Menu for the Week

Sunday--Chicken with Rice

Monday--Homemade Hamburger Helper

Tuesday--Shredded Chicken Tacos

Wednesday--Tater Tot Casserole

Thursday--Sandwich Night

Friday--Going out!!

Good Kind of Tired!!

It is Sunday again, and I am tired.

I need to get my self organized by making a menu for next week..So far I have planned 3 days

Mon--eat out (Boy Scout trip to the Sheriffs Department)
Tues- Baked Spaghetti
Wed--Pork Chop,Potatoes, and Pork and Bean Casseroles
Thursday--Frozen Pizza with cheese and Peperoni added
Friday--eat out (we do try to always do family night out on Friday)

I need to go and do the FlyLady thing...15 minutes in the kitchen to a shiny sink.
Clean out the Refrigerator and take out the Trash...And Definitely clean up from Decorating the Tree...

I just don't feel like it because I am tired..

I have been running non stop all day: Shower, taught Sunday School, lunch, went by to check on my parents, Uncle Harvey's Retirement Reception, Quick trip to Walmart, Kids to Children's play practice, Grocery Store, decorated Tree and Mantel for Christmas.

I am so tired!!!! I am going to bed.. As soon as I retrieve my camera from Julie's car, I will post a blog about my Uncle Harvey and about what we have been up to on the Christmas celebration front...

GingerBread Houses

This year we went to Mrs. Pumpkins Bakery to make Gingerbread Houses.

I love this event. It is a fundraiser for The Special Children's School which is a developmental day school that is committed to families and children, especially those with special needs.

It is also great fun, and I don't have to clean up the mess!!!!

Win Win!!!

Here are this years houses:

Halloween

Carving the Pumpkins!!











This was Austin's first year to use the knife (carving saw) by himself...He did a Great Job!!!!








We also had a Great Time Trick or Treating this Halloween..

Mikey got to go with us which is has been a rare occurrence due to his job!!!

It rained some, but that was ok.. We went to 15 houses around town and the Fire Department. We walked through 2 neighborhoods and Drove through the rest. Living in a small town with rural outlying areas Some of the people we go see live 5 miles away..

Austin was a Solider:


Maggie was a Dalmatian:

Menu for this week

Here is the menu plan for the week:

Sunday: Wings, Rice, and Pineapple
Monday: Homemade Lasagna in a skillet
Tuesday: Pork Chop Potato and Beans Casserole
Wednesday: Tater Tot Casserole
Thursday: Thanksgiving
Friday: going out

Chaos again

Well here we are in Clutter and Chaos yet again:

My day off so I am going to try to do a little something about it. 15 minutes at a time.

Kitchen:

Before:


After 1st 15 minutes

After 2nd 15 minutes


After 3rd 15 minutes

My sink is shiny again!!! I just need to put the dishes away when they dry..

Now onto the Bathroom:

Menus

In an effort to save some money so that we can do some home improvement projects, I have decided to make a weekly menu for supper and to take my lunch everyday to work.

Last week went pretty well. Here is menu #1

Sunday: Taco Bake
Monday: Pizza (frozen with cheese added)
Tuesday: Hamburger Patties and french fries
Wednesday: Baked Ravioli
Thursday: Chicken Strips and macaroni and cheese

Friday and Saturday night we went out to supper

Here is Week #2

Sunday: Sloppy Joes
Monday: Pork Chops pork and beans and potatoes
Tuesday: Brown Sugar Crock Pot Chicken over Rice
Wednesday: Mini Meat loafs and Creamed Potatoes
Thursday: Stromboli: Canadian bacon and pineapple/cheese/peperoni

Friday: eat out
Saturday: everyone on their own (Race)

Sunday

Sundays are usually pretty lazy in the morning. Church starts at 9:30am, but I must confess that I am not usually there. I am not thrilled with our minister. She has been here 4 years now and I am almost completely out of the habit of going to church.

Don't get me wrong. She is a nice lady, but we don't click for some reason. Although she is striving for growth, which in long run I believe will be a good thing. The feeling of the church has changed.

What I mean by that is that when you walk in now it is all about the money and how much you have given to the building fund. That is all that is ever talked about. How are we going to raise a dollar for the new building.

It used to be that all we talked about in meetings was how we were going to help someone. Who in the community needed a boost that we could get behind and help. That is what I believe a church should do. It should provide fellowship for Christians and reach out to help the community which will in turn bring people to Christ.

So I am torn. I think about what I should do because I need to be in church with a church family and my kids need to be in a church, but I don't feel comfortable there at times. I know that we are United Methodist and this minister will be moved as soon as she completes her agenda, the new building. So, I don't want to leave the church I grew up in for another in the community, but I think I will go visiting and see what else is out there.

I don't know these kids, but I found them through some blogs I was following.
I am always thankful that so far my kids have been pretty healthy. In the back of my mind as I read about these kids is always the saying "There but for the Grace of God goes I."

Please Take a look at their stories and pray for these two cute little boys!!! and their parents.

Sorry I have been away!!!

Sorry that I have been away for sooo long...

Things have been a little crazy around here. First of all my work scheduled changed to 10 hour days...this has caused me to have no free time. Even with an extra day off it seems I don't have time to do what I want to do...Oh well that is the life of a wife and mom!!!!

DH hurt his back at work and has been on restrictive duty, but at least they are letting him work with this injury... I am thankful for that!!! He has spent any extra time he has going back and forth to Drs and Physical Therapy. I pray that he will find some relief soon.. I am of course worried that the next step is for him to see a surgeon.

DS has gotten his days and nights mixed up this summer!! You would think he was 8 months old instead of 8 years....We are trying to come up with a no caffine and strict bedtime routine that will hopefully get things turned around before the school year starts next month.

He starts football tonight...that is a sure sign that the summer is ending!!!

DD has grown a ton this summer and I am struggling to find clothes she can wear. I hate this too because right before school was out I bought her a summer wardrobe a size bigger than what she was wearing....thinking that would take her into fall with cute clothes....she has outgrown most of them !!!!

We have taken 2 vacations: both to the Geat Wolf Lodge...I will post more about that later!!!

I have finally gotten into a system of routines that have helped our house stay more organized: I will have a seperate post on this.

I just wanted to let everyone know what we have been up to since April...

I am going to try to work it into my schedule to post a little bit every day!!!

I appologize again for the break!!!

Good Bye Grandpa

Easter this year went from fun to mourning! On Easter Sunday morning, when were were planning to be in church with our friends and family singing God's praises and celebrating a risen Savior we were instead gathered in a hospital ICU crying and saying Good Bye to Grandpa. My dear father in law passed away and we are heartbroken.

Grandpa was a good and hard working man..Who had married the love of his life when he was very young and spent the next 49 years putting her first and helping to raise 5 sons. These wonderful men are all examples of the love that their parents shared, and the strong hand of the father they were given to guide them into adulthood.

I was lucky enough to become part of the Bumgarner family 10 years ago, and I see Grandpa's traits in all the boys. This is what I see as the strengths passed on to each of them.

Randy is the oldest. He had an car accident as a teenager that caused him to have some brain damage, but this doesn't stop him. He learned from his father the love of the outdoors and watching things grow.. He spends his time raising various farm animals. A lot of goats and chickens. He also grows crops and trees. He bought Grandpa a plum tree for the yard, and we are going to plant it in the yard along with our beloved Grandpa's ashes. This was Grandpa's final act to letting Randy know that even though he wasn't exactly the same as before the accident he is fine. I know this because Randy is the only one in the family with the ability to get a Plum Tree to grow in the yard.

Jeff got his sense of humor from Grandpa. Grandpa liked to tease, and so does Jeff. There isn't a time when the family is together that Jeff is not picking on someone...We all know that if we give him an opening Jeff is going to tease us and make everyone in the house laugh. Grandpa would do this too. You had to stay on your toes or never hear the end of it!!! Grandpa also taught Jeff to be a Master Chef of Hot Dogs and Hamburgers. I believe he did this so that one day Jeff could teach Grandma how to start the grill.

Keith gets his strength from Grandpa. He is also hard working and loves his family, but he is the one that everyone turns to in any situation. When someone has a problem or things are not going well, Keith gets the burden of all the phone calls. He tries to fix things the best he can for everyone, and everyone expects him to be strong for them. I love Keith for this. He doesn't complain that we tend to lean on those big broad Bumgarner shoulders. He just takes the roll of BROTHER seriously always listening and being there for us.

Bobby got quiet intelligence from Grandpa. Not that the rest of the sons aren't intelligent because they are, but Bobby is the one that knows things. He can figure out how things work, and the best way to go about doing the things that need to be done. If he teaches you about something, he does it in a way that does not make you feel small because you did not know. Bobby like Grandpa does not flaunt his intelligence, but instead uses it to help everyone figure things out that we need to know.

Mikey learned how to love from Grandpa. All of the boys love each other and their families. However, as the youngest he got to spend his time growing up watching how Grandpa interacted with his brothers, grandma, and everyone else around him. He watched all the traits that were passed on to the other boys. He watched them make mistakes and have highs and lows in their lives. He uses those examples along with the example of love from his parents marriage to show others love. He is a wonderful and loving dad and husband because he watched Grandpa's love for those around him.


I will miss this man who was all of these things: a good and hard working father, grandfather and husband who loved the outdoors and growing things. Who was the strength of his family. Who was funny and loved to laugh. Who was intelligent and queitly used this intelligence to teach those around him. This man who loved his wife, his sons, and their families more than words can really say.

I love you Grandpa, and I am glad you're now in heaven where there is no Heart Disease, Diabetes, ESRD, Blindess, or Pancreatitis. I am greatful that your are now without the pain. I imagine that you are in heaven playing with BJ the dog and planting things in your yard while you are still doing what you have always done, watching over us and loving us.

House Chaos

Once again I have fallen off the flylady wagon and my house is in chaos. Friday at work I started a TO DO list for this weekend. On Saturday I procrastinated and found every excuse I could not to follow through. Sunday I got up and this is what I did.

Kitchen: Clear out any trash
Wash Dishes
Wipe Down Counters
Clean Stove
Sweep floors

It took me 45 Minutes in 15 minute increments: Here are the pics.....

Before:



Here is the After:






I also cleaned the bathroom:
Cleared of counters
picked up towels
Scrubbed sink/toliet/ and tub
Sweep and mop the floors

Before:



Here is the After:





I just got in to the groove when DS's baseball coach called to say we have a makeup game TODAY at 2pm...URGGGGHHH!!! I am frustrated because now I have to stop my cleaning and get everyone ready to go....

Play dough and Chimpanzees

This week has been absolutely crazy!!!!!

Saturday..I was getting ready to tackle Mt Washmore..I had piles of clothes every where. one was in the washer and one was in the dryer. I was ready for a day of laundry catch up and working on DS's school project!!! It was 70 degrees outside and going to be a great day until the phone rang!!

DH's father had pancreatitis and was in the Emergency Department of a hospital 35 minutes away. So my laundry and the school project were soon forgotten...As we called babysitters in a panic and ran out the door to check on him..

Bless his heart, and Thank God!! He came through his surgery well, and now is on the road to recovery. Even though he is still in an ICU bed, he should be home and fine in a few more days.

Needless to say there has been no time this week for thinking about the other things that needed to be done....I forgot all about the project!!!

Tonight we took DH out for a birthday dinner, and we were talking about our day. Every night at supper we ask the kids about their school day. My DS says, "mom when are we going to do my project? I am suppossed to take it tomarrow."

What is the project you ask?? Make homemade play dough, and then turn it into the replica of a chimpanzee. Much easier said than done at 10pm on a school night.

The teacher had been nice enough to provide us with several recipes for play dough. The one I picked was written wrong and did not have enough liquid,so it crumbled as we tried to make a model...

Not to be discouraged at 10:30...I used another recipe and made more....At 11:20 I sent my eight year old to bed. I am now writing this and waiting on the chimp to come out of the oven....I am counting on 30 minutes at 200 degrees to dry it out so I can touch up the paint!!!

But tomarrow at school DS will have a play dough chimp!!!!!

Busy

Well here we are almost to spring, and I need to give an extra hug and kiss to my DH.

He is the best...because last night started Baseball season...

I love baseball at this age..they are just learning to play, but the thing is with the way I work I can't be home to go to practice.

So, DH is stuck with practice duty. Last year this wasn't that big a deal... Practice two days a week, but this year DD has discovered Softball!!! So now there are 4 practice days a week, and she has to be picked up from Dance of Wednesdays!!!

My husband is the best Daddy in the whole world. Especially in the spring!!!

Now, I just have to figure out a simple and quick meal plan for practice days that doesn't include McDonald's!!! Any suggestions?????

The Rules

I get so tickled at my wonderful husband. Our house stays in what seems like utter chaos all the time. Between both of us working our DS(8) and DD (6), a puppy and three cats there is always a mess somewhere.

I will admit that we did not do our kids any favors when they were little because it was easier to clean up their messes than to make them do it.. So, two years ago when I went back to work full time the house crashed and burned....Guess who had been doing most of the picking up????

Back to my dear husband. Last week he had enough of the house being a mess so he came up with the rules!!!

They are as follows:

1. If you get it out, you put it up. This includes toys, books, material for homework (pencils, paper, markers, etc)

2. Empty cups go in the kitchen beside the sink Not on the table or the computer desk.

3. If you turn it on, you turn it off (lights, and TV)

4. If it's trash throw it away in the trash can WITH a bag in it.
If there isn't a bag, tell Dad or mom and one of us will get a bag.

5. Dirty clothes go in the dirty clothes basket, NOT on the floor..Socks are clothes!!!

6. When getting a snack, if you empty a box or unwrap something, throw the empty box and or wrap away.

7. Shoes go in the shoe basket, not in the floor

8. If you spill something, clean it up, if you need help ask.

9. If Jack (our puppy) makes a mess clean it up, if you need help ask.

10. After you've eaten supper and have been excused from the table, take your plate, spoon, fork, and cup and place it beside the sink in the kitchen.

These rules were explained along with consequences at a family meeting. We have had one week of THE RULES and the difference was amazing..The house was pretty much in order...the only rule not being constantly followed was #5. We are working on that one.

They also did not whine and complain about picking up the living room today because there wasn't a lot left to do...

Life is fragile

It's been a long while since I have posted to this blog!!

The last two weeks have brought home how fragile life is to me.

While at the hospital working, I went to run an errand and ran into my friends Gregg and Kathy. We used to be tight with this couple. When DH and I first got together as a couple we had a fight and broke up. Gregg went to my DH and talked to him about our relationship. The rest is history...we got married and are raising a beautiful family together..

Kathy it turns out was scheduled to have surgery for Ovarian Cysts.When I got off work, I went up to her room and we caught up on each others lives. You see Gregg and Kathy had moved away from our small town 9 years ago and even though we had the best of intentions we lost touch with each other.

The next day, I sat with Gregg in surgery waiting while he waited to go see his beloved wife. He cried and held my hand when they told him the cyst was cancer and she would have to undergo Chemo,and how the surgeons hoped they had gotten it all.

Funny how life just brings you into the right place at the right time... I just happened to go through the admissions lobby at the exact time Kathy was checking in... I am pretty sure that God put me there so Gregg would see a friend when he needed one the most..

My friend Kathy is only 47. She has two wonderful children and the most devoted husband in the world. She has a grandbaby on the way...

Life is fragile and we should all remember to thank God for it. I hope everyone will join me in praying for my friend Kathy and her life.