Menu Plan Monday

This week we will start a busy season of three in sports. Anna starts soccer and Jacob and Samuel start baseball. Spring begins Thursday, the birds are singing, the daffodils are blooming, it's a beautiful season to watch God's creations! I am looking forward to warmer days and getting out more with Rose:) Our meals will need to be simple with easy clean-up!

Here is what's cookin' this week:
Breakfast: mostly boxed cereal thanks to our deals at kroger last week
Lunch: burritos, pbj, leftovers, fruit
Dinners:
Monday-whole wheat pancakes, sausage, orange slices
Tuesday-grilled chicken, macaroni and cheese, steamed broccoli
Wednesday-wheat berry soup (with venison from the freezer), rolls, peach cobbler
Thursday-grilled cheese or egg salad sandwiches, carrots, applesauce
Friday-pizza
Visit Laura's site for more menu ideas!

My Nephew Is Here

Jackson Xavier Franck
March 11, 2008
7lbs. 6 oz.
19.5 inches
Another beautiful blessing born into the family!
Welcome, little fellow.

CVS and Food Lion Savings

We had a good week with coupon savings! Unfortunately my sleep deprived "mommy brain" is making it hard for me to keep up with my receipts!
We had fun at CVS. The picture is just one of our trips! We were able to get three free gallons of milk to go with the 20 boxes of cereal we bought at Kroger for $15! My favorite transaction at CVS went like this:
3 bags of starbuck's coffee 6.99 ea
$20.97
-$4 off 20 cvs coupon
-$5 off 15 cvs coupon
-$1.97 ecb's
-$10.00 ecb's
=free coffee!
At Food Lion we bought the three baby items for $1!
Go to Crystal's blog to get the links to great coupons!

Sharing Smiles

Boy, was I a tired Mama today! This little girl took the girl's night thing a little too far and we did not get a whole lot of sleep:) But all the sweet smiles and talks we have now make it all better!
A time will come that I get a full nights sleep, but for now I just have to keep going and enjoy sharing smiles:)
This is the day that the Lord hath made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Girls, Girls, Girls...

What do you get when you add an easy meal of chicken patties and tater tots, and movies with popcorn and ice cream, and no men in the house? GIRL'S NIGHT!! Tommy and the boys have gone to Maryland to help Cj, Amanda, and Elizabeth move into their new house:) We miss the guys, but girl time is special!

A Diaper Cake

Our "second" church, the one we call "the church across the street" delivered this gift to us yesterday. Can you believe that 15 years and seven kids later, this was a first- a diaper cake. I was thrilled! It is one of the cutest baby gifts I've ever seen. It is full of useful things...diapers and wipes of course, hand knitted booties and a hat, a pink Bible, a reusable ice pack, toys, socks, a onesie, a spoon and bottle, a towel, washcloth, and blanket! It is all held together by beautiful pink ribbon. Hand made gifts and cards are just the best aren't they!

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

This meal has become a favorite for us. A sweet family at church brought us this meal after Rose was born. I found this recipe and made a few changes to make it a little lower fat and a "hair" cheaper.
Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

• 5 cups of cooked, diced chicken (I have used a rotisserie chicken and skinless boneless chicken)
• 1 can of Cambell's healthy request cream of chicken soup
• plus one can of milk
• 16 ounces of sour cream
• one tablespoon poppy seeds
• one sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Directions...

1. preheat oven to 350
2. combine the first five ingredients
3. pour into 13x9 casserole dish
4. cover with crushed crackers and drizzle with butter
5. bake 30 minutes or until bubbly around the edges and crackers are golden brown

We serve this over rice so it's more filling. We could easily eat two pans:)