Menu Plan Monday

On Tuesday...

I actually used to do this on my old blog (that's no longer updated and not currently public - although there are a ton of really cute posts about the older boys when they were little that I'm considering bringing over here!) and thought I did on here a couple of times. I'd forgotten about it to be honest, until I saw Homeschool Camper share her family's menu plan yesterday!

It's hosted over on I'm an Organizing Junkie. Here's where you can find this week's linkup!

MONDAY: Leftovers was the plan, but 95% of them were either something that wasn't well-received the first time OR had turned into a science experiment after being forgotten at the back of the fridge for well over a week - some close to 3 weeks! EEK! - and they didn't want Sunday's dinner leftovers already. So Jas had ShakeOlogy before class, and we baked the last pizza in the freezer and it was just enough for E and A to each have 2 slices, J to have 2 smaller slices and me to have the last larger slice. The pizza came out of the box oval shaped so when I cut it, it wasn't really evenly sliced, LOL.

TUESDAY: Asian beef lettuce wraps, instant brown rice
 
WEDNESDAY: Homemade chicken nuggets (adapted from 100 Days of Real Food - I use panko bread crumbs and coconut oil, everything else I follow exactly. Seriously the best nuggets EVER!), baked french fries, applesauce
 
THURSDAY: Sesame seared beef (ribeyes for mom, dad, E and A, ground beef patty for J), sides to be determined but probably carrots as one :)
 
FRIDAY: Beef carnitas (cooking in crockpot) - using as a taco filling with organic refried beans, cheese, sour cream and lettuce on fresh-cooked tortillas
 
SATURDAY: Grilled cheddar smoked sausages, steamed golden and sweet potatoes, squash (yellow squash and zucchini) au gratin
 
SUNDAY: Sweet and tangy pork sandwiches, instant brown rice, sugar snap peas

How is Ethan doing?

I've had a few people inquire about Ethan and how he's doing. I haven't really updated in a while now is a good a time as any.

It's been almost two months since we decided to have him start taking the Prozac. Within a few days, we saw changes in him. He started opening up more at home, and dealing with frustration better. It seems as though at school, he's been doing great too. Even when he does get upset, he calms himself easier, and I don't think I have heard of even one instance of him needing to leave the classroom!

Now I know some of this is due to him starting to mature, but I feel like the medication is helping him cope too. E has told me he's able to calm himself and keep the frustration "in his head" more, rather than having verbal outbursts. Not always, but much more often. Things that would have disappointed him previously immensely? Yeah, they don't seem to bother him as much. If he misses a day - yesterday for example - we see a drastic change in his coping skills. He's very whiny and overly emotional about certain things, especially video games.

E has even done wonderful in gym. First trimester is over now, and so is gym, but my child who hates anything athletic/active (for the most part) made it through no problem, even getting an A-, with an A on the last two tests. One was 25 correctly done sit-ups, and the other was 25 correctly done push-ups!

He starts study skills today, and I really believe he will get so much more out of it this year than last. He reminded me yesterday that he will probably need a binder and looseleaf paper. This is not something he would have thought of before, and when asked this morning what he needed to do if he got a syllabus from his teacher today, he responded with "bring it to you, mom!" (with a little sarcasm, like duh, mom! LOL)

We were discussing on the way to school what he thought he might have next trimester, Spanish or Art.

E: I hope I have art!

Mom: Really? I thought art is stressful to you?

E: It is, but I'm not going to let that hold me back from doing art!

That right there made me so proud of him!!! I said something like I'm proud of you buddy, and I know how much you like to draw so I'm glad. :)

I also told him that he is such a good example not only to his younger brothers but me to not give up even when something is hard or stressful for us!

6 months ago, I don't think he would have said that, or been able to express a lot of what goes on in his head sometimes. Especially when it has to do with stress, anxiety and frustration. That's not to say he wasn't or couldn't communicate well. He just couldn't explain how he felt and then when a situation became frustrating or upsetting, he had an even harder time not only dealing with the situation, but explaining his feelings and thoughts. It's like a cloud has lifted for him, and I'm so grateful. I never thought we'd put him on medication, and even though it has been one of the hardest decisions we've made as parents, it has definitely, so far, been one of the best ones.

My boys all amaze me everyday, and show me that anything is possible.

Another quick story about E. He was in the MTSS classroom for reading remediation (his scantron scores dropped due to him rushing through the tests, and it's procedure for him to go there, regardless of his ACTUAL ability...) and they were reading about carnivores. The teacher asked if we are carnivores and E said "well, actually, we are omnivores!" The teacher had him define omnivore and explain to the class why as humans, traditionally at least, we are omnivores! She said he seemed to enjoy "teaching" the class, LOL. Also she told me that even though he's in there, it's hard, because the other students are working at 3rd-7th grade reading comprehension, and he's got it all and should be working on TENTH GRADE reading comprehension!!! But he's an absolute joy to have in her classroom, her words, not mine. :)

We have conferences for E and Alex next Tuesday right after school. I already know their grades though.

Ethan:

• Math - A
• Reading - A
• Science - A
• Social Studies - A
• Gym - A-
• English - B+

Alex:

• Spelling - A
• Social Studies - A
• Science - A
• Handwriting - A
• Gym - A
• Spanish - A
• Math - A-
• Reading - B+
• English - B

Reader participation needed!!

With winter fast approaching, and in Michigan, that means lots of snow and lots of cold temperatures, we will spending more time doing "nothing".

In an effort to combat that, I'm going to take an activity we participated in over the summer (although I don't think I posted about everything, we did about half of our summer bucket list. I think I was a tad bit overzealous when I made that list, though ;) ) and do something similar. 

Julie over at Learning Life with 3 Sons - my friend and former co-blogger here - has been doing a Fall Bucket list. I had intended to do one "with" her but never did. I suppose there's still a little time, but I don't want to try and rush through something.

Now, with the snow just around the corner and the days getting shorter, I won't really feel like doing things with the boys that involve going outside or to other places. To motivate myself and to keep it fun (and somewhat educational ;) ) for all FOUR boys - yes I'm including Jason in there, lol - I want to make a Winter Fun list. I will also share what our personal Winter Fun list is in a few days. I'm working on it now and want input from the boys :)

 

Now for the participation mentioned in the title: I want to give ideas to and get ideas from YOU! 

I'd like input from my readers. What are your favorite (indoor or outdoor) wintertime activities? Since we may all live in different locales, obviously location-based activities aren't always going to work for others, but feel free to share anyway. You never know of there's another reader nearby or perhaps visiting the area. Free and inexpensive things are best, because we all know with a family, it can add up quickly. However if there's something that does cost, but is really unique or is a favorite for your family, feel free to share!

Submit via comments, Facebook, or email if you like. Deadline for ideas is December 1st. After I receive and sort the ideas, I will compile a list for you all. You may find something new to do, or remember an old favorite! Either way, it could be fun! 

So that's 2 lists I plan to share in the coming days. The first will be our personal Winter Fun list, hopefully posted within the next week. The second, a list of ideas and activities from all of you to inspire you and myself alike!

Productive Saturday

Last night it took us about 2 1/2 hours to set-up all our stuff! We made it home just a few minutes before Jason got home from his Friday business class, around 9. I made a mental note that we needed to be up no later than 7 so we'd have time to stop by the bank and get change because I'd forgotten.

 We woke up a little late this morning and it threw the day off some. Since I didn't want to rush Jackson eating his breakfast and make us even later and Jason had nothing going on today, they had a daddy/son morning. On the way to the school to meet Julie, I remembered the boys needed rice and instant mashed potatoes for the Thanksgiving food drive the church is holding. We stopped at Meijer and grabbed those 2 items as well as some cash for the sale - I remembered our bank doesn't open till 9am on Saturdays. By the time we got to the school, we had missed Julie :( I felt really bad that she had gone up there to look for/wait for us! I considered just keeping the boys with me, but decided to drive them over the their catechism class. I made it back over to the school just a few minutes late, and was able to get $10 worth of ones from the ladies collecting admission fees.

When I had gotten there, the family next to me gave me some money they were holding from my first sale of the day! In the 3 hours of the sale I made about $100! I did spend $14 though, buying Jackson 10 outfits and a toy, and 5 shirts and 2 pants for our niece. After we were all done, I gave the last 3 maternity items to one of the pregnant teachers and almost all of the 8/10 and some of the 6/7 clothes to a friend who I knew would be able to get some use out of them. Still had a truckload to bring home, but it's all good :)

Julie brought the boys back over to me, and between her and her boys, and my boys and I, we got the truck loaded up. On the way home, we stopped and grabbed some lunch to take home.

I had to run back out to grab some diapers, milk, bread, and a couple of other things. I don't think in 11 years of being a parent, and 3 boys (one currently in diapers almost 2 years, one for about 4 and the other for 3), that we've ever RUN OUT of diapers! I would of sworn that we had another box in the closet. While I was at the store, E and Alex got some video game time, and Jackson fell asleep.

I guess the week and morning caught up with me, because I went in to read in our bedroom where it was quiet, and I ended up crashing for about 4 hours! Jackson and I both woke up around 8. He's up playing with train tracks and his new car toy. I have a feeling it's going to be a late night for him...

He was loving climbing in and out of this box. It's the perfect size!

Jack loves it so far.

Look at the great job he did building the track by himself!!

Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy and warmer, and I'm pretty sure we are going to just have a lazy Sunday around the house.

Now to go finally get myself a (very) late dinner. Hope you all have a great rest of your weekend!

Mom 2 Mom sale

Tomorrow, the boys' school is hosting a Mom 2 Mom sale.

I've been storing a bunch of things since our garage sale over the summer in our guest/spare bedroom, trying to decide what to do with all of it. So when the flyer came home a few weeks ago, I thought I'd rent some tables and at least attempt to sell some of it.

Over the last few days, I've sorted through boxes of clothes, books and toys that the boys have outgrown and priced everything The clothes are sorted by size and season, and I was surprised by how much we have. I considered saving it for Jackson, but there's really no reason to and we don't have a good place to keep it out of the way for years. There's 3 small boxes of 0-18 month clothes along with a couple of maternity items I have leftover from my last pregnancy, and a box each of 4/5, 6/7 and 8/10.

It's all loaded in the van right now, there's no room left! The boys will have to climb over a couple of boxes to get to their seats! We are leaving in a little while to go set-up our items for tomorrow from 6-7:30.

I'm so grateful for my friend, Julie. The older boys have catechism class tomorrow during the time of the sale, and she lives across from the boys' school. Since her younger two are also in regular catechism classes at our church now, they all go at the same time, and so I asked her if she wouldn't mind stopping by the school and grabbing the older boys and dropping them off and picking them up with hers. It's such a time-saver! After their classes, they will get to hang out at Julie's with their friends for an hour or so, too. Which they are SO looking forward to. Ever since school started, they have missed seeing her boys so much!

Jack is going to hang out with me :)

This is all the stuff we are (hopefully!!) getting rid of tomorrow! If you're nearby and need boys clothes or books... also there's some boardgames, hamster cages, a diaper genie, an exersaucer, a v-tech v-smile with 2 controllers and 6 games, a co-sleeper/bassinet, and some kids' computer (learning) games. I'm sure I'm forgetting something ;)

When ouch could have been much worse

So, I fell today.

I'd love to tell ya that that's a metaphor for something. Anything. But, alas, that is not the case.

I had just wrestled a sweatshirt on a sleeping toddler. With my right arm only. Because he was asleep on my left shoulder. He'd fallen asleep on the living room floor for about 45 mins when he woke suddenly and was cranky. I cuddled him and he fell back asleep and I didn't dare disturb him, for fear he would wake again and be very cranky until bedtime.

I grabbed his coat (to put on after the car ride, it's way too bulky for safety in the carseat), his hat that I'd slip on as soon as I'd sit him in his carseat, my sweatshirt and my purse. I slid my feet into my shoes as quickly as I could which meant they were only half-way on really. Knowing full well this was not a good idea, I still proceeded out the door, as we had to go get the boys and were leaving at the last possible moment.

Stepping down the last step, somehow, without even really realizing it, I tripped, or missed the step. I'm still not sure.

In that moment time slowed, my mind, after a momentary panic, went completely calm and I could see us falling and "see" what was about to happen. My left knee made contact with the cement of the garage floor, and ever so slowly, as if time was actually standing still, I dropped our things from my right hand and placed it around the back of Jack's head and twisted my body at the hip, falling so I was on my side and he was in my arms, safe and sound. He lifted his head and giggled as he opened his eyes. I sat him on the step to collect myself and stand up and he just sat there looking at me as if nothing had happened.

In that split second that it took to turn him from the cement and keep him safe, all I could see was what would have happened. He came so close (but not really) to banging the back of his head!

Not only am I grateful for that "moment" of time - mere seconds in reality - that my mind reacted and allowed me to react, I am so grateful he is ok.

I did bang up my knee badly though. In fact, it hurts a little to walk and bend it, and it's got a nasty bruise. It's not swollen too bad, and I'll take a bruised knee over anything worse any day!

By the way, if anybody is wondering, yes, I am a klutz ;) and I will take this as a reminder to slow down a bit in life and also to give myself ample time when it's time to pick the boys up from school.

Warmer climate is calling my name...

I've been sitting here for about 45 minutes trying to churn out a post, and I just keep typing and erasing (or making drafts to come back, reread and possibly rewrite later, LOL). I've either got nothing coming to mind, or what does isn't coming out the way I want it to.

This morning, I realized how much I don't like winter. Seriously. Not one bit. Well, at least not when it comes to our mini-van. Who's bright idea was it to put the rubber seal on the OUTSIDE of the sliding doors?! (Anyone? The answer is Dodge, by the way, in my case. If you got it right, you get a cookie. But not really. Cause I don't have any. And also because you answering that in no way made my life any easier. ;) )

Yeah. The weather has taken a turn for worse, and in Michigan, that means snow - albeit, a very light dusting - as well as much, much colder temps. This morning, my door was stuck a little, but I got it opened and started the van, with the heat full blast. Even gave it 20 minutes to warm up and thaw out a little. Still couldn't open the sliding doors, until I pried the rubber from the metal. Yeah. So not happening again. Jason said he'll put something on it, but it won't last long. This on top of an annoying ticking noise that we haven't pinpointed yet. If we didn't have a loan on it, we'd probably trade it in today. But that's the problem, we most likely owe more than it's currently worth. I say likely but we could get lucky. I'm thinking something older, less expensive, but big enough and safe enough for all of us, and not a gas-hog. It would be really cool to not have to have a huge payment on something too...

If only we could come to an agreement on other stuff, it might make this easier, too! ;) I live with a very indecisive - he calls himself picky or finicky - man. I'm someone who likes to do all the research, make lists of anything that we could need to do or know and find the answers, and also make pros/cons lists. I've done all that - mind you, this is not about the van - and presented it all to him. The ball is in his court, as they say, and while I would love to say I'm patiently waiting, I'm not being very patient. I want a yes or a no. Like yesterday. But it is a big decision. Should we sell our house and move to a different house? Should he look for or take a different job and we move somewhere else? There are a lot of factors at play here. Truly, I understand why he is questioning all of it and taking his sweet time, but it is driving me nuts!

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I'm thinking an older station wagon would be kind of cool! Something that would still be big enough for all of us, and have cargo room, but not big like an SUV, and maybe better on gas. Not sure where we'd even find one at...

A good weekend

Decided to do scouting for food yesterday morning. Gathered quite a haul! Jackson bounced between riding in the stroller, walking, my arms and (sitting on the canned goods) riding in the wagon. E helped pull the wagon and push the stroller. Alex did the heavy lifting and the hardest part of the job: knocking on doors and asking for donations! I'm very proud of all of them!

After we were done, we decided that since Jason was still in Detroit doing some maintenance, we would go to lunch. The boys have asked before about going to Strawberry Fields but we never have. Since it was right near the VFW hall where we were for scouts, we popped in for lunch. E and Alex were amused by this sign, and we thought a picture would be fun.I didn't catch the purposeful irony until we were inside. Beatles memorabilia everywhere and song references throughout the menu. A quick google search on my phone led us to the reason behind the restaurant's name. 

We had an enjoyable lunch before heading home to do nothing much for the rest of the day.

This morning, after Jason cooked the boys breakfast and they were all building with blocks in the living room, I "snuck" out alone to the grocery store. Jackson wasn't thrilled when he saw I was putting my shoes on and grabbing my purse, but it needed done and I thought the 3 boys needed time with daddy. By the time I got home, Jason and the younger 2 were outside playing while E was reading in his room. Between the 5 of us, we made quick time putting all the food and toiletries away. After a late lunch and some dawdling on my part, we headed to Jungle Java, a nearby indoor play place. The kids had a blast running around for over an hour and a half. Time to head home for dinner and showers. We ended up ordering out from a local Mexican restaurant and Jack fell asleep while Jason was gone picking it up :( He's been up and down the last few hours, and didn't want dinner when he did wake up. Thankfully he's still nursing so i know hes gotten dome nutrition this evening as that's all he wanted when he woke up. He's sleeping soundly now and so are the other 2. They have school tomorrow (charter school) but Jason doesn't have work or class. I'm going to take my boys' cue now, though, and get some shut-eye. 6am comes quite early ;)

Exploring history

While I was planning to write yesterday, I got very distracted on Ancestry.com looking at family history and trying to find not only my mom and dad's lineage, but my husband's as well. It's proving somewhat difficult on my side, as there is conflicting info or people with similar names, etc. I have gotten pretty solid info going back at least 4 or 5 generations on most of my grandparents sides.

Jason's family is more difficult. I've yet to find anything on his mother's side, and his dad's side only goes back to Jason's great grandparents on both sides. They all came over from Poland according to census records, but then the trail goes cold. It's frustrating! I really wanted to know.

I love learning about history, and finding out my great-great-grandfather was born in England and moved here when he was 2, married a girl from Missouri who's father was Canadian, is very interesting. I'm sure it goes even farther back, and I THOUGHT (not sure because again, conflicting info) we had Swedish and German and Dutch roots between my mom and dad's ancestors, as well as the definitive English and Canadian on my maternal grandfather's side.

Jason's definitely got Polish roots on both paternal grandparents sides, as they were both 1st generation Americans! I'm really hoping to find more to share with him.

We are shaped so much by not only our choices, personalities, those around us, likes, dislikes, but also the past: our lineage and ancestors. If it wasn't for each particular person meeting, marrying/having children together, for each of those generations, we would not be the exact person we are. We could be somebody totally different, inside and out! It's neat when you think about it in terms of you are who you are because of a unique set of circumstances, and choices made by every single ancestor you have!

I'm hoping to share some more info here if I find anything interesting :)

Throwback Thursday

Below is one of the few pictures I have of my Grandpa O. :( It was taken in April 1981.

(Check out the cool car seat, LOL)

Grandpa O, me (1 week old!) and Grandma O

Heather, me and Linda (my sisters) Dec 1982

From top: Dec 82 with sisters, 1983 (age 2) with my mom, Dec 83 or 84 at Grandpa Gregory's

From top: April 1987 Kindergarten; spring/summer 87 on first 2-wheeler;

 May 1987

Note the last picture above. I was 6 and my little cousin Martin was 3. This was after my paternal grandfather's funeral. I haven't seen Martin since I was about 8 or 9, I think. We were best buds here :)

Most school pictures ranging from 2nd through 5th I think.

Top left pic above was Christmas at my maternal grandfather's house. Bottom left as around my 12th birthday I think. My sister(s?) had given me a makeover.

July 1995 in NC with mom and nephew Christian

From top: 1995 with nephew Christian; Dec 1998; June 1999 with mom and dad

From Top: 98 or 99; May 2002 at our house; May 2002 in DC

From Top: May 2002 baby shower with Jason's grandma; July 29,2002 with E; First day home with E

From Top: Our happy little family July 2002 (soooo tired, LOL); me and E about 18 months; 2004

May 2005 as MOH for bestie Jill; 2008 (?) with sister Heather on ferry to Put-in-Bay

Next week, if he's cool with it, I have a ton of pics to share of Jason ;) We shall see!