Fall is Upon Us

Its very obvious when fall hits in Western Washington. First the leaves start to turn beautiful colors. Then the rain hits. And stays for months on end. The "normal" forecast is "rain followed by showers". With that comes the full on schedule of kids activities!

This year we switched things up a bit. DJ my 14 year old decided to give Trapshooting a try and LOVED it. Erika my 12 year old, gave volleyball a try and is a natural! Danielle is dancing again and is already in rehearsal for the Christmas program. We have not added any extra activities for Tyler yet, school is enough for him at this point. The girls have also started to help with kids worship at church! The love to sing and praise God!!

Another big event in our household is my oldest son meeting his biological dad and step mom! Its been an AWESOME event and they are working on forming a relationship and getting to know one another! This has been a long time coming and I thank God that it has happened and at such a crucial time in his life (being a teenager!).

I have been busy with work and volunteering. I am coordinating our school carnival this week which has a Western Theme. So exciting! I have also been volunteering in the classrooms at school and still teaching at church. There is NEVER a dull moment in our household.

I hope to be back to blogging regularly I need to get back to menu planning and trying out some new recipes! Pictures soon!

Menu Week of 9/13-9/19

Breakfast choices:
Eggo's, bagelfuls, eggs/toast, cereal, homemade muffins or blueberry/zucchini bread

Lunches:
Packed from home for the kids and salads/soups at home

Dinners:
S- Old Spaghetti Factory's Spaghetti with Brown Butter and Mizithra Cheese, french bread and salad

M- Tacos for the kids. I am going to a BBQ for my small group and am still trying to figure out what to take.

T- Bacon wrapped cod, frise salad and buttered noodles.

W- Roast chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies

Th- Pork loin, rice and veggies

F- Crispy garlic chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies

S- will pack a "picnic" dinner to eat at church between services

Some Pictures to Share

Here are a few pictures from the past week! Back to school and our new to us house (rental).

Back To School

So the time is upon us, BACK TO SCHOOL! We have had a great summer but we are all ready to get back to the school routine. My oldest child will be in high school this year, and the youngest in Kindergarden. Really? I was JUST in high school I swear!!

Activities started up last week so we are now getting back into the full schedule routine. Meal planning is a MUST for me. The kids all leave for school at different times so making breakfast on weekday mornings just isn't an option for us. Instead, we opt for the "easy" breakfast options. That way, each child can eat breakfast when they are ready and can make their own choice. Lunches will be packed the night before. Dinners will be pre-planned. In theory :)

This week:

Breakfast choices:
cereal
eggos
Bagelfuls
yogurt/granola
oatmeal

Lunch:
The kids will pack to school. Sandwiches, chips, carrots/ranch, pudding and juice. My youngest son doesn't start school until NEXT week so for his lunches will be mini corndogs/fries (baked), sandwiches/chips etc. I will focus on soups and salads this week.

Dinner:
M- Chicken & rice, green beans
T- Spaghetti, French Rolls, Salad
W- Brown Sugar Chicken (crockpot), rice and veggies
Th- Crockpot chili, Homemade biscuits
F- Broccoli and Pasta , green salad
S- at church between services

Menu 8/24-8/29

Trying to get back into the swing of menu planning this week. The past month has been just crazy. I used up most of our pantry/freezer stockpile before moving so I have been trying to rebuild that over a few trips to Winco. It still has a long ways to go though!!

This weeks menu:

Breakfast choices:
cereal
poptarts
bagels
eggs/bacon/toast
pancakes
waffles

Lunch choices:
sandwiches/chips
Leftovers
raviolli
mini corndogs/fries
turkeyburgers/salad

Dinner:
M- Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and veggies
T- White chicken chili, rice
W- Pork Cutlets with Brussels Sprouts, buttered noodles and homemade rolls
Th- Tacos
F- Grilled chipotle london broil, grilled corn and baked potatoes
S- Fried chicken, zucchini cakes and veggies

My shopping list for the week based on this menu:
1 jalepeno pepper
1 can chicken broth
2 cans cannellini beans
1 lime
brussels sprouts
sour cream
1 can refried beans
flour tortillas
1 cornbread mix
1 pkg chipotle marinade mix
1 1/2# london broil

Really?

Has it really been THAT long since I have updated my blog? What a crazy month it has been. In the course of the past month we have had record breaking temperatures, my oldest son went to Arizona for 2 weeks, we moved, went to family camp for a week and I spent time in Seattle with my best friend while she had and recovered from surgery.

Its been a whirlwind of activity! Our new home is FABULOUS! We are living on a working farm. We do not use the farm someone else does but its amazing to wake up hearing the cows instead of people screaming and watching the kids play in the sprinkler instead of watching police activity in the parking lot!

Family camp was an amazing adventure. I was blessed in getting to facilitate the college age group this year. This was a stretch for me and definitely outside my box and comfort zone. I teach at church most every weekend but with K-1st!! It was a small group, only 5 but we had an amazing time. The kids had a blast. I was brave and took 6 kids with me this year, my 4 and my niece and nephew. Mom came down and spent a couple of days and got to have the camp experience as well. Overall it was an amazing week full of fun, fellowship and ALOT of crafts!!

Our garden is doing amazingly well. We had the produce collected while we were gone and donated to the food bank so that it would not go to waste. Our lettuce is done but we are still eating beans, cucumbers and now getting some carrots! Our Brussels sprout plants are HUGE cannot wait to glean the produce from those!

I am getting back on track with rebuilding a pantry, getting back to menu planning etc. I hope to get back to updating the blog on a regular basis! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

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