Coming Home Came Early

Hi Everyone! I know I've been absent lately, a lot has been going on here lately.

I have officially been a SAHM for 1 week now.  I was terminated from my job on a Friday and honestly at first it was kind of a shock but kind of good for us. Even though the weight of "how is my truck payment going to be made?" was added, we honestly feel a bit of relief.  No more worrying who is going to be home with the boys when they're sick, no more worrying who is going to call out, no more worrying about who is going to watch our kids. I felt myself breathe a little.

Last week I was busy running errands and the kids caught a bit of a stomach bug.  This week I am working on planning Hayden's pre-k curriculum and cleaning and organizing the whole house. A big decluttering session is going on this week and will most likely take me all week lol. It's amazing how messy you're house gets when you work full time!

I'm also going to be trying my hand at homemade bread today, I want to be able to make bread from scratch instead of buying at the store. My whole "planning" to be a SAHM was cut short obviously so I'm just going to dive right in on the cutting the budget part.

I also want to tell you some really really good news...I was saved on July 11, 2010 and was baptized for the first time ever in my life yesterday August 1, 2010. YAY!!! I'm so excited. I honestly feel like a new person as cheesy as that may sound.  I'm still learning and growing and working on being a woman of GOD but I can feel a difference in my overall attitude and happiness. It really has been wonderful!

Well that's all for now! I'll be posting an update on how my bread making adventure goes and maybe be posting our pre-k program once it's finalized...yay! I'm honestly so excited about all of this!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jaymie

Menu Plan Monday

I actually got a menu plan together for this week! YAY! Go me! lol

Monday- meatloaf, mashed potatoes, & mixed veggies
Tuesday- Italian Chicken Stuffing Casserole
Wednesday-Ham steak, roast taters & onions
Thursday- Spaghetti & Meatballs with salad
Friday- Keilbasa taters & onions
Saturday- Taco Bake

Pretty easy week this week, we have VBS in the evenings so needed something quick!

Thanks for stopping by!
Jaymie

Freezer Cooking "WrapUp"

Since its the end of the weekend I figure I'll call it a wrap on my Freezer Cooking Days.

Did I accomplish everything I wanted to accomplish? NOPE! But I had some technical difficulties going for me.

My darn meat didn't want to thaw! I took it all out Friday afternoon and Saturday it was still frozen then Sunday it was still frozen! I couldn't believe it! I ended up putting 1 package of ground beef back in the freezer as it wasn't thawed not even a little bit. My fridge must be cranked up!

I did get to make:

Meatloaf-3x's
Meatballs-2x's
Spaghetti Sauce-4x's

I did get to bake up the 2 fryer chickens and will use them tomorrow to make the chicken & ham casseroles and I plan on putting the whole chicken in the crock pot in the morning probably for dinner tomorrow night and something else with whatever is left over.

I might try this weekend to get the mixes made up and something done with that other ground beef...or I'll save it for next month maybe.

The things I made surprisingly didn't take me long to get everything done so I know I can definitely get it done next month!

Thanks for praying for me and stopping by!

Jaymie

Freezer Cooking Update Day 1

Well I haven't gotten much accomplished today.

On top of the boys both being sick all day none of my meats were thawed out at all...they are still frozen and I've had them on the counter for an hour now. They were all in my fridge since yesterday afternoon...I'm not really sure why they didn't thaw but oh well. What can I do?

I did get some shopping done for last minute things I realized I didn't have and I did a little prep, my red sauce is in the crock pot going to cook on low overnight. I'll be able to use that for lasagna tomorrow. I'll be cooking all day after church in the morning.

I'll post another update tomorrow...pray for me I'll need it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jaymie

July Freezer Cooking Plan

Yay! It's time for Freezer Cooking Day(s)!!!

I'm so excited to actually do it this month.  Last month I did a couple things but this time I'm committed to doing it all the way.

I've been stocking up on marked down meats for a few weeks now to make sure I had enough to make up a bunch of freezer meals.  The other night I had to break into my ground beef to make spaghetti so I used what was left of the big pack to make 2 meatloaves. That's exciting!!!

I took an inventory of my freezer and based what I'd cook off of that.

So I have:

2lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
2lbs split chicken breasts
2 whole cut fryer chickens
1 whole chicken
2 ham steaks
1lb of chicken tenders
8lbs of ground beef

I plan to make:
chicken pot pies
scalloped potatoes & ham
chicken & ham casseroles
breaded and baked chicken nuggets
meatballs
lasagna
taco bake

I also plan on making some non meat items like:
Spaghetti Sauce
Pizza Pockets
Pizza Dough
Bread & Bread Dough
Muffin Mix
Brownie Mix
Biscuit Mix
Cornbread Mix
"Poptarts"
Pizza Kits
Freezer Waffles

I know that is a lot on my plate but I'm going to utilize the weekend and I hope the rewards will be worth it.

I'll be updating as I go and maybe add some recipes and pictures too :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Jaymie

Bible in 90 Days

I decided to try to read the Bible in 90 days again. I tried before and then life got in the way I guess you could say.

I signed up over at MomsToolBox.com and printed out the reading schedule.

I am a bit behind, it started July 5th and I need to catch up.  I'm excited and hope I don't get to overwhelmed by it.

I hope you all will follow along in my journey.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jaymie

Tot School

Hayden is 44 months and Devyn is 16 months.
 
Daycare is really not doing anything for them. You would think them being in a "classroom" setting all day with "teachers" who have degrees they would learn something right?
 
WRONG!
 
Very little learning is going on I'm finding out.  On my quest to stay home I have discovered an awesome blog and an awesome program for my boys. Tot School!!!
 
I think this is great to get Dev started in as he loves to learn and play and Hayden will probably only do Tot School for a few months until he graduates to Pre-K. He's a very fast learner and very smart so he shouldn't have any problems.  He turns 4 in November and I want to do Pre-K before he turns 5 the next year.  In our state he wouldn't start Kindergarten until he is 6 if he goes into the school systems which I don't really think is fair for him, that's like holding him back. I'm really wanting to homeschool him and trying to get Daddy on board with it. I think once we get into it he will realize it's a better option for our children and our family.
 
So I'm gearing up to start Tot School with my boys and still getting things lined up for when I can come home to my boys for good. I hope I get there soon, every day I'm away from them the harder I want to bang my head on the desk.
 
We are also trying a new church on Sunday, I want church to be part of our lives and want Daddy to be as into it as I am but he gets so frustrated in places he just doesn't feel welcomed or comfortable in. A lot of the churches we've gone to haven't been very friendly to us being as we are unwed with 2 little ones. I know we will find a place to go soon that we will feel comfortable in. Hopefully Sunday will be the day :-)
 
This weekend I am doing my first Freezer Cooking Days too...I'm so excited! I will be going through toys and clothes and clearing out my house and trying to do some Freezer Cooking. I have 2 meatloaves in the freezer now that I made up the other night when I made spaghetti and had almost 3 more pounds of ground beef left over from when I made the sauce. It was great I felt like I accomplished something!
 
I'll post more on my FCD and also how church goes on Sunday.
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
Jaymie