Monthly Meal Planning

After reviewing our monthly expenses, I'm determined to save money on food. I figured planning monthly meals will help. It will give us a plan for the entire month and will save us money at the grocery store. I'm a little nervous to shop at the grocery store for a month's worth of groceries. Minus an extra trip or two fto replenish our milk and fresh veggies.
Family fun offers this calendar for monthly meals. In addition to having a list of meals for a month, you also can click on each meal and it brings up the recipe. I like the idea of themes for each day of the week. Plus it may also give you some ideas of new things to try.
I also stumbled upon this site in my search - e-mealz. There is a small monthly fee of $5. It includes a list of meals, list of ingredients and cost depending on where you shop. While I hesitate to spend any money on something I can do myself, this option does look interesting. If I am able to stick to a plan, $5 a month is nothing compared to the amount of money I would be saving.
I believe Leeanne Ely, Flylady's friend, has her own site, Saving Dinner and Menu Mailer program for a fee as well.

I know exercise is a priority in my life. For Christmas I asked for a reflective safety vest, a flashlight and a sparkpeople exercise set! I was fortunate to receive the vest and exercise set. I love them both. I did buy the flashlight for myself and feel so much safer walking in the dark. It's gotten colder now, temps are dropping especially in the mornings. Challenged again! I considered joining the Y for the winter months. After much deliberation, hubby suggested we purchase a gently used treadmill. Wow, I was surprised. I did some research and we found one we really liked for a good price. This is a great site for Treadmill and Elliptical reviews. The bonus was I got some things organized to make room for the treadmill and hubby helped. =)
Now I just get up in the mornings and get on the treadmill. I am really enjoying this purchase. There is no drive to the gym, no waiting for exercise equipment, and I can even walk in my Pajama pants if I want! I did today. I am always challenged fitting exercise into my schedule as I have 2 children....I didn't want to rush to the gym and rush back. I had very limited time available. Now those are no longer concerns. This may not work for others but I am very pleased with the results! I think it really helped as I already had a walking plan for this entire last year. So it wasn't much trouble to get up and get on the treadmill in the mornings. The kids have enjoyed watching what I am doing too. It's good for them to see Mom making exercise and fitness a priority. My own Dad did that for me. I hope I will be a positive fitness role model for my children as well.

"Playing" Church

My kids are playing creatively this morning....using their imaginations and playing well together. I love watching and listening to them during these times. I try to stay in the background and just observe quietly. I do not like to interrupt this special time they have together. Usually we do our chores in the morning, then work on reading and writing skills. I will not interrupt this creative play on these special mornings though. Today they are "playing" church. They went and got dressed in their "dressy" clothes. My son is in dress pants, a button down white dress shirt and a vest. One of them did the children's sermon and now they are working on a craft together. I love being a quiet observer in their play.