That Time of Year

Even though the weather doesn't show it, fall is fast approaching. And, one of the best signs of it around the blogosphere ... a renew drive to organize and schedule and get back on track after the relaxing and luxuriously lazy days of summer. (Well, not all that lazy, but it's definitely been more laid back around here). : ) I'm not complaining - it's been a good thing for us with the new baby and adjusting dynamics.

However, I'm jumping on the same band wagon as several friends and am working on my first "schedule" for us here at home. I mentioned in this post about our/my desire to do a little preschool with Noelle this fall. (Thank you so much to everyone that responded ... your comments have been sooooo helpful. More on that in a minute). : ) That said, one of my wishes has been to put together a little daily plan for us for a guideline. It is not my strength at all to sit down and play games with the girls ... it's way to easy for me to distracted by the laundry or lunch or other work. The schedule is for focus for me just as much as it is for the girls. : )

Okay, my computer time is up for the moment! More on preschool later... : )

By the way: Over at Women at Home, one of the coolest places on the web, evah, we've been discussing menu planning and organization in general. Several asked and I offered some of the forms that I use to help with my menu planning. (I'm a freak - I love to organize and plan our meals.) If you are interested, these are all PDF downloads and you are welcome to use them. : )

~ Family Favorites - this chart is broken down into breakfast, lunch and dinner columns. Sometimes it helps me to see my meals laid out that way (especially if I'm tired of making toast every morning for breakfast - it's a good reminder of other options that I could put together for the girls).
~ Family Favorites 2 - this one is where you break your recipes down into different categories, ie., chicken recipes, pasta recipes, kid-friendly, crockpot, etc. I use this mainly for dinner ideas. You could totally use this for a weekly planner. For example, I have seven columns/categories of meals. Assign one to each day of the week or whatever day it works better for you. For us, Wednesday is a crazy day because I have bible study at church in the morning and Noelle has Awana at night. That means on Wednesday I cook from the "kid-friendly/make-ahead" column since that night we are usually eating as we try and walk out the door.
~ Meal Planner

~ Shopping List