Matt and I had a lovely time at the Nebraska Home School Conference this weekend…and we were so excited that we were able to meet several of you!! Thanks for taking the time to come say hello in the middle of your busy weekend. We loved it!!

Now…how can we figure out ways to meet all of the rest of you??? Hmmmm……..

Speaking of the conference, here are some interesting things that occurred that really have nothing to do with much of anything, but which you may or may not find interesting or boring. :)

One is that because we were at our little vendor booth, talking to people and sharing about our curriculum and telling people what HeavenlyHomemakers.com is all about….we were standing on our feet on a hard floor for two solid days. Our legs got tired, but eh…no biggy. It was a great time. 

It wasn’t until about two hours after the conference ended and we were home unloading our gear that suddenly we both realized how sore we were. By bedtime, I was gimping around like I’d sustained an injury and Matt had to run me a bath to soak in. 

This morning, I was scooting around like a little old lady. Every move hurts as I’m trying to work my kinks out. If you saw me, you’d likely say, “What happened to you? Did you fall? Were you hit by a moving vehicle? Did the boys’ wrestling matches finally get the best of you?” And I’d have to reply, “I did absolutely nothing. I simply stood in the same spot for two days and now I can’t seem to walk or move.”

Matt said that this is normal (he knows these things from his work at the restaurant). I’m so glad he thinks I’m normal.

Anyway…the other thing that isn’t relevant to anything and that you may not care about is:

On Friday of the conference, because there were people coming by the booth almost constantly all day long…we didn’t find much time to eat the lunch we had packed. We were able to sneak a bite in here and there, but by 6:30 that evening when the vendor booths closed, we were both quite hungry. We got in the van to head home for the night and while this was very unlike us, we decided on fast food because we needed food…fast. So, we went to Culvers because if you’re going to eat fast food, it should at least taste really good.

Now, I don’t know if you know this about me or not, but I’m a beef lovin’ girl. I think it’s something about how I tend to feel sick and anemic if I don’t get enough iron…but regardless…there are times that I just need me some cow. This was one of those times.

As we looked at the menu I decided that a “single” just wasn’t going to cut it. I told Matt that I was going to shock us both and order the “double cheddar”.

And I did. And I ate it all.  And I didn’t look back.

I inhaled that double burger and I was very happy and Matt just watched in amusement. Somewhere in between bites and while I had ketchup running down my chin, I said, “Thank you for not judging me for ordering and eating an entire double.”

And then I handed him my fries because really…I was just there for the beef.

Okay…so that’s the end of my random weekend stories. Here’s the menu plan that you really came to see:

(And in case you’re wondering, because of our gluten free experiment, Malachi will be eating the non-gluten parts of these meals, or I’ll adapt part of a meal for him, or whatever. I’m trying not to be a short order chef, but I’ve found that it’s easier to try to cook “normally” and just adjust a few things for him specifically. I’ll probably talk more about this during our Gluten Free Recipe Parade which begins tonight!!)

Sunday, April 3
Easy breakfast casserole, oranges
Roasted chicken, carrots, potatoes, gravy
Cook-out with friends

Monday, April 4
Warm chocolate soother, toast
Tuna topped tomatoes, peaches and cottage cheese
Tacos

Tuesday, April 5
Simple soaked pancakes, scrambled eggs
Homemade chicken strips, ranch potato wedges, peas
Swiss steak over rice, carrots

Wednesday, April 6
Creamy orange cooler, toast
Taco corn fritters (recipe coming this week!), applesauce
Lasagna casserole, tossed salad

Thursday, April 7
Gluten Free-Dairy Free chocolate chip muffins (recipe to be shared this week!!), bananas
Cheddar ranch burgers, roasted asparagus
BBQ meatballs, cream scalloped potatoes, green beans

Friday, April 8
Fried eggs on toast, pears
Meat and cheese burritos, apples
Chicken and rice stew, raw veggies with ranch dip

Saturday, April 9
Turkey sausage, hashbrowns
Leftovers
Lamb chops, baked potatoes, tossed salad

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Be sure to check out Say Mmm to help you get organized in your menu planning!

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Hope you’re planning to join us for the Gluten Free Recipe Parade 
to get lots of fun new recipe ideas!!! 

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Visit Organizing Junkie for more Menu Planning inspiration!

My crew loves it when I make a huge breakfast of biscuits and gravy with the works! I don’t make this big meal very often…but this week I figured I could make it happen. So, here’s what our Saturday morning might look like…

Come on over if you want. :)

Here’s our menu for this week!

Sunday, March 13
Applesauce bread, bananas
Roast, carrots, potatoes, gravy
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, carrot sticks

Monday, March 14
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Salmon patties, mashed potato pancakes, peas
Chicken tortilla soup, fruit salad

Tuesday, March 15
Scrambled egg sandwiches, clementines
Baked potatoes with cheese and kreme’ fresh, peaches
Beefy vegetable soup, soft pretzels

Wednesday, March 16
Cinnamon swirl bread, applesauce
Chicken veggie quesadillas, oranges
Barbecue brisket, cream scalloped potatoes, green beans

Thursday, March 17
Honey whole wheat bagels, apple slices
Meat and cheese burritos, pears
Beef stroganoff, roasted asparagus

Friday, March 18
Peanut butter honey toast, fruit and yogurt
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad
Homemade pizza

Saturday, March 19
Turkey sausage gravy, sourdough biscuits, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs
Leftovers
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

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Let Say Mmm help you out with your menu planning…it’s free!

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Got Bricks? Lori can help you learn to make beautiful batches of homemade bread!

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Keeping the Kingdom First Mom…Balancing Faith, Family and Frugality

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One thing I forgot to mention in my Ways to Stretch the Real Foods Grocery Budget post is MEAL PLANNING!! I have found it so helpful for my sanity and for keeping the budget down if I try to stay organized and make menu plans each week. 

I’ve mentioned before but I’ll mention it again, if you’re new to meal planning or would just like a little  help with menu planning organization, Say Mmm is a great FREE resource!

Here is our menu plan for the week. If you’d like to come over for some of the Cinnamon Swirl Toast pictured above, we’ll see you Thursday morning! :)

Sunday, January 16
Oatmeal, bananas
Potluck – taking Fudge Brownies, Cream Corn Casserole
Chili with shredded cheese, raw veggies

Monday, January 17
Snowman pancakes
Popcorn chicken, ranch potato wedges, peas
Italian pasta bake, tossed salad

Tuesday, January 18 -Elias’ birthday choices!
Donuts
Homemade corndogs, carrot sticks (yes, I added those myself – we needed at least one veggie today!)
Hamburgers, french fries, homemade lemon cake

Wednesday, January 19
French toast, blueberries
Tilapia, tossed salad, fruit-kefir smoothies
Egg and sausage casserole, orange muffins, apples

Thursday, January 20
Scrambled eggs, cinnamon swirl toast, oranges
Chicken noodle soup, carrots
Venison stew, whole wheat sourdough biscuits

Friday, January 21
Mini breakfast pizzas, applesauce
Tuna salad on toast, cottage cheese and peaches
Bean and rice bowls with salsa and kreme fresh, fruit salad

Saturday, January 22
Homemade honey oat crunch cereal (found in our Breakfast ebook)
Leftovers
Taco Potatoes

We were blessed to be able to pick this beautiful box full of oranges from Matt’s aunt and uncle’s tree in California. Yes, we had to pack a box of oranges and an elephant on our way home. When you’re used to eating oranges that have been trucked all the way to Nebraska…a fresh orange right off a tree in California tastes like heaven! We brought them back, dirt and leaves and all. It doesn’t get much better than that! I’m letting the juice run down my chin and lovin’ every minute of it.

Matt’s grandma has a small orange tree in her yard too, so we helped ourselves. :) 
You might see oranges quite often on our menu plan this week!

Sunday, January 9
Oatmeal, pears
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, peas
Creamy mac and cheese, green beans, orange slices

Monday, January 10
Pancake and sausage muffins, applesauce
Sloppy joes, creamy orange coolers, carrot sticks with homemade ranch dip
Venison steak, hashbrowns, tossed salad

Tuesday, January 11
Scrambled eggs, orange muffins, bananas
Chicken veggie stew, homemade bread and butter
Spaghetti, tossed salad, corn

Wednesday, January 12
Breakfast pizzas, oranges
Alfredo sauce with pasta, steamed broccoli and carrots
Beefy enchilada bake, tossed salad

Thursday, January 13
Honey whole wheat bagels, apples
Chicken veggie quesadillas, fruit salad
Italian roast wraps, raw veggies with dip

Friday, January 14
Warm chocolate soother, toast
Potato soup, carrot sticks
Hamburgers on homemade buns, ranch potato wedges, peas

Saturday, January 15
Whole wheat cinnamon rolls (Elias’ birthday party)
Leftovers
Veggie soup, cornbread muffins

Now that we’re back in Nebraska…the snow is falling. Looks like we might get to have that Snow Ice Cream soon! (With oranges on the side.)

Take advantage of Say Mmm’s FREE menu planning services!

We’re taking one more week off before starting school up again. We’ve been traveling, so I feel the need for a little catch-up time. I’m anxious to tell you more about our travels…once I’ve had that catch-up time. Wow, we’ve had a lot of fun!

Here’s our menu…

Sunday, January 2
Oatmeal, apples
Pizza
Cheddar ranch burgers, potato wedges, green beans

Monday, January 3
Scrambled eggs, toast, clementines
Turkey and cheese melts, fruit-kefir smoothies
Potato soup, raw veggies with ranch dip

Tuesday, January 4
Whole wheat waffles, fruit
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad
Chicken fried steak strips, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Wednesday, January 5
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins, bananas
Black bean taco salad, oranges
Three cheese garlic chicken pasta, tossed salad

Thursday, January 6
Baked oatmeal, blueberries
Baked potato with broccoli cheese sauce, carrots
Lamb chops, rice, green beans

Friday, January 7
Fried eggs on toast, oranges
Popcorn chicken, ranch potato wedges, peas
Spaghetti, tossed salad, corn

Saturday, January 8
Funnel cakes
Leftovers
Beefy vegetable soup, homemade bread and butter

Be sure to make good use of the Say Mmm website to help you with menu planning and recipe organization!

Well, my baby is turning six on Monday. He is incredibly excited and has been counting down the days for months (not an easy thing to do). I showed Matt a pair of new jammies I had bought for Malachi for Christmas and he said, “Is our baby really that big?” At least it’s not just me. Sigh….

Incidentally, I started this blog about a month before Malachi turned three. I wrote (way back then) about My Baby Turning Three if you’d like to take a look at how little he was (and read about what an issue I have with my baby having birthdays).

You can imagine that now that he’s (almost) six, he just loves it when we call him “our baby”. 

Aaah, I call all of our boys “my babies” every once in a while. The thirteen year old especially appreciates it. ;)

Here’s our exciting Christmas week menu! Be sure to download your free Christmas Menu Planners!

Sunday, December 19
Oatmeal, peaches
Taco potatoes, applesauce
Pizza casserole, raw veggies

Monday, December 20 (Malachi’s birthday choices)
Cereal
Hamburgers, chips, apples
Pizza (yes, the kind you buy at the store…it’s a Christmastime compromise)

Tuesday, December 21
Mini breakfast pizza, applesauce
Chicken veggie quesadillas, clementines
Toasted sub sandwiches, carrot sticks, fruit salad

Wednesday, December 22
Honey whole wheat bagels, bananas
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas
Dinner with friends

Thursday, December 23
Monkey bread, pears
Sloppy cornbread muffins, green beans
Chicken alfredo, steamed broccoli and carrots

Friday, December 24
Whole wheat waffles
Leftovers
Soup and sandwiches, relish tray, cookies

Saturday, December 25 (MERRY CHRISTMAS!!)
Applesauce bread, fruit
Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, bread, pie
Leftovers

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If you’re looking for some menu planning help, I highly recommend checking out Say Mmm! 
It’s a wonderful free resource to help you get organized and on your way to great menu planning!

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Learn here about how to earn free gift cards…for free! 
Don’t you love it when I’m redundant? You get that for free too. :)

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Please be sure to join us all this week for a Christmas Brunch!! 
There will be fun new recipes, craft and gift ideas and presents!!

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