You all know that I am a fan of Menus 4 Moms. It helps me keep a menu for the week when I don't have time to make my own. But now that I am getting into the swing of things, I have started moving into making my own menus using my own recipes.
I recently made a neat little menu planner using Excel. It includes a space for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. I've been using this to plan our week and I post it on our fridge. Now that we are having more outside activities (co-op, sports, faith formation, church meetings), it is a bigger help than ever!
To fill my menu with recipes, I use the following resources. The websites include rated recipes and offer comments from users. They also have the feature of being able to save it to a "recipe box" so that you can easily pull up a recipe you made two months ago, but forgot the name of.
Allrecipes.com Epicurious (my favorite since 2001!!) The New Best Recipe Southern Living Cookbooks (they all have great recipes)
We took a field trip with our co-op friends today and it was lots of fun! They learned about the life cycle of a butterfly, differences between moths & butterflies, and they got to visit the butterfly flight house.
I wish I would have taken more pictures! I had a great time and we even came home with a couple of caterpillars to grow at home. We'll have to note their progress as they grow!
Last night was the beginning of the year for Faith Formation at our church. It was the first day for both me and Marco and we were excited! I am teaching 2nd grade this year for the first time and I had been so nervous! Marco, being the sweet little guy he is, assured me that I would do fine. "Mami, you are a great teacher! I think everyone is going to like you." Isn't he the sweetest?
Well, things did go well for both me and Marco! Before leaving the car, we said a little prayer together and then we headed in. Everything worked out well. My biggest fear was actually knowing what to do, what to say, and how to act in front of the kids in this setting. If anything, I felt completely unprepared. Scaring me more than anything was the fact that my aide didn't show up. But in the end, I think God heard my prayer and sent the Holy Spirit to guide me. My class went well and my fear dissipated within the first few minutes.
What I do regret not having, is a welcome letter for the parents. I came home that night and immediately wrote one up. I'm using last night as a jumping point for the beginning of the year. I know what to expect now and I'm feeling a lot better about knowing exactly what to prepare for! I did try to look for some examples of letters online, but had very little luck. Because of that, I'm posting my own up. Just in case there is someone out there feeling just how I felt. I'd love comments! These letters aren't going out until next Wednesday.
I hope the letter covers the basics! I also translated the letter for Spanish speaking parents.
It was a pleasure to meet you and your child last week at our first day of Faith Formation.I am excited to work alongside your family in teaching your child our Catholic faith.I will be using the issued Catholic guide each week for our lessons, as well as additional resources including videos, crafts, and fun activities.My goal this year is for your child to solidify a love for Jesus Christ as they get ready to encounter the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation.As a parent, you are the primary educator of your child, and the best teacher.It is my pleasure to be able to participate in the education of your child.
As many parents have asked, there will be a snack sign-up sheet available.Please feel free to sign up for a date in which you will be able to provide a store-bought snack for the class (approximately 13 students).I appreciate your participation and the kids will be looking forward to enjoying a treat!
Once again, thank you for participating in the Faith Formation program this year.Please feel free to stop by and ask any questions you might have or call me.I also ask that if your child is unable to attend a class to please contact me or the Faith Formation office in advance whenever possible so that your child’s absence may be excused.Since this is a sacramental year, 90% attendance is required.
My cousin from Chicago posted this picture from when we were visiting back in May. We spent the afternoon at her house one day and there was fun and food. I got to visit with 2 of my cousins along with their kids and hubbies. I also got to hang out with my aunt and uncle and meet some new friends. It was a great time and looking back at this picture gets me all happy and excited to visit again.
I only hope they reciprocate and visit us sometime soon!!! It's amazing how big a family can get when you are all together. I LOVE IT!!
We finally received our Laptop Lunches order! They are great and the kids are really excited to start using them. Laptop Lunches are basically bento style lunch boxes. We purchased the system which comes with the bag, water bottle, utensils and user's guide (recipes, ideas, etc.). They seem like a wonderful way to make lunch fun for the kids. I'm excited to start using one myself! I usually just throw things into plastic baggies and stuff them into a little cooler or insulated bag. This will be easier on me since I won't have to separate all the kids' lunches right when we are about to eat.
Considering that my kids don't go to school, these will be used for our co-op days, field trips, and our ever popular picnics. I'm thinking of even getting one for DH. He certainly needs to eat a healthy lunch while at work, and it just doesn't always turn out that way.
I'm on a mission. My mission is to convert all my digital pictures into hard copies that I can put in an album and share with my family. The digital camera revolution is awesome, but I really miss having ACTUAL PICTURES to look at. I have about 4 CD's worth of pictures to print out. Luckily they aren't all full, but we're still talking about 1,000 pictures...and who knows, maybe more.
The problem now? Waiting for all those darn pictures to upload! I feel like just throwing in the towel and condemning myself to a life of digital pictures. But I have my children to think about. The thought of having to look through an entire CD to show them a picture is just plain sad.
