Menu Plan Monday 2

Click here and visit OrgJunkie! She is the organizer of Menu Plan Monday!

Menu? What Menu? Okay so this week my husband is out of town on business. When he's gone I don't cook. Treat for me and a treat for the kids. As much as they miss daddy, they also like to eat TV dinners. Great for me because they are a quick cheap microwave meal (Banquet is 99 cents) and I eat leftovers from Sunday.

Monday: TV dinners for kids and leftovers for me.

Tuesday: Same as Monday.

Wednesday: Same as Monday.

Thursday: Pot Roast with potatoes, carrots and celery.

Friday: Roasted Chicken with broccoli and mashed potatoes

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Let the food and festivities begin!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Enjoy!

Eat!

Be Merry!

Take a Nap!

Eat Again!

Take another Nap!

In The Blink of an Eye

I don't know what happened. How can this be? I woke up yesterday morning and my house is a complete wreck. I've done so well the last couple of months. Everyone was putting in their fair share of helping me clean. Everyone has stopped.

Well if they can stop why can't I? Why should I clean the same exact mess, every single day? I am so tired of no one caring.

If I pick up clothes off the floor, someone else strips down and throws their cloths in the same spot. I still don't have a washer and dryer because my husband says he has someone to do the plumbing and electrical work but he's never been here. I have to go to the laundermat. It's no picnic for a family of five. It's not a matter of money. We saved the money to do this a long time ago.

Doing dishes wasn't so bad because Monica was clearing the table and scraping the dishes. Now she has to be told, over and over to do her chore. It doesn't help to take things away. She already feels like she has nothing since we moved. She misses her old friends. She isn't doing well socially and hates her new school. I can't really say that I'm happy with the school either.

Alexandra has been sneaking food all over the house. She has been told, reprimanded, screamed at and spanked. She is by far the most stubborn child on the universe. I love it when my mom says to me "Well you will just have to make her do what you want!" Yeah okay. I'll try that one too.

Lucianna is cute as can be but wants to be held all the time. She's starting to go down the willful stubborn road that Alexandra has been traveling. Lucky me.

I haven't had a child free time to myself for a long time and it's really starting to get to me. Can you tell?

Thirteen Thursday 7

Thirteen Things about Preschool Children and Their Christmas Program 1. There's always at least one who crys. 2. There's always one who sings so loud they are screaming. 3. There's always an escape artist running off the stage. 4. When the escape artist is put back on stage they run from one side of the stage to the other while the others are singing. He's trying to find another way out. 5. The children all know the hand gestures to the songs, their timing is usually a little off. 6. The dancing is adorable! 7. The children are bursting with pride when they are done. 8. Mom has cried at least once while watching. 9. At least one parent has ruined a part of your video by standing up in front of you and not moving out of the way. 10. The teachers always put hours and hours of work into these programs that last 30 minutes. 11. If you have to save all year for 1/2 day sick or personal time for this event, it is sooooo worth it. 12. There's never enough parking or seating for all the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends that want to see this special event, but we all manage to squeeze in somehow. (There was a whole street of cars that got a parking ticket because the meters only have 1 hr of time. Ours was one of them. It's the best $10.oo show I've ever attended!) 13. Every parent thinks their child is by far the cutest one there. How is it possible that our children out cute every other child everytime?

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Wordless Wednesday 9

The Tree Is Up......Way Up!

My husband and the children went to pick out a tree on Saturday. It's huge. Way huge. Since we now live in a home with 9 foot ceilings, my husband decided to take advantage of that. The tree he brought home stands 4 inches from our 9 foot ceiling.

Apparently, Chris walked up to the guy selling the Christmas trees and said, "I want the biggest tree that you have." I wasn't there but that's what Chris tells me. Now knowing my husband the way that I do, I can only imagine the pride that went with this statement.

Everything is big. We have big furniture, a big house and now a big Christmas tree. Did I mention that we are big people? We look like very small people standing next to the tree though. I don't have a picture yet, but I will post one when I get all three girls in red and green garb and have them stand next to it. It's enormous. I'm going to have to come up with a nickname for it. It definitely deserves a nickname.

Well we put the lights, garland and some ornaments on the tree. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas....... Tomorrow night we will finish decorating the tree. I'm going to set up the nativity set. I will have to have a heart to heart with Alexandra as to why she's not allowed to play with it.

Menu Plan Monday 1

I was so excited to happen upon OrgJunkie and the Menu Plan Monday. I have been doing this for about two months and now I get to write it down and share with others.

Monday: Scalloped Potatoes and Ham (ham is leftover from the baked ham dinner Sunday)

Tuesday: Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Biscuits & Cauliflower and Cheese Sauce

Wednesday: Spaghetti and Garlic Bread (sauce is frozen, hubby makes once a month and freezes a bunch in plastic containers, his is the best!)

Thursday: Tacos made with Ground Turkey & Pinto Beans(family Fave! you'll see this one a lot!)

Friday: Easiest and Tastiest Meatloaf in the world (recipe below) Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

Saturday: Homemade Pizza! Family Fun Night! Alexandra's Third Birthday!

Easiest and Tastiest Meatloaf in the world!

2 lbs 85/15 or 90/10 ground beef.

1 jar Nance's chili sauce (can get at Walmart grocery condiment section)

2 eggs

1/2 to 1 cup bread crumbs - depends on your taste

mix well

put in crock pot (this comes out very moist)

put tomato sauce on top after two hours

cook until done

If that is too moist for your family's taste

put in oven on 350 degrees covered for 1hour

uncover and put tomato sauce on top

cook for 1/2 hour uncovered

You can also substitute ground turkey for half of the ground beef.

The Nance's is so tasty. You don't have to add anything. Don't try to substitute other chili sauces. It doesn't work. Trust me.

Take a Picture. It'll Last Longer.

So lately, I've been a little self-conscious. You will most likely never see a picture of me because I am the one always taking pictures. You will not see a picture of me now because I will break the camera and hurt the photographer that tries. Here is my story.

If you have read my blog you know that I had a pretty stressful summer. Buying a house, selling a house, one daughter with a birth defect (which doctors cannot figure out), one daughter with an injury and all the other crud that daily life can throw at you.

When I get extremely stressed out like this, I get a bright red, peeling, flaky dermatitis ON MY FACE. Yes, I feel like a clown. Yes, people stare at me when I'm in public. No, there isn't a cure. I have to wait for it to run it's course, which takes months.

I have also put on a few pounds. I am in process of eating better and I bought a gym membership which I am going to start using today. I don't feel very good about my weight right now.

If that's not enough, my husband suggested that I dye my hair like I used to do. He likes it red. I am a person that looks good with red hair because I am a natural redhead. Over the years my hair color has changed to a brownish copper. I have good skin tone for the red so I can get away with it. Well, I did it. Now I look like the Little Mermaid's fat cousin with a skin condition. I don't know. I picked the wrong red I guess. Too much red, not enough copper. It also brings out the red in the dermatitis on my face even more. ARRRGGGGHHH!

When I go out in public, people literally stare at me. Well, at least I know it's all temporary. The fat can come off if I work hard enough. The hair will eventually fade. The face will clear up eventually, I hope. In the meantime, I keep reminding myself that God still loves me no matter how hideous I think I am.

The Mysterious Baby

I have a very sneaky baby. She does things without letting anyone see her do it.

You see, for the past week or so, I'd put the baby on the floor. The next thing I'd know, she was across the room. The other night I put her on the floor. I was watching her play on her stomach. I looked away for an instant. When I looked back, she was sitting up.

I got very excited. I told my husband (who by the way was sitting in the same room) and he told me I was seeing things. I must be mistaken. There's no way she could have sat up without us noticing. I disagreed with him. You know how she moves across the room and we never have seen it. Well this is the same. Nope, couldn't be. We would have noticed that. He argued back. I gave up.

The next morning, I heard Lucianna in her crib. She was doing her morning "complaining" as I call it. It's not a cry and not a coo. It's somewhere in between. I know when she "complains," I better get her in a timely manner. If I don't, it turns to a full blown cry. Well I was extremely happy when I went in to get her. She was sitting up in her crib. Now I know I wasn't seeing things the night before!

Since then, I have watched the baby when I knew she couldn't tell I was watching. She sits up with ease and she crawls backwards. The mystery is solved.