Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Where have I been?

Wow, it has been a loooonnnngggg time since I've posted something here.  Where have I been?  Well, I guess I've been busy...  Time just seems to fly by!  Everyday, there seems to be something going on around here.  For example, here is last weekend's schedule:  Saturday was a cook-out with the college class at church which took most of the day;  Sunday was church, college lunch, nursing home, church, and church fellowship afterwards.  Busy, busy, busy.  I know I'm not the only one.  Those of you with more than one child certainly have your hands full!  Don't know how you do it!

On another subject, has anyone else noticed how fall snuck up on us?  It is here!  But where did summer go?  I do love fall, but it just seems too early for it.  I'm not quite ready.  Oh well, can't go back, so I'd better just enjoy it!  I do love to have the windows open and let the fall breezes blow through the house, but these last few days have been too chilly and windy to do that.  The temperature in the house with all of the windows closed has been in the low to mid 60's.  Hoping it warms up a little bit soon!  Looks like tomorrow will be very nice, then rain on Friday and Saturday.  We still need the rain, so I'm not complaining about that.  My tomato plants have new blooms on them; not sure if they will make it, but I'll wait and see.  My strawberry plants are still growing, blooming, and producing.  They are spreading everywhere.  I'll have to try to contain them, so I can have other things, too, in my garden next year.

It is time to pick apples!  What will I be making this year when I get some apples???  Hmmm....  Gotta look at my recipes and choose.  I need to get over to the orchard.  We were heading there this morning in Grandma's car when Levi threw up all over the place!  So, needless to say, we turned around and came back home.  Had to give him a bath, wash clothes, etc.  (You know the drill, Moms.)  Grandma had to clean out her car, too.  Fun, fun!  (Glad we weren't driving my car...  lol)  Levi isn't showing any other symptoms of illness, so hopefully this too shall pass.  I hope he doesn't get sick!  I was really looking forward to taking him to the orchard to pick apples!  And he was really wanting to go, too.  For the last two days, he's been talking about going to the "farm, pick apples".  I'm hoping we are able to go tomorrow afternoon (if Levi doesn't get sick).

Tomorrow evening ~ DAVE RAMSEY!!  We have been looking forward to this for several months now.  We have had our tickets for about 6 months!  Dave Ramsey will be at the State Fairgrounds for a seminar.  We have been working on getting out of debt for a while now.  Still have a little ways to go, but we are getting somewhere.  We just have my car loan left, and the house, of course.  Dave Ramsey has given us some great ideas on how to budget, pay off debt, stay out of debt, pay with cash/debit, NO CREDIT, etc.  Of course, all of this is common sense, but sometimes you need someone to smack you in the face with it!  He doesn't hold back, that's for sure.  He says it like it is!  Can't wait to hear him live.  Maybe it will give us another little push...  Looking forward to it!  Several families from our church will be there, as well, so it will be a good time.

We have an appointment on Friday to get Levi's two-year pictures taken at Penney's.  I know I'm a couple months late, but... (I think I lost another couple months somewhere.)  I'm hoping he will be more cooperative than last year.  He wasn't happy at all last time, but they still managed to get some great shots.  We'll see...

I have some pictures that I need to post from Saturday.  (When we went to the cook-out at church, Levi went to a train expo with my parents.  Levi LOVES trains, of course!)  Also, since October starts tomorrow, I probably need to work on my monthly meal plan today...  I'll try to get that posted soon, as well.  

Hope everyone has an enjoyable day!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

AMAZING Fruit Salad

On Labor Day, we had my parents and my aunt and uncle over for a cook-out.  We chose to make pizza burgers, which is one of our new favorites!  So, my mom brought dessert, homemade chocolate chip cookies and carrot cake.  My aunt brought a fruit salad.  It was probably the BEST I had EVER tasted.  I plan on making it many times around here and probably for our next church dinner.

Here is the recipe she passed on to me:

AMAZING FRUIT SALAD 
(This isn't the "official" title, just the lasting impression it gave me...)
  • 2 cans of pineapple chunks
  • 2 cans of mandarin oranges
  • 1 bag of frozen strawberries (can use fresh, if in season)
  • 4 or 5 bananas, sliced
  • 1 can of peach pie filling
This is really delicious!!  When I make it, I probably will add chunks of apples, as well.  Especially since they are in season now.

My mom's recipe for carrot cake is from Nestle Very Best Baking.

I am not a fan of carrot cake, so I didn't taste it.  (Yeah, I know, my mom has already given me a hard time about it...)  But, everyone else was raving over it.  So, I am passing it on to you.  I had to get the recipe from Mom so I can make it for Rob.  (Gotta keep the Hubby happy!)  I will probably make this for a church dinner soon.  Maybe our Thanksgiving dinner at church.  (Is it that time of year already?)

Hope you have the opportunity to try these recipes.  Enjoy!!

Old Friends, New Friends

I was able to spend an hour on Monday morning with a friend from the past.  Stacey flew in from Texas for a few days to visit with family.  She has twin girls that are about to turn two.  It worked out for us to spend a little time together for a "play date".  We met at a playground where the girls and Levi could play together.  What's funny is that they had way more fun playing with the rocks than the playground equipment!  Oh, the simple things in life...

Stacey is the cousin of a dear friend that is a missionary in Japan.  So, I am glad that I had the opportunity to spend time with her in Shellee's absence.  




Ice Cream!


Yes, Levi loves ice cream, just like his mommy!!

Levi has a truck book that has a picture of an ice cream truck in it.  Well, his Daddy decided to teach him the name of that truck.  He calls it "Mommy's truck".  Funny, Rob.  Real funny...



I LOVE BIG TRAINS!!



























Another train-centered getaway!  We went to Metamora, 1 1/2 hour drive east of Indy.  It is an 1838 canal town located along the 
Whitewater Valley Railroad.  It's been maybe 25 years since I've been there (wow, am I that old???).  I went there with my family and my friend, Shellee, and her mom, Pam.  Oh, the memories...

The reason we went this past weekend was because they had an old steam train there.  And, since Levi is so obsessed with trains, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to see a train up close.  We didn't ride it, for one reason, because it was so expensive.  But, I also thought that Levi would have much more fun watching it from the outside.  We were able to walk around in it while it was parked at the train station; that was pretty exciting!  Then we watched it leave and return for two of its trips.  It was VERY LOUD, which had two different effects on Levi:  screaming in fear or holding his ears.  

When the train was gone on its trips, we walked around and looked in some of the shops, ate lunch, walked through the mill, rode on the horse-drawn canal boat, and ate an ice cream cone.  What a long, but WONDERFUL day!!  Lots of memories!


Friday Night Boredom :)

No surprise here ~ 
Levi found the John Deere tractors first thing.







We went south to the booming metropolis of Edinburgh to the "Heartnut Festival"...
Pretty interesting.  We saw some tractor pulls (really just souped-up lawn mowers), Levi rode a little carousel ride (thanks to Paw-Paw), we found a swing set, and we found the little trains.  These trains are small; you actually ride on top of them.  They are only $2 a ride, but they weren't giving rides that night.  We will hopefully go back on the third Saturday of October to ride.  I'm sure Levi would thoroughly enjoy it.  Hopefully, Daddy can go with us then.  (He was in Chicago for a business trip for the weekend.)

Thursday, September 10, 2009

CIRCUS!











Today's expedition was a last-minute trip downtown to the CIRCUS PARADE.  The Ringling Bros. Circus is in town, and they had a parade around the Circle.  I found out a little late, so we were driving around looking for a parking space at a meter when we saw the elephants walking down the street.  We were a block away, but Levi could still see them.  I finally found a place, and we ran over to the circle.  We missed the elephants and the marching band there, but we did see some miniature horses and acrobats.  They gave out free circus hats, and Levi got one.  It's a little big, but he likes it!  Trying to get as much summer in as we can before it's gone...




"A Christmas Carol" Train Tour






Levi, Grandma, and I went on a little excursion on Wednesday.  (I love these free field trips!)  We drove down to Bargersville, which is about 20 minutes from our house, to see the Disney "A Christmas Carol" Train Tour.  We didn't go because it was Disney; we went because it was a train that Levi could see up close and walk on.

The exhibit was supposed to open at 9:00 a.m., so I decided we should leave my house at 8:00 to beat the crowds.  When we arrived, there was probably about 100 people there, so the line was pretty short and quick to tour the train.  The train cars had memorabilia, pictures, and videos about the making of the new Disney animated "Christmas Carol" coming out in November.  It was pretty neat to see, although it was more geared towards the older "kids" like me.  Levi was just happy to be on a train. 

It took probably 20 minutes to get through the train.  When we got off the train, there was a huge line already forming at 9:15.  I would say maybe 1,000 people were there by then.  We walked around the town looking at the booths for a while, then headed home.  By the 5:00 news, they said there was a 5 1/2 hour wait for the exhibit.  (There's NO WAY I would wait that long!!)  Crazy!

Another Trip to the Zoo










We took another trip to the ZOO last week.  Since we have the family membership, I've been trying to get a lot of use out of it.  It really has been worth it!  The weather was very nice last week, so we decided to go on Friday morning.  My mom went with us.  When we arrived at 9:30, there was hardly anyone there, so it was even much more enjoyable!  (Maybe we will go that early all of the time...)  










The baby giraffe was out; it was only three weeks old, I believe.  So cute!  


We also decided to ride the zoo train.  It was not very affordable, but Grandma wanted Levi to ride it, since he loves trains so much.  The train at the zoo is a neat little train; the tour, however, not so much...  It takes you around the outskirts of the zoo where you see the administration building, Washington Street, the 
medical building, and the back of some of the animal exhibits.  Not very exciting, but Levi loved the train ride nonetheless.  











The dolphin show was not very crowded, either, so we got good seats this time.  (Maybe one of these times we'll sit in the splash area.)  We had a great little excursion.  And, when we exited the zoo at around 12:00, the parking lot was almost full and the lines were long.  Guess it pays to get there early!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Menu Plan for September

Here is my plan for the month.  I've already moved a couple things around, but I'm still sticking with it.  I like to look at other menus to get ideas.  Maybe you can get an idea from mine.

1 - Taco Soup (Tried this a couple months ago, and we LOVE it!  It's on the menu twice a month...)
2 - Homemade Pizza
3 - Bruschetta and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
4 - Fried Chicken Tenders
5 - Hamburgers
6 - Lasagna
7 - Pizza Burgers (Having some family over for a Labor Day cook-out!)
8 - Taco Casserole (Also, I have to make several dishes for a Preacher's Meeting at our church for lunch...)
9 - Pulled Pork BBQ (I slow-roast a pork roast at 250 degrees all night, fork shred, and add BBQ sauce ~ YUMMY!)
10 - Chicken and Dumplings
11 - Baked Sandwiches (I used frozen bread dough; thaw it, roll it out, add lunch meat and cheese, then bake... another family favorite!)
12 - Burritos
13 - Baked Chicken and Rice
14 - Chicken Manhattan (I use shredded chicken and chicken broth that I have frozen from when I boil a whole chicken.  I make a simple gravy, add the chicken, and serve over mashed potatoes.  I don't use bread like traditional manhattans, though.)
15 - Egg, Ham, and Cheese Tortillas
16 - Chicken Pot Pie
17 - Ham Macaroni and Cheese
18 - Chicken Parmesan
19 - Chicken Fried Rice
20 - Steak?  (This depends if I can find a good sale on it before this date.  If not, grab something out of the freezer or use left-overs.)
21 - Pancakes or French Toast
22 - Mozzarella Chicken
23 - Spaghetti
24 - Turkey Burgers
25 - Roast
26 - Cook-out for the College class at church (Probably hamburgers...)
27 - Baked Ziti
28 - Chicken Shepherd's Pie (I make a typical Shepherd's pie recipe, but I use chicken instead of hamburger.)
29 - Pork Chops with Homemade Stuffing
30 - Beans and Rice in the Crock Pot

*As you can see, we use a lot of chicken.  We like red meat, but chicken tends to be cheaper and more versatile.  Well, we haven't got tired of it yet...

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Menu Plan

     When reading through other blogs, I always enjoy the ones that include ideas about COOKING.  Many of them include their menu plans for the month.  So, I thought about including mine here.  I've been planning out our dinner menus for just over a year now, and it has helped in so many ways.  
     By planning ahead, I've been able to be more FRUGAL.  For example, I can use a whole chicken for three different meals, so I plan accordingly.  (Since there are only 2 1/2 mouths to feed here, this works for us!)  I also can use or freeze the broth from the chicken, which means no more buying canned broth.  We try to have breakfast for dinner once a week.  (Breakfast foods seem to be much cheaper, and, since we always have cereal for breakfast, this is a treat for us!)  Since we've actually been budgeting our money, I've been able to keep a little more focused on planning meals.
     Even though I am a stay-at-home mom, I seem to be just as busy, if not more, than when I worked full-time.  So, planning ahead what we will be having for dinner allows more TIME in my daily schedule.  I hate to admit how many times I've struggled with getting dinner figured out.  I can't decide what to make; I don't have the ingredients for what I want to make (which means an extra trip to the store); I run out of time to fix dinner, therefore, we would run for fast food and regret it! These are just a few of the EXCUSES I had come up with before.  Now, I look at the schedule and go with it.
     Now, this doesn't mean that I can't be FleXibLe.  Many times, I've changed up the days of the week for various reasons.  But, I still stick with the main schedule as much as I can.  On Fridays, I make my shopping list.  I just look at the schedule and figure out what ingredients I need for the week.  
     I have found menu planning to be a very helpful tool in our household.  Do you have a plan like this?  Is there anything that you do differently that might be of help to me?  Just curious what other people do...
     My next post will be my menu plan for the month of September.  Hope you had a wonderful Lord's day!
Thank you, Lord, for our freedom here in the United States.  Help me not take that for granted!

DENISE

Friday, September 4, 2009

A Quick Note

It's been a couple of days since I posted, and, even though I'm very busy today, I thought I'd pop in to say HELLO to everyone.  Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day holiday weekend!  I know a lot of people plan on spending time with family or special loved ones.  Hopefully that will work out for us, too.  Right now, it looks like Rob will have to work on Saturday.  So, we at least will have Sunday (a busy day in of itself!) and Monday together!  Monday, we plan on having my parents and my aunt and uncle over for a cook-out for lunch.  Pizza burgers on the grill...YUMMY!  And free Chick-Fil-A sandwiches for dinner at Chick-Fil-A if you wear some kind of sports team logo on your clothing.  (Even I will wear a Colts jersey if it means free chicken at my most favorite fast food restaurant!!)  I know the weekend will fly by, but I plan to make the most of what time I have with Hubby!  It seems lately there has been very little of that...  Busy, busy, busy time of year at work.

The next few posts, I plan on starting something new that I have seen on other blogs.  They looked interesting, and I hope it will be fun for you, as well.  So, keep a lookout!

Also, Mom, Levi, and I went to the ZOO this morning, so I will need to post my photos from that.

Have a blessed weekend!

Denise

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Ride Like the Wind...


So, back in the spring, I came across a garage sale where I purchased a little basketball goal for Levi for $4.00.  I went through that neighborhood the next day looking for more sales, and when I drove by that same house, they had a bicycle with training wheels on it.  This is one of those bikes that is for 18 months to 3 years old.  Of course, Levi, being a little on the short side, couldn't even reach the pedals when I got it for him.  He still was able to sit on it and push himself around.  Well, a couple weeks ago, I noticed that he could finally reach the pedals.  And over the course of the last couple weeks, he has conquered the bike!  He loves to ride his bike.  In the house, on the back porch, on the front sidewalk, around the court...  This is now all he wants to do.  Good thing we are having a great week of weather!  We are spending all of our time outside, and loving it!!!

Enjoying the remainder of the summer!  Can you believe it is September 1st already?  Where did the time go?  If you took it, will you please give it back?

Talk to you tomorrow (hopefully!)...  Have a great day!