Meal Planning Taken to the Extreme!

I am in the midst of that 2-3 week panic that begins when school is about to start and I realize that my relaxed, easy-going days of summer are ticking away. Soon I'll be back to keeping a tight schedule with work, Jaxon's new Montessori schedule, tutoring...along with my normal responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, laundry...and meal planning. Last year I began being more purposeful in my grocery shopping and I have saved a lot of money by doing so. I plan my meals each week and buy only what I need, and I try to cook from scratch so that I don't waste our money on frozen food.

Meal planning each week can be a daunting task, so I have done a few things to make it easier on myself. First, I made this neat little dry erase meal planner out of scrapbook paper, a picture frame, and some letter stickers. I use it each week. Hubby enjoys looking to see what's for dinner each night, as well.

Then I made myself a template of a grocery list organized into categories. You know how every grocery store is arranged a little differently? Well I just made my template go in order from left to right through the store, ending with frozen stuff. I just print a stack of them periodically and use one each week.

I usually only plan my meals one week in advance, but today I decided to do a month instead. I just found this printable calendar online, and I chose it because you can customize which day of the week comes first. I like mine to start with Monday because I grocery shop on Sunday evenings for the following week.

The kicker here is that I made weekly grocery lists on my template for each week in August, as I planned out the month's meals. These lists only include items for the dinner recipes. I will hang them on the refrigerator at the beginning of every week and we can add on other items, as well as lunch needs, throughout the week until my trip on Sunday.

All ready to get started! You can see that I have my recipe binder, meal plan calendar for August, and grocery list templates labeled with the Monday of each week to keep me organized.

After I finished August, I thought "Why not get a jump on the rest of the year?" I ended up planning all of August-November meals and making 17 corresponding grocery lists. It worked out great because I was able to look at my weeks sequentially and space out the meals that I make frequently. Plus I knew that if I bought certain perishable ingredients one week, I needed to plan meals to use them the next week. Here are all of my plans and lists.

Close-up of August

To organize them, I put each month in a clear sheet protector, with the meal calendar showing in the front and all of the weekly lists tucked behind them. I then put them into a cute binder (with a zipper pouch for my coupons in the front)!

I plan to do a few more months when I am home for Thanksgiving break to stay on top of it.

If you look closely at my meal calendars, you'll see that I typically do crock pot meals at least twice a week. They are SO EASY! I prepare them the night before, after Jaxon goes to bed. I store them in the fridge and then dump everything into a crock pot the next morning before work. I do the same with casseroles, enchiladas, foil bakes, etc. I just get everything ready the night before, store it in the fridge, and pop it in the oven after work the next day.

Another thing you'll notice is that I have a lot of arrows, indicating leftovers. I will usually make more than we need for a few nights each week and we'll eat the meal twice, cutting back on cost and preparation time.

If you want any of the recipes I've collected (from Crock Pot Girls, Pinterest, and various other websites), then leave a comment with your email address and I will be happy to send them to you!

Just a Quick Update

Not much has been going on with us lately, besides the fact that Houston has had rain every day for like two straight weeks and there is flooding everywhere! Needless to say, we have not been enjoying the pool lately and my tan has taken a major hit, sadly.

Jaxon is with my parents in San Antonio for a couple of days while I get my home project done. That's right, I am FINALLY painting my kitchen! Those of you who have been to my house in the last, hmm I don't know, YEAR... have seen a paint swatch signifying my plan to paint. Well it's finally DONE! And I love it. Here are some pictures:

I love it!

I took Jaxon to San Antonio on Monday and spent a couple of days with my family before I came home without him yesterday. On the way there, he had his first Happy Meal!

Once we were there, he loved spending time with his Mammaw, Pappaw, and Great Big Mom. Here he is snuggled up with his puppy and GBM.

While there, Jaxon and I went to Once Upon a Child with Mammaw to pick up a few things for Fall and Winter. The San Antonio location by my parents' house is so AWESOME. I found a bunch of things but I put some back because I didn't want to spend too much. Once I checked out, I realized that they were ALL 70% OFF!!!! Needless to say, I went back and grabbed everything that I had put back, and more. I ended up spending less than $30 for all of these things! Not pictured are a pair of khaki cargo pants, a goat phys ed shirt (cute bc J loves goats), an Old Navy hoodie, and a green Gap logo shirt.

I know this post is going backwards and all over the place, so I'm sorry about that. But before we went to San Antonio, here are a couple of things that Jaxon has been up to.

Going for a joy ride with his neighbor Ashley

Forecasting sunny weather

Playing hide and seek

Rockin the hair gel to church

He's a busy boy!

Grammy and Pop-Pop

Last weekend Grammy and Pop-Pop came to town to visit Jaxon! We always love when Eric (Pop-Pop) comes because we get a thousand things done around the house. The man cannot sit still and relax! He and Kevin tore apart and replaced the stereo system and speakers in his new truck, replaced our air filters, and bought and installed 3 ceiling fans for our upstairs bedrooms. Meanwhile, Debbie (Grammy) enjoyed playing with Jaxon and catering to his every whim. It was a wonderful weekend with family!

Summer Update

I can't believe that 3.5 weeks of summer vacation has come and gone! Jaxon and I are living up the good life, just being lazy and spending time together. I'm sure it will be hard for both of us to go back to work and school in a couple of months, but it's not time to think about that yet!

Our typical activities thus far have included going to the pool, playing with neighbors Matthew and Ashley, and also neighbor Ryan, going to the little park down the street, hanging out in the backyard, and splitting the rest of our time between our upstairs and downstairs toy collections!

Kevin and I have been very busy with our recent "Car Fiasco." You may remember that we sold my Acadia, which was too much car for us, and bought me a cute little 2010 Ford Edge back in March. Well a few weeks ago the transmission in Kevin's old blue truck went out (again), after Kevin has spent several days of work and close to $3K in repairs over the last 6 months. Needless to say, it was finally time for a new truck. We wanted A LOT (4 wheel drive, 4 full doors, diesel, great condition inside and out, not more than 100K miles) for the money that was in our budget. But with enough shopping around and haggling, and after walking away from a couple of trucks, Kevin found a Dodge Ram that has been cared for as he would himself and made a great deal on it. It met all of our requirements and he is delighted, so I am delighted too.

Well, after the truck was figured out, I drove on a spare tire for 5 days while the dealership repaired my wheel (dented when we bought it). Then, the day I got it back I discovered a less-than-pleasant, crusted-on, disgusting, enormous spot on the front bottom of the driver's seat that I have been sitting in for almost 3 months. We took it straight to get detailed and, long story short, the dealership will be reimbursing the cost of the detail.

Anyway, it seems as though it car chaos is finally over. Thank goodness!

Here are a few pictures I have taken over the last few weeks:

I am looking forward to the rest of summer with my little man!

A Week with Mammaw...And a Visit with Granny and Grandaddy!

Let me preface by saving that I am a little behind on my blogs, so I am going to try to catch up while Jaxon is napping.

A couple of weeks ago, my mom came to stay for a week! My dad brought her one weekend and then came back to pick her up the next, so we got to have two visits with him as well. While Mammaw was here, I had a lot of professional development to get out of the way for the summer (while I had a sitter for baby J). I also got my annual well-woman visit taken care of, so it was a very productive week. I couldn't have done it without her, and Jaxon was in Mammaw heaven!

On Tuesday I had nothing that had to be done, so we took a day trip to Bryan to visit Granny and Grandaddy. It was really fun! Jaxon picked tomatoes, played with everyone, and then REALLY enjoyed a delicious dinner of pork chops, green peas, mashed potatoes, and fried green tomatoes (my new favorite).

Here are some pictures from the week:

What a wonderful week it was!

Jaxon at 17 Months!

I haven't done this type of monthly update in the past, but Jaxon is learning so much, so quickly right now that I really wanted to keep up with it. So, here is Jaxon's 17 Month Update!!!

At 17 months, Jaxon is a loveable, smart, adorable little man. He changes gears quickly, going from cuddling his favorite stuffed animal to throwing a tantrum in about 5 seconds. When he decides it’s time to eat, you better have it ready! He is constantly on the go and when he crashes, he crashes hard, sleeping 12 hours each night and taking a 2 hour nap every afternoon. He eats all the time and we cannot understand why he is still so skinny (only in the 25th percentile for weight). He has a daily “cuddle time” from about 4-4:30 where he is incredible sweet and still. Each night after bath, he reads with Mama and Dada, says a prayer, and puts himself to bed. We love him more each day than the last, and it is impossible to comprehend how deep our love for this little boy is. He has won us over and changed our lives in an incomprehensible way.

At 17 Months, Jaxon...  
Understands almost everything we say to him and follows most single-step directions.  

Speaks these words: Upstairs, Mama, Dada, Mammaw, Pappaw, Nana, Bella , Tex, Jaxon, Cookie, Ash (his friend Ashley), Juice, Out, Outside, Light, Touch, That, This, Go , Up, Down, Okay, Bye, Hi, Done, Thank you, Banana, Cereal, Uh-Oh, Yes, No, Tickle, Clock, Tick-tock, Yay

Says a couple of phrases: I touch, No Mama

Identifies several body parts: Eyes, Ears, Nose, Mouth, Tongue, Teeth, Toes, Head, Belly, Feet, Elbow, Hands, Hair

Identifies some animals: Dog, Cat, Cow, Giraffe, Duck, Monkey, Pig  

Uses some animal sounds: Dog, Cat, Duck, Cow, Pig

Identifies a few colors: Blue, Green, Red  

Is enhancing his motor skills in several ways: Coloring, Play-dough, Using his “tools” on his toolbox, Stacking cups and blocks, Putting shapes through corresponding holes, “Driving” his trucks around, Having fun in his sand table

Other accomplishments: Sitting in time-out for one minute, Retrieving different toys and objects, Telling us when he needs a diaper change, Putting himself to sleep at night and sleeping 12 hours, Feeding himself with a fork off of a plate, “Cleaning” his table after eating, Blowing his own nose, Turning the pages while we read, Cleaning up a few of his toys, Safely going up and down the stairs, Dancing, and asking for music constantly, Jumping off of the side of the pool to me on 1-2-3!, Blowing bubbles in the water, Raising his hands as if to say “I don’t know”, Climbing onto the couch, Climbing onto his climber and sliding down the slide, Singing  

His favorite foods are: Berries, Oranges, Bananas, Grapes, Yogurt, Tortillas, String cheese, Chicken nuggets, Cheese, Eggs, Animal crackers, Dry cereal, Goldfish crackers, Cream cheese and chives crackers, Waffles with syrup  

His favorite activities are: Petting goats at the zoo, Going to the pool and splash pad, Playing chase or tickle with mom and dad, Watching Gigglebellies, Dancing to country music, Sliding into his ball pit, Playing outside, Eating, Play-dough and coloring, Playing with his trucks and cars, Reading books, Building towers  

Things that make him mad: Not getting his way, Dropping a toy, A toy not working like he wants it to, Getting a diaper change

A Trip to the Zoo...and Cookie Face!

Today we took Jaxon to the zoo for a little goat petting and giraffe watching.We went early and were out of there by about 11am when it started getting really hot. Some highlights included a goat fight and Jaxon riding the carousel for the first time. He really loved the carousel...in fact, he threw himself to the ground in a screaming temper tantrum when I removed him from his giraffe at the end of the ride. Here are some pictures of the day: It was a fun day! I also wanted to share a couple of pictures of Jaxon's first chocolate chip cookie experience. It was quite a mess.