Menu Plan Monday

First a recap from last week. I made everything last week except for Crockpot Brown Sugar Chicken which is actually in my crockpot today. I got sick this week with a bad cold and one night we had leftovers and the other night I just ordered pizza. I'm feeling a lot better though.

Crockpot Meatloaf by Organizing Junkie was a hit. I always know when it's a hit when my family goes for seconds. My son actually ate 2 servings of meat and one of my daughters had 2 servings for carrots. My husband said it was okay. He added cheese to his portion as that's how I normally make my meatloaf so I guess he didn't want a change. I thought it was very good and easy to make. Thanks Laura f0r sharing your recipe.

Crockpot Beef Casserole was very good. The sauce was very good. I served it over rice but I think the next time I'd serve it over egg noodles. Adding to my monthly planner.

Now for this weeks menu:
Monday - Crockpot Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken with rice
Tues - Cake for Dinner? Okay, it's April Fool's Day so I figured I'd try this out as a joke. If I don't do it on Tues I will try this sometime this week.
Wed - Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
Thurs - Kathy's Delicious Slow Cook Chicken I have made this before actually many times. I serve it with rice.
Fri - Mom's Zucchini Pie I have made this before and even my husband eats it even though he doesn't eat Zucchini
Sat - Mild Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
Sun - leftovers

Sorry this is going to be a chicken week since there was a sale and I over purchased chicken.

For other menus, please visit Organizing Junkie.

CT Call

Right now, Deco Pages has a CT Call going on. If you can spare fifteen minutes or so a day, have time to work with two kits a month from two designers of your choice they could use your help. You can send PatinParis a PM from either DST or Deco Pages expressing your interest and links to two other galleries to apply. I love being on the CT at Deco Pages. They have such talented designers and such a huge variety of kits and colors. I hope to see you there!

Freebie Quick Page

Click on Image for download.

This quick page was made by me using the kit Summer Memories by Michaele Burkhart. You can purchase the kit here.

CT - Roses for Mom by Deb Ammerman

You can purchase this kit here.


Here is the layout I did using the above kit.

CLUTTER

I am starting to feel overwhelmed by all the clutter in my house. I am trying so hard to get rid of things we just don't need. I'm tired of having to clean up every night the scattered toys that are in numerous rooms throughout my house. So each night I've been trashing things. And why is it that the kids just won't help? It's a never ending battle! Even if I tell them they will be rewarded I still get the whining and I wind up doing it myself because I get so frustrated. Okay, now this is not what really is bothering me.

How can you tell your family members not to purchase anything for us and give us anything from like the dollar store without hurting their feelings? It's mostly junk and I just don't need more clutter in my house! Then when I'm throwing it out I feel guilty that I'm doing so. I just don't know what to do.

New Toaster Oven - Bread Issue?

My in-laws bought us a new toaster oven. Our old one was on it's last legs. You can see the new oven on my counter there along with my bread and drinks. My question is where do you all store your bread? I just don't know where to put them. The drinks I could probably put in the fridge once our leftovers are eaten but for now there is no room in there. We just use ice to make the drinks cold.

Menu Plan Monday

Sorry I'm a bit late in posting. The days are just flying by. So much to do!

Monday - BBQ meatballs and pirogies (okay, I have made this 2 times. I made it last week and this week. So easy. I made it both times on the stove on low putting the meatballs which were frozen and cooked it for like 3 hours. The pirogies were on sale.

Tues - Chicken Cordon Bleu, roasted red potatoes with garlic, and carrots (were on sale)

Wed - Crockpot Beef Casserole with rice

Thurs - Stuffed Shells and chicken parm

Fri - Crockpot brown sugar chicken

Sat - leftovers

Sun - crockpot meatloaf (I so want to try this recipe. Unfortunately last week it didn't get made so I'm hoping to make it this week.)

For other menus, please visit Organizing Junkie.

Slow Cooking Thursday

I have been making this recipe since 2006. I have made it a couple of times. The meat just falls off the bone. I serve it over rice as the sauce is very good too.

Kathy's Delicious Whole Slow Cooker Chicken

This is Amazing

CT - St Pattys Day

The below kit is designed by Deb Ammerman. You can purchase it here.

Here are 2 kits I did using the above kit.

I know I spelled Leprechaun wrong. I need to change it on the one which I have printed for the book. Just haven't had the time.

What are the Colors of your Heart?

Your Heart is Blue and Orange

Your heart is bright and brilliant. You are knowledgeable, wise, and confident. You bring dynamism and sparkle to relationships. You know how to keep your partner hanging on your every word.

What Are the Colors of Your Heart?

This Can Only Happen to Me

After grocery shopping Monday night I watched Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller (I tivo it). She was making a dessert called Plum Pizza with Ricotta, Apricot Reserves and Peanuts. I already did my grocery shopping this week and had all the ingredients to make it except for the Apricot Reserves. After picking up the kids from preschool silly me decides to take the triplets into the store for that ONE ITEM. Getting the kids in and out of the car is no easy task. I warned them to be good and that we were going into the store to get ONE THING. I told them that they would be rewarded if they were good. I was not getting a shopping cart. They had to walk and hold hands. I kept stressing they need to hold hands and follow mommy. I am holding Justin's hand and Victoria's hand. That leaves Naomi to hold either Victoria or Justin's hand. Naomi chose to hold Justin's hand. So we walk into the grocery store holding hands. Now mind you the peanut butter and jelly are across the entire store (last aisle) so we have to walk the entire length of the store. Meanwhile, while walking across the store they have the Easter candy and goodies in the middle of the store. Of course, Naomi lets go of Justin's hand and runs to the barbie dolls. I tell her to hold Justin's hand and no she is not getting anything. We are only in the store for ONE ITEM. We proceed further and Naomi is chasing us. Meanwhile Justin refuses to take her hand. She starts screaming and whining "HOLD HANDS, HOLD HANDS" Okay, now all the old timers in the store are looking our way. We finally reach the jars of jelly. I'm trying to get them not to touch any of them so they don't fall on the floor and break. I'm also trying to check prices and see which one is on sale. Of course, I didn't bring any coupons with me but I want to get the best price. So I start telling them to read the signs. They know numbers now so it gets them to point to the signs and read the numbers so Naomi will stop screaming and whining "HOLD HANDS". I finally find the cheapest one and grab it and now I have only one hand available. I am holding Victoria's hand. She's holding Justin's and Justin is now holding Naomi's hand. We go to the self checker. I scan the item. It rings up more than the sign. The lady comes over. Did you scan your price card? I didn't. So I do and again it's still ringing up wrong. She sends the cashier to check the price. Meanwhile, my kids are taking all the candy off the shelf. Why in the world do they have to have these candy racks near the check outs? And why is it that the one item I want has to ring up wrong? Nothing can be easy and fast these days. I'm telling the kids please put the candy back. I told them we were getting one item. Finally the cashier comes back and tells me that she'll give me the item for that price but it was for a different item. The front end person takes off 80 cents. It should have been a $1 off but at this point I just wanted to get out of the store and back home. I pay for my one item and rush the kids out of the store. At the entrance they again stop me for some charity thing. I tell them sorry no thank you and I rush across the street and get the kids back into the car. Strapped in and we are off to go home.

That dessert had better be good for all the trouble I went through to get that ONE ITEM - Apricot Reserves.

Menu Plan Monday

This last week was kind of crazy. Lots of activities so I wound up altering my menu a lot. For Wed we had BBQ Meatballs (using frozen meatballs that I had made at the power cooking event on Monday. This was supposed to be a crock pot recipe but because I had a MOMS night out to go to and had to make an appetizer my crock pot was being used for the Buffalo Chicken Dip from Menus4moms so I wound up doing this on low on my stove for 2 to 3 hours. My husband loved it. I have more meatballs in my freezer so I will be doing this recipe again soon. Has anyone ever had to have 2 crock pots? Wonder if I should invest in another one? Maybe once I get some good recipes for it but at this point I have only a few that we like. I did copy a few from the Thursday posts so hopefully I will be adding more to our meal plan book.

On Thursday when I was supposed to make Beef Roast with Root Vegetables I was crunched for time and wound up doing a different recipe instead. So Thurs I made Coffee-Braised Pot Roast with Caramelized onions in the crock pot. The meat was a little dry but the gravy this made was really good. I probably will make this again. And no it did not taste like coffee.

On Sunday I made Beef Brisket with Smoky BBQ Sauce in the crock pot (recipe below). I really screwed this one up because where it said 1/4 teaspoon of celery seed I put 1/4 teaspoon of celery salt. It was so salty. Oops! We did all eat it though so I will probably make it again but will leave out the celery seed!

Beef Brisket with Smoky BBQ Sauce
1 2 to 3 pound fresh beef brisket
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 cup catsup
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbs vinegar
2 tbs worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp dry mustard

1. Trim fat from brisket. If necessary, cut brisket to fit into crockery cooker.
2. Combine chili powder, garlic powder, celery seed, and pepper; rub evenly over meat. Place meat in crock pot
3. For sauce, combine catchup, chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, and dry mustard. Pour over brisket.
4. Cover; cook on low heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Remove meat and cut into thin slices. Skim fat off juices in cooker. Serve juices with meat. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Now for next week:
Monday - Beef Stir Fry from 101 Delicious Diabetic Recipes book borrowed from my friend.
Tues - Green Chile Beef Empanadas. Since I have left overs from the roast from Thurs dinner I might as well reuse the meat.
Wed - Swiss Chicken and Corn Casserole
Thurs - Pizza (Dinner with Triplet Moms)
Fri - Easy Meatloaf in Crock Pot
Sat - Left Overs
Sun - Easter Dinner at restaurant

Thanks Laura from I'm an Organizing Junkie in hosting the Menu Plan Monday

Are you a Nellie or a Laura

Are You a Nellie or a Laura?

Your Results...

You’re a Laura!
Sweet, kind, generous and always ready to help out in a pinch, you’re easy to get along with and loyal to your family.



Take the Quiz here.

Slow Cooking Thursday

I'm not a fan of my crockpot as you have read in previous posts. I have only 2 recipes that I actually made and liked to make again. My husband hates when I use the crockpot because the meal is never a good one.

I'm going to share the one which I made recently. It's a dip called Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Dip (note you need to scroll down to get the recipe. I found it from menu4moms website.

I am actually cooking this right now to bring to the MOMS Club Night out. I made this back for superbowl. It makes a lot. In Feb when I made it I split it into 3 containers. One container I used for that day and 2 I froze. I wasn't sure it would be okay defrosted so I wanted to try instead of tossing it in the trash as it was really good. Just the other day my husband found it in the freezer and defrosted it to go with his chips and it defrosted pretty well and tasted great.

Check out other Slow Cooking Thursday recipes at Diary of a SAHM.

CVS Super Savings

I did my weekly trip to CVS and got all this for $1.31. It would have been -.88 but I had to add an extra dollar so I wound up getting that round box of candy in the front. Not only that I earned $10 in extra bucks to use next week. I got the mini calculator to help me with my coupon shopping. I actually used it to do my shopping trip at Shoprite tonight. Unfortunately, I haven't managed to reduce my big grocery shopping quite yet.

Good Mail? When?

It's that time of year when I am experiencing some anxiety. The last thing I want to do is go to my mailbox each day. Why? It's like every time I go to it I get unexpected bills or notices for people wanting money! Also lots of junk mail. The junk mail I can deal with since I just toss it in the recycling bin. Then there are invitations to parties that I don't know how to respond to. Now, don't get me wrong, I love parties but now that we are really strapped for money living pay check to pay check with no savings and waiting for our taxes to be done from the accountant is more stress than I can handle at this time. We just don't have the money for gifts. I have no idea how we are going to pay our taxes because we pay every year why would this year be any different?

I'm even selling some of my Stampin Up retired stamp sets on e-bay just so I can get season passes to Great Adventure for the kids this summer. Unfortunately, they are 3 years old and we have to pay for them this summer because they changed the age requirement for getting in free.
Of course, if I got my organized magazine like Laura did today maybe my post would be more on a positive side. As for today's mail, I got an invitation to a Bar Mitzvahs that I had no idea that we were going to be invited as it's from our Rabbi who's son is making his Bar Mitzvahs. How do you respond? We just can't afford to go. Of course, the Rabbi knows that we are having some financial difficulty because he is working with us to pay our monthly dues to the synagogue. We just don't have anything extra to give because if we did we would definitely give it. Luckily everything else was junk mail. Oh, I did get a Dora Leapster game for the kids that I got from ebay after selling one of my stamp sets to get it. They don't know anything about it though until tonight when they need to switch games. They now have 7 different games. Each night they switch games. Some nights it can be very chaotic when one wants the same game but the rule is they can't have the same game 2 nights in a row they have to take turns.

Here's wishing for some good mail as I don't know how much more stress I can handle.

Party Crashing

Well, I am exhausted but wanted to sit and relax and do some reading so I figured I'd do some party crashing. Here are the blogs that I visited.

For the First Time. She actually came to visit my blog today so I had to check her blog out. First she had the What type Writer Should You Be on her blog so that's where I got that from. She also wrote a very nice comment on my blog and her blog about my blog. Love the party crashing lists she made so I'm copying this as well.

Hyperactive Lu wrote a nice article about cooking at home how much cheaper it is than eating out. We too were eating out a lot last year but for 2008 I have been meal planning which has helped with the "What's for Dinner?" problem.

Mommie Daze - What inspired me about her blog was that she had a 3 year old. Since I have 3 year olds I know the chaotic life. And I loved her recipes. Since I am meal planning every recipe that is recommended would really help me out. I also loved that she had some 3 year old projects as I'm always trying to keep my kids busy. I will be following her blog in the future.

Kimmie & The Sprouts - She's sharing chips and dip and she has a beautiful quilt that she's working on.

Desperately Seeking Sanity - I can so relate! And I so need some laughter some days in my life.

Who has Time to Scrapbook - her title is so cool.

Mid-Life Bliss - oh my this woman has 11 children and is only in her 40's. I am fast approaching 40 (only 2 more years) and I only have 3 (the triplets). I couldn't imagine having any more as the triplets are so much work.

The Infertility Chronicles - Since I also had a problem with infertility I was drawn to her blog. After being told that I could never had children naturally and that IVF would be my only way and then being told that there was nothing wrong with me. Many years of unexplained infertility and 3 treatments of clomid with IUI and 2 treatments of Gonal-F and IUI we were finally blessed with triplets.

Surviving Motherhood - Great article about not being perfect.

Well, it's 11:12 pm and I swore I would not stay up late again so I'm heading to bed. Tomorrow is another day.

What Type Writer Should You Be?

You Should Be a Song Writer

You have the ability to evoke emotion, tell a story, and hook someone... In a very small amount of words, perhaps with some deft rhyming. Even if you can't write music, you can sure write compelling lyrics. Lyrics so good, people will have them stuck in their heads!

What Type of Writer Should You Be?

Menu Plan Monday

I am going to try to do this quickly, yeah right! No, really I am just exhausted and need to get this done. Today I did power cooking with some friends. We made 800 meatballs and 300 stuffed shells. I have 50 shells and 133 meatballs in my freezer as there were 6 of us. Cost for all this was $25. Oh, I also had one pound of ground beef that we fried up so we had that for tonights dinner.

Review of last weeks meals:
As I mentioned in my last weeks post I'm getting fed up with my crock pot. If any of you have any good recipes please share because everything I seem to make in mine comes out really crappy. Baked Honey Pecan Chicken was really yummy. I liked the honey sauce. The Broccoli with creamy lemon sauce was really good. My kids actually dipped their chicken into the lemon sauce. I didn't put the honey pecan on their chicken. Chicken Burgers came out yucky. The Beef and Veggie Stir fry is a keeper. My husband loved the sauce so it made it to the monthly cook book. The cowpoke BBQ sauce was a disappointment. Somehow I didn't make the chicken Burritos, chicken fajitas or swiss chicken. I think we wound up having left overs. I did substitute sweet and sour meatballs for one of the nights (husband's favorite as it was his birthday.)

Now to this week:
Monday - Chili - used cooked chop meat that I had left over from power cooking today.
Tues - Stuffed Shells (frozen from power cooking)
Wed - Meat balls and Spaghetti or pasta (frozen from power cooking)
Thurs - (Crock Pot) Yes I'm going to attempt again! Wish me luck. I'm going to try a recipe from Robin Miller from Food Network called Beef it Up. She cooks one meal and then uses it 2 other times. Beef Roast with Root Vegetables and Mixed Greens with Raspberry-Walnut Dressing
Fri - Green Chile Beef Empanadas
Sat- Asian Beef Salad with Cilantro, Scallions and Sesame Seeds
Sun - leftovers or eat out

Blog Party Introduction

There's a blog party going on. Did you know this? You can find more information about it at 5 minutes for mom's blog. Anyway, welcome to my blog.

I am a mom to Girl, Boy, Girl triplets age 3 1/2. It's been a long hard road raising them but I am survivor. I was a stay at home mom for 3 years. Recently I went back to work part time doing accounting while the kids are in preschool. So basically I get no relief from the stress of raising toddlers almost alone since my husband works 24/7 to support us.

In my spare time (once the kids go to bed) I enjoy digital scrapbooking. I have been paper scrapping for 10 years and digital scrapbooking for a year and half. At my blog you will see many of the digital pages that I have created. I am currently on 5 designers Creative Teams.

In January I decided to take control of my life. I struggled with "What is for dinner?" question every night. I found I'm an Organizing Junkie and have been following her Monday Meal Planning. In addition to that I've also been following her organize a room a month that she started in February. We were in the kitchen the month of Feb and I came in her top 12.

I use Google Reader to keep track of all the blogs that I do read. Looking forward to meeting new people this week. Happy Blogging.

March - The Dining Room

It's March already? This month Laura from I'm an Organizing Junkie is focusing on decluttering the dining room. Luckily this is the only room in my house that just doesn't need decluttering. Why? It's one of the rooms that the kids just do not have access to. We don't use it to eat in and even when we have company we use our kitchen. It's also the only room that is painted nicely and has blinds that are matching. The only thing I would say is wrong with the room is that the clock on the wall doesn't work so it's the wrong time. I guess we need to put batteries in it. I will try to focus on the kitchen I guess again since I didn't finish last month.

Do I need it?

This is a cute video about clutter. Words to the video are below

***************

Do I need it?
Or just want it?
Who convinced me that I need it, and why do I want it?
Will it make my world a better place, or will it end up taking up landfill space?
Do I need it?
Or just want it?

The tv commercials are telling me
I need to buy lots more,
but I can’t figure out what I’d need
those fifteen cell phones for…

Our dining suite is older than me,
our furniture doesn’t blend,
but I can’t throw out stuff that’s good
just because of the latest trend… CHORUS

Those convenient plastic shopping bags
are fluttering in the trees,
so I’ve started to use my old cloth bags
to move my groceries…

Spring water sold in plastic bottles
Is really quite the fad
But water from my tap tastes just as good
And using less Polyethylene Terephtalate isn’t bad… CHORUS

I’ll admit that I’m a Tim Horton’s junkie
Had my share of those disposable cups
But now I take my travel mug along
And I ask them to fill ‘er up…

How many books in my personal library
sit there still unread?
My life would be less cluttered if
I used my library card instead… CHORUS

How many computers, tvs and stereos
does one family really need?
It’s time I learned to live with just enough
instead of giving in to greed…

A wardrobe from the Sally Ann
can be as good as buying new.
That way I’m not creating consumer demand
and there’s money in my pocket, too… CHORUS

Our lives are filled with so much stuff
This song could go on and on
But if we think before we buy
I’d be singing half as long.

So I’m not gonna buy things on a whim
I’m gonna think things through
If I can live with less, I’ll reduce my stress
And lighten my workload, too…

If I don’t need it,
I don’t want it.
No one convinced me that I need it, So I won’t buy it.
Gonna help my planet get “out of the woods”
By refusing to USE up so many Goods
‘Cause I don’t need so much stuff,
And I don’t want it.
I don’t need so much stuff
And I don’t want it, ohhh no!

I have been trying to declutter my house and saw this video on I'm an Organizing Junkie's blog.

Menu Plan Monday

Sorry I didn't post my menu plan for last week. It was a bit spur of the moment and right now I don't have the time to post it sorry. This week there is a big sale on chicken at my supermarket so most of the week we will be having chicken.

Monday - Italian Style Beef Sandwiches (Crockpot). I had a late play date so again I attempted my crock pot. I am so fed up with this crock pot cooking. It just is not working out for my family. Every time I make something from that thing the meat is dry and my family hates it. Please if you read my blog and use a crock pot and have a recipe that you know is good please send me the recipe. I so need help.

Tues - Baked Honey Pecan Chicken and Broccoli with creamy lemon sauce (pg 64 101 Delicious Diabetic Recipes (borrowed from a friend)
Wed-Chicken Burgers (pg 52 101 Delicious Diabetic Recipes (borrowed from a friend) and potatoes au gratin (pg 62 101 Delicious Diabetic Recipes (borrowed from a friend)
Thurs-Chicken Burritos recipe on page 42 of 101 Delicious Diabetic Recipes (borrowed from a friend)
Fri-Beef and vegetable stir-fry (pag 49 101 Delicious Diabetic Recipes (borrowed from a friend)
Sat- chicken Fajitas with cowpoke bbq sauce (pg 54 101 Delicious Diabetic Recipes (borrowed from a friend)
Sun-Swiss Chicken and Green Pea and Rice Almondine (pg 68 101 Delicious Diabetic Recipes (borrowed from a friend)

Club Deco - Wild Things

Here is this months awesome Club Deco kit. The theme is Wild Thing. It is perfect for your zoo or nature park photos.
You can join the club for 1 month @ $7.99 to purchase this kit or you can join for 3 months @ $15.00 or 12 months @ $36.00. Each month there is a new mega kit for you in a different theme with matching colors.
More info here:
http://board.deco-pages.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3355

CT - Rose for Mom by Deb Ammerman

You can purchase this kit here.

Here is the layout I did using the above kit

I Won

What a surprise. I won a contest at DSP (digitalscrapbookplace.com). Check out what I won. It's a My Pages Talk - Scrapbook Voice Recorder

Check out their blog for the mention of my winning here plus a little video on how to use this new recorder they are selling in their store.

Super Savings Saturday

This is my best trip ever to the supermarket. I got this all at Shoprite. Out of pocket was $1.46. My husband was amazed. He said, "What, how much?" Then he said, "They are not going to let you back in the store."

Everything I had coupons for plus they are having the dollar days rewards this week. I now have $25 in rewards to use next week on my shopping.

What did I get for 1.46?
3 boxes of pop secret popcorn
4 Purex Laundry Detergent
2 Welch's Grape Juice
2 Welch's Jelly
4 Viva Towels
2 Kotex maxi pads
1 Soft Scrub
3 Pert Shampoo
Bag of Wize cheese doodles (not pictured because my kids snagged it)
SR paper plates
SR Graham Crackers
I used $63.45 in coupons 13.06 of which was price plus savings and $35 of it was SR rewards from earlier this week.

Final Total out of pocket was $1.43

February - Roundup

Wow this month went fast. Can't believe it is Roundup Time already.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

This is a major accomplishment for me. I actually read an entire book! I took out from the library this book Order from Chaos: A Six-Step Plan for Organizing Yourself, Your Office, and Your Life (Paperback)
by Liz Davenport (Author). I had it for 3 weeks. 3 days before it was due I tried to renew it since I was only 1/2 way through it. Well, I couldn't renew it because someone requested it. So for 3 days I took the book with me to the gym and read while walking on the treadmill. I did finish the book and returned it on time. What did I learn from the book? Well, I now have an air traffic control book. I bought one from CVS this week on clearance for only $1.75. You can see a photo of it in my previous post this week. I have this book next to my computer and I am using it to jot down all my to do's. I used to have post it notes all over my desk and now I have this one central book to refer to. Author Liz Davenport gives some good advice on organization by utilizing a 6 step method: Organize your desk, manage your task in 1 system, create a pending file, make decisions immediately, prioritize your tasks, and make them all daily habits. All of the information is solid. It was a good book to read.

Magazines: I got 2 new subscriptions this month: All You and Organize I read them from cover to cover. All You had tons of coupons and some quick articles to read. Of course, the big thing in my life now is coupons. I am so set on saving money that I've been trading coupons and shopping sales only. Organize is really cool too. I loved the neat articles and all the photos. I just love photos of the way people organize things.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?

I watched the season finale of Nip Tuck. This season was very bazaar. I cannot look at a stuffed bear the same way again. It just gives me the heevie-jeevies to even think about it.

Didn't see any movies that I can remember.

What special days did I celebrate and how?

Well, February 13 was my birthday. I turned 38. My husband bought me a special dinner with a brownie as my cake. He also sent me a dozen roses and 2 balloons one which said Happy Birthday and one which said Happy Anniversary. No, it wasn't my anniversary. It was an error on the florist part.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

I went away to an SDV (Scrapbookers Dream Vacation) for 3 days. No children and no husband. It was a lot of fun and great to be able to relax for a little while. My mom watched the children. This was my birthday gift.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

We had a stomach virus pass through this month. Victoria and Justin had thrown up. Luckily, Naomi didn't catch it.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?

We did a valentine day arts and craft.

I took the kids to the Children's Museum and met my friend Dawn there. I printed out from map quest the directions and then used my GPS system to get there. Unfortunately, both directions were different. I was almost there when my GPS died. It was kind of scarey to be with the kids and lost. When I called my husband he wasn't around and then I called my friend Dawn and she gave me directions. For a trip that should have been only an hour it took us a little over 2 hours! Luckily I packed the kids lunches so they were able to eat their lunch while I tried to find this place. The kids had a blast.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?

I took the kids to Pizza Hut one day after their gym class. They loved going out with Mommy alone to eat lunch. They were very good too.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

I did a lot of stock piling this month as I had tons of coupons for items that were on sale. Let's see, my husband just commented on this one. Why do we have 11 jars of peanut butter and 8 jars of Ragu sauce? Well, it's because I literally got them for almost free. Maybe 50 cents a jar. I don't think we will need any peanut butter or pasta sauce for a while.

What were this month's disappointments?

The loss of my triplet mom friend Helena.

What were my accomplishments this month?

56 pages completed for February. I had done a lot because I was away for 3 days where I completed 40 pages.

Anything else noteworthy to record?

The kids had their preschool orientation. I was informed by their teacher that she felt that they were delayed in speech. So I called the school district and made an appointment for an evaluation. Turns out that they needed to be delayed in more than one area which they are not. So we either can take them to an outside speech therapist or just wait till they turn 5 and get help during kindergarten.

Backup your digital pictures to cd/dvd and upload them to an online site or two for an extra backup. Send the links to the online albums to friends and family.

Choose photos (or digital layouts) to be printed out and get that done while you are thinking about it.

Make sure your scrapbooking area is cleaned up and organized. Put away new purchases (or organize your hard drive if you are a digi scrapper)

Look over the calendar for the coming month and make note of upcoming events you will want to capture for your scrapbooks.

Thank you Katie the Scrapbook Lady for organizing the round up each month.