Whatcha Eatin'? Monday, October 22nd

Well, I skipped out on menu planning last week, which resulted in running out and buying Avanti's one night and Mcdonald's the next.  We also enjoyed frozen pizza.  This week, I am back to planning.  I don't really like feeling so unorganized.

A couple of weeks ago, we tried out four new recipes, so I thought I better give our opinion on them before I share this week's menu.   We tried out Lasagna Soup, Crock Pot Chicken Teriyaki Sandwiches, Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole, and Easy Mexican Casserole.  We ended up adding two of them to the list of recipes to rotate.  We enjoyed the Teriyaki Chicken Sandwiches.  My boys devoured them, so it was a success.  I really enjoyed the Cheesy Chicken & Rice and the entire family ate it up.  I really liked how completely from scratch it was.  My kids got all their vegetables in without any complaining. It was a keeper!  Lasagna soup was okay, but boys would rather just have Lasagna Casserole.  The Mexican Casserole was good, but hubby said he'd rather just have tacos.  Tacos are so easy, so Tacos it is!

Now on to this week's menu...

Monday:  Sour Cream Ritz Chicken, Oven Potatoes, Green Beans

Tuesday:  Angela's Awesome Enchiladas, Rice, Mixed Fruit

Wednesday:  Tortellini, Meat Sauce, Dinner Salad, Corn, Garlic Mozzarella Sticks 

Thursday:  Chop Suey Casserole, Dinner Salad, Rolls 

Friday:  Homemade Pizza, Chips, Veggies & Dip

Saturday:  Chicken Strips, French Fries

Sunday:  StirFry 

What are you enjoying this week?  Link up with me at Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday...or in my case Menu Plan Tuesday!

Have a wonderful week!  

The Best Lunch Date. Ever.

Sometimes it's the little things that matter most.  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to help out with Big Bro's preschool class.  My mother was watching the other two munchkins, so I decided that I would surprise Big Brother with a Mommy & Me lunch date. I had to stop by Menard's to pick up a couple of things, so I thought we'd slip into Wendy's afterwards.  When we pulled into the parking lot, his sweet little face lit up, and he asked  "Are we going to eat INSIDE?" Our "eating out" usually consists of a drive thru visit and eating at home, so this was extra special for him.  It truly was priceless.  He was so excited to get whatever he wanted.  He even picked out the high top table to sit at.  He beamed the entire time.  It was so awesome to be able to spend some one-on-one time with him.  We enjoyed some "big kid" conversation and had a special Frosty for dessert.  Big Brother felt extra-special which made me feel like the best mom ever.  I so need to do this more often.   Such a little thing, but such a big thing for him.

75 More Days...Have you made your list?

  Photo credit:  http://www.youwall.com/index.php?ver=Mjg4MQ== 

Christmas is right around the corner, and I am getting ready.  Today, I decided to make my list.  No, not my wish list, but the list of people who we like to buy presents for.  I have found that I tend to go a little overboard, so I decided this year I would make a budget and stick with it!  I wanted to share with you a great Gift Budget Sheet from Real Simple magazine that I found helpful when making this budget.  Here the author gives great tips to keep in mind when creating your budget....

"Step 1: Set a limit  
Come up with an overall number in early December (I would do this sooner!). It should include the amount you think you can spend on gifts without going broke by January. A good rule of thumb is 1.5 percent of your (pretax) annual household income. For a family making $65,000 a year, that’s about $1,000. Be realistic, though.You need to take into account what you actually have. Look at your current savings and conservatively factor in any money coming, such as a holiday bonus. To get an idea of what you spent last year, dig out your credit-card statements from the previous year. If you had unforeseen expenses this year and your checking account is running low, you might want to shrink your list or come up with more-modest gift ideas."

"Step 2: Divvy up the money 
 Create a detailed gift list that includes family, friends, neighbors, even the babysitter. Then decide how much you want to spend, keeping the bottom line in mind.When you make a purchase, note the cost. Periodically tally up your spending to see if you’re on track.You can, of course, reallocate your money as you go along, so try to buy in order of importance to you. The kids, your husband, and your mom might go first, for example. Include gift wrap and shipping."

I would encourage you to start thinking about your budget now so you can have a stress-free Christmas season! 
 

Perfect Day for the ZOO!

Okay, so many days I feel like I live in a zoo, but today we decided that it would be more fun to go to an actual zoo.  My mom, my aunt, and a few of my sister-in-laws & nieces and nephews spent a wonderful morning at the Peoria Zoo.  Despite it's outrageous admission prices and the cool weather, we had a great time!

 The whole zoo was decorated for Halloween, and the kiddos loved them!

Baby Sis loved the pumpkins!  

It was so beautiful out that the lions were basking in the sun.  Big Bro called these the "beautiful beasts". 

 

 This by far was the coolest...a BLUE frog!  At first, I thought it was fake and then it started to hop away. 

 Little Bro was pretty entertained with the fish.

 This little monkey was so cute...it kept making funny noises at us. 

 

Ewww!  Snakes!  The boys loved looking at them.  Yuck!  

 This little stinker didn't want to ride in her stroller. 

 Thank goodness for big cousins there to help out!  

A good time was had by all!  I am so thankful for great days like this.

How did you spend your day with your kids?

Whatcha Eatin'? October 8th Edition

Wow!  I am loving this fall weather.  Last week we enjoyed chili for the first time this fall, and it was delicious.   I wanted to find some other great soup recipes this week and came across this Lasagna Soup recipe.  My hubby has been getting a bit burned out on the lasagna casserole that I usually make, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I decided to look for a few more recipes and I found several that I wanted to try.  Therefore, the  majority of this week we will be trying out new recipes.  I will have to share which ones will be keepers next week.  Here is what our week looks like:

Monday:  Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole, Dinner Rolls, Apples & Caramel Dip 
Tuesday:  Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken Sandwiches, Veggies & Dip, Chips 
Wednesday:  Lasagna Soup, French Bread, Dinner Salad
Thursday:  Easy Mexican Casserole, Corn, Mixed Fruit
Friday:  Dinner Out or Frozen Pizza
Saturday:  Chicken Patties, French Fries (Hunting Season is here...that means its me & the kiddos on Saturday evening until the time change) 
Sunday:  Grillin' Out 

What are you munching on this week?  Join me and link up at Organizing Junkie's Blog.  

Why I Splurge On Professional Photography

One of my most treasured things in this life are my photographs. If my house was burning down, I would grab my children & hubby then run back in to grab my photographs.  My mother was also very sentimental and kept a lot of items and pictures of my childhood.  I love to open the tote and look through everything once in awhile. My children love seeing pictures of mom when she was a little girl.   With nine children, I know that it was difficult to keep up with taking pictures, but my mother always managed to get a family picture every year.  I would like to continue the tradition with my family.  In the years past, I have tried several attempts to snap a family picture or pictures of my children as they reach certain age levels, but I always seem to fail.  Usually one child is smiling, while the other is looking away.  Or I can't get them to sit still.  It is always to frustrating and I end up giving up.

Over the years, I have realized that is worth my money and my sanity to splurge on professional photography. I am lucky enough to have found a great photographer just around the corner. Literally.  She lives around the corner.  Michelle, from Photography by Michelle, was my photographer for our wedding in 2004.  We loved her so much that when we had Big Brother, we had her photograph his newborn pictures.  He was just a month old and I remember thinking how beautiful and tiny he was, but as he grew I quickly forgot about him as newborn. Thankfully, I have beautiful pictures to take me back to that time again.  I continued to use Michelle for all my babies.  She has a great package called "A Baby Story" where she captures all the different stages during the 1st year: newborn, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year.  I got back Addilyn's 1st year pictures and I was in love with them.  In fact, she did such a great job that I can hardly choose which ones to purchase!  What do you think?

I love how she captured the tutu and her cute little bum.

Getting her to sit still was impossible, but what a great shot.  I love this one! 

It's amazing what a professional picture will capture. 

Getting a close up of her beautiful face would be impossible without Michelle!

We were able to snap a few pictures inside as well.  

 Michelle always goes the extra mile and tries to coordinate with my outfits.  Don't you love the fake purple wall and white baseboard?  The balloons were a great idea for her 1st birthday shots, but Addilyn wouldn't stop trying to eat them!  

 Another great perk of a professional photographer...cute chairs like this!  

Love the rolls! 

I can't imagine that Sears or Walmart would take the time and make the extra effort that Michelle does.  If you are ever in the market for family pictures, or baby pictures, I encourage you to check out her website. 

COVERGIRL & OLAY Foundation and Powder Review

It's a good thing I snagged my hunky hubby almost 15 years ago, because now he is stuck with me! I admit, that I am not the hot little thing that I once was.  (not sure that I really was ever hot, but you know what I mean)  Lately, I have been noticing that my skin is just not the same as it was when I was 18.  I now notice that I have these brown spots all my face that apparently are "age spots".  I also have these permanent dark circles under my eyes from the lack of sleep that I have be enduring for the last five years of having young children.   Lastly, the smile that I always have on my face seems to be a curse...who knew that a person could get wrinkles from smiling too much?  Basically, I need a make-over.  While I cannot afford, nor would I want plastic surgery, there had to be something that I could do to improve my overall look.  As if it was meant to be, I received the opportunity to sample the new COVERGIRL & Olay Tone Rehab 2-in-1 Foundation and Pressed Powder. As a Bzz agent, I was sent two full size bottle of each of them picked out to match my skin tone.  For the past couple of months, I have been trying this out on the days that I actually get the time to do my make-up.  Although it was extremely difficult to take a picture of myself with my phone, I did manage to get a couple of pictures so you could see the difference.  

 

 

Although the change was not drastic, I definitely noticed some improvements. 

Here are a couple of things that I noticed with it:

1.  I felt way more confident.  

2.  I loved the light weight feel of the foundation. 

3.  My skin looked radiant and my shine was gone.  

4.  The wrinkles around my eyes were less noticeable. 

5.   I got complemented on my complexion. Without make-up, people always comment on how tired I look or asked if I was sick.

6.  Although the powder was soft and smooth, if my skin was even a bit dry it looked a bit flaky.  

Overall, I was very thankful for this opportunity.  My hubby tells me all the time that I am beautiful without makeup, but sometimes it is nice to feel pretty.  I admit this foundation and powder made me feel pretty.  Will I buy more of it in the future when I run out,  You bet!  

Note:  I received this for free as a Bzz Agent, but I was not compensated for my honest opinions.