First Few Pics From Evan's B-day

This cake fell apart...his actual b-day cake turned out better.
School friends enjoying, no, devouring the cake.

More Olivia...

Awww....
There's my girl!

Beautiful Olivia

Olivia and her "flower power" hat, specially created by Mama Nichols

WooHoo...We did it!!!

This might not excite you as much as it does me, but as of yesterday, we survived one entire month without eating out! Not even a 99 cent chicken nugget or milkshake on the way home from church. Coming from a girl who doesn't particularly like the kitchen, this is a big deal! I can cook pretty decently, but it's just not my thing, you know? The only personal fulfillment I get from cooking is that it provides nourishment for my family. I figure if Bob Evans or Papa Johns can do the same thing, then why bother. All of my stay-at-home-mom pals are probably laughing their heads off right now, but I don't find it easy to cook after working outside the home all day. It is much easier to do on my days at home, but I knew if we were going to change our lifestyle we would have to eat at home every day, all the time. And we did it, with the exception of Evan's birthday (thanks to G. & G. Burley for picking up the tab). As I mentioned in my first post, I made a menu for the month of January, and made one very large shopping trip to fulfill the menu. We had to stop at the store a few times during the month for milk, bread, or special, unexpected items, but it was nothing like the stress and spend of the previous months. Something funny is that I don't think we actually ate one meal as scheduled on the menu calendar. The nice thing was that it really didn't matter what night we ate the meals, the ingredients and items necessary for the meals were there. I just swapped things around to suit our taste for the day, and it turned out fine. We actually have quite a few things left to roll into this month's menu (which I don't have made yet, since we're staying with grandma and I haven't had time!). For all of you who have done this all along and are glad I'm finally growing up, just allow me a little time to enjoy my personal milestone. Then you can post all your suggestions for fine-tuning my system.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. We are just going to curl up and watch the snow fall!
I'm going to post some pics later this evening. Just have to wait till after 9 so I don't get charged airtime when I transfer them from my phone. I know, I just need to get a digital camera, but until then...

Finding Time...

*I'm a little overdue on this post :), but I'm still trying to figure out how to do this blog thing in a timely manner. It's kind of like shopping..."Yes, honey, I know exactly what I'm going after and it'll only take me a minute..." A couple of hours later you're explaining how one thing led to another...one store to another...anyway, blogging is the same. One site to the next to the next to the next.

*Greg and I offered to stay with my grandmother, who is now home from the hospital, while my parents spend a few days with Eric, Meg, and Olivia in Tennessee. Mom and Dad only live about 8 minutes from us and have a huge house, so it's not a big deal. Well, not a real big deal anyway, but if you think raising 3 kids is busy, add a dependent grandmother to the mix! Needless to say, there hasn't been a moment to sit. Mom and Dad will be back home on Saturday, and I'm so happy they were able to take the needed break. By the way, I would like to suggest that Kevin Leman write a sequel to his book. It would be titled Making Your Grandmother Mind Without Losing Yours. It would be a bestseller this week! I did have a special blessing, though. One of my assignments was to observe at a social service agency this week. Lucky me...the social service and home health agencies have been in for grandma's initial assessments, and I was able to complete the assignment without leaving the living room!

*We had our 1st snow day of the season Tuesday. Ryan was so excited! Evan and I are off Tuesdays anyway, but it was fun for the boys to have the day together. They prayed hard about Wednesday, but God had other plans...

*Evan had a really fun birthday last week. Grandpa and Grandma Burley came down and we all joined Adam, Valerie, and Mama and Papa Nichols for the traditional Skyline Chili birthday dinner. That is my kids all-time favorite, especially on kid's night. The crafts and the free food are the best! Pics to follow shortly...

Until next time...