Menu Plan with Whine List

This week's menu plan is based on 2 goals: keep it simple and eat from what we have in the pantry/ freezer.

Monday: Broiled Lemon Pepper Salmon, Steamed Carrots & Broccoli, Rice

Tuesday: Balsamic Chicken, Carrots, Broccoli, Onions, Rice

Wednesday: Seafood Chowder, Cheddar Bread

Thursday: BBQ Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Green Beans

Friday: Spaghetti, Green Beans, Corn, Cheddar Bread

Saturday: Unknown. :)

Sunday: (Lunch) Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, (Supper) Pancakes & Sausage

Monday: Burgers, Hot Dogs, Popcorn, Cake, Ice Cream

That's my meal plan for the week. Here's my whine list of reasons why I need simple meals this week:

1. Joel will be in a training class at work each day this week - translation - I don't know what time he'll be home each night. Might be early. Might be late.
2. Will has decided cowboys are out and baseball is in so I need to rethink (and buy supplies for!) his party. It's small with only us and 2 invited families so it's not a big deal to re-plan at the last minute.
3. I need to CLEAN my house for the party. I also need to clean my basement playroom in case it rains and we need to move the party indoors.
4. I have a home school group meeting Friday afternoon.
5. I have a bridal shower to attend Sunday afternoon.

That's my plan for this week. What's YOUR plan?

PS. This week's Family Fun Friday will be about our recent visit to McCoy Stadium. Any guesses what they play there?

Family Fun Friday - Letterboxing

Welcome to Family Fun Friday: THE place to share fun and frugal ideas for family activities. Please read the Guidelines and share with us!!

On a warm sunny Saturday in April, my family packed peanut butter sandwiches for a picnic lunch and drove to Goddard State Park, where we enjoyed an afternoon of letterboxing.

What?! You've never heard of 'letterboxing'? We learned about it earlier this year from some friends. Basically it's a treasure hunt, except you don't keep the treasure.

Intrigued? Watch to learn more!



My boys (almost 6 years and 4 years) loved hunting for 'treasure!' We spent the afternoon exploring park trails, looking for a "tree with a hole you can see right through," and hunting for "the weathered bone behind a tree near slithering serpents."

We searched for 2 separate letterbox series in the same park. Each had a pirate theme for the stamps and clues which made the 'treasure hunt' even more fun for my boys. For one series the stamps were real pirate flags, which lead to researching the real pirates once we got home.

Letterboxing definitely has an educational component. (Remember we home school!) We needed to know what birch and oak trees were, follow simple directions, count to 50, read a compass and use our imaginations to interpret the clues. Who says educational can't mean fun?!

So, to recap letterboxing:

1. Print a set of clues to a (series of) letterbox(s) from Atlas Quest or Letterboxing.
2. Drive to the public location where the letterbox is hidden and follow the clues.
3. Use your black inkpad and the stamp from the letterbox in your notebook or journal.
4. Return the letterbox to it's hiding location.
5. In the series' final letterbox use YOUR stamp in the journal in the letterbox.

Recommended Ages: Fun for ALL!
Equipment Needed: Compass, Notebook, Ink Pad, Stamp, Pen
Cost: Total = $0 - $25
Where: Parks and public areas all over the US
When: Year-Round but especially good for summer. Weekend. Vacation. Holidays.

Have you been letterboxing? Look here to see if any letterboxes are hidden near your home.

Hearts at Home University

I discovered Hearts at Home and Jill Savage around the time I became a mom 6 years ago. I WISH I had found them sooner. If I had, I might could have attended one of their conferences.

Did you know they host conferences every year? Unfortunately for me, they are held in Michigan and Minnesota. I'm in Rhode Island. That's just too far away for this mom of four to travel for a conference - for now.

BUT. There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Last year my friend, Amy, and I were discussing how much we wanted to attend a Hearts at Home Conference and how long it would be before we could go (She was discussing. I was whining).

Then one of us had a brilliant idea. Why not purchase several tapes and CDs, rent a hotel room, buy a bunch of junk food and have our own conference (one without the long lines for the restrooms!)?!

And that is exactly what we did.

This year we each have a nursing infant so our chances of getting away overnight are slim to none. Which is why I am incredibly excited about something new Hearts at Home has started!!

The women at Hearts at Home understand not everyone can attend a conference, so they have created Hearts at Home University!
Hearts at Home University is a new resource designed to encourage and equip you in your journey as a parent! These live web casts, affordably priced at $15 each, allow you to tap into continuing education as a mom on a regular basis right from the comfort of your own computer.

The topics that will be covered over the Spring and Summer Semester include:

“Is There Really Sex after Kids” with Jill Savage
“She’s Gonna Blow” with Julie Barnhill
“Redefining Romance” with Mark and Jill Savage
“Keeping Your Ducks in a Relative Row” with Karen Ehman

For information on dates and times, or to register go here.

Which seminar are you most interested in attending? Have you attended a Hearts at Home Conference?