Typical Ramblings, Atypical Nonsense: November 2009

Menu Plan Monday - November 30 - December 4

>> Monday, November 30, 2009

So it's been a few weeks since I've posted my menu, but now I'm back! Things are really getting busy around here. How bout at your house? If you don't usually menu plan this would be the time to really think about starting. With so many activities for the kids, Christmas concerts, parties, ect. wouldn't it be nice not to have to stand in front of the cupboards at 4:30pm wondering what to feed these people that are already asking you "what's for dinner mom"? Even if you only plan your supper menu and just wing it for breakfast & lunch, your evenings will be so much easier.

Here's what we'll be eating this week:

Breakfast: - Toddler Menu
Monday: Yogurt & monkey platter (variety plate of cut up fruits)
Tuesday: Whole grain organic frozen waffle, pears and 1/4 cup milk
Wednesday: scrambled egg, cinnamon toast squares (whole grain bread lightly toasted)
Thursday: French toast, peaches, and 1/4 cup milk
Friday: Organic oatmeal, fruit and 1/4 cup milk

Mid-Morning Snack: - Toddler Menu
Monday: Clementine & 1/4 cup milk
Tuesday: Banana & 1/4 cup milk
Wednesday: Muffin & 1/4 cup milk
Thursday: Yogurt & Graham cracker
Friday: Fruit slices & 1/4 cup milk

Lunch: - Toddler Menu
Monday: Baked chicken nuggets & fries, mango and 1/4 cup milk
Tuesday: Whole Wheat cheese pizza, soft cooked veggie sticks & 1/4 cup milk
Wednesday: Pasta & peas, cheese dough sticks, diced fruit & 1/4 cup milk
Thursday: Salmon cakes, green beans, diced peaches & 1/4 cup milk
Friday: Macaroni & Cheese, 1/4 strawberries & 1/4 cup milk

Afternoon Snack: - Toddler Menu
Monday: yogurt & graham cracker
Tuesday: Monkey Platter (can be shared with big kids after school)
Wednesday: Toast with homemade apple butter from freezer & 1/4 cup milk
Thursday: Orange slice & 1/4 cup milk
Friday: Apple Oatmeal Cookie & 1/4 cup milk

Supper for Everyone:
With printable recipe cards (click pics to save and print) & links to original recipes where noted.

Saturday - Tacos
Sunday - Chicken nuggets, noodles with cheese sauce & steamed veggies
Monday - R's birthday - Order pizza & garlic fingers
Tuesday - Panera's Cream Cheese Potato Soup in Bread bowls

Wednesday - Grilled cheese, veggies & dip
Thursday - Spaghetti, Cesar Salad, Garlic Cheese Rolls, red & green Jell -O

Friday - Beef tips in gravy over egg noodles, roasted green beans

Inspired to menu plan this week? Need more ideas for menu planning? Head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hundreds of meal plans.

25 Days of Christmas 2009

>> Thursday, November 26, 2009

This will be the fourth year I have done the 25 days of Christmas for the kids. Every year the kids look forward to finding out what we will do that day to celebrate the coming of Christmas. I find that doing this it makes us slow down and really enjoy the holidays. So many times Christmas is such a rush - getting gifts bought & wrapped, baking and cooking, parties and all of that fun stuff - that it's easy to forget to stop and just enjoy it. I just love Christmas and everything to do with it and I know the kids do too. I do this so they have some good fun memories of Christmas. Not just memories of it being over so fast.

This year I'm going to add a little something to our usual list. I'm going to make it an Advent chain. I saw a this picture on flikr

and I decided I wanted to make this. I made up 25 origami envelopes and inside I am putting each of the 25 activities we will do. The kids saw the envelopes last night when I was stamping the numbers on them and asked what they were for. I went ahead and told them and they are already excited. :) Here is what we will be doing from December 1st through the 25th.

Write letters to Santa
Make holiday Rice Krispie treats
Red & green night - supper will be all red & green
Family Christmas party at Bean's school
Christmas video
Decorate the Christmas tree
Christmas bingo night
Dinner & a movie (Meatloaf, mashed potatoes & A Christmas Story)
Crystal Snowflakes
Make magic reindeer food
Go see Santa & have pictures taken
Hand & foot print reindeer craft
PJ Day! Lots of munchies & Christmas programs
Christmas shopping for parents & siblings
Wrap gifts & listen to Christmas music
Christmas cards & gifts for teachers
Make popcorn balls
Christmas movie with popcorn & hot chocolate
Candy making day - fudge, buckeyes, chocolate covered pretzels and peppermint bark
Decorate sugar & gingerbread cookies
Winter Solstice celebration
Drive around the neighborhood to see all the lights & decorations
Deliver gift baskets to friends, listen to Christmas music in the car
Make Gingerbread house (morning/afternoon), Supper @ Chinese Resturant, Track Santa, Watch The Polar Express
Merry Christmas! Have fun & enjoy spending the day together!

I also have a few other activities planned if the weather cooperates. I would like to take the kids to Christmas in the Country at New Ross Farm Museum on December 6th. If we get some decent snow we'll do some coasting and maybe a sleigh ride if we can.

Do you do the 25 Days of Christmas with your family? What activities do you have planned? I hope you are getting excited for the holidays. :)

Holiday Grand Plan - Week Twelve

>> Sunday, November 15, 2009

Another week closer to the big day! How are your plans coming along? If you are in the States, how are your plans for Thanksgiving coming? Hopefully you're all doing well. So far this month I've been staying on track with my cleaning and working hard on all the rest. I'm looking forward to a fun month of December so keeping that in the back of my mind when I want to listen to my inner brat and not look at my to-do lists.

This week according to The Holiday Grand Plan site we are to be working on the attic/storage areas. I don't have an attic or storage area that needs working on this week, so I will be working on my FlyLady zone for the week: The Bathroom & Bean's Room

My goals for the week are:

*Holiday Prep*

Make one batch of Holiday Goodies.
Make one extra meal for freezer again labeled HOLIDAY MEAL..
Wrap and label packages.

*Chores - Flylady zone 3, Bathroom and Bean's Room*
   1. Bathroom
          - Wash rug, linens & shower curtain
          - Wash walls
          - Dust vents & fan
          - Wash light fixtures
          - Clean window, windowsill & screen
          - Scrub tub, toilet, sink & counter
          - Clean & organize cabinets and drawers
          - Empty & wash trash can
          - Sweep & mop floor

      2. Bean's Bedroom
          - Dust Ceiling Fan
          - Wash bedding & pillows
          - Vacuum & flip mattress
          - Straighten drawers & closet
          - Dust furniture
          - Clean under bed
          - Sweep & mop floor

Need more inspiration for Christmas planning? Check out my friends & leave them a comment too! :)
Candace at Diary of a FlyBaby
Diane at DianeDenmark
Pippa at A Mother's Ramblings

Menu Plan Monday - November 7 - 13

>> Monday, November 9, 2009

Happy Monday! Hope everyone is well today. When I made up my menu for this week I was in the midst of dealing with the flu so I planned a week of crock pot meals. Hope you enjoy and many are new to our family but it's always fun to try new things!

Here's what we're eating this week:

Breakfast: - Toddler Menu
Monday: Yogurt & monkey platter (variety plate of cut up fruits)
Tuesday: Whole grain waffle, pears and 1/4 cup milk
Wednesday: scrambled egg, cinnamon toast squares (whole grain bread lightly toasted)
Thursday: French toast, peaches, and 1/4 cup milk
Friday: Organic oatmeal, fruit and 1/4 cup milk

Mid-Morning Snack: - Toddler Menu
Monday: Clementine & 1/4 cup milk
Tuesday: Cereal snack & 1/4 cup milk
Wednesday: Muffin & 1/4 cup milk
Thursday: Yogurt & Graham cracker
Friday: Fruit slices & 1/4 cup milk

Lunch: - Toddler Menu
Monday: Baked chicken nuggets & fries, mango and 1/4 cup milk
Tuesday: Whole Wheat cheese pizza, soft cooked veggie sticks & 1/4 cup milk
Wednesday: Pasta & peas, cheese dough sticks, diced fruit & 1/4 cup milk
Thursday: Salmon cakes, green beans, diced peaches & 1/4 cup milk
Friday: Macaroni & Cheese, 1/4 strawberries & 1/4 cup milk

Afternoon Snack: - Toddler Menu
Monday: yogurt & graham cracker
Tuesday: Monkey Platter (can be shared with big kids after school)
Wednesday: Toast with homemade apple butter from freezer & 1/4 cup milk
Thursday: Orange slice & 1/4 cup milk
Friday: Apple Oatmeal Cookie & 1/4 cup milk

Supper for Everyone:
With printable recipe cards (click pics to save and print) & links to original recipes where noted.

Saturday - Chicken and Rice Soup (Changes I made - I used about 12 cups water & 2 tsp salt)

Sunday - Crock pot Hungarian goulash over whole wheat egg noodles & steamed broccoli (This recipe was new to us and everyone just loved it!)

Monday - Crock pot pork chops & gravy, mashed potatoes & green beans

Tuesday - Crock Pot sausages & meatballs in marinara sauce. Served on hoagie buns & salad

Wednesday - Crock Pot potato chowder in bread bowls & salad

Thursday - Crock Pot Chili & Cornbread

Friday - Pepperoni Bread & salad

What are you cooking this week? Need more ideas for menu planning? Head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hundreds of meal plans.

Holiday Grand Plan - Week Eleven

>> Sunday, November 8, 2009

Can you believe there are only 45 days left until Santa arrives? I am really getting excited!! I swear I am like a kid when it comes to Christmas. It's not the presents - well I do love shopping and buying the presents, but I love decorating the house, baking, going to do fun Christmas activities and the snow! Oh I love the snow!

Last week I had Bubs home with the flu and mid-week I ended up coming down with it too. He's all recovered and I'm mostly better now though, so that's good. Even with all of that I was able to get all my chores for last week done! Yay! And yesterday I got a head start on this week's chores - I went ahead and did my zone work in the kitchen while I had extra hands around to help with the baby.

This week according to The Holiday Grand Plan site we are to be working on the garage and/or storage areas. We don't have a garage but our back shed could use some work. And it would probably behoove me to get the outdoor decorations out and ready to be set up before the snow arrives. I can put them under the deck for storage right now, since I think it's just a touch early to be setting them out. You'll want to head over over to The Holiday Grand Plan site to print off the lists for this week if you are planning on following all of their chores. I'll be doing that chore and I'll be of course doing my Flylady zone for this week.

My goals for the week are:

*Holiday Prep*

Make one batch of Holiday Goodies.
Make one extra meal for freezer again labeled HOLIDAY MEAL.
Figure out holiday clothes and make an appointment for pictures
Finalize Gift list & go shopping!

*Chores - Flylady zone 2, the kitchen*

~~Wash walls~~
~~Clean knick knacks~~
~~Wash light fixtures~~
~~Dust blinds~~
~~Clean all appliance inside & out - fridge, stove, microwave~~
~~Straighten & wash all cabinets and drawers~~
Clean trash can - oops forgot this!
~~Shine sink~~
~~Sweep & mop floor~~

That's the plan for this week. I'm already off to a great start so I think I will try to do some little extra things here and there around the house to get a head start on some other rooms.

How is your Christmas planning coming? If you are in the US, how are you doing on your Thanksgiving prep?

Need more inspiration for Christmas planning? Check out my friends & leave them a comment too! :)
Candace at Diary of a FlyBaby
Diane at DianeDenmark
Pippa at A Mother's Ramblings

My Very First Blog Award

>> Friday, November 6, 2009

Elizabeth over at Confessions of a Working Mom has awarded me with my very first blog award! I am so honored and excited!! Thank you Elizabeth for the award and thank you all for reading my blog. I'm so glad that you enjoy my rambling.

The rules state that I get to pass this along to 15 other newly discovered blogs that I love... Should any of you choose to accept this mission...post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the blogger to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here is my list - in no particular order:

These are just some of the amazing blogs that I read. You should go check them out if you haven't been to their blogs before, I promise you won't be disappointed. :)

Coffee! Coffee! Coffee!

>> Thursday, November 5, 2009

Things Mom's Like and Coffee for Less have teamed up to give away this Keurig Single Cup Coffee Brewer.I have been wanting one of these single cup brewers for awhile now. I missed out on the Tassimo Canada giveaway on Twitter so I was thrilled to see that Erin from Things Mom's Like was giving away another brand of single cup brewers. I looked over at the Coffee for Less site and they have a LOT of flavors I would love to try. Not just coffee either, there is tea and hot chocolate too. Yum! So send me lots of lucky dust that I will be a winner! (oh and if you really want to you could go enter too! No pressure though!)

Holiday Grand Plan - Week Ten

>> Sunday, November 1, 2009

Happy November 1st! We are in the home stretch now for getting ready for Christmas. Now I am starting to get excited! I do wish I had been able to get more accomplished up to this point, but what I have done is good so I take comfort in that fact. However, now is the time to really make things happen. Keeping in mind the goal of a peaceful and fun Christmas season should help me stay focused. At least I hope so. :)

Last week I didn't get as much done as I had hoped. With Halloween and a sick kid at home for half the week, I think I did fairly well. Halloween was fun and we lived in the moment of that. I think that is important to do. Getting caught up in what needs to be done or what we should be doing can sometimes spoil the fun that we could/should be having. Important to live in the moments you know - create those fun memories with the kids.

With this being the start of a brand new month, I'm going to do my best to start with a brand new attitude about getting ready for Christmas. Not that my attitude has been bad, but I have been able to let my inner brat talk me out of a lot of chores. This month she is going to have to behave herself so that next month she can have fun. That little inner brat will get rewarded with plenty of shopping on the weekends so that should make her happy. :)

The Holiday Grand Plan site says that this week's focus is on the family room. If you are following along with that site for the cleaning chores, you'll want to head over there and print off the forms you will need for this week's focus. I'll be doing the FlyLady zone for my focus and this week that is on the dining room and patio.

My goals for the week are:

*Holiday Prep*

Make one batch of Holiday Goodies.
Make one extra meal for freezer again labeled HOLIDAY MEAL.
Take down Halloween decorations.
Buy LED lights and put window lights up in the dining room.

*Chores*

1. Dining Room
          - Plant in shower
          - Dust mop walls for cobwebs
          - Dust & Clean wall art
          - Dust knick-knacks & shelves
          - Clean ceiling fan
          - Clean tea cart & glass
          - Clean table & chairs
          - Move furniture, vac, sweep and mop

      2. Patio
          - Clean off patio
          - Sweep patio
          - Clean up bbq area

I know that some of my readers may be from the US, so you should be starting to think about what you are going to do for Thanksgiving. Start decorating now - a little each day if you have to, plan your menu, look for linens and things. There are a lot of details for you to cover so be sure to check out the Holiday Grand Plan site if you need a refresher of what you should be preparing now so that Thanksgiving goes smoothly for you.

Be sure to stop over and see how my friends who are also doing the Holiday Grand Plan are making out with their goals. Feel free to leave them a comment as well, I'm sure they would love it!
Candace at Diary of a FlyBaby
Diane at DianeDenmark
Pippa at A Mother's Ramblings

Halloween 2009 - The Finale

What a busy week! Did you all have a great Halloween? Ours ended up to be pretty good, all things considered. If you haven't heard by now we have what is presumed to be H1N1 in the house. Bub came home on Wednesday with all the symptoms and now I am giving everyone big doses of vitamin C, D, elderberry and lots of garlic. Garlic isn't just good for warding off vampires you know.

Needless to say I've been a little busy dealing with sickies and trying to move on with Halloween, so I really didn't have much time to blog this week. Today I'm going to try to catch you up on what we did for Halloween fun.

I made quite a few Halloween treats. A few more than I had planned originally but it was fun making them. The big kids helped a little. They like to help but also get bored half-way through so I usually end up finishing alone. We made ghost sugar cookie cut-outs, roasted pumpkin seeds, caramel corn, candy corn cookies, and Halloween cake pops. All of the recipes can be found over on my recipe site. :)

On Tuesday night we did our pumpkin carving. As you can see from the first picture there were a few tears from our youngest carver. In that picture he was upset because he couldn't dig in his pumpkin like the big kids could do. I quickly fixed that problem and we had some fun for awhile. This was his first year doing a pumpkin - it was pretty cute. He did try to taste the pumpkin innards a few times, that was funny to see. Of course we ran into tears again when the big kids were doing the actual pumpkin carving and all he could do was draw on his pumpkin with markers and pens. I had planned to let him paint his pumpkin but I was a little overwhelmed with all that was going on at the time.

We had planned a bit better costumes before Bub got sick and since we weren't going to go out trick-or-treating we decided to just play it low key and just dress up enough to get a few pictures for the scrapbook. Bub was going to be a mummy. He was feeling miserable so we just ended up stopping with his face done. Little E is our little pumpkin - I just love that picture of him. Miss. Bean dressed up as an old lady. She has been wanting to dress up as this for a couple of years now. They had fun just dressing up this much and letting me take a couple pictures of them.

Since the kids didn't get to go trick-or-treating I went out earlier and bought them a bunch of treats that we divided up. They decided it was much better getting treats that way because you didn't have to do all that walking. Yeah, this isn't happening every year kiddo's so don't get used to it. ;) After all that fun we turned out the lights, lit a few candles and watched some Halloween movies. Overall we had a very nice Halloween, and the kids said it was even more fun than going trick-or-treating. I would definitely call that a success!

How was your Halloween? Did your kids have fun dressing up? Have a post about your Halloween festivities? Leave me a link, I'd love to come see what you did!