Imagine Nation

On Sunday we took the kids to Imagine Nation Children's Museum in Bristol, Connecticut. It was a great time....for all 4 of us ranging in age from 3 through 41. Admission was only $5.00 per person and there were lots of hands on activities. They have a cafe in the front lobby where you can get ice cream and lunch - and also families are able to bring their own. We opted to picnic in a park across the street that had a playscape as well.

This photo below is DH's personal favorite. He watches ESPN's Sports Center every morning. Bristol is ESPN's home headquarters. If you wanted you could do a video cast and get it recorded for an additional $6.00.

Here's the sand pendulum....of course little man just wanted to keep shoveling sand and couldn't careless how the pendulum worked.

There was also a very cool water exhibit. It had a fishing tank where the kids 'caught' magnetic fish and boats. There was also a real neat huge bubble ring that I wish I got a photo of. Here's our two water painting.

Imagine Nation was a great family outing and a great value. I definitely see us going again this summer.

Menu Plan Monday - May 18

It's Monday again and orgjunkie.com is hosting Menu Plan Monday. I've worked out my menu for the week and next need to go to Shaw's for a few items for the week. Here's what's cooking in my kitchen this week:

• Monday - Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs, Rice Pilaf & Salad
• Tuesday - Shredded BBQ Pork on Buns, Coleslaw & Baked Beans
• Wednesday - Soup & Sandwich night (DH's golf night)
• Thursday - Crockpot Pork Chops , Mashed Potatoes, Brocoli & Apple Sauce
• Friday - Tacos & Rice
• Saturday - Dinner at a party (YAAYY!!)
• Sunday - Leftover Buffet

The BBQ pork is in the freezer from the boneless ribs I made last week. DH loved them....I put a spice rub on them, cooked them on high in the crockpot for 2 hours then covered the ribs with sliced apples, onions, a bit of apple juice and cooked on low for another 5 hours.

I made Rosemary chicken with roasted sweet potatoes last week which also got high marks from DH. I can't find the recipe so I sort of 'wung' it. I used 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts that I placed in the center of the roasting pan surrounded by sweet potatoes cut into approximately 1 inch cubes. The marinade was olive oil, rosemary, garlic, balsamic vinegar and and a little water. Toss everything in the marinade and roast until done.

Menu Plan Monday

This is my first post for Menu Plan Monday which is hosted by orgjunkie.com. I've been doing menu planning for several months now - sometimes falling off the wagon or needing to do some switch around. I only did 5 nights of dinner planning as I'm going away Friday night through Sunday for a girls weekend so DH will be on his own - which means pizza most likely .

• Rosemary Chicken and Sweet Potatoes with Salad (Monday)
• Crockpot BBQ Pork, Baked Beans and Coleslaw (Tuesday)
• Macaroni, Cheese and Ham Bake (Wednesday)
• Grilled Steak, Rice Pilaf and Brocoli (Thursday)
• Shepherds Pie (Friday)

I also plan to make a blueberry bread with blueberries from the freezer and some snack/trail mix with cereal remnants, peanuts, raisins, etc.

Two Steps Forward - One Step Back

Isn't that always the case....especially when it comes to homemaking? Yesterday afternoon I was feeling pretty smug and finally back on top of my game. DD had been back to school for three days and DS was napping. I managed to finally put away the 4 loads of laundry that were folded in various safe spots around the house, purged the entryway of all the snow gear and baked a banana bread and ricotta cake.

This afternoon DS refused to nap, the clothesline broke and I had to pluck all my laundry off the ground and out of the pricker bush. My plan for reorganizing my kitchen cupboards was far too ambitious. I did get one cabinet purged but instead of being able to reorganize it I had to just put back in the things I plan to keep until I can get to the next cabinet and reorganize the two in conjunction.

I still have to assemble dinner and get it into the oven rather soon.

On a good note....I took a walk today and got a shower. I guess that makes it a sucessful day for most moms huh?

Today's Mail Freebies

I recently started doing sampling online and have been getting some neat things in the mail as well as some great coupons. I will share the links as I get and use them but for a sneak peek on what I've already requested see below.

Today in the mail I got the following freebies:

• Jiffy Mixes Recipes Cookbook - http://www.jiffymix.com/


• Earthbound Farm Organic Heirloom Lettuce Seeds and coupons - http://www.ebfarm.com/


• Playtex Sport Samples and coupons


• Kotex Sample Pack and coupons

The sites I've gotten my links from so far have been -

Money Saving Mom http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/

Saving Money Blog http://johnstownmoneysaving.blogspot.com/

Do any of you do any kind of free sampling or e-mailing companies for coupons?

A little background

I've been home now for almost 11 months after being laid off from a 20 year career with a major telecomm company. Most days I'm really cool with this....some days I'm totally terrified.

Today I swing back and forth. My unemployment runs out in one more week. I have recently collected my severance which consists of one year's pay after taxes. Our goal was to save as much of this lump sum as possible. My oldest child is in 1/2 day kindergarten and my youngest isn't even potty trained yet. I don't see it a great financial boon for me to go back to work full time with daycare costs and the fact that the income I was used to earning won't be attainable right now. Also my heart has really started lodging itself here at home.

I committed myself to babysitting the boys next door two days a week starting in two weeks - it keeps my kids out of daycare and will bring in a bit of money. There are 4 of them ages 11 months to 7 - add my two to the mix. I might be insane within a months time.

The name of my blog is really what my life is about right now....Finding My Way at Home. Trials and tribulations of potty training, grocery savings, laundry, finances, raising children and keeping my sanity.

Hello to all of you who share in my journey.