Mommy Octopus

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Meal Plan Monday

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This past week, we moved “the baby” to a toddler bed.  Since he turned 2 and has always been in a playpen for sleeping and was seriously outgrowing it.  He’s doing fantastic with the transition!  Much better than I had expected.  Weather is supposed to be a little bumpy the next day or so as we prepare to see what Hurricane Irma will be bringing us.  We’ve put up all the outdoor toys and patio furniture and are as prepared as we can be.  Praying for all of us in the path.

Monday: Chili

Tuesday: Cajun Cream Chicken, salad

Wednesday: Quinoa and Veggies

Thursday: Leftovers or fix your own dinner or cereal

Friday: Steak, broccoli, salad

Saturday: Grilled chicken, sweet potatoes

Sunday: Egg Casserole, biscuits, fruit

What’s on your menu this week?

Atlanta: Disney Social Media Moms Celebration “On-The-Road”

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Wednesday I had the ultimate privilege of being part of the Disney Parks Social Media Moms Celebration (#DisneySMMC) in Atlanta.  For those of you that don’t know what this is, it is a wonderful time to get together with other bloggers and learn about what is happening at Disney Parks and learn a few tips and tricks related to blogging or social media.  It was a complete honor to attend and has me itching to get to Disney ASAP.  My biggest take-away from the event was the quote, “Great things never come from comfort zones”.  Very profound!

For the outing, I kept going back and forth on what to wear! I ended up deciding on a Figment theme since he’s my favorite character.  I had on a purple shirt with an orange and white chevron scarf and I brought along my Figment hat.  I ended up not wearing it though since DisneySMMC gave me some new ears!  How cute are these!

 

Disney Dreamers Academy

Some of the things talked about were new to me and some were more of common knowledge.  My favorite part of the conference was hearing from some of the students involved in the Disney Dreamers Academy.  For those of you that haven’t heard about this wonderful opportunity, you’re going to love this!

Disney Dreamers Academy is a 4 day event at Walt Disney World where students can be prepared for future careers and become prepared to be a role model as they reach their dreams.

Students ages 13-19 can apply, but only 100 are selected each year.  The window is open now for applications and closes October 31, 2017.

During the conference, we heard from 2 amazing students and their stories.  Those kids are seriously going to make a difference in the world!  Wow!

Disney Moms Panel

Do you think you know Disney like the back of your hand?  If so, it’s currently time for Disney to accept applications for the 2018 Disney Moms Panel! Through September 13, 2017, you can head on over to apply for the Disney Moms Panel.  Be sure to read all of the qualifications before you apply.  Sadly, I’m not eligible this year.

Disney Parks Blog

One avenue of Disney that I was not aware of before the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration is the Disney Parks Blog.  It’s a great way to keep up with everything Disney, between the changes, upcoming events and festivities, and even a little fun!  I loved hearing from speakers involved in the blog and how they come up with ideas and photos to share.  The creative stories behind these fun light drawings at Disney World were fun to listen to and seeing all the photos they created.

Special Meetings at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration

At the end of the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we had a few surprises!  Actress Kim Fields stopped in with an incredible moving speech about finding balance and taking time for self-care.  I know that is something I have been trying to work on.  Lastly, Mickey Mouse himself arrived!  He also brought along Princess Tiana to meet with us.  We had time for photos shoots and left with a goodie bag that included a stuffed Mickey Mouse, a rice krispy treat, a water bottle, and more!

Thank you so much to the crew behind Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.  I had a fantastic time and hope to see you all again very soon!  

Meal Plan Monday

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Great weekend celebrating our youngest, our caboose, turning 2.  Time has flown so quickly and I can’t believe our little man is two!  This upcoming week, we plan to move him to a big boy bed, which means we will officially be done with most baby stuff.  I really have been falling off the Trim Healthy Mama bandwagon lately, but I hope we can get back in the groove soon.  I’ve got a couple friends starting it soon so hopefully we can keep each other accountable.  Here’s what we are making this week:

Monday: Spaghetti

Tuesday: Grilled Chicken, zucchini,

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Create your own omelette

Friday: Pizza for the kids, Zucchini Pizza Casserole

Saturday: Southwestern Chicken in the Crockpot

Sunday: Taco Bar

Printable Scripture Writing Plan for Teens: Grace

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About a month ago, I shared with you all that I have been enjoying scripture writing to stay in the Word.  My kids wanted to follow suit and so I created the first in our series of scripture writing for teens and tweens.  This month, I ask my older kids what they wanted the scriptures to be about and they suggested Grace.  I though that was a great idea, so I’ve spend the better part of today searching for verses.  It took a bit, but I came up with enough for this scripture writing plan.

Scripture Writing Plan

I think they will enjoy this one.  It’s the perfect length for teens and tweens to take a few moments out of the day and write.  It would be great for adults that want to try out scripture writing for the first time as well. As for myself, I really enjoy the longer writings and follow a website called Sweet Blessings for my writings.  This upcoming month, she’s created a plan about joy!  I’m really excited about that one!

Free Printable Scripture Writing Plan: Grace

Without further ado, below you will find the scripture plan.  Click on the image to download it and print.  I would love to hear any feedback.

You can also find our other printable scripture plans here:

Scripture Writing Plan

Have an idea for a future study?  Leave me a comment and tell me what you’d like to see as our next topic.

Meal Plan Monday!

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Another Monday, yet again, but beautiful weather!  I’ve got the windows open and I love having the fresh air flowing in.  We reworked our budget last week and lowered our grocery amount so that we would be forced to use some random pantry items and things that are in the freezer.  I think that will make this week’s meal plan interesting, especially since I still try to eat on the Trim Healthy Mama plan.  Sticking also to having at least one meatless meal to save money that way, too.  Here goes:

Monday: Grilled chicken and Shrimp, corn on the cob, green beans

Tuesday: Eggs, sausage, biscuits (low carb biscuits for me!)

Wednesday: Quinoa, sweet potato, steamed broccoli

Thursday: Grilled chicken, zucchini, mac and cheese (for the kids)

Friday: Bean burritos

Saturday: Burgers, salad, roasted veggies

Sunday: Dinner at church

What are you making this week?

Meal Plan Monday

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All ready for the eclipse today?  I think we are!  We have our glasses, we have plans to view, and my husband has the day off so he can help me with the kiddos.  This past week, we redid our budget and have to work hard on sticking to it!  When things get busy, it’s easy to forget the budget, but…. yeah!  We need to get back on track!

With that being said, I’m hoping to do a meatless meal once a week, and planning that for Wednesdays.

Monday: Dinner at Chickfila

Tuesday: Trim Mac Salad

Wednesday: Mexican Quinoa Salad, steamed veggies

Thursday: Sweet potatoes, grilled chicken

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Chicken Fajita Casserole , salad

Sunday: BBQ Pork

What are you making?

To Eclipse or Not To Eclipse

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Source: http://www.sciencealert.com

This week my facebook feed has been flooded with articles regarding the eclipse and they all are extremely confusing.

On one hand, you see articles saying that it’s safe to watch with approved glasses.  On another hand, you see articles from eye doctors saying that you should only watch it on tv.

And then there is the chaos of having so many glasses out there that may not be approved for eclipse viewing!

We were planning to go to the mountains, but now I’m so torn about what to do!  I have one child that no matter what we tell her, she has to learn for herself.  I’m concerned she will try to look at the sun anyway and damage her eyes.  I’ve already decided our toddler will stay inside completely, but now what about the rest of us?  I’m honestly not sure.  We may just watch it on the computer, but I’ve also found a wonderful compilation of teacher approved videos about the eclipse that I plan on utilizing in our homeschool.

What are you planning to do?

Meal Plan Monday

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The above picture shows what happens when you don’t fix the toddler’s lunch fast enough.  He helps himself to the entire bag!!!

This week is another school week here at “Mountain Lane Academy”.  That’s what we decided to name our homeschool since we love the mountains and often go up to the mountains for school.  The kids are doing well and we are getting ready to go watch the eclipse next Monday.  Here’s our meal plan for the week:

Monday: Grilled Chicken, okra, salad

Tuesday: Dinner out for my nephew’s birthday

Wednesday: Taco Pie, salad

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Burgers, green beans, mac and cheese

Saturday: Cajun cream chicken

Sunday: Grilled Chicken, zucchini

What about you?

Meal Plan Monday

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Our first week of school went great!  I think everyone enjoyed it.  This weekend, we spent all Saturday cleaning out the garage and have 3 huge buckets of stuff to get rid of.  Next comes the closet with all the outgrown/to grow into clothes.  Clothes in a large family can be chaos and I really dislike dealing with them!  Oftentimes, I think about just tossing out everything and then just re-buying when the kids need clothes.  I know we save a lot by saving clothes in between kids and that’s what I keep reminding myself.

This week, we start Trail Life back up for my son, some homeschool co-op classes, and we celebrate my oldest’s 14th birthday!! How the heck are we already at 14?  Crazy!

Here’s the plan for this week:

Monday: Black Bean Burritos

Tuesday: Southwest Chicken in the Crockpot, brown rice, salad

Wednesday: Beef Enchiladas, salad

Thursday: Burgers, broccoli

Friday: Grilled Chicken, sweet potatoes, steamed veggies

Saturday: Create-your-own-omelettes

Sunday: Leftovers or fix your own dinner

 

Meal Plan Monday

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It’s Monday and also our first day of homeschool!  We started the morning off at breakfast and went to the Jefferson House.  We had heard that they have great food and we heard right!  First day of school breakfast is our homeschool tradition.

Curious as to what we are using for homeschool this year?  Head over here and find out.

Here’s what is on the meal plan for our family this week:

Monday: Zucchini Pizza Casserole, salad

Tuesday: grilled chicken, green beans, brown rice

Wednesday: Pizza

Thursday: Spaghetti

Friday: Poppyseed Chicken Casserole, salad

Saturday: Burgers, veggies

Sunday: Leftovers

What are you making this week?

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