Thursday, November 30, 2017

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 11/24 - 11/30)

Friday (11/24) We all slept in a little today after a long, busy day yesterday.  We had a fairly lazy morning of TV and video games and then shortly after lunch I took AJ and Daniel to see the movie "Wonder."  AJ has been very excited to go see it since he just read the book in school.  We all loved the movie - highly recommend it!  AJ and I both cried, although it seems I may have cried a little more than he did.  We also had a great conversation on the way home about choosing to be kind all the time.
While we were at the movie, Adrian took Zak to Target to start his Christmas shopping.  He also got new sneakers so he is ready to go for our Disney trip.  When we all got home, Adrian started hanging the Christmas lights outside, I finished cleaning up the dishes from yesterday and the boys had a great time playing Minecraft together.  We had an easy dinner of leftovers then had a family game night.  We played Forbidden Island & Castle Panic and won both games!  It was fun to be able to play something together as a family.  Then we watched the Trolls holiday special and got the kids to bed.  Adrian had another basketball game to watch and I relaxed for a bit, enjoyed a glass of wine and headed to bed early again.

Saturday (11/25) Everyone slept in today and we had a pretty lazy morning. We got a few things done around the house and then it was time for "the game" - OSU vs Michigan.  I jumped in and out of watching it while also working around the house and taking care of the kids so Adrian could watch undisturbed.  It turned out to be a pretty good game and thankfully OSU won again!  When the game was over, all of the guys headed outside to decorate while I worked in the house.  They got all of the outside decorations up and also went on a bike ride since the weather was so nice.

We had more leftovers for dinner and then we were planning on having a movie night where we watched Daniel's choice of Transformers.  Unfortunately Redbox didn't have the first movie so we decided to wait on it until we can get it from either the library or the video store.  So instead, Adrian and I picked the movie and we watched "Elf" as a family.  Everyone loved it!  It's been years since I've watched it and I forgot how funny it is.  We all laughed a lot and had a great family movie night.  When we got the kids in bed, Adrian and I did a bunch of things on our list that required us to chat and figure things out.  So we did that while sharing a bottle of wine.  We watched a few comedies from our DVR to finish our night and headed to bed. 

Sunday (11/26) Started super early with AJ coming up at 4am to wake me up and tell me he was puking.  So not the way we wanted to start our Sunday.  I got him cleaned up and calmed down & he fell back asleep in my bed so I moved to the spare room and got a few more hours of sleep.  He still wasn't feeling well so I was going to stay home from church with him and the others were going to go, until they went outside to find our front tire on our van flat.  I don't know what is going on with this van but this is the third flat tire we've had in like 8 months.  So Adrian headed out to get that fixed while I dealt with the kids at home and tried to get a few things done.

I spent the afternoon yelling at the TV while watching the Jets lose another game that they should have won.  When that misery was over, we finished putting up our Christmas decorations including putting all of the ornaments on the trees and putting up all of our inside decorations.  The house is looking very festive!  AJ spent the day resting on the couch and seems to be OK.  We finished up our to do lists and feel like we're in pretty good shape to leave early Friday morning for vacation.  Will see how the rest of this week goes though.  We got the boys back on their regular schedule and to bed early for school tomorrow.  We watched a few DVR shows to try to empty it as much as we can before we leave and headed to bed early as well.
Monday (11/27) Started a little later than normal since AJ still wasn't feeling 100% so he didn't go to school today.  I got Daniel and Zak up and out to school in their pajamas for right to read week.  They were super excited to wear pajamas to school today!  AJ slept in until almost 10am and seems to be feeling much better.  One more day of rest and he should be back to normal.  He spent the day on the couch watching TV shows and video games while I got as much done around the house as I could to get us ready to leave in just 4 short days!
Before I knew it, it was time to pick up the other boys from school.  The weather was so nice I decided to walk to pick them up.  Then we headed to the Y for my Zumba class.  I had a fun class with the student's picks for songs today.  Then on the way home, Zak threw up all over the car.  It was no fun for any of us in the car, especially him.  He seems fine after throwing up so we are hoping he is OK going forward and that this either ends with him or Daniel gets it ASAP so we are all healthy for Friday.

After we got home, I did what I could to clean up the car but I had to head to Eastpointe to work as the facility rep for a few hours tonight.  Adrian help down the fort at home, including cleaning up the car and taking care of the boys.  They had a relaxing night and headed to bed early.  AJ will be going back to school tomorrow, Zak will be staying home.  While I was at work, the stomach bug hit me.  I made it thru my shift and practically crawled home and into bed.

Tuesday (11/28)  I was awoken in the middle of the night to hear that the stomach bug had also hit Adrian.  So now if you're counting, that is everyone except Daniel.  Adrian and I spent the day taking turns sleeping upstairs and supervising Zak downstairs.  He was feeling fine all day, but we couldn't send him to school since he threw up yesterday.  It was a long, rough day but we survived.  AJ and Daniel went to school and AJ was also able to go to Cub Scouts thanks to our friend who drove him there and back.  I went to bed by like 7:30 in hopes of getting a good night of sleep and waking up feeling better.

Wednesday (11/29) We all felt OK this morning so we decided to go ahead with our day as scheduled.  Adrian and I got AJ off to school and then he headed into work.  I got Daniel and Zak ready and off to school and then headed off to run a bunch of errands.  I got everything done, but it was a slow process with lots of breaks of sitting in my car.  My last errand was stopping into Zak's classroom to read them two books for right to read week.  The kids were super excited to see me and I enjoyed reading two Pete the Cat books to them.

After I got home, I relaxed a lot on the couch and tried to recover from the day.  I got everyone picked up from school and said a prayer of thanks that my dear friend was able to sub my Zumba class for me tonight as I do not have the energy to teach.  I did manage to take the boys to mail their letters to Santa tonight.  Hopefully when we get home we will have return letters waiting for us!  When we got home, we had a quick dinner of leftovers on our quest to continue cleaning out the fridge and then had a relaxing night together.  We did a few things to get ready to leave but mostly just relaxed and rested for our last day of work and school tomorrow.  Adrian and I watched Survivor together after we got the kids to bed, it was a great double episode!
Thursday (11/30) Started early as usual but this should be the last time for 10 days, yay!  Adrian and I got AJ out to school and then he headed to work.  I got Daniel and Zak ready and off to the last day of right to read week for them.  I headed to teach my Silver Sneakers classes even though I wasn't feeling 100%.  I struggled a little teaching them but I survived.  And it was worth it to see all of my seniors smiling faces today.  After both classes, I ran to the corner salon for a quick pedicure.  It was super relaxing to sit and veg out for the hour that she took care of my feet and they look amazing and ready for Florida!

After that I came home and got started on my massive to do list.  I picked AJ up from school since he had a lot of books to bring home to do his school work while we are gone.  Then soon after I picked up Daniel and Zak.  They had a great day at school with the visiting author and really wanted to go back tonight for family literacy night.  Unfortunately we just had too much to do to make it work this year.  So we had a quick dinner of more leftovers and then got started on our packing list.  The boys were very helpful and we finished quickly.  We took a short break in the packing to watch "Charlie Brown Christmas" together as a family before putting the boys to bed.  Adrian and I finished up what we could and then watched the Cowboys game.  Trying to get to bed early for an early morning tomorrow!!

Friday, November 24, 2017

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 11/17 - 11/23)

Friday (11/17) We went to bed really early last night and I got a great night of sleep!  I'm glad because I have a lot to do this weekend so I'm happy to be fully rested.  I got everyone up and out to school and work on time, although AJ was saying he didn't feel well.  He decided to go to school anyway but I waited all day for the call from the nurse.  Thankfully it never came and he was feeling fine when I picked him up.  After I dropped everyone off, I ran to Meijer to finish my shopping for this weekend and to Target to start some Christmas shopping.  Then I came home and got a bunch of stuff done around the house to start prepping for Thanksgiving #1 tomorrow.

Soon it was time to pick up the boys from school.  I was excited it was just over 50 degrees so we were able to walk home from school this afternoon.  When we got home I packed us up quickly and we headed to the Y for my barre class.  It was a small but mighty class and we got a great workout.  Then we came home and I made homemade mac and cheese for us for dinner before we settled in for family movie night.  We watched AJ's pick this week, "Hercules."  It was very entertaining, we all enjoyed it!  After the movie we got the boys to bed and finished our prep for dinner tomorrow.  We watched a few shows from our DVR and headed to bed for a good night of rest before a busy day tomorrow!
Saturday (11/18) We were up and moving early this morning because it was a busy day!  I left first heading to the church to work as a facility rep for the morning.  I got everyone settled where they needed to be and soon Adrian arrived with the boys for AJ's final raingutter regatta.  He raced against 3 of his den members and came in 2nd out of the 4 boys, losing to one of his best friends, David.  He had fun racing and seeing all of his Scout friends this morning, as did I.
After the regatta, we came home and had a quick lunch and then finished up prepping for Thanksgiving with Carl, Sarah, Isabelle and Vinnie.  They came over in the afternoon and the kids had a blast playing together while the adults sat around chatting, eating and drinking wine.  The food was all excellent and it was a very nice and relaxed evening.  We also celebrated Carl's birthday about a week early with a yummy peanut butter surprise cake and some cookie brownies.  Soon after dessert they headed back home since Vinnie was exhausted.  We cleaned up our kitchen, got the boys to bed, had a little more wine & watched a few DVR shows.  We headed to bed exhausted and happy, it was a really great day.
Sunday (11/19) Started super early when AJ woke up at 5am.  Adrian came downstairs with his & went back to sleep on the couch while AJ watched some TV.  Once we were all up and moving we got to work on our to do lists.  We had a nice mix of being productive and playing games with the boys today.  While we were working around the house, they played video games.  We finished up everything on our to do lists and are in great shape to cook dinner on Thursday for family and then start getting ready for Disney.  We finished the night with the Cowboys Eagles game.
Monday (11/20) Short week for us and it started super early with Zak waking us up around 3:30am.  He made Adrian go downstairs with him while he watched TV and Adrian slept on the couch.  I dozed off for a little but didn't get much good sleep after he woke me up.  We got AJ up a little later for school so Adrian could drive him in with a few bags of cookies for his teachers.  Then I got Daniel and Zak ready and dropped off to school.  I headed into the school for an IEP meeting for Daniel who will start having speech therapy twice per week to work on his "r" sound.  We're hopeful he'll only need a year but will reevaluate this time next year.

After the meeting, I headed to the stores to do all of the grocery shopping that needs to be done until after we get back from Disney.  I'm sure there will be something else we'll need, but hopefully it will just be a quick trip sometime next week.  It took forever but I got everything done.  Of course it probably would have been quicker if I didn't run into a handful of friends in the stores, but that's part of the fun of shopping this time of year!
I finally got home and got started trying to put all of this stuff away.  I also had to get ready to teach my afternoon Zumba class so it was a bit hectic.  I picked everyone up from school and we headed to the Y for a fun Zumba class!  Then we rushed back home to get ready for Zak's Lions meeting but got a message from his leader that the meeting had been cancelled.  I did a little happy dance and then took a deep breath and slowed down for a minute.  We had a delicious dinner, finished putting away all of the groceries and all headed to bed early.  Tomorrow is our Friday!

Tuesday (11/21) Last day of school and work for us until Monday!  We got everyone up and out on time to school and then Adrian and I headed to work.  I taught my last two Silver Sneakers classes of the week and then ran my last few errands of the week.  Then I headed over to my friend's house for lunch with her.  She showed me how to use the Instant Pot and we sampled two delicious meals that we cooked in it.  I also compared the 6 quart and the 8 quart and decided I will be fine with the 6 quart, at least to get started.

After the great lunch, I headed home to get everyone from school.  I was excited that it was warm enough to walk to pick up Daniel and Zak.  The boys were all excited that they have no homework all weekend!  Daniel was also excited to tell me about the visit they had from a local meteorologist.  They recorded a short segment for the local news and we were able to spot Daniel in the crowd.  We were all excited to see him on TV!
The boys hung out playing video games and playing Beyblade while I got tacos ready for dinner.  We ate and then I headed out to work at Eastpointe for a few hours before meeting two of my girlfriends for a movie night.  We finally got to see "Bad Moms Christmas."  It was super funny and we enjoyed the night out, especially the recliners and the wine.  It was a really nice break in the crazy of these few weeks!!
 
Wednesday (11/22) We all got to sleep in today and have no schedule to follow for the next five days!  We are super excited for this downtime!  We started the day watching some TV together then alternated between being productive and relaxing.  The boys played a lot of video games, exercised, started cleaning out the play room and wrote letters to Santa.  Adrian got a haircut, set up our Christmas tree, played with the boys and helped with the Thanksgiving food prep.  I did all of my daily tasks around the house, prepped as much food as possible for tomorrow and made our to do lists for the weekend.  After a dinner of leftovers we all sat down together and watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving."  It makes me laugh because the boys laugh so hard.  After we got them to bed, we finished up all of the prep for tomorrow, had a few drinks and watched "Survivor."  I hunkered down to stay up until 1am when my instant pot deal went live at Kohl's, which I was able to get!
Thursday (11/23)  Happy Thanksgiving!!  The day started early, or at least it felt early after staying up so late.  We started with a lazy morning of TV and donuts and then watched the parade together as a family.  Well, at least we started to watch it as a family.  AJ and Zak got bored after about 45 minutes, and Daniel after about the first half.  Adrian and I watched the whole thing and called the boys to see Santa arrive at the end.  After the parade, it was time to start cooking and get ready for our company!
I'm very thankful we did almost all of the prep yesterday as it made today very easy.  It was mostly just making sure we put everything in the oven on time.  Adrian and I even had time to play a board game together - I learned how to play Pandemic & it was a lot of fun!  Late in the afternoon, my in-laws, sister in law and nephew arrived for dinner.  We had a nice time catching up and watching football before it was time to eat.  We all ate too much - everything was delicious!  And we enjoyed some of my father in law's homemade Roscata wine, also delicious.
Soon after dinner, they all headed home and we tried to get the kitchen somewhat back together.  I was really tired though so I didn't do as much as I normally would have.  We hung out for a bit watching the end of the Dallas football game (it was pretty bad so we watched it on fast forward).  When the game was over I decided I was done for the day and crashed as soon as my head hit the pillow.  Adrian stayed up because OSU played a basketball game around midnight.  He had fun watching the game, even though they lost big.  It was a rough sports day for us!


Sunday, November 19, 2017

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Nov 20 - Nov 26)

We had another fantastic week of eating over here, although we didn't follow our plan 100%.  I ended up hosting Thanksgiving with my brother and his family yesterday and it turned out great!  But when I realized we were hosting, I needed more fridge room so last Thursday we had leftovers for dinner in an attempt to empty the fridge.

Here's the menu for what I made for Thanksgiving #1:
Ham - spiral ham from Aldi in the crock pot, delicious & easy!
Cheesy Potatoes - boxed from Betty Crocker, again delicious & easy :)
Cornbread Corn
Pumpkin Spaghetti Squash - this was delicious!  Do yourself a favor and try it!
Baked Beans - Bush's canned beans
Roasted Asparagus - just asparagus, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil & crushed red pepper
Homemade Applesauce - just apples, sugar, water & cinnamon
Cookie Brownies - thanks again Betty Crocker!
Peanut Butter Surprise - I was planning to make this recipe but what I thought was angel food cake mix was actually almond pound cake mix.  I made it work and it was delicious but a little heavy.  Probably would have been better with the angel food cake.
The next few weeks are weird and off schedule for us and our meal plan will reflect that.  I won't be doing another meal plan blog post until at least mid-December, and I may take the rest of the year off.  It will be busy around here with a lot of easy, thrown together meals.  I'll be back to normal planning and eating in the New Year for sure!

Here's what I'm making this week:
Ham & Bean Soup - using up leftover ham from yesterday
Crock Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars 
Enchilada Spaghetti Squash
Turkey Pot Pie - using up leftover turkey after Thursday
Taco Tuesday!

I'm also hosting Thanksgiving #2 on Thursday so here's my menu for that:
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Chicken Artichoke Dip
Pepperoni & Cheese
Turkey
Mashed Potatoes - homemade with sour cream & cheese
Gravy - from a bottle
Sausage Stuffing
Roasted Sweet Potatoes - I'm going to add pears to this as well, I love that combination
Green Bean & Bacon Casserole - We're trying something new this year instead of doing bacon wrapped green beans
Brussels Sprouts Salad
Cheese Stuffed Zucchini - We've been making this for years, always a favorite!
Pumpkin Spaghetti Squash - I made enough on Saturday to have it again today
Homemade Applesauce - Again, I made enough on Saturday so it's ready to go today
Cheesecake
Apple Crisp - Using up a mix in my pantry and apples that I bought at Lynd's on sale this past week
Brownies - Again, using up a mix in my pantry

Other than all of the above, we will be having leftovers and trying to empty out our fridges so we're ready to leave for Florida in just under two weeks!  If we have any of this food leftover, I will freeze it so we can eat it when we get home.  I'm excited to just have about four more days of cooking left and then I won't be cooking again until mid-December.

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy lots of good food and memories with family and friends!!

Friday, November 17, 2017

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 11/10 - 11/16)

Friday (11/10) Today was the observation of Veteran's Day for Adrian so he had off so we all got to sleep in an extra half hour.  We got up and got ready for school and Adrian drove AJ to school.  The boys all had Veteran's Day assemblies in school so they wore their Cub Scout uniforms.  Then we both dropped the other boys off and headed out for a day date.  We went to Kohl's to do some shopping and then headed to Easton for our monthly wine tasting.  They have a limited edition chocolate wine and it's delicious!  We picked up our two bottles and headed out to get lunch.  We decided to try someplace new and went to Ted's Montana Grill.  It was just OK for both of us.  The food was good, but the service and atmosphere was lacking.  We probably won't be back.

Since lunch took so long (due to the poor service) we had to head right to school to pick up AJ.  He was excited to tell us that he got to escort Veterans to the cafeteria before their assembly today and that he got to sit with his two buddies from scouts for the assembly.  We headed to Starbucks to get our BOGO holiday drinks and then finally headed home.  Adrian left to go wait in line for the other boys while I got a few things done around the house.  We hung out with the boys for a few hours, had a quick dinner and then got ready for date number two of the day.  We went to go see the play "Waitress" and it was fantastic!  The songs, story, actors, set - everything top to bottom was great.  I'm thankful we were able to go see it!  The boys had a great night playing with their babysitter and we got a very good report from her when we got home.
Saturday (11/11) Happy Veteran's Day!  Thank you to all who have served or continue to serve our country and also for all of those who support them.  We had a very lazy start to our day, sleeping in, video games and then some OSU football.  Then Adrian and AJ got ready and headed to a local park for a flag retirement ceremony with his Cub Scout pack.  The boys all did a great job of honoring our country and being reverent during the ceremony.
While they were at the flag retirement, I got dinner ready and fed myself and the other boys.  They came home and grabbed a quick dinner and then Adrian and I headed out to our local high school to see one of the boys babysitters in the high school version of "Midsummer Nights Dream."  We enjoyed the play, the kids were all really funny and talented.  Ashley did great as a fairy, we are glad we were able to support her and her family tonight.
Sunday (11/12)  We all slept in and were very sluggish when we got up.  We had planned to go to first service for church but we just didn't get moving in time.  So we got a few things done and then headed out as a family to second service.  After church, I ran home and had a quick lunch before heading back to the church to work as the facility rep for the afternoon.  I got to listen to and observe square dancing for a few hours, it looked a like a ton of fun!  While I was there, Adrian worked around the house and helped AJ finish up his boat for the raingutter regatta next weekend.  When I got home, we suffered thru the boring Jets loss while eating dinner and then watched the Cowboys lose as well.  It was not our best football weekend.  It's become our normal Sunday to watch football while the boys watch video games in our room.  Adrian and I finished everything we needed to do around the house and had a relaxing night.  Early bedtime for all to be ready to start the week fresh & rested!  It's our last full week of work/school for the next month!

Monday (11/13) The week started early with Zak waking us up at 5am.  He and I hung out watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and playing King of Tokyo while AJ got ready for school and Daniel slept.  It felt like a really long morning but it was finally time to drop everyone off to school and start working around the house.  I took a break mid-morning to go into Zak's class and volunteer.  I reviewed shapes with all of the kids, it was quick & fun and I got to see everyone which is always nice.  Some of the kids get upset if I don't "call on" them in a certain week.

After volunteering, I came home and got dinner ready and did a few more things around the house.  Then I picked everyone up from school and headed to the Y for my Zumba class.  I had a fun class with everyone and it felt good to sweat!  We headed home for a quick dinner and then I was off to Cub Scouts with Zak while Adrian stayed home and helped AJ finish up his Scouts homework.  Zak and I had a fun time practicing some of the Scout things that he needs to learn for his Bobcat next year and then making turkeys with each feather stating what he is thankful for.  After Scouts we came home, had snack, show and bed.  Hoping for a better night of sleep tonight!
Tuesday (11/14) Well, didn't get as great of a night of sleep as I wanted since Zak came in and kicked me out of my room around 11:00 last night.  I slept in the spare room which isn't the most comfortable but I survived.  We all got up and moving and out the door to work and school on time.  I wasn't teaching this morning because I had substitute teacher training all morning.  I headed there and spent the morning there getting a few tips on subbing and also did my employment verification.  I thought I would be done after this but sadly I still have a few more things to do at home.  I'm really hoping to finish up this week.

After training I drove to meet a friend to pick up a Tupperware order and then headed to Kroger to do some grocery shopping.  After that it was time to get home and get the boys from school.  We hung out for a bit and then got dinner together because I had to work at the church and AJ had Cub Scouts at night.  Soon after Adrian got home from work, I left and had a wonderful time at church visiting with a lot of friends while I worked.  AJ had a good Scout meeting and I picked him up after work.  We came home and watched some TV before heading to bed.  It was a long day and I'm really hoping for some sleep tonight.

Wednesday (11/15) Last night was much better sleeping, Zak didn't come in at all!  We all got up and out to work and school on time and then I came home to work around the house.  I had a bunch of things from yesterday to catch up on so I started with those.  I also baked a few dozen cookies to donate to the YMCA homeless shelter for the holidays.  As always the day flew by and before I knew it, it was time to get everyone from school.  I picked them all up and we headed to the Y for my Zumba class.  After class we headed home to have dinner quickly with Adrian before he headed out to Bible study for the night.  We were all worn out tonight so we just watched some TV and then got ready for bed while he was gone.  Then Adrian and I watched Survivor and headed to bed as well.  This last "full" week of stuff is exhausting!

Thursday (11/16) We all got up and ready for work and school and got out on time.  Daniel had a rough start including losing a glove (which I found later) and me forgetting to put his homework folder back in his bag (I dropped it off on time).  It was a bit of a crazy morning but we pulled it together and had a good day.  After I got everyone out, I headed to my Silver Sneakers class and then to run a bunch of errands.  I dropped off cookies I was donating, bought apples at Lynd's market and did some of my grocery shopping.  I also had a long stop at the bank which prevented me from finishing my grocery shopping.  I got home and picked the boys up and got ready for my Zumba class.  When Adrian got home from work, I headed out to class while he hung with the boys.  After class the rest of the night was pretty relaxing, I'm always worn out after teaching 3 classes on Thursdays. 

Monday, November 13, 2017

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 10/27 - 11/2)

Friday (10/27) One more day of Daniel being home and sick.  I am thankful I didn't have a lot going on this week so I was able to stay home with him most days.  I got everyone else up and out to school and let Daniel sleep in a little bit.  I worked around the house while he relaxed on the couch.  He fell asleep for a while and woke up and was completely better.  Kids bounce back so quick!  I still made him relax, even after his brothers got home from school.  Adrian came home early so I was able to go to the Y to teach my barre class and Daniel could stay home and rest.

After my class was over, we all had a quick dinner together and headed out to one of the elementary schools for their trunk or treat event.  It was super crowded but we still had fun!  The boys were excited to see some of their friends and teachers there dressed up and handing out candy.  After we did the candy loop, we played on the play ground for a little and got in our car just before the rain started.  We got home and let the boys have a little bit of video game time and then got them ready for bed.  When they were in bed, we watched a few things from our DVR and then headed to sleep ourselves.  It's been a long week!
Saturday (10/28) We woke up today to our first snow of the year!  It was just light flurries, but the boys, especially Zak, were all excited to see it.  Since the weather was so bad, Zak's final soccer game was postponed until next week.  I feel like this season is never going to end!  That freed up our morning for a little relaxing and a little work around the house.  Then around noon, Daniel had a birthday party so Adrian took him to Magic Mountain and stayed to celebrate with them.  He had a great time playing with friends from his class in the play area, on the bumper cars and with the video games.  He also won a ton of tickets to add to our collection.

After the party, Adrian got ready for the Ohio State vs Penn State game.  It didn't start out great and it wasn't looking good when it was time to trick or treat in the neighborhood next door to ours.  I had been back and forth about taking the boys but since it warmed up a little and they really wanted to go, we put costumes on and headed out.  Well, Daniel, Zak and I did, AJ said he wasn't feeling that great and wanted to stay home with Dad.  We made it about an hour trick or treating before we all got too cold.  But that was enough time to just about fill their buckets with candy and tour their favorite "spooky" house.  We got home just in time for hot Jets pizza, cold beer and the amazing OSU victory!  It was fun to watch the end of the game while I was thawing out.  The rest of the evening was spent hanging out, watching TV and heading to bed early.
Sunday (10/29) We all slept in again and did not feel like getting moving.  We did a few things around the house before heading out to church together for the second service.  I served in children's ministry and had so much fun having a party with almost 40(!) kids.  Adrian enjoyed the service and we are both super excited about some of the upcoming things at our church.  When service was over, we headed home to have a quick lunch and then bundle up to head out to the corn maze at Lynd's.  However AJ still wasn't feeling well so we decided he and I should stay home while the other three went and solved the maze.  They had fun in the maze, bouncing in the bounce houses and playing in the play area, although it was still pretty cold.
While they were at the maze, AJ relaxed and watched video games in bed while I worked around the house and watched the Jets lose in heart breaking fashion.  It's so frustrating when they don't finish games!  At least Dallas beat the Redskins, which we watched when everyone got home.  The rest of the night was filled with football, video games and finishing up a few things around the house.  We have another busy week on tap and want to try to be as ready as possible.

Monday (10/30) Everyone was healthy so we were finally back to our regular school schedule!  I got everyone up and out and then ran errands for what felt like forever.  I had a lot of grocery shopping and a few other errands to run so I was out until early afternoon.  I came home and put everything away and before I knew it, it was time to do pick ups.  I got everyone from school and then we headed to the Y for my Zumba class.  Adrian met me there so I could rush over to the church to do my other job for the night.  Unfortunately no one who was supposed to be using the church showed up so I ended up finishing early for the night.  I joined the "Secret Sisters" group in my church for the next six months and they were having their first meeting tonight so I was a surprise attendee there.  I picked my "sister" for the next six months and also won a beautiful fall door prize.  It wrapped up early and my friend and I were joking that we told our husbands we would be later and didn't want to go home until after bedtime.  So we went to Starbucks together to catch up and drink some yummy drinks.  I got home just in time to kiss the boys good night & sit down with Adrian and our DVR.

Tuesday (10/31) Happy Halloween!!  I got everyone up and out to school before I headed out to my Silver Sneakers classes.  I wore my new fun shirt and passed out M&Ms to everyone.  We had a fun workout to campy Halloween music.  After class, I came home and did some baking.  I made banana bread for our breakfasts and these cute cupcakes for the kids to have after trick or treat tonight.
When the kids got home from school, it was all I could do to keep them calm and wait until it was time to trick or treat.  They watched some TV, played a little and we all ate leftover Jets pizza.  Finally it was time to get into costumes!  AJ's friend David and his family came over to walk around with us.  It was a little cold but we all survived.  Our neighbors were super generous as always, the kids got a ton of candy and had a ton of fun running around the neighborhood.  When we got home everyone had a cupcake and a piece of candy and we watched a Halloween special.  Then thankfully they crashed and we got them to bed since they have school bright and early tomorrow.
 
Wednesday (11/1) After a late night, it was a little harder to get up and moving than usual but we managed.  We all got up and out on time to work and school.  After I dropped off the boys at school, I came home to deal with a bunch of stuff around the house that needed to be done.  I finished as much as I could for my sub application, I just need to go to training in two weeks and I should be ready to start working.  I also made a plan for this weekend as we will be having a "no fun" weekend and getting caught up on everything around the house that needs to be done.  The day flew by and before I knew it, it was time to pick everyone up from school.  Zak was very excited to get in the car and show me that he had his first award ceremony today and he got his certificate for perfect attendance for the first quarter!!  We headed straight to the Y for my Zumba class, where I had a fun time working off the candy from yesterday with my students.  After class, we headed home and had a relaxing night at home.  We ate dinner and watched some TV while Adrian was at Bible study.  It was an early bedtime all around, trying to catch up after yesterday.
Thursday (11/2) We did much better getting up and out this morning after a good night of sleep for all.  Everyone got out to school and work and I headed to my Silver Sneakers classes.  After class, I ran a few errands and then came home to start on the massive to do lists for the weekend.  I got a lot done and as always the day flew by.  I picked up the boys from school and got them settled for the night.  I got ready for my Zumba class and got Zak ready for his final soccer practice.  I headed out to class and had a fun time even though I only had 2 people.  While I was there, Zak had his final practice which included a fun scrimmage against his coach's other team (about a year older than Zak's team).  They all had fun playing to a tie and then celebrated with donuts and juice boxes.  When we all got home, Adrian and I had dinner together and then got the boys down for the night.  Then we watched the Jets beat the Bills handily and stayed up a little later than we should.  Thankfully we have a late start tomorrow!

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Nov 13 - Nov 19)

What a fantastic food week we had last week!  Everything we made was delicious!  The only not great thing was that I didn't follow all of my meal plan for the week.  But the changes I made were necessary and the meals are bumped to this week so I don't really have to shop until later in the week.  It started with me not wanting to cook last Sunday, so I pushed our at home Chinese meal (Shrimp Fried Rice and Egg Drop Soup) to Monday.  It was a lot of work for a Monday, but it was worth it.  Tuesday night I went out to eat with a friend and then Friday we went out for lunch for a date while the boys were at school and we just weren't very hungry for dinner so we had a smaller meal of frozen appetizers.  Here are a few pictures of our eats for last week:
 
This week is the last full week that I will cook and meal plan for.  Next week is Thanksgiving and I will cook a big meal for that and then not really cook again until after our Disney trip.  I'm already trying to make sure I'm using up what we have so nothing goes bad while we are gone.  I spent last weekend organizing all 3 freezers and 2 fridges so I know what I have and what I need to use up.  I'm focusing on using up all of the fridge stuff and hope to leave them nearly empty.  And I'm using up a lot of stuff in our deep freeze so that our grocery bills are smaller this month since we're spending a lot of tickets and prep for our trip.  I'll probably do a blog post next week then take a few weeks off.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Monday - Sausage & Pepper Rustica - carryover from last week
Tuesday - Creamy Prawn Soup and salad - carryover from last week
Wednesday - Pesto Tortellini
Thursday - Crock Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
Friday - Homemade Mac and Cheese - I'm doubling this recipe and bringing it for a friend who just had surgery as well
Saturday - Thanksgiving with my brother's family.  I believe he's cooking but I need to double check
Sunday - Apple Honey Baked BBQ Ribs

Water Flavor - Orange

Overnight Oats - I continue to experiment with these and am loving it all.  This week I'm using up some of my free yogurts that I have gotten recently from the local stores.  I am making pina colada, blueberry and strawberry rhubarb, all using the original recipe I normally use but using the flavored yogurts.  I'm excited to try them all!  I'm also making these pumpkin chocolate chip bars again because the boys love them!  They have been begging me since we ran out last time so I'll be sure to keep these on our rotation.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 11/3 - 11/9)

Friday (11/3) Started with getting AJ out and on the bus and then me getting on the phone with Disney to start the planning process for our trip next month.  I couldn't get the boys' tickets to link to my account since my parents bought them but thankfully I talked to a wonderful guy and he got them linked and we got our Fast Passes for our first day in the parks.  We'll be spending Sunday in Hollywood Studios and have passes for Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror & Star Tours.  After getting that taken care of, Adrian headed to AJ's school for his awards assembly while I got the other two boys ready for school.  AJ achieved the A/B honor roll for the first quarter, as did his buddy David.  He was very excited Adrian got to go to the assembly.
 
 

I spent the afternoon getting stuff around the house done and before I knew it, it was time to pick everyone up from school for the day.  I picked up AJ and his friend David from school today so they could have a play date at our house.  They did a great job playing together and had a ton of fun!  They played for a while together and then I picked up Daniel and Zak so they could join in the fun.  Daniel was super excited to tell me about his awards assembly today where he won three awards - perfect attendance, all A's and the Citizenship award for being respectful, responsible and safe.  I'm super proud of him and all three boys - they are off to a great start this school year!
 After David left, the boys played for a while and we all had dinner.  Then we finally got back to having family movie nights.  It was Zak's pick and we watched "The Emoji Movie."  The boys loved it, Adrian and I thought it was just alright.  But I'm glad the kids liked it, even Zak sat thru the whole movie.  After the movie, we got the boys in bed and settled in with our DVR.  We caught up on all of our favorite comedies from the past week.

Saturday (11/4) Started way too early when Zak came into our room at 5am.  Thankfully he went back to sleep but he sent me to the couch so I barely fell back asleep before my alarm was going off at 6:30 so I could get up to get our Animal Kingdom FastPasses.  I dragged myself to the computer and logged on right at 7am...and still couldn't get passes for the new Avatar ride.  I did get them for the Avatar river ride, Expedition Everest and Dinosaur so we're excited about those.  I'll keep checking for Avatar until the day we go.  After a few cups of coffee Adrian and I started on our giant to do lists.  This is a work weekend for us since we haven't gotten a lot done at all over the past few weeks with soccer and all of our fun fall activities.

Zak did have his last soccer game of the season since it was postponed last week due to snow.  He had a great time playing and his team won again.  They got medals to finish up the season.  Zak's coach was great this season, we really enjoyed playing for him.  Looking forward to more soccer in the spring, after a long break for the winter!  After the game, we spent the rest of the day doing stuff around the house while the boys played.  Adrian also watched the OSU game, which was depressing since it was such a blow out.  After the early wake up and a lot of work, we called it an early night since we were all tired.  Very productive Saturday for us!
Sunday (11/5) Daylight Savings Time - Yuck!  The boys were up at like 6:45.  Thankfully we went to sleep early last night and were ready to get up with them.  The other nice thing was that we got a lot of time this morning to get stuff done.  My brother and niece stopped by for a quick visit since we had a bunch of things to give to him.  Daniel and Isabelle were super excited to get some time to play together!  The rest of the day was spent doing stuff around the house.  We did finish up everything on our to do lists this weekend - yay!  The downside is that we also made other lists so we will be super busy the next few weekends.  We also got to watch Dallas win today and watch a few things from our DVR before heading to bed early once again to get ready for a crazy week.
Monday (11/6) Back to the grind today, if only for a day.  We got everyone up and out to school on time and I headed out to run errands.  I finished all of my grocery shopping for the week and also dropped off my application at the school district to be added to their sub list for non-teaching positions.  When I was done with my errands, I headed to school to volunteer in Zak's classroom.  I helped some students practice their letters and other practice their spelling.  It was a fun morning and I always have fun seeing the kids.

After that I came home and did a few things around the house and then picked everyone up from school.  Then we headed out to the Y for my Zumba class.  I had a super fun time teaching this class, it was a great group and we were all laughing and dancing for the full hour.  After class we came home and I started working on a fairly complicated dinner, especially for a Monday night.  But I got it done and it was delicious!  After dinner, we hung out for a bit, watched TV and cleaned up from the day.  It was an early night since we are all still adjusting to the time change.

Tuesday (11/7) After one day of school, the boys got a day off of school for a teacher professional day since some of the schools in our district are voting places.  They all slept in and then we got moving to head to my Silver Sneakers classes.  The boys did great sitting in the lobby while I taught my two classes and I had fun teaching my seniors.  After class we headed to Krispy Kreme to redeem the boys' report cards for their free donuts.  Zak was super excited to get his donuts since this is his first report card.  And the other boys are happy to have 6 to themselves and not have to share with Zak.
After a quick stop home for lunch, we headed out to the boys' dentist appointments.  Everyone did great, no cavities all around!  The appointments took a long time so by the time we got home we were all ready to relax a little and then got ready for dinner.  I headed out to meet two friends for dinner and a movie for a Moms Night Out.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Proust and then headed to the movie theater only to find out that Bad Moms was sold out.  So we headed to a bar to get another drink and then called it a night.  The boys had a fun night with Dad, tacos for dinner, video games and board games.  I got home just in time to tuck everyone in and enjoy some DVR time with Adrian before bed.


Wednesday (11/8) We got up and out to school on time again, although it was a close call today.  After I dropped the boys off, I came back home and worked on my to do list.  We have a busy weekend and I'm trying to make sure I stay caught up on what I need to do around the house.  The day flew by and before I knew it, it was time to get the boys from school and head to the Y for my Zumba class.  I had another great group and another great class!  After class we came home and had another awesome and different dinner.  I'm mixing up what we're eating and loving it.  Adrian ate quickly and headed out to his Bible study.  I hung out with the boys, who had a very rough night.  I think the time change and day off yesterday caught up with them today.  It was an early bedtime for them and then I finished cleaning up and watched Survivor with Adrian.  Hoping we have a better behavior day tomorrow!


Thursday (11/9) Another pretty normal day for us.  Everyone got up and out to school and work on time and then I went to teach my Silver Sneakers class.  After class, I ran a ton of errands including my monthly trip to Costco.  I got home and unloaded everything and it was pretty much time to pick up the boys from school.  The temperatures were higher than normal so I was able to walk to pick them up.  I got the kids settled in after school and got ready to leave for my Zumba class.  Thankfully I had set up dinner for tonight yesterday so I didn't have to worry about that.  After class I headed to the Scouts monthly committee meeting where AJ got to play with his buddy David.  We were there pretty late and got home just in time for me to kiss the other kids good night and get AJ settled in for the night as well.  Adrian and I watched a few comedies from our DVR and then headed to bed a little later than usual since he's off tomorrow.