Field Trip to the Milwaukee Public Museum

Yesterday I chaperoned my son's field trip to the museum.  I have to say, I had a fantastic time. Really, I did.  I appreciated the time I had with my son, time with him without his siblings is often times hard to come by.  When I am able to take advantage of an activity that I can do without his sisters being involved, I do it.  Even though it means that it will include 70 other children.

What I enjoyed about yesterday's field trip was the opportunity to watch my son interact with his peers.  I am probably going to sound biased, I am of course, but, my son is growing up to be a great kid.  He really is.  He gets along well with his friends, he is confident, he is well liked and most of all, he is nice.  I was very proud of him, watching him with his friends.  At this point in his childhood, I feel like my husband and I have done a good job in raising a good person.  Isn't that what all parents work hard for?  

I don't want to make him sound perfect.  He was full of mischief, practical jokes forever on his mind, he did participate in normal 11 year old behavior.  But, like I said, it was normal.  Tonight, as I write this post, I am confident in saying that I am very proud of my son.  He is growing up to be fine man.

I am still here!

I have not been able to find the time to sit down and write for a couple of days.  I have come to realize that this time of the school year brings added stress, added activities and added responsibilities.  

This week has been full of after school activities, chaperoning field trips, my part time job and my regular household activities.  Some days seem so much more hectic than others.  I am not complaining, I love being able to be active in my kids lives.  Being able to chaperon field trip, watch soccer games, help with homework, etc......  That being said,  I often feel tired at the end of the day, a bit regretful that I was unable to take more time for myself or to spend time with my husband.  I do know that this is short lived.  The end of the school year is rapidly approaching, and with that all these added responsibilities will come to an end.  I will be able to enjoy the summer with my family.  Until then, I need to get to bed, I am exhausted!

Money Savers April 19th- May 2nd

1.  Made Cream of Asparagus Soup out of the asparagus ends I have been saving and freezing for the last several months,  Every bit of the asparagus stalk was used.

2.  Started limiting showers to 2 minutes for everyone.  We are using a timer.

3. Redeemed several coupons for free items at grocery store.  Dr. Pepper, Kashi Frozen Meal, Yogurt

4.  Though not intentional, saved a lot on gas this week because I had a sick daughter at home.

5.  Participated in Turn of the TV week (for the most part).  I wonder if we will see any savings on the next electric bill?

6.  Resisted the urge to take the kids to the movies last weekend during the rainy weekend and did crafts and board games at home.

7.  Let my daughter start doing some of the cooking.  It required me to use a lot of the pantry staples that I don't use a lot.

8.  My husband has a very large garden started, he worked on it all weekend.  We are going to have a lot of vegetables this summer.

9.  Carpooled with friends  this week, I never do that.

10.  While this is not necessarily frugal, it helps me feel better.  I started to throw a lot of stuff away that is causing clutter.

Menu April 26th - May 2nd

Sunday April 26 - Homemade Ravioli, salad, pudding

Monday April 27th - Pork Tenderloin, mashed potatoes, carrots

Tuesday April 28th - Tortellini w/pesto, salad

Wednesday April 29th - Fish Sticks, French Fries, Carrots

Thursday April 30th - Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus

Friday May 1st - Pizza

Saturday May 2nd - Kids had pizza again, Eric and I went out with friends

Family Meals

I have a new favorite cook book.  It is called Family Meals:Creating Traditions in the Kitchen. The recipes in this book are great!  

What I really like about this book is the fact that the recipes incorporate whole, local foods into the recipes.    While I feed my family healthy, organic food, I also feed them the food that I love. This book provides many recipes for family favorites, emphasizing the local foods that we love.

Another great aspect of this book is the fact that is was created to make cooking a family event. The recipes are written so that children can also participate in the cooking process.  The meals are  kid friendly, something that all us parents can appreciate.  As we all know, feeding children healthy meals can prove to be a great challenge.  Fortunately, I have been blessed with 3 great eaters.  My daughter will not eat meat (vegetarian) and my son will not eat cheese (what is with that, we live in Wisconsin!), I can say those are our only limitations when I plan meals.  I know it sounds tough, but my daughter has learned to eat all the sides and skip the meat when I decide to make meat meal.  My son, has learned to either pick off the cheese, or I dish his food before cheese is added to a recipe.  We have all had to adapt to these dietary restrictions, but I have very little to complain about.

This particular book also helps me stay in touch with my frugal side.  The recipes call for ingredients that are relatively cheap and tend to be pantry staples like flour, eggs, sugar, etc. Using the recipes that require produce will yield cheap results if you use these recipes while the produce is in season.  I plan on taking a closer look at this book this week so I can figure out what will be a good buy in the coming months.

I guess today's blog turned into a book review.  Oh well, I love the book and I am happy to give it a great big thumbs up.  Happy cooking!!