Home Maid Simple

Tag: inspiration

  • When you feel like you are Drowning

    When you feel like you are Drowning

    I was drowning this week. I felt like nothing I could do was ever going to get me out of the mess of home, the unorganized meals, the crazy try and get everyone where they need to be, the blog work that I love doing but has been difficult to find time for lately, and then my school work. It all piled up.

    Are you drowning?

    When you’re drowning, you don’t want to keep going down. You struggle and push and fight your way to breach the surface and take a breath. It’s difficult, it’s hard, it’s not easy as the pressure keeps pushing all around you.

    You must know which way is up and which way is down. Find the path of least resistance. Do not panic!

    I thought to myself, maybe I need to let go of something. Maybe I need to quit blogging. It’s tough, it takes a lot of time, and I’m just not as good as those other awesome bloggers out there (comparison…another pressure that will drown you quickly!)

    In the midst of my “I’m drowning, and I don’t think I’ll ever make it to air” feeling this week, two friends posted on Facebook within seconds of each other, exactly what I needed.

    Don't Quit! Keep Trying! You will Succeed!


    And then there was this. And you know, I’m not going to quit blogging. Because I actually love it. I love coming here and writing. And maybe I haven’t been as true to myself lately in my writing. I have a lot of readers, and I want to write about things you care about. In the end though, I blog for me. It’s my grounding point of feeling like there is more to me than cook and maid. Blogging helps remind me of that. So I’m going to keep on being me. Here. Real life. My thoughts.

    I took a breath. I felt the top of the water. I could succeed at this. I don’t need to quit. I can do it. And then seconds later there was this. 
    If that didn’t just completely sum up how I was feeling! I was drowning, but there was a hand reaching down to pull me up. One who knows I can do this; who wants me to breathe freely.
    It made me cry. Because in my time of emotional drowning, quite literally a hand was offered to me to pull me out of the sea. And I feel better. It’s not even lunch and half my house is clean again. I chatted with my sister through text. I reminisced about going to elementary school again – how I miss being an innocent child.  And now. Now I am breathing again. I am loving life, because I know it really doesn’t matter what happens, as long as I grab onto that hand and never let go. 
    Are you drowning? Will you let me help you up? Feel free to send me an email, or leave a comment, and I’ll do what I can to help.
  • Dreaming of Laundry Rooms

    Dreaming of Laundry Rooms

    I was catching up on laundry the other day, thinking and dreaming of what it would be like to have a room dedicated to cleaning our clothes. If you have/are living in an apartment, you’ll understand how hard it is to get laundry done when it’s in your kitchen, or in a hall closet, or even in your bathroom. Most older homes also are not set up with a nice place for laundry.
    Before our last move, we were actually turning some wasted space in our basement into a laundry room. We even had it piped for the washing machine before we had to leave. That was going to be an amazing space, let me tell you.

    There’s nothing I can do about that now, except wish, and work to make my current laundry room more user friendly. With a quick stroke of brilliance I reused an old Ikea shelf that was on it’s way to the trash and some twist ties to add an extra shelf above my dryer. Check it out!

    I’m still feeling pretty brilliant with that quick fix. Mark I do believe is laughing at my twist ties, but I made sure there were plenty on and spaced out enough to really hold and distribute the weight evenly.  I wish I could tell you what shelf this is at Ikea, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Sorry.

    So then I got thinking, what would my perfect laundry room look like?  How can I make my current hallway laundry room work more efficiently. I of course came up with this fun little board of things I want, and could use now, and in future rooms.

    *The following are affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Home Maid Simple.*

    A. Lime Laundry Drying Rack from One Kings Lane. I just wish it came in blue.  Many clothing items you want to hang up, but have no good place to hang them, so you toss them in the dryer and cross your fingers…or maybe I’m the only one. Too many clothes have been ruined this way. 
    B. Blomus Intro Pushboy Trash Can from Wayfair. Every laundry room needs a small trash can. I use it mostly for emptying the dryer lint. 
    C. Lost and Found Sign from Zulily. This is the cutest sign! I don’t know anyone who doesn’t find random items while doing laundry. Having a place to quickly toss them lets you continue sorting, washing, drying and folding. 
    D. 3 Sprouts Deer Laundry Hamper from Layla and Grace. Don’t like the deer, they have other cute animal print hampers as well. Or find something else to fit your tastes, but a hamper, even small is essential to any laundry room. 

    I love pinterest for all things home design and tips. These are just a couple of pins from my laundry room board. 
    diy drying rack
    I love this DIY Drying Rack from Centsational Girl
    Brilliant!!
    Delicair Laundry Basin
    My dream laundry room would have a sink like this to take care of any handwashing I need to do.

    This makes way more sense than dragging an ironing board out: Quilted ironing board with magnets for the top of the dryer! -- no more wrestling with the ironing board!
    This is just brilliant! A quilted ironing mat for your dryer. Definitely friendly for small spaces. I want one.


    This laundry room from 11 Magnolia Lane is so chic. The chandelier would make me feel I was relaxing instead of doing a chore. Don’t you think?

    Just from browsing pinterest, I’ve decided to make a laundry room feel less like a chore, it needs some bright colors. Too bad I can’t paint here. One day. One day. Maybe I’ll see if I can make over my mom’s laundry room. 
  • 2013 in Music

    2013 in Music

    *Disclaimer: I will be working closely in 2014 with R Legacy Entertainment to bring you new and uplifting music through 2014. This post has not been compensated.*

    I absolutely love discovering new music. When people ask me “What’s your favorite music to listen to?” I can’t give them an answer. I have a wide variety of music I love to listen to – from Frank Sinatra to The Beach Boys.
    2013 was a fun year of music discovery for me. I’m not big on iTunes because I generally prefer listening to the radio or Pandora for free and where I can get a complete variety of music.  If you recall though, this last year I had the opportunity to attend an Inspire My Life event featuring some talented musicians, and speakers. They put me back on the path to search out newer and more inspiring music. I have really enjoyed following some of these artists on facebook and YouTube.  Hopefully you’ll find someone new to listen to from my list.

    1. The Piano Guys.  Honestly I think I found them before 2013, but they are my #1 favorite music videos to watch.  If you haven’t watched any of their videos yet, please do. They are not just talented, but extremely creative!
    2. Charley Jenkins. I love country music. Charley is a fun entertainer, and his music really tells country life like it is. Although I got to see Charley perform live, I was sad when I just missed him coming down to Gunnison for the 24th of July (Utah’s Pioneer Day). It was about the same time we were trying to move, so I had to skip out.
    3. Hudson Lights. You may remember the review I wrote for this new male quartet <–follow the link if you missed it. You can watch their music video for Call Me Maybe at that link. It’s definitely my favorite version of Call Me Maybe that’s come out this year.
    4. Katherine Nelson. She has a beautiful voice. Her songs reach out to women and encourage them to keep going forward, even when life’s been tough. Listen to her song Beautiful if you’re feeling down and need a little pick me up.
    5. Lindsey Stirling. OK I admit, I actually just listened to her last night, but I’ve heard the name before. As a former violinist myself, I’m in awe. Playing the violin while dancing around, really spinning, takes some amazing talent to not lose any quality of sound.

    6. The Aaron Ashton Band.  Aaron Ashton is another accomplished violinist I had the pleasure listening to at Inspire My Life. His band is equally awesome as they play on a myriad of different and unique instruments – like the washtub bass. 
    7. Daniel Beck. I got to meet with the Marketing Director of R Legacy Entertainment a few weeks ago to help discuss ways we can help each other.  Before leaving they gave me a copy of Daniel Beck’s new CD. I put it in, and was carried away. His voice is beautiful, and his music reaches the soul. 
    8. What Does the Fox Say? I was completely unaware of this song by Ylvis until I ran across Lunchbox Dad’s cute What Does the Fox Say? lunch. Although this song is catchy, and my kids love it, I don’t care for the music video too much, and I would not suggest listening to any other Ylvis songs while the kids are around. 
    9. What Does the Farmer Say? I love a good spoof song, and this one made me smile. With my farming heritage, and love for small town living, I like this version. 
    10.  ?? What Music did you discover in 2013?
  • LDS General Conference Sunday Morning Recap #LDSconf

    LDS General Conference Sunday Morning Recap #LDSconf

    President Henry B. Eyring spoke of unconditional love, and the choices that will lead us to happiness, and choices that will lead to unhappiness. What I took to heart personally was near the end of his talk when he said

    “We cannot force God’s children to choose the way to happiness….but we can let them see it in our lives”

    Isn’t that powerful?  Many people struggle with finding happiness in their lives, some have depression that makes that choice even harder – so let’s try to show more happiness in our lives, and share it with those who struggle.

    Dallin H. Oaks gave a powerful talk on the 10 Commandments, and specifically the first commandment to love God. He questioned what we might be putting priority on in our lives above serving God. Perhaps it’s a career, education, recreations, political correctness, or material possessions. I came away with ways I put God first, and ways that I can and should do better –sharing my religion here for example will become more a priority.  


    Near the end of his talk, Elder Oaks quoted the following from President Monson –

    Bonnie L Oscarson serves as the General Young Women President. This is a program for young girls in our church age 12-18. I’ll just quote a portion of her talk here, because I really liked it. 

    True Conversion is more than merely having a knowledge of gospel principles and implies even more than just having a testimony of those principles…Being truly converted means we are acting upon what we believe and allowing it to create a “mighty change in us, or in our hearts.”

    This can be applicable to many different areas of your life. It is one thing to have knowledge of something, it is completely different to act upon it.

    Richard J. Maynes followed Sister Oscarson beautifully as he spoke of enduring to the end, and the relation our testimony and conversion have with our ability to endure trials along the way. When we have a strong testimony and are converted, we will be able to more fully reach the end of our trials.

     Richard G Scott bore a beautiful testimony when he told us about the personal strength we can receive through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He spoke to all of us and warned us to be on guard at all times, because Satan will be looking to lure us back into past sins.

    “We must be ever vigilant to avoid his enticements. Such was the case of the the faithful Ammonite fathers. Even after their years of faithful living, it was imperative for them to protect themselves spiritually from any attraction to the memory of past sins.”

    I encourage you to read the story of the Ammonites in the Book Of Mormon: Alma chapters 23-56.

    President Thomas S. Monson said “Only the Master knows the depths of our trials, our pain, and our suffering. He alone offers us eternal peace in times of adversity. He alone touches our tortured souls with His comforting words.

    You can watch Sunday morning’s session of conference at this link.
  • My night at Inspire My Life

    My night at Inspire My Life

    Happy Independence Day
    Last Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Inspire My Life: Heroes at Home event in Provo, UT at the Covey Center. It was an amazing evening of wonderful music and inspirational speakers. 
    Today on our Nations Birthday, I wanted to share some photos and some of the inspirational thoughts I received that evening.  
    The night opened with the Aaron Ashton Band. Aaron plays the violin, viola and electric violin.  His music can be heard on Spartacus, The Velveteen Rabbit, and The Red Dragon.  When he first started playing I was taken back – back to a time when I played the violin.  I truly enjoyed sitting back and listening to so much talent.  It was during Aaron’s set that I felt inspired with some job possibilities for Mark as well. Music truly is a way to  relax and see your life in a bigger picture. I really loved seeing one of the band members playing a washtub bass as well. How cool is this?
    After Aaron’s band we got to listen to Hank Smith – a PhD candidate at BYU, Hank works in consulting and has given motivational speeches around the country. Hank spent the evening telling us about making choices. He tied his whole speech into the history of our wonderful nation. Did you know in Wasghinton’s early 20’s he wrote home saying “I am a Failure”.  George Washington said that!  Did he let that stop him though? No, he made choices and decisions that led him to be America’s first President. 

    The impossible becomes possible through Determination. 

    Words of wisdom. We need to have a little determination and we can do anything. Hank moved from talking about the Heroes of our country to the Heroes at home. People like Erik Weihenmayer who became fully blind as a preteen went on to climb Mount Everest. Now that is an inspiring story of perseverance in the face of trials. 

    We had a short break after Hank, where I then purchased a copy of Aaron Ashtons cd, and got to talk to him about his music and the inspiration he gave me. I also sat and admired this awesome mug they were selling.  This would be such a fun mug to curl up with on cold winters nights.

    After our break, we headed back in for some more music from Katherine Nelson. If you haven’t heard of Katherine Nelson, you should just go listen to this song, right now.  I’ll wait. 

    Wow, right?  I totally cried listening to this song. Katherine is such an inspiration for women of all backgrounds and futures. Once again, we had a short break, and this time I got to meet and talk to Katherine. She signed a photo for me with the note Be Brave Girl! 
    The night ended with performer Charley Jenkins. WOW!!  I mean really. Like Katherine I had actually never heard of Charley before, but now in my husbands words “you’re like a teenager with a crush”.  I mean the night was just completely wonderful, and Charley’s performance topped the night. He worked the audience, got us all involved and dancing around. He even posed mid song for my sister in law to snap this photo
    Want to know a fun little secret?  The morning before the performance Charley wrote a new song. So during our evening performance they changed up the program a bit, and he sang his brand new, never before song for us!  That was a treat, I tell you. 
    I’ve been on a bit of a high for the whole last week.  I put the girls to bed listening to Aaron Ashton, and drive around listening to Charley Jenkins.  I think often of Hank Smith’s lessons on determination and perseverance, while Katherine’s words of encouragement to women keep me going on the hard days. 
    If you’re in the Tri-City Washington area in September, I strongly urge suggest you to attend the Inspire My Life event!
    To all our soldiers serving this wonderful nation, true heroes of the American people, and to all our Heroes at Home, Thank you. Thank you for the service you’ve given to this country, your families, and friends. Have a happy and safe 4th of July!
  • Finding Self Worth {Think About It}

    Finding Self Worth {Think About It}

    Have you ever wondered why you matter?  Why should you care about things? Why should anyone care about you? Do you recognize yourself when looking in a mirror?

    I believe we all at times ask ourselves these questions. It’s part of our journey to become an individual with likes and dislikes. But most importantly I believe the answers to these questions give us our self worth. They tell us just how much we value ourselves, and in turn how much we will value those around us.

    Think About It!

    Why do you matter? Because you’re a person. A living breathing person, you absolutely matter. Maybe you’re a mom – you sure matter to your kids, even if they don’t always acknowledge or appreciate it. Perhaps you are a teacher – those kids you teach need you. They’re practically like your very own kids.  Father, daughter, nephew, grandparent – someone in this world thinks you matter to them.
    From a religious standpoint – you matter to God. You might think no one in this world cares about you, but I know He does. We are all His children, and He cares for each of us individually in the struggles we go through. Just as mothers and fathers on earth, He can’t/won’t fix everything and make it all better, because He wants us to learn. Some lessons are hard to learn, others are easy.  But also as parents on earth, He feels our pains and our sorrows our joys and excitements. He cares about you.

    Gaining Self Worth

    I didn’t use to care.  That is, I didn’t use to care about how I looked, what I wore, or what others thought of me. At least that’s the outward show I gave. In truth I cared deeply what others thought, but brushed them off as not worth my time. Looking back, a big problem I had was that I didn’t feel great about me inside, so why should I care about my outward appearance? I was a nice person, that’s all that should have mattered.
    It took someone outside my family to show me just how much self worth I had, and help me gain more. Mark was and is my rock in self worth. He truly didn’t care what I looked like on the outside, but looked at my heart instead.  He still doesn’t care really – shaved legs or not – but he wants me to care. Do you know why? Because when I started caring, I only became a better person. When I found that looking nice, and feeling good on the inside could change more than just me, I cared.   I know Mark will love me through any stage I go through, and that was what stuck. It’s taken some time to grow into this new found self worth, and it’s still growing. What I want most though, is for Mark to have a nice wife, that loves herself enough to take care of herself.  Sure he wouldn’t care if I went out in a stained t-shirt, knots in my hair, and hairy legs – but now I do. I do because he cares about me.
    Does any of that make sense?

    Think About It.

     Has someone changed your life, just by simply loving you for you?

    I got a shower yesterday morning. I put Princess V in charge of the younger kids, and then allowed my trust in her to over ride any worries that someone was going to get severely hurt while I took care of me. Do you know what happened?
    No one got hurt. Everyone was happy, and so was I. I took the time to show myself a little love, and our day went so much better than most. In fact, the day went so well, that even the lack of Internet didn’t get my spirits down. I did some major cleaning in the spare room, got laundry done, fed kids, played with kids, fixed the curtains Mark didn’t like, and kept up with potty training Princess R. All with a smile on my face, a calm voice, and love radiating out from me. All because I loved myself first. The kids spoke kindly to one another, homework and chores were done without complaint, and we all felt the sun shining in our home. 
    I still may not have a great sense of fashion, and I’ll definitely still wear my worn thin flip flops out in public. But my hair will be combed, and I will care if there are huge stains on my shirt.  Because I matter to someone – I matter to me.  I have a husband who showed me that, and I am so grateful for his forever love.
  • Practice Makes Perfect {Think About It}

    Practice Makes Perfect {Think About It}

    Practice Makes Perfect

    I seem to find myself teaching the kids this good bit of advice a lot recently.  At this very precious time in their lives, they are learning the value of doing something well, and the hard work it takes to accomplish something well.
     
    I worry actually that if I become too slack, they will be too much like me – everything done will be only partly done, or only satisfactory instead of excellent.
     
    I don’t want that. I want my kids to strive for excellence, and reach it. Because really, is it worth doing something if it’s only so-so?  We have this little sign hanging in the kitchen that the previous owners left. It’s a humorous, but also true.
     
     
    I almost always look busy, or at least feel busy, because I’m doing too much only partway.  It’s time to focus and narrow down what I do.
     
    Think About It!
    I’m not saying everything has to be perfect all the time…because well that would make everyone go insane!  What I am saying is we should pick an area we want to excel in, and then go for it. Don’t settle for less than your best. Keep practicing until you are truly happy with what you’ve accomplished.
     
    Think About It!
     
    Why in the world is this the topic I’m thinking about today? A lot of reasons. It’s the product of my mind going 50 different directions and deciding that everything I was thinking fit under this one idea.
     
    I’m tired of being a Jane of all Trades.
     
    I want to hone my skills so when people ask me what talents I have, I can tell them instead of handing them a long list of things I enjoy doing.  We’ve had a couple discussions this year on talents and hobbies and the things we’ve given up as we became mothers. Those were some of the best discussions I’ve had around here, and I want to put them to use. So I’m not going to sit around wishing I was better, but I’m going to start changing; I’m going to be better!
     
    Think About It!
     
    I’m not going to give up anything I like doing, but I am going to have more of a focus. This year, I plan on improving my sewing skills. I’ve got the basic knowledge. I can make things that look nice – if you don’t look too closely.
     
    Why this skill? Well, it seems to come in the most handy, and I know my kids will benefit from it. Actually, my kids are pushing me into it. It’s only April, but I already have 1 request for a Belle costume, 1 for a Tinkerbell, and another that keeps changing but I think is currently either Cinderella or Ariel.
     
    It would be one thing if the Princesses asked me to buy them a costume.  It’s a complete different thing when they specifically ask you to make it. My kids believe I can sew these costumes, so I should believe I can too.  Kids are pretty amazing don’t you think?  They see where we can go and believe in us, even when we aren’t so sure ourselves.
     
    Not to get ahead of myself or anything (though I have a habit of not sitting still), but once I master my sewing skills I plan to return to my artwork. I took some classes in college, and while looking back through my old work I realized I’ve got another little talent – one I completely forgot about!
     
     
    Will you join me?
     
    Pick an area of your life you’d like to improve. Reach for the stars and believe you can excel in it. Don’t give up, or move on until you have become satisfied with your accomplishments.
     

     

    How am I going to achieve my goal?  First off, I need inspiration. I’ve created a little corner just for me in this house. Something I’ve never done before, and to be honest – I didn’t realize just how much I needed this space.
     
    Next, decorate with things that will inspire you to keep striving towards you goal. For me that’s a wall calendar with different quilt patterns, and my college artwork. For you, it might be some quotes, books, or photos.

    Make sure you have the tools to succeed as well. I have a very nice sewing machine Mark bought me a few years back. It hasn’t seen as much work as I would like, but that’s about to change. I am now saving up for a serger, because I know they can take my skills from so-so to amazing!  Sometimes all we need is a good teacher.  I’ve been browsing the sewing classes at Craftsy, and really think I may take one or two…or all of them. They even have free mini courses if you just need a little help to get started.
     
    Finally – get to work!  Try to set aside time every day to practice and work on your goal. If not everyday, at least once a week! If you don’t make the time, it won’t happen.
     
    What are you going to work on? Let’s encourage each other in the comments!
     
    *This post contains affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I share because I think these classes are great!
    
    
    
    

  • Inspire My Life “Women” Conference coming to St. George

    I’ve been itching to go to some kind of conference for about a year now. This past weekend we watched the 183rd Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I love listening to my spiritual leaders (prophets and apostles), give us direction. I always come away feeling more inspired and motivated to become a better person.  This conference though is one we watch at home on the television set (of course I could go to the conference center, but that gets crowded!)
    I was so excited to hear about another conference coming up this weekend:

    Inspire My Life: Women

     

    Excitement was kicking in,  I started making plans for my kids, and thinking of inviting my sister in law to come with me. Then I looked at the calendar. It would happen to fall on a Saturday that I can’t go (furthering Mark’s career, an equally good thing to be doing). When you ask?
     
    Why it’s THIS SATURDAY: April 13th, 9am to 6pm
     
    And how much does it cost, you ask?  Well, that’s the best part because IT’S FREE!!!!
     
    You really can’t beat that!  Can you?  Well, they can!
     
    Although it is free to attend they are asking for donations to the Dove Center – a crisis center that benefits women effected by rape and domestic violence. So you can go and enjoy free of charge some inspiring music from people like Katherine Nelson (played Emma Smith in the Jospeh Smith movie) and Charley Jenkins. Then listen to motivational speakers David Christensen and Vickey Pahnke Taylor. 
     
    Or you can also go, free of charge, but know you did some good by donating to the Dove Center. Not only will you be edifying yourself at this conference, you’ll also be making difference in the lives of many women.

    Wait though, they even went further!!  The 999th person to register online will win a Girlfriends Getaway package to Green Valley Spa in St George. 

    If I haven’t convinced you to go yet, check out this music video from one of the performers
     

    
     
    If you can’t make it to this Conference, check out the list of future conferences: some for teens, some for couples, and some for parents.
  • Inspirational books for adults and kids! {Book Review}

    Inspirational books for adults and kids! {Book Review}

    I just finished two books that were both inspirational and motivational. One is geared more towards adults – GPS Your Best Life – and one is a picture book for kids – The Adventures of Blue Ocean Bob.

    GPS Your Best LifeWhen I picked up GPS Your Best Life, I knew what I was reading. I picked it up to read specifically to gain a little more motivation and direction in my life. Authors Hammond and Kasowski use the GPS as a metaphor for achieving our best life.

    Although I felt they may have rushed to publication (one more edit could have really helped), I still learned a great deal from this book. I started thinking of what I want my best life to look like, how I plan on achieving it, and how to overcome roadblocks. I took insight into my life while reading this book – a thought that often gets pushed back in the daily hustle and bustle of life – and realized that for the most part, I am living my best life. Of course I could always be better, do more, become more – but for me, my best life is being a mom. I am pretty much living my dream. 

    Around the same time I began reading GPS Your Best Life, I also picked up Blue Ocean Bob to read to the kids. Wow!  It was not at all what I thought it was going to be. Granted if I had taken the time to read a little more about it before I picked it up, I would have known, but I just saw a great cover, and thought that looks fun and educational.

    The Adventures of Blue Ocean Bob - A Journey Begins

    It was both fun and educational. I called this a picture book, which isn’t wrong, but it is also a chapter book. Blue Ocean Bob lives on the Island of Roses. Although he is happy on his island, he begins to want more for his life.  Bob begins his journey of fulfillment by speaking to wise animals, learning lessons in patience, and overcoming obstacles that may seem too large to pass. Xena, his hummingbird gives a fair representation of the negative voice we all have at some point in our life. Telling Bob it’s just too hard, he shouldn’t try because he’ll just face disappointment. Better to live happy than to be let down.

    I absolutely loved Blue Ocean Bob. The story itself was great, but it is also written in rhyme, and has some beautiful artwork.

    *I received copies of these books to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

  • Finding Inspiration {Menu Plan}

    Finding Inspiration {Menu Plan}

    It was a long weekend! Saturday afternoon my little Princess R got a little sick. To be on the safe side, I canceled our plans for the evening. We were going to attend the Army Band Concert with some of Mark’s students.  Instead Mark took the older Princesses to the concert, and I stayed home with the sick girl and baby prince. It turned out to be a pretty nice evening at home.

    Sunday rolled around, and Princess R seemed to be feeling much better. She had no fever, and ate a bowl of Fruit Loops for Breakfast.  I only allow sugar cereals on Sunday, so it’s like a treat. They kids look forward to Sunday all week long, so I let her have some.  We went to church, came home and started making lunch, when it happened. Princess R was definitely suffering some kind of tummy bug. Thankfully we had bought some pedialyte on Saturday. I spent the majority of my afternoon and well into the evening taking care of the sick girl, and the Prince – who was starting to act a bit sick himself.

    I normally plan our weeks Menu on Sunday, but I didn’t get the chance this weekend. I almost decided to just forego it, and wing dinners all week. That however, has never worked out well for my sanity. So this morning, I went looking for inspiration at of course my Foodie Friday party!  There are so many good recipes linked up over there.

    Dinner Menu Plan

    Monday – BBQ Chicken Bacon Pasta Bake (leftovers…this is OH so good!)
    Tuesday – Chili
    Wednesday – Macaroni and Cheese
    Thursday – Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
    Friday – Salmon and Pasta with Lemon Dill Sauce
    Saturday – leftovers
    Sunday – Smokey Beans and Rice