Menu Plannin’ Monday 6.15.14

Monday – Papa Murphy’s

Tuesday – Chicken & Gravy

Wednesday – Chicken Parmesan & Broccoli

Thursday – Chicken & Spinach Salad

Friday – In-n-Out

(I know…2 “eat out” meals in one week! I’m traveling and super busy. Don’t judge! Oh, and sorry to all you non-Californians)

Saturday & Sunday – Whatevs….at my mom’s with the kids. Woot!

Friday Faves–Apps

In sitting down to type up today’s blog post, I quickly scanned through my local drafts to see if I had started anything in the past I could finish up and post. And I’m glad I did! I found the start of #1 below (dated from April…2013, eek!), and came across two similarly adorable apps by the same maker that I had yet to download, “Endless Reader” and “Endless Numbers”. So, enjoy if you haven’t already downloaded these (for kids, obviously). And BONUS…they’re ALL free!!

(for Endless Numbers, I think only #1-5 come with it, you have to purchase the remaining #’s, but you can check it out for free)

#1. Endless alphabet

For starters, this gem of an app is FREE, and essentially teaches your kids letter sounds, spelling of words AND their definitions!

It shows a word, like above, and you drag the letters to where they belong. As you drag the letters, it repeats the letter sound over and over in a cute, fun voice! Then it says the word, followed with a short little skit depicting the definition, and then the word and definition are read one last time to wrap it all up.

Belch is ONE of my kids favorites, go fig!

#2. Endless reader

Seriously can’t wait for my soon to be kindergartner to dive into this one! Same idea, except AFTER you put the letters together for the word, a sentence pops up and you drag the words into place as they are said aloud.

Then, another cute skit to act out the sentence, and the sentence is read aloud, reinforcing reading skills.

#3. Endless numbers

While my son will likely get bored quickly with this one, I’m thinking it might be a huge help for my daughter. But, it does touch on addition, which might be helpful for my son, too.

Hope you enjoy these! At the very least, it makes me feel better when I let my kids have “screen time”. At least they’re actually learning something!

Thoughtful Thursday–Don’t Overthink

I saw this ADORABLE idea over at Happy Home Fairy to create a visual prayer aid for my kiddos. I’ve been meaning to create one for months!

Today during lunch, I grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and said to my kids, “God tells us in the Bible that we ought to be praying ALWAYS. And that we should pray for our friends and family. So, who do you guys think we should pray for?”

My intent was to get a list of whose pictures I needed to print out to slap on a popsicle stick. But instead, this happened…

My son said, “Oh! For that boy that cut his chin!”

Our neighbor’s nephew cut his chin earlier this week and my amazing hubby utilized his medical training to help them out (so madly in love with him – side note). And my kiddo remembered, and thought to pray for him!

MIND BLOWN.

Here I am trying to overthink prayer for my kids, when in reality, prayer can come very naturally.

We continued with our list, and I would still like to carry out the “family prayer jar” to help in consistency, but my son’s response today was such an amazing reminder that with a technology-filled, Pinterest loving world and about a million amazing ideas flooding our brains daily, sometimes, doing something in its most simplest of manners might be best.

So as you REALLY delve into your summers (i.e. spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with no break from your kids), feel free to ignore those blog-perfect pictures and just BE with your kids. Don’t overthink the activities you do with them. They’ll love you for it!

Trick of the Trade–Keep Your Fonts Straight

First world problem here.

I have an unhealthy love of fonts.

So much so, that when I’m putting something together and am pondering which font to use, I can’t even grasp my favorites because I have so many.

Here’s my solution…

WORD FILE WITH FAVORITE FONTS

I keep a word file with an alphabetical list of my favorite fonts IN the font so I can readily see it. This way I don’t have to sort through my other fonts I use seldomly in the font drop down. I just open the word document and quickly scroll through to spot the perfect font for said project.

Here are my non-script faves…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And my script favorites…

Menu Plannin’ Monday 6.9.14

Monday – Sesame Chicken Stir Fry Salad

Tuesday – Taco Chicken Bowls

Wednesday – Spicy Thai Chicken Wraps

Thursday – Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Friday – Turkey & Pesto Paninis

Saturday – Southwestern Chopped Salad

Sunday – Warm Goat Cheese Salad

In an attempt to keep the blog rollin’, I’m going with imperfection. Sorry, no recipes for some, just couldn’t find them. But drool over the others, ready….go! =)

Friday Favorites–Polident, Wall Tracks & Toilet Wands

#1. Polident

First off, yes. You read that correctly.

It says polident, like the old fizzy tablets your grandparents used to clean their dentures at night.

It’s still me writing the blog, not an 80 something year old Grandma. Although my daughter did just recently utter the words, “Mommy, here’s your teeth!” while running up the stairs with my RETAINERS!

Anybody else wear these every night?

That is not actually MY retainer, I just pulled a pic from the interwebs. I wouldn’t dare show you mine!! It has a gray stain where I’ve got a ghetto old filling. How EMBARRASSING!

Cue: eye roll akin to Eep from the Croods

Anyone else get sick and tired of BRUSHING them old school style? My husband mentioned trying polident, semi-jokingly and I simply refused on principle. Then, I came across this Pinterest post that said you could use polident to whiten your nails. I thought, well, why not. It’ll serve 2 purposes!

And guess what? I tried whitening my nails with them. Meh.

BUT…the ease of cleaning my retainers! It’s seriously…heavenly.

#2. hot wheels wall tracks

Santa MAY have gone overboard buying Hot Wheels wall tracks for my son’s room, but boy howdy am I glad he did! They’re so cool! I read a whole bunch of reviews and they were all pretty good, so I figured I’d give them a go. They work like a charm! And it simply uses command strips to adhere them to the wall. Pretty much everyone that comes over likes playing with them.

#3. Clorox toilet wands

Not much to be said here, other than, makes cleaning the toilet easier and much more pleasant. Who wouldn’t want that? Love these bad boys!!

Thoughtful Thursday–Return the cart

Okay. This is a major pet peeve of mine.

Shopping carts left either hitched up on a curb, or simply out in the parking lot. I have MAYBE hitched a cart up at Costco WELL out of the way of a cart “stall” as well as any car MAYBE 3 times in my life. Other than that, I always bring it back. Raining, 2 whiny children, whatever.

This isn’t a rant blog post, allow me to explain.

I’ve heard the excuses. They have someone who specifically works at the store, that is paid to go around and collect the carts (this excuse certainly was not uttered by my husband, no!!). I’m sorry, have you ever heard of common courtesy? That’s why they HAVE the cart stall! For you to return it, so your cart doesn’t unexpectedly try to escape and ding up a fellow shopper’s car.

All this to say…other than returning my cart out of respect for the store’s employees, I have discovered yet another reason which is even more special! Read and listen closely…

LITTLES ARE WATCHING!! AND THEY WILL COPY!

I want my kiddos to display that common courtesy. And we all know that being selfless simply does NOT come naturally. So any and every opportunity I have to display that for them, I’m going to do!

One of my absolute favorite “common courtesy” things my son has picked up on is wiping down the sink in public bathrooms, and picking up any paper towels that miss the trash (WITH another paper towel mind you, thank GOODNESS he learned that from me, too, otherwise, EWW!). It WITHOUT FAIL, makes me smile each and every time I see him do it. It’s a baby step mind you, but it’s a step. It’s a glimmer of hope that he has it in him! =)

So, will you think twice before leaving the cart? What other ways do you model to your kids other common courtesies?

Trick of the Trade - How to Apologize

I don’t know how apologies run in your household, but in mine, it frequently involves a mean-spirited “Forry” (that’s right, they can’t even take the proper time to enunciate the word sorry) blurted in the siblings face and then they proceed to run away in the opposite direction.

No seriousness, no actual meaning behind it. I generally work to get some sort of authenticity behind said apology, often times with a hug instead of words. But there are many times when it simply does not seem worth the battle.

Quite frankly, because the child simply is not sorry. *sigh*

About a month ago I came across this article on Cuppacocoa.

I’ll let you read it over there, PLEASE do, it’s amazing and has great examples of how to teach your children how to properly apologize. But in a nutshell, it has the following guidelines for how to properly apologize:

I created this to put on our refrigerator, as well as one upstairs in the hallway. We just used it and went through why for the first time after my daughter hit my son, for…no apparent reason.

Here’s how it went down:

I’m sorry for hitting.

This is wrong because it hurts people.

I can make it right by kissing brother’s ouchie.

In the future, I will keep my hands to myself.

Brover, (again with the pronunciation, although I am kind of in love with this mispronunciation!) will you forgive me?

That simple! I might even have to use it for myself when I find myself in a place where I owe them an apology. Anywho, I know I’ve been absent from the blog for quite awhile, but I just had to share this and need to remind myself that my blog doesn’t have to be about perfection, simply sharing things that help me as a wife and mom. So, I hope this helps the pitiful apologies in your household turn into something a bit more…sincere. =)

An Easter Tradition…You’ve Been Egged!

While I’m very hit or miss when it comes to my blog, I enjoy seeing some of the traditions that we’ve been consistent with. This is one we’ve done the last 2 years now, and this year will be our third! In our new house! We hit our first house today (scroll down for pics), and will do two more tomorrow (weather permitting).

Anywho, here are the FREE printables we use for our secret endeavors…and scroll down to see the excitement we had the previous two years. =)

Here’s what the print out says (it’s a bit tricky to read it as is):

Look at that, you’ve just been EGGed!

But do not be alarmed!

We came, we dropped, we ran away!

Your house, it was not harmed.

 

“Why the egg?” you ask right now.

Why this Easter surprise?

To spread the news that Christ is risen,

Some eggs lay in disguise.

 

Some secret friends have dropped them by

To share some Easter cheer.

So now you’re it! It’s now your turn!

To “EGG” a house that’s near.

 

Christ has risen from the dead!

Jump, dance, shout and sing!

Celebrate along with us,

Let His praises ring!

Have fun finding the ____ eggs hidden in your yard!

 

Here’s your challenge:

1. Keep your sign on your door so those around know you’ve

been “egged”!

2. Then, fill some plastic eggs with candy, toys, or small notes

of encouragement.

3. Pick a friend or neighbor and scatter the eggs in their

yard when they are not at home, or under the safety of

darkness (If they don’t have a yard fill a basket and put

it on their doorstep.)

4. Tape an “You’ve Been Egged” sign to their front door, and

leave this note on their doorstep.

5. Enjoy the joy that comes with the spirit of Easter!

To print online go to:

http://rookietorockstar.blogspot.com/2014/03/an-easter-traditionyouve-been-egged.html

And look how fun…my kiddos from the past two years, then this year!

2012

2013

2014

Trick of the Trade Tuesday–Baby Names

First off…no, I don’t have an announcement.

Baby names…they’re so tricky, aren’t they?

They can’t remind you of that awful bully from school…

or that clinically insane patient of yours…

and it can’t be a complete failure in the name song (so long Tucker)

BOTH parents have to approve…

it has to be a name you won’t mind repeating over and over and over and over and over…

it has to “jive” with your last name (so long Nicholas)

it SHOULD fit with your previous kids’ names (Hmm…Cooper, Allison and Beauford?? Maybe )

maybe you consider it’s meaning (So long Calvin – Meaning: Bald (Latin). I don’t know, perhaps it might be fitting?? Love you hun!)

watch those initials lest they be taunted down the road (sorry Patrick Michael Sanders…at least you brought a chuckle to our small group, if it’s any consolation, mine isn’t far off: Becky J Nicholas, hehe)

some family names are just out…wouldn’t it be awkward if you named your kid after your sibling’s kid? (Shane, like ya, but no longer an option for our family)

See? Super tricky, right?? Well let me clue you in on a little secret that contributed to both our kiddos names.

*************MOVIE CREDITS************

Yes, as in…

See Allison up near the top there?

It’s no secret that my husband and I love to watch movies together. You could say it’s one of our favorite past times.

Our son’s name, we totally agreed on after seeing it in movie credits. We obviously chatted over many others, but kept coming back to Cooper. Don’t ask me which movie. I have no idea at this point, don’t even think it was from a Bradley Cooper movie (although I do know that it was Cooper as a last name, not a first, but I still love it!).

But knowing how crucial picking the right name is, if I’ve got the time, I’ll scan credits as I watch them in hopes of catching the right name. I may or may not even have a running list of names I like in my phone. I know, potentially laughable if we don’t have anymore kids. hehe

But hey, you could even do it for dog names!

So…there’s a reason for you to watch the credits…plenty of VERY “unique” names, if that’s what you’re looking for. Tolga, Ferdi and Mach just 3 from the credit page up above.

Good luck with your own baby name ideas!

Menu Plannin’ Monday

********DINNER MENU***********

Monday: Buffalo Pasta (carryover from last week…#hadnachosonsunday #momoftheyearaward #somuchforeatinghealthyin2014)

Tuesday: Good Greens Winter Soup (I always add store bought meatballs…and it’s better than it looks, I promise!)

Wednesday: Candied Walnut Gorgonzola Salad (I cheat and buy candied walnuts instead of making them)

Thursday: Middle Eastern Burgers (sorry, no pic…and if you read the recipe, I use pomegranate jelly. Sounds weird, but it tastes delish!)

Friday: Chicken Kabobs (an easy go-to in our household)

Saturday: Chicken & Gravy

Sunday: Fiesta Chicken Bake (couldn’t find it, so here it is below)

Fiesta Chicken Bake

6 chicken legs (thigh-drumstick pieces) (3-3 ½ lbs. total)

½ c. chopped onion (1 medium)

1 T cooking oil

1 14 ½-oz. can tomatoes, cut up

1 8 ¾-oz. can whole kernel corn, drained

1 4-oz. can diced green chili peppers, drained

1 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. paprika

¼ tsp. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. pepper

Several dashes hot pepper sauce

½ c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 T sliced pitted ripe olives

Rice (optional)

Directions:

Skin chicken. Rinse; pat dry. Arrange chicken in a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Bake in a 375◦ oven for 30 minutes. Drain fat.

Meanwhile, for sauce, in a saucepan, cook onion in hot cooking oil until onion is tender but not brown. Stir in undrained tomatoes, drained corn, chili peppers, chili powder, paprika, cumin, pepper and hot sauce.

Pour sauce over chicken. Bake in 375◦ oven for 20-30 minutes more, basting occasionally with sauce. Sprinkle chicken with cheese and olives.

********BREAKFAST MENU***********

Monday: Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins (Also, a prime example of me on the path to becoming a “rock star”. Previously, I would’ve gone to make these and FREAKED OUT because I didn’t have enough yogurt and no flax seed. When I made them yesterday, I improvised and added some cream to equal the amount of yogurt and omitted the flax seeds. These are DELICIOUS and even my picky eater daughter GOBBLED them up!)

Tuesday: Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal (made this for the first time…could take it or leave it. Son liked it, daughter nearly puked, I tolerated it)

Wednesday: Pumpkin Waffles (and I actually have apple cider from a recipe last week, so I may even make the apple cider syrup – YUM!)

Thursday: Bagel & Mango

Friday: Cereal

Saturday: Cream Cheese Sweet Bread

Sunday: Scrambled Eggs & Bacon (if I can get the hubs to make it…otherwise, cereal )