Pony Rides

Popsicles on the porch

Too Cool

Preschool Mother's Day Brunch

Ben's preschool hosted a Mother's Day Brunch this morning. I took a 1/2 day off at work and really enjoyed my time at home with the boys, getting them ready and taking them to school, and my special time with Ben. The fellowship hall at the church was decorated so nicely. There were pictures of the kids lined along the walls and the stage was set for a singing program. I was so proud of Ben! He sang great---and we enjoyed a fabulous brunch together.

Tuesday's Treasure

Ever since I had children, I have been more focused on providing a good, homemade, nutritious meal for my family. And while dinner time can be a stressful time in a young family (kids whining, playing with food, refusing to eat, etc)---I have never underestimated the power and importance of my family sitting down together to eat a meal. An important lesson that I have learned is that if I don't plan a menu ahead of time, my family eats out more and eats what we can find in the pantry in a "grab and go" style. And obviously, this ends up costing my family more money and less time together---exactly what we don't want to do! So, I started planning meals on a calendar; charting the weeks menu and basing my grocery list from the menu I had planned. The problem? Variety! Easy meals for a busy mom! I found myself repeating the same menu every month---and I got bored!

The solution? E-Mealz! I came across E-Mealz from Dave Ramsey's website. Anyone who is familiar with Dave Ramsey knows that he is a proponent of cutting excessive spending, sticking to a budget, and simplifying your life. E-Mealz provides a weekly menu, the corresponding grocery list. The menus are concise and easy; and the grocery list is separated into sections, corresponding to the area of the grocery store that you will find the item. They also designate the meal associated with the grocery item, so if I don't think I will make a certain meal, I can cross the grocery items off the list easily! There are a lot of meal plan options: Low Fat, Low Carb, Gluten Free, Portion Control, Vegetarian, and Regular meal plans for 2-6 people. I started the E-Mealz plan in the month of April, and my entire family is happy! ALL the meals that I have prepared are delicious!!

If you are looking for an easy way to organize your family's dinner, and make your menu planning less stressful, I highly recommend E-Mealz! This has definitely been a treasure to me and my family---Happy Dinner Time!

Stitches

Logan received his first set of stitches last week. Logan and Ben were playing with their dinosaurs in the living room, when Logan tripped and fell onto a wicker basket. The basket had started to fall apart, and there was a piece of wicker that was exposed and Logan fell straight onto it. I saw it all happen, and I saw how deep it went in....classic puncture wound. The wound only needed 2 stitches, but almost went directly through to his oral cavity. Poor baby, he was so brave. Never cried while he got the stitches---he was "still as a soldier" and was rewarded with Chick-Fil-A afterwards. Mommy was just so glad that his wound wasn't farther up on his face...it's quite scary thinking what could have been wounded (and lost). He is healing nicely and got his stitches removed this past Saturday.

Easter Weekend 2011

We had a fabulous Easter weekend. My sister Kara came into town on Thursday and stayed through Sunday. Her husband, Paul, came on Friday afternoon after he got out of work in Corpus Christi. Kara and I enjoyed a Thursday "Sister's Lunch" at the Bistro in Nordstrom's and a little bit of shopping afterward at La Cantera.

Obviously, the big event for the kids (besides playing with Uncle Paul and Aunt Kara!), was Easter day with church and 2 egg hunts! We started the night before and let Ben dye some hard-boiled eggs. He had never done this before, and thought it was great. :-)

After church on Sunday, the Easter bunny had visited Mimi and Gran's house. The boys got to hunt the eggs at their house and then we enjoyed an incredibly delicious Easter lunch that Mimi had prepared. She went all out---china, silver, and fine linens. It was marvelous. We ate so much we could hardly move! My mouth still waters at the thought of the ham she made...yum!

Here are some pictures of the boys hunting eggs at Mimi and Gran's house.

After lunch, we walked home to find that the Easter bunny had come to our house while we were at church!! He left goodies on the porch and lots of eggs in the yard. Each of the boys got a scooter---and they haven't stopped riding them since! They were a hit!

Parkhills Preschool FIESTA Parade!

Also in April, the boys' preschool holds their Annual Fiesta Parade! This was the first year that I haven't gotten to attend, but my mom and our great neighbor "Colonel" went in my absence. Ben was so happy to see his "buddy" at his school and parade. He was beaming the entire time. Logan didn't actually participate in the parade, but sat on the sidelines, shaking his "maraca" that he made in class.

This year, Ben got to ride his bike during the parade. We decorated it the night before. And despite my efforts to make it an authentic fiesta bike, Ben said "absolutely no paper flowers mom". Broke my heart...but he's a boy....and there's no way there will be flowers on a boy's bike!

Ben and with his "buddy", Colonel.

No posts in April???

Where did April go??? I can't believe I didn't have one post in the month of April!! Well, maybe I can, because the Hood family was VERY busy! This is the first of my "month of April" posts...sorry they are a bit late!

We spent a weekend in Port O'Connor. Just the Hoods. It was extremely windy, but we enjoyed our time together. Randy and I relaxed on the porch, the boys played in the pool, we grilled fresh gulf shrimp, and took the boys to the beach to hunt for seashells and hermit crabs. We had a really good, relaxing time.