Monthly Archives: October 2008

Oct 26

Bento at Breakfast

Even Bento kits can come in handy at breakfast time. The nights I wasn’t feeling too well, I would pack the Bento kits with my kids favorite cereal for the next day. The kids thought it was a special treat to use Bento Kits at breakfast time, and it was big a time saver for me.

Oct 25

Fantastic Fall

The sunshine has made a return, and we are thrilled to see it. Today we are going to be busy outdoors all day. There are so many Halloween activities going on this weekend, and the boy’s and I are going to go to as many as we can.

This morning we are going to do Creepy Crawly Crafts at the Community Center. There will be face painting, crafts, and maybe even a snack or too. Thade already wants to get a spider painted on his face.

This afternoon we are meeting Shaunna and Sheldon downtown for a mini-parade of Halloween costumes and Trick-or-Treating at local businesses. Dylan will be a little Tiger, and Thade will be our fearless Iron Man.

We are baking a batch of Spooky Halloween Cupcakes this afternoon, and making a few batches of Sweet Tea too. My Mother in law and Sister in law are visiting today too. I can’t wait to give Jill a big hug!

This evening, we have a super fun local tradition to go to. This evening we will be riding the “Haunted Trolley”, and taking a local Ghost Tour. We went 2 years ago, and it is so much fun, and not too scary.

Do you have a lot of Fun Fall activities planned this weekend too?

Oct 24

Oh Yes, the Tape is Gone

I stayed up late last night, pulling off the blue tape, and finished up the job this morning. I’m happy to say there isn’t a speck of blue tape left anywhere in the dining room today!

I’m so happy that we have this project finished, and James and I are already talking about what to paint next. We still have plenty of rooms that need it…

This is what the dining room looked like yesterday, beige paint, and plenty of blue tape everywhere.

Even Thade got involved in the painting. He got to paint a section of the wall, all by himself. He had so much fun, and even declared that he wanted to be a painter when he grows up.

I am absolutely thrilled with the dining room, and I think the colors look great. The green looks so pretty with the hardwood floors, but the soft purple is by far my favorite.

Today there is still a lot to be done, the house is one-big-huge mess, so I will probably be cleaning all day. There is a little touch up work to be done too, but I like those kind of jobs, and I can take care of that one while Dylan is napping. We’ll see what room we paint next!

Oct 23

So Long Blue Tape

James is on vacation for the next few days, and we are going to be busy painting the dining room. I’m so excited, I can’t wait to get rid of the blue tape! Wish me luck, and hopefully I’ll have some new pictures of the progress up soon.

Oct 22

Stocking the Pantry for Flu Season

I know it isn’t the loveliest of images, but flu season is on the way. This month my family has had the flu twice, and the first go around I was caught way off guard. I had a little break in between the sickness to stock up the pantry with supplies.

Even though I was sick I still had to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and believe me, I really didn’t want to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I stocked up the kitchen pantry with easy to prepare meals, and made several homemade frozen meals for dinner.

  • Spaghetti, Jarred Sauce, and Black Olives are all staples that keep well, and are simple to prepare when you aren’t feeling too good. Add in a little Garlic Bread and you’ve got dinner!
  • My kids love Macaroni and Cheese, and it makes for a very fast lunch. I always serve sliced Bananas too, and lunch is ready to go.
  • Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Soup is also a quick and easy lunch. My kids would live on Grilled Cheese, if I would let them.
  • I often make a double batch of Chicken and Noodles, Mashed Potatoes, and Chili to go in to the freezer. All of these dishes keep well, and reheat well at a moment’s notice.
  • For Breakfast Pop Tarts were the only thing that sounded good to me and the kiddos too. They keep well, and I lived off them for about a week. They make great snacks too, and who could resist a Chocolate Chip Pop Tart?!?

Of course having a few Get Well Supplies on hand is always a good idea.

  • I stock up (buy 10 boxes) at Dollar General on Kleenexes. We have been using 5-8 boxes a week with this cold, and Dollar General has the best prices on tissues.
  • Have the Vaporizers ready for your kid’s rooms, and one for your room too, they really help with stuffy noses.
  • I also keep on hand Single Symptom Medications, such as; Cough Syrup, Cough Drops, and Sinus Medication. Walgreens is a great place to stock up on these supplies, and our Pharmacists always take the time to answer all of my questions, and give helpful advice too.
  • You can never have too much Vick’s Vapor Rub, it truly is the cure all. They even make one for babies, and the scent is great.
  • Keep the Chap Stick or Carmex handy too. Thade and I both get chapped lips whenever we have a cold, so I keep Chap Stick in just about every room.

I really hope for all of us that this is a mild flu season, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.