I Succeeded. . .

in living off of the food in my pantry for a week!  Yes, I know it doesn't sound like a huge accomplishment, but it is for me.  I'm the kind of person who can't just look in my pantry and freezer and be able to figure out a meal.  I need a plan.  Usually, I plan out my meals (or e-mealz does it for me), and then I know what I'm having every day.  Unfortunately, last Friday I left all of my coupons, my e-mealz plan, and my grocery list from Publix on the printer at school.  I went out and bought a few things for the weekend, thinking that I would go out either Monday or Tuesday night.  But this week was conference week, and Monday, Nathan had Cub Scouts and Matthew had basketball, so no time to shop.  So here's what we ended up with for the week:

• Monday - Cheese Jambalaya with Chicken
• Tuesday - Smothered steak with roasted potatoes (Yukon Gold potatoes are the BEST!)
• Wednesday - KidzLife
• Thursday - Spaghetti - My CSA share had the tiniest carrots you've ever seen in it, so I chopped a couple of them up and threw them in the spaghetti sauce.
• Friday - Smoked Sausage and Mac and Cheese
• Tonight - Pizza (I did have to go get some mozarella cheese.)

Not bad if I do say so myself!  But, I did make sure that I brought all of my stuff home this weekend, so I can shop.  I doubt we could go another week!

Holy Cow It's Been A While

(with apologies to Harry Carey)

So, nothing like having THREE months between posts.  Anyway, here's a quick update on all of us.

• Matthew is in third grade now, and enjoying it.  (Sometimes too much, if you get my drift.)  He is definitely my social butterfly and can often be gone for a whole afternoon playing with the other kids in the neighborhood.  He has had some problems remembering to come home at meal times or when it gets dark, but usually a couple of days stuck inside the house helps remind him.  He took a martial arts class offered by the school at the beginning of the year, and now he's about to start basketball.
• Nathan's in second grade and has the most wonderful teacher.  She has been incredibly patient and understanding with him and his various issues (fire drills, wind, rainstorms, thunder, and the computer program that he has to do every week that he hates).  He also took martial arts, and he joined Cub Scouts!  That's right, we now have a Wolf Scout in our house.  I was a little nervous, but it has proven to be wonderful so far.  His den is fairly small, and he's learning some valuable social skills.
• Andrew's in school too!  He goes to preschool two days a week at a church near our house, and he loves it.  He even goes to chapel once a week.  His speech is now up to the level it should be at which thankfully means he won't have yet another specialist.  (YAY!)  He doesn't see the neurosurgeon until next summer, and I'm fairly confident that we'll be released from the doctor's care then. (Double YAY!)
• We are enjoying the new house (except for the septic issues we had earlier this week), and the boys are loving their new school.  Everyday, I am more and more thankful that we made the move both to the house and the school.  
• I'm halfway done with grad school!!!!  I just have this term and next, and I want to be done by the end of June.  Hopefully, I'll be able to survive my capstone project.  :-)
• Jeremy's hours were cut at the radio station in the middle of August.  Right now, he's only working weekends.  While it's been nice because he gets to stay home with Andrew, he's hoping to find something that gives him more hours (and more pay).  He's got a couple of leads, so we're hoping something pans out.  

Here's hoping it won't be another three months until my next update!  :-)