Menu Plan Monday 8/25/08

Monday: Chicken Wrap w/ Ranchero Sauce and Avocado Salsa, Salad

Tuesday: Pepper Rice, Crustless Fruit Tart

Wednesday: OUT

Thursday: Turkey Burgers w/ Avocado Salsa, Chips, Fruity Coleslaw

Friday: Orange Thyme Chicken Thighs, Orzo w/ Mushrooms, Hi-Enzyme Salad w/ Egg

Saturday: L: Chicken, Garlic, Mushroom and Green Onion Pizza, Raspberry Chocolate Bars

Sunday: L: Egg Ham Bake, CB Hash Browns, Grapefruit

D: Left-overs

Lunches: Mac and Cheese, Tuna Salad, Egg Toast, Fried Rice w/ Ham, Soups and Bread, Pitas,

Snacks: Pretzels, Cheese, Kefir, Blueberries, Apples, Peanut Butter Cookies, Raspberry Lemon Bread, Popcorn, Nuts

It's been a rough few weeks! I've had three illnesses in a row and the last one triggered my asthma so that it has been the worst it's ever been! I've been out of commission for a while in terms of energy and being able to do stuff. It's very frustrating to me as I like to be active. Thankfully I got an old Dr. in N. Dakota to give me a prescription that seems to be helping calm the asthma.

One advantage to having to pick up some prescriptions is that I've been able to use a couple of transferred prescription coupons for Rite-Aid and Walgreens. The other day I did one of my prescriptions at Rite-Aid and got a 30 dollar gift card. Then later I did my other prescription at Walgreens for a 25 dollar gift card. At Walgreens I used my gift card to buy each kid a toy since I also had a 5 dollar off 20 dollar purchase coupon. So I ended up getting 42 dollars worth of toys for only 13 dollars out-of-pocket! (If you don't count the gift card.) The kids were very thrilled and grateful for their new toys since I've hardly bought them any toys for a while because of trying to save money.
Yesterday I-guy and I woke up early and hit a couple of deals together. First we snagged a newspaper and went over to Starbucks to look at it and have a little breakfast. I enjoy getting out in the early mornings here as it is most always foggy and cool. We drive by the huge park by our apartment with a duck pond and most of the ducks have migrated out onto the lawns and road which they don't do during the day. I like having to stop to wait for ducks to cross and get out of the way.

I-guy was perfect company and even spotted a coupon I had missed. He brought along his newest WebKinz stuffed animal and was playing with it. About every lady we ran across thought he was so cute and a couple told him so. He gets kind of shy and embarrased by this, I think! I-guy and I also went to CVS and used the CoinStar machine and picked up a couple of things we needed. He loved feeding the coins into the machine and thought the whole thing was so neat.

MENU PLAN MONDAY 8/11/08

Monday: Cod, Rice Pilaf, Baked Spinach, Heath Vanilla Ice Cream Pie

Tuesday: HM Pizza, Veg w/ Dip, Salad, Raspberries & Blueberries w/ Chocolate Fruit Dip

Wednesday: Chinese Chicken Salad, Cheese Straws

Thursday: Chicken Nuggets, Fries, Veg w/ Dip

Friday: Steak, Baked Potatoes, Cheesy Cauliflower, 5-cup Salad

Saturday: Baja Chicken Wrap w/ Ranchero Sauce, Salad, Lemon Cookies

Sunday: Scrambled Cheesy Eggs, Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole, Bacon

LO's

Lunches: Nachos and Pita Chips w/ Fruit Salsa, Mac and Tuna, Veggie Pitas, Egg Salad on Sourdough, Egg Toast, Noodles, Rice a Roni w/ Chicken

Snacks: CCC Cookies, Blueberries, Kefir, Pretzels, Pepperonis, Cheese, Carrot Cake


Lots and lots of menu plans can be found at I'm an Organizing Junkie's blog!

Last week was a rough one and so the menu plan consisted of toast, noodles and chicken soup and Gatorade. We all got some terrible stomach virus which involved all the usual fun stuff that goes along with it. (I'll spare the details). Poor little Nutty got hit the hardest and spent the week looking like this:This is very far removed from his normal active and energetic self, but I'm happy to report that he seems to be mostly back to normal. The main benefit of his not feeling well was that I got some really good snuggling time in with him and we even took a couple of naps together. He's usually too active and busy to stay in one place for long. What a sweetie!!!

Super Savings Saturday 8/2/08

This is the first time I am taking part in Super Savings Saturday over at moneysavingmom.com, a blog I have found extremely helpful in scoring deals and saving money.

Since January of this year, I have been using several techniques (that I am keeping track of on my sidebar) to save money. These include using coupons, playing the "drugstore game," shopping sales and clearances and signing up for freebies in the mail.

This picture shows about 40 dollars worth of stuff I got for free this week!! Here's a rough breakdown:

Walgreens: free-after-rebate BioInfusions shampoo and a hair treatment (11.98 value)
free-after-rebate Jane mineral powder (4.99)

CVS: free-after-ECB's CVS liners and tampons (2 pkg. each)
free Revlon blush (9.99 value) free-after-ECB's
Kotex on sale for 2.50, used 2.00 off coupon. Paid .50

Used two 3.00/1 coupons for Planters (when you buy 3 Kraft products). My 3 Kraft products were KoolAid's at 10 cents each. The Planters were on sale at the commissary for 2.00 each so I actually made money off of them!

Electrasol: used 2.25/1 coupon and got it for about .50 at Target!

We also went to an anniversary sale at our favorite local health food grocery store and got 2 full-size Bumble Bars, 2 mini-Clif bars (not shown because we ate them in the van), and two samples of Tom's of Maine toothpaste (with 1.00 off coupons) for free!

This week was also an excellent week for the mailbox. I was so exited because I got my first reward from MyPoints. For a while now I've been clicking on the emails this site sends me and doing a little of my online shopping through their site that I would've done anyway. So I was so excited to get my $25 Starbucks gift card!!

I also was happy to find out that Target sent me not one, but two $5 gift cards because I am on their mailing list and they had to withdraw a coupon they sent out for toys. (It was a $5 coupon off a $25 dollar toy purchase that had been illegally altered). The cool thing is that I had already used the toy coupon for I-guy's and Em's birthdays back in April before all this happened! I LOVE Target! Forget Walmart, I try to go to Target whenever I can!

Finally I got TWO rebate checks in the mail this week. The first one was for Zout stain remover. I am doubly happy about this one because not only was it free, but I was so happy with the results of this stain remover, I will definitely be buying it again. It worked so much better than anything I had tried before.

The other rebate check I received was for $6.99 for purchasing a hair treatment product. It has been extremely fun and exciting to discover this whole world of savings and free stuff that I barely knew existed before!

Kabe's First Pigtails!

MENU PLAN MONDAY 7/21/08

Monday: Cashew Chicken, Fruity Coleslaw,

Tuesday: Fried Rice, Veg w/ Dip, Blueberry Cobbler

Wednesday: Grilled Marinated Pork Chops, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans

Thursday: Garlic Chicken Spaghetti(x2), Raspberry Romaine Salad w/ Balsamic Dressing

Friday: Meatball Soup, Albertson's French Bread, Cinnamon Chips w/ Tangy Fruit Salsa,

Saturday: OUT

Sunday: Pizza Quiche, Sliced Pears, Veg w/ Dip

Breakfasts: Sunshine Toast w/ Egg, Cereal, Toaster Pastries

Lunches: LO Spaghetti, LO Roast Pitas, Pancakes, Egg Toast, Mac n Cheese, Egg Salad, Tortilla Chips w/ Black Bean Salad

Snacks: Triple Chocolate Cookies, Yogurt, Peanut Butter Spoons, Blueberries, Pepperonis, Pretzels, Smoothies, Cheese Crackers, Nuts

Find more menu plans at I'm An Organizing Junkie's!



I didn't know when I started putting up menu posts again if anyone was ever coming back to my blog. I haven't been a very good blogger and had decided just to put up whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and not worry about if anyone looked at it. So thank you to JettyBetty, Karen, Jeannine, and Jamie for coming by and even commenting! Hi there!

To answer some questions... yes we are still in the AF. We finally escaped North Dakota after over five and a half years! Now DH is in training school in California for about four months. In September we will be moving to Colorado for our next assignment.

Surf Beach

A while back we had some unusually hot days for our location in California. It got to be above 100 degrees and since we have no A/C in our apartment, we headed out to the beach where it was a beautiful 75 degrees.

Em and I-guy just LOVE running from the waves over and over.



"Why did Mommy make us wear these silly hats?" Here are the babies. They aren't too fond of the water.

Instead, they like to dig in the sand together. In this picture they were looking for little crabs and bugs.

I love how the beaches around here are never crowded. Then again, they are usually cold and foggy. But you can't have everything! They sure were beautiful this day!

MENU PLAN MONDAY 2/4/08

Monday: Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad, Cheesy Cauliflower, Raspberry Lemon Bread

Tuesday: Fabulous Fajitas, Gelatin Fruit Salad

Wednesday: Spaghetti w/ Meatballs, Garlic Sourdough Bread, Green Salad, Chocolate Mint Pie

Thursday: Crockpot Chicken w/ Rice and Black Beans

Friday: Homemade Pizza, Veg w/ dip

Go check out more menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie's Blog!

Wow! I was trying to type this out while watching the SuperBowl, but it was just too exciting! And I could care less about professional football! But, boy, was that an awesome football game! Great job New York! And how neat that Peyton Manning's little bro did so well with his big brother watching! I even liked the half-time show with Tom Petty as I was expecting some stupid act trying to be cool. I wasn't too impressed with the commercials, but I did miss most of those. The only one that I saw and thought was cute was the Coke one with the parade balloons where Charlie Brown gets the big Coke. Overall- a fun night watching football with DH!

MENU PLAN MONDAY- 1/28/08

Monday: 40-Clove Garlic Chicken, Herbed Swirl Bread, Gelatin w/ fruit, Green Beans

Tuesday: Fabulous Fajitas

Wednesday: Crockpot Chicken w/ rice and black beans

Thursday: Turkey Meatloaf (from the freezer), Mashed Potatoes

Friday: Noodle Heaven (from the freezer)

Saturday: Date night (Kids- smoothies, PB, popcorn)

Find more menu plans at I'm an Organizing Junkie's site!

This last week has been very stressful so I had to make an extra effort to get this menu planned and posted. Saturday evening, I-guy and Em were jumping from the table to the couch and I-guy missed and hit the front of his face. There was so much blood coming from his mouth I knew it was serious. Ends up that his teeth went all the way through his bottom lip/chin area and he needed several stitches on both the inside and outside!

DH took him to the ER and I-guy was so brave and held so still while they stitched him up that the staff couldn't believe it and kept commenting on it the whole time. The Dr. mentioned that I-guy has such self-control that'll come in handy when he's older. I-guy has always been like that so I can't take any credit. I'm amazed at how much of a role personality plays in how kids are. I-guy's always been a thoughtful and observant boy. We're very proud of how brave he was!

Yesterday he woke up with a bottom lip puffed up to at least three times it's normal size. So I went and bought him a bunch of soft foods like ice cream, yogurts, and puddings which made him happy.

MENU PLAN MONDAY 12/17

Baby K is sitting on my lap right now while I type. She's been very clingy due to coming down with a cold. Yesterday she sat on DH's lab for almost 2 hours while he was working on some music. It was so cute!

Saturday night we went out on a family "date" to our favorite local pizza place. Then we drove through the park to look at all the light displays they had set up. I-guy just LOVES anything to do with Christmas and was so excited to see the lights. Everytime we drive by a big Santa decoration in town he says "Look it's Santa! Ho, ho, ho!"

It's back to school today though Em and DH have Friday off- YAY! I'm trying several new recipes this week so I hope they turn out! I want to gear up for another freezer-cooking session. We'll see if I have time to plan that.



Monday: Chinese Chicken Salad, Winter Squash Muffins

Tuesday: Steak and Rice Roll-Ups, Coffee-Lover's Coffee Cake

Wednesday: Amy's Crockpot Chicken w/ Rice and Black Beans, Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thursday: Herbed Pot Roast, Rolls, Blue Cheese/Cranberry Salad

Friday: Chicken Rollatini w/ pasta, Green Salad


Have a great week and find more menu at I'm an Organizing Junkie's Blog!

MENU PLAN MONDAY 12/3

Brrr.... it was FREEZING this week!!! We had to pull out the parkas and hats and scarves and such. It didn't get above zero at least one of the days and boy the wind!!! I'm so thankful that we have a two-car garage that is attached to our house. No more plugging in the cars (and then forgetting about it and ripping the plug out of the block heater as we drive away! :)) It's about time after having to walk outside to get to our cars for the last five winters here in North Dakota!

A couple of weeks ago I watched that show "Kitchen Nightmares" with Gordon Ramsay for the first time. I kind of want to go to culinary school and become a chef, so I found the show pretty interesting. Bethany also watched the show and attempted to recreate the hamburger they created for the new menu. Some of her commenters said that it reminded them of a meatloaf on a bun. So I'm going to try it for myself as I'm a little tired of plain old hamburgers.

Monday: Lemon Chicken Schnitzel w/ Roasted Red Potatoes, Pumpkin Muffins

Tuesday:Hamburgers, Tray of Health

Wednesday:Crockpot 40-Clove Chicken, LO Herb Bread, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Thursday: Homemade Pizza

Friday-Chicken and Rice Soup/ Chicken and Dumpling Soup

While I was menu planning, both Em and I-guy told me they wanted to plan the menu. So I asked them to come up with their own choices, some of which I am going to use for lunches. Here's what they came up with:

I-guy:
1-Macaroni, Vanilla/Chocolate Cake w/ Yellow Roses made w/ Vanilla Frosting
2-Noodles
3-Chicken Rice Soup
4-Meatball Soup
5-Split Pea Soup, Bacon & Hot Dogs
6-Waffles, Eggs, Hashies

Emma
1-Hot Dogs
2-Macaroni w/ Vanillia cake w/ blue frosting
3-Noodles w/ Salad
4-Pancakes
5-Macaroni w/ ham, cheese and parmesan

Right now as I am finishing this up they are sitting at the table with me looking through cookbooks and drawing pictures of foods they think look good. Nut was at the table drawing, but now he's sitting on the floor looking at a cookie magazine. It's very cute!

MENU PLAN MONDAY 11/26

The Thanksgiving feast went well! I prepared all the dishes and it wasn't too stressful as I did do a bunch ahead of time. Which was a good thing since I got a cold and was miserable on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I woke up feeling somewhat better, but my head was still messed up so I couldn't taste very well! I did have a bunch of leftovers this weekend and they were so good. Too bad I couldn't taste them the first time around! Em kept exclaiming how she just "loves Thanksgiving," all day long which was cute.

This week is back to the routine of school and work. I like the routine, though it's nice to break out of it every once in a while.

Monday: Mexicalli Pie (from the freezer), Tortilla Chips, Celery Sticks, Peanut Butter Cookies

Tuesday: Deluxe Baked Potato Bar w/ Bacon, Split Pea Soup, Winter Squash Muffins

Wednesday: Spaghetti w/ Meatballs (from the freezer), Salad, Garlic Bread

Thursday: Honey Rosemary Chicken, Herbed Swirl Bread, Baked Spinach

Friday: Pepper Rice, Peach Cobbler

Have a wonderful week and go visit I'm an Organizing Junkie's blog for more menu plan madness!

Pics from Children's Museum

On our recent trip to Omaha, we visited the Children's Museum with Uncle J, Aunt M and Cousin C.

Here's Kabe's playing with a puzzle in the baby area.


Cousin C. in the baby area. There's so much to choose from!

DH kept trying to take pictures of me the whole trip. I used to get annoyed at him for this and give him dirty looks that he would try to capture on film. However, I have switched tactics and always give a cheesy and toothy smile every time. So far my new plan is working and he has had to resort to doctoring the pictures of me after they are taken. He added stubble to this one, which I will not be showing online. He did show the altered pic to my brothers, much to their delight.

Nate with the play dough.

More Nate:

Nate says: "Help! My pants won't stay up!"

Playing with some cool animals.

"I'm having so much fun!"

Fun with a big ball.

"My pants are falling off again!"

Overcoming obstacles.

Em with two little guys.

I-guy having fun with water.

Uncle J and Cousin C- what a cute smile!

Curly hair.

"Forget the toys. I'm trying to remove my sock!" (as usual)
Peek a boo!

Cousins- they are only 6 weeks apart.

There aren't many pictures of Em and I-guy because they went off with Aunt M and Uncle J while DH and I stayed mostly in the baby room with the younger two. Our boys really warmed up to Uncle J. and I-guy would climb up into his lap and hang around him. Kabe's gave Aunt M a snuggle on our last day there that was very sweet! And Em had a special time each evening playing with only Aunt M. They played Polly Pockets and made some crafts. Em can't wait to go back!

Classic K.B. Look