All posts by NerdMom

Food

Meal Plan Monday

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Happy New Year!!! Are you all ready for 2010? This month I am trying to cook out of my pantry along with Money Saving Mom and Life as Mom! I can’t completely cook from my pantry but I can do most of it! The big thing I am aiming at is having an empty outside freezer so I can thaw it. Then I want to stock it up with freezer meals. So that brings me to this week’s meal plan!

Monday: Double Batch Beef, Spinach and Pasta in a Red Sauce (for leftovers too)
Tuesday: Tuna Helper for the kids (Mom and Dad out)
Wednesday: Cheeseburger Pie, Beer Bread, Broccoli
Thursday: Ham, Potato Pancakes, Broccoli
Friday: Chili Mac and Cheese with Broccoli

life

Resolved: That I am a Better Me in 2010

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That encapsulates all my resolutions for the new year. I want to be a better version of me as a person, mother, wife, friend, in ministry and as a blogger. Now of course I have some steps and goals to help make all of that happen both just for life and for blogging(at least a little).

So let us look at the life goals first:
– Spend more time with God: both in Bible study and just in prayer.
– Spend more time teaching my kids Bible and about God.
– Organize my house, which means get rid of a lot of clutter!
– Keep track of Birthdays and send cards! (virtual or paper)
– Do more crafts and projects with my kids.
– Do more freezer cooking
– Pray more for others!
– Plant a garden and herbs
– Prioritize my life and stop getting caught up on things that don’t matter.
Blogging Steps (Some are personal but make me a better blogger)
-Take time to read books again!!!
– Catch up and stay caught up on politics!
– Post to each blog at least 5 times a week
– Utilize Social Media
– Double Twitter followers and Subscribers
– Do more political and homeschool blogging (like I used to)

Food

Wordless Wednesday: GingerBread Lessons

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This Christmas had been a mess of chaos, joy and lessons (go check them out here). In the chaos I didn’t have the time or stamina to make the gingerbread house. So NerdDad had the awesome idea to just hand out the pieces to the kids to decorate. So we just used canned cake icing to base coat the panels. Then I gave them each a bowl of different types of candy (1 bowl per person so they could keep the germs from sticking their fingers in the mouths;) to decorate. I picked up chocolate covered seeds, M&M’s and mint meltaways from Winco to add to the candy that came with the kit. We didn’t want to give them any of the hard candy because they would have a hard time eating it. These are just the oldest and the youngest’s creations. Then those were their panels to eat.
I have to say, I thought the kids would be very disappointed if I didn’t do a gingerbread house. I do it every year and then they spend a week eating it. They had a ball doing this! They seemed to enjoy the fact they did it more than any gingerbread house I made. Apparently I am once again putting my own pressure on me in other people’s names;). This was such a big hit even if I do a gingerbread house next year I think we will also be doing this!

Kid Creations, life

Lesson from a Tree

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This year was a crazy Christmas. I am once again recovering from surgery. As far as the surgical sight (versus any problems from having the tube down my throat) this is my worst recovery so far. Which has had a large effect on our Christmas because I couldn’t do many things that I normally do for Christmas. I couldn’t do all the baking, decorating, and going (Christmas Eve service, Christmas Tree Lane, etc) that I usually do. Of course I had big guilt and stress about the idea of ruining the family’s Christmas.

Well, this year’s Christmas tree is going to serve as part of a reminder to just let go! Do you notice that there are only decorations about 2/3 the way up? Because that is as far as the tallest kid could reach. That is right, my kids decorated the tree all by themselves. And they loved it! NerdDad and I sat watching as they put them all up. No the decorations aren’t even but who cares!
Make sure you pop over to my food blog and see the results of my similar gingerbread lesson;). The gingerbread solution is going to be repeated every year!

Food

Upcoming Food TV!

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So there hasn’t been a lot of good food tv on during Christmas. So I am really looking forward to the 1/3 premiere of the Iron Chef with the White House chef (not as excited about Michelle Obama) and the new season of Chopped on 1/5.

So what food tv have you been watching lately?

politics

Conscious Sees Shadows, Goes Back in Hole for 60 More Years

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Apparently deep, deep down Harry Reid does know the Health Care Bill is wrong. He initially voted against it! Yes, you read correctly. When the Senate clerk called on him he voted no. Almost immediately Reid did change his vote to “Aye” but still. I think part of him may want to do the right thing but then he appeared to kill it;).

Reid is attributing the no vote on being tired after fighting to get the bill through. What I don’t get is why his tired default is the no vote? I tend to be a little loopy but more honest when I am drop dead tired. So is this what his heart really thinks?
Very entertaining.

Daybook

For Today (12/28) From NerdMom’s Daybook

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Outside my window it is kind of droopy. Rain today or tomorrow.
I am thinking how cute my 2 year old is dancing around in her tutu.
I am thankful for God’s Miracle yesterday!
From the learning rooms I am hoping that my kids can do a little self directed work while I rest!
From the kitchen I have pinto beans in the crockpot and I am going to try my new rice cooker tonight!
I am wearing sweats and a lime green shirt.
I am going to hopefully be up to doing a little shopping tomorrow. I need clearance table cloths!
I am hoping that my older 3 will keep playing nicely together and not start fighting.
I am hearing WordGilr that I turned on for my 2 year old since she couldn’t go play K’nex with the older 3.
Around the house I need to figure out how to organize my 6 year old’s toys.
One of my favorite things is my new big knife I got from NerdDad!
A few plans for the rest of the week: to wrap more gifts for my exchanges this week, will myself into feeling better and go to the big family get together this weekend!

(For more Daybooks go check out The Simple Woman’s Daybook)

Food

Meal Plan Monday

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Christmas may officially be over but I still have 2 more Christmas celebrations this week. So while a little of the crazy has calmed down, not all of it has. So I am going to try to keep it simple this week. I also am trying to eat out of the pantry and freezer except essentials!

Monday: Beans with Beef, Brown Rice (in my new Rice Cooker), and Broccoli
Tuesday: Pasta Bake with Ham and Spinach
Wednesday: Tilapia, Jasmine Rice with Spinach
Thursday: Pasta Carbonara Florentine
Friday: Pizza!!!