What's Cookin'

Here's a tentative meal plan for Feb 2-8:

Monday ~ Bacon BBQ Apple chicken in crockpot, potatoes, green beans (new recipe, we'll see)
Tuesday ~ Applebee's Oriental Chicken roll-up
Wednesday ~Sesame Honey Pork Tenderloin, rice, broccoli
Thursday ~ Pulled Pork Sandwiches, salad/coleslaw, oven fries
Friday ~ Engelsma's cousin's get together ( I'm not sure what I have to bring. If I have to bring a salad, I'm going to make Crunchy Asian-style Pasta Salad.)
Saturday ~ Mickey D's gift certificate
Sunday ~ Roast beef, mashed potatoes, carrots, red cabbage (I think my mom and Michelle will come for dinner since my dad and brother are in Guatemala.)

All this is very subject to change, depending on what days I have guests since I may have a few people over next week. But I plan to have the ingredients for these meals in the house.

What's up with Meijer lately?

This morning I went to the grocery store after Joel's dr appointment with all 3 kids. I have been going by myself or with Chris lately, just because its easier than trying to go by myself with 3 kids. But I didn't have a ton to get, so I thought I would just do it quick on my way home. So I got to Meijer at about 10:30, figuring it would go pretty smoothly. Not so much. It is very difficult to get through the check out with 3 little kids without creating complete havoc. Noah cried pretty much the entire time we waited for the lady in front of us to ring up her 50 coupons (Seriously, she must have had 50 coupons. Pass some this way!) . It was a young guy checking our groceries and he said two words to me, rushed me through the checkout while I'm trying to put groceries in the cart and prevent Noah from totally melting down. Fortunately, Joel slept through it all. What really irritates me though is that they don't have their sale items stocked! I told Andrew we could get some John Deere fruit snacks that were on sale and they were gone already! A couple of weeks ago I went at night to shop and 5 items that I wanted were completely off the shelves. So I'm thinking of writing to Meijer. Not complaining, but maybe giving some helpful criticism. My dad told me that the checkers at Meijer are timed. Not such a great idea when you are trying to handle your kids, groceries and pay the checker. Also, maybe they need to monitor their customer flow so that the shelves are stocked at the right time. There is no replacement for Meijer for me, its close and has everything I need at reasonable prices, but it would be nice if they improved some areas.

What's Cookin'

This week will be easy. A lot going on.
Mon ~ Out for dinner for my mom and my birthdays
Tues ~ My birthday. My brother is bringing pizza over.
Wed ~ Salsa Chicken and Black Bean soup (didn't get to this last week)
Thurs ~ Spaghetti, green beans, bread
Fri ~ Just Chris and the boys are eating dinner at home so maybe pancakes or eggs
Sat ~ Smoked Sausage and potatoes and carrots/dinner at mom and dad's
Sun ~ Grilled cheese and soup

What's cookin'

Ok, here's what's cookin' the rest of the week:

Wed ~ Ham dinner slices, baked potatoes, salad
Thurs ~ Salsa chicken and black bean soup, rolls
Fri ~ Pizza
Sat ~ Pork fried rice
Sun ~ Soup and grilled cheese

Deal of the Week

I had 2 $2 off coupons for a Johnson baby product and 1 $1 off coupon. I bought 3 soaps for $1.17 each for a total of $3.51. So I made $1.49 off this deal! I've never used these soaps before, but they look kind of neat for kids.

Church Christmas program

Andrew sang "Away in a Manger" in the church Christmas program this year and recited Matthew 1:21 with his class.

Andrew walking in with his teacher, Mrs. VanDyke

Andrew standing next to Zach Bilkes.


Andrew with his class: Eva, Anita, Andrew, and Zach.

Andrew's 4th birthday

Andrew turned 4 the day after Christmas. Very big day for him because this was the day we had decided he had to give up his pipe! He's only had it at night and naps for the past year and a half, but we weren't sure how it was going to go with no pipe at all. But he did really well. And now he's such a big boy!

For his previous birthdays, I have just made cupcakes or plain cake, but this year he realized more what was going on and since he loves trains so much, I made him a train cake. Not quite how I had envisioned it and I'm not sure how impressed he actually was, but it was fun to make!



I didn't think the adults would appreciate candy laden cake so I made an extra frosted cake. The licorice train is Aunt Michelle's design.

The birthday boy with his cake.

Chris and I decided to get Andrew a Leapster for his birthday. We had heard good things about it and thought it would be a good learning tool. I'm glad we got it now. I don't think he's really quite ready for it, but he's learning how to use it and hopefully he will be able to learn some things from it.

What's Cookin'

I made all the meals I planned last week! Yay! It was much easier to cook dinner when I knew in advance what I was making. I think we ate a bit healthier too.

This week:
Monday ~ Nasi with smoked sausage, green beans
Tuesday ~ Make your own taco salad
Wednesday ~ Leftovers or breakfast for supper
Thursday ~ Beef stew in the crockpot
Friday ~ Couples night out with some great friends from church (Can't wait!!)
Saturday ~ Lasagne (already made with leftover sauce from last week), garlic bread, salad
Sunday ~ Soup and grilled cheese

Free Calendar at Shutterfly

I haven't tried this yet, but I got an email that said I could get a free 12 month calendar from Shutterfly by typing in code CALENDAR12. This expires 1/15/09. I'm thinking you will probably need to pay shipping.

Good for at least one laugh

Only in America ......do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the
back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy
cigarettes at the front.


Only in America.....do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and
a diet coke.

Only in America.....do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens
to the counters.


Only in America.....do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the
driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.


Only in America......do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in
packages of eight.

Only in America.....do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille
lettering.

Noah's first haircut

Noah is 21 months old and I cut his hair for the first time on the day before Christmas. He seemed so babyish with his long hair that I was reluctant to cut it off. But it was getting pretty long. Long enough that I could have put a short braid in. Long enough that Chris threatened to buzz his whole head while I was gone one day. So I decided I better do it myself. I used the longest comb on my shearers. Here are a few before and after pictures:

Noah getting ready for his haircut. He has no clue what's about to happen.

Still happy, glad he's getting so much attention from mommy. You can see his wispy hair floating around his collar.

His pretty long hair! I thought it was cute.

Post hair-cut. Not so happy to get his picture taken now.

Much shorter hair in the back now!

A more subdued Noah. Notice the pacifier. He wasn't that thrilled to have the buzzers going over his head. I just cut the back and sides and left the front longer. He still is my cute little boy, but definitely looks a little older now.

Snapshots from December 2008

Here are some random shots from the month of December.

Here is smiley Joel. He is a very happy baby. He smiles all the time. Just now he was giggling out loud because Andrew was jumping around in front of him.

Noah and Andrew after their bath. My cousin Jean made beautiful hooded towels for all three boys. We use them all the time!

Noah and Andrew outside after the first big snowfall. Noah was so bundled up he just kind of stood in one spot, but he loves being outside.

Joel loves to sit up. Whenever he sits on your lap, he's constantly throwing his head forward so he can sit up straight.

3 men in a tub!

These boys love to sit in the middle of a huge mess and look at books. And they like to stay in their pj's all day!

Chris with his 3 boys. And everyone looks happy!

Heads up for Walgreens

A couple great deals this week:
Electrasol gel tabs are on sale for $3. There was a coupon for $2.50 off in this weeks press and you get a rebate for $1.50 so you make money!
Garnier shampoo and conditioner is on sale for $2.99. There was a coupon also from this week for $1 off and Walgreen's has $2 off coupons in their January EasySaver booklet. Make sure the cashier rings up the manufacturer coupon first, then the Walgreen's coupon, otherwise it won't work (I found out the hard way!). Free shampoo!
I am having a ton of fun with Walgreen's and have already earned a bunch there. I have $10 in register rewards to use before next week so I'll be able to get some free diapers!
I do have to make sure I only buy things we really need. Sometimes I get so caught up that I get things that we don't really use or need, so then I'm wasting time and money. But it is so great to get things we use every day for free!

Menu plan for the week

I'm trying to stick to my grocery budget better this year, and I'm trying to plan my meals in advance so I can buy what I need better. Here's what's cooking this week:
Monday ~ Meatball sandwiches with marinara sauce and spinach salad
Tuesday ~ Slow cooker spaghetti sauce with some kind of bread and veggies
Wednesday ~ Cheesy potatoes and ham made in the slow cooker to bring to the church potluck
Thursday ~ Slow cooker beef roast with potatoes and carrots
Friday ~ Teriyaki chicken with rice and canned corn
Saturday ~ Leftovers
Sunday ~ Soup and buns

Now, let's see if I actually stick to this menu!