Happy St. Patrick’s Day Everyone!
No pinching these kiddos today, my boys are all dressed in green and Thade is super excited about St. Patrick’s Day today. I wish I had a green meal planned, but I doubt that the kiddos would eat it… I hope that everyone has a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
We’ve made it to week #3 in the “Not Going Out in March Challenge”, and it is time to plan another lunch menu for the week. I’m trying out a new recipe and taking some much needed help from the freezer too. Here is what I have planned for this week’s lunch menu:
I hope that the boys like the Beef Burritos, and I’ve been really missing my favorite Chinese take-out restaurant, so I am looking forward to the Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry.
Breakfasts this week are going to be simple, simple, simple. I’ve got Pop Tarts, Cereal, and Waffles on hand for the little guys. I still have Eggs and Sausage for my hubby. I’m also helping out with MOPS Breakfast this Friday so I will be making a whole bunch of muffins. I might double the batches and have extra on hand for us too.
I’ve got a god start to this year’s garden… A few little Green Pepper Plants just peeked through. I had to move the little seedlings to a higher window so the curious kitties wouldn’t eat them. I hope the little plants continue to thrive, and hopefully we’ll have plenty of peppers for fajitas this Summer.
It looks like we made it through another week, just barely. On Thursday I was tempted to go out and get a Large Cheese Tater Tots and a Route 44 Cherry Coke from Sonic, but I resisted. James keeps saying just how much he misses Wendy’s and Pizza Hut, but he is holding strong too. The little guys are doing well too, but Thade has been asking for McDonald’s and Burger King, even though we don’t have a Burger King locally.
I’m really happy that we have made it a solid two weeks without fast food, and honestly that is a lot longer than I thought we could. My kitchen is still a mess though, and I’ve already used an entire bottle of Ajax dish soap this week.
The good though, I was shocked to see just how little trash there was to go out this week. We only had three kitchen sized bags for pick-up. Usually we have 2-3 trash cans full, and I would bet that the normal pick-up is at least 12 bags. In just two weeks we have decreased our trash by 9 bags, that is huge!
I am also saving a lot in the gas tank. Before the challenge started I put $10.00 in my car, and that gave me 1/2 tank of gas. Two weeks later into the challenge, and I’ve still got 1/4 tank of gas. Not making extra trips out to sit idle in a drive-thru has really saved a lot of gas.
Next week we will start week #3 in the “Not Going Out In March Challenge”, and we’ll see how it goes. I hope we can make it!
Spring will be here next week, and I can’t wait!
I’ve got my seeds, now I just need the weather to warm up a bit, and I can get the garden going.
This year we are expanding the garden quite a bit, and also adding flowers around the porch, and along the fence too. I’ve got a few bulbs (thanks Shaunna) to plant out front too.
So here is the plan for this year’s garden:
The side porch will get several hanging baskets full of impatiens, and along the posts I’ll be planting a clematis on each, and I hope the pretty flowers will grow up the posts. Below the side porch is a small flower bed featuring hostas. The fence row off of the side porch will get a pretty Caladium, and Morning Glory to grow up the fence row. I might work in some Sweet Pea and Dahlia too.
I’m also planting two Caladium in the front yard too, right by the steps. Right now the front yard features two rows of Daffodils, and a Tulip bed too. We are thinking about adding in new plants out front too, and I would really like to add a few veggies too, Zucchini and Squash make large beautiful greenery.
We are also adding some much needed mulch to the backyard… We have a gigantic tree, and nothing will grow under it, so it is a bit of a mud pit. This year we’ll be mulching, and adding a picnic table too. James is planning on building the picnic table, and I think the kiddos will really like it.
Here is last year’s garden site, and it is in need of some weeding. I also moved rocks over to make the Pepper bed, or maybe Strawberry bed, I still haven’t made up my mind. We are also planting 2 flower beds opposite the garden to bring in the good bugs to eat all of the bad bugs.The small garden will feature Corn, Cucumber, and Green Beans.
Here is the big addition… I get to plant the entire North side of the yard with veggies and flowers, but I need to call dig rite first. We haven’t planted in this part of the yard yet, so I need to make sure that it is safe to dig there. I think I will have plenty of room for rows of Squash, Zucchini, Corn, Pumpkins, Cauliflower, and Carrots too.
It looks like it is going to be a really busy Spring spent outdoors, but I think it is going to be great. I hope to see big results from this little patch of yard.