Menu Plan Monday - May 30th to June 5th

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I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day weekend.  We had birthday parties, and makeup baseball games to attend to this weekend so we didn't get the opportunity to get out of town.  However we did take the kids to the drive-in last night where they showed three movies, so we didn't get home until 4:30 AM!!!  I didn't expect that.  So since we all slept in this morning we will be enjoying a low key day lounging around the house.  I need to get the kids pool set up sometime in the next few days so I may try to muster up enough energy to do that today.

I am also happy to announce that school is officially over for the school year, which means no more school plays, awards ceremonies, band concerts, etc.  for three months.  This has taken a huge chunk of time out of our schedule, and even though we have ball games EVERY NIGHT this week we will still be able to eat at home before we go.  It may mean supper at 4:30 in the afternoon but no more McDonald's drive thru for a while! 

Here's what I have planned for this week:

links to recipes are in red

Monday - since we all slept in we will be eating a midday breakfast of sausage, biscuits, and eggs with sandwiches or soup for supper tonight

Tuesday - Dry Rub Chicken with Honey Barbecue Sauce, Corn on the Cob

Wednesday - Easy Pulled Pork Barbecue, Baked Potato Wedges

Thursday - Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

Friday - Braised Pork Chops (new recipe I will post about soon)

Saturday - Eating Out Before Church

Sunday - Ground Beef Calzones (another recipe I am working on that I will post soon)

The Summer of No Pants 2011 Week One

Sorry for the bad picture.  I decided to wear my dress yesterday and meant to take a picture before we left the house but like most crazy mommies trying to get everyone ready to go and into the car on time taking a picture of my dress just slipped my mind.  So last night around 9:30 PM I was able to get a picture to share.  I promise next week I will do better!

I have a maxi dress that I love, it's my favorite.  So I decided to use that dress to make a pattern for this dress.  Let's just say that it didn't turn out quite like I wanted it to.  I learned something very important with my level of sewing skills it's important to stick to patterns.  Hopefully, in the future I will be able to ditch the patterns and create a dress without one but for now I will stick to the patterns.

I am happy with the dress but there are some flaws, nothing major and according to my husband you can't see them, but I know they are there.  I keep telling myself it's the first one I made without a pattern and imperfections are to be expected. 

I am super excited about next week.  I have found the perfect summer dress pattern and found some cute cotton fabric on sale.  I am ready to get started now!

Little Man's Shark Birthday

See that little boy right there in the middle of his proud parents?  That's my baby boy and he turned eight last week!  Eight!  How did that happen?!?!?!

To celebrate his eighth birthday we had a party for him last Saturday.  With everything going on the date snuck up on me at the last minute and I was rushing to get everything done.  I really like to make the kids birthday cakes and incorporate some special elements into the party.  This is easy with girls, and hard with an eight year old boy.  There aren't a lot of themes that appeal to an eight year old boy that aren't too complicated or babyish.  We ended up going with a shark theme.

We used a shark birthday cake from This Sort of Fairy Tale as inspiration for our birthday cake.

I couldn't find green fruit roll ups for the seaweed so I used icing instead.  In our recent move my cake decorating tote has disappeared and I didn't realize it to the last minute so I had to do this sans piping bag. 

We used a pastry brush along with darker blue and white icing to make waves on top of the cake, and I used gummy fish that I found in the bulk candy section at Meijers for the fish.

I used the leftover green and ble icing from the cake to ice the cupcakes and put a gummy fish on each cupcake.  They weren't fancy but I was afraid we would run out of cake so they were a quick and easy backup.

We carved a watermelon into a scary shark that you can read more about here.

Which my son turned into this after the party:

I made this Shark Zone sign and Happy Birthday Banner using my new Cricut.  You can read more about that here.

I found this huge birthday card at the Dollar Tree and we had everyone who came to the party sign it for him.

All in all it was a great day.  I am just still so in shock that my baby is eight!

Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays - Watermelon Shark

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Saturday was my youngest son's birthday and we decided to go with a shark theme for his party.  When looking for ideas I ran across this tutorial that shows how to carve a watermelon into a shark.  When I saw it I knew that we had to do one.

Here's ours:

This was actually very, very easy to do and was a hit at his party.  We decided to add cantaloupe, strawberries, and grapes in addition to the watermelon. 

Menu Plan Monday - May 23rd to 29th

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The end is near!  My lazy, carefree summer is in sight!  I am soo excited, after being so incredibly busy for soo long I am ready for a little break.  This week is the last week of school for the kids, and we only have two weeks left before baseball and softball tournaments start, which means that the seasons should be over within the next month.  I am ready to sloooow down and enjoy some time with my kids.  Until then though I will still be running around like a crazy, busy mom but at least I know that it won't be for much longer.  So until then it's another week of quick fixes. 

Here's what I have planned for this week:

links to recipes are in red

Monday - pizza

Tuesday - Beef Stroganoff

Wednesday - White Beans and Ham Soup, Cornbread

Thursday - Pineapple Chicken

Friday - Ham and Potato Casserole

Saturday - Nephew's Birthday Party (Eating There)

Sunday - Memorial Day Party at my Grandmothers (Eating There)

May Friday Night Sew In Results - A Birthday Banner

 Since Little Man's birthday party was on Saturday I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to fit any sewing in on Friday nght for the Friday Night Sew-In even though I had planned on working on a maxi dress I have started working on for the Summer of No Pants Challenge.  And honestly I didn't get any sewing done, but I did get some crafting done.   I am not a scrapbooker.  I love scrapbooking, and really want to start scrapbooking but I just don't seem to have the time to do it.  However, I have been wanting a Cricut forever.  I think the projects that can be completed with a Cricut are endless and I really, really wanted one.  My husband kept telling me to buy one, but I kept talking myself out of it, because I wasn't sure how much I would ACTUALLY use it.  Anyhow I finally broke down yesterday and bought one which meant I wanted to play around with it instead of sewing.  Which is exactly what I did.  

I made the birthday banner using the basic George cartridge that comes with the Cricut.  At this point it is the only one that I have.

I made the letters for the Shark Zone sign using the Cricut as well.  I made them too big, and the sign didn't turn out like I had in my mind but I am still learning.  I used stencils to draw and cut out the shark for the middle of the sign.

I will post more pictures of his birthday party next week, which will include pictures of his cake and awesome shark shaped watermelon.  For now I am beat!  Hope you all had a great Friday Night Sew-In!

Menu Plan Monday - May 16th to 22nd

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I'm a little late this week with my menu plan.  At least it's only a day late.  It could be worse.  We are within our last two weeks of school with all kinds of end of the year activities, are right in the middle of a busy softball and baseball season, and have a birthday this week.  It's crazy around here.  We are eating out WAY more than I like this week because of our busy schedule.  I keep telling myself that once school is out this will all slow down.  So here's our menu plan for a busy week:

Monday - Dinner Theater at School (eating at school)

Tuesday - Dry Rub Chicken With Honey Barbecue Sauce (leftover from last week) 

Wednesday - Out of Town Softball Games - Eating out

Thursday - Baseball and Softball Games - Eating Out

Friday - School Play - Eating Out

Saturday - Little Man's Birthday Party!!!

Baked Ham, Mashed Potatoes, My Grandmother's Green Beans, Stewed Tomatoes, Cinnamon Apples, Corn, Yummy Dinner Rolls

Sunday - Eating Out After Church

2011 Free or Cheap Summer Kids Movies

It has become a summer tradition over the past several years for several of the large movie chains to offer free kids movies during the summer months. This summer is no exception but there are a few changes as some theaters are now offering these movies at a very low admission cost, not a great change but one that I can understand in a struggling economy.

Regal Theatres Summer Movie Express
For the past several years this has been known as the Regal Theatres Free Family Film Festival but this year it has become the Regal Theatres Summer Movie Express. The name change is not the only change in the summer movie program, as this year the theatre is now charging $1 admission to the movies.
This year’s movies will be shown on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10 AM. The movie selections this year will include Open Season 2, Percy Jackson and The Olympians, Marmaduke, Ramona and Beezus, Gulliver’s Travel, Nanny McPhee Returns, Tale of Despereaux, Muppets From Space, Chronicles of Narnia, Alpha and Omega, and Megamind.

The Great Escape Summer Kids’ Movies 2011
The Great Escape is back with their Summer Kids’ Movies program for 2011 and offers PG family friendly movies free of charge throughout the summer. The days and times for the shows vary from theater to theater.

Among the movies that will be shown this summer at The Great Escape are Despicable Me, Megamind, Shrek The Final Chapter, How to Train Your Dragon, Yogi Bear, Nanny McPhee Returns, Narnia: Dawn Treader, Marmaduke, Ramona and Beezus, and Cats & Dogs 2.

Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse
The Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse is another that offers kids movies for a very small admission fee during the summer. With Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse you can purchase advance passes to all five movies for $5 or you can purchase admission the day of the movie for just $1 each.

This year’s movie lineup for the Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse will include How to Train Your Dragon, Charlotte’s Web, Megamind, The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, Despicable Me, The Tale of Despereaux, Marmaduke, Ramona and Beezus, Yogi Bear, and Legend of the Guardians.

May Friday Night Sew-In

The March and April Friday Night Sew-In's fell on Friday nights when I already had plans so I am super excited for May's Friday Night Sew-In since I will finally be able to participate again!  It will be the perfect time for me to work on one of my skirts for the Summer of No Pants Sewing Challenge.

Want to join us for Friday Night Sew-In?  It will be Friday May 20th and you can sign up at Handmade by Heidi.  Hope to see you there!

Summer of No Pants 2011

Marigold at Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky! is hosting The Summer of No Pants challenge again this year and I am joining again.

Last year I started off participating in the challenge, completing a skirt for week one, in week two I didn't get my skirt completed, and family problems caused me to drop out.  (You can see my blog posts about the challenge from last year here.)  This year I am determined to complete the challenge.  In fact today I purchased the fabric for a dress that I want to make, and I am really embarrassed to admit it but I still haven't finished the skirt from week two of last year's challenge. 

Menu Plan Monday - May 9th to 15th

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I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day.  We enjoyed a low key day at home.  With all of the running we do during the week, a day to just lay around the house with nothing to do was the best gift ever!

With everything going on I have been fixing a lot of quick fixes and we have been eating out a lot.  While there are still several "quick fixes" on our menu I am planning on cooking every night at home to keep us from eating out.

Monday - Beef Stroganoff, Cornbread

Tuesday - Dry Rub Chicken With Honey Barbecue Sauce, Macaroni and Cheese, Corn

Wednesday - White Bean and Ham Soup, Cornbread

Thursday - Easy Pulled Pork Barbecue, Homemade Hamburger Buns, Baked Potato Wedges

Friday - Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Saturday - Eating Out Before Church

Sunday - ???

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day out there to all the mommies!  I hope your family gives you the royal treatment that you deserve today! 

Fit Mommy Friday - Week Seven

It hasn't been a great week for weightloss.  I have been sick, and haven't felt like doing anything.  I did manage to hit the gym yesterday for a quick workout on the treadmill but other than that I have had zero exercise.  And since I have been sick I have been eating comfort foods instead of healthy foods.  Not a good move.

My water intake has hit rock bottom again.  I really, really need to start drinking more water.  This is my goal this week - to drink at least one bottle of water each day.  I know it should really be much higher but it's a start.

Needless to say my weight loss for this week has been zero.  That's right the scale has not moved.  I guess in a way that's a good thing - because I haven't gained any weight either but it isn't the two pounds a week that I should be losing.

Have I Lost It?

You know the old saying "Use it or lose it"?  I am beginning to wonder if that is true.  It seems as if all of my creativity is gone.  I haven't been able to use my sewing machine in months, and I miss it.  My sister is having a baby in July and I really want to do some baby sewing.  In an effort to get my sewing mojo back I decided to wander through the fabric store on Monday hoping to find some inspiration.  It just seemed that it wasn't there, nothing was jumping out at me, all the fabric just looked so blah.  I am hoping I am just down from all the rain we have endured and am hoping that today's sunshine can help bring some of my creativity back.

Menu Plan Monday - May 2nd - 8th

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Last week was an incredibly busy week for us.  It seems as if this is our life now, go, go go.  We have softball or baseball five to six days a week, end of the school year programs, doctors appointments, the list goes on and on.  I really try hard not to complain because we are blessed to have so much going on but somedays I just want to stay at home.  Have I mentioned yet that I spent 9 1/2 hours at the ball park on Saturday? 

Because of our busy schedule you will find that this weeks menu is full of fast food options, not the healthiest but beats hitting the drive thru window every night of the week.

Links to recipes are in red.

Monday - pizza

Tuesday - Cheeseburger Pasta (leftover from last week)

Wednesday - Chili Dogs

Thursday - Ham and Potato Casserole

Friday - Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Saturday - Eating Out Before Church

Sunday - Undecided