Mieska Meal plans...

For about a year now I've been reading blogs, studying recipes, trying to meal plan...I do great for about 2 weeks and then fall off the bandwagon and scramble to come up with something to feed my family at the last minute. Anyone with kids will tell you it's no easy task to run into the store with one child, let-alone 4. So I'm sticking to my guns and getting something accomplished. I'm trying to meal-plan according to grocery store sales, coupons etc... which again, is no easy task. It takes time...which I have very little of. At least it's not exactly what I want to do with the extra time I do have... but it makes my life easier and my family eats healthier if I take the time. I'll attempt to keep this updated so it holds me more accountable :)

Tuesday 5/30
Breakfast: Homemade brown sugar oatmeal (pre-made packets)
Lunch: Crescent dogs & chips with fruit
Dinner: Dauchsi-burgers (leftover) with broccoli salad and pineapple slices
Baseball game

Wednesday 6/1
B: Waffles with fruit
L: Turkey roll-ups with veggie
Snack: Cheese and crackers
D: Homemade pizza with salad
Soccer game

Thursday 6/2
B: Cereal (kid choice)
L: Gooey toasted PB&Js with fruit
D: Taco-in-a-bag
Baseball game

Friday 6/3
B: Scrambled eggs and fruit
L: Pizzadillas & corn
D: Chicken drumsticks or chicken wings with side

Saturday 6/4
Free-for-all
Big boys at camp all day

Sunday 6/5
B: Oatmeal with fruit
L: Ramen noodles with fruit
D: Mustard chicken with vegetable

Monday 6/6
B: Pancakes with fruit
L: Turkey tortillas
D: TBD
Baseball game

So...there's a start. I'm always looking for quick, kid-friendly, & cheap meals. Feel free to send me suggestions. I hate to get in a rut and the boys love new recipes :)

And we're off....

Summer has officially started for the dirtybird boys! Birdboy #1 and #2 had a magnificent year at Treynor Elementary! Both ended very strong with amazing grades and ITBS scores. Birdboy #2 earned the Citizenship award for his grade (as did his older brother when he was in 1st grade). That's a huge accomplishment and we're very proud of both the boys. The little birds had great conferences to end their year at daycare. And so here we are...ready for an amazing summer! Bring it on 2011!

We have lots of things planned to keep the birdboys busy- #1 and #2 are attending a couple of Cub Scout camps starting next weekend. The first official cub scout 'Star Wars' camp- more postings later. Ketcher boys we'll fill ya in! Baseball galore and one last soccer game to finish up. Other than that we'll travel a bit to the Ozarks, Minnesota and have a few friends and their families come stay with us for a couple of weeks. Should be jam-packed.

We started off summer with a lazy Memorial weekend. We were able to watch a B-19...B-13??? (Barry help me out) land at the airport behind our acreage. The boys loved watching it take off and land- a beautiful piece of machinery here to salute troops and take civilians for rides. Birdpapa and Grandpa did some patchwork on our house from a recent hail storm and the birdboys played non-stop throughout the weekend. Now I'm off to do some meal-planning...my new obsession!

My Dirtybird boys...

Summer is almost here, school is almost out, and my dirtybird boys are almost clean...HA! Yesterday I let the little birds out to play in the rain- Birdbaby never had so much fun and I don't think he's ever been so dirty. Many more 'dirt' days are to come....

Lemonade Day...

Yesterday I...went crazy! Yes, crazy. Several weeks ago Birdpapa planned a weekend getaway with 2 other buddies to go golfing in the Ozarks. I was in total agreement and supported the trip 100%. Until yesterday. And yesterday was tooooo late! Let me explain... I pride myself on being organized, having a schedule down to the second and always having everything I need at my fingertips. I'm a planner. Precision is key, right? Well, when Birdpapa planned his trip, I kind of forgot that I had planned to have a garage sale. UGH! The dreaded words- garage sale. Who knew they were so much work? Who knew that I would need tables moved, money changed and lemonade made???? Lemonade you ask? Again, let me explain.

Birdboy #2 has had a great program going on at school. The local Treynor bank has been coming in and teaching the 1st grade kids about banking, investing, saving, donating, etc... It's a wonderful program. As part of the program the kids were all to participate in National Lemonade Day (April 30th). Again UGH! We called Grandpa Steve and asked if he could help build a stand. This turned out to be the BEST lemonade stand EVER! It folds up and everything so it can be stored and used over and over again. We purchased our bottles of water, lemonade, and made cookies galore. We were ready! Hey, if Birdboy made $10 it would be a great success. Then Nick was hurt.

Nick is the father of one of Birdboy's classmates. Nick was serving (his 3rd tour) in Afghanistan. We got the call that Nick had been hit by a roadside bomb. He was very badly hurt and one of his soldiers was killed. Nick's back was broken in 5 different places, his heel was badly damaged and his jaw was jarred so hard in the blast that he will need severe reconstruction. Many many stitches in his face and jaw...but he's alive. Other than when I was pregnant, praying for sick family members, I don't think I've ever prayed so hard. Kailey (Owen's classmate and little love interest) can't be without her dad... Lord, please give him the strength to get through this. Nick is going to be okay. He was flown directly to Germany and now is in Texas recuperating. Which leads me to the lemonade stands... Long story, longer... All the first grade kids got together and decided that anything they made on their lemonade stands should be donated to Nick and his family. Is that a God-thing, or what??? I tell ya, I don't know that I've ever been more proud of my little boy than when he held $80 in his hands and said, "okay mom, can we take this to Nick now?" WOW! God is good. And Lemonade is yummy!

Prayers and strength go out to Nick Jedlicka and his amazing wife, Penny. Thank you, Nick for keeping us safe and may you know that you have an entire community praying for you!!!