Thursday, April 24, 2014

Updates!

So much has happened the past couple months it's CRAZY!

Brady:  He is finally walking!!!  He started about 2 weeks ago and LOVES going anywhere and everywhere.  It has finally warmed up outside most days to where we can go out and play for 30 min to 2 hours.  He gets so mad when we have to go in, or it's rainy and cold so we can't go out.  Sticks are his favorite along with his golf ball.  He is still learning how to climb up/down the hill without falling and has attempted to climb our chain link fence twice... lucky he hasn't made it too far!
He has learned a couple new tricks.  With everything blooming his nose has been a waterfall!  Will taught him about a month ago to blow his nose!!!  BEST TRICK EVER!!!  One night after Will helped him blow it, Brady stole the Kleenex from him and started walking out of the room... we followed him... he took it and threw it away!  Then started clapping!  He throws away all his Kleenex's the past 2 weeks and sometimes will throw away other stuff when asked.  We didn't even teach him that one!  Oh, and always pats his chest with a big smile and then claps his hands.  SO CUTE!

He is getting sneaky too!  Every once in a while when it's getting close to nap time Brady will go throw a toy

The other night it was bed time so we walked into his room and as I went to grab his blanket and pacifier to rock for a bit before bed he RAN away from me!  When calling him back he kept running!  He thinks it's the funniest thing ever to run away when you call him now... It's cute because he still falls and giggles so much when you catch him.
in his crib... or he will find his diaper bag and pull out his extra pacifier (he only gets those for sleep time)






Charisse:  I have started working from home 10hrs a week as a personal assistant.  I LOVE it!  It's nice to give me something productive to do during Brady's naps while earn a little extra cash.  I still work 3-4 hrs on Sat.  as a PTA.  I am getting bigger each day with 2 months counting till baby two!

Will:  Still keeping busy at work and learning new things.  He is now scout master over the Deacons and has been getting ready for a bit Camping trip this weekend.  He is enjoying getting to go camping again... even though it is tick season :(  yuck!

Family:  WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!  We were so blessed to put our house on the market and have it sell within 6 weeks!!!  We are very excited to pay off all debt except our Omaha mortgage, and have some extra
cash to get things we have been needing for a while and get a good kick start into finishing up our basement.  We are so sad to lose that house because we liked it a lot, but the time was right to sell it and when we move back we will need something larger.
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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Freezer Meal Tips

Hey guys!  I'm sitting here 11 weeks from my due date with another boy on the way.  I started thinking about getting freezer meals ready and decided to type up my Instruction list, and Tips in case anyone else was interested in the way I get 15-20 freezer meals done. I"m not going to say 4 hrs, because it's a lot of prep work, THEN 4 hrs the day of :)

This is my first time making freezer meals with my sister!
We learned lots and continue making them in separate states.

1. Pick what meals you want to use. If you want to do the same meal twice, put it on the list twice
2. Make a grocery list of EVERYTHING on the list. (you make exclude spices/seasonings if you know you have plenty of that)
3. Check your pantry for any items that you may already have and take them off the list.
4. If you have extra time to prepare, search the adds for sales.
5. Make sure there is plenty of room in your freezer to store finished meals, and in your fridge to hold the fresh food
6. The day before: I go shopping for EVERYTHING on the list so I can start in the morning.
7. The day before: I write the recipe name, ingredients to add the day of, what to serve it with, and cook times on a zip lock bag. Then put bags in the order of my list of recipes.
8. Day before/morning of: Make sure sinks are empty, dishwasher empty, all counter tops are clean and ready to use
9. Day of: Start by chopping up ALL The veggies and placing them in separate containers.
10. Add veggies to bags
11. Add seasonings, and other ingredients to bags
12. Add meat to bags
13. Place all bags flat in freezer, I stack them on top of each other horizontally instead of vertical and use one whole shelf for them.
14. Make a list of all the meals you made and place on fridge. Cross off as you use them so you know what you have and don't have. Place stars 1-5 after eating the meals rating them so you know which ones your family liked, or which ones didn't work out so good freezer version for next time.

Tips:
*If you pick meals with similar ingredients such as meat and veggies it is easier overall... but it also means you have a lot of similar meals your family might get sick of.
*You may want to buy the meat ahead of time and put it in your fridge/freezer (depending on how soon ahead of time) to get it for cheaper
*I like to order my chicken from Zaycon Foods (https://zayconfoods.com/refer/zf9551). It gives me a set date to make all my meals, and it comes in 40lb case of chicken, easy to divide up between bags.
*If you have extra time, organize the recipes in order of meats (if you have a large variety), then veggies (starting with the most common ones used first)
*I know it takes time, and gets kind of messy, but I make sure I cross off EACH ingredient off the recipe so I am SURE I put it in. At the end I double check to make sure everything is crossed off.
*Meat: Sometimes the recipe calls for 6 chicken breasts, and we only eat 2, I only put two in. OR I put the meal into two bags and use it as 2 meals with 4 breasts total.


Resources:
This list and tips I have gotten from a variety of websites over the years and from my personal experience. Here is a list of some more of the specific websites I got ideas from.


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