Things I'm Thankful For (Covid Addition)

 Instacart

I panicked when the positive test came back.  I immediately went to Instacart and had essentials delivered.  I keep a pretty stocked pantry, but we are not pop drinkers (soda for those of you outside of Ohio) and I was worried about the sickies having food and medicine.  So gingerale, chicken soup, extra bread for toast, and acetaminophen were ordered via Instacart and delivered within 2 hours.

Giant Eagle Curbside

I had a lot of what I needed for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners, but there were some things that I wanted to buy the week of Christmas.  And then there's the extra toothbrushes (because they will need to change those out) and baking items that I forgot I needed.  I use Giant Eagle pick up during non-covid diagnosis, but it's really come in handy now.  And Dear Giant Eagle, I have added to this pick up eleventy thousand times this week, so you are welcome for the 5 million dollars I'm spending.

Peloton App

I found the Peloton app during the quarantine of 2020, but I didn't want to pay to exercise (I do not have a Peloton tread or bike...  but I'd love one).  But a month after the new year, I realized I missed this app so much that I subscribed and have no regrets. After the Covid diagnosis, I don't want to leave the house to go to the gym, so I've been using my app even more to get the exercise I need.  

Online Church

Yes, we are now back to not going to church (at least for the next couple of weeks).  I am so glad for our local churches that post their masses on YouTube.  If I can't be there, I'm blessed to at least be able to receive a spiritual communion and watch mass on TV.

Bible In A Year Podcast With Father Mike

I'm on day 355.  This is not new.  This podcast has been a blessing to me all year.  But right now, I need it a bit more than ever.  God's word soothes the soul.  

Photos of Christmas 2021 (so far)

 

We did make it to see Santa (Middle was at wrestling)

The Covid sign.  We are not coming to the door.

Covid and Christmas

 No one wants to spend Christmas quarantined due to Covid, but this is where we find ourselves.  Last Thursday the Middle wasn't feeling well.  He's the one with uncontrolled asthma.  It was past the office hours of the pediatrician, so I took him to Urgent Care to get tested.  Tests used to be quick but due to the surge, we would need to wait.  We quarantined him right away and tried to keep it away from everyone else.  His test was going to take 48 hours to come back so on Friday I took him into the pediatrician to get seen and test again (they used to have test results that came back within a few minutes but again, due to the surge, they don't have those right now).  The doctor was almost positive that it was Covid, so she called his pulmonary doc to let her know just in case things went really bad for him.  Saturday morning both Urgent Care and the Ped called to say the tests were positive.  And that morning the 9-year-old woke up sick.  This is what we were trying to avoid for the past year and half.  But here it is.

So, the boys have been quarantined in their rooms since then and they have been troopers, but they are starting to lose their good humor.  My husband and I have also quarantined ourselves to the house even though we currently have no symptoms.  The oldest also doesn't have symptoms and the ped said he is ok to go about his life as long as he wears a mask.  He's not been happy about the masks, but he's glad to wear one at work at this point.  No one wants to spread this to anyone else.  

Luckily (and prayers have gone up), both boys are doing well.  Middle had NO issues with is asthma which is such a blessing.  He's ended up in the PICU due to the common cold and we really feared what Covid would do to him.  Angels have been watching over him.  The Little has done well too.

I don't want to get into who is vaxed, who is not vaxed, etc.  We have been following what the Middle's doctors have advised.  And with a close family member having cancer, we have been trying to be extra careful.  But Covid doesn't discriminate.  And our time was bound to run out.  

Here we are.  A very Covid Christmas.  There has been so much going on health wise with the family member with cancer, that I have tried to be as organized as I can be (organization is not my strong suit).  All gifts were bought and wrapped minus my nieces and nephews who we won't be seeing now anyway.  I have time to fix that.  I had a lot of food purchased and ready to go.  Cards were mailed.  At this point, the secular part of Christmas was covered.  The religious part doesn't need covered.  The real meaning of Christmas takes care of itself (or Himself).  God doesn't require the gifts, food, and decorations.  He is coming and nothing Covid related will stop that.  That's the real beauty of Christmas.  

We are together.  We have a warm house.  We have food (probably too much food).  No one has been hospitalized.  We have Jesus.  While Covid quarantine is not how anyone WANTS to celebrate Christmas, Christmas is here, and Christmas is good.  

Merry Christmas, friends.  I wish you God's love and good health.  

I Know It's Been A While

 Oh my poor neglected blog.  Things have been a little more than just busy around here.  A few family members have some health issues, and my time for extra things has been cut.  I am not complaining.  I'm very grateful that I can spend my time with my family.  Please pray for complete healing for all.  

I was online making our family Christmas card and I thought I would pop on this blog to give an update.

Oldest is back in college.  Well, he was home last weekend and this weekend for Thanksgiving, but he's been back in college for the most part.

Middle son is plodding along with senior year.  All colleges of his choice have been applied to.  Now we just wait to see where he's accepted and which one he chooses.  All are good choices so he can't go wrong.

The little is moving through 3rd grade.  He finished up flag football and now has moved on to wrestling.

Halloween was fun.  We did the fire pit at the bottom of the driveway again.  And thanks to having several houses of new neighbors, we got more Trick or Treaters this year.  I'm glad we have so many young families in the neighborhood.

Thanksgiving was a blessing.  Our family along with Grandma and Papa had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with all the usual fare.  This year we did two turkeys again.  One my husband fried one, and I baked the other one inside.  Both were good, but the fried turkey was the bigger hit.  

All the indoor Christmas decorations are up.  I worked so hard on Friday, that I thought I might just pass out Friday night.  I finished the inside on Saturday, and did a few things outdoors.  I need to finish the outside, but I will work on that this week.  

Most of my shopping is done, but I still have a couple of things to buy for our family.  And then there's the nieces and nephews.  I will get that all done within the next 2 weeks.

I'm trying to get as much done as possible before the week of December 13.  A family member may be having surgery that week and that is where all of my energy will go after that.  Being organized and time efficient is taking on a whole new meaning this year.  

I'm not stressing about the holidays.  Everything will work out.  

Since I use this blog as my online diary, I do hope to come back on here more on a more consistent basis.  Plus it satisfies some of my need for a creative outlet.

The roasted turkey

A Whirlwind of a Summer

 Summer is not over!  But as of today, the high schooler returned for his senior year.  The 3rd grader goes back Wednesday.  And we return the college sophomore to his university on Saturday.  Even though summer is still with us, it seems to be behind us.  

It was a really good summer.  Baseball dominated the first part of summer.  From May (actually April) until early July, our days were full of baseball.  The season went ok.  The team he was on was full of really great kids.  But they all go to another school, and some of his school friends play on another team and he really wanted to play with them.  He tried out for the new team and made it.  So next year he'll be on a totally new team and he'll miss his teammates from his old team, but he's really happy to be with his school friends.

The older boys both worked at a grocery store this summer.  At first it was really busy and they worked a lot of hours, but as summer went on, customers weren't coming in as much and the available stock became less due to supply chain issues, so things became slow and hours were cut.  They weren't happy about losing money, but it did give them more free time.

We went on vacation.  To our usual South Carolina spot.  It was a really great week.  We all love it there so much.  We fished, swam, sunned, and just spent quality time together.  I wish we could do that more than just once a year.

It's been a rainy summer here in Ohio.  My flowers and garden are water logged.  My lettuce did well, as did the hot peppers, jalapenos, and green beans.  I got NO garlic (I don't know what I did wrong), and my peas, carrots, radish, green peppers, and cabbage did "meh".  Tomatoes and zucchini are coming in now so we'll see how those go.

We spent some time at the swim club this summer (I call it the lake).  It's really nice there and I'm glad we joined.  I'd like to keep going on the weekends until they close, but weekends are filling up fast.  

I went on a few college tours with the senior.  He's narrowing things down and we'll see how things go.  He seems a little disengaged in the whole process, but we'll see.  Maybe that's just how he's appearing on the outside.  I know he'll end up in the correct place for him.  God always put us where we should be.

So that's my update.  I'm sure I forgot some things.  But these are the big ones.

Meal Plan Monday 5-24-21

 Things have been busy around here!  

Easter
First Communion
Baseball
Picking up oldest from college
End of the school year activities

This is the last week of school.  Of course, the 8 year old is home sick the last Monday of the school year.  How very Monday-ish. 

So we or may not have baseball this week depending on how he's feeling.  He was supposed to play tonight, but that is not going to happen.  Poor kid has had the worst time of it lately.  At the end of April he got hit in the face with a bat (trip to ER, broken tooth, no stitches), last Wednesday he fell off the swings at school and had a slight concussion, and now today he's sick.  He needs a break!

Since this is the last week of school, you would think that I would have some things planned for this summer.  You would be wrong on that front.  The older I get, the more of a slacker I become in this area.  We do have vacation planned.  But that's about it.   We belong to a swim club so I'm guessing that is where we will be spending most of our time since I'm already paying for it.  I'd also like to get to the zoo.  And on rainy days I want to take him to the history museum, the art museum, and possibly the science museum.  And he's requested bowling.  The older two will be working so they can join us on days off.

I should probably put a "summer meal plan" together, but I'm not there yet.  I did get a membership at Costco, so I plan to stock up on snacks and meat.  My downstairs fridge is already loaded with chicken sausage and smoked sausages for nights we set up the fire pit.

Last week of school meal plan:

Friday:  Fish Tacos

Saturday:  Chicken kabobs and mushroom and potato kabobs on the grill

Sunday:  Roasted chicken (I roasted two for left overs for lunch), watermelon, and mixed veg

Monday:  Tater Tot casserole

Tuesday:  Pressure Cooker Salsa Chicken with Cream Cheese

Wednesday:  Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

Thursday:  Last Day of School Pizza Celebration


So this is it for the 2020-2021 school year.  It has been better than 2019-2020 that's for sure!  But I'm hoping that 2021-2022 is even more back to normal.  The 21-22 school year will bring us a college sophomore, a 3rd grader, and a high school senior.  When I started my first blog, the senior child was 2 years old.  How is this even possible?  I remember my mother telling me that the older you get, the faster time goes by.  At the time, I didn't understand (I was a teen).  But now I get it.  I really do.

But bring on Summer 2021!  We are ready for you.  And I, for one, am looking forward to lazy days and family time.  

For more MPM Visit Org Junkie

Menu Plan Monday 4-19-21

 Baseball season is keeping me hopping.  I barely have to breathe.  Add in numerous doctor appointments, a broken washing machine, and a sick gecko and I can hardly keep it all together. I'm actually cooking dinner for tonight right now at 10 AM in the air fryer...lol.  Otherwise, no one eats.

This weeks menu for 4-16/4-22

Fri:  baked cod, baked potato, baked beans (meatless Friday)

Sat:  Hamburgers on the grill, sautéed mushrooms, green bean fries

Sun:  Two baked chickens (one for dinner and one for lunches), air fryer french fries

Mon:  Air fryer chicken breast topped salad

Tues:  Venison Tacos

Wed:  Chicken Sausage and Veggies (this recipe is for the grill, but I'm doing a sheet pan meal)

Thurs:  Clean Up Day

Last weeks menu for 4-9/4-15:

Friday:  Philly Cheesesteak Casserole

Sat:  BLT's with fruit

Sun:  Baked Chicken Thighs, oven roasted mini potatoes, steamed asparagus

Mon:  Turkey Burgers on the grill, mixed vegetables

Tues:  Spicy Shredded Chicken Lettuce Wraps (slow cooker or pressure cooker)

Wed  Homemade sub sandwiches, potato chips

Thurs  Grilled chicken breast salads

Sub Sandwiches

Philly Cheesesteak Casserole

Baked Chicken Thighs with Asparagus

Grilled Turkey Burgers

Sautéed Mushrooms (the only way the 8 year old will eat burgers is topped with mushrooms)

Baked Cod, Baked Beans, Strawberries

Sautéed Mushrooms for the Burgers

Grilled Burgers and Green Bean Fries

Roasted Chicken 

Homemade Air Fryer Fries

For more Menu Plan Monday, visit Orgjunkie.com or CLICK HERE

Freezer Meals for Busy Baseball Moms

 Like I said in my previous post, baseball season makes it really hard to plan meals when things are a moving target.  Once practices are done and they are only playing games, it should get a bit easier.  But until then, I really needed to up my meal planning game.  It took me from 11 am until 2 pm yesterday, but I was able to get several meal options in the freezer. 

The first thing I did was to make two 2 pound batches of venison taco meat.  My guys could eat tacos every day so this one was a no brainer.  I browned up the ground venison, added taco seasoning and once it was cooled, I divided it up between to freezer bags.

The next item up was to make hamburger patties to freeze individually.  The grocery store had ground beef and ground turkey on sale (not a fabulous sale but a sale nonetheless). So I bought 6 pounds of ground beef (80/20) and some lean ground turkey.  I managed to get 36 beef burger patties and 4 turkey burger patties (should have been 8 patties but one of my packages of turkey smelled TERRIBLE so I tossed it).  I froze the burgers on a sheet pan with a layer of wax paper between them.  Once frozen, I put them in freezer bags.

 

 Next up was two servings of  Slow Cooker Broccoli Beef and two servings of Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

So all together, that should give me 12-14 meals that I can pull out and use in a hurry.

I also had some bananas going bad, so I decided to make some THM Chocolate Banana Muffins for the Hubby and the Little Guy to have for breakfast this week.

There are many great recipes on Pinterest for freezer cooking.  I happen to be partial to Jamerill Stewart at Large Family Table and even though my family isn't as large as hers, I can modify portion sizes to fit our family of five.

I wanted to make this Keto Meatball Recipe but ran out of meat and time.

I have made this Twice Baked Potato freezer side dish in the past and they are fantastic.  I hope to be able to make them again some time after the Easter holiday.  

Do you have any favorite freezer meal recipes that you use?  Leave a comment below and let me know.  I'm always looking for new ideas.

Menu Plan Monday 3-29-21 - Holy Week 2021

 Another week is upon us, and another month is passing by.  Soon it will April and Easter will be upon us.  We are also starting the baseball season.  While practices have been going on for a while, the Little Guys have been consistent, but the Middle guys high school schedule is like a moving target.  And we don't get the schedule for the week until Sunday afternoon.  It's been making dinner and meal planning difficult and I had to switch things around last week to make it work.  And it didn't always work and one night I had to do take out pizza.  Now I love take out pizza but not when I didn't actually plan for it.  I put together a freezer meal plan and I spent all morning and early afternoon after church yesterday, getting some quick and easy freezer meals together so we can avoid take out pizza in the future (unless we plan on it!).  I will put together a separate post this week on that.  But below is this weeks menu:

Friday:  Homemade French fries and fish sticks (salmon for those with food allergies):  Meatless Friday
I used this recipe for the fries from Abby Thome and Heinen's

Saturday:  Skillet sausage, peppers, and onions and instead of the kielbasa, I used fresh Italian sausage.

Sunday:  Grilled boneless chicken breast, sautéed shiitake mushrooms, and baked potato

Monday:  Loaded slow cooker potato soup from Made It. Ate It. Loved It.

Tuesday:  Venison tacos

Wednesday:  Hamburger Steak, veggie, and salad

Thursday:  I was going to make this "clean up day" but we really haven't had much to clean up lately.  Since it's Holy Thursday, I would like to do something special but I'm not sure exactly what, so Thursday's meal is a work in progress.

I do know that Good Friday is a day of strict fast and abstinence.  So Friday's meal will be 

Spanakorizo for all and I will add fish for the kids.

Have a blessed Holy Week and a very Happy Easter!!

For more menu planning ideas, visit Orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday 3-22-21

 Happy First Monday Of Spring!  Weather here in Ohio is giving us total spring vibes.  It's perfect!!

Baseball has started for the Middle and the Little.  Weekends will be totally full until further notice (beginning of July)..  It's a LONG season.  But it's fun to watch the boys play.

Menu Plan for 3/22/21

Friday:  Fish, Veg, and Potato.  My grocery pick up only gave me 1 pound of cod vs. the 2 pounds that I asked for and there was no way that my 3 guys could share 1 pound of fish for dinner.  So we decided that the child with food allergies would get the fish and the rest of us would order take out.  Normally we have meatless Fridays, but this Friday was the solemnity of St. Joseph which is a celebration in the Catholic church so it ended up being a "Meat Friday" (yes, even during Lent).  The two guys still opted for the fish fry and I ended up having a chicken florentine flat bread.  It was HUGE and I only at 1/2 and the 8 year old finished the other half for lunch the next day (that kid can eat).

Chicken Florentine Flat Bread.  It's so good!

Saturday:  Hamburger and hot dogs on the grill; baked beans

Sunday:  Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken with Cream Sauce, baked asparagus, and brown rice

Monday:  Veggie stir fry and brown rice (meatless Monday)

Tuesday:  Mexican Spinach Hamburger Casserole

Wednesday:  Middle Eastern Meatballs with Dill Sauce (I'll be using ground turkey), salad

Thursday:  Clean up day

Sunday Brunch:  Smoked Salmon, with bagels or gluten free toast

Lunches:  Left overs or sandwiches

Have a wonderful and blessed first full week of spring!!  Visit Org Junkie for more menu planning or organizing ideas.

Menu Plan Monday 3/15/2021

 Happy Monday!  New week, new menu.

Friday: GF Mac and Cheese from the Chunky Chef (meatless Friday)

All put together and ready for baking

Baked Mac and Cheese.  Yum!

Saturday:  Charcuterie Night.  The guys bought me a charcuterie board for Christmas and wanted to do charcuterie nights once in a while.  This was the "once in a while".  I bought several different cheeses (sharp cheddar, pepperjack, smoked gouda, brie, and colby jack), different meats (prosciutto, salami, peppered salami, and pepperoni), Kalamata and green olives, fruit, and gluten free crackers.  It was a really nice, casual night that helped make family conversation more intimate.  I think I'll do this quarterly.

Sunday: Brunch - Eggs, sourdough toast, and bacon.  GF toast and bacon for the those with food allergies.  The last few weeks I started to do a brunch after church.  As long as sports don't take over, I think we will continue to do this.
Dinner-  Cowboy Casserole (Tater Tot Casserole) from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

Monday: St. Patrick Irish Cheddar Soup from Twelve Months of Monastery Soups cookbook and rolls (meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Venison Tacos

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Corned Beef I'm giving you the recipe from Damn Delicious because it's close to what I do.  Basically I 1. trim off any excess fat (and usually cut myself in the process), 2. put the beef in the slow cooker and 3. top it with the seasoning packet and garlic, then 4. add enough water to cover it and 5. slow cook it on low for 8 hours.
Potatoes and carrots, sauerkraut, rye bread, and swiss cheese.

Thursday: Clean Up Day

Breakfast: Trim Healthy Mama Bust A Myth Banana Cake

Lunch:  Leftovers and sandwiches.  Last week I made the soup and we ended up having too much food for lunch and some of it went to waste.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day and have a blessed week!!  Visit Orgjunkie for more menu planning!

Menu Plan Monday 3/08/2021

 Happy Monday!!  It's sunny here today and we are supposed to get a few days in the 60's.  I'm so ready for Winter to be over.  I know winter isn't gone for good yet, but it's nice to see an end in sight.

I've been shopping at Aldi's the past few weeks trying to save money.  I've also been going to our local butcher for lunch meat and a few extras.  I do see some savings, but I still need to do better.  I'll be working on that over the next few weeks.

Menu for the week of 3/5-3/11:

Friday:  Egg and cheese sandwiches (like an egg McMuffin but homemade), boxed gluten free Mac and Cheese, and fruit. (meatless Friday)

Saturday:  Hamburgers and Hot Dogs on the grill: potato chips as a side dish 

Sunday:  Cowboy Grub This is from the Trim Healthy Mama cook book (pg 59)

Monday:  Gluten Free stuffed shells (I made a double batch for Christmas Eve and these were in the freezer); salad; Italian bread (meatless Monday)

Tuesday:  Chicken Tacos:  I don't really have a recipe for these. I usually make them in the slow cooker, but I'm going to make them in the Instapot tomorrow.  I'm basically going to make shredded chicken in the Instapot and I'll be making enough for Wednesday's dinner too.  I'll separate Tuesday and Wednesday's chicken and add taco sauce to Tuesday portion.  I have corn tortillas that I need to use so I am going to fry those on the stove, add the chicken and all the toppings and serve.

Wednesday:  Chicken Fried Double Rice (brown rice and cauli rice mixed).  Again, this recipe is from the Trim Healthy Mama cook book.

Thursday: Clean up day

I also made a veggie and cheese frittata for breakfast this week

Trim Healthy Mama Trim Train Taco Soup for lunches.  The hubby will add a sandwich to his lunch and I'll have a salad.

And I made all the rice for last nights dinner, to go with Taco Tuesday, and for Wednesdays Chicken Fried Double Rice.

So that's our week of food.  I hope you have a wonderful and blessed week ahead!

Visit Orgjunkie.com for more menu planning ideas or to join in on MPM.