Happy Homemaker Monday (January 7, 2019)

Before we begin, I have a confession. I am going to confess that I am writing this up on Sunday night to be scheduled for tomorrow morning. The kids go back to school in the morning and I have babysitting kids so it is going to be a little crazy and tiring tomorrow and I wanted to make sure this got typed up :-)

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Ours was busy as it was the opening weekend for the kids' Upwards basketball league. So we spent most of the morning and early afternoon at the kids' games. It was great though as I love watching them play. Sunday, we had church, went to Aldi, did some laundry and then I accomplished a huge decluttering project called "The boys' bedroom" LOL. Here are the befores::

Throughout the process, I went through EVERYTHING in their room and when it was all done I had a huge box of books and 2 trash bags of stuff to donate. I also had about a half a bag of trash. Here are the afters::

I am so happy that it is done and hopefully the boys will keep their room tidier now.

For now let's get on with the topics for "Happy Homemaker Monday" (hosted by the lovely Sandra over at "Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.") so that I can get to bed here soon.

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE::: 

• Tonight

  Jan 6

  31° Lo F

  Mostly cloudy

• Mon

  Jan 7

  52° /48°

  A couple of afternoon showers

  More

• Tue

  Jan 8

  53° /26°

  A couple of p.m. t-showers

  More

• Wed

  Jan 9

  31° /20°

  A little snow at times

  More

• Thu

  Jan 10

  29° /17°

  Clouds and sun

Welcome to Ohio, where we get a little bit of everything over the course of a winter week. LOL. 
  

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE:::

This morning, I had a glass of orange juice before church. Then nothing until lunch time.          

RIGHT NOW I AM:::

Sitting here typing this post up in my pajamas. It is 9:41 PM on Sunday night. My kiddos are in bed. I have a nature documentary on TV and I am doing this before going to bed.    

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE:::

It is clean! Kids cleaned up before bed. Kitchen has been cleaned. Feels good to have a clean home.  

  

ON TODAY'S TO DO LIST:::

Babysit
Kids to school
Ben has speech therapy
At least 1 load of laundry

CURRENTLY READING:::

ON THE TV THIS WEEK:::

NFL playoff games

Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (on Netflix)
Cartoons for the kiddos

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:::

Monday - Crockpot potato soup and crackers 

Tuesday - Hot dogs and tater tots

Wednesday - Chicken and noodles, and baked pasta (frozen containers in the freezer that need used up)

  

Thursday - Leftovers or scrambled eggs

Friday - Pizza and fruit of some kind

Saturday - Tikka Masala, rice, naan bread

Sunday -  Pulled pork sandwiches, green beans, salad

NEW RECIPE I TRIED OR WANT TO TRY::

I made a batch of freezer breakfast burritos found on MoneySavingMom.com.  I will share how they are after we have eaten them. :-) 

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM MY CAMERA::

QUOTE TO SHARE::

Saw this on Facebook and had to share

Well my nature documentary is ending, so I should get this scheduled and head to bed because my alarm is going to be going off bright and early tomorrow. LOL. Hope everyone has a lovely day!  

My Goals for 2019: Update #1

So, I said that I was going to be accountable to my goals this year instead of having them sit on my blog post not to be seen until January of next year. I have decided to do weekly updates, that way I can keep these in the back of my brain and keep them fresh. I think that Sundays are a good day to do an update as then I can refresh for the week ahead and make sure that I am living each day in a way that I consistent with my goals for the year. So, without further ado, here are my goals for 2019 updates for this week::

1. Blog at least 2-3 times a week.

If you don't include this post, I have posted 2 times since the first of the year! So on target :) 

2. Read 26 books.

This week I read 1.5 books.

I read Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks. This book was fabulous and I would highly recommend. 

I am about half way through (thus the 0.5) The Brave Art of Motherhood by Rachel Marie Martin. I am really enjoying this book as well. 

So that puts me at 1.5 out of 26 for the year!  

3. Read to the boys before bed.

Since January 1, either Bill or I have read to them every night. Over the last few days we read Stanley, Flat Again by Jeff Brown.  

4. Try 12 new recipes at least. 

I haven't tried a new recipe per se...however, I did try a new product. 

I made an alfredo pasta bake with veggie bratwurst. I had heard good reviews about the "Beyond Meat" vegetarian products, so when I found a package of "brats" on clearance for $0.99 I knew that we could try it. The reviews were 2 out of the 5 in our family really liked it, 2 2 thought it was okay and I didn't like the taste. So I will take this as a 0.5 recipe since it was a new product, but not a full new recipe. :) 

So for the year I am at 0.5 out of 12.  

5. Take a walk at least 2 times a week in the winter and at least 3 times in the Spring, Summer, and Fall. 

I walked 3 times since the 1st. We have had some good weather the last couple days so we have taken advantage. 

On Thursday (January 2) we went for a 2 mile walk on the bike path.

On Friday (January 3) we did a 1.96 mile walk at Ariel-Foundation Park. 

Then yesterday we did a 0.6 mile walk as we walked home from the kids' basketball games as the sun was out and it was almost 50 degrees (also Bill had the van for work!)

6. Take a couple of hours of "me" time on the weekend in some way... whether this is getting away from the house by myself or taking a nap. 

This weekend, I took Friday night as "me" time this week. After I got the kids to bed, I got in my pajamas, turned off the lights, lay on the couch under my comfy blanket and binge watched "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" on Netflix. 

I watched several episodes in a row and I think I may go through some of her steps to get my own house decluttered.  

7. Declutter each room of the house and donate things that don't belong in the trash and throw away trash. 

I sorted through the toys bin in our living room after we took the Christmas items down. I also labeled the bins with categories. And I took half a garbage bag of toys out to be donated! Good start to my challenge. I am hoping to work on the boys' room this week.    

8. Take 2 overnight trips with the kids and Bill. 

Just in the thinking stages on this one.  

9. Have a date night with Bill at least 2 times a month and have one of those a quarter being a date night OUT of the house. 

We had an in home date night last night. We played a game of Scrabble and watched the "Cowboys and Seahawks" NFL game. 

10. Get a tattoo. 

I have been thinking about this and am pretty sure that I would like to do a simple shark design. Now to start looking at Pinterest for inspiration. 

11. Lose weight. 

Nothing this week. I did weigh myself on New Year's Day and hated the number that I saw. It was 244.3! Things have to change. I have been trying to cut down on the number of cans of pop I have drank this week. 

So there you have it. My first update on my goals. Overall, I am pleased as punch with getting the walks in and really taking time to relax. It makes me happy! Now to continue the momentum into the next week. 

If you are working on goals for the new year, how are you doing on them? 

A Low Key Start to the New Year

The last day of 2018 was kind of low key. We are definitely not party animals at all. In fact, I babysat and just kind of hung out with my babysitting kiddos and my own kiddos during the day. Then our own festivities started. 

Every year we do a fancy, snacky dinner on our fine china for dinner. The kids really look forward to it. 

This year I made hot wings, Asian wings (a new recipe that was really good!), chicken fries, and homemade mozzarella sticks (another new recipe that was really good!). 

We also had a fruit salad of blueberries and oranges, carrots chips and sliced cucumbers (served with dill dip and ranch), and a shrimp tray. Bill and I had wine and the kids had sparkling juice. Later we also had homemade chocolate pie! 

Overall, it was a lovely dinner and a great way to end 2018. The boys went to bed around 9 (as you have to be 10 years old to stay up until midnight at our house) and I promptly fell asleep in the recliner. LOL. Rebecca woke me up around 11 to ask me to play Scrabble with her and Bill. I lost but it was fun. We were finishing up the game just as the "ball" dropped in NYC. Bill opened the door and let the old year out and the new year in. We stayed up and watched about an hour of the musical acts and then went to bed. 

Yesterday, the kiddos slept in a little. Then it was a kind of lazy morning lounging around in our pajamas and watching the Rose Bowl Parade on TV. The kids were interested in the parade, especially when they got to see the Ohio State Buckeyes marching band. They were also interested when I told them that 2 of my friend's daughters were marching with a local high school team. After a late lunch, I de-Christmased the house. Bill helped me to take the tree down and I packed everything else up. Bill took everything to the basement for me. 

I made a nice dinner to kick of 2019. Baked ribs, augratin potatoes, green beans, applesauce and "Hawaiian" sweet crescent rolls. 

After cleaning up the kitchen, I sat and read (and finished) Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks! This was a Christmas gift from "Santa" aka Bill and I read it over 2 days. It was fantastic as most of his books have been. 


I also watched most of the Rose Bowl before putting the kiddos to bed and then heading to bed myself. 

This morning, I have A (as her parents are back to work after a 2 week holiday shutdown) and she and I have ran a couple errands and are now back home. She is watching "Paw Patrol" with Ben; Rebecca is doing her arts and crafts; Jacob is playing upstairs, and Bill is sleeping. I have started laundry and am thinking about going to straighten up and inventory the freezer so I can map out some meals for the next week or so. 

How was your New Year's? Any big plans for today? 

Happy New Year and My Goals for 2019

Happy New Year! It is time for us to look back on the previous year and look forward to the new pages on the calendar and to the newness of the year. As I looked back on my goals for 2018, I realized that I did not do really well on them. 2018 was a year to forget in many ways. It was a hard, hard year. I am praying that 2019 is a better year. It has to be. 

I have been contemplating lots of things for 2019 and I keep coming back to a few things...goals you could call them. I just feel like I need a better way to keep track of them. So I think that I will be posting weekly updates on how I am doing. I think that will keep them in the back of my mind and not allow me to forget them. 

So without further ado, here are my goals for 2019 in no particular order::

1. Blog at least 2-3 times a week.
I have gotten out of the habit and really would like to get back into the habit. 

2. Read 26 books.
Another habit that I have gotten out of the habit of that I miss. I have 2 books right now that I would like to start the year off reading and then go from there. 

3. Read to the boys before bed.
Many times the boys are still wired before bed, so I would like to start the habit of reading to them from a chapter book or one of the many kids books that we have here at the house before bed.  

4. Try 12 new recipes at least. 
I have gotten into a rut with making the same things over and over and would like to expand our horizons. The new recipes I tried in 2018 were mostly a hit and so I would like to continue on that success. 

5. Take a walk at least 2 times a week in the winter and at least 3 times in the Spring, Summer, and Fall. 
This is another habit that I have gotten out of the habit of doing. I miss walking. I feel better when I do it and it helps me mentally. 

6. Take a couple of hours of "me" time on the weekend in some way... whether this is getting away from the house by myself or taking a nap. 
I spend so much of my time doing so much for everyone else, be it my husband, kids, family, babysitting kids, etc. that I need to take time for me. 

Photo Source

7. Declutter each room of the house and donate things that don't belong in the trash and throw away trash. 
I don't think I really need to explain this one. :)  

8. Take 2 overnight trips with the kids and Bill. 
With Bill's new job and my babysitting schedule, I don't think we will have the time off or the money to take a full blown vacation this year. However, we have talked about doing a couple of overnight trips. 

9. Have a date night with Bill at least 2 times a month and have one of those a quarter being a date night OUT of the house. 

10. Get a tattoo. 
I have been talking for a few years about doing this and there is no time like this year. My sister and I have talked about getting tattoos together. 

11. Lose weight. 
I have put this on my goals list every year and this year I would LOVE to will make this happen. I am the heaviest that I have been when I am not pregnant and I just don't like that of myself. Ideally I would love to lose at least 20 pounds. (Trying to keep it real)

So there you have it. My 11 goals for 2019! These are things that I think that I can achieve as long as I remember what they are each week! 

I am off to enjoy the day with Bill and the kids. I am not sure yet what else we are doing today. We shall see what this year brings. :) 

Are you making goals for 2019? Care to share?