What's For Dinner {May 20th}

It felt good to get back into my cooking groove a little bit last week. It was still a very busy week around here though and I was only three for three with the meals on the plan, but you've gotta be flexible though, right?! ;) So I've got a rollover or two to this week, but that's okay. Just makes this week's planning easier.

Also, last week I got a chance to go to my favorite store for "deals". We live in an area where there is a large Amish and Mennonite community and they have some wonderful bulk food stores around here. I love shopping at them!! And there is one that has a combination bulk foods and (what I call) "dented can" store. One half of their store is filled with (majorly) discounted grocery store items that have been slightly damaged (dented cans, smashed boxes, or simply discontinued or clearanced items). I find the most amazing buys there!! I like to go once a month or so to sort of stock up on things like cereal, canned veggies, bread (I generally find Pepperidge Farm loaves there for .99 and freeze them), and whatever goodies they may have in at that time.

You should check your area and see if there is a store that sells discounted items like this. When we lived in Arkansas we also had a store like this and it wasn't Amish or Mennonite, so even if you don't have their style of stores in your area you may have a "dented can" store. Yes, you do have to sometimes check expiration dates, but the deals are worth it to see what's available.

Now let's talk about what's cooking this week:

Monday: Grilled Tuna Melts with Grilled Asparagus

Tuesday: "Man Pleasing Chicken", Roasted Potatoes, random veggie from freezer (I need to clean them out!)

Wednesday: Fish Stick Po' Boys

Thursday: King Ranch Chicken

Friday: Out to celebrate my mom's birthday

Saturday: {leftovers/snacks/takeout}

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

Door Hanger Chore Charts

My kids have had a chore chart for a while. It's one of those magnetic boards and they share it. However, it's not by their rooms and often they (and I) forget to update it. Plus it's a little bulky. When I saw the concept of a door hanger chore chart on Pinterest, I loved it! It was compact, right there were the kiddos could see it coming out and going into their rooms, and it costs almost nothing to make. I headed over to one of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, of course. They have these little wooden door hangers for .79. I also grabbed a couple of packets of decorative buttons for $1.99 each. I already had the clothes pins and the paint so those cost me nothing. I began by painting the door hangers (I used tempera paints because that's what I had). Then I grabbed a fine point Sharpie and the clothes pins and started writing chores on them, making sure to write them correctly so they will ...

Fun With 4th of July Crafts: Part 3

I love my new patriotic front door wreath!! I had fun putting this together, although I must admit this is more of an adult craft than one for kiddos. I was inspired by this article in Family Fun magazine. I didn't have quite everything I needed for this one, but all I had to purchase was a few sheets of scrapbook paper and some double-sided tape. Then all I had to gather up were some scissors, regular Scotch tape, a ruler and some cardboard. First I cut four (5"x 6") pieces of each paper. Then by placing a piece of double-sided tape on one of the short ends of the papers, I rolled them into cones, pressing the seams together well. Then I cut a 10" circle out of cardboard and began to stick the cones on it. I used another piece of double-sided tape to stick the cones on, arranging them in a circular pattern. Next I used regular Scotch tape to attach them on the back to the back of the cardboard. After getting all the cones on, I was ready for my centerpiece. He...

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