Menu Plan Monday - September 12, 2011

I start a temporary job this week - I'm helping out a friend for a few mornings a week until she can find somebody - and we're still baking away to get some things in the freezer for Disney.  The kids are also taking a how-to-make-soap class after school one day, so we're going for super simple this week!

Breakfasts:
- Pumpkin scones, bananas
- Pumpkin pancakes, bananas X 2
- Amish baked oatmeal X 3
- Scrambled eggs, toast

Lunches will be our usual assortment of leftovers or sandwiches with sliced fruits/veggies and yogurt/cheese.

Suppers:
- Chicken sandwiches, baked sweet potatoes, cucumbers for the kids - we have a banquet to go to
- Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps, Salad, poppers (recipe to come this week!)
-  Crock Pot Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken over rice with peppers
- Salsa-cheddar chicken with black beans, side salad
- Chicken Cordon Bleu, Crock pot potatoes, green beans
- Grab it and Growl
- Stir fry with broccoli, rice, green beans, carrots, and peppers - and egg rolls

For Disney this week, I'm prepping and freezing:
- Cinnamon quick bread
- Breakfast cake

For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit OrgJunkie!

"A Most Unsuitable Match" by Stephanie Grace Whitson

Left all alone in the world after her mother's death, Fannie Rousseau  decides to travel west to find her mysterious aunt.  She finds herself in Montana Territory, in a rough and tumble man's world with few friends - and no money.  Samuel Beck is searching for his missing sister when he saves Miss Rousseau from a roughneck on a riverboat.  Opposites may attract, but is there any way for this soon-to-be preacher and the faithless orphan to find true love?

Whitson has a smooth and easy writing style that draws the reader into her stories.  In this case Miss Rousseau seemed rather shallow at first, but over the course of her journey she faced her fears and deepened her character, making her much more likeable.  Both characters had mentors of strong morals and faith guiding them along the way, which definitely added to the story.

The mystery of Rousseau's aunt's past prevented this story from falling strictly into the romance category and added an interesting angle to it.  I would be quite interested to read her aunt's story!  The same is true of Samuel's sister's story - there was much missing from their stories that would make fascinating novels, especially considering their rocky relationships with men and the times in which they lived.

Whitson's latest novel is a fun read but did not have the depth that I hoped for.  As a light-hearted beach read, this would be great!

I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.

GratiTuesday - A Horse, of Course!

On Saturday a surprise arrived at my in-laws' house - a white horse named Belle!  My in-laws are stabling her for one of their other grandchildren who live out of town, and they are doing so in order for all of the grandchildren to enjoy her.

Having always wanted to learn to ride, I'm excited that my children will have this chance!

While both children were eager to feed her when she first arrived, only My Big Helper wanted to try to ride her today.  She thought she'd like to start by just sitting in the saddle, but after a few moments, the riding expert started leading her off ...

She rode all the way around the meadow twice, and while she asked to get down a few times, she was smiling from ear to ear the whole time!

So today I'm grateful for generous in-laws and gentle horses, for brave little girls and kind friends willing to share their knowledge.  I'm grateful for the rain that held off and allowed us to spend the afternoon with Belle and for children excited to be with each other and the horse.

Isn't she just beautiful??

What are YOU grateful for today?


For more GratiTuesday, visit Heavenly Homemakers!

Multitudes on Monday - September 5, 2011

What a week - or, maybe I should say, what a weekend!  It has been busy and crazy and nothing has gone like we planned - and yet there have been many good things that have come of the craziness.  A few are:

- My husband took our Big Helper out on a fancy daddy date ...

- and so the Little Man and I went out for an unexpected dinner together!

- A good first full week of school for the Big Helper.  She prefers weekdays right now because she can go to school!

- Several playdates with friends this week.

- A clean bill of health.

- The kittens are beginning to eat solid food and also received a clean bill of health.  They are now ready for forever homes!

- Lunch with a friend and two of her sons.

- The chance to sleep in and rest to get rid of a headache.  That's pretty rare around here!  Everyone else enjoyed time with Mary Poppins.

- On Saturday morning, a sore spot on My Little Man blistered and suddenly needed medical attention - but not of the emergency variety.  After several hours of trying to connect with the on-call doctor at his pediatrician's practice to no avail, we ended up at a local urgent care clinic where the doctors were fabulous, the treatment sensible, and waiting times short.  They even offered us beverages!

- My Little Man had an unpleasant reaction to his new meds, but he is already recovering - in less than 24 hours.  Yay!

- Because of this unexpected medical issue, we stayed in town instead of going to use some gift certificates as we had planned.  While waiting to straighten all of that out, we were out my in-laws' house (they are a pharmacist and nurse) for some medical advice and happened to be there when a big surprise arrived - a horse given to one of the other grandchildren by a family friend and stabled at their  house!  My Big Helper and Little Man are looking forward to making Belle's acquaintance.

What blessings have YOU been given this week?

Meal Plan Monday - September 5, 2011

With a shift in the weather from really hot to plain gorgeous, we're going to be grilling a bit and yet taking advantage of the cooler weather to bake and freeze some things for our upcoming Disney trip.  With a crazy weekend almost behind us, we're looking forward to being back in the regular swing of things!

Breakfasts:
- Cinnamon scones, fruit

- Peanut butter and chocolate chip muffins, fruit
- Homemade egg McMuffins
- Scrambled eggs, toast
- Breakfast casserole, fruit X2
- Whole wheat cinnamon rolls, fruit

Lunches will be our usual assortment of leftovers or sandwiches with sliced fruits/veggies, cheese, or yogurt.

Suppers:

- Cookout!  Hamburgers, black beans, carrot sticks, invent-a-cake
- Slow cooker creamy chicken and wild rice soup, homemade bread, fruit

- Grilled barbeque chicken, baked potatoes, guilty-good green beans, applesauce

- Mexican pizza, corn, chocolate chip cake

- Cheeseburger mac 'n' cheese, veggie sticks (recipe will post Wednesday at 4 PM!)
- Meatball subs, steamed broccoli, fruit
- Grab it and growl

I'm planning to spend one afternoon this week doing a bit of baking for our trip.  I'd like to get these things made and in the freezer:
- whole wheat chocolate chip cookies
- pancake and sausage muffins

- blueberry banana bread

For more menu plans, visit OrgJunkie!

Making Memories: Stepping Stones

I like involving my children in gift-giving as often as possible, and since our parents need little in the way of traditional, storebought 'gifts,' we usually try to make them something unique.

About the time my son was born, my dad became a Master Gardener through Cooperative Extension and Penn State University.  He started adding to his garden, and so we decided to make them stepping stones for Grandparents' Day!

This was super easy to do with both my four-month-old son and my Big Helper, who was about two then. It worked with our budget, too!

We went to Lowe's and hit the gardening section.  They have many kinds of gardening tiles with a variety of shapes and finishes.  (You can pour your own from cement if that's your thing, of course, but this worked for me - and each tile was only a few dollars.)

On a washable surface, prepare your paint on a flat, disposable or washable plate, a foam brush, and baby wipes or wet cloths.  With the baby/child seated in your lap, hold up a little foot and paint the bottom.  When it's good and wet, gently press it onto the tile to make a footprint.  Wash the painted foot carefully, and then repeat with the other foot to make it look as if s/he walked across the tile.

On the edge, I painted the name and date, and then I repeated this procedure for the other child.

When finished, spray with a sealant to prevent fading or flaking, and  voila!  You've got simple, unique stepping stones!

What are your children giving their grandparents for Grandparents' Day?

"Falls Like Lightning" by Shawn Grady

Silas Kent made a mistake when he left pilot Elle during his early smokejumping days.  Both are shocked to be called in to work the same wildfire in the Sierra Nevadas after years without contact. While Elle's daughter fights mysterious seizures in the hospital, Elle flies a crew of jumpers out on a seemingly routine drop, but instead crashes in the fire.  Silas and Elle soon realize that the fire is not their only enemy, but they must quickly unravel the mysteries of the downed plane, missing jumpers, and an elderly homesteader - before the fire burns them alive.

Grady's experience is obvious from the very first chapter of this book.  Full of technical terms and descriptions, most are explained in a natural way through the story.  Grady's writing is smooth and and the plot contains several unexpected twists.  The story opened between fires, so the action started slowly and accelerated rapidly through the climax, keeping me on the edge of my seat.  The ending was rather abrupt, however, and while it suited the story perfectly, I wish there had been a way to change up the sequence a bit.

The cover artwork grabs at you and makes you wonder how the handsome man starring in it will escape the glowing fire in the background.  It made the book so action-packed that my husband picked it up and started to read!

If you enjoy reading both action-adventure and romance stories, then this is the book for you!

To read the first chapter of Falls Like Lightning or to buy this book, go here.

I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.