Friday Night Ramblings--Friday Five Edition

T.G.I.F.

I saw several "Friday Five" posts in the blogger world today and thought I'd jump on the wagon.  Here is my Friday Five...



1.  In my bid to get healthy, to be a better ME, I did this workout this morning:

And then.... I died.

Just kidding.  It was a very hard workout!  I will probably wish for death tomorrow while I suffer through the soreness.  I think my abs are still quivering from it.  Although, that could be caused by the total garbage I ate after the workout.

*sigh*

I'm trying to stay true to a low carb lifestyle.  I feel so much better when I do.  I started in May and I've lost seven (!!) inches from my waist!  I still have a lot more to lose, though, and I've been sorta lax lately.  I need to get my Atkins book out for a refresher course.



2.  My little one brought this masterpiece home from school today:

(Brought to you by.....the letter "T".)

Turtle, tiger, tail (see the arrow??  My little one is SO clever!) and turkey.  My little one is quite an artist.


3.  I finally finished writing our Autism story and posted it here on my blog.  Warning--it is a long story, even though I did my best to share the condensed version.  You can click the header tab to read our story or you can use this link.


4.  Random, but....I love spiral notebooks!  I buy lots of them during the back-to-school sales and I have them stashed all over the house.  I write down random thoughts, notes, to-do lists, grocery lists, blog post ideas, appointments, cleaning schedules, etc.  I write down everything!  Sometimes, I can't find my latest notebook and I have to go from room to room, paging through various notebooks.  Most of the time I find something like this:

Or a series of drawings like this...

Or this...

He is all about super heroes and dinosaurs these days....and signing his art with "Elijah" instead of Eli.

You see, I'm not that forgetful.  My little one loves notebooks as much as I do!

Maybe more.


5.  My new friend Kate shouted me out today  (Thanks, Kate!) on her "I Love Fun Fridays" post.  This week's post is all about finding local blogging friends.  Go on over and check kate's linky for bloggers in your area. You may find a brand new friend!  While you're there, check out her past "Fun Fridays" posts.  Lots of great stuff happening over there.


Well, all that's left for this post is....

TGIF, my friends.  T.G.I.F.

My Top Ten List--Fall Edition

TOP 10

10.  Routine--No more lazy days of summer.  Every day has a purpose---school, work, chores, homework....I grumble, but the routine really is a good thing.  I need to just go with it, take advantage of it.

9.    Sweaters and boots--And scarves and gloves and jeans....I love dressing for fall weather!

8.    Apples--Honeycrisp is my favorite variety.  Yum.  If you think you don't like apples, try a honeycrisp.  Seriously.

7.    Football--Brings back fond memories of football pool sheets and Sundays in front of the television with the gang; rooting for the Cowboys and traveling to Texas for Thanksgiving games.  (Go Cowboys!)

6.    Halloween--How can you not look forward to the costumes and the candy when you have a house full of kids?  I wonder what type of costumes I'll be putting together this year...

5.    Backyard fire pit--Hot dogs, s'mores, and happy kids right on the patio.

4.    Pumpkins--In the field, on the porch, in a can, in a muffin, in a latte (with spice)....even the color grabs me.

3.    Thanksgiving--Food, family, food, holiday, food...did I mention the food?  So many great recipes that you only see at Thanksgiving.

2.    Cooler temperatures--It's just crisp enough for a kick, but warm enough to enjoy the outdoors.  The cooler weather makes for great birthdays, too.  The majority of our family celebrates a birthday during this season.  (Notice how I sorta doubled up on this one?  It's supposed to be a "TOP 10", not a "TOP 11" and I love our Fall birthdays.  I couldn't leave them out...)

And #1....

Pretty colors--Brilliant blues, shocking oranges, rich reds, bright greens, and punches of yellow...my favorite palette.  

Sounds pretty all-American, doesn't it?

I guess I'm just a simple girl at heart.  :o)

Wouldn't it be great if Fall lasted about 6 months?

Too bad...








* This post inspired by the Writer's Workshop.

Wordless Wednesday--Go Jim Go!

 

Memphis meteorologist Jim Jaggers rides 333 miles to raise money for LeBonheur Children's Hospital--our hospital. We are so blessed to have this hospital and the support of Go Jim Go!

What in the world would we do without LeBonheur??

You can follow Jim's ride here:

https://www.facebook.com/gojimgoforlebonheur

Thanks, Jim. Thanks~

Writer's Workshop--Six Word Memoir--26th Anniversary

Another six word memoir for you in honor of our 26th anniversary today...

You had me at 'What's up?'

 

 September 20, 1986

Has it really been 26 years??

It doesn't seem possible...

The six word memoir idea came from today's Writer's Workshop (idea #1). 

 Learn more about the Writer's workshop here:

Here is a link to my six word memoir from last year.

Wordless Wednesday---Pirate Day??

Arrr....mateys!  It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Uhhh....NOT a pirate.

Pirate? 

 So not a pirate.

Pirate.

Definitely not a pirate.  Scallywag.

Arrrrr....Hello?  Pirate!

Go away, matey.

Not a pirate and creeper dawg.  Wha??  Creepy, creepy dawg.

Vision therapy.   It's Pirate Day at our house every day.

Meal Planning---Make Ahead or On the Fly?

So, this week's Fun Friday topic is feeding your family.  Kate posts Fun Friday topics every Friday and like always...I'm participating late.

Just in time for tomorrow's Fun Friday.

That's just how I roll...

You can check out Kate's blog,  2 3 Kids, a Mini Van and a Mortgage by clicking this button:



Kate is a local gal who was slammed about a year and a half ago when her preschooler went from healthy to cancer patient in 0 to 60.  Seriously, she was well, then she was sick.

Just like that.

Our community rose to the occasion and surrounded them with love and support.  Pink and purple ribbons/bows were everywhere!  (Still are.)  Go, Lucy Go still rings loud.  Read about Lucy.

It was a real pleasure to meet Kate last month when our little ones ended up at LeBonheur Rehab for therapy on the same day.  I could have talked to her for hours!  (Plus, we share the same birthday---isn't that crazy??  Although, I have several years on her.  shhhhh....)

Anyway.

Back to Fun Friday.  Feeding my family.  Much like my lack of organization, meal planning is not much fun nonexistent around here.  Having kids on the Autism spectrum makes it challenging.   One will only eat meat and the other will only eat cheese and bread in some form.  And sweets.

And before you say anything... This is not your normal small-child-refusing-to-eat-the-veggies.  So, please don't judge.  I'm all about picking the battles and after years of feeding therapy, well, I'd rather just get what I can into their bellies and supplement like crazy.

(In other words...if you don't live with Autism, you really have no idea.)

With that said, I just recently decided to ditch my 'dinner on the fly' approach and give meal planning a try.  I put all of our favorite meals down on paper (along with alternatives for the boys), worked out an ingredient list, checked the pantry, and made a plan.

Remember that unused planner I just posted about here?  It just became my new menu planner!

Going by what I already had on hand, I turned to September in my new menu planner and jotted down two weeks worth of meals.  Then, on Monday and Tuesday, I went shopping.

Tuesday night, I cooked.

And, when I say, I cooked, I mean....I COOKED.  

And let me just add...I do NOT enjoy cooking.  I like to bake, hate to cook.  I would much rather come into the kitchen after someone else has cooked a nice dinner and clean up the mess.

Really!

So, mega shopping and cooking for the freezer is a big deal.

My freezer is stocked with meals ready to go.   And snacks!  I made six dozen muffins! I made some of those canned pumpkin and spice cake mix muffins I saw on Pinterest....YUM.  They are delicious and only TWO ingredients.

Can't get any easier than that.

My menu planner tells me what I need to take out each day.  No more mad dash.

No more frozen pizzas. (Unless we choose, of course.)


It's been two days and I. am. loving. it.   I know exactly what's for dinner for the next twelve days.

Awesome.

Wordless Wednesday--Soccer Stars!

First game of the AYSO Fall Season...

Let's Talk about Organization....NOT

It's no secret that I am not the most organized person, but oh, oh, how I want to be.  I spend a lot of time (and some money, too) making plans and coming up with ways to organize my home.

For example, last December I purchased a yearly planner.

It was cheap.  After all, I know myself well.

I had good intentions.

Yep, I took this photo today.

It's September and the planner is still brand new and unused.

I wonder...if I actually spent good money on a really nice planner, would that help???

Nah.


A friend of mine recently blogged about her planner and I was so inspired!  She prints out her favorite photos at the end of each month and scrapbooks right in her planner.

How awesome is that?

She covers her daily 'to-do' pages with colored card stock and journals her photos.  She has her monthly calendar notes and her photos for every month all in one place.

I just love that!


I may have failed the planner test, but I do keep a wall calendar in the kitchen.  This calendar is command central for all of the family appointments and extracurricular activities.  When you have several kids with medical issues/specialist appointments and after-school activities, a calendar really is a must.

Hey....I'm starting to sound a little organized!  Maybe all is not lost....


A few months ago, I decided to make myself a chore box.  I split all of my chores into daily, weekly, and monthly categories.  I even made a section for my boys.  Heh.  THAT makes me chuckle.

One of these days, I'm thinking I'll open the box and put those chore cards to good use!

Before you begin to feel really sorry for my bunch of messy pack rats  family, let me show you what I have done in my little boys' room.

I recently de-cluttered their room and organized their things.  Here is a quick peek at one of their shelves...

I have bins for action figures, Lego's, Potato Heads, toy cars, DVDs, video games, and art supplies.  They have hooks for their backpacks and a locker for their soccer equipment.

They even have a nightly schedule:

This has really helped them keep their bedroom neat and clean.

Oh and another area of the house I keep pretty organized is the laundry room.  I usually wash every day and I have bins for each family member.

I keep a plastic dishpan filled with cleaning supplies and baby blankets (they make the BEST mirror cleaners!) in each bathroom vanity cabinet.  This keeps me from putting off the dreaded worst chore of all time---cleaning the boys' bathroom.  Ick.


There's hope for me.  I just know it!  I want to have an organized home and someday....someday....

I will.