my blessed life

The trick to not going crazy and eating out too much during the holidays?  Stay focused with your meal plans!   At least that's what I'm telling myself ;) So here's what's on our plan for this week: Monday:   dinner at our church (it's a work night ...I'm guessing ...pizza!) Tuesday:   (slow cooker) meatloaf with carrots and potatoes Wednesday:   Breakfast-for-Dinner ...eggs, drop biscuits, and sausage gravy Thursday:   'Potato Bugs' with veggies Friday:   our church's youth Christmas party at our house ...taco bar! Saturday:   sandwiches & snacks Sunday:  (slow cooker) roast with carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy, and rolls What's on your plan this week? This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie .

Happy Monday, y'all! You know what that means for me ....menu planning for the week! And, yes, even though I've been terribly lax in posting my meal plans lately, I have actually still been making them.  My weeks just go so much better when I have a plan:) And since we've started school again I've come to the conclusion that I must use my slow cooker on Tuesdays (piano lesson day) and Fridays (co-op day) right now ...or my family will forever be doomed to some horrible fast food on those evenings.  I'm just usually too tired/busy/all of the above to make my plan happen on those nights if I wait too long. So... slow cooker to the rescue! Here's what's on the plan for our dinners this week: Monday: (a sort of clean-out-the-fridge-of-leftovers night) pinto beans, corn, green beans w/new potatoes ...and if that doesn't look like it'll be enough ...sauerkraut and wieners. Tuesday: (slow cooker) honey-garlic chicken sandwiches w/f...

I love this time of year!  Having our curriculum plan for the coming school year ...and reading about others' plans is always exciting to me.  I've gotten some great educational leads by checking out what others are using.  Today I'm sharing our choices for the '15/'16 school year. For The Princess... ...who is now....gasp!...a 7th grader !  That means we've been truly homeschooling now for at least 8 years.  Wow.  That sounds like I'm a veteran, but really I learn new things every year.  And now that we're moving into secondary education I've got a lot more to learn about. Bible Study & Christian Character: ~ The Pilgrim's Progress curriculum ~ Our 24 Family Ways ~ Child Training Bible Math: ~ Teaching Textbooks 7 (primary) ~ Life of Fred (supplemental) ~ Khan Academy (supplemental) Language Arts: ~ Learning Language Arts Through Literature Green (grammar) ~ SchoolhouseTeachers.com (spelling/vocabulary) ~ Total Lang...

I don't know about you but this time of the year I always begin to long for the routine that fall brings.  I thoroughly enjoy summertime and the fun, spontaneity, and flexibility that it brings.  But the planner in me loves the routine of fall: regular meal plans, morning routines, bedtime routines ...my children--especially my son--really do much better with routine. While I have kept up menu planning through much of the summer, I haven't been posting it here and often I fail to do it if I'm not posting it.  So in the spirit of 'back to routine', I'm back to posting 'what's for dinner'. Here's what we're having this week: Monday:   Cheesy Stuffed Shells  (from the freezer) with Salad and Bread Tuesday:  Beans (in the crockpot) and Buttermilk Cornbread Wednesday:  Grilled Hot Dogs, Creamed Corn, Baked Beans Thursday:  Stuffed Peppers (maybe these ) Friday: yet-to-be-decided Saturday: Snacks & Leftovers (a bit of a f...

Is your summer flying by as quickly as ours is?!  I am kind of sad that it's already almost the end of July.  It has been such a busy summer for us that there hasn't been much relaxing getting done. However, this week has slowed down for us quite a bit {thank goodness!!} and the schedule doesn't look too terribly bad through the end of August.  I think that we even have a real vacation in there somewhere! Anyway, I thought I'd post a little update on what we've been up to this summer so far. Reading: My personal reading list for this summer is clicking right along.  So far I've read: Just RISE UP! by Sarah Francis Martin  {motivating and inspiring} Life of Pi by Yann Martel  {captivating story, twist in end really got me} Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie  {loved ...as I love all of her books} Crooked House by Agatha Christie Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie Miss Marple, the Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christ...

From the archives. This was originally published on June 27, 2013. (just yesterday here in Kentucky) Family picnics : these words may bring various visions to our minds depending on our families.  For my family these words bring visions of fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans , mac & cheese, pickles, olives, deviled eggs....mmmmmm  Yes, as long as I can remember this has been my mom's standard picnic fare. We ate A LOT of picnics when I was growing up.  My family owned a camper and traveled quite extensively when I was very young.  We hit every state park and national park that we could find for picnics.  And my mom would even whip up the a fore mentioned menu in our camper--amazing! I've been hungry for one of those picnics recently and just yesterday my mom was gracious enough to make it happen (see top photo!) .  She fried up the chicken and made her world's-best-potato-salad, I baked some beans and made the deviled eggs and we a...

  Here I go again with my summer school scrapboooking goals!  Last year I failed miserably and got nothing accomplished other than ordering a few photos.  This year I am much more determined ...and I have a plan ! :)  Anyone who knows me knows that I love to have a plan!   My plan is to get one grade for one kiddo done each week this summer.  For instance, the first week of June I was scheduled to do The Princess' K5 pages.  This past I was scheduled to do Mr. B's K5 pages.  This week will be The Princess' 1st grade pages ...and so on, back and forth, until I'm current.   OK.  I admit, I'm a week behind already.   BUT I did get The Princess' K5 pages completed!!  Whoo hoo!!  And I'm planning to make up some time this week and maybe get back on my schedule :)   I think once I get into a good rhythm I'll start moving more quickly.  Can't wait to be totally caught up!!   ...