Starting School & What's for Breakfast?

My baby girl is starting school tomorrow!!  I am so excited and so is Lindsay!! 

I know that breakfast tomorrow will be especially vital in getting her day off to a good start (she'll be playing hard at school and need lots of energy), so I am going to try a new recipe...Crockpot Oatmeal (yes, I am obsessed w/ my crockpot)!  

Lindsay asked me for some "oatmilk" this morning, so I hope that she'll enjoy the surprise I will have waiting for her when she gets up.  The beauty of the recipe is that it will be cooking away all night, so all we'll have to do is just get up and eat it in the morning!!

Now, what to pack her for lunch...hmmm

Crockpot Oatmeal

2 c. steel cut oats (not instant or rolled oats)

6-8 c. water

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 apples, peeled and diced

1 c. raisins

1 c. bananas

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray.  If you are planning to cook the oatmeal 8 hours or longer, use 8 c. of water.  If you want to cook it less than 8 hours, use 6 c. of water.  Put first seven ingredients in crockpot and cook on low.  Just before serving, stir in bananas and walnuts.

Edited to add:  The oatmeal turned out pretty good...next time I will add more vanilla & cinnamon than the recipe calls for...it needed just a touch more flavor.  Thankfully, Lindsay was very excited about her "oatmilk" and gobbled up a bowl full before we left for school!

Thyroid Update III

During my last thyroid update, which you can read HERE, I told you that my thyroid blood work was showing numbers that were equal to someone that is hypothyroid.  My doctor told me at that time if I started to notice any consistent hypothyroid symptoms to notify him immediately.  Well, this past week I started to notice that I was dragging and had "foggy" brain!  After about the third day, I contacted my doctor to let him know the pattern that I had noticed developing.  He reduced my anti-thyroid medication by 10 mg.  I will be going in sometime in the next few weeks to have my blood checked again to see what's going on.

Please continue to lift me up during this time.  I have made so much progress and I am praying that I keep the momentum going!  The thyroid is a pretty tricky little sucker to regulate with medication, so I may just be along for a wild ride for a few months until we get the medicine adjusted accordingly.  Thank you for keeping our family in your prayers.

Menu Plan Monday - taking a vacation

I am taking a vacation from MPM because we are leaving on vacation!! 

This week is going to be a whirlwind, and though we don't actually leave until Thursday morning, I've decided not to try and plan my meals out this week.  We will just eat whatever we can throw together!!  I'll be spending the next few days getting the camper all packed up for our trip and doing a million other things that seem to need my attention in the next three days.

Happy Labor Day!!

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Hurry, the 50% off sale ends tomorrow, August 31, 2009!

Menu Plan Monday - week of 8/30/09

I'm sure you've noticed by now that I have been using a lot of slow cooker recipes.  Maybe it's time for you to whip out your slow cooker and fall in love with it all over again!  

In my opinion, it is one of the best kitchen appliances that a busy mother can have and also great if you don't really like to cook.  Now, with that being said...I don't particularly like my specific slow cooker, but I love the convenience of preparing my meals in that baby.  I need a replacement, mine is more of a fast cooker than a slow cooker.  If I put meat in there and cook it on low for 8 hours, like most recipes call for, all of my meat would cook away!  Instead, I cook on low for a few hours then I switch it to "keep warm"!!

This is going to be one wild, crazy, busy week.  Looks like I'll only be cooking up supper for three nights this week.

Beef shoulder roast is on sale for $1.99/lb at HEB, so I pulled out the 'ol Pepperoncini Beef Roast recipe that my family fell in love with about a month ago.  Definitely a family favorite!

Mon - Pepperoncini Beef Roast, baked potatoes, steamed cabbage

Tues - Magically Moist Chicken, broccoli, fruit salad

Weds - Dinner @ the Sullivan's

Thurs - Pork Chops, brown rice, salad

Fri - Left overs 

Sat - Labor Day Weekend Plans

Sun - EZ Sunday Supper

For more recipe ideas, please visit orgjunkie.com

HEB ~ my new love & a little about why I'm doing this!

First of all, let me just say that when we lived in Dallas, I fell in love with Central Market.  After we moved back to Fairfield, I made frequent trips back to Dallas and CM was always one of my stops.  If you've ever been there, you know why I love it so much.  If you've not been there, it's worth it to stop by and browse the store!  

I never really cared one way or the other about shopping at an HEB, after all, they set the standard pretty high for themselves when they started opening up CM's (they are owned by the same company).  About a year and a half ago I ventured into an HEB in Waco (the one by the new Target).  Ahhh, I had found something very similar to the CM I had grown to love (I also came to realize what a pitiful excuse for an HEB the one in Mexia was)!

It does sadden me, however, that I generally have to settle for shopping at the HEB in Corsicana (albeit a touch better than the Mexia one).  How I long for the day when Podunkville will have a "big" HEB!

One reason I *love* HEB ~ uh, their sales!  Were you surprised by that statement?  If you are a fellow HEB lover, start following their weekly ads and you will see what I mean.  

This week, Boneless Center Cut Pork Chops (the big, fat juicy ones!) are on sale for $1.99/lb.  I picked up a package with 8 chops in it (about 3.89 lbs.) for $7.74.  That's roughly 96 cents per chop!  Tonight, we grilled some of the pork chops and had squash and okra from the garden. The three of us ate dinner for about $3!!

So, why I have I become this person that keeps talking about sales and good deals and bargains?  I am striving to be a good steward of the resources that the Lord has given us.  

The area of "grocery shopping" is one place that the Lord has really revealed to me that I can do such a better job, not just with the money aspect, but all that goes along with feeding and nurturing my family...having a menu plan allows us to eat more nutritiously, spending more time together as a family, modeling good eating habits for Lindsay... and the list goes on.

I have "met" some pretty cool people through blogs, discussions groups, and the like in my quest to become a better steward.  The Lord has opened up so many doors for me in my journey.  I am excited to see where all of this is leading as the Lord continues to teach and guide me in this crazy life I have been blessed with!!

Crazy 8

You've probably heard of Crazy 8 by now...it's owned by the same company as Gymboree.  Similar to Old Navy's relationship to Gap.  They have a new store that just opened up in Southlake.

And, similar to Gymboree's Gymbuck program, Crazy 8 has it's own reward system called Crazy Cash.  You spend $40 to earn $20 in Crazy Cash.

Right now, there is a code that you can use to order online to receive 20% off your purchase PLUS free shipping!  I would much rather order clothing online for Lindsay, and let's face it, with today's gas prices, it is almost cheaper for me to pay shipping than to drive to Waco or Dallas to purchase the clothing from the actual store.  So, when a retailer offers no shipping on online orders, it just sweetens the deal!!

Lindsay normally wears a lot of hand-me-downs (she has a cousin that is 11 months older than her).  This has worked perfectly for us for the most part...but now her cousin is getting skinny and poor Lindsay isn't, so we've had a little more trouble wearing the pants/shorts/jeans etc.

So, in trying to prepare for cooler weather (yes, it will be cooler some day), I ordered Lindsay two pair of denim jeans from Crazy 8.  They are regularly $14.50 each, but right now you can get them for 2/$22.  So, with my 20% off plus free shipping, I was able to get them for $8.80 a pair!!  That's 40% off retail!!  Not stellar savings by any means, but not to shabby either.

Also, did you know that Gymboree has one of the highest resale values on Ebay?  It is anticipated that the Crazy 8 brand will also have a good resale value!

If you are interested, the online codes to get 20% PLUS free shipping are listed below.  Act fast, they expire on August 30th!

BCRL2LDLUL89433

CMH2SYFS4R89258