Weekly Menu, July 5 - July 10

Sunday, July 5 -

meatball subs

leftover potato salad

grilled peppers

Monday, July 6 -

chicken tikka

naan

roasted cauliflower or green beans

Tuesday, July 7-

buffalo chicken in crockpot

hot dogs for kids

baked beans

corn on the cob

Wednesday, July 8-

pasta & sausages

garlic bread

salad

Thursday, July 9-

chicken enchiladas with peppers

refried beans/tortillas

toppings

Friday, July 10-

Johnny's pizza du jour

Report on the first 2 weeks of summer

Wow, it's been too long since I last posted. We are 2 weeks into summer and it has been jam packed.

Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to:

Our third graduated from pre-school and then partied hard:





We wrapped up the school year with award ceremonies and teacher gifts. I made these nifty card holders using my silhouette:



We celebrated on the last day of school with a trip to King's Dominion:



Then, two days later we headed for the Outer Banks and had a fabulous beach vacation. I'll do a whole post on this soon.



On the way back we hit King's Dominion again (working those season passes).

This week we have celebrated a family birthday (Happy 3rd, Izzy!), gone to King's Dominion with friends, consumed lots of popsicles, and generally relaxed country-style.

Menu: Sunday, June 14th – Friday, June 19th

Sunday, June 14th
Red Robin – Celebration Dinner

Monday, June 15th
Roasted chicken
Mashed potatoes
Broccolini

Tuesday, June 16th
Homemade minestrone
Crescent Rolls

Wednesday, June 17th
Pork BBQ (from freezer)
Rolls
Corn on the Cob

Thursday, June 18th
Breakfast for dinner –
Eggs
Waffles
Coffee
Fruit

Friday, June 19th
Homemade pizza or calzones
Salad

Menu: Sunday, June 7th – Saturday, June 13th

Sunday, June 7th
Parish Picnic for dinner – bring brownies

Monday, June 8th
Flank Steak Stir-Fry with Asparagus and red pepper (from SimplyRecipes blog)
Fried rice
Egg rolls

Tuesday, June 9th
Chili in the crockpot
Baked potatoes
Chopped tomatoes & onions for toppings

Wednesday, June 10th
Pasta with sun-dried tomato sausage
Salad
Green beans

Thursday, June 11th
Ham Steaks
Cheesy Potatoes (Au Gratin)

Friday, June 12th
Homemade pizza or calzones
Salad

Saturday, June 13th
~Easy does it!~
Battered fish fillets
Glazed carrots
French potato salad (July issue Martha Stewart)

** Need to get a pack of peppers from Costco and make this:
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moms_stuffed_bell_peppers/

More layouts...

Last year's Father-Daughter Dance (the new one is in a few weeks):

From Layouts

The kids' spring musical. Kit is from Studio Calico (vintage!) and sketch is from the Scrap Room's free sketch class:

From Layouts

Another sketch class layout, using up past Scrap Room kits:

From Layouts

For Nuts About Sketches:

From Layouts

Goodies from Studio Calico & Sketch from Scrap Room:

From Layouts

From Layouts

New layouts

Lots of scrapbooking happening lately...

From the May Scrap Room kit:

From Layouts

From Layouts

From Layouts

From Layouts

4-in-1 kit:

From Layouts

Menu Sunday May 24, 2009 - Saturday, May 30, 2009

Sunday, May 24

~Parents over for dinner~
Beef tenderloin
Parmesan fingerling potatoes
Haricot verts
Tossed salad
Key Lime cheesecake for dessert

Monday, May 25

Chicken n' dumplings (my sister-in-law's wonderful recipe)

Tuesday, May 26th

Chicken pasta salad (Mom's recipe)
Sliced cantaloupe

Wednesday, May 27th
Beef enchiladas
Assorted toppings
Refried beans

Thursday, May 28th
Breakfast for dinner
Waffles
Eggs
Bacon
Sliced fruit
Coffee

Friday, May 29th
Crab Fest

Saturday, May 30th
Pork BBQ in crockpot w/buns

And She's Off

For the past year, Grace has been intensely interested in horses and learning how to ride them. Our rule was that she had to be at least 8 years old to start. Once that milestone came, I looked around for a good place for her to start lessons. Here are some pictures from her first lesson, which she really loved.


The horse that she is riding is named Paris, a sweet pony with one blue eye, and one brown eye. First, she learned to take care of Paris:



In the ring for the first time...



Riding Paris...





She has had two lessons so far and is learning to care for the horse, walk, and trot.

Small Successes

1. We took down Rachel's crib this weekend. Johnny asked me what I wanted to do with it, but I can't think about that yet. So it's in storage in the basement. I need to take a picture of this BIG girl in her own bed. Two days and nights down and no problem. So, the last hold-out is the night-night binkie and then she will be ALL done with baby things.

2. I got a wonderful prescription for steroids and have beat back the poison ivy that has taken over my life last week. I think I spent more time willing myself not to itch than anything else. Things were drying up within a few hours....AND I have been able to clean, garden, and finish projects like a madwoman (it gives you an incredible burst of energy). I'm so glad that I didn't decide to just wait it out.

3. We had 5 yards of mulch delivered and this past weekend we mulched the front garden bed and cleaned and mulched the side garden. What a difference! Still so much to do, but it's nice to have one thing complete.

4. I cleaned and organized by scrapbook room/office more than it has ever seen before. It has always had to much stuff in too little of a space. I thought about how I used everything and rearranged accordingly. I also gave away a large bag to our school's art teacher.

Menu Monday, May 17th - Saturday, May 23rd

Sunday, May 17th-

Potato and Leek soup
Toasted croissants with butter

Monday, May 18th-

Lox and bagels (with capers and cream cheese)
Steamed green beans

Tuesday, May 18th –

Ham Steak with Chili Gravy and Cheesy Polenta (Rachael Ray's BOB, p. 202)
Corn on the Cob
~Was on last week's menu, but we didn't make it yet~

Wednesday, May 19th-

Buffalo Chicken Pot Pie (Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book, p. 241)
Tossed Salad
~Was on last week's menu, but we didn't make it yet~

Thursday, May 20th-

Tuna salad sandwiches on baguette rolls OR tuna casserole (we have a lot of tuna)
Homemade minestrone soup

Friday, May 21st-

Homemade pizza or calzones
Salad

Saturday, May 16th-

Pork BBQ in crock-pot