June Goals

Since I get to take the summer off from teaching, I figured it was time to set some goals for my time "off".  We'll see how this goes since I will now be playing dress-up and throwing pretend birthday parties and running through the sprinkler with a three year old all day long.  I guess I don't really have the summer "off," it is just a different type of activity to fill my day (a great one, at that!).

HOME:
Paint pantry cabinets.
Print wedding pictures.


SELF:
Drink only water for one week.
Read two books.


CREATIVE:
Finish 4 scrapbook pages.
Make 2 items from my "idea" list.


FAMILY:
Do something fun outside everyday.
Menu plan and stick to it for two weeks.

OK ~ I'll update at the end of the month!

It Can't Be...Finley is 3!

I still can't believe Finley turned three last week...time really does fly by with a little one.  So much has happened in the three years she was born, but at the same time, it feels like it was just yesterday she was born.

Finley had three birthday celebrations - the first being our family celebration.  Growing up, we always had a family dinner as part of our birthday celebration.  However, Finley's family is quite large since most everyone now lives here in town.  So, we had about 25 people at our house for her family birthday party, and there were definitely a few family members missing at that!

 Getting ready to blow out the candles on her lollipop cake!

Ribbon Wreath

She had to take a break from opening presents to change into her new ballet clothes

Next, she had a party with her friends at the Creative Discovery Museum.  She had a great time at the "screative covery museum" as she calls it!  They played all over the museum for a while and then had pizza, cupcakes, and ice cream in the Rainbow Room.  Finley had a ladybug painted on her face, and she really enjoyed seeing all of her friends.  She even got to sit in a special chair to open presents!

 Invitation (information changed for web)

pretty curls!

Goodie Bags, Cookies, and Presents!

Cupcakes!

To end the party extravaganza, Chad, Finley, and I went to the circus.  I haven't been to a circus in a LONG time, so this was a treat for me, too!  Finley loved the elephants (my favorite, too!), and she didn't seem to notice that the lion tamer almost got eaten!

Frugal Fridays...Swagbucks!!

 

Today I'm participating in LifeAsMom's Frugal Fridays event!

OK - I signed up for swagbucks a couple of months ago at the urging of a friend who just purchased a Wii for free with her winnings from casual use of swagbucks over the course of about 6 months.  For those who don't know, swagbucks is a "get paid to search the web" kind of deal, but it is google powered, and you can put a toolbar at the top of your browser so you can use it every time you search.  I have only been doing this VERY casually for a couple of months (in other words, I don't go out of my way to search with it, and I don't do any of the other offers associated with earning swagbucks), and I already have enough swagbucks for a target gift card.  So, all in all, I think it is a pretty good tool to earn a little extra cash and not really have to do anything extra!

Show Us Your Life - A Day in the Life

What is our typical day like?  Well, it would make it easier if we had "typical" days around here, but I will give it a shot!

We usually wake up around 6:00am and the three of us get ready for the day while watching a combination of the morning news, the Today Show, and cartoons depending on who is in the charge that particular day (or who needs the most help waking up!).

Next, I head to school, and Chad and Finley finish getting ready, and then they are off to school.

Then, we all play at school all day!

I finish teaching at 2:45, and then I coach until about 4:00.  I head to pick up Finley at school, and we usually run an errand or two on our way home.  When we get home, we usually play and read books for a while until Chad gets home.  Then we decide what to do for dinner (this part has been interesting lately due to the lack of an oven or sink in our kitchen that is almost finished being remodeled).

After dinner, we each kind of do our own thing (for Chad = watch history or discovery channel, for me = house or crafty project, for Finley = help mommy, i.e. cut paper into teeny tiny pieces all over the house).

Then, Finley takes a bath and picks out her goodnight stories.  We read a few stories, and Finley drifts off to sleep.  Chad and I have a little time to ourselves before we go to sleep and start all over the next day!

Menu Plan Monday

 

We still don't have an oven or even a sink in our kitchen, so this week's menu plan is based on a microwave and a crockpot with minimal cooking and preparing involved.  It helps a whole lot that I only have to actually prepare three dinners this week.

I am very hopeful I will have an oven and a sink by next weekend (especially since Chad has another snow day on Monday)!

Breakfasts: yogurt with graham crackers, cereal and milk

Snacks: trail mix, pudding

Dinners: 

Monday - eat out (Baylor/McCallie wrestling match)

Tuesday - chicken fingers, potatoes, mac n cheese

Wednesday - eat at church

Thursday - lasagna

Friday - crock pot tacos and rice

Saturday - out of town

Sunday - Super Bowl party

OK - I'll update to see what we actually ate this week!

Wordless Wednesday - Girly Girl

Sunday Sweets - Cake Pops

These are the cake pops I made for Sophie's baptism luncheon.  They are oh-so-cute, and they taste delicious, too!

There is chocolate cake and icing on the inside, and the outside is a vanilla candy coating tinted pink and topped with little white sprinkles.  Perfect for a precious little girl's baptism!