Life These Days....

It's been a while since I last posted anything, so I thought I'd break down and write a bit while I had a "quiet" moment.  :)  With another year of 'Family Camp' under our belts it's time to hit hard getting school stuff organized... you know, daily routines, lesson plans, weekly meal plans, cleaning schedules, etc.  I know, for the 'normal' person all that planning and scheduling sounds rather overwhelming and a bit (or  a lot) restrictive, but to the weird one like me it's fun and liberating when it's all finished.  The hard part is sticking to the routine when there are so many other great things that come up in any given day/week.

So, with that said, I have accomplished goal #1: a bi-weekly menu plan!  (The plan only includes dinners.)  And I have to say that my husband is an amazing man for being on board with this b/c he does appreciate variety (hence the two-week plan).  So, here it is:

WEEK 1:

Sunday: Leftover Chili

Monday:  Mexican

Tuesday: Leftover Mexican

Wednesday:  Family meal at church

Thursday:  Crock pot- pork, w/ rice, steamed veggies and salad

Friday:  Brinner  (eggs, sausage, toast & juice)

Saturday:  Chili w/ Salad

WEEK 2:

Sunday:  Leftover Hamburger Soup

Monday:  Chinese- General Tsao's chicken & sweet & sour chicken, fried rice and salad

Tuesday:  Leftover Chinese

Wednesday:  Sandwiches, fruit and veggies

Thursday:  Pasta night!  Chicken alfredo and salad

Friday:  Homemade pizza night

Saturday:  Hamburger soup

Now, while this is the plan, dinners will vary a little depending on my dear husband's work schedule... homemade pizza night (one of his specialties) will probably be for his day off so he and the boys can make dinner together, etc.  Overall, I'm REALLY excited about this since I can have a standing grocery list and regular grocery day each week (the trick will be figuring out which day will be grocery day! lol).  

Phase 2 of my scheduling madness (and yes, it is madness) is a workable daily schedule and as I've written out most of our weekly activities, I've realized that life is just be BUSY and I need to quit complaining about it, embrace it and rejoice in and trust the fact that the Lord has given me the strength, endurance, and patience to go where we need to go and do what we need to do.  (Though I do long to return to the days when we were home all day most days and were out and about only a couple.) 

The problem with all this scheduling madness is that my husband is not much into scheduling and planning and is much more spontaneous and fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants than I have become.  (I used to be that way until having children forced me to become more structured.)  I have very often wondered why the Lord gave me such a husband that loves spontenaity (spelling???) when I find the most peace in structure and stability... probably since my own childhood could be characterized by unstability and chaos much of the time, so I learned to just go with the flow and fly under the radar so I wouldn't be noticed too much.  :)  So, with that said, I do need to keep an attitude of flexibility in the midst of all my scheduling madness.

All in all, I'm looking forward to another amazing school year!