Male Bonding and other adventures

Every year in November, Troy, his brothers and Dad go pheasant hunting out in Western Nebraska. I think this is about the 7th or 8th year they've gone. The boys were thrilled to learn that this was the year that they were going to be able to go along. The night before they left Troy was going over with them some of the things they should pack, he told them to make sure and get their golf clubs ready. Jameson was surprised to learn that they went golfing during their hunting trip. Now you have to understand, Troy is not a hunter. He doesn't own a gun- he borrows one every year he goes. And in the 7 or 8 years that they have been hunting, they have not managed to shoot one bird. Well, I guess his brother Todd shot one but they couldn't find it and Orin, his sister's husband, got a quail a few years ago. They have managed to get at least one round of golf in every year. So I asked Troy why they didn't call it a golfing trip instead of a hunting trip. He said it sounded much more manly to say you were going out to try and shoot things. Silly guy! Connor was so excited to call me on Saturday night and tell me that Dad actually got a bird this year and he got to carry it back to the truck. It was a pretty exciting weekend for all my boys but Genna and I are both very glad that they are home! 

Menu Planning for this Week

Before heading to Lincoln the other day, I decided to sit down and plan out a menu for the coming week. I will be subbing a couple of days and so I wanted to get down on paper some ideas. Every day around 3:30 I start to dread the question that keeps coming to my mind, what am I going to fix for dinner. It wouldn't be so bad if I would decide something right at that point and start thawing out or making preparations. However, that is right when I am getting home from picking up the boys and I need to be avaliable to them at that point. They need my attention to help them with homework, motivation for getting chores done or just being a listening ear to hear how their days went. Yeah, I know I should be able to handle those things as well as dinner preparations, but I admit it, I am not a good multitasker. So without further ado, here it is, in all it's glory:

Menu for the week of November 13

*Baked Potatoes & Banana Nut Muffins

*Bacon Cheeseburger Pie & Green Beans

*Chili & Cinnamon Rolls

*Chicken Stir Fry & Rice

*French Toast & Bacon

*Hot Chicken Salad & Fried Green Tomatoes

*Chicken Noodle Soup & Bread

I haven't gone so far as to figure out what I am making which day- I should probably do that as well b/c we have any evening committment every night this week. When planning my menu, I wanted to use up things from my freezer and cupboards as much as possible. This week's plan required the following purchases : potatoes- they were on sale for $1.58 for 10 lbs., celery, soft butter and croutons, which were actually on sale as well. The croutons are for the hot chicken salad which is baked. I wasn't sure how my homemade croutons would hold up during baking.
I still managed to spend a good chunk of change at the store- but I did a lot of stocking up and replenishing of items.

Ok, I think I have rambled on enough for today. I probably will be doing more of it as I strive to be more frugal and organized.

A Closet Made Over, My Way

I really enjoy the shows where they fix up a house, remix a room, or give someone a makeover. For me it's all about the before and after. Knowing how someone or something looked before a journey to something different and hopefully better. I know this may sound pretty dramatic when all I really did was clean up my closet- but hey, I had to have something to blog about, right?

Anyhoo, the second set of pictures are my BEFORE (still figuring out this new blog). I have a nasty habit of taking something off and if a hanger is not readily in sight, just laying it on the shelf. My shoe area is a mess b/c 1)currently both summer and winter shoes are out and 2)I get lazy and don't fit the ones that go on the shoe rack, back where they belong. I won't throw any stones Troy's way because my side definitely rivaled his side as far as messiness goes.

So this was today's project. I figured it might take me a couple of hours to get it all taken out, organized and put back together. Well, it ended up taking about 8. Of course, it didn't help that while working I was watching show after show on my favorite HGTV of the previously aforementioned makeover shows.

Despite the long day of watching, I mean working, I finally finished. I know it isn't as pretty as the reveals on TV, but this project came in right on budget- FREE. I did try to move things around a bit. I color coded the hanging clothing as well, as changing our every day wear from the top racks to the bottom. Neither Troy or I have a dresser in our bedroom and so everything,except our undergarments(we store these in the bathroom) goes into the closet. Now I know it would have looked more like one of those shows if I had went out and purchased matching bins and moved some of the things we store in our closet out- but this is real life, folks! Besides clothing and shoes, on my side I store purses, school supplies, seasonal items- including our swim towels and beach bag, as well as gift items. Troy's side has shoe care, back braces, a little hunting paraphenelia and his briefcase for church.

I hope you have enjoyed this little peek into my latest project. I have many more projects like this to tackle all over my house. The pantry and my food storage are one of the next tasks on the list, as I am going to attempt the OAMC thing at the end of November. I know being organized will be key to making that endeavor a success. So if you don't mind, I will probably track my progress, as I attempt to get my house made over, my way.

Trick or Treat

I thought I posted this last night. Bloggger says I last changed my blog last night- but a post with this picture is nowhere to be found.

Anyhoo, we had a chilly but fun Halloween. We had our little princess, a skateboard dude and army man.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! 

Fall Fun

We've had a lot going on the past few weeks. The boys had the past 2 Friday's off from school and so we have tried to plan some fun things for those days. On the 20th, we went out for a yummy lunch with Grandpa & Grandma Koski. They flew(drove) south(AZ) for the winter. We are going to miss them a lot! That night, all the boys went camping. It was a wonderful evening for it, until the rain hit. They came home quite soggy! The next night, we all dressed up for a Halloween party. Troy was a hip 70's dude and I won a prize for being the scariest! We had parent teacher conferences this last week and got great reports for both boys. Connor needs to work a little harder at not getting distracted so he can keep up the good work he is capable of. Last Thursday, Genna had a fall party at school, they made dirt cups and played a touchy feely guessing game. I was glad Elizabeth and I could attend. On the 27th, the kids and I went up to the Children's Museum in Lincoln. We hadn't been there for a while. We all had such a fun time! Tonight we carved our pumpkins for Family Home Evening- they all turned out pretty cool! Tomorrow both boys have Halloween parties at school and then trick or treating tomorrow night. I am not looking forward to the chilly weather that is expected. Maybe the sugar high we have will be enough to keep us moving so we don't get quite as cold. Happy Halloween! 

Bangs

I started growing Genna's bangs out when she was about 15 months old. My little girl has always had strong opinions as to what she does and does not like. We went through several different phases with her hair, where she did not want me to put it in pony tails or barrettes or braids. Her hair is very fine and so even when we were in the midst of a time where she was letting me fix her hair- it would fall out of the barrettes, ponies, etc. and be hanging in her eyes. You can imagine this didn't work well during mealtimes.

Anyway, the past Sunday morning, I asked her if she would like to have bangs like her friends' Elizabeth and Emma. Yes, she would. So, I cut them. I forgot that wet hair is longer than dry hair, and so they are a bit shorter than I would have liked. I hair cutters remorse for the first few days until I finally started getting used to the bangs. She wasn't too keen on them either when she first looked in the mirror either. I did have to explain that we couldn't put the hair back on.

But I think we are all adjusted and loving her cute new look. Mealtimes are better. Mornings are better- if she doesn't want to have pretties in her hair- no big deal, we just comb it and call it good and it looks much more finished than before. And finally, my favorite benefit of this new cut- getting a much better view of my little sweetie's face! 

Freedom

Last night we had the honor to welcome a funeral procession of a fallen soldier who is being buried in our town. His parents live here and I hope in some small way they could know how appreciative we are of the service their son gave for us and our country. We went as a Cub Scout unit with our shirts and American flags and lined the highway as the procession drove through. All the emergency vehicles in town were present with their lights on. We had to wait in the cold for about an hour before the procession got to town and the boys were running around- trying to stay warm. But they were so solemn and respectful when the procession went by. I am so thankful to live in this country where good people are willing to fight and die for the freedoms we hold so dear.