Mommy Octopus

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Meal Plan Monday

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We had a blast last week when we visited Callaway Gardens for  “Grandma Kidnapping”.  My brother and I and our families tell Grandma to have a bag packed on a certain day and she doesn’t know where she is going.  This way we can visit some places and create some Christmas memories.  Here’s what we plan to make this week:

Monday: Grilled Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli

Tuesday: Egg Casserole

Wednesday: Chili

Thursday: Chicken n Dumplins

Friday: Chicken Quesadillas, Salad

Saturday: Burgers, zucchini

Sunday: Spaghetti and Meatballs

What are you making this week?

Meal Plan Monday

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My husband started his new position at work yesterday so hopefully we will soon settle into a new normal around here.  So proud of him making Sergeant!  The week ahead, we are taking a quick road trip and then homeschooling the rest of the week.  Hope you all have a great one!  Be sure to start watching Amazon for some great Lightning Deals in the days to come.  A few things didn’t end up happening last week on our meal plan, so you’ll see a couple repeats.

Monday: Dinner out

Tuesday: Eggs, sausage, biscuits

Wednesday: Chicken Fajita Casserole, green beans, salad

Thursday: Salsa Chicken, brown rice

Friday: Meatball Parmesan Casserole, okra fritters

Saturday: Steak, salad, broccoli

Sunday: Chicken & Brown Rice Soup

Have a great week!

Meal Plan Monday

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I think I’m still recovering from Thanksgiving.  Our leftovers are dwindling and it’s time to start cooking again, after today.  One last round of leftovers or create your own dinner tonight and then back to healthier eating.  We went up to the mountains this weekend for some horse time and fresh air.

My husband has a few extra days off before he officially starts his new position as Sergeant, so we will be enjoying some more family time late this week.  Ready to establish our new normal with his new position.  Here’s what I’m making this week:

Monday: Create your own dinner or leftovers

Tuesday: Crockpot Unstuffed Pepper Medley

Wednesday: Pot roast, veggies, salad

Thursday: Salsa chicken, brown rice, steamed veggies

Friday: Steak, broccoli, salad

Saturday: Fajita Chicken Casserole

Sunday: Taco Pie, salad

Have you tried any great new recipes this week?  I’d love to hear about them.

Meal Plan Monday

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Happy Thanksgiving week everyone!  I don’t know about yall but I need a weekend from the weekend!  So much fun as my sister-in-law is in town with her new baby.

Also, we are celebrating my husband becoming a Sergeant with the Sheriff’s Office today.  I am so proud of him and we are eager to celebrate with friends.  Here’s what is on the menu at our house this week:

Monday: Chicken, shrimp, coleslaw, sides

Tuesday: Dinner Out

Wednesday: Eggs, sausage

Thursday: THANKSGIVING!

Friday: Burgers, broccoli

Saturday: Grilled chicken tenders, grilled veggies

Sunday: Potluck with friends

Hope you have a great week!

Meal Plan Monday

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The weeks ahead are going to bring some major changes for our family, but not ready to share all of that yet.  (Before you start to guess, NO!  We aren’t having any more kids!)  I’m trying to get everything lined up and find myself scrambling a bit!  The biggest thing is trying to find a car since my husband’s was totaled by a hit and run drunk driver.  Definitely wasn’t planning on car shopping!

I’m so glad cooler weather is upon us and so we can have some more crockpot and pressure cooker meals.  Yummy!  Here’s what we plan to make this week:

Monday: Spaghetti Squash for the adults, spaghetti for the kids, salad

Tuesday: Quinoa, Sweet Potatoes, black beans

Wednesday: Steak, coleslaw, greens

Thursday: Cube Steak with Mushroom Gravy, green beans, rice

Friday: Dinner Out

Saturday: Pizza

Sunday: Chicken and Brown Rice Soup, Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

What are you making this week?

Christmas Decorating on a Budget with At Home

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I received an At Home gift card and compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Back a few weeks ago, we ventured to At Home for the first time for some fall decorating.  Since then, I’ve been itching to go back, especially to start on our Christmas decorating!  So many beautiful items and so many possibilities!  Today, my husband and I ventured down to the Mall of Georgia area and back to At Home.  We went up and down every single isle in the store and picked out the perfect things to decorate our house this Christmas season.

We bought an outdoor mat, 3 decorative pillows, table runner, a candle and initial candle holder, the coolest decorative train, and some things to make the train more festive.  I’m so thrilled with our selections and even more thrilled at how they look around the house.

For starters, we put the candle and candle holder in our guest bathroom.  It definitely makes a difference from the bare counters we had before.

Next, we put the doormat by our front door.  I can’t get over how cute it looks!

My favorite of all was the train.  I looked at it several times as we went through the At Home store and I ended up splurging for it and I’m so glad I did!  It is perfect to go on our farm table and fill with festive goodies.

The train was absolutely perfect to complete the setting along with the new At Home Christmas Tree Table Runner!  So pleased with how it turned out.  Lastly, we switched out our couch pillows for the festive Sweater Pillow and the Joy To The World pillow from At Home.  Both look lovely and complete our decorations until we can get the Christmas Tree up.

If you haven’t been to At Home, I definitely recommend visiting soon especially if Christmas decorating is on your to-do list.  It’s a huge store filled with decorative items at a fraction of the price you’d find elsewhere. We actually saw a few items that we had considered buying at a different store and it was a third of the price we had seen elsewhere for the same thing!   At Home is definitely the place to visit when you want to decorate your home on a budget.

To find an At Home store near you, visit their website.

Meal Plan Monday

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This week ended up being a little wonky and busy and didn’t stick to my meal plan much.  Plus with Halloween, it was loaded with fun events!

It feels much too warm for November and I’m so ready to make some hot soups and such again!  Looks like on Wednesday it should start cooling down again.

Sundays are our community group days so I try to make things that are crowd pleasers.  Sundays have become my favorite day!  Get to worship in church and get to hang out with dear friends.

Monday: Black Bean Burritos

Tuesday: Chicken Fajita Casserole, salad

Wednesday: Meatloaf, lima beans, salad, rolls

Thursday: Chicken and brown rice soup

Friday: Dinner Out

Saturday: Leftovers or make your own dinner

Sunday: Chili

Meal Plan Monday

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Check out the pumpkins above that our realtor brought by for the kids!  Wasn’t that sweet?  This is our first halloween in our new house and I love decorating it for fall.  The pumpkins have the perfect touch!

This weekend, we had a great weekend!  We had an extra kid over the weekend and had a blast!  Such a sweet time with a dear little one.  Quite fun having 6 kids in the house! I just love having a house full.

Here’s what we are making this week:

Monday: Cajun Cream Chicken, salad

Tuesday: BBQ pork, green beans

Wednesday: Dinner Out

Thursday: Spaghetti w/meatballs and salad

Friday: Pot Roast, salad

Saturday: Chicken Fajita Casserole

Sunday: Breakfast for dinner

Meal Plan Monday

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It’s Monday again!  This weekend I spent most of the time in the car running the kids to activities and festivals.  We had a great time until we ended up at Urgent Care with the 2 year old.  Another ear infection.  Yesterday was my oldest son’s birthday and so we had some family over to celebrate.  It was a nice time!  Looking forward to the rain today and the cooler weather this week.  Hope you all have a great one!

Monday: Chili

Tuesday: Corn beef, salad

Wednesday: Cajun Cream Chicken, broccoli

Thursday: Sandwiches at a picnic

Friday: Burgers, veggies

Saturday: Grilled Chicken, veggies

Sunday: Southwestern Chicken, brown rice, salad

Review: Reading Eggs

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Reading Eggs*
My 1st and 2nd grade girls have been using the online reading program, Reading Eggs for the past several years with great success.  Now we have even added it for our toddler to enjoy and learn!

About the Program:

With programs for children ages 2-13, Reading Eggs is the perfect online program for learning phonics, or just extra reading practice.  Through appealing games, activities, and fun, kids can perfect their reading skills.  There are 4 different programs available on Reading Eggs that you can check out:

  • Reading Eggs Junior is geared toward ages 2-4 years old and utilizes read-alouds, videos and games for toddlers.
  • Reading Eggs is designed for ages 3-7.  This self paced program uses activities, games, videos, and earning gold eggs to motivate the younger readers.
  • Reading Eggspress helps grades first through 6th practice their reading skills and comprehension as well.  Games, Activities, and Online Books are used at this level.
  • MathSeeds is a fun program designed for kids ages 3-9 to practice core math and problem solving skills.

Beyond just an online reading program, members also have access to a Homeschool Program Guide to help shape and schedule learning for Kindergarten-2nd grade students.  There are a bunch of printables available to members as well.

Our Thoughts:

As I mentioned above, my girls have been using this program for several years.  We started Reading Eggs when we decided to hold my then 6 year old back in Kindergarten.  She just wasn’t ready to start reading and had a hard time making sense of letters.  It was a major struggle.  Reading Eggs was able to make the concepts fun and into a game instead of just constantly practicing reading.  After seeing such success with one child, we went ahead and started our then 4 year old on the program.  Our goal was to hopefully get her a head start on reading and it certainly worked!

Now the girls are 6 and 8 and in 1st and 2nd grade and doing super well!  My 8 year old has recently completed all of the Reading Eggs program and is now working on Reading Eggspress.  I like that it tests her on her reading comprehension to make sure she understands what she is reading and not just reciting words.  My 6 year old is more than halfway through the Reading Eggs program and doing great, too!  I really like that it has quizzes throughout the program and holds them back if they haven’t mastered a topic.

I also have just started Reading Eggs Junior with my 2 year old.  He’s a young 2, so he doesn’t have a long attention span, but he enjoys watching the videos and having me read to him.

 

Another neat feature of the program is that it will periodically email me when my kids have completed a task or moved on to a new level.  Parents can also log in at any time to see how their child is currently doing or see their current “reading age.

The program can be used on iPads as well as computers, so that’s a big plus for our family!

For More Information:

Reading Eggs
Interested in trying it out?  Reading Eggs is currently offering a FREE 4 week trial so you can see if it is a fit for your family.  It’s one that I plan to continue with my younger kids until they master all of the concepts.

For more information, you can visit the Reading Eggs website.  You can also find out more on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.  You can also read more reviews on this product and others from the Homeschool Review Crew by clicking the banner below.

Reading Eggs

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