Illness & Honor Roll

Hello all....sorry it has been a few days since I have posted but I ended up getting sick and am just now getting on my computer. I have some kind of head cold with coughing, stuffy nose & cough, not to mention no voice...I am pretty sure my husband is enjoying that part :).Needless to say, my house has been a wreck and supper has been "eat what you can find, cause momma ain't cookin". Everyone is still alive and hasn't loss too much weigh. lol. Anyways, I made myself get up and get out today because I needed to go to the cleaners, get a propane bottle filled for the travel trailer and go to Ryleigh's awards ceremony for making Honor Roll, not to mention, my nails and toes were in desperate need of some TLC. Both of my girls made honor roll this past six weeks and I am so proud of them. Kristyn has perfect attendance for the year so far and Ryleigh would have had perfect attendance for the 6 weeks had she not gotten the flu. Oh well, maybe this 6 weeks will be different. She did get a free kids meal from Ranch Hand and is excited about that. Maybe tomorrow we will go out for dinner while Kristyn is at her school dance. Who knows! Well, just wanted to drop in for a minute, gotta get dinner finished (I actually cooked tonight) and then take Kristyn to a 1 hr volleyball practice. Hope everyone enjoys their evening!! Talk to you later!

Weekend Recap & Menu Monday

Hello everyone.....hope you had a great weekend....it was a beautiful weekend here in Texas, after a very cold week a nice, sunny, and somewhat warm weekend was a welcome sight. However, I was not feeling good and spent most of Saturday on the couch with a sore throat and ear ache. After taking some Dayquil I felt much better and was able to go out with the hubby and some friends for dinner and dancing. We had so much fun! Sunday we just stayed around the house and did a whole lot of NOTHING!! We did manage to go to the track and run/walk. Doodle and I have decided to start to get in shape and have decided that we are going to start walking/running at least 3 times a week. Yesterday was the first day and it felt GOOD!! I have always wanted to run but hate doing it by myself, it is just too boring. Anyway, that is what our weekend consisted of....what did you do?

As for our menu this week, you will see that there are some duplicates from last week. That is because I ended up switching some days around and there were two days that we ate out....so, here is our menu for this week....

Monday: Roast, rice, green beans & corn
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: pork chops, rice/gravy, green beans
Thursday: pinto beans/sausage/rice & cornbread
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: dinner out (volleyball tournament)
Sunday: chicken/rice, mac & cheese, corn & green beans

There you have it, our menu for the week. Hope you all have a blessed week. I am off to run my errands and get to work on my "to do" list!! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

Weekend Recap & Menu Monday

I hope everyone had a glorious weekend....it finally warmed up here in Texas and Saturday and Sunday were absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! After having a sick child and unbelievably cold weather here, a beautiful weekend was surely welcomed!! We didn't really do to much this weekend. I really didn't want Ryleigh getting out and having a relapse of the flu so Saturday we pretty much stayed home. I ended up going and getting my hair cut and then taking Ryleigh to my parents house to spend the night because Kristyn had a volleyball tournament yesterday and we had to be in South Houston early and I didn't want Ryleigh around all of the people. Kristyn's team did pretty good, they won 2 out of the 3 games that they played. For those unfamiliar with volleyball, 3 "sets" equal 1 "game". Each set is played to 25 points and you have to win by 2 points. If the same team wins 2 sets, then the 3rd set is not played. If the 3rd set is played, then it only goes to 15 points. Yesterday was spent at the volleyball tournament and then we went to eat with some friends, went and picked up Ryleigh and headed home to finish watching the Super Bowl. Well, Doodle watched to Super Bowl and I went and climbed in the bed because I was T-I-R-E-D!! Needless to say, I slept really good last night and both kids are at school this morning so this is starting out on a good note.

Now onto something different. I read alot of blogs on a daily basis and have some across several that do a "Menu Monday" and list the stuff that they will be having for dinner each day of the week. Well, like I said in my other post, I also do up a menu each week and thought that I would start doing "Menu Monday" on my blog each week, well, because I can and at least I know I will have one post each week. So, here goes:

Monday: Spagetti & garlic bread
Tuesday: Smothered steak, rice/gravy, green beans
Wednesday: Beef tips & rice, corn
Thursday: Fried pork chops, rice/gravy, mac & cheese, green beans
Friday: Tacos & spanish rice
Saturday: roast, rice/gravy, green beans
Sunday: left overs

As you can see, we eat alot of rice & gravy and green beans....I have a picky eater and so we usually have those with each meal...you do whatcha gotta do!

So, how was your weekend and what is on your menu?

To Do List, Calendars & Notebooks

I LOVE TO MAKE LISTS!! It helps keep me on track and I love seeing the "to do item" crossed off of my list once it is done. By making a list of things to do it helps me to not "forget". When you have kids who are involved in activities in and out of school things tend to get forgotten, some are important and some are not, but they are forgotten nonetheless. I make lists for everything...grocery lists, Christmas lists, chore lists, errand lists and so on. Every evening I sit down with my trusty little notebook and make my "to do" list for the next day. If I don't do it in the evening, I do it as soon as I get home from taking my girls to school and then I am ready to get started on my day.

To start 2011 off right, I went to Target and bought a calendar (actually I bought 2, one for the bills/chores and one for my purse). It is a bigger calendar that has the month and behind each month is each week broke down by day. On the "month" each Friday I have listed the bills that are to be paid that week (love having a budget, it keeps me on track). On the "weekly" pages I have my "chores" listed. I love the Flylady, she is how I came up with my chore list. Anyway, each day I have a "morning routine" that I do which includes emptying the dishwasher, making my bed and putting a load of clothes in the washer. I also have "chores" that I do each day. I do the same chore each week on the same day. For instance, Mondays are my days to run errands such as going to cleaners, grocery store, & bank. Kristyn usually has volleyball practice on Mondays so if I run my errands on Mondays, then I am already dressed and ready when she has to go to practice (I am a SAHM, so there are days that I don't leave my house). On Tuesdays I clean out the refrigerator/freezer and take the trash out. Wednesdays are bathroom and floor day, Thursdays I wash the bedding and dust & Fridays I pay the bills and clean out my purse and truck. These are not the only things that I do on these days, but these are the "must do's" for these days. After I get done with these "chores", I start on my "to do" list. I may include organizing my scrapbook hutch, cleaning out/organizing kitchen cabinets, etc. Things that need to be done but are not a must. Here are some pics of my calendar as well as the little notebooks that I like to use for my "to do lists".

This is the "weekly" view of my calendar. As you can see, I have not gotten anything written down much less done since Ryleigh has been sick with the flu. There has been alot of "snuggling" going on though, which makes me happy! All the other "stuff" can wait.


This is what the calendar looks like from the front.
t=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569924271290723586" />


I got these cute little things at Michaels in the dollar bin....love, love, love the dollar bins!!


I bought these at Hobby Lobby for $1.99. They have all different kinds with different designs and are a great size as well.



One thing that I look for when buying notebooks is that the pages are lined. I hate to write on a piece of paper that is not lined. The pages in both of these notebooks are lined.

Another thing that I do each week is make a "menu". I usually do this on Sunday evening since I go shopping on Monday and the Sunday paper has coupons and sales ads. I make my grocery list according to my menu for that week. By doing this I have saved myself from having many a headaches and last minute, "what am I going to cook???" Every morning after I get home from dropping the girls off, I simply look at my calendar to see what is for dinner that night and take the meat out of the freezer. I list on my calendar any activities that are going on and plan my menu accordingly. For instance, if Kristyn has a basketball game on Thursday night, on Wednesday I will cook something that can be had as leftovers on Thursday (lasagna, enchiladas, chili, etc). This saves me from having to cook dinner late at night or having cereal (can I get an amen?). Alot of times Doodle will not get to make it to her game because he does not get off in time so he will come home and heat up the leftovers and me and the girls will do the same when we get home.

I realize that this is not for everyone, but it sure works well for me. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any ideas for helping to keep a household running smoothly and ensuring that things that need to get done get done....

Thanks for dropping by and have a blessed day!

A Snow Day & the Flu

All I can say is this....IT IS COLD IN TEXAS!!! Yesterday they let the schools out at 2:00 and cancelled classes for today. We were expecting anywhere from 1-3 inches of snow last night but we got NONE!! However, there is alot of ice on the roads which makes for a bad driving experience when you are not used to having to drive in these conditions. So, needless to say, we are inside in our pajamas all day today. Not that I am complaining. I like lazy days like this, it is nice to be able to decompress from our busy life every now and then. Not sure what all I will get done today, but I do know that I need to work on laundry and my scrapbooking hutch and whatever else I can find to clean out and organize. I LOVE TO ORGANIZE, but that is for a different post!! Okay, that was random. Sorry! I know the bedrooms in this house need to be picked up, so maybe that will get done too. The kitchen definately needs to be picked up. Doodle decided to get up and cook breakfast and he NEVER cleans up after he cooks and it is driving me crazy to sit here and look at it as I am typing this post....

I have had a sick little girl this week. When I picked Ryleigh up from school on Monday she was complaining of a sore throat and headache, but was not running any fever. We went to Kristyn's volleyball practice that night and she got to feeling worse. At about 3:00 in the morning she woke up coughing and running a high fever. I called the pediatrician the next morning but they were booked for the day so the soonest I could get her in was 9:00 on Wednesday. So bright and early Wednesday we were headed to the drs office, where she tested positive for the flu. After getting her prescription we headed home and have been here ever since. I must say that the medicine they gave her worked pretty fast and she is doing alot better, but still has a nasty cough. Kristyn has since started coughing so I am giving them both cough medicine and hoping that Kristyn does not get any worse, she has a volleyball tournament this Sunday and really wants to play. So far it is just a cough and no fever so please pray that she does not get the flu....




Well, stay warm and thanks for dropping by!

Volleyball, Aggieland & Donkeys

That is one heck of a title, I know, but that is exactly what our weekend consisted of.

On Friday we headed up to College Station to stay with a friend of ours because Kristyn was playing volleyball in the Aggieland Classic. They did pretty good, they could have done better, but oh well. On Friday after we got there and got settled in we went to eat at Freebirds, it was really good. After that we went back to Kerri's at got caught up. Doodle and Kerri grew up together and she has two boys that are close to my girls ages. On Saturday we were at the volleyball tournament all day. When we got back to Kerri's we ate spagetti and watched a movie and ended up to going to bed pretty early. Sunday we got up, went to Aggieland Outfitters & Traditions and bought some shirts and stuff, went to the campus and took some pics, went to Los Cucos to eat lunch then went down to Spoons for some yogurt. After all of that we came home. It was alot of fun and we are looking to forward to maybe going back during Spring Break when all the flowers and trees have bloomed and take more pics at the A&M campus. If you have never been to College Station, it is really a fun and neat place to go. A typical college town. There is every possible store, resteraunt, and activity to be done.

On Monday, Kristyn had volleyball practice from 6-9, so Ryleigh and I went to the Donkey Basketball game (no animals were hurt or injured during this game). The Seniors at our high school do this fundraiser for Project Graduation where for the first half the juniors play against the seniors and the second half it is the parents who play. There are rules. 1) you must be on your donkey when you pass or shoot the ball 2) you can walk your donkey only if the ball is on the ground and you are going after it. We only stayed for the first half because it was getting kind of boring so we went back to the volleyball practice.

This week has not started going so well, but more on that tomorrow....for now, here are some pics ( I only took a few of the volleyball because the seating was awful, either the girls backs were to us or they were on the other side and the net was in the way)....I need to get off of here and fix dinner (enchiladas and spanish rice) and stay warm....it is COLD here in the state of Texas!! Hope you have a wonderful evening!