Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Just right!!  My windows are open this morning - I don't know what the temp is, but it is sunny & warm after it seems like a whole week of rain last week!!  The weekend was downright HOT - I got sunburned at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO!

Things that make me happy:
This weekend my husband did several little things to try to make me more comfortable & to "protect" me from some things that he knew I didn't really want to do ... and when I thanked him for it, he said, "I just want you to be happy."  Granted, he probably knows that if I'm happy, EVERYONE will be happier too ... but it is very sweet of him to look out for me because he is sometimes kind of oblivious to my needs. 

Book(s) I'm reading:
I have a stack of magazines ::: THIS HIGH :::: that I'm dying to read.  I miss reading!!
I'm also reading In This Mountain by Jan Karon (LOVE her!!!)












What I'm enjoying on TV:
nothing!  the TV is off today ...

On the menu for dinner:
hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, and some kind of green veggie because you gotta give the kids something good for them!  (it's piano lesson night & we don't get home til 6:30 p.m.)
 I found NITRATE FREE hot dogs at Kroger for $1.50 (Oscar Mayer) this weekend - I am so glad that they are finally removing that stuff from many lunch meats & hotdogs because my family NEEDS convenience food occasionally, and I'd prefer it not be something that will slowly kill them in the long run!  :)

On my to-do list:
get out the graduation cards to the 3 graduates I rec'd announcements from.
send a pkg to a friend in Korea
order books for our school for next school year (we get a discount if I get the order in by May 31 which saves our school $1,000's)
get the house ready for the summer - I'll be babysitting a few kids off & on, and I want to be able to have FUN with them! 

New recipe:
PW's Ranch Chicken - it got "thumb's up" from all of us - and it was super easy!!!
If your family eats "all healthy, all the time", skip this recipe - it can also be called "Heart Attack Chicken"!  :)   The chicken is the only thing healthy about it - the rest is bacon & cheese ... I like to think that the fact that I served peas with ours canceled out the "heart attack" side of this dish.

Looking forward to this week:
My kids only have 3 full days of school this week - with Tuesday being Field Day (and I'm going to visit) - then we're off on Thursday - and Friday is only their awards ceremony & then they are DONE at noon. 
After working full- or part-time for the last 6 summers, I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to spend a whole summer AT HOME without my kids having to be in Summer School!!!!!  They are excited too!!!   :)

Tips & Tricks:
Hmmmmmmmmmmm, my bag of tricks is empty today!

My favorite blog post this week:
Too many to name.  I obviously read too many blogs!  I did LOVE all the blogs that gave me printable $3 off Huggies coupons.  With a deal at Kroger, I scored 6 Jumbo things of Huggies for $5/each!!  I am now stockpiled & can quit buying diapers until M reaches over 25 lbs!  Which will hopefully be a long time from now!

New blogs I discovered:
Home Joys - a sweet Mennonite mom's blog

No words needed:

There are only a very few pictures saved on this laptop so this is all I got - but I love this picture!!  It's my first time to hold Miriam after she was born!!

Lessons learned the past few days:
That I have so much to learn yet ... that I've wasted so much time the last 39 years ... that each moment of each day is precious ... that some things you just have to let go ... and that acceptance is a great goal to strive for.

On my mind:
Sermons

Scripture:
The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness!  (Lamentations 3:22-23)