Time and Birthdays

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADDIE GRACE!

That saying " time flies by" is so totally relevant when talking about your children. One day you are bringing them home from the hospital(with the new dad driving about 15 miles under speed limit because "HIS" daughter is in the car) and the next you are taking her to the first day of 4th grade.

You weren't totally prepared for what lay ahead, you knew mistakes would be made, but you knew you had to do your best by and for this little child. As time passes, you see the good stuff-she is respectful to others, she has a totally awesome sense of humor, she is curious about things and is always asking questions. Those things make the memory of the eye rolls, the stomping of feet, and the drama over, well, over everything a little less sharp. She got the good stuff you wanted to teach her. You're proud of her. Heck, your proud of yourself! LOL

So, here's to your 9th birthday Maddie. You couldn't have been a better first kid! We love you lots and can't wait to see what the next 9 years bring us!

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It's here again! Laura is hosting Menu plan Monday at orgjunkie and she has a giveaway this week so be sure to link up at orgjunkie!

in no particular order:

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos with refried beans and fresh fruit

Spaghetti(still haven't made it from weeks ago lol) with salad and garlic bread

Grilled Rib Eyes with grilled veggies

PAsta Primavera - unsure of the sides at this time

Grilled hamburgers with spinach salad and fresh cut veggies

Crock Pot Roast with mashed potatos, rolls and veggies

Clean out the Fridge night........As always


So I didn't make a menu last week but we did pretty well about eating at home. Pizza one night due to an activity running very late. I did make this and it was really good. Got 3 thumbs up -Sophie and Wyatt are not too into soup. Will make it again!

Love my new mirror!

Oh my how i love my bathroom mirror now! Thanks to this awesome blog! When we painted this room a few months back and I began to accessorize, I realized the builder mirror just wasn't cutting it. It was plain and blah-therefore there is no before because, well you can imagine plain and blah for yourself. So after seeing the post at Shanty2Chic, I had to find Mirr-Edge for our bathroom. The picture is meh but it gives you all you need to know-I now have a beautiful mirror!

Some info about Mirr-Edge. The material is a coated wood that I primered and then spray painted black. I left them out to dry and unintentionally forgot them til the next morning. After Troy turned the sprinklers on! I wiped them dry and noticed they had distressed themselves out in the elements. There is some crackling on the corner pieces and some marks on the straight pieces ..Ah well. Glad I was going for the shabby chic look in this room. Lol

You may also notice the 3 circle items to the left of the mirror. The bird I posted awhile back but the other two took longer than I thought to get done. I used chalkboard paint on dollar tree kraft boards. Love this stuff. I have painted a silver tray and plain to paint chalk labels on my pantry containers.

It's all about the Food!

This is getting to be one of my favorite days of the week. It's like getting a chance to start over every Monday...and Goodness knows I need it! Especially when it comes to prioritizing my responsibilities. I failed miserably last week with our menu. We went out twice last week for dinner! Unnecassary expenses that I'm trying so hard to eliminate if they aren't planned for first! Head over here for TONS of inspiration!

Monday- Waffles and eggs and watermelon. (making extra waffles for breakfast)

Tuesday- Chicken Parmesean and green salad

Wednesday- T-bone, roasted potatoes, veggies

Thursday- Spaghetti & Meatballs(pushed forward again), salad

Friday- Fridge Clean out

Saturday- Chicken stir fry with rice

Sunday- Grilled Sirloin, corn on the cob

This is another week where I'm trying to use up what we have. I find that this helps me focus on food for my family. I'm going to rock the kids world this week though LOL. I plan to make home made granola and applesauce-cranberry muffins. They are so used to cereal or pancakes for breakfast , I can already hear the protests! Change is good.

First sign of Fall out our home!

Fall, hands down, is my favorite season. Cooler weather, earlier nights, and homier type meals makes me feel so cozy! I have been pulling things together from my shopping excursions and will have Troy pull down the decor from the rafters and things will begin to really look like fall!

I made the wreath after seeing this. I did buy plywood and will make a "M" template for Troy to cut for me this week. I love that the wreath materials were all purchased at the Dollar Store. The wreath, leaves, and picks were a total $6!

PS This isn't a great picture. The close-up I took of the wreath is sideways and I'm not sure how to flip it yet..yeah, not so handy with the computer! If you click on the picture, you can see it larger!

Menu Plan Monday

Laura at orgjunkie has her Menu Plan Monday post up...Love this because it has really been helpful to me in eating at home. Even if I don't follow the original menu to the letter,planning a menu each week keeps me motivated to cook from the pantry.

Last week was definitley a week of menu plan juggling. The beef verde was so popular with Troy that there were no leftovers for enchiladas. Then we decided to have the in-laws over for a bbq today so I didn't want to have ground beef two days in a row. But it worked out because I knew what I had on hand.

A bonus to Menu Plan Monday this week is that some regular posters have linked to their free menu plan printables. If you are saving your menu plans for future reference, having them on a form with dates helps in organization.

Monday-Grilled burgers and hot dogs, potato salad, and fresh fruit

Tuesday- grilled chicken

Wednesday-Spaghetti and meatballs(carried over from last week)

Thursday- T-bone

Friday-leftovers

Saturday-tacos

Sundays- Chili

GoodWill

Ok, so crazy me got up at 515am to hit the 50% off sale at GoodWill . There has been something I've been eyeing for a few months and I was willing to get up at the crack of crazy time to get an even better deal. Didn't hapen that way. The item I've been coveting is an over the toilet shelf -new in box Originally from Target. When I first saw it, it was priced at 40.00. Yeah, no. So then it was marked down to 24.98-awesome! With 50% off even better! i didn't see the fine print on the ad that indicated new in box items were not part of the sale.!!!!! UGH! Bought it anyways because it was still a good deal. I also got a key holder thingy that I need to revamp a bit before hanging.

The best deal of all though wasn't even from GoodWill. I hit CVS on my home to check out these bright green adorondiak chairs that were $7 last week. Well, scanned the price and with my handy dandy CVS member card, the grand total for each chair was $2.49 each!!! Major deal!
They will be placed next to the pond for additional seating in the back yard.