Yummy in my Tummy!

If you aren't familiar with www.e-mealz.com you should be. Why, you ask? Because it is a meal planning system that provides you with a menu and shopping list for the week. It isn't free, but only costs $15 for three months. You get to select your particular plan. For example, I have previously done the Point System for Two people and I selected Walmart as my shopping venue. I have made three pretty tasty meals this week that I thought I'd share with all 3 of you that read my blog!

The first is Mexican Minestrone:
2 15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
2 14 oz Mexican style stewed tomatoes
15 oz whole kernel corn
14 oz FF chicken broth
2 c chopped potatoes
1 c salsa
1 c frozen cut green beans (but I just dumped in a can)

Combine all ingredients into a crock pot and cook on low for 7 hours, or until veggies are tender. Makes 6 servings @ 4 pts each.
E-mealz suggests making this with Italian Breadsticks. 1 breadstick @ 2 pts each.

Crunchy Onion Tenders
1/2 lb skinless chicken breasts, cut into tenders
1/4 c FF egg substitute
1/2 c crushed French fried onions

Dip chicken strips into egg substitute and then into onion crumbs. Fully coat strips. Bake on a sprayed baking sheet for 20 min @ 400. Makes 2 servings @ 5 pts each.
E-mealz suggests serving with boiled corn (1 ear @ 1 pt) and Green Beans (0 pts).

I'll post the third later! Oh....I forgot to tell you one of the best parts! E-mealz calculates your estimated cost for the groceries needed to make these recipes. You can get online and view a sample meal plan and give it a try. If you're like me you make the same things over and over cause it's easy and you know the recipe by heart. I love that these are new meals to eat and most of them are very tasty! Happy eating!

He's Alive, Forever, Amen!

Happy Easter! Don't you just love this day! Not only is this a day for ridiculous amounts of candy, food, and egg hunting, but it also is the day we celebrate the Risen Savior! While making egg and bunny shaped sugar cookies with Drew over Spring Break, I was trying to explain to him that Easter is not just about the Easter Bunny. I told him that Jesus had died on a cross so that we could go to Heaven. Then Jesus came back alive (I realize that isn't perfect grammar, but I'm also have a convo with a 3 yr. old) and that is why we celebrate Easter. To "test him", I mean see if he understood anything, I asked why Jesus died. His response was, "So we can go to Heaven and see the Easter Bunny." To which I replied, "maybe."

On a different, but somewhat related note, (the brilliance of my child!) children's vocabulary shocks me! On the way home from school on Thursday, I asked Drew how Play-by-play was. This is a gymnastics place that has a huge indoor play area and short gymnastics class that his daycare goes to. He told me that he went down one slide, not two because the black slide is scary! I thought he said he went down both of them (driving, texting, carrying on a conversation with a three year old {I realize the combination of two of those is illegal, don't turn me in. You all do it too!}) and asked, "You went down two slides." To which me genius child said, "Actually, just one, Mommy!" Did my child just say 'actually' and use it correctly in a sentence?!? On a slightly not as proud vocabulary moment: There is a preview on tv for a movie called Kick-!@*. My son saw the commercial and of ALL the words on the preview, guess what he decided to say? That's right! I quickly told him that we don't say that word and that we would be in serious trouble if we did! Yikes, I don't want a phone call from his school telling me that the teacher's kid cussed everyone out!

Hope you all enjoyed your Easter Sunday!

My Random Thoughts

Drew is at such a fun age. He says and does the funniest things. This morning we started P90X. At the end of 90 days, I'll look like this:


Wishful thinking! Seth and I moved the coffee table out of the living room and were sweating after 5 minutes. Drew was working out with us for about the first 30 minutes of the 60 minute workout. He was so funny. When we finished he wanted to know when the next P90X was. We laughed, politely, in his face!

I'm watching the Bachelor as I'm blogging and have to say I really like Tenley and Alli. However, I've read a couple of sources that say (SPOILER ALERT) Jake keeps Tenley and Vienna as the finally two and that he picks Vienna. Really!?! Jake wonders why nice guys finish last? Cause he's a stupid, nice guy, that's why!

The Great Hot Springs Church Hunt: Reeves Edition. So that's what I'm calling our search for a church home here in Hot Springs. Let me begin by saying GABC is quite possibly the perfect church for us. I'm a little bias, though, as I've been a member at Grand for 16 years. We were married there, had Drew's baby dedication there, and have friends and family there. Visiting other churches is hard, because even though we try not to compare every church to Grand, it's really hard. I know that whatever church we choose to call home here, we will become involved and put our hearts into what God has called us to do. This has been harder for me, I think, because of my family's involvement with Grand. I often find myself reading fb statuses of GABC members about the great service and feeling jealous that I'm not there, singing in the choir, or the praise team, enjoying our Sunday School class, and learning from all Jeff has to teach. Then I remember how faithful God has been to us through the last 10 months and I know that He must have something great in store for our family here. Our job is to find the perfect place He has in mind for us to serve. I know that you get out of church what you put into church. So the search continues, and I am confident that we will find the perfect place to get involved.

I made a great Weight Watcher dessert today: Caramel Apple Salad. Yummy! What's not to like: apples, pineapple, butterscotch pudding, marshmallows, pecans, and a whole tub of cool whip!

I think this is the end of my random thoughts for the day!

Hi, My Name is...

Drew and I were at Walmart today after school and I needed some wire cutters for school. I put them in the basket and he said, "Daddy needs these?" I told him that they were for Mommy. He said, "No, they're for Drew-be." I asked him who calls him that and he said, "You, Mommy." I asked him what his name was and he responded, Drew. I asked him what Daddy calls him and he said "Drew" and that GBob (Seth's dad) calls him "Toodles." Toodles is Mickey Mouse's helper who supplies all the Mouseketools on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I thought it was cute that he knew Mommy calls him Drew-be.

Random Thought

Anyone remember these from the 80's?

Sister?

So proud!

I'm so proud of my little man! He has made it to school and around the house in these:

What a big boy! He has only had about 3 accidents! It helps that he is now in "the big kid class" at school and those kids potty regularly. When he's in the two year old room he's one of the oldest kids. And most of those kids are still in diapers. Warning: I'm going to get "graphic" here. We haven't mastered going number 2 on the potty yet and I'm not sure how to encourage that. Do I do it just like going number 1? Help me out, moms! All of this means that my little Drew-man is growing up. Seth did say we could have another baby when Drew was out of diapers. Maybe soon? Who knows. (I'm kinda ready though. Seth, not so much!) Seth's excuse the other day when discussing why I was ready for another baby was: "We're just starting to get some sleep." I wanted to say, "Speak for yourself." Oh well.

On another, totally unrelated note, here's a funny school story. In class we are studying the Midwest Region of the US. We were discussing types of houses people built in the 1800's and that some people had houses made of sod. And how "creepy crawlies" could come crawling out of your walls or ceilings, etc. A kid raises their hand and asks, "Is your necklace made of real gold?" My comment was, "I'm teaching Social Studies and you are worried about my necklace? That won't be on the test Tuesday." I'll be anxious to see that grade!

Another story! In math today (which I don't teach), the kids were learning about grid coordinates. The math teacher comes walking down the hall toward me and says (with a giggle), "I feel sorry for you." "Why?" "We were trying to locate places on a map using grid coordinates. We were looking up Washington, D.C. and __________ was looking in Asia."
I keep reminding myself that they are only 10 yrs. old and I kinda like my job, so some days, I really have to bite my tongue.

Just a day in the life of a fourth grade teacher!

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

So today's funny conversation at school went like this:

Student: Mrs. Reeves, can I get a drink of water, I feel sick.

Me: Where do you feel bad? Your head? Stomach?

Student: My stomach hurts.

Me: Well why don't you go to the bathroom.

Student: And my head feels like I learned too much today.

Me: Why don't you go to the bathroom and get some water and see if that helps.
(like drinking water out of the water fountain is going to drain some of the knowledge that was "swelling" the brain)

The student come back in and the story continues:

Me: Did you go to the bathroom? Do you feel better? Did you get sick?

Student: No. Do you know what this stuff is that's peeling off my fingernail.

Me: No, I don't. But, do you feel ok?

Student: Can I go call my mom about something really important.

Me: We go home in 35 minutes. What's so important that you just thought about it and it can't wait 35 minutes.

Student: I need to tell my mom I'm biting my fingernails again.

Me: That can wait till you get home.

A day in the life...Don't you wish you had my job!
On a different, more personal note: Drew was pretending to give me a bath (while I was fully clothed) and found a mole on my neck. He said, "What's that? A little poopy?" I died laughing.