Meal Plan Monday

Lately we have been trying to get back on track with cooking more at home.  With what CJ does for a living it leads to us often eating out because of the inconsistency of his schedule. But now that the weather if colder and he is home at a more decent hour most nights we have been able to focus more of our energy cooking at home.

I know some people are really into couponing as a way to save money but for us we aim to avoid a lot of the processed foods so coupons don’t really help us much.  But that being said there are a few things that I like to utilize to help us save money. One of our local grocery stores has a savings card that you can load digital coupons on.  I occasionally will look at those and if I see something I know I will need I will add it to the card so when I am paying for my groceries it is automatically deducted on my total bill.  Also, this same grocery store sends us coupons in the mail based off our most purchased items which is awesome!  For example this last batch I received in the mail has 4 free items in the pack two of which are salad mix and frozen veggies which we eat a lot of. So, I pack those along with us and it helps us save in the long run. 

Another way of spreading the savings is they offer a gas reward system so for every dollar spent in their store you earn 1 point.  For every 100 points you get you save $0.10 off a gallon of gas. You can use up to $1.00 of gas points at a time. For us it helps especially now that I don’t work and we only have to fill up the car every 3-4 weeks.

Another money saving tip that I learned a very long time ago from my mom is shop the ad, base you weekly menu on what meat/protein is on sale for that given week.  Stock up when possible on things you know you will use often and have a longer shelf life for your pantry. Doing this will make the weekly shopping easy to stay on budget for that week knowing I can base most of our meals on what I have stocked in our pantry.

Alrighty then.  Now onto the menu for this week, we are trying something a little different and are meal planning not just dinners but also breakfast and lunch.  Lunch is usually the same unless it is a special occasion or a holiday. 

Monday

            Breakfast –      Cereal with fruit

            Lunch –           Mac & Cheese, Nuggets, and Yogurt

            Dinner –          Chicken, Rice Pilaf, and Salad

Tuesday

            Breakfast -      Eggs, Fruit, and Toast

            Lunch -           Leftovers / Sandwiches

            Dinner -          Taco Salad

Wednesday

            Breakfast -      Pancakes, Fruit, and Eggs

            Lunch -            Leftovers / Sandwiches

            Dinner -           Ravioli with Marinara Sauce, Salad, and Bread sticks

Thursday

            Breakfast -      Sausage Bread

            Lunch/Dinner -Thanksgiving

Friday

            Breakfast -      French Toast, Fruit, and Eggs

            Lunch -           Leftovers / Sandwiches

            Dinner –          Make your own pizza

Saturday

            Breakfast -      Omelet, Fruit, and Yogurt

            Lunch -            Leftovers

            Dinner -           Chicken, Rice, and Veggies

Sunday

            Breakfast –      Pancakes, Fruit, and Eggs

            Lunch -            Leftovers

            Dinner –          Crock-pot Roast, Smashed Potatoes, Veggies

Happily Ever After - Kiera Cass

This book Happily Ever After is a follow up to a series I read, actually I have read it twice now, and I couldn’t wait to crack open the cover and see a new point of view on some of my favorite characters and even some of the characters I loved to hate in the series. With that being said I would not start this series with this book as it will be a major spoiler to the whole series that are individually amazing in and of themselves.  So, if you would like to read these I would recommend you read them in order The Selection, The Elite, The Prince and The Guard, The One, and The Heir.

Keria Cass has a way of pulling the reader in with the first pages of each of her books.  If you don’t believe me sneak to the back of this book and read the special preview of Siren and tell me if that doesn’t make you want to be at your local book store the day it comes out!  Shoot if you are local we can go together!

These are very quick reads but leave you craving more so with this latest addition to the series I feel as if I am now fully satisfied with everything in the books and all the unanswered questions I had been left with from first reading The Selection are now answered. It also has inspired me to go back and read the whole series from the beginning again but with new eyes after this.

Learning more about Amberly and King Clarkson from the time of his selection gives new perspective on not just their relationship throughout the books but also some of their behavior during their son Prince Maxon’s selection.  Reading more about Marlee’s love story during her time in the selection was something I had always craved to know more about during the adventure of it all. I also liked that it gave you a “Where are they now?” glimpse at the girls who didn’t win and how their lives ended up after they left the palace for good.  As if you could maybe run into them at the local coffee shop and catch up with them like you are long lost friends.

I think what I love most about this series is that there isn’t just one loves story in it but many that all intertwine in the most amazing of ways.  When I read books I feel as though I become their characters I am reading about, that I am there living the ups and downs with them.  That is why when I saw this update of sorts I couldn’t wait to escape back into the mind set of these people because you will see they are easy to love or easy to hate.  You can imagine the world they are living in and see even in the most bizarre of ways how it fits into our world today.

I highly recommend you give this series and book a try, and when you do tell me what you think.  I can't wait to hear your thoughts! 

Until next time…

Book Worm

Hi again my friends. I am lucky enough to have time at night to partake in one of my favorite past times.  Reading.  I love immersing myself into a new set of characters and going on whatever adventure awaits them in each book and I often do this when the kids have gone to bed.  I think it is my release at the end of a long day and I am often known to stay up way to late reading my latest choice and I thought to myself as I finished up my second book in a week and half "Hey, I should keep a list of the books I read and share it on my blog." I have many friends and family who love books as much as I do and I have also seen several friends asking "What should I read next?" on various social media sites.  So why not offer a section here on book I have read and maybe it will inspire someone to try one of them even if it is something they don’t normally gravitate towards.

I will be setting up a page linked to the top as a go to spot that will link to any and all book reviews I complete on here.  It should be said that I am not being compensated for any of this I am just choosing to share my thoughts with you lovely folks.

Also, I read mostly fiction based books and occasionally will throw in a non-fiction if it really calls to me.  I hope you enjoy this new feature on Bushel of Sweet Peas and let me know if there are any books you think I might enjoy! 

Until next time my friends!

Bed Time and Tantrums

Oh my.  That is quite the title we have there isn't it.  Hello my friends, I am sorry it has been so long since we last had a chat here.  You see I have been a little busy living day to day life and that has left me with very little "me" time, whatever that is, and for that I am sorry. 

I am here to share with you a little snippet of what has been happening around these parts lately. It has been rough mostly with the kids, more specifically with Z-man. 

We are at a crossroads of naps and no naps.  Most days he still needs a nap but that will lead to a later bed time which then leads to not enough sleep and him then again needing a nap.  But here in lies the problem.  He doesn't want to nap and unless I force him to take a nap or he just happens to fall asleep randomly at 3, 4 or 5 pm he doesn't take one.  This is a huge recipe for disaster for the whole household!

Random late afternoon nap. 

Z-man while out with friends or at school is the picture of a well behaved child.  Which is you know amazing because as parents we worry that our kids act as crazy for others as they do for us!  But at home he has been full of attitude, whining, crying at every.little.thing. To the point where I thought I was about to lose my damn mind. I have never wanted to be a mom who yells or screams at her kids out of frustration but there were days (read weeks) where that is all I felt I was doing.  With CJ's work schedule it was hard because he would come home to a house in such a disarray, me pissed off because I needed a break, Z-man crying, and Sweet Pea was usually already in bed at that point. 

My poor sister would listen to me day after day complain and whine myself about how sucky it all was but she always listened and offered advice when I needed it. But after trying everything, or so I thought, I was at my wits end. Something had to change or one of us wouldn't survive to see Z-man turn 5.  Just kidding, but that is what it felt like. 

Throwing a massive tantrum because I said "No."
to having a treat 20 minutes before dinner. 

Enter a beacon of light.  A savior if you will.  The light bulb to out shine all other light bulbs. It was time for a schedule.  And not just any schedule, a bed time schedule.  Let me say first before ya'll start saying "Well....duh!"  Z-man and Sweet Pea have always been great sleepers, like I am talking sleeping through the night from 8 week postpartum.  It has been like a dream really until all of this acting out nonsense started. So, we have never had the need for a schedule for their bedtimes.  But, I thought it was worth a shot. 

Z-man had been going to bed between 8:30 & 9:30 but still waking up at 6 or 6:30 each morning. But when he napped he got all the sleep he needed for an active growing boy so we weren't concerned. With that in mind and him now not taking naps we have instilled a 7:30 bed time.

Let me just also say this.  I don't claim to be a parenting expert in fact I often roll my eyes at people who do. Because let's face it we are all just trying to figure out what works for our family and our kids one stinking day at a time. But by gosh if this hasn't been working...for us.  It has been only a few days but it seems the transition has been going smoothly. The first night was rough I think mostly because he took an accidental 45 minute nap late in the afternoon.  Last night on the other hand we started bed time at 7:30, CJ read him a book and I cuddled him for a few minutes along with a song, and by 7:45 he was sound asleep and woke in the best of moods both days. We are going to keep this routine for a few weeks and then bump the time up to 7:15 as a start of bed time and see how that goes. Wish us luck that this is a small light at the end of this phase because man I have two more kids to figure out!  

Until next time....