Friday Rules!!

Literally!! My kids love Fridays! We have a lot of rules/schedules during the school week but Fridays...well things change!

regular school mornings are not very fun!

During the week in the Turner home, there is:

*no video games (they are also not allowed to play on Sundays) at all

*no tv in the mornings



This is how Ivan feels about Fridays!



*M-Th my kids only have water  at school.

*Bedtimes are very strict during the week.

*no soda is allowed

On Friday's...

**As long as your chores have been done during the week and bedroom, playroom and bathrooms are clean...you can play video games or get on facebook (for those old enough)

**If you are "head to toe, ready to go" you can watch cartoons in the mornings on Fridays



 **On Fridays the kids get to have either a juice box or chocolate milk (Yoohoo) in their lunch!

** Dinner on Friday evenings is verrrry relaxed! Usually something very kid friendly (pizza, hot dogs etc) and the kids get to have a soda!

A typical scene on a Friday!

Now that school is in, we have moved our family movie night to Saturdays. Once video games go off on Saturdays, they don't go back on! So we have a movie night and an appetizer dinner.





 

What about you? Do you do anything different to make the weekends special?

brain dump

AAAAGH! I am going nuts. I really am. I have been considering something.

I.JUST.CAN'T.DECIDE!! It is a big decision. And so I go back and forth and back and forth.

My husband is for it. Totally supportive. It's just that...

I'm scared. Change is hard. And if I do it, it means my whole life & lifestyle will change.

**Big old sigh**

So what is this decision? Do you really want to know? Well it is...

whether or not to get...

lapband surgery.

All these pictures make me want to cry, cry and cry some more!

Can't read that? It says...

lapband surgery

Yep. It makes me sick that I even qualify. However, it is covered by my insurance. I qualify. I have been doing research for months. I am going to a seminar on Monday, but...boy howdy, huge decision.

Lap band is different than gastric bypass. You are only in the hospital for a couple of hours. A couple of hours to change your life?

Seriously, I am going nuts, trying to decide if this is for me or not.

Feelin' Feminine Friday

This week, I am participating in the American Homemakers blog carnival Feelin' Feminine Friday! If you are interested in participating, do it!

When my husband and I were dating, he came to visit me. As he held me for a hug, he said, "mmmm you smell good."

Knowing I wasn't wearing anything special, (perfume, body mist etc) I asked, "what do I smell like?"

He shrugged saying, "like GIRL". Too cute.

So here is a run down of my fun favorites that make me feel feminine and make me smell like a girl (:

1. Scented lotions. My current favorite (and one I wear everyday) is Bath & Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom. I have the lotion, body wash, hand sanitizer  and body spray! I love it and sometimes even spray it on my pillow case!

2. Chapstick. Seriously I have 100's of sticks of chapstick. I want my lips to be kissable at all times!!

3. While I am not big on painting my fingernails, I always, always, always have my toes painted! It is an absolute must!

4. After I wash my face at night, my husband says, ' ugh you used that smelly stuff". I am not the best about washing my face...but I know it is important! Nothing says girl like soft, clean skin!

So how about you? What products do you like to use to make you feel feminine? I am always looking for new finds!

***All pictures taken from product sites or a google image search***

MPM *9/12

After a busy weekend, I am starting a very busy week. Why does school have to equal busy?! So I have to plan ahead if I am not going to go crazy...or as crazy (:

So here is what our family is going to be eating this week...

Monday:
B:cereal
L: Kids had lunchables (got them for .50 each over the weekend!) with a milk, granola bar and some crackers to go along with it. Hubby is going out to lunch.
D: roast (crockpot), mashed potatoes and vegi's

Tuesday:
B: leftover waffles for the weekend
D: breaded chicken sandwiches, french fries, jello salad

Wednesday (busiest night of my week!!)
B: kids choice
D: baked potatoes (cooked in the crockpot) with all the yummy toppings (ham, cheese, sour cream, green onions...) jello salad, rolls

Thursday (2nd busiest night!)
B:leftovers/kids choice
D: homemade beefaroni, corn, biscuits

Friday:
B: pancakes
D: boys have a pizza party at church, hubby & daughter are going on a date (:

Saturday:
spending the day at Six Flags with the family (: So b-fast will probably be granola bars or cereal bars, dry cereal etc.
lunch is in the park
dinner out on the way home

Sunday:
B-doughnuts
L: kids choice
D: chili pie casserole

For more great menus & meal plans & recipes, head on over to Org Junkie

Feelin' Feminine Friday

 

One of the first homemaking blogs I ever came across was The American Homemaker. While I have never met Angie, we seem to have a lot in common (: One of them being our love for military guys!!!

But seriously, she posts easy recipes that even I can follow, cute and inexpensive decorating ideas...and more. Seriously go and check out her blog when you have a chance!

She recently started a weekly blog carnival, called Feeling Feminine Friday. At our house it is 2 girls against 5 boys, so we are totally outnumbered. It can be hard to feel feminine & girly when we are surrounded by Legos, Star Wars, boxers, burps, wrestling...you get the picture. So I love this idea of sharing what makes me feel feminine!

The first item, is my birthday gift from my hubby. My old ihome has been on the fritz lately and likes to short out on me. So I fell in love with this PINK ihome that was of course on clearance (:

The 2nd is, this past week I started taking a cake decorating  class through Michaels. This was the first class and we practiced making stars. We then decorated cookies to practice. So these are some that I made. Obviously I have a lot of work to do (lol) but wearing an apron, baking cookies and then decorating them definatley makes me feel feminine!

If you would like to participate also, you can go to Angie's website The American Homemaker!

**Sorry about the funky picture layout**

lunch bag tips pt.1

(crackers, cheese cubes, strawberries, cookies, bagel sandwich w/ ham& cream cheese) 

(wipe & a napkin on top, plus an extra snack!)

(All our lunch bags lay flat instead of stand tall)

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times...

I make a LOT of packed lunches.

I am not going to sugar coat and say that I just love making lunches. But I do have a few ideas that will make it a bit easier.

First things first...the bag.

**I use containers instead of plastic bags. (Good for the environment & good for the budget.) I prefer to use the divided Ziploc brand containers. So I need to have a bag that lays down. This way items fit in so much better!

** I swear that every parent at my boys school shops at Target. Why? Because most kids have the exact same lunch bag. So label, label, label! I label the inside of the bag, and containers. In a later post, I will show you my kids bag tags that go on the OUTSIDE of the bag.

**Juice boxes are convenient but the cost can add up. Most have 10 juices in a box. So that means 1 box would last 2 days..if nobody sneaks one. So I only buy them on sale and with coupon. But I also... only give them water M-Thursday. Water is healthier, keeps them hydrated better than juice and it's free! This also goes in a reusable bottle!

**One of the reasons that I like bags that lay down, is so that I can put things on top. Not everything fits into the container.

**A few years ago, I attatched a bottle of hand sanitizer to my kiddo's lunch bags. 2 days later, they were empty. Because of course they shared it with their friends. And of course they (my kids & their friends) didn't use one squirt but 10 or so! Instead I give them a wipe! Hands still get clean and I don't have to replace the bottle every other day!

Uhm...

Why no, no I haven't fallen off the face of the earth!!

I have been just a teeny bit busy!

Here's the thing...

I had found this great way of organizing coupons. I was so excited about it. After a few weeks of using this system (and of course those were the weeks with tons of inserts) I realized it just wasn't working for me. ):

The biggest key to saving money is to be organized. And being organized means doing things in a way that works for you, right?

So I have spent the past weekend organizing, filing, clipping...and I am not done. Getting there but not done yet.

I feel like I haven't been on the "coupon ball" for awhile now and my budget is starting to show it. Time to tighten the purse strings!