August 2013

Vacation is quickly approaching and I can not wait.  Every year we look forward to a family vacation and every year, it doesn’t seem like it is coming fast enough.

Well, it is almost that time. In fact, it is so close, that my wife and I are already talking about packing, what food we need to take, what we are going to cook, etc.

The boys have no clue that vacation is coming up. They have no idea that for 7 days, they will be playing on the beach. They have no idea that they are going to be able to run and play in the ocean.
They have no idea that they are going to see family, cousins, grandparents, etc.

But for my wife and I, it is a chance to unwind. Vacation is something that we look forward to every year. But not in the same way we once did. Now, we look forward to vacation for the quality family time, with no cell phones, computers/internet, or just basic struggles of life.

Vacation is going to be a great time, to relax and recharge.

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After a lot of debate, we broke down and signed the boys up for preschool.

My wife and I talked through their age, the schedule, etc. and if they were too young. And at the end of the day, we figured that if noting else, preschool would allow the boys a chance to interact with other little kids.

They will be attending a church preschool, which was also important, but this will be the first introduction to new little friends and school type structure.   There is a lot of focus on social interaction and development, sharing, playing and just being a kid in a safe environment.

I wasn’t thrilled on the cost, but at the same time, we were able to get a 10% discount because of enrolling two kids. And at the end of the day, can you really put a price tag on what your children can learn?

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Here is an easy Orange Chicken Recipe that I found a few weeks ago and have fallen in love with it.

What You’ll Need:

4 – 5 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, thawed
3/4 cup Smuckers Sweet Orange Marmalade
3/4 cup of Sweet Baby Ray’s Original BBQ Sauce {it’s SO good!} -> I used the Weber’s Buzz’N Honey BBQ Sauce
2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
Crockpot

What You’ll Do:

Cook chicken in crockpot on high for 3 hours {covered}
After 3 hours, drain juices from crockpot
Mix together bbq sauce, orange marmalade, and soy sauce
Pour mixture over chicken, and cook on high for 30 more minutes {covered}

View the entire recipe and instructions here.

But here is the best part, not only is this Orange Chicken recipe easy to make, it is really inexpensive. It is so good, that I might not order from the local Chinese restaurant anymore. Seriously, the chicken is cooked perfectly and it is not fried. I served this for my wife the other night and she could not stop talking about how great that it tasted. She even said that she could not order Orange Chicken at a restaurant again, after eating this meal.

I’ve really been focusing on making easy meals that 1) I can eat throughout the week, but 2) that I can use ingredients in multiple recipes. So, I’ve basically figured that to make this meal, it costs me about $8.00 for 4 pieces of chicken or $2.00 a serving, however you want to look at. But, in reality, that $2.00 a serving, is really spread out over several meals. And where can you really eat a good and healthly meal for $2.00 a server?

Please Note: I use the Weber’s Buzz’N Honey BBQ Sauce for another recipe, so that cost is split into 2 meals. The Orange Marmalade can be used on biscuits and who doesn’t love a homemade biscuit on a Saturday morning?

So, as you make these recipes, think about your ingredients and what you can use in other things.  Cook smart, eat better and save money.

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It is amazing how even just a little bit of help from speech therapy and the difference that it is making.  Baby B had his 3rd session this past week and the therapist was really pleased with his progress thus far.

In just the past 2 weeks since Baby B’s last speech therapy session, he has said the words “Shoe” when he picks up his shoes, the word “Bear” when he sees a bear on the ipad and “please”. He is also making great eye contact and clapping for himself when he does something after we praise him.  The speech pathologist even mentioned yesterday that he might even be caught up to where he needs to be within 6 months. That being said, I think that that is very ambitious, but still, progress.

God love this kid. He just looks at you and smiles and your heart melts. His brother is into everything, but Baby B, just goes with the flow. Lives life at his own pace.

 

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Who doesn’t love fish sticks? To my knowledge, the boys have not had fish sticks thus far, but that is all about to change. On Sundays, I try to cook as much as I can for the week. Well, this past Sunday, I snuck in a recipe for the boys: Homemade Fish sticks.

Here is the recipe from One Hungry Mamma and on initial tasting, the fish sticks are really good. That being said, now that I have made them, I will probably alter the recipe a little. But overall, this is really a healthy recipe and the boys really loved it.

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It always seems to happen when you least expect it, because families are not able to really plan for a rainy day fund. And lord knows, if they have to replace a car, it makes it even harder.
Well, we are now in that situation. My wife’s SUV is done. The transmission is slipping and the cost to replace the transmission doesn’t warrant putting the money back into it, as the return wouldn’t pay off.
So, we are bitting the bullet and have been looking at, lord help me, mini vans.

I have to state for the record that I’m an SUV guy. I like them, the way that they drive, the storage, etc. I realize that a mini van makes sense with kids, but let’s be honest, most guys would chose an SUV any day over a mini van. I’ve spent a lot of time this week emailing car salesmen about a new car and talking pricing, mileage, safety, etc.  And I think that I’ve narrowed the search down to two mini vans.  They are literally the same, except some features and one has 19,000 more miles than the other. The price is also obviously higher for the lower mileage mini van too. But, I learning that I have to not have much say in the car, other than how much we can spend.

And at the end of the day, it is my wife’s mini van, and she will be the one driving it the most and really the most important thing is that she and the boys are safe.

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