Sunday's Seven

Time for another few moments of thankful reflection!

1. Sunday School-I think one of my favorite things about church is my Sunday School class! Good friends, yummy snacks, and great conversations on how to grow more Christ-like.
2. Chapstick-it has been my friend this week.
3. Hugs, especially from my boys, the hubby included! There is nothing like a good hug to make your day.
4. Facebook-I know...it seems silly to be thankful for something like that, but I have gotten back in touch with some great people from my past and present. It is just a nice way to stay connected.
5. I am so thankful to be a stay-at-home mom. I love being with my boys, and it is a privilege to be their mommy!
6. Online friends-I don't even consider them to be online friends...they are just my friends! The internet is just amazing to allow you to be friends with people across state and country lines. Just amazing!
7. I am thankful for naps. I even enjoyed a little siesta today, and I felt energized afterwards. Why do they take away naps after you grow to a certain age? I think adults should be allowed naps just like toddlers. :-)

Great Giveaway

Look at this awesome giveaway that Joanie from Paper Popsicles has up on her blog. You totally should check it out!

This giveaway is great with all of the fun brighty springy colors! Check out her blog to see how to enter to win!

Recipe Sharing and a Little Menu Planning

So, I thought I would share my week's menu with you today. I try to do menu planning as much as possible, and honestly it is a lot more forgiving on the pocket book than going out to eat is. So, I am going to share what I am hoping to have for this week's dinners, and I have a few recipes to share as well.

Monday-Baked Breaded Tenderloins, parslied potatoes, and peas
Tuesday-Spaghetti with homemade sauce (recipe below), salad and garlic bread
Wednesday-Hubby's favorite-Beef Stroganoff (recipe below), Rice, and green beans
Thursday-Pulled Pork BBQ, baked beans, broccoli
Friday-Homemade Pizza. I would like to try Stacey's pizza crust recipe!

Spaghetti Sauce
2 cans tomato sauce (15oz each)-I used Italian flavor
1 can tomato paste (12oz)
1 can water (15oz)
1 can mushrooms (4oz)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 pkg Lawry's dry Spaghetti Sauce Mix
2lbs Hamburger
1/4 C chopped onion
garlic powder or fresh garlic to taste

Brown hamburger, onion and garlic-drain grease. Add all other ingredients in sauce pan with drained hamburger. Simmer for 1-2 hours. The longer the sauce simmers the better the flavor. Serves 6-8 (It just depends on how much sauce you like on your spaghetti. I like a lot!)

Beef Stroganoff-Chad's Favorite
2-2 and 1/2 lbs of tenderized round steak, cut into bite size pieces
1/4-1/2 C of flour to dredge round steak pieces in
1/4 C chopped onion
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 cans mushrooms (4oz each)
1 can Franco American Beef Gravy (10 oz)
1-2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
3 beef bouillon cubes dissolved in 14oz boiling water
16 oz sour cream

Add salt and pepper to flour, and then dredge the meat in it. Brown the floured and seasoned meat in 2-3 Tbsp crisco in stock pot. Add beef bouillon dissolved in water along with worcestershire sauce, gravy and mushrooms. Simmer for 1/2 hour or so. Stir in sour cream. Chad likes it served over steamed rice, but you could also do egg noodles. Serves 4-6.

I hope you like the recipes. Let me know if you give them a try. Also, do you have any good lunch ideas? I seem to struggle the most with lunch.

Another Sunday's Seven

I am really enjoying taking the time to reflect on the past week and really think about what I am thankful for.

1. Feeling better after a bad cold this week.
2. Good Friends-I had some girlfriends over on Friday night, and I had a great time with them, and then Saturday, Chad and I went out with 2 great couple friends that we have. It was a fun-filled weekend!
3. My former church pastor-He spoke today, and there is just something about listening to him speak that is very motivational to me and for my walk with God! I am encouraged and inspired!
4. SPRING!! I love this weather!
5. One of my closest friends called me this morning to tell me that she is expecting after 2 years of trying! I am so happy for her and her hubby!
6. I am thankful for my husband and all the he does to support my being a stay-at-home mom.
7. It's spring break week for Gabe, and I am going to take advantage of having both my boys with me!

Here comes the sun

dooooo, doooo, doo-doo....

Happy first day of SPRING!!!!

The sun is shining, and the skies are just a pretty clear blue! Spring is here, and I am so happy. I am still a little under the weather, but there is just something about the sunshine and the promise of warmer weather that makes you feel good.

Gabe's spring break started today, and I am looking forward to not rushing around at all next week, and just having jammy days or maybe even a trip to the Indy zoo for fun. I really need to go through the boys' clothes so that I know what they need for the upcoming warm weather. Oh, I love the start of Spring, and just looking forward to everything new.

Now, I am off to clean the house and do some disinfecting. I think I will open the windows and let the breeze in as well. Happy Spring!

I need a sick day

Why is it that if you are a mom, that you don't ever really get a sick day? Even if your hubby comes home and entertains the kids for a bit, it's not the same as when you were a kid. When you were a kid and stayed home for a sick day, your mom rubbed your head, brought you drinks and soups, wet washcloths for your head... Someone took care of you. Now, that I am a mom and when I am sick, I have to still fend for myself, alot of the times with the kids. Chad tries his best, but it's just not the same, and I need a sick day with my mom to take care of me. To rub my head, bring me cold washcloths and just make me feel better. You know, I can't ever really remember my mom being sick growing up, so she must've suffered through it. Poor moms! I just want to feel better.

Sunday's Seven

I know it is technically Monday by my time in the bottom right hand corner of my computer, but we can fib and pretend it is still Sunday for a few more minutes. I was recently reading a blog where they posted 7 things they were grateful or thankful for every Sunday. I love this idea, and I think it is a great way to stay more humble as to the wonderful things that my life is blessed with. So, here goes, my first Sunday's Seven.

1. For my mom and aunt to have had a great time in Florida, but more importantly for their safe travel to and from.
2. For my mom being such an awesome Grandma to my boys. She is always wanting to have the boys over, and I think she just might be their favorite person at the moment. It also is nice to have some time for just Chad and I as well.
3. "Camp out" nights at my house. The boys love it when we set up the air mattress in the family room, and we all sleep in there together. I am usually on the couch while the boys and Chad are on the air mattress.
4. My family Sunday dinners. I love that my family gets together once a week on Sunday, to gather at my mom's house for dinner. The kids play, us adults talk and catch up, and I don't have to cook a meal because my mom does that part. It is something I look forward to every week.
5. I love scrapping, and I am thankful that I get to have a hobby that I enjoy but that it also documents moments in mine and my family's life.
6. For our health-We've been battling ear infections lately, but I am happy to report that they boys are feeling better.
7. Warmer weather! I love spring, especially when the air is warm enough that I can open the windows in the house and let the fresh breeze come in!
4.

Florida here we come

I just booked our flights for our Florida/Disney World vacation the first week of June. Our flight going down is with AirTran, and we have flown with them the past 2 years. Our flight coming home is through Southwest. I have never flown Southwest, so if you have any input on your experience with Southwest, I would love to hear it. I am very nervous about flying. I know it is the safest form of travel, but there is just something about being 20,000+ feet up in the air. It just makes me a little uneasy. Luckily we have nonstop flights that last just a little over 2 hours. Not too bad, and the benefits of just flying for 2 hours completely outweighs driving for 21 hours. I look forward to this vacation every year. We have a time share in Cocoa Beach, but we are only a 45 minute drive from Disney World, so we take a few days in Orlando to enjoy Disney as well as the beach. We were lucky enough the last 2 years to witness a shuttle launch as well, which is such a rare experience. Oh, I am excited!

longing for childhood

Sometimes watching my boys play or even argue makes me long for such innocence. I mean, to only worry about what coloring book to color in, or argue about who gets to open the door when we are getting ready to leave are such small things in the big picture of life. In our reality as adults, I am often a little down on all of the responsibilites and worries being an adult and a parent. I think a lot of my feeling this way has to do with enrolling Gabe into kindergarten. I am making a huge decision for him. I just want to make a good decision for him. I want him to like school, and if he likes it, then he is more likely to do well in school. He doesn't have to be a great athlete or anything like that, I just want him to enjoy it and have good friends, and get a good education. He is growing up, and after this summer, he will be in school for at least 12 more years. No more lazy afternoons at home with me and Graedon. I will miss him terribly. It is just a reality that life is ever changing, and that my guys are growing up. I just want to sit and color with them, sleep with them at night, and get up in the morning and play with them all day long.

I love being a mom, and I love my boys so much! If only they knew what it was like to love such little people as only a mommy can, but I hope they don't worry as much as I do about things.

I spent an amazing weekend at the Cornerstone Inn located in Nashville, IN (about 15 miles outside of Bloomington) with the most amazing group of ladies for a scrapbook retreat. I go every year, and I have the best time. I love all of the girls that are able to be there. 2 of my closest friends were there, and we all roomed together. We have the basement to ourselves to comfortably fit 18 ladies with 4 feet of space if not more. The inn provides breakfast and amazing snacks throughout the day and night. There is also tons of shopping in this little tourist town, and we take full advantage. There is even 3 little scrapbook stores that are fun to visit and see some new techniques, but overall, it is just a fun weekend to relax and get some scrapping done. I completed 30 layouts, some of them for the Sketchapalooza 3 class over at Feeling Scrappy. I am already looking forward to next year!

Sketchapalooza 3 and a story

Today is the day! I wanted to remind you one more time that Sketchapalooza 3 starts over at Feeling Scrappy today! Head on over to take this awesome class! I know you scrappy fans will not regret it!

So, I have a quick Gabe story, and then I need to get to bed. I have been staying up way too late lately! Chad tells me that while he and Gabe were playing Castle Crashers (an Xbox 360 game), Gabe's character died, and Chad's character can revive him if he gets to him in time. Well, Chad's character couldn't get there. Gabe says to Chad, "It's okay dad, you don't have to save me. My soul is already in Heaven." Chad asks, "Your soul is already in Heaven?" Gabe replies, "Yea, it's up there chillin' with God and Jesus." I love my little 5 year old! He has the biggest, sweetest, best heart you could ask for!