Happy Father's Day

Today is Father's Day. I have been blessed with knowing 2 amazing fathers and having their influence in my life.

My dad and I--Easter 2004

The first father who has had a huge impact on me is my own father. At 55 years old, he is still going strong and is still a source of guidance, counsel and strength in my corner. I truly believe that his love and support has meant a great deal to me and has gotten me through some trying times in my own life. Even at the age of 35, I still go to him for advice (most recently a 3 hour conversation that ended after 1AM in the morning about some decisions that I needed to make).  He is also a wonderful Grandfather to my own kiddos and for that I am truly grateful.

The other father that has had a significant impact on my life is the father of my children, who is also my husband. Bill does everything in his power to make sure that our children are happy and healthy and his decisions are based on is it good for Rachel and the kids. He is an amazing father and partner in this child-rearing business. The kids love him and it is amazing each time he comes home from work and they all run to him yelling "Dada, dada, dada is home!" I am so grateful that I married a man who is a wonderful father and a great husband.

So to my dad and to my husband, I would like to wish a happiest of Father's Day! 

The Love Fight: How Achievers and Connectors Can Build A Marriage that Lasts

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION (FROM AMAZON.COM):

Divorce is epidemic among successful, "high-powered" people.  Doctors, lawyers, executives, politicians and entrepreneurs often attain career success only to fail at home in their family relationships.  What gives?  Has success changed them?  Or, have they been secretly waiting to exit when the time is right?  Did they ever love their spouses?  

In The Love Fight, Drs. Tony Ferretti and Peter Weiss explain how worldly successful individuals fail at home in their intimate relationships, often from a mismatch of priorities and styles between the success-oriented "Achievers" and their relationship-oriented "Connector" spouses.  This Achiever mindset is common in highly successful people of all social classes, perhaps especially so in America where such success is lionized and top CEOs are considered heroes.

As opposites attract and Achievers meet and marry Connectors, the very same personality traits that propelled the Achiever to the top in medicine, law, business or politics (and which may have attracted a more relationship-oriented partner in the first place) often sow the seeds of destruction in their marriage.  These traits, and the differences between Achievers and Connectors, can create a dynamic of poor communication leading to anger, resentment, and eventual estrangement.

Achiever or Connector, The Love Fight is a book that will help you understand your spouse and yourself better.   It's easy-to-read and understand style, simple assessments and exercises to evaluate your relationship, and straightforward strategies can help you develop an action plan to create the marriage you want.

MY THOUGHTS:

If it seems like you and your spouse are opposites then this book is for you. Drs. Ferretti and Weiss have taken the time to identify and dissect different personalities in a marriage and have broken them down to include Achievers and Connectors. Using real life examples to compare and using their criteria, I have figured out that my husband is an achiever and I am a connector. That means that we look at our relationship differently but we CAN make it work (and personally we have for almost 10 years). I like that the authors keep hammering home the fact that you can make a relationship work if both people are willing to work on it, despite differences in personalities. I like that the authors say that you have the power to create a healthy family relationship no matter what outside circumstances there are. Life happens and there are going to be rough patches, but if you are willing to work for a healthy relationship then it doesn't matter if you are an achiever or a connector, you can have a healthy relationship. 

This was an interesting read and one that I would recommend to anyone who is having doubts or wants to make their relationship stronger.  

Disclaimer: I was provided a free print copy of this book from The Cadence Group on behalf of the author in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Vacation Bible School 2015

Last week Rebecca and Jacob participated in our church's Vacation Bible School. Our church calls it "Catholic Kidz Kamp." This year the theme was "Set Sail with the Holy Trinity featuring Saint Patrick."

The kids had a blast at camp each day. Rebecca did miss one day due to a softball game, but she went the other days. They had a lesson, craft, snack, and game each night. Jacob would say each night that he was so excited to go to Bible school. 

On Thursday, they did a small concert for the parents where they danced and sang the songs that they had learned throughout the week. It was so cute watching them dance and sing. Benjamin was even enthralled with the performance and he kept dancing along with them trying to do the moves! 

These are the types of memories that I want my kids to have. Fun summer memories that involve Vacation Bible School. We have attended our church's camp the last 3 years and each year the kids are super excited.  They are already talking about going back next year!

What Jacob and Rebecca say about me.....

I saw this on facebook a couple of weeks ago and decided to have my kids answer the questions....Their responses crack me up. 

WITHOUT ANY prompting, ask your child these questions and write down EXACTLY what they say. It is a great way to find out what they really think. When you are done re-post and put your child's age.

Answered by Jacob age 5

1. What is something mom always says to you? Go to time out.

2. What makes mom happy? When I help her and when I don't go to time-out.
3. What makes mom sad? That I push her
4. How does your mom make you laugh? she tickles me
5. What was your mom like as a child? like Rebecca
6. How old is your mom? 25
7. How tall is your mom? 50 million pounds
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Eat so much
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? shop
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? she'd be in a concert
11. What is your mom really good at? shopping
12. What is your mom not very good at? running
13. What does your mom do for a job? tutor
14.What is your mom's favorite food? peanut butter and jelly
15.What makes you proud of your mom? Because she always tickles me
16. If your mom were a character, who would she be? Star-Lord or Rapunzel
17. What do you and your mom do together? we go shopping
18. How are you and your mom the same? we both have glasses
19. How are you and your mom different? mommy has a dress and I have a shirt
20. How do you know your mom loves you? because I just know
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? She likes his beard
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? to work
23. How old was your Mom when you were born? 28

Answered by Rebecca age 8 

1. What is something mom always says to you? Get out of the bathtub

2. What makes mom happy? Giving her hugs and kisses
3. What makes mom sad? When the razor is broken
4. How does your mom make you laugh? she tickles me
5. What was your mom like as a child? crazy
6. How old is your mom? 35
7. How tall is your mom? 6 foot 4
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Spend time with us
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? lie around and sleep
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? fastest reader in town
11. What is your mom really good at? tutoring
12. What is your mom not very good at? not beating daddy up
13. What does your mom do for a job? tutor
14.What is your mom's favorite food? bratwurst
15.What makes you proud of your mom?  that she is a very good mom
16. If your mom were a character, who would she be? Queen Miranda from Sofia the First
17. What do you and your mom do together? go to church
18. How are you and your mom the same? we are both girls
19. How are you and your mom different? Mommy doesn't paint her fingernails usually but I like to paint my fingernails
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because when I ask her to tuck me in at night she does and every time she does she gives me a big hug
21. What does your mom like most about your dad?  That dad is a stinker
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Home
23. How old was your Mom when you were born? 27

I dare you to ask your children these questions! I am sure their answers will crack you up!

My job update as a private tutor

Source

So it has been a couple of weeks since school let out and about a month and a half since we made the decision that I would not be returning to my job in the fall. We decided that I would go into business for myself as a private tutor. I was hoping that I could make it all work but afraid that I would not have any clients this summer and be a miserable failure.

Well things are going well. I have 7 elementary student clients right now for a total of 9.5 hours a week and I have 1 adult student for 2 hours a week. So right now I am working on average 11.5 hours a week. This gets tweaked some weeks when I have a client on vacation, or they have other things going on. But I am pleased with my work load for the summer. 

I am tutoring in many different subjects....right now I am working with letter recognition and writing skills for a soon to be Kindergartner, math, reading and handwriting skills with a soon to be first grader, math and Spanish with a soon to be 3rd grader, reading and phonics with a soon to be 3rd grader, reading with a soon to be fourth grader, math and reading with a soon to be fifth grader, and math and problem solving with a soon to be seventh grader. I am working with writing skills with the adult. It is a nice mix of skills that I am working with these kids with. At the same time I personalize all the sessions to each child's ability and from their level. 

It is a lot of work but after my first full week with all my clients, I felt energized and sure that this is what I should be doing at this point in my life. I just hope that I can continue the momentum.....

Grocery Shopping and Menu Plan for this week

As I mentioned last week it was going to be a crazy busy week, as it was my first week of full time tutoring and Rebecca had softball games and throw in Vacation Bible School every night for the kids and the week was CRAZY!!!! But we survived...and we were able to stick to the menu plan mostly. It actually made it very easy because there were a couple nights that things ran longer and Bill was able to look at the menu board and he was able to start dinner for us. We did move some things around, including getting food out on Wednesday for lunch and on Saturday for dinner, but overall, we did okay.

This week, hopefully, will be a little less crazy as there is no vacation Bible School. We do have softball one night and I am tutoring but those are things we have to get used to. 

Source

On Friday, I went to Kroger to get our groceries before I had a tutoring client. I did not have the time or energy to get groceries at more than one store so I got everything I needed at Kroger. 

Here is what I bought:  

5 bottles Old Orchard Apple Juice--$0.99 each when you buy 5
Potato chips --$1.88
Blue Jello mix--$0.79 (Rebecca is allergic to red dye #40, so I let her have more options than store brand so she can get something other than grape or orange)
Lime store-brand jello mix--$0.39
Country Crock butter--$3.49
2 boxes cereal bars--$1.88 each (Ben eats this as he doesn't like granola bars)
9 cartons yogurt--$0.40 each
Pizza shredded cheese--$1.99
Pepperoni--$3.29
Hot dog buns--$1.00
Pizza sauce--$1.19
Chicken nuggets--$3.49
2- 3 packs pizza crusts--$2.49 each
Snapple Tea--FREE after e-coupon
5 gallons skim milk*---$1.99 each
2 Kroger apple juice*--$1.99 each
2 loaves wheat bread*--$2.79 each
2 boxes Cheerios*--$4.36 each
Peanut butter*--$2.69
Dozen eggs*--$1.99
2 lbs green grapes*---$1.96
1.54 lbs red grapes*--$1.51
1 tomato*--$0.46
5.77 lbs bananas*--$3.40

Total spent:  $75.04
*A note about this trip...We do receive WIC benefits for Benjamin. The items marked with * are items bought on WIC. I do count this toward our total for the month so that I can get an idea of what we would have spent without WIC as it is a goal to get off it soon. 

I started out with $256.16 left for the month which leaves $ 181.12 for the month. With 2 more Fridays left to shop this month that would average out to $90.56 available each week. Completely doable in my opinion. 

Here is our menu plan for this week that will use some of these groceries.....

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: Yogurt, banana, granola bar
Lunch: bagel bites and fruit
Dinner: BLTs, chicken fries for kids,french fries, strawberries

MONDAY:
Breakfast: Cereal, fruit
Lunch: Chicken nuggets, baby carrots with ranch, fruit
Dinner:  Pork chops, olive oil and herb pasta, green beans and yams

TUESDAY:
Breakfast: Waffles and fruit
Lunch:  PB&J sandwiches, fruit and goldfish
Dinner:Hamburger helper and peas

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: Yogurt, fruit, and granola bars
Lunch: Spaghettios
Dinner: taco pie, corn and peaches

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: Cereal and fruit
Lunch:  Ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit, goldfish
Dinner: Whole chicken in the crockpot, carrots, couscous, and broccoli

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: Cereal and fruit
Lunch: Chicken nuggets, green beans and applesauce
Dinner: Pizza and fruit

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast and fruit
Lunch: sandwiches and fruit or take-out
Dinner:Cheeseburgers, fruit salad and chips

There you have it. Our menu for the week! 

What are you fixing at your house this week?

We saw 8 frogs and had lots of fun....

Wednesday I had to go in to pick up Rebecca's end of the year report card. I already knew what it was going to say as I had seen it online the day before. As it was a great report card and as we were in need of some family time, we decided to make a celebration out of it. When Bill came home from work, we headed out and got Burger King for lunch and then headed out to the Children's Garden to have a picnic lunch and to let the kids explore the gardens.

First stop every time we go there is the "Secret Garden." The kids have fun running around in the enclosed area and it gives Bill and I a chance to clean up from lunch. And yes the kids are absolutely nuts!  

After that, we explored the rest of the gardens. They have a fountain and a pond. On a good day, we usually see 1 frog and lots of tadpoles. Today, the kids were so excited because they saw 8 frogs total! 
 

The Children's Garden has a replica train that the kids love. Benjamin especially loves "choo-choos" so he spent the majority of the time playing on the train and the train track. He kept saying "I want choo-choo."

After we spent some time on the train, we went down the path to the pond and the boat that looks out over it. The lily pads were in bloom and were so pretty. 
 

Every time we go, we also take a family picture in the rose garden. There are 2 rock structures that are perfect to set the camera on a timer. 
 

After that we walk around and there is a tower with a spiral staircase the kids can climb on. This year was the first year that all 3 kids could climb up it and climb down with no assistance. 
 

 After that, Ben wanted to head back to the choo-choo before we left so of course we obliged. 

We are so blessed to have this gem in our community. The kids love it and it is so peaceful and serene and so perfect for adults. We had a lovely family afternoon and we look forward to going back again!

 

Grocery shopping and Menu Plan for the week

As I mentioned last week, I am  trying to adhere to a strict grocery budget now that I am not employed by anyone other than me.....

I will call last week a success. I stuck to the menu plan for almost all the meals and the kids seemed to like knowing what was coming up for meals that day. They even tried a couple new things and decided that they like them....like turkey smoked sausage and my oriental slaw was a success! 

I made a menu board out of an old photo frame and hung it in the kitchen so EVERYONE knows what the meals are for the day. It seems to be working out really well. This week will be the real test as we are super, duper busy with Vacation Bible School and I have 6 tutoring clients to work with this week as well as just the normal day to day stuff with the kids! 

This past Friday, I went to the store to finish off shopping for next week.....

Here is what I bought: 

At Kroger I bought: 

3- 12 packs of caffiene free Pepsi $3 each
2 boxes Honey Nut Cheerios-- $1.88 each, but I had a BOGO free coupon, so $0.94 a box- plus I will get $1 back from SavingStar, so really they were $0.44 a box.
2 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch--$1.88 each, but had a BOGO free coupon so $0.94 a box--plus I will get back $0.50 from SavingStar, so really they were $0.69 a box
blueberry waffles--$1
French fries--$1.79
2- 4 packs of chocolate pudding--$0.89 each
Apple juice--$1.99- Ecoupon for $0.55 off so $1.44
Kraft bbq sauce--FREE e-coupon
Bai5 Beverage--FREE e-coupon
2 baking potatoes--$1.38
bananas--$3.03 plus I will get back $0.25 from Checkout51
3 cartons raspberries--$0.99 each
3 cartons strawberries--$0.99 each
7 half gallons skim milk---$1 each (these were marked down, but sell by date wasn't until 6/15)

At Aldi's I bought: 

Bagel bites pizza snacks--$5.99
String cheese--$2.79
Cheese pizza--$2.29
4 meat pizza--$2.29
9 yogurts--$0.39 each
2 pints blueberries--$0.99 each
3 cans spaghetti rings--$0.59 each
2 jars spaghetti sauce--$0.99 each
Hamburger buns--$0.89
2 boxes granola bars--$1.79 each
BBQ potato chips--$1.49

I started out with $320.84 left for the month and I spent $36.12 at Kroger and $28.56 at Aldi, which leaves $256.16 for the month. Completely doable in my opinion.

Here is our menu plan for this week that will use some of these groceries.....

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: Yogurt, banana, granola bar
Lunch: McDonald's
Dinner: Birthday cookout for my sister

MONDAY:
Breakfast: Cereal, fruit
Lunch: Chicken fries, baby carrots with ranch, fruit
Dinner:  Cheeseburgers and fries

TUESDAY:
Breakfast: Waffles and fruit
Lunch:  Sandwiches, chips, fruit
Dinner: Cheese and chicken quesadillas, pineapple, carrots

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: Yogurt, fruit, and granola bars
Lunch: Bagel bites pizza, fruit and baby carrots
Dinner: Fish sticks, fries, baked potato, broccoli

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: Cereal and fruit
Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit, goldfish crackers
Dinner: Hamburger helper and peas

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: Cereal and fruit
Lunch: Chicken patties and veggies
Dinner: Pizza and fruit

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast and fruit
Lunch: Leftovers or sandwiches, baby carrots/ranch, fruit
Dinner: Ham slices, ranch and bacon pasta salad and fruit salad

 There you have it. Our menu for the week! What are you fixing at your house this week?

Sandals and summer school work

I have been on the go all morning long.....

The kids had yogurt, banana and blueberries and a doughnut this morning for breakfast in honor of National Doughnut Day. They thought it was a great treat. 

After breakfast we headed out to do some errands...first we went to the bank. Then we headed to do some grocery shopping for next week. First we headed to Aldi's. As we headed in, Rebecca told me that her sandal broke. Uh-Oh. The whole side had come undone from the bottom..... She limped through Aldi's and then we headed across the street to Payless. I had previously looked at sandals at both Wal-mart and K-mart and neither store had any that I liked or weren't cheaply made.  In fact the ones that broke, I bought a month ago at Walmart as they were the only ones that I liked. Live and learn I guess. 

Thankfully, Payless had most of their sandals on sale and in fact Rebecca found a pair that she loves that were marked on clearance for $10. They were originally $24.99. Score! She is happy and I am happy not to spend a fortune! Hopefully these last all summer. (And in other news, I had the worker measure her feet and she is measuring right at a 3, but the worker suggested we get her a 4 in kids or a 6 in women's. I told Rebecca to look at the size 4 in girls as I was not ready for her to wear a woman's shoe size.) 

After we left Payless, we headed to Kroger to get the remainder of our groceries and a McDonald's gift card. I buy the gift cards there as then I get the fuel points for the purchase. After we left Kroger, we headed to McDonald's as I had promised Rebecca I would get her McDonald's for lunch this week. Then we headed home to eat lunch, unpack groceries, and relax. 

I also had to work on some laundry and the kids had to do some schoolwork. Yes I am THAT kind of Mom that makes her kids do something educational during the days of summer. I had ordered the kids summer solutions math books and Pre-K workbooks to work on this summer so they did those. I have them do 1 lesson 3 days a week at the minimum. They also have to read for at least 15 minutes each day. After Rebecca did her math lesson, she decided to make a birthday card for her pen-pal. Benjamin even got in on the action today with his coloring books and crayons! 

I still have a lot to do today....laundry, laundry, and more laundry! And even more on my long to-do list....so I had better get moving!

I hope everyone is having a great Friday! 

Rebecca's AHG Red, White and Blue Banquet

Last night, Rebecca's American Heritage Girls Troop help their first annual Red, White and Blue Awards banquet to honor the girls for all of their hard work this past scouting year. 

While everyone was arriving, the girls and their families were invited to look at the scrapbook the girls made for the year. They were also invited to watch a power-point presentation that one of the mom's put together of this past year.  
 

Once everyone had arrived, I had the pleasure of welcoming everyone to the evening and doing the opening ceremony. 

We had a "cookout" style dinner  with hamburgers, hot dogs, cole slaw, potato salad, chips, fruit salads and a flag cupcake cake made by one of the girls for her cake decorating badge. 

 After dinner, we had the awards presentation. Rebecca received her AHG joining award, National Day of Service patch, Fire safety and building badge, Pen Pal participant patch and her patch for participating in the candle fundraiser. 

It was a lot of fun and I know Rebecca had a blast. Personally, I am blessed to be able to work with these young girls and to be a part of something my daughter enjoys!

Oriental Ramen Broccoli slaw--- my version

The other day a friend of mine posted a recipe for an Oriental Ramen Broccoli Coleslaw on facebook and it looked really good. It reminded me of the slaw that my husband's aunt brings for summer family get-togethers. I "liked" and "shared" it and my husband's aunt said it was just like hers except she uses chicken ramen, so I decided to try it out but make a few changes. I served it alongside BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and strawberries for a very yummy dinner. Even my husband liked it!

If you would like the original version, here is a link to the recipe. Here is my version.  

1 package chicken flavored ramen noodles
1 package broccoli coleslaw mix (mine was 12 oz)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
4 green onions, chopped (I just snipped mine over the bowl with kitchen scissors)
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
Cashews for topping

Before opening ramen package, crush noodles into 1 inch pieces or smaller. 
Open package and set aside flavor packet.
Place noodles in bottom of bowl. Top with broccoli slaw mix, sunflower seeds and green onions. 
In separate bowl, mix sugar, oil, white vinegar and contents of flavor packet together. 
Pour over slaw. 
Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving.  
Right before serving garnish with cashews. (I garnished each serving as my husband doesn't like nuts, but I do so I just mixed them into my portion). 

I think it was super yummy! And I will definitely be making it again this summer. I think it is the perfect compliment to summer dishes! 

Have you tried any new recipes lately? 

What sides do you serve in the summer when it is hot? 

Menu plan for the week--- Trying something new

So as most of you know...I am now officially self-employed. It is scary and exciting at the same time. One area I have to keep under control is our grocery spending, especially since we are cutting out my income and going off just my husband's. That means I need to menu plan and plan the trips to the grocery store. I have decided that I need to plan for breakfasts, lunches and dinners so that Bill and I will know what to feed the kids at each meal now that they are home for the summer.

This month I am starting out with a grocery budget of:  $380 for the month. 

I think this is totally doable as our freezer is packed with food and I WILL be menu planning each week. It is no longer an option but a necessity.

Today I went to 2 different stores to shop for what I needed to finish off our menu for the week and for milk and fresh fruits and veggies. I spent $40.21 at Aldi and $18.95 at Kroger for a total of $59.16 this week which leaves me with $320.84 left for the month. 

If only it was this easy! (Source)

 

 

Here is our menu plan for this week: 

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: Yogurt, banana, granola bar
Lunch: PB&J Sandwiches, chips, fruit
Dinner: Spaghetti

MONDAY:
Breakfast: Cereal, banana, raspberries
Lunch: Chicken fries, green beans, and pineapple
Dinner:  Taco ring, corn, strawberries

TUESDAY:
Breakfast: Waffles and fruit
Lunch: PB&J sandwiches, goldfish crackers, baby carrots and ranch
Dinner: BBQ pork sandwiches, asian coleslaw (new recipe), sweet potatoes, fruit

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: Yogurt, fruit, granola bars
Lunch: Spaghettios and fruit
Dinner: Dinner at AHG Banquet

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: Cereal and fruit
Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwiches, chips and fruit
Dinner: Smoked sausage, macaroni and cheese, green beans

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: Cereal and fruit
Lunch: PB&J sandwiches, baby carrots, goldfish
Dinner: Pizza and fruit

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast and fruit
Lunch: Leftovers or sandwiches
Dinner: Hot dogs, baked beans, and fruit

So there you have it. Our menu for this week! What is getting fixed at your house this week?