food will last for 2 weeks.    It does take a bit more planning, but I think it will be worth it.

Friday night was movie night.  We all had a good time and Erik actually got to join us.  We watch the "School of Rock".  Now I must say I was surprised it was voted as one of the top family movies, but it was ok.   There was some language we could have done without.

SATURDAY

I was sort of feeling out of sorts most of Saturday.  We went to have our taxes done in the morning.  We always plan it so we get a nice size refund.   It was a bit less this year, so I will have to budget differently.   What we have been doing for the last few years and it works out very nicely for us, is we each claim single zero and have the most taxes taken out.    Then the refund goes into the savings and we budget it for the year.  I track it on a spread sheet to keep us on track.  We pay out car insurance in full for the year as we get a $500 discount by doing that.  We also budget between $300 - $400 for each month for emergencies, etc.  If we don't need the money for that month we roll it over to the next.   At the end of this year we were right on track.  I also set aside the money for Christmas presents right away.  I will be looking this year at the amount we set aside last year.  I think it should make do again this year. 

On our way out of Sears, where we get our taxes done, we looked at their clearance appliances.  One thing to know about me, I hardly ever will pay full price for anything!!!   A month ago they had a wall oven, but it was self cleaning so the inside of it was so small.  You could not even fit a cookie sheet in it.  That would never ever work for us.  I love to cook and need my oven space.  This time they had another wall oven and it was not self cleaning and it was the same size!!!   To make sure I went home and got my pampered chef stone baking sheet to make sure it would fit!  It did!!   We were so happy so I am finally getting a new oven put in and at 50% of the cost.  The 50% off was nice as even with the installation and delivery I am paying less than the cost of the oven.  Our current oven is 47 years old and the door does not stay closed.  We have to wedge a piece of paper in the door to force it to stay shut.  It has a mind of its own on the temperature control as well.  My parents will be very happy since they have been concerned about the safety of our current oven.    Cooperwife is doing a great series on the Less Than Perfect Kitchen, which is what I have.  She has some great ideas how to make what you i've work.  I  gleaned a great idea from her.  Since I haven't been able to get a double oven, like I wanted, big meals take alot of planning with oven space.  She mentioned using a Roaster Oven for the Turkey or ham to free up for oven.  What a great idea, why didn't I ever think of that!!   So I am going to have my eye out for one on clearance or something. 

My Less Than Perfect Kitchen....

This is the oven, which it is very retro and cool looking.  But doesn't really work and probably not the safest.  So that will be changed out.  I hope the new one works in this space.   That will be the extent of our remodeling this year I think. 

Next is my stove area, as you can see my cook top is also 47 years old.  You can't see it in the pictures by it has holes burnt into it too.  This will hopefully get changed out next year at taxes time.  The Vent Hood is the one the guys put in for me, $16.00 on clearance at Sears!!   We are debating on which way to go with the cook top.  Should we just replace the cooktop or we thought of just taking the cabinet out of there and putting in a range which would give me a second oven.  Hmmmm....but I would lose a fair amount of cabinet space in a already very small kitchen.   What do you think???? 

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing things around the house.  I did some laundry and washed the dishes.  I also cooked up 8 pounds of chicken and froze that.   Hubby put the spice rub on the roasted chicken for tonight.  I also made supper, which was good!  Everyone in the family liked it!!  

Chicken Pasta w/ Baby Vegetables

I also cleaned out the freezer upstairs and update my freezer inventory.  After seeing my examples of freezer inventories, the one we use is working for us well!   In stead of listing Chicken Breasts -3.  I simple write:

Chicken Breast
Chicken Breast
Chicken Breast

When I use one of them, I simply cross off one of them so I also am sure of how much I have in the freezer.  I have an older example for you to see.    I can't remember where this idea came from, but it works great!!

Freezer Inventory

Well I will blog later about today...I gotta get in the shower and get ready for church. 

Argh...I read for a few hours and just can't fall asleep so I figured I might as well get up and do a few things around the house.   I switched around the laundry and will pay the bills here in a minute.  If  I still can't sleep I will work on menus and grocery list for this week.   I am thinking I want to change how I do my shopping.  I would like to switch to only shopping every other week.   I think the less I am in the store, the less I will spend.   I think I will try it and see how it goes.   Plus I don't really love planning my menus so doing it less often won't be bad either!  

If after that I still can't sleep I guess I will time report some more!   I completed a months worth this morning before taking my Inlaws to their appointment.   I want to be completely caught on that particular task by the end of the weekend.  We will see how it goes.   If I get started doing it, I am fine....I just have to motivate myself to do it. 

Later.....

I am finally feeling like things are getting better. I feel like I am opening my heart more to God and listening to what he wants for my life. This has me changing some of my priorities and routines, but it feels good in my heart, so I must be on the right track. 

I have been feeling so very pulled in every direction and not being able to do what I feel I should be doing. I truly want to be the keeper of my home and family. I realize I must also maintain my fulltime employment while doing this. So my priorities have to be family and work and that is all I really can manage at this time. So after much deliberation and soul searching I decided to stop attending my Wednesday night bible study. Now each Wednesday night while Erik is at church, it will be Momma/Tommy night. I feel like I am missing out too much on the most important time of Tommy’s life. He is unable to attend the Wednesday night activities at our church as you have to be in Kindergarten to attend classes and he refuses to go into the nursery. So last night I told him that we were going to start having a Momma/Tommy night and he’s response? “Yes..that will be the best day ever!!” So that made me know I am doing the right thing, he needs more time with me as I do with him. He is my last baby, so this is my last season as a parent of a preschooler. My place is at home with him on Wednesday nights. 

I asked him what he would like to do. And he said, a project. He described the project he wants to make and it sounds like Valentine’s people or something. He said he just need red paper and glue. Easy enough. We are going to put together a new puzzle and start a new Magic Treehouse Chapter book, Midnight on the Moon by Mary Pope Osborne.   We love the Magic Treehouse series and have many of them!!  I also have a number of Magic School Bus books I want to get out this weekend for Tommy.  We are moving up in our reading and his interests are expanding. 

I am still feeling a bit overwhelmed, but I know I am on the right track of making my heart feel good about my choices.   Yesterday I got up early to make a treat for the boys,  Cinnamon Biscuits.   I found this recipe on Preschoolers and Peace website.  I did decide to buy the Motivated Moms Planner.  Kendra has a picture of the planner on her site if you want to see it.  It seems to be working pretty good for me so far.  I like it.  I have the weeks sheet on a clipboard on the kitchen counter and I can cross stuff off as I do it.  Another resource I found on Kenrda's site that I plan on buy on Friday is Picture Book Preschool.  It looks like it will be fun to do with Tommy.  We love to read that is for sure.  Especially in the winter, we curl up in bed and read.  Another great book Tommy and I have been reading each night is, "Helping Kids Live God's Way: Right Choices" by Kenneth Taylor.  I think I might have found this book on MVCountryRoads blog.  You are all such great resources to me!!

WORK

It is budget time again and I have not caught up for the last round of budgets for the previous program.  On top of my regular work, I have had alot of crises to deal with, legal issues, suicide and fire destroying a family' home.  The worse part is I do love my job, but it is becoming a bit unmanageable.  I work over 40 hours every week and still don't feel like I am getting my head above the water.  I hope things calm a bit in the summer for me to catch up a bit.  My supervisor is pretty understanding, but I don't want to push that.   I have had to take alot of work off due to kid related stuff.  I feel bad, but I have had to cancel dentist appointments and stuff for Josh and Tommy as I just can't get out of the office to take them right now.   Not to mention I have not been able to see the Chiropractor about my back in a while either.  I can really tell too.   So I keep plugging away and trying to balance a very demanding job with a desire to do right by my kids and family.   Those are my two priorities right now, everything else will have to wait until I am in a different season of my life. 

Most of my appointments happen from 2:30 until 7:00 as that is when the children are home from school, etc.   As of today, 2/8, I don't have a single 3:30 appointment left available in February.   I am already scheduling into March!    So I can't cancel any of my work appointments as I don't have the time in my schedule to do them at a different time.     I am really struggling with the guilt of not being there for everything for the kids and not being there for my clients/employer!!  I wish there was more of me to go around!  I am trying to work on this.......balance is a great idea, but so hard for me to achieve.   Oh  well....I am thankful for the job and being able to provide for my family. (that is whole another blog that has been on my heart lately)

TOMMY

My little guy is doing well.   He is so much fun.   We have finally figured out where he will be going to school in September.  He will be at the Christian School at our church.  We looked into Full-Day Kindergarten at the school district but they wanted us to pay almost as much as his tuition at the private school to add on the other half of the day for him.   They also wouldn't offer any additional academics in the other half of the day.   It is a better deal for him to go to the christian school.  He will have additional academics, which he needs since he already reads and does simple math prior to starting Kindergarten.   The Christian School offers piano lessons, computer, language immersion and religion.   The class size in guaranteed to be only 20 in the Christian school.   It is very bittersweet for me, my baby going to school.   I am so glad he can go to private school, but it means he is growing up and that is sad for me.  My last baby......off to Kindergarten.....

ERIK

Erik has been doing better the last few days.  He is slowly earning things back from his Dad.   He still struggles with rules in all environments that is for sure.   I have been having a harder and harder time to find people to be at our house with him after school.  Josh now has a class that doesn't end until after 3:00.  Luckily most of Josh's friends are college students and want the extra money, which of course is an added expense, but what can you do.  I hope things all click together soon for Erik. 

JOSH

School seems to be going well for Josh.  I am trying to let him live his life with little interference while he is still living at home.  I don't have a curfew for him, but would like to know when he will be home.  He chooses to not attend church at times and sleep.  That is what college is for....so I think he is liking his new independence.  He is still extremely helpful to me.  He watches the younger kids very frequently and will do chores around the house.  Sometimes without me even asking!    He is a joy to have at home.....gotta love the boy.  The best part is we have been having Family Movie Night every Friday night and he is always here for it and sometimes a few of his friends come too.  It is nice that they will hang out with us. 

PETS

In addition to canceling my kids non emergency appointments, I have been canceling the cat ones tooo!  Argh..I was suppose to have Robbie back in for another Glucose Curve this week and I just can't fit it in.  I will take him next week.  He is still sick, they want to increase his insulin.  He is vomiting, but not as much.   I have some rugs to shampoo this weekend though.   I have been doing pretty good about giving him his 2 insulin shots each day.  I wrote in on my Motivated Moms Planner and that helps.  

YESTERDAY

I headed right to work after dropping off Tommy at Preschool.  I was home from work by just a bit after 6:00 which is good for me!!  I have my first budget started and will finish it up today.   I stayed home with Tommy and we had our first Tommy/Mommy night.   We played Valentine Bingo and made a Valentine project.  Daddy and Amy even played Bingo with us.  Tommy won!!   Then Daddy gave him a bath while I did my quick things around the house and then I laid down with Tommy for him to go to sleep.  I fell asleep in his bed and didn't wake for an hour or so.  I stumbled to my bed then and crashed for the night.  

TODAY

I am working from home this morning.  I HAVE TO get my time reporting done today!!!   That is an issue at my work so I need to really get caught up.   So that is what I will do his morning and then at 1:30 I have to pick up my Inlaws to take them to a meeting.   Things seem to be settling down with them and they are getting into a regular routine now that my MIL is home from the nursing home.   I still help with alot of paperwork and financial things.  So that will be my afternoon. 

TOMORROW

Tommy has preschool in the morning.   They are suppose to have a sledding party, but I think it will be too COLD!!  The high for today is only 9 degrees I think.  But , hey at least it is above 0!!   I have a couple of appointments on Friday from 11 until about 4:30 and then home for Family Movie Night.   We are watching the School of Rock and making a huge sandwich with Chip and Dip.  I need to bake the bread tonight for it!!  I better write that down, I will never remember that!!  

THE WEEKEND....

Not much planned except to get out taxes done on Saturday.   Exciting, eh. 

Well time for me to kick it into high gear and get doing some time reporting.  Have a great day!!!!  

Hey everyone, sorry I have been getting busy again.  Also I no longer can blog over lunch at work so my time to update is very limited.  I wanted to share some great websites/resource I recently discovered. 

Preschoolers and Peace - a great website with alot of resource and great advice.  Kendra, also has an accompanying blog that has some great info in it.  I am trying to read back in the archive as I get time.   One resource I disceovered on her  site is Motivate Moms Chore Planner.  This is very cool.  Just like I need to have menusformoms help with menu planning it is sure nice for someone to remind me of chorse to do!!  I need all the help I can get.  If you order through Kendra's link she get getss credit as a affiliate. 

That is all I can share for now.  I have a few other things I found on her blog that are great too.  I will update later!  I have to jump in the shower and drop Tommy off at preschool before heading to work.  Have a great day!!

Col 3: 23,24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

1st - Mexican Meatball Soup -**Good Add to Online Cookbook**

2nd -Panko Chicken, Salad, Veggie Fruit

3rd - Hamburgers Bun Cole Slaw and Fries

4th -

5th - Meat and Cheese Tray with Sandwhich Rolls - Chips and Dip  Good Add to Online Cookbook - MOVIE NIGHT

6th -

7th - BRUNCH: Egg and Sausage Bake  **Good Add to Online Cookbook**

8th -

9th- Hash Brown Soup

10th - Mother's Ham Casserole - TOH #137 (DIDN"T MAKE YET)

11th  - Spaghetti and Meatballs - Texas Cheese Toast

12th - Hamburgers/ Buns - Homemade Fries (kraft foods) **Good Add to Online Cookbook**- Chocolate Malt Shake - Movie Nights

13th - Versatile Slow Cooker Chili - Crockpot - 6 hours - Fix and Forget 5 - pg 15   **Good Add to Online Cookbook**       Corn Bread

14th -   BRUNCH:  Simple Sausage Strata **Good Add to Online Cookbook**-  RATING:  4/5
            SUPPER: Chicken Noodle Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwhiches

15th - Grilled Chicken, Baked Rice and  Italian Grean Beans

16th - Beef Barley Soup and Rolls (Crock Low 8 to 10 Hours)

17th - Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie and Corn

18th - My Birthday

19th - (Movie Night) Turkey Cheese Rolls   **Good Add to Online Cookbook**
          10 min Appetiz Spread  **Good Add to Online Cookbook**
          Salad - Onion Vinaigrette

20th - Versatile Slow Cooker Chili - Crockpot - 6 hours - Corn Bread

21st - BRUNCH: Brunch Bake
          SUPPER:  Favorite MeatLoaf/ Mashed Potatoes and Corn **Good Add to Online Cookbook**

22nd - LEFTOVERS

23rd - Thanksgiving in A Pan

24th - Chicken Enchiladas - Spanish Rice

25th - 15 - Bean Soup - Crockpot 8-10 hrs (Rinse Beans Overnight) 

26th (Fam. Movie Night) - Tacos (Hard and Soft)
       Easy Mexican Dip / Corn Chips **Good Add to Online Cookbook**

27th - Cheesy Pots and Ham - Crockpot 7 to 9 Hrs - My New Fix and Foget - pg 146

28th - BRUNCH:  Country Gravy & Biscuits/ Crustless Quiche
          SUPPER:  Cheesy Pots and Ham - My New Fix and Foget - pg 146  **Ok, Not Great**

29th - Swiss Chicken/Rolls/Salad **Good Add to Online Cookbook**

30th - LEFTOVERS

31st - Hamburger Helper/Peas

January

Claire Knows Best - Tracey Bateman  (4/5)

Aprons on a Clothesline: Everyday Moments Can
Hold Extraordinary Surprises - Traci Dupree  (4/5)

Sisterchicks in Sombreros - Robin Jones Gunn - (4/5)

February

Plain and Simple: A Woman's Journey to the Amish - Sue Bender (3/5)

What We Keep - Elizabeth Berg (4/5)

I really have gotten out of listening to books on my MP3 player. I need to get back into doing that as well.  I have been struggling to finish one for a very long time.  I was having a hard time getting into it, etc.   I should try and get that finished this week and start a new one!

FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2006

I read 30 books in 2006. 

The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier- 4.5/5

Eye Contact - Cammie McGovern - (4.5/5)

Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards - (4.5/5)

The Covenant - Naomi Regan - (5/5)

Hey - Teresa here is the recipe for the muffins.  I can't take credit for it.  It was one someones blog, wish I culd remember whos!  (I FOUND THE RECIPE ON The Padded Culinery Cell blog!)  They are YUMMY!!!!

Muffins That Taste Like Doughnuts

http://www.recipezaar.com

12

servings

35 min 15 min prep

Change to: servings US Metric

As for the little chef uniform Tommy has on.  I found that on clearance after Christmas at Kohls for like $4.00.  We both put on our apron and love to bake.   I never thuoght I would be an apron wearing person, but I am so messy.  So I now can do a few things before heading to work since I can put on the apron and protect my clothes! 

Today has been a nice day at home.  Today in Minnesota it is 8 degrees below zero.   BRRRR...so it is a good day to stay inside and bake and clean.   We headed out to church this morning.  It was so nice to be at church.  I really feel off when we don't make it there on a Sunday.   Tommy had a good time in Sunday School playing with his friend Ryan. 

After church we went to Kohl's to take advantage of their great home sale they were having.   I am so excited about our purchases.   We bought new towels.  Now, Erik, Hubby and I each have our own color of towels and each have 4 for the week.   I hope this will help with everyone using their towels more than once.  I will have Erik keep his in his room, so that should help him remember he has only 4 towels until I wash again.   I also bought a new vacuum cleaner.  I am so happy with it.  It is one with a hepa filter so it should help with some allergies, etc.  I also found great deals on jackets.   I found a fall jacket for Tommy for $5.00 and a Nike Winter Jacket ($30) for him.  I also bought Tommy 2 pairs of jeans for school.  He is now in a size 7, we seem to have skipped right over size 6 and went straight to 7.  I always try to stock up at the year end sales, which really helps with school shopping.  I will only have to buy school clothes for Erik this next year.  Tommy will be going to a private christian school and will wear a uniform each day.  That makes for easy shopping!   Hubby really needed pants for work so he found 3 pairs in his size and two pairs of jeans.  

After shopping we drove their McDonald's since it was already after 1:00 and I didn't have time to make our usual brunch after church.  After we ate, Josh put together my new vacuum and I vacuumed and vacuumed.  LOL!!  I sure get excited about weird stuff.   I love being able to take care of my house.   Hubby went out to make a couple of purchases for his parents and then went over to their house.  After that I think he was going to go to a friends house to watch the game for a bit until he needed to pick up Erik from his mothers.   So Tommy and I have enjoyed a lovely afternoon together.  We decided to bake muffins.   We made "Muffins That Taste Like Doughnuts".   I can't remember whose xanga site I got the recipe, but Thanks!!  They are so good!  We also made mini lemon poppy seed muffins.  

Momma's Little Chef......

Tommy Loves to Cook....

Our End Products........what's left.....

Tommy Pic of Mommy Making Muffins....

Hubby just came home.  Supper Time... I have had White Chicken Chili in the crockpot all day.  After supper I will be doing more laundry..and laundry. 

Oh I forgot to mention.  Hubby and I actually went out on a date last night!  What a rare event for us.  We went to the play Criminal Mind at the Lakeshore players.  It was really good.  We also bought tickets for the next production in March.  Then we are sure to go out!