The Green House

Finally Friday

2009-01-16T21:46:00.002-06:00

Not that it really makes that much difference in the whole grand scheme of things, but it is Friday and that means that I have another weekend to get organized. It seems that even though I work at home, nothing gets done during the week. If I can get the help, our bedroom will be done with all the surfaces cleaned off, and no clutter around. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. At least that is the plan.

I want. . .

2009-01-14T23:40:00.002-06:00

. . .a clean desk
. . .an organized filing system
. . .an organized sewing crafting area
. . .a good way to organize my knitting needles

I guess the organizing fairy is off right now, so I should just get up off of my duff and get it done.

Any ideas?

Sucked right in. . .

2009-01-13T20:37:00.001-06:00

My friend S invited me to play Mob Wars on Facebook. Now I am well and truly addicted. LOL Then there is School Vandals, another one that I am hooked on. Its a wonder I manage to get things done around the house.

Evil. . .

2009-01-11T11:48:00.002-06:00

According to Michael, he can't eat the pancakes I just made. All because he is scared of Mrs. Butterworth. Mrs. Butterworth can talk you see and his food is not supposed to talk to him. Therefore, Mrs. Butterworth ". . .is evil and must die." Strong words for such a young man. I plan to enjoy her last days with us by eating the pancakes I made for brunch. I also plan on letting everyone else enjoy them as well.

So far not so good

2009-01-09T23:55:00.003-06:00

So this menu thing has been pretty easy. I like knowing what we are going to have and I like knowing it is all there and ready to be cooked. Except that its not. I did this with the plan of not going to the grocery store except for bread and milk. I have hit the store every day this week. Tuesday was shopping day, Wednesday I needed hamburger buns, Thurday french bread (I just didn't feel like making it) and today I realized I didn't have a lemon for the fish.

I thought this whole thing would save me time and money and so far neither one has really happened. I really need to get my act together when I plan out the next two week menu.

Laptop Lunch System

2009-01-08T20:27:00.002-06:00

I want to point you towards the Laptop Lunch System. From their site--Laptop Lunches are American-style bento boxes designed to help families pack nutritious, environment-friendly lunches for school, work, and travel. Our sustainable lunch containers--which come with a book of healthy lunch ideas and lunchmaking recipes--are reusable, recyclable, and dishwasher safe. Our lunchboxes, recently featured in both Parents and O Magazine, do not contain phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), or lead.

Now, doesn't that sound like something you want to send your kid's lunch to school in? I think that I need some here. If you would like to try to win one, click here to enter a giveaway. Frugal Mommy of Two Girls is giving one away on her blog.

I'm tired.

2009-01-08T19:38:00.001-06:00

That is all. Well, it's not, but it is true. I feel like I haven't slept in a week. I need a nap, but who takes a nap at 20 minutes until 8 in the evening?

New Pics!

2009-01-07T18:22:00.003-06:00

Just taken today!

2 weeks of menus revisited

2009-01-06T21:02:00.002-06:00

I finally made it to the grocery store today and actually managed to get quite a bit. I got almost everything I need for the next two weeks. The only things missing were some hamburger and buns for next Friday and dishwasher soap. Between the two stores (wal-mart neighborhood and aldi's) I spent $130.00. That works out to less than $10.00 a day for 3 meals for 5 people. Even better 3 of the protiens that I bought will stretch to make at least 5 additional meals. This is a new thing for me, and I hope that it turns out to be a money saver.

Convenience

2009-01-05T21:12:00.002-06:00

I have decided that convenience is not all it is cracked up to be. I am all for trying to go paperless when we can, but sometimes it just sucks. Take today for example. Today was/is payday. My paycheck is supposed to be direct deposited every other Monday first thing in the morning. I go log in today and no check. I figured that they may be running behind so I wait awhile and check again. No check. I called the bank and they don't have a record for it at all. I call the payroll company and they said that they sent it on Friday like they normally do. Called back to the bank and they said it must be a problem with the Payroll company and to call back in an hour to see if they found it. Called back in an hour and find out that the whole network is down and my paycheck is floating out in cyberspace. It finally showed up at about 7 o'clock this evening. Not really convenient.

2 weeks of menus

2009-01-04T19:08:00.003-06:00

This is a new thing for me. I usually just make a list of what we need and end up at the store 3 or 4 times but today I spent the afternoon trying to come up with 2 weeks of menus so that I can do all of the shopping and be done with it. I am hoping that this will help save some money. I found out that it isn't as easy as it sounds. I did come up with good dinners, but on lunches I flaked out went with sandwiches. How boring is that? Breakfast during the week is just cereal, we always have a lot of that so it was easy enough. Weekends are a bit more involved but still pretty easy.

Here is the menu for the next two weeks.

Sunday: Frozen Pizza (tonight)
Monday: Chicken with broccoli rice and green beans
Tuesday: Enchiladas, beans and salad
Wednesday: Hamburgers and french fries
Thursday: Baked ziti and salad
Friday: Baked fish, spinach and mac and cheese
Saturday: Ham, sweet potatoes and green beans

Sunday: Chicken Fried Steak, french fries
Monday: Pork Chops, hominy and broccoli
Tuesday: Chicken, acorn squash, salad
Wednesday: Sweet and sour smoked sausage and rice
Thurday: Spaghetti, garlic bread and sald
Friday: Ranch burgers and ranch style beans
Saturday: BBQ hot dogs, pork and beans and mac and cheese

I will be back tomorrow after I go shopping and post a total for 2 weeks. It will include other things like trash bags and TP as well.

Some recent photos

2009-01-03T19:52:00.009-06:00

Christmas Eve, sprinkling "Magic Reindeer Food" on the lawn.

Christmas, Michael is so excited to get a Doctor's kit

"Stesecope" included

What can it be?

a pasta maker?

I think not.

. . . a Game Cube!

12-28-08 Happy 50th Birthday Earl!

Mount Washmore

2009-01-02T11:59:00.002-06:00

Well, I have a mountain of laundry to do. It is actually done with the wash/dry part, but it definitely needs to be folded and put away. This is on my list for today. Hopefully I will have it done in just a few hours. Here's hoping I have enough hangers.

A new beginning. . .

2009-01-01T11:23:00.002-06:00

Wow, 2009 is here and as Michael kept saying last night, Happy New You! It really got me thinking. What can I do this year to make a new me? Should I make some resolutions that I know I won't keep? I decided that instead of resolutions, I am going to set some goals that are in my mind attainable.

Goal #1. Start back with Flylady. Baby steps are what I need.
Goal #2. Really start a savings plan.
Goal #3. Stop smoking.
Goal #4. Keep E-D on a regular school plan.

Enough for now. I will add more as I think of them.

Happy New Year to all! and a Happy New You as well!

Saving on detergent

2008-12-10T15:47:00.001-06:00

I took the advice of Money Saving Mom (see blog under my bloglist) and went to Walgrens today. They have Arm and Hammer laundry soap on sale for $1.99 a bottle when you use the in ad coupon. I also used $1 off coupons that I printed from www.armandhammer.com . In the end, I got $27.96 worth of detergent for a grand total of $3.96! I don't always stockpile, but this was a great deal.

Sneezing is dangerous. . .

2008-12-09T15:55:00.002-06:00

A conversation with Michael.

Michael: Sneezing is scary.

Annie: Why is sneezing scary?

Michael: If I sneeze, my brain will fall out of my head.

Another one.

Michael: I have bones in my body.

Me: Yep, you sure do.

Michael: I have guts too.

Me: Yes, you have guts (wondering where this is going)

Michael: I have a penis and you don't.

Me: That's true, girls don't have a penis.

Michael: You aren't a girl, you are a mommy!

Why do they have to grow up so fast?

2008-11-21T17:32:00.006-06:00

I went through Michael's clothes today and got rid of the 3Ts. Why is my 3y4m old son wearing 4T and 5T? He is just getting so tall. 3T is too short for him and 4T fits perfectly. It seems that PJs shrink more than regular clothes so all of his PJs are 5T!

I can still remember when he was born and we could hold him in one hand he was so tiny.

Now look at him! Such a big boy!

As much as I miss the little tiny baby, I wouldn't trade my big boy for anything!

Take a Peek at this. . .

2008-11-20T15:18:00.004-06:00

Wow, there is a cool give away on one of the blogs that I keep up with. It is for a Peek. I think this is just about the coolest thing to check email. If you are interested in trying to win one, click here. Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls is one of the blogs that I have listed on the sidebar here. There is a lot of good info on all kinds of products on her site.

So technically it is Thursday. . .

2008-11-20T00:05:00.003-06:00

. . .but I am still up so I am going to pretend that it is still Wednesday. That way I haven't really missed a day.

I am just so frustrated today. Both boys have been whirling dirvishes and my nerves are shot. I try to go into the bedroom for a little peace and quiet and they follow me. Sometimes I just need a break. They are both still up and I am going mad.

Yay me!

2008-11-18T22:14:00.001-06:00

I am done with The Great Cloth Diaper Hunt! Yay! Probably the last one I will do, but who knows, they are lots of fun. Lots of good prizes to win too. There is still time if you want to play.

Cute conversation with Michael

2008-11-18T12:58:00.002-06:00

The other night, Earl was showing Michael states on a map. As he pointed out Arizona, he told him that Grandma Peggy lived in Arizona. Michael piped up with "Not Air zona, Grandma Peggy live in Air port." We all got a good laugh at that one.

Random pics

2008-11-17T22:11:00.006-06:00

Just a shot of me, not a great one, but at least you can see what I look like. LOL

A total candid of Michael, I just happened to see him like this so I ran to get the camera and snapped it before he noticed me.

Grandma Peggy and the boys. This trip was her first time meeting Michael. She hadn't seen us in over 6 years!

There he is in all of his glory, my great husband Earl.

Back to the grind

2008-11-17T22:10:00.003-06:00

Ok, Ok, I know that I haven't been doing so well with this thing. I have set a goal for myself to post at least once a day. It might be a link to a blog I read, or a funny thing that happened or it maybe something else. Who knows what will happen?

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T20:13:00.009-05:00

Here are some pics from today. The boys had a great time Trick or Treating on the square. I will post some more pics later on of the cute pups in costumes.

Don't worry Zelda, Link is here to save the day!

Argh Matey, I be a fierce pirate!

Just starting out. BTW, this is the Little Bread Co. Just off of the square. We found it today and their cream puffs are to die for. We got one to try and it was enough for all 5 of us! YUMMY!

We are done Trick or Treating and made it to the top of the waterfall fountain.

All that Trick or Treating sure was hard work.

The haul.

Another two weeks without a post!

2008-10-20T19:56:00.002-05:00

I suck. I surely do. I am just not keeping up with this and seeming to find it harder each day. I guess I just need to set up a certain blog time so that I can keep it going.

On the needles now is a raglan sweater for E-D. I have half of one sleeve done and hope to finish that sleeve really soon.

Michael is going to be a pirate for Halloween so I have that one done. Thank you Walgreens. :) I still have to make E-D's but that shouldnt be too difficult.

Grandma was here and we had fun with her being here. I hope that she did too. I will have some pics posted when I get the chance.