menu plan monday ~ august 9, 2010

We’ve had two sick girls on our hands over the weekend. DH went to church and I stayed home, but did make a simple bouquet to send.

black-eyed Susans bouquet

The Black Eyed Susans are in full bloom. Even in the heat and humidity, they look great.

I think we’re going to have a rather quiet week. With the heat and humidity as high as it is, I’m just as happy we don’t have anywhere we have to go.

Monday
Chicken and Noodles (requested by DD)

Tuesday
Hamburgers
Homemade Hamburger Buns
Veggies / Dip

Wednesday
Bourbon Chicken
Rice
Stir Fried Sugar Snap Peas with Cherry Tomatoes

Thursday
Pork Chops over Potatoes Casserole
Broccoli / Cauliflower / Carrots
Green Salad
Corn on the Cob

Friday
Tacos

Saturday
Lunch ~ Fridge Food
Supper ~ Homemade Pizza

Sunday
Apple & Onion Chicken with Rosemary
Rice
Corn
Peas
Craisin and Sugared Pecan Salad
Homemade Rolls

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

faithful vehicle turns 300,000

Turned over 300,000 miles, that is. DH’s 1990 Suburban has finally made it to the 300s.

the old Suburban

DH and DD drove it around the block a few times to catch the rollover.

299,999.9

300,000.0

The Suburban has been a great vehicle for us. It took four kids back and forth to school every day, 30 miles each way. It made it through four teenagers and various bumps and scrapes. It has hauled family, friends, boards and lumber, plumbing, plants, moving boxes, furniture, landscaping supplies, etc., etc., etc. And now it has turned over 300,000 miles. Maybe, like John Denver, we should get out and push it a mile.

~~Rhonda 🙂

Sunday bouquet

The surprise lilies have been blooming for almost two weeks. Last Sunday the bouquet was made using them (pink), flowers from the ‘Royal Standard’ hostas (white), and some spirea branches for fill.

Sunday bouquet

Pretty in pink.

With thanks to my honey who goes out into the garden every Sunday morning in search of bouquet blossoms. ~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ august 2, 2010

A quiet week for a change. 🙂

mimosa

Flickr’s Macro Mondays’ theme this week was “calm” and that’s the kind of week I’m having. Except for one large project, but it’s a fun one.

Monday
Turkey over Rice
Green Salad
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas

Tuesday
Chef Salad

Wednesday
Fridge Food

Thursday
Hamburgers
Homemade Buns
Veggies / Ranch Dip
Cherries

Friday
Crock Pot Pizza
Garlic Bread
Green Salad

Our son made the Crock Pot Pizza for us while he was here and it was delicious. I plan to tweak it a bit, though, and will leave out the pepperoni and will add some Asiago cheese. It should taste more like lasagna than pizza, as I will use my own homemade spaghetti sauce for the recipe.

Saturday
Lunch ~ Fridge Food
Supper ~ Homemade Pizza

Sunday
Honey Garlic Shrimp
Rice
Fresh Pineapple
Spinach/Strawberry Salad

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

quiche lorraine

Our French exchange student made Quiche Lorraine twice for us. Her mother is from Lorraine, France, and the quiche is a family specialty.

The pastry is a mixture of flour, butter, and water.

making the quiche pastry

Beautiful!

quiche pastry

She made the quiche much thinner than the quiches I am used to. We all loved it! Delicious!

Quiche Lorraine

Sooo good!

Quiche Lorraine

We’ve had a great month with our exchange student. She has a positive, bubbly personality. She’s always ready to help pick up, dry the dishes, help with dinner, vacuum, etc. And she and DD#3 have become very good friends. We are going to miss her a great deal!

~~Rhonda

menu plan master ~ july 26, 2010

I made a menu for last week, but didn’t get around to posting it. And this week, I’m running late. But better late than never! Our family company is gone and our exchange student heads home tomorrow. We will all miss her, but DD is especially going to miss this new friend.

buddies

Monday
Hamburgers on Homemade Buns
Veggies / Ranch Dip
Chips
Melon Chunks

Tuesday
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Mexican Chopped Salad

Wednesday
Quiche Lorraine
Our French student made this for us last week, and we want her to make it again before she leaves.
Green Salad
Canteloupe

Thursday
Rosemary Ranch Chicken
Lemon Penne Pasta
Corn on the Cob
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Green Salad

Friday
Homemade Pizza

Saturday
Fridge Food

Sunday
Pork Chop / Potato Casserole
Corn
Steamed Green Beans
Spinach Salad

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

busy month!

We’ve kept our exchange student pretty busy this month. And DD has kept her camera busy taking lots of pictures. Here are some of the photo ops she has captured.

They enjoyed the Fourth of July weekend with all the celebrations.

Fourth of July parade

Our exchange student would like to be a fire fighter so she especially enjoyed the fire trucks in the parade.

fire truck in the parade

The girls had a great time watching the local fireworks. On the ground, looking up is the best way!

watching fireworks

Hearts for you!

hearts for you

The spaces that make up the art museum were a lot of fun to photograph.

art museum

If you visit St. Louis, the Arch is a must!

St. Louis Gateway Arch

The girls have become good friends and really enjoy spending their time together.

buddies

DH took them to a Cardinals baseball game.

ball game

ball game

And the zoo…

at the zoo

The grands had fun at the zoo, too. This twin didn’t like the penguins or the gorilla statue, but had no problem with the cobra sculpture.

the world's smallest snake charmer

We have a church dinner planned at our house after worship this Sunday, but beyond that, no big plans for the rest of the month. Our son and his family will leave for home on Sunday and our exchange student will go home next Thursday. Our lives may revert to a more normal schedule, but we’re going to miss the company and the fun we’ve had this month.

~~Rhonda

splish splash

Bath time at Grandma’s house.

twin one and twin two

water drops

scrubby clean

The week is passing too quickly. 🙁 ~~Grandma

love my glass straw

I’ve been looking at glass straws online for a month or so. Wanted to buy a few and then came across a blog giveaway which I won! I received five glass straws from strawesome.com via the giveaway on Simple Bites. Four of the straws are clear glass, two different lengths and two styles (widths)…regular and smoothie. The fifth one is decorated with a bit of colored glass. That’s the one I chose…surprised??

love my new glass straw

I really love the straw. I love glass in general, but the glass straw is great because it allows me to give up the use of plastic straws (which I used every day!). I have been reading a lot about the impact of plastic on our environment. When I started paying attention to what comes into and goes out of our home, in terms of plastic, I was really shocked. And I want to do something about it. Especially one-use-and-throw-it-away plastic. Not cool. It takes some effort to figure out how to quit using plastic products, but we’re working on it. I’ll post more about those efforts another time.

Listen to this six year old, named Anna, who has some information you should hear regarding plastic trash.

You can check these web sites for information about glass straws.

Strawesome

GlassDharma

~~Rhonda

we’re having fun!

It’s a busy household with our exchange student and extra family members here. But we’re having a lot of fun!

up and down

down!

Grandpa's story time

pretty flowers

down the slide!

swing time

swingin' high!

Miss Flash

happy face

kisses for auntie

~~Grandma 🙂