Project 1 - Dry Erase Weekly Planner

I admit it,  I am a fan of Pinterest.  I love to look at everyone's ideas.  I am a Pinterest stalker!!  I have found some really cute and helpful ideas on there.

This is one of them, a dry erase weekly schedule board.  That's what calendars are for, right?  Well, I don't know about you,  but I have to walk right up to the calendar to see what's written on there.  Plus,  I can't always fit everything in those little squares (remember, I have 6 kids). Sure enough, things get missed!!!  I'm hoping between the cell phone alarms,  monthly calendar hanging up and my newly made weekly schedule (that I can see from across the room),  I will not miss a thing!!

Cute, and not terribly difficult or expensive to make.  I bought a very cheap (to the tune of $3) 12x16 picture frame at Wal-Mart and the rest is stuff I already had lying around.  I took different colors of scrapbook paper one for each day,  printed out the days of the week from my computer,  glued them all together, put them in the frame and wala........a dry erase weekly schedule board to display in the kitchen so everyone can see what is going on and when.  You don't want to use it for a schedule?  Well, how about a menu board??

I like this option too.  I just might have to make another one.  Don't mind my handwriting,  as long as the family can read it, we're good.

I have a couple other little projects I have found on Pinterest that I can't wait to work on.  Will let you know how those go as well.

Honey Pecan Pork Chops

I fixed these yesterday and they got rave reviews.  Hubby said they were delicious!!  I thought they were a little sweet, but the rest of the clan LOVED them.  Not to mention.,  they are super easy and quick.

Here's what you need:
     1 1/4 pound boneless pork loin, thin cut
     1/2 c flour
     salt and pepper to taste
     2 tbsp butter
     1/4 c honey
     1/4 c chopped pecans

Mix together the flour, salt, and pepper and dredge the pork cutlets in the mixture.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium to high heat.  Add the chops and brown on both sides (be careful to not over cook them which is usually my problem).

 Transfer the cooked pork chops to a warm plate.  Mix the honey and pecans into the pan drippings.  Heat through, stirring constantly (again be careful not to burn/overcook the sauce).  Pour the sauce over the cutlets and serve.  I served them up with caramelized butternut squash, green beans, and crescent rolls.

Mmmmm Mmmmmm good.  Don't those look yummy?  According to hubby,  they were the best pork chops I've made, he thinks!! 

Plan for the Week

Amazingly enough, the month of May is almost over.  Where does the time go??  That means,  I have a little over a month to get my house back together and plan/prepare for a major birthday party.  I'm sure I've mentioned before that two of my girls share a birthday as well as one of their cousins who was also born on the same day, so we try to have a big combined birthday party for them.  So far,  they seem to enjoy that,  but one day they may want a party of their own:( 

Anywhooo,  all that means a major overhaul of my house (again).  I have to get things back in their places, organized, and looking pretty!!  So, we're tackling one room at a time.  This week is the laundry room (I'll do before and after photos on another post).  I have to get all their fall/winter clothes finally put away and all their spring/summer clothes out, washed, and put in their place.  Easy enough task huh??  Well,  I assure you it will take all week, and I've been trying to work on it a little at  a time already:(  It's a hard enough battle if that is all I had to do,  but we still have to do school, continue to have clothes to wear during the week,  and all the other tasks to keep this house going.  Plus,  I'm sure I've mentioned,  I have 6 kids (three of which are girls who change clothes at least twice a day).  That's another thing I'm going to work on - you suppose there's a way I can lock their dressers??

So,  to make my week easier,  I've tried to prep several meals ahead of time.  I already have chicken fajita mix, taco mix, and homemade bagel bites ( linked to my sister-in-laws blog) in the freezer ready to grab, thaw, and go.  So, here's the menu for the week:

Monday - Honey Pecan Pork Chops (new recipe), caramelized squash, green beans, crescent rolls

Tuesday - homemade chicken nuggets,  baked sweet potatoes,  peas, corn

Wednesday - taco night

Thursday - chicken fajitas in the oven, rice

Friday - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn

Saturday - hot dogs

Sunday - I'm on my own cause hubby and the kids have Memorial Day plans and I have to work :(  so I'll probably just grab something on my way to work. 

New Spice Cabinet

 Another awesome idea from hubby!!  We had an old built in ironing board cabinet in our kitchen from way back when:)  Obviously I don't use it!! It's not that I don't iron,  just not in the kitchen!!  So,  what to do with that wasted space???  To remove the whole cabinet would mean new drywall there,  we're just not into that right now,  so hubby thought it would be the perfect place for my spices.  Surprisingly,  he was right :o)  Just kidding, he's usually right!!

Here's the before and after pics:

Awesome,  I love it.  Plus,  it opens up another small cabinet I can use for pots and pans that I currently store in my oven (and quite frequently forget about when I turn the oven on).

Mother's Day Joys and Sorrows

Mother's day carries so many emotions,  sometimes it's hard to get through without a box of tissues.  I am blessed to be mom to 6 of the most beautiful children I know.  They range in age from 1 to 13,  and with that age range carries a lot of different growing pains!! But, I wouldn't change that for the world.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being a mom.

  My 6 little blessings!!

It is also one of the days I miss my mom the most, what a wonderful lady she was. I am thankful for the example she set.  She showed us trust, faith and strength in God even in the midst of some terrible storms. Such a strong lady!! 

 My mom, miss you bunches!!

I am also blessed with a sweet mother-in-law, not a MONSTER-IN-LAW!!  Hubby's mom is so kind and loving and has always been there for us.  She is a wonderful example of a Godly lady.  I could not have picked out two better Grandma's for my children.

Grandma with the kiddos a couple years ago at Gatlinburg, TN.

Hoping all of you mothers had a very special Mother's Day!!! 

Ear Infections UGH!!

You would think with 6 kids,  I've had my share of ear infections,  but thankfully, that is NOT the case.  As a matter of fact,  I can probably count on one hand our cases of ear infections.  Now,  if we were talking stomach viruses,  I know ALL about those!! 

Baby Samuel is MISERABLE!!!  He has not slept more than an hour at a time since Tuesday night.  Wednesday night,  I thought maybe he was teething.  He would sleep, but it was restless and fussy.  He kept us up most of the night.  Thursday night was the WORST!! He was up until 4am and would just scream.  The only thing that would help was standing in the shower,  but I ran out of hot water!!  I knew Friday though that it wasn't just teeth,  poor baby couldn't even walk.  He was stumbling all over the place and at one point,  he was walking forward and then just started staggering and walking back-ward like a drunk!!!  So, off to the doctor we went.  Poor little guy has his first ear infection and of course it has to be in BOTH ears:(

This is actually after two doses of antibiotics.  He is feeling much better in this picture.  Here's hoping he sleeps better tonight,  because mommy HAS to go to work :(  Good luck daddy!!

Four Years of Missing Mom

While yesterday was spent celebrating new life,  today is a day I remember saying goodbye to my mom.  She was my best friend,  the first person I would share good news with (after hubby of course) and the first person I called when things were going wrong.  She was always there with either congratulations or encouraging words,  never judging what I told her. 

I would never wish her back into this world where she fought cancer and disease for 16 years. However,  there are days I truly miss her and am sad for the things she is missing here; like baby Samuel's first birthday yesterday,  anniversaries, graduations,  the fact that 3 of her grandchildren only know her by pictures,  etc..

 I can also tell you that while I don't always understand God's plan and why things happen,  I can tell you that He directs them ALL.  For instance,  my mom loved to crochet,  she had made blankets for all of my children, my brother's daughter, as well as friends children/grandchildren, that's what she gave as baby gifts at showers (you get the point).  When she decided to quit fighting and stop all the treatments,  she knew I was pregnant, but didn't know that I was having a girl (let alone that I'd have another one),  but she had already made a yellow blanket for her.  What we didn't know was that she had made two others as well.  She had put them in a trunk and my dad found them after we had told him we were expecting, as was my brother's wife.  Amazingly enough, there was one for a boy (Samuel) and one for a girl (Amelia-my niece).    So, all of her grandchildren (even the two she did not know were coming) have a hand-made baby blanket from Grandma.  I had Mini-Me just four months to the day after my Mom went to Heaven.  That was probably one of the hardest days I had; the joy of my baby girl,  but the sadness my mom wasn't there.  She had been there for all the others,  she hadn't missed one!!  After Abby was born,  hubby looked out the window and there was a rainbow - happens all the time you say??  Well, it hadn't rained there yet!!  That rainbow was for me from mom, letting me know she still hadn't missed one,  I just missed her. 

So,  you see,  while I still cry tears,  I know that I will see her again.  I know it wasn't goodbye forever, just for now.  So, I just hold on to all the precious memories and wait.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Samuel

Already???  It's been a year already??  NOOOOOO!!!  Today, my baby boy turns one.  Time sure does fly by.  While I don't wish anything to be wrong with my children,  I sure would like to keep them little just a while longer.  They grow up so fast!!  I can remember bringing my first born home. All the nights spent rocking and feeding,  now he is going to be 14 this year.  He's already talking about getting a car:(

Some days I just feel so old.  Then there are other days,  I look at this little face and feel like I'm in my 20's again!!  The joy they all bring to my life!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Samuel!! Mommy loves you!!