Spring Break Organizing Day 1

Yes, technically today is day 2 of Spring Break but yesterday I had to menu plan and you know how important that is!

My goal at the beginning of the year was to try and post weekly on organization. Since the organizational blog I like OrgJunkie was hosting her 52 weeks of organizing I figured I would participate. But life is never that simple and waaay too many Fridays have come and gone without my posts (specifically 15 Fridays!). So, I decided I would do a little organizing this week while the kids were home. Seems odd but somehow I seem more motivated to work while they're here plus I can't come and go as easily since any errand requires me to take all 5 kids with me so I find myself home more.

Anyway, here's what I did today:

Before - honestly I was surprised it had gotten to this point - it was organized then life happened and it wasn't anymore but a little bit of clothes shopping (with sales and coupons of course) got me in the mood to clean out all the stuff I no longer loved in my closet.



And after:



I have to say I found a LOT of stuff I didn't love - over 35 pieces of clothing! That's a lot of tops and bottoms that I just didn't feel I could wear any longer and I'm excited for them to find new homes :)

Interestingly enough week #15 in OrgJunkie's 52 weeks was closet organizing - I swear I had NO idea!

Looking forward to tackling another space tomorrow...

Menu Planning: Spring Break

This week is the kids Spring Break from school meaning they are home, all day, all of them. Of course they look forward to this - honestly I often wonder why - they're basically bored with a few minutes. Sure we have some things planned but sometimes they have to fend for themselves and they get bored. Go figure.

Because they are home all day it leaves me with the task of not only planning dinner but also planning lunch. Lunch is simpler, of course, but it's still good to have a plan because I'm quite certain I hear Chick-fil-A calling my name and right now that's just not in my budget!!

Lunch:

Monday: Hot dogs, stick cheese and grapes
Tuesday: Pizza with friends
Wednesday: Spaghetti (this pretty much means noodles for the kids - they don't like sauce - not sure why)
Thursday: Mac N Cheese
Friday: Sandwiches for a picnic lunch at Frying Pan Park - it's a field trip with the moms of multiples - can't wait!

Dinner:

Monday: Mini Meatloaves with mashed potatoes and green beans

Tuesday: Creamy Baked Ziti (x2 for a friend who recently had a baby)

Wednesday: Chicken Taco Bake

Thursday: Sloppy Joe Biscuit Casserole

Friday: Deluxe Pizza Goulash

Saturday: Santa Fe Chicken Casserole - this is another Philadelphia Cooking Creme Recipe and I'm excited to try it!

Sunday: Easter :) We are looking forward to a day to celebrate our risen Lord with friends and hopefully family.

Chicken Sale At Harris Teeter

Normally I wouldn't do a whole post about one sale or about meat but I wanted to take a minute and point out a good deal on healthy meat.

While our family isn't trying to "go" organic with our food I do like to find healthy food for our kids to eat and we always eat lots of fruit and vegetables. I also find that the biggest complaint against couponing is that there is a lack of coupons for "good" food. For the most part this seems to be true though I do see a LOT of changes towards coupons for better foods.

This week is a great example - there's actually a coupon for meat in the paper!

At Harris Teeter till Tuesday Perdue Fit & Easy Chicken Breasts are on sale for $2.99/lb - add that to the $0.75/1 coupon from RP 4/10 and you get another $1.50 off your pack. For one pound that would be just $1.49.

I picked up 2 packs - one of which normally sells for $8.45 and I paid just $3.10 - that's a significant savings on quality meat.

If you're new to couponing do stick around - there's a deal to be had on just about everything one day or another - you just have to know when and where to look :)

Check out Moneywise Moms for her deal on chicken as well as some links to healthy coupons.

The Corruptible Book Review

I know I've already shared my love of blogging for books but I'll just say it again: I love it!

I love it especially when I get to read a great book! Once again I received a free copy from Waterbrook Multnomah's Publishing Group's Blogging for Books program that was a second book in the series. So once again I turned to Amazon and using gift cards from Swagbucks I ordered the first book in the series.

Mark Mynheir is an author I'm familiar with having read his previous series so I was quite excited to read his new books and I wasn't disappointed. Mark is an author with a LOT of law enforcement experience so his writing is extremely real which I thought was great!

Take a look at my review:

Mark Mynheir’s The Corruptible is a fascinating, cynical and realistic read. If you ever wanted to know what life is like as a cop this would be the way to do it. I almost felt this book could be research for an aspiring writer of mysteries! Not in a bad way but the detail was amazing – I felt as though I were there.

The Corruptible is Book #2 in the Ray Quinn Mystery Series. In Book #1, The Night Watchman, we’re introduced to Ray Quinn a disabled, retired detective who is an alcoholic and seems to be waiting to die. But life and God have other plans and when he discovers 2 dead bodies in one of the condos where he works as a security guard he’s asked to look into the case. At first he has no desire to be back in detective work but ultimately he agrees and begins to find a bit of his former self. With help from his friends Crevis and Pam, Ray solves the case and clears a good name.

In The Corruptible, Ray has just opened his new private investigation service when he is called in by a very wealthy client to recover some stolen merchandise. But the case is more than it first appears and once again Ray is looking for a murderer and using his police contacts to solve a case.

Despite Ray’s disability caused by a gunshot and requiring the use of a cane Ray is a very strong character. As the book is written in first person Ray is the only point of view that we get. He’s not a Christian and he is an alcoholic so the perspective is often negative and very gritty. He has friends but I spent most of the book wondering why and waiting for him to screw up the relationships. Ray is humorous (I laughed in quite a few parts at Ray’s comments and thoughts) and real, yet not the most likeable of characters.

The plot was fast paced and engaging. I enjoyed both books a great deal though both endings were a tad odd. The first book seemed to come out of nowhere (not in a good way) and the second book seemed to throw a lot of red herrings in for the sake of making the book longer.

I recommend reading book #1 first if only to get a better sense of who Crevis is because he’s a great character and I liked him a lot.

I give the book 4 stars because the middle of the book lagged a little and went in directions it didn’t really need to go resulting in some plot confusion. I also think Ray is a very dark character and the book contained a LOT of alcohol references for a Christian novel. I know that it’s something Ray struggles with making the character real but I’m just giving fair warning for those who don’t wish to read extensively about alcohol.

I enjoyed both books and recommend both books (with a few reservations for some). Mark Mynheir is an excellent writer and he proves himself again in The Corruptible. I’ll be looking forward to the next one!

For more information check out the author's website: www.markmynheir.com or place your order at Amazon.

I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group’s Blogging for Books program. All opinions are my own.

Menu Planning

Wow, it was a busy weekend. The MOPS sale went really well. I guess I should preface that with saying I'm not sure how much I sold but I certainly got a lot of great deals on the kids summer wardrobe! And with very minor exceptions (namely church dresses for the girls) their wardrobes are complete! Of course, they need to be since there won't be another consignment sale until July. Will I make it?...

Kidding, I'll be fine :)

Sunday: Angel Chicken

Monday: Savory Salisbury Steaks (this is a Pampered Chef recipe - something new I've never tried so we'll see how it goes!)

Tuesday: Beef and Bean Taco Casserole

Wednesday: Velveeta Baked Spaghetti Squares

Thursday: Ground Beef and Twice Baked Potato Pie

Friday: Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Saturday: Pizza Casserole (without the olives - sorry, just don't like them!)

Gymbucks Redemption Starts Tomorrow!

A very important and easy way for me to save money on kid's clothes besides consignment sales is Gymboree. I know it seems crazy but combining coupons with sales means a lot of great clothes on the cheap.

Add Gymbucks to the picture and you're saving even more!

If you aren't sure what a Gymbuck is it's a coupon you receive during earning months for $25 off a future purchase of $50. The coupon can only be used during a redemption period which is now (for those who are Gymboree Rewards members) or tomorrow (for those who aren't) through April 17th.

Gymbucks can be applied on any item in the store regardless of whether they are on sale or clearance.

And now is a great time to redeem since all their Easter items are on sale.

Head over to Gymboree and check out all the great stuff!

(photo from Gymboree's website)

Menu Planning Monday: A New Month

I'm trying hard to leave March way behind. We haven't had the fridge repair guy out yet so I don't yet know how much that will cost us but I'm praying that it won't be much.

This is certainly where a menu plan comes in handy. When something's not working on home or stress sets in my biggest temptation is to give up and just go spend money. After all it is a HUGE pain to transfer all our cold food to the garage fridge and to go out to the garage every single time we need something cold. And right now we have no ice because our freezer made ice for us (aren't we so spoiled?!) so drinks aren't as good. All this adds up to me throwing up my hands and calling for take-out or heading out the door to eat out.

If it weren't for the plan I've already put in place I would give in EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Seriously.

But the plan keeps me on track!

Here's my plan for this week:

Sunday: Simple Hamburger Hot Dish

Monday: Rush Hour Chicken Fajitas (a Pampered Chef Recipe)

Tuesday; Hamburger Stroganoff Casserole

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup

Thursday: Moms of Multiples Meeting - dad covers dinner

Friday: MOPS Sale - I have to be there all evening so this is a fast food night for us - you have to have a few every now and then :)

Saturday: Layered Enchilada Bake - this one is a family favorite that we repeat often. I do have to say on a day that I know I'm going to be tired and not really want to cook (since I will be spending all day at the MOPS Sale as well) it's a good idea to have a familiar recipe to look forward to - I already know I like it and I already know how to make it so there's no stress of something new to keep me from cooking!