Things to do on a Snow Day

I love snow days, really I do, I just don't like so many snow days together so close to Christmas break! ;-) Anyone else digging deeper in their bag of tricks for these extra snow days?
I put together this list to share but also for myself to refer to! Hope you find something you can use in here!

First if you have enough snow go outside and play!! Make a snowman, Sled, Make snow Angles, have a snowball fight!

1. Bake Cookies (kids love to help out with this!)

2.Find silly videos to watch on YouTube.

3.Take Dry Erase Markers and color on windows.

4. Make a fort.

5. Make Vegetable soup(let the kids help).

6. Have your kids put on a play, and film it!

7.Turn up the radio and have a dance party.

8. Use masking tape to make a road for cars on the floor.

9. Skype family and friends.

10. Play "I spy".

11. Play Cards and Board Games.

12. Snuggle up on the coach and watch a movie. Netflix has some awesome ones!

13. Make paper snowflakes- Fold a piece of paper in half. Then fold down the 2 corners to make a triangle. Cut and arc around the open end to make your snowflake into a circle. Cut out random pieces to give your snowflake it's unique look. Open it up, add some glitter or draw designs on it, hang it up.  
OR COFFEE FILTER SNOWFLAKES 

14. Stay in your PJs all day 

15. Play with Play-dough 

16. Have an indoor picnic

17. Color :-) 

18. Indoor Easter egg hunt 

19. Make a Pinterest craft

20. Start reading a new book 

21. Make Hot Chocolate, we like ours with graham crackers! 

22. Have the kids pretend to be the news team and have them report the weather to you, and film it. 

23. Host a magic show or a talent show, and video it. 

24. Make SNOW CREAM  OR  CHOCOLATE SNOW CREAM 

25. Write a book! Fold multiple pages of paper(construction or printer paper) together 

26. Make a BIRD FEEDER 

27. Make RAINBOW GLASS 

28. Make a marshmallow snowman by gluing marshmallows on construction paper 

29. Make SLIME 

30. Make FLUBBER

31. Make FLUFFY BATHTUB PAINT and let the kids play in the tub awhile.

32. Make an IVORY SOAP CLOUD

33. BUILD WITH MARSHMALLOWS AND TOOTHPICKS

34. Build your own ARTS AND CRAFTS BOXES

35. Have an indoor photo shoot

36. Fizzy Fun- Drop vinegar colored with food coloring onto a pan filled with baking soda. Sheer minute of colorful fizzy fun!!

37. Puzzles

38. LEGOS

39. Inside Scavenger Hunt

40. TAKE A NAP!! :-)

41. Draw a large scene on a big roll of craft paper. Or let them lay on the craft paper, outline them and let them draw/color in themselves!

Menu 1-13/1-19-14

Big Daddy is still home with us this week, and Sissy is going back to school(hopefully) so things are still up in the air! I did make a menu like last week with no particular order!
I am also getting ready to work on my meal prep for the week, in hopes that it will help out a lot! We will see! ;-)  Hopefully lots of lunches too!

Breakfasts:
Smoothies x 2(for me)  and Waffles,Greek Yogurt, and Blueberries(Brother)
Oatmeal,Kefir,and Walnuts
Cereal with Fruit
Egg and Tomato Sandwich
?

Lunch:
Turkey Meatloaf Muffins with Mixed Veggies
Chicken Sausage with Mixed Veggies
Grilled Chicken and Salad
Sandwiches with Veggies
L.O. x 2
?

Dinner:
Chicken,Veggies,and Sweet Potato
Taco Salad with Pic de Gallo
Kielbasa with Veggies
? x 2
Chicken Fajitas/Quesadillas with Spanish Rice
Pancakes,Eggs, and Bacon

Sunday Meal Prep:
Baked Chicken for Salads
Salads
Cut Veggies
Turkey Muffins

2014 Goals

8 days into 2014...I think I am done with my list! I was trying to make a realistic list of things that need to be done and things that I really want to get done in 2014. There is a lot going on right now that I am just letting unfold, so I want my goals to be obtainable.
Will be lots of changes in 2014 but we will accept them and move on :-)

House:
*Organization (Upstairs and Downstairs)
*Cabinets/Ceiling in Kitchen- Both need painted and I want to organize my Pyrex on top of cabinets.

Marriage:
*Dates-Plan ahead
*Overnight Trip
*Work together on our healthier life journey

Finance:
*Maintain OSF
*Use Cash book for Yard Sales/Thrift Stores

Family:
*MOVE/EXERCISE
*Continue on Real Food journey
*Chores(Need a better approach)
*Family Vacation
*Farmers Market
*Family and Individual Kid Pictures
*Camping
*Hiking- (This has been on my goals a couple times now...TRUTH, I am lazy BUT, I am terrified of bears/snakes...yes really!)
*Sign Abbey up for GoodReads and keep track of books better
*Sunday Lunches
*10 Pinterest projects
*Take Abbey to a concert(Her wish for 2014)

Personal:
*Continue Weight Loss-2 more pant sizes
*Connect More outside of Facebook!
*20 books
* Blog more
*Write in Cursive more(FYI, if you don't use it you lose it)
*Learn how to use my camera...really
*Unplug from computer more
* More creative with kids lunches
*More Meal Prep on Sundays
*10 Pinterest Recipes
*"Take the phone off the hook and disappear for awhile"   ;-)

Menu 1-6/1-12-14

Well better late than never, running behind today.
We have been preparing for this cold/stormy weather most of the day. Getting groceries, making sure everything is good to go, like flashlights,batteries,etc.. Whether anything happens or not at least we will be ready! :-)

Our menu is different this week because Big Daddy is home with us for a while, and if Sissy goes back to school on Tuesday or not. So I just wrote down lists of what we could have and then we will decide that day what to make!

Breakfasts:
Smoothie x 2
Oatmeal,Kefir,and Walnuts x 2
Cereal with Fruit
Eggs,Bacon,and Toast
?

Lunch:
Crock Pot Chili with Rice
Chicken Sausage and Mixed Veggies
Sandwiches with Fruit
L.O. x 2
? x 2

Dinner:
Venison Pot Roast using THIS recipe (from Pioneer Woman) with Mashed Taters and Green Beans
Turkey Kale Tacos  with Corn
Baked Spaghetti  with Green Beans and Toast
Grilled Chicken Salad
Chicken,Mixed Veggies, and Sweet Potato
? x 2

I also got stuff to make Tuna Casserole, Pancakes, and we have lots of things to pull from the freezer and stockpile!
We bought extra Bolthouse Smoothies because they were on sale B1G1 :-)
Lots of fruits and Veggies and some snack food. No "treats" from the store because Big Daddy made cake!! :-)

2013 Goals Update

I am VERY happy with my goals from 2013!!! I did 25/39 or 64%!!!
Looking forward to seeing where 2014 takes us  :-)

Home:
*Make a "Home Binder" like this one.
 * I DID do this! Hopefully I will get a post up about it soon, as I am still tweaking it to the way I want it!

*Garden (Making some changes of how we did it last year)
 *Garden was some better this year, however, with all the rain that we got we did not get any tomatoes...not one!! We had plenty of cucumbers,zucchini,and yellow squash though :-)

*Flower Beds (Big Daddy wants to redo them)

*New Oven (Mine is like 30yrs old)
 * We got a new(to me) oven in September! Working great :-)

*New Recliner
 * Got a new(to us) Leather Recliner and Leather Couch

*Estimate/Do paved driveway
 *We did get an estimate, and it was more than we wanted to pay right now.

Finance:
*Maintain Emergency fund (We call this the "Oh *&^% fund) HA HA- New glasses,tires,appliances,etc..

*Add to savings

*Pay down 50% debt

* Buy 2013 Christmas throughout the year (I do this by shopping thrift stores and yard sales)
 * I always do well at this :-) Anyone that does not do this should really consider it! Saves lots of money!

*Cash Book-(I was given a simple cash book, to keep better track of the cash I spend)
 * Did not do this...could not get in to it...will try again in 2014.

Marriage:
*Date Nights
 * We have had a few sprinkled through out the year, thanks to my Momma,Daddy and his Step Dad(Papaw) for watching the kids!!

*Overnight Trip

*Time together more during week

Family:
*Myrtle Beach
   *Decided not to go this year

*3 camping trips

*Abbey Softball
 *She played baseball so she could play kids her own age, she didn't love it

*Both kids swimming lessons
 * Abbey did hers over the summer, we decided to wait on brother

*Kids Birthday pictures

*Park/Picnics

*Titanic Museum

*Cherokee
 *We did this on our "Adventure"

*Sunday Lunches with Family

*Get rid of Brothers Passy
  *We did this with no problem :-)

*Keep track of Abbeys books read

*Work on Brothers preschool learning(colors,shapes,numbers,etc..)
 * Brother is doing great on these!

*Shadracks Light Show
  * We carved out a perfect time and Papaw got to go with us too! Kids had a great time and got to see Santa!

Personal:
*Drop 2 pants sizes (Doing good with this, lost 10lbs so far and so has Big Daddy)
 *I DID THIS!!! 25+LBS DOWN  WOOT WOOT!

*Eat Breakfast (Been doing Juice)
 *EVERY day now!

*Juicing (Juicing fruits and vegetables for breakfast and snacks)
 *I love juicing, BUT I do not do it as often as I was because I realized very quick that I was not getting the fiber from the produce and my body didn't like it at all! I love me some smoothies though with fresh spinach and Kale!

*Use Crock pot more
 * 2-3 Mondays out of the month I make a soup in the Crock-pot to eat on through out the week! I have used it more this year, but still looking for more REAL FOOD Crock-Pot recipes!

*Read 12 books
 * I ended up reading 34 books this year!!! You can check out what I read HERE

*Write "Thank You" cards more often

*5 Hiking Trails(at least)

*15 Pinterest recipes
  *Yes, I got this in the bag! LOVE me some Pinterest!

Pinterest Hits

*10 Pinterest projects
 * Yes

*Blog More
 * I did slack some on my menus but, I posted recipes and kids stuff through out the year :-)

*Unplug more

*PATIENCE
 * I have noticed that I am not yelling as much as I was...but maybe need to keep this on list for next year as well! HaHa  ;-)

Menu 1-30/1-5-13

We had a wonderful Christmas! Lots of time with family, and time to just be lazy and play with all the new stuff that Santa brought! I can't believe how big my babies are!
I also let myself off the hook for the week to just enjoy what I wanted to eat(and boy did I) I told myself that if I only gained 5 pounds I would be OK! HaHa!!  I only gained 2 pounds so I am OK with that! Now it's time to get back on track, and maybe get Big Daddy back on board!! :-)

Here is menu for the week, boring except for Big Daddys birthday dinner.

Monday:
Eggs,Bacon,Toast
Turkey,Broccoli, and Sweet Potato--(I haven't posted about this yet, but I basically just cook up the ground turkey until no longer pink, add chopped broccoli and chili pepper. I serve it over a baked sweet potato with a bit more chili powder)
*Eat Out for Big Daddys Birthday*

Tuesday:
Oatmeal with Kefir and Walnuts
Tuna Salad (I make Tuna "salad" with greek yogurt and onions,peppers, and pickles and serve over a bed of salad mix with spinach)
Freezer Meal

Wednesday:
Smoothie
Smoothie  *Papaws Choice*
Pork,Kraut,Taters with Green Beans (Carry Over from last week)

Thursday:
Omelet with Toast
L.O.
Roasted Chicken and Veggies

Friday:
Smoothie
L.O.
?

Saturday:
Cereal with Fruit
L.O.
*CLEAN OUT FRIDGE*

Sunday:
?
?
Pinto Beans with L.O. Christmas Ham and Cornbread

Christmas Week Menu 2013

This week our healthy eating will be pushed to the side for a few days, I am totally going to enjoy this week! 

I can not wait for Christmas, my Hubby and I are such Big Kids! I can not wait to see my kids reactions to what they get, to spend time with all my family, and all the great food!! 

Monday:

 Chocolate Zucchini Muffins(Vegan) with Fruit 

?

 French Bread Pizza with Salad

Tuesday:

 Sausage,Egg,and Cheese Breakfast Ring with Fruit 

                  BBQ Kielbasa(Crock-pot) with Twice Baked Taters 

*Party- Taking--Baby Tacos and 7 Layer Dip

Wednesday: 

Breakfast Casserole  with Fruit 

*Family Dinner* Making--7 layer Dip,BBQ Kielbasa, Pigs N' Blanket

LEFTOVERS 

Thursday: (BIG DADDYS BIRTHDAY)

Biscuits and Gravy with Eggs,Bacon,Country Ham

?

?

Friday:

Smoothie

Tuna Salad 

Pork, Kraut, and Taters  (Crock-Pot) with Green Beans 

Saturday:

Oatmeal,Kefir, and Walnuts

Quesadillas with Spinach  and Fruit 

?

Sunday: 

CLEAN

OUT

FRIDGE 

*OTHER THINGS I WILL BE MAKING SUNDAY-THURSDAY* 

Chex Mix (original recipe) 

Christmas Cookies (Family recipe-Anise) 

Chocolate Chess Pie  

Christmas Crack

Holiday Popcorn

Greek Spice Cake

*Big Daddys Birthday Cake*

Menu 12/2-12/8-13

We had an awesome Thanksgiving! Lots of wonderful food and time spent with family!
We also had a little snow before Thanksgiving that the kids got to play in!
The kids and I started decorating yesterday and today we are putting the tree up!

After the Thanksgiving meal and the leftovers my body needs some soup!! HA HA  So I am making a huge crock-pot of Minestrone Soup that I will eat on through the week! :-)


Monday:
Smoothie
Minestrone Soup with Chicken Sausage
Balsamic Chicken w/Brown Rice (Crock-pot)

Tuesday:
Oatmeal,Kefir, and Walnuts
L.O. Soup with Chicken Sausage and Rice Cakes
BBQ(L.O.) Quesadillas with Salad

Wednesday:
Smoothie
Smoothie
Baked Spaghetti  with Green Beans and Salad

Thursday:
Eggs,Turkey Bacon, and Toast
L.O. Soup with Chicken Sausage
L.O.

Friday:
Oatmeal, Kefir, Walnuts
Tuna Salad over Salad and Crushed Corn Chips
?

Saturday
Smoothie
*YaYas Choice*
*YaYas Choice*

Sunday:
CLEAN OUT
    FRIDGE
Pinto Beans and Cornbread, Wienies and Sauerkraut, Taters

Menu 11-18/11-24-13

Today is Brothers 4th Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY  LITTLE MAN! :-)
 We had a party yesterday at our house and it was great! Lots of family and friends time and he got lots of presents that he is still playing non stop with!  :-)

We do not have a lot going on this week so here is the menu...

Monday:
Smoothie
Aprils Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (this is in the crock-pot now and it smells amazing!)
Turkey/Onion/Broccoli/Beans with Sweet Potato

Tuesday:
Breakfast Burrito with Black Beans and Cottage Cheese
L.O.
Venison Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday:
Smoothie
Smoothie
*Eat Out*/ *Papaws Choice*

Thursday:
Oatmeal with Kefir and Walnuts
L.O.
Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry with Homemade Sauce  with Brown Rice

Friday:
Smoothie
L.O.
Aprils Burrito Verde (from freezer)

Saturday:
*YAYAs
  CHOICE*
?

Sunday:
?
?
Vegetable Lasagna with Bread

Menu 11-11/11-17-13

We went to one of my friends Weddings this weekend! Had lots of fun!
Today we have the day off from school and we are getting the house clean and working on a school project!

This weeks menu-

Monday:
Smoothie
Minestrone Soup with Chicken Sausage and Spinach Feta Muffins
Baked Chicken with Roasted Veggies

Tuesday:
Oatmeal,Kefir, and Walnuts
L.O.
Sausage,Taters,Kraut (Crock-pot)

Wednesday:
Smoothie
Smoothie
Turkey,Kale,Black Bean Tacos with Pico De Gallo and Corn

Thursday:
Scrambled Eggs with Toast
Soup with Chicken Sausage
L.O.

Friday:
Smoothie
L.O.
Shepherds Pie  with Peas (Been requested by 8yr old for weeks)

Saturday:
?
?  FREE DAY
?

Sunday:
?
*PARTY*
?