Monday 3/22

Today was my oldest sons 15th birthday. Hard to believe he is 15, where did the time go? He was very excited to be able to mow lawn today, something he loves to do. His hard work this past week also paid off. We live on a farm run by an older man who has had a stroke and has limited use of his left side but boy it sure doesn't slow him down. Over the past week my son has gone out to help him several times when he would see him struggling to try to do something on his own. Today he offered him a job on the farm! Just helping here and there but the opportunity for him to work and earn some of his own spending money.

I also talked to the farmer about our garden. We are going to be able to have a large garden here. In exchange for him tilling up the spot and fertilizing it, I will share the produce with him. He was very excited about that! Its a win win for all.

On a funny note, had to chase a cow again today. This time a calf. I was out hanging the sheets on the clothes line and saw something move out of the corner of my eye. She was peeking at me around the corner of the building so cute. Got her back inside the fence and the gate closed without any problems, much easier than the very large cow that got out a few weeks ago and I had to chase all over the yard!

My youngest daughter started fast pitch today as well. I wasn't sure how this was going to go, she is new to sports. She is the ballet dancer. I was quite surprised at how well she can throw! She needs to work on her catching a bit, but managed to get thru a 1 1/2 hour practice and only get bonked in the head once. She had a few tears but NO DRAMA which is huge for her! We will be spending quite a bit of time in the back yard working on grounders and catching the ball.

Dinner tonight was to be BBQ ribs. I didn't have enough time to put them on the grill so I popped them in a low temperature oven (225) and let them slow cook for a couple of hours. Then upped the temp to 400 and smothered in BBQ sauce for the last 30 minutes. They turned out perfect! Definitely going to try that again.

All in all, a great day here on the farm!

Grocery shopping week of 3/21

This weeks shopping trip was a little more fun. My oldest daughters math homework was to go to the store and find 20 items, get the item price and individul unit/oz price etc. It was fun teaching her how to read the tags in the store! (Yes I am strange)

To see how others did this week go to GROCERY CART CHALLENGE
This weeks groceries came from Safeway.
Total spent $56.98
2 cheerios $2.98
BBQ sauce $1.25
refried beans .99
veg oil $3.00
2 brown gravy mix $1.98
24 pk dr pepper $6.99
shredded cheese $1.49
half & half $1.99
milk $2.99
2 butter $3.98
bacon $2.50
whole chicken $3.58
pork shoulder roast $6.98
porkback ribs $10.41 (didn't want to pay this much but it was a birthday dinner request)
4 heads garlic $2.00
coleslaw mix $1.79

Menu 3/21 - 3/27

Sunday- Part leftovers (sandwiches/chips)
Monday- BBQ ribs, baked potatoes and veggies (Bday boys request)
Tuesday- Garlic chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies
Wednesday- pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw, mac & cheese
Thursday- Tacos
Friday- Meatloaf, buttered noodles, veggies
Saturday- Spaghetti, garlic bread & salad

Update

Oh what a Month. March is so full of activities, birthdays and the like. I don't think we have had a day where we haven't been on the go in almost a month.

This weekend found us split in different directions. Saturday my nephew had a birthday party which my oldest 2 attended. My youngest daughter participated in an elementary school choir festival which was amazing. It was the first day of spring so I took the youngest two to the beach to find some seashells for our collections.

Today (Sunday) we had a party for my oldest sons 15th birthday. Great time with family and friends.

This next week we add in fast pitch and soccer practices to our already crazy schedules. Menu planning and careful calendar planning are going to be a MUST. So with that I hope to be back to regular blogging as it helps me stay on track.

Here are a few fun pictures from the past couple of weeks for you.
My 80's Birthday Party


Awesome 80's Cake my friend Jodi made me THANK YOU!


Erika @ Tallent Show


Tyler & Danielle @ The Beach


DJ the Birthday Boy

Menu 3/14 - 3/20

Ok back to the world of blogging. Yes I add it to the daily to do list but it never seems to happen!

Here is this weeks menu.

Sunday 3/14- dinner @ my parents house
Monday 3/15- Linguine Carbonara, Parmesan fococia and salad
Tuesday 3/16- Tacos, Spanish rice
Wednesday 3/17- Corned Beef, Colcannon, fried cabbage and cake (its my birthday!!)
Thursday 3/18- Chicken & rice, veggies w/ranch
Friday 3/19- Tilapia, buttered noodles and veggies
Saturday 3/20- we will be on the go not sure who will be here and who won't so menu is up the the air