My Weekly Menu (Nov 12th)

Well I am happy to say we are all moved in! :) *insert happy dance* I can't say that we are completely unpacked yet unfortunately, but its a work in progress.

Last week, I intended to have a menu plan, but I didn't and it definitely showed. So I am excited to get back into a routine this week.

This week I am hoping to get the rest of the house unpacked and finished up so that next week we can decorate for Christmas...wow did I just type that...and enjoy some fun Thanksgiving festivities. 

So here is our week:

Monday

Doctor Appointments and Errands  
Grocery Shopping
Rotisserie Chicken and Green Beans

Tuesday
Homeschooling
Finish up the some unpacking and hang the curtains
Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken and Steamed Broccoli

Wednesday 
Homeschooling 
Cleaning and more organizing
Church and Choir Practice 
Old Fashioned Beef Stew

Thursday
Homeschooling
Play Date
Crazy Slow Cooker Pork Chops and Carrots  

Friday
Homeschooling
Cleaning 
Making Laundry Detergent
Broiled Tilapia and Steamed Broccoli
    
Saturday
Homeschooling (making up a few days because of the move)  
Family Time 
Dress Shopping with my sister-in-law for her wedding :)
Pork Tenderloin and Green Beans  

Sunday
Church
Relaxing with the family
Menu and Lesson Planning
Taco Salad
For more recipes or to share your family's menu, go to Organizing Junkie!

Have a great week in the kitchen!!
Blessings and Love!  

   
 

Boxes, Boxes, and Boxes oh my!

Well this is my first post in our new house!

 :) I am so in love with this house. :)

This week we will be eating out more than usual...since I am still in the process of trying to find my kitchen...so I won't be posting a menu with recipes this week. But I will be back next week with a cozy fall menu.

I must share a picture of the our new home! More pictures to come of the inside as I get it unpacked. :)

Have a great week in the kitchen!!
Blessings and love!!

This Week's Menu/Plan (Oct 23rd)

It's moving week!! And it is a packing/cleaning frenzy in the Jones house. It is amazing how much we accumulate in such a short time. But after 5 boxes and 5 trash bags of "stuff" and a toter full of garbage, I am finally beginning to see the light at the end of the clutter tunnel! ;)

This week we will be taking fall break off from school so that I am able to get everything done that I need to. (which Trey is so upset about...note the sarcasm ;) ) So this week's menu is going to consist of easy and simple meals (considering the majority of my kitchen is going to be packed up and I am going to be insanely busy). Thanks to Pinterest and some great go to crock-pot meals, I am hoping for a successful week. :) Well here we go!

Monday
Grocery Shopping
Errand Running
Laundry
Rotisserie Chicken & Green Beans

Tuesday
Laundry
Packing the kitchen, boys' bedroom, and living room
Sage Chicken & Steamed Carrots

Wednesday
Laundry 
Packing the girls' bedroom, our bedroom, and all of the bathrooms
Church/ Choir Practice
Dinner out

Thursday
Finishing up all of the left over laundry and packing
Packing the kids bags for the weekend (My awesome parents and in-laws are taking the kids for the weekend so we can get our move done in a quick and less crazy fashion :) )
Cleaning the carpets and walls
Picking up the keys for the new house
Crazy Slow Cooker Pork Chops with potatoes & Steamed Carrots

Friday
Having a fun breakfast with the kiddos 
Dropping off my girls to my in-laws (tear...I am going to miss my girls terribly!!)
Picking up the rental truck
Loading the truck up
Dinner out 
Dropping off my boys (tear again...I will miss them too!!)
Finish up any cleaning at the old house
Head to the new house and unload our bed and necessities


Saturday
Unloading the moving truck and beginning the unpacking
Taco Stew (for all of our wonderful small group friends helping us)

For more recipes or to share your family's menu, go to Menu Plan Monday!

Have a great week in the kitchen!!
Blessings and love!!

My Weekly Plan (Oct 16th)

Well, a lot of changes are taking place in the Jones house...

We are MOVING!! We originally had planned on moving to Hopkinsville, KY at the end of this year, but due to some new direction we will be staying in good ol' Indiana. :)

My husband recently accepted a new job as the media director at our church, Grace Assembly of God, which is located in Whiteland about 40 minutes away from Columbus. So we have decided to move closer to save money and time on his commute. This week's mission...to get everything ready for a yard sale this weekend...(BLAH!!) I have to say we have WAY too much that I don't want to move. So I am purging and boy does it feel good! :) So with that purging, I am trying to clean out my pantry and freezer so I don't have a lot to move with us, all the while trying to keep it simple since I am homeschooling, sleep deprived, and attempting to pack. (whew...that makes me tired just reading it!)

Monday
Homeschooling
Cleaning out the Garage
Dinner out 

Tuesday
Homeschooling
Trey's Allergy Shots
Cleaning out the Garage and Attic
Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders and Steamed Broccoli 

Wednesday
Homeschooling
Finish anything left in the Garage
Start packing the Kitchen
Church/Choir Practice
Dinner out

Thursday
Homeschooling
Packing the Kitchen
Broiled Tilapia and Steamed Carrots 

Friday
Homeschooling
Trey's Allergy Shots
Pricing items and setting up for the garage sale
Sweet and Tangy Asian Chicken (Crock Pot) and Stir-fry Veggies

Saturday
Garage Sale
Notre Dame Football @ 3:30 pm 
Old Fashioned Beef Stew (Crock Pot)

For more recipes or to share your family's menu, go to Menu Plan Monday!

My Weekly Menu (Sept 10th)

Well last week was a crazy one for us and it is looking like this week will be following the same pattern! We have a lot of appointments this week. So I am going to be doing some simple dinners to reduce the stress level. ;) 

I have been on a Pinterest pinning rampage lately. And with fall only weeks away,(...although this weekend has definitely felt like fall :)...)I am getting super excited for fall foods and crafts! 

Monday

Riley visit early in the morning with Annie.

Homeschooling

Out for Dinner (after a long day at Riley with Annie...I'm just not in the mood to cook! ;) )

Tuesday

Homeschooling

Catching up on some much needed housework

Out to Celebrate my Sister-in-Law's 19th Birthday :)

Wednesday

Homeschooling

Afternoon Appointments

Church

Spicy Pork Chops (crock pot recipe) and Seasoned Green Beans

Thursday

Homeschooling

Trip to Seymour

Grocery Shopping

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken and Sauteed Asparagus 

Friday

Homeschooling

Housework

Homemade Pizza (for the kiddos) and Dinner out for the Parents! :)

Working a shift at the Columbus Kids Resale and then shopping the presale. (I LOVE THIS SALE!! :))

Saturday

Fun Family Time

Easy BBQ Ribs (crock pot recipe) and Steamed Broccoli

Notre Dame vs. Michigan State Game at 8 pm

For more recipes or to share your family's menu, go to Menu Plan Monday!

Whew...I'm tired just thinking about it all! :) Have a great week in the kitchen!

Blessings and Love!

My Weekly Menu (Sept. 3rd)

Happy September!!

It's the beginning of my favorite season...FALL!! There's nothing better than sweatshirts, bonfires, football, and trips to the pumpkin patch. :) And of course we can't forget crockpot season! hahaha...I can't wait for those chilly nights so I can be reunited with my crockpot. :) 

Well this week kicks off our first week of homeschooling! I am super excited to dive into the curriculum we have picked out...which is another post to come along with pictures of our school room/area :) Since I will be homeschooling, I will be posting our lunch menu too to help keep this lady organized (if that is really possible with 5 kids...haha). This week is going to be a fun filled jam packed week with some fun activities for the kiddos and eating out to celebrate...along with it being my birthday this week too. ;) (I'm still not sure how I feel about leaving the mid 20s and heading towards the late 20s.) Well here we go with the menu...!

Mon- Labor Day Cookout w/ my parents 
         BBQ Chicken, Grilled Corn on the Cob, and Salad

Tues- 1st Day of School 
         Our yearly tradition of breakfast out (on the first day) 
         PB&J, Strawberries, Red Jello (a red themed lunch since red is                                the color of the week for the little ones)
         Dinner out to celebrate with my hubby!! :)

Wed- Homeschooling
         Corn Dogs Mini Muffin
         Dinner out after church

Thurs- Homeschooling
          Ants on a Log ( Letter A is the letter of the week)
          Rosemary Pork Tenderloin and Steamed Carrots

Fri- Homeschooling
       Homemade Mini Pizzas
       Dinner out for a friend's birthday!

Sat- Lowe's Build and Grow for the kiddos
        My Birthday.... :)

For more recipes or to share your family's menu, go to Menu Plan Monday!


Have a great week in the kitchen!! :)
Blessings and Love!!
                   
                                                                

My Weekly Menu

Now that I am not gigantically pregnant anymore and my hubby is returning to work, it is time to get back into a routine. I have to admit I am a little nervous about being on my own with all FIVE kiddos tomorrow. I have had so much help from my hubby and my family that I have really been able to relax and heal. *I have the best husband in the world.*


So while relaxing this past week (in between napping and caring for a newborn), I have been pinning some new recipes to try on Pinterest. So I am planning on trying some this week. Of course this week's menu is all pending upon how I am feeling, but I figured I would give it a shot this week in getting back into a routine. :) Well off with the menu we go...

Monday- Broiled Tilapia and Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday- Sweet Baby Ray's Crockpot Chicken Breasts and Steamed Carrots

Wednesday- Dinner out! (or in other words a night off :))

Thursday- Key West Chicken and Corn

Friday- Date Night with My Love!!!(and Evie too)

Saturday- TBA

Fore more recipes or to share your family's menu, go to Menu Plan Monday!

Have a great week!!
Blessings and Love!!

Introducing Evelynne Jewell... :)

I am excited to announce the birth of our newest little one!! :) Evelynne Jewell Jones was born on August 3rd at 2:30am, weighing in at 7 lbs 3 oz and measured 19 1/2 inches long. Here are some little moments I just have to share... :)

My sweet little princess :)

Daddy feeding her for the first time! :)

The boys meeting Evie for the first time. :)

The girls meeting Evie for the first time. :)

 It blessed my heart to see the reaction of my older children to her. They were so excited and gentle (and they still are).

This picture cracks me up every time I see it!! hahaha...She looks so worried!

 

Sweet Evie :)

 

Now that I am a week postpartum and starting to feel human again, I will be posting a lot more consistently. Now that I have five kiddos, I'm thinking blogging is going to be one of the ways I stay sane. :) Have a great week!! 

Blessings and Love!!

My Weekly Menu (July 16th)

So this week I am going to be trying a few new recipes I have found on Pinterest ( I <3 Pinterest!). :) With my hubby on his weight-loss journey, I am having to find some new and creative ways to serve chicken. I have to brag on him since he won't do it himself, but he has lost 22lbs in just a little over 6 weeks! *insert gushing smile* I am so proud of him! Ok, so back to the menu....some of these recipes, I will be changing a bit for some healthier ingredients but over all they will be very similar. 

Monday- Leftovers

Tuesday- Easy Garlic Chicken and Steamed Broccoli (I didn't get to this one from last week.)

Wednesday- Chicken Taco Salad (homemade taco seasoning)

Thursday- Broiled Tilapia and Steamed Carrots

Friday- "Melt in Your Mouth" Chicken Breast and  Baked Asparagus

Saturday- Applebee's Knock-off Oriental Chicken Salad ( :) I can't wait to try this one!)

For more recipes or the share your family's menu, go to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie!

Have a great week in the kitchen!

Blessings and Love!

Homemade Laundry Soap (What a $$$ Saver!!)

So as most of you know, I have a large herd of children, and with those children come LOTS AND LOTS of laundry. I typically do 2 loads of laundry a day just to stay on schedule, not including bedding and towels and the random child mess :). So the cost of laundry detergent really can add up here. I had heard of different "recipes" to make your own detergent but thought to myself, "Do I really have time or is it really going to save me any money?" The answer is OH MY YES!! :)  It is super simple and costs hardly anything to make! I got this recipe from an awesome blogger :) whom I love over at My Blessed Life!

Here is the recipe:

1 c of Washing Soda
1/2 c of Borax
1 bar of Fels-Naptha Soap (grated) or any bar of soap that you prefer.
5 gallon bucket
Water

Put your grated bar of soap in a large dutch oven and fill it with hot water. Cook it on high heat until all of the soap is dissolved, stirring it during this process (don't let it boil).

Next get your 5 gallon bucket and put the washing soda and borax in it. Then pour the soapy mixture in and stir it all together. Then fill the rest of the bucket with HOT tap water and stir the mixture all together. Cover the bucket and let it sit for 24 hours.

After the 24 hours period, stir it up again and put it in your recycled laundry detergent containers!

Here is what I save by doing this:

Before making my own detergent, I was purchasing a large container of Gain twice a month and a large container of Dreft once every other month.

All of these prices are from Walmart:

Gain- $15.97 x 24
Dreft- $15.97 x 6

Total for the year = $479.10 (before tax) YIKES!

Now that I make my own, I had to purchase a 5 gallon bucket, one box of borax, one box of washing soda, and a bar of Fels-Naptha soap.  I typically make 1 batch a month which takes care of all of our laundry, along with my parents laundry and my father-in-law too!

Bucket- $2.47
Borax- $2.97
Washing Soda- $2.97
Fels-Naptha Soap- $0.97 x 12

Total for the year = $20.05 (before tax) Ahh...much better!


That is an amazing total of $459.05 saved!! *insert happy dance*

My next mission is to find a great recipe for dishwashing detergent! :)
Blessings and Love!!

This Week's Menu (July 9th)

Well yesterday was quite eventful, hence my menu is just now getting posted! We had a baby scare so I spend most of the morning and into the late afternoon at the birthing center. All is well though, but I did find out I am 2cm dilated already so it won't be long before the little princess is here. So the preparations continue... :)

Well this week's menu is going to be some fresh yummy summer foods. I am so glad to have a break of the crazy 100+ degree weather. I might even be able to talk my hubby into grilling out some this week! ;)


Tuesday- Key Lime Chicken Tenders and Steamed Carrots


Wednesday- Chicken Taco Salad


Thursday- Out to the County Fair


Friday- Easy Garlic Chicken and Steamed Broccoli


Saturday- Balsamic Garlic Pork Tenderloin and Corn on the Cob


For more recipes or to share your family's menu, go to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie!




Have a great week in the kitchen!!
Blessings and Love!

My Weekly Menu- July 2nd (Preparing for Baby Jones)

Hey everyone!!

I hope you all have had a great week last week! Our week was packed full of fun. We went on a mini vacation to Hopkinsville, KY. It was so refreshing to get away and recharge with some awesome people. We also got a chance to see our sweet little bun in the oven. :)

She is growing great at 4lbs 3oz and she has lots of hair (as a Momma it just excites me for all of the cute little bows I see in her future). With only 4 more weeks for me to get this house in order and ready for our new addition, I am starting to feel the pressure. So this week begins the fun and crazy process of reorganizing closets, washing clothes, putting her bed and bassinet together, and doing some "spring" cleaning cough...cough that I didn't do in the spring. :)

Along with us adding a new sweet baby to our home, we will be starting a new chapter of homeschooling! We will have Trey in 3rd grade and unofficially Ben and Emma doing some preschool work. :) So I am also working on getting our school area all organized and ready to start the year off.

And of course, I can't forget that this is 4th of July week!! :) We traditionally go to as many firework shows as possible and cook out with our family. So this week is going to be a fun one!

Monday- Broiled Tilapia with Steamed Carrots
                *cleaning out the girls' closet 
                *making laundry detergent (which I will post the recipe for
                  tomorrow) 
                *routine household cleaning


Tuesday- Dinner with friends
                *"spring" cleaning the girls' room 
                *routine household cleaning
                *Q-MIX fireworks


Wednesday- INDEPENDENCE DAY!!
                     Grilled BBQ Chicken
                     Corn on the Cob
                     Grilled Cheesy Potatoes
                     Salad
                     Watermelon
                     Dirt Cups (for the kiddos....and the big kiddos too! :) )
                 *of course more fireworks


Thursday- Beef Tenderloin Roast with Broccoli
                 *organizing our craft supplies and taking inventory of what we
                   have :)
                 *routine household cleaning


Friday- Lean Burgers with Corn on the Cob
              *errand running and  grocery shopping
              *routine household cleaning


Saturday- Date Night with my hubby :)


Sunday- Small Group (We are bringing the main dish)
              Chicken Tacos and Beef Enchiladas


For more recipes or to share your family's menu, go to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie! 


I hope you all have a great week in the kitchen!
Blessings and Love!!
               
               

Menu Plan Monday (June 18th)

So, the past two months have been insanely busy here in the Jones household. We are finally coming into a nice summer routine (which I am extremely grateful for :) ). My menu planning has stayed on track for the most part for these past few months, but just hasn't seemed to make it on my blog! LOL...but with life getting back into a not so crazy schedule, I will be able to find time to share some of my life with all of you! ;)

My menu will be looking a little different than you may have seen in the past. My hubby has started a new diet (or as I like to call it a new lifestyle of eating) and has successfully and healthfully lost 12 pounds so far (GO DAVE!!) I'm so proud of him if you can't tell. ;) So a lot of the unnecessary carbs and excessive fatty foods have been removed from our menu and home. But I have to say I have found some AH-MAZING chicken marinates on Pinterest (which I am totally addicted to). So I just have to share them! So off with our menu...

Monday- Key West Chicken and Broccoli

Tuesday- Broiled Tilapia and Sauteed Zucchini

Wednesday- Chicken Taco Salad (minus a few high calorie ingredients)

Thursday- Grilled BBQ Chicken and Steamed Carrots

Friday- Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes and Smoked Sausage (Daddy's out of town to a conference. And breakfast for dinner is one of the kiddos favorites :) )

Saturday- Out of town to KY :)

For more recipes or to share your family's menu, go to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie!

Have a great week in the kitchen!
Blessings and Love!

Weekly Menu (April 2nd)

Happy April!!

I am so happy Spring is here! :) And with that comes some yummy light spring time meals. I am going to be trying some new recipes this week and some classic go to meals too. Well off with our menu! :)

Monday- Crispy Baked BBQ Chicken Breast, Macaroni and Cheese, and Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday- Caribbean Jerk Steak Wraps*, Rice, and Sauteed Sugar Snap Peas

Wednesday- Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches (Pinterest :) ) and Baked Potato Wedges

Thursday- BBQ Pork Chops*, Scalloped Potatoes, and Peas

Friday-Out with my Love! :)

Saturday- Leftovers/ TBA

*Recipes to come!
For more recipes or to share your family's menu, go to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie!

Have a great week in the kitchen!
Blessings and Love!! :)

Weekly Menu (Feb 28)

Hey!

Well yesterday was quite eventful (a morning/early afternoon in the ER with my hubby) so my menu was pushed off to today! And some days you just have to roll with the punches, right? So hopefully the rest of this week goes smoothly! I'm trying some more new recipes this week since last week went pretty well over all :)! Well off with the menu!

Monday- Leftovers

Tuesday- Tacos/Taco Salads and White Queso Dip with chips

Wednesday- Pulled Pork BBQ* (Crock-pot)

Thursday- Lemon Garlic Chicken Kabobs, Jasmine Rice, and Sauteed Asparagus

Friday- *Date Night for Mommy & Daddy* & Hot Dogs and Mac & Cheese for the kiddos

Saturday- French Dip Sandwiches with Herb Roasted Oven Fries

*recipe to come!
For more recipes or to share your family's menu, go to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie!

Have a great week in the kitchen!!
Blessings and Love!!

Menu Plan Monday (Feb 20th)

Hey everyone!

What a refreshing week I have ahead of me! I am so glad I don't have anything scheduled for this week. It will give me some much needed time to focus on organizing some things around here.

Well on this week's menu I am going to be trying some recipes I have found on Pinterest that I have been wanting to try. :) (I love that site!!) And off we go...

Monday- Ham Steaks, Mac & Cheese, and Buttered Peas

Tuesday- Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday- Taco Stew (Crockpot)

Thursday- Lasagna, Salad, and Crusty Baguettes

Friday- Broiled Tilapia, Rice, and Broccoli

Saturday- Leftovers :)

For more recipes or to share your family's menu, go to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie!!

Have a great week in the kitchen!! :)
Blessings and Love!

Back to Routine...(and Good-bye 1st Trimester)

Well...I have been quite the blogger slacker!! My first trimester with the mix of just moving and settling in to our new house has kicked my organizational rump. Praise the Lord for my ever so patient husband and children who have allowed me the time I have needed to just get through it all. With all of that being said, I have had a refreshing and eye opening weekend and I am ready to hit the ground running this week.

So here are some things you can look forward to seeing here at Life & Love! :

1. I will be getting back to a regular dinner routine and menu planning. (I have had more evening nausea this time around and dinner out has happened too many times! Once again I have a very patient hubby!! ;)

2. I have had a lot of people ask me how I manage a family as big as ours. So I am going to be using my blog as a platform to let you in on some things that really work for us as well as some things that *cough cough* haven't worked so well.

3. I am going to be joining up with some other blogs for their blog parties. So watch for that!

Thank you all for your patience!!
Blessings and Love!!