Pumpkin Patch

Whew...we made it to the Pumpkin Patch on the last day! I wasn't sure it was going to happen. Next year we'll have to plan a little better! Didn't get great pictures because getting a two-year-old to sit and pose is quite difficult. But, we did get a few good ones so I thought I'd share them here for all of you. Enjoy!

Meal Plan Monday

I realize that the blog has become little more than a post a week about what we're eating. Right now, it's just not a high priority and I'm trying to maximize my use of naptime for settling the house and other things I feel NEED to be done. However, in the next week or so, I should have some pictures from the Pumpkin Patch. For now, you can enjoy one of the six shots Emily let me take today at our MOPS playdate. Needless to say, we'll be going back!



Thursday: blueberry sour cream pancakes
Friday: southern "fried" fish, cauliflower, green beans, purple juice salad
Monday: chicken pot pie, garlic parmesan bread, salad of some kind, peanut butter swirl bars
Tuesday: club steak (from the 1/4 cow we bought from Jenni's company), new potatoes & gravy, broccoli
Wednesday: spaghetti

Mommy's Little Helper

Today has been a day of Mommy's Little Helper. My aunt is coming to town tomorrow and something spurred me on to clean up the house a bit more than usual and actually bake a dessert! (Could have something to do with the fact that I'm now 7 months pregnant!!)

This morning, we baked Peanut Butter Swirl Bars. I wanted to make something Emily could help with, but that didn't require me to do a lot of "Mommy has to do this part." This allowed us to work together to make the batter, then just pour it into a pan. I'll let you know how they turn out!


Then, it was time to dry mop the floors. First, let me just say, I really dislike hardwood floors. Some people think they are much cleaner. But, that's only true if you spend time every day dusting them and frequently mop them, neither of which I do! So, once in a while, we dry mop the floors. We've done it before and it hasn't been exceptionally fun for me because Emily wants to help. This time, I had the brilliant remembrance that I had both a large floor duster and a Swiffer. I used the large floor duster and let Emily use the Swiffer. Brilliant! She could do her thing while I actually got the floors clean!

Before Emily napped, I mopped her room. Only as I was starting did I remember that the floor needed to dry before she could actually take a nap in there. So, we went and mopped the playroom. Then, it was naptime.

Now that I've mopped the whole house (first time since we moved in), I'm thinking it won't happen again anytime soon. It is a lot of work and, while I love the smell of Murphy's Oil Soap, I don't love it enough to do it as often as I should!

Meal Plan Monday

Nothing special this week. Just trying to use up Angel Food before we get our part of the 1/4 cow we bought from Jenni's company. Woohoo!

Thursday: pancakes
Friday: leftovers
Monday: sweet & sour chicken, rice
Tuesday: hamburgers, chips, fruit
Wednesday: spaghetti

Goals Update

Back here, I talked about my goals for the year. I took a break from tracking them this summer due to moving and settling. While I'm not going to track the percentages anymore, I thought I'd let you know how I feel I'm doing on them.

Do my household cleaning chores each week, 80% of the year: yes, probably so

Follow my to do list each week, 80% of the year: yes, probably so

Exercise (walk or Wii Fit Plus) 4 days a week, 80% of the year: absolutely...if I don't walk in the mornings, my back really starts to hurt in the evenings

Meal plan each week, 80% of the year: yes, I am finally doing this again!

Be under budget on groceries (food and household items) every month: this is a toughie! with moving and settling, we haven't been under budget, but I hope to start this one again in October.

Thanks Lane & Lila!

Thanks to Lane & Lila for these adorable "Watch Me Grow" snapsuits. I can't wait to start taking our month pictures with them!

You can check them out here and here.

Meal Plan Monday

(I seem to remember having issues posting this so that's why it's late. So sorry. I know all 2 of you look forward to it!)

This month, for the first time in about a year, we participated in Angel Food. If you haven't heard of it, you should try it! Each month, you can order a box of food that costs roughly half of its value. (I did the math one time and it really is that!) It's open to anyone. There are no income requirements. Since we started participating 3-4 years ago, the program has gotten so much better. You now have more variety in what box you choose and there are far fewer fried foods than there used to be. I'm thankful for that. We got the $41 box this month so I'm hoping to spend far less on groceries because we've already got a month's worth of food! (They say that the box can feed a family of 4 for a week. I'd say, you have to eat a LOT at each meal for even a family of 4 to eat it all in one week!)

Go check it out. I'd love to hear from you if you try it! Here's what we'll be having this week.

Thursday: Biscuits and Gravy
Friday: grilled pork chops, broccoli, spaghetti squash w/ garlic butter
Monday: sweet & sour chicken, rice
Tuesday: Pot roast with veggies (casserole from Angel Food), cornbread
Wednesday: spaghetti