Happy Homemaking---Menu Plan, To Do's, and a Good Read Aloud

Read more menu plans and weekly plans at

  Happy Homemaker Monday and Menu Plan Monday.

Our Weather for the Week is looking a bit glum with cloudy skies, a chance of rain Wednesday and over the weekend, with temperatures in the low to mid-60s. BUT most of the trees have buds on them and many of the daffodils are blooming. Nature seems to think it is definitely spring, and flocks of Canadian Geese have been flying overhead (going north) for the last several weeks. I am wondering if our winter will really be so brief...you won't find me complaining if spring has sprung!

What's New? We finished our Foster/Adopt Classes and are in the process of finalizing our paperwork. It's very exciting!!

Also, Hubby is out of town for some job related training, so Tex will be the man of the house for a while. It's only the first day since Daddy left and the kids have already said that they miss him. Awwww.

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Our Menu and Mommy Plans for the Week:

Monday--Staying home to get a good helping of school work completed today. Working on reading with the Amigos. I plan to start wrapping up our Project of the Month, which was to organize our library (look for a blog post on March 1st). I have heaps of laundry to fold that I did not get to over the weekend. The kids are going to help me while we watch a documentary on Egypt.

        Chicken Alfredo with garlic bread sticks

Tuesday--Nanny and Poppy have promised to visit. They've been gone quite a while visiting their moms in the Midwest and the kids have missed them a LOT. I am hoping to keep working on my library improvements. Perhaps Mom will have some good ideas...Look for a review of The Mighty Macs with a giveaway.

         Chili in the crockpot served with cornbread

Wednesday--The Bookmobile comes at noon and our friends will be joining us for lunch. The kids will also want to practice their Awana verses as much as possible. Look for my reviews of the All About Reading program and an excellent movie/documentary called Three Hearts about the work Samaritan's Purse does to help children with heart defects in other countries.

        Church at 5 pm and it is PIZZA night! Yum. 
        Their slices of pizza are HUGE.
        It is "wear your Pjs Night" at Awana and 
        the kids are so excited.

Thursday--We need to focus on school again today. I get to start my new "Just (Learn to) Do It" Challenge today. I am working on finishing up a yo-yo quilt top I bought at the antique mall that is the size of a small square table. I need to make it large enough to cover a large rectangular table with a leaf added. I bought a clear plastic cover to protect it when I am finished. I am hoping to be done by the end of the month. Look for a review of Reading Eggs. My kids LOVE it.

       Tuna Casserole served with applesauce and homemade biscuits. 
       This is one of Tex's favorites.

Friday--I am thinking some lapbooking will be a fun way to spend our Friday. I have plenty of pages printed up that only need assembling and coloring! The kids like lapbooking, but we don't do enough of it. I am exploring doing more notebooking with Tex, since he thinks he's a bit old for lapbooks.

       Nachos and a movie night! Movie TBA.

Saturday--I am thinking we will be at home working on our front porch. Now that the back room is nice an organized, the covered porch is next.

       Corn dogs and french fries.
       Nothing fancy for a not-so-fancy workday.

Sunday--Church. Naps. Read books all day. Rest. 

       A big pot of Seven Bean Soup served with lots of cheese on top, 
       and extra rolls and apple butter on the side. 

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Something to Read: The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordian (Tex wants is RIGHT NOW!!)

Something to Learn: I am exploring the idea of notebooking with Tex. We've made notebooks before using composition books, but never using binders. I am loving reading all the information on The Notebooking Fairy's site, as well as on Notebooking Pages. More great stuff from Jimmie on Squidoo.

Something to Do: Finish my second project of the month and start my third. That's not too bad!

Something to Be: Patient. Calm. Peaceful. We have been working on orderly this month, and one study I read pointed out that orderly is not just things being perfect, it is things working together in a good way even when they are not. That's something to think about.


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Our Read Aloud: We are still working on the same book from last week. With Daddy leaving, we didn't spend as much time reading as we did playing and getting small chores completed.

A New Site to Explore: I found this cool site about herbs and using wild plants called Eat the Weeds. There are a bunch of videos you can watch. If you are at all into herbal remedies and survival skills, you will love this one.

Something Fun to Share: I figured out what we will be doing for the rehearsal dinner for Bubba and Miss As wedding in June. Hubby and I ate at this wonderful popular Italian restaurant on Saturday (for lunch during our adoption class), and fell in LOVE with their stuffed pizza, garlic knots, zeppolles, wings, and cheesecake desserts. We got a catering menu and I plan to set up the party room at Miss As barn like a romantic Italian restaurant with classy music playing (Crooners anyone??), and of course, the infamous Rehearsal Dinner Slideshow (Bubba knows what I mean...I hope I can get some goodies of Miss A. to toss in the mix so he's not the only one with funny pictures for everyone to enjoy!). I am so glad to have that decision made.


Something/Someone to Pray For: We will be praying for someone we don't know. We actually got a call on Friday about a little girl, but because of our four younger children, we were not a good match for her. I feel terrible about it, but we will continue to pray that there is a wonderful family out there that is perfect for her. Please pray with us. God knows who she is when you pray. 

You can also pray for my brother and sister-in-law who have announced that they are expecting baby number three. Congratulations!! We are so excited for them. They already have two boys, so I am sure they'd love to have a girl, but a baby who is healthy is the most important thing. My Ladybug and Firefly will be praying for a girl, though. ;-)

Isn't this a cute way to make the announcement? 

She is so creative.

A Bible Verse to Think About: "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. " Ephesians 4:1-3


Blessings,