Photos

Elizabeth enjoying some coloring with MARKERS.  Dangerous, I know.

Elizabeth LOVES her Leap Pad.  She asks to play it so much we have to ration her time on it!

Edward, the happiest baby in the whole world!

Edward and Daddy bonding time.  Love this picture of them!

Edward on his tractor.  He is still too little to push it around, but he likes sitting on it!

Blogging has been the last thing on my mind lately.  I just don't seem to want to find the time for it anymore.  I am sure I will continue to post pictures and sporadic updates, but don't expect regular content.   Unless we decide to build a house.  Then expect a boat load of posts.  You never know what may happen!

If you are interested, I have been using Facebook on a more regular basis (Amanda Hanson Schulze) and do post photos on Instagram (SchulzeShack) and Twitter (@AmandaSchulzeWI).

I'd be happy to share our lives with you there!

We are still here.

Life has caught up with me. 

I haven't downloaded the few photos in the camera in weeks and really haven't taken that many pictures either.  I just don't feel like I have much to share here these days. 

So, here is a quick update on what we have been doing...

We went to the Zoo this past weekend.  Libby loved it.  She ran around like a crazy three year old pointing at all the animals.  She said her favorites were the fish, but I know she enjoyed the monkeys and bears as well.  Eddie was content in the stroller or simply being held.  He is the best baby ever.

Eddie just broke through his first top tooth today.  My little boy's gummy smile will be gone in a few days.  Makes me sad, but I am sure his top teeth will be as cute as the bottom two.

We are forecasted to receive about 6 inches of snow in the next few days.  UGGGGHHH.

My garden plans are non-existent.  But, since I just started seeing the raised beds this week as the snow piles are melting, I guess that is okay at this point.

I finally got my income taxes started and finished on Sunday.  It took me a whole hour to do them (I know, silly), but they always get put off...  Now, if the two state ones would just be accepted through e-file, I will be happy.  Federal one is already accepted.  I heard Turbo Tax was having problems with their e-file program, so I am monitoring more closely than I usually would.

Libby hasn't been sleeping well lately.  Which means I am not sleeping.  She seems to be afraid of everything and doesn't want to even be in a room by herself.  I know about irrational fears (I have a few myself) and I know that there isn't anything I can tell her to make her understand that her bedroom is safe (I have tried, oh yes, multiple times).  So we keep plugging on and keeping her lamp on until she falls asleep.  Hopefully, it will eventually get better.

We would like to put our house up for sale this summer.  That means there is a lot of work to do in a short amount of time.  We are procrastinators and hate doing these things because we are not great at them and it gets frustrating as well as we would rather be doing something fun.  Which is probably why our house is still not finished...  Maybe our next house should be move in ready.

My laser eye surgery turned out great.  Now it is William's turn to have it done.  More money spent, but I think it was worth it for me.

Hopefully soon I will have something exciting to post.  I need inspiration.  Winter is just dragging on far too long here and it is depressing!

Until next time...

Schulze Shack Happenings: March 4, 2013

Grandma Connie, Elizabeth and Edward

It has been an interesting week at the Schulze house.  Grandma Connie was in the hospital for three nights this past week with a serious infection.  She is back home now and we hope she can rest up and get better.  We stopped by for a visit on Sunday after church and had a nice time with her, Bryce, Leah and Jed.  It was a quick visit, but nice to see everyone again.

My car is in the transmission shop.  I am not sure what is wrong with it, but it has been there since last Thursday morning and they are trying to look at it when they have a chance between other jobs.  I am hoping it is just an electrical problem versus the whole transmission needing to be replaced.  I have only had the car since October, so it would be nice not to have to put a ton more money into it!

Today I am having laser corrective surgery on my eyes.  No more glasses for me!  I am very excited to have this done.  Now if the snowstorm would quit so I wouldn't have to be worried about getting there on time it sure would be nice.  The kids will be staying late at Tiffiny's today so at least I don't have to worry about someone picking them up on time and getting them home.

Libby cut her own hair this weekend...  Thankfully she asked me to come help her before she could do some real damage and I can't really even tell where she cut the big chunk off, so no harm done.  I had to try to not laugh so hard because I remember hearing the stories of me cutting my own hair and lets just say that mine was very noticeable!  Bangs on the back of your head would be pretty visible!

I am itching for the snow to melt and the temps to start increasing so we can start going for evening walks as a family after dinner.  I also am really excited to get the gardens prepared and start some seed.  In the next few days I will need to get my order in and start figuring out when I need to start the seedlings so they are ready to transplant out to the garden the last week of May.  We have such a short growing season here so I need to be ready to take advantage of it.

Libby was pretty much hungry all weekend because she refused to eat what I was giving her.  Finally, last night after we got home from the swimming pool, she decided that she would eat some of the pizza that I made for her.   Three small pieces later she was asking for more.  While I wouldn't declare pizza the healthiest food, it was homemade so there wasn't anything bad in it.  Hopefully, this week will go good with her bringing food from home to daycare again. 

Eddie has been eating up a storm lately.  This boy can really pack in the food!  And his diaper blowouts prove it...  Cloth or disposable, nothing can keep this boy dry and contained.  We are going through a lot of dirty clothes from him lately.  It is a good thing I have my new washing machine to keep up with the laundry.  Now if a robot could just fill the washing machine, transfer clothes to the dryer and drying racks and fold and put them away, I would be set.  Maybe if my laundry room wasn't in the basement I would get to it more often?  Maybe not.

I am looking forward to this next weekend off at my annual conference in St Paul.  This will be my third year attending the Set Apart Conference and I am looking forward to a refreshing weekend away from the hustle of my everyday life.  I can guarantee that I will miss my babies though!  But the break will be good for me (and for William!).  Giving Daddy some time with his little ones will be good for them and him. 

Menu Plan Monday: March 4, 2013*

Where we spend a lot of time!  They are always hungry.

My children are as different as apples and oranges.  Elizabeth doesn't eat many different foods, but is always hungry.  Edward is just always hungry and will eat just about anything.  As of last week, I am sending breakfast, lunch and snacks with Elizabeth to daycare.  She has been having an intense sugar craving lately and I realized it is time for her to detox.  So instead of whatever she has been eating at daycare, she is getting healthier alternatives to help her get rid of the cravings.  I think we will keep this up for a couple weeks and see if it helps make a difference and maybe she will start to eat a few different foods as well.

So now I am on the hunt to get some new ideas for easy meals for her.  Today's menu was fairly simple and based on items she does like to eat.

Breakfast: Plain Yogurt, Sunflower Seeds, two Prunes, Orange Sections
Snack #1: 1/2 Cliff Bar, Banana
Lunch: Chicken Nuggets, Cheese, Carrots/Celery with Ranch Dressing
Snack #2: 1/2 Cliff Bar, Orange Sections
Snack #3: Homemade Hummus, Vegetables (ones leftover from lunch)

We need to get more vegetables into her rotation, but she just will not eat them.  And I can't hide them in things like soups, macaroni and cheese, or spaghetti sauce because she won't eat those items either...  I will have to do some thinking and research to see what else I can do to help her eat some different foods.

But for the rest of us, here is what we plan on using up from the pantry this week because we are still trying to use up what we have at home! 

Breakfasts

• Oatmeal, Bananas, Oranges or Apples
• Protein Shakes
• Green Smoothies

Lunches

• Dinner Leftovers
• Snack-y Lunch (cheese, vegetables, fruit, lunch meat, nuts, avocado, hummus)

Dinners

• Baked Pork Chops (BBQ), Baked Potatoes, Broccoli
• Spicy Lentil Soup, Bread sticks
• Tacos & Fixings
• Hearty Chili Pie (similar to this recipe, only with chili), Broccoli
• Beef, Potato & Carrot Bake (in the Crock Pot)
• Homemade Pizza
• Lasagna Casserole, Bread sticks, Broccoli

This post is shared at Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday Scripture: Lamentations 3:24

I came across this verse this week during devotions and have been soaking it in all week long.

I say: The LORD is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him.
Lamentations 3:24 (HCSB)

Have a wonderful Sunday and enjoy the Sabbath!  We will (hopefully, barring any further illnesses) be attending services and spending a relaxing afternoon at home with our family.

Photo Friday: March 1, 2013*

Menu Plan Monday: February 25, 2013*

I have declared the end of February and the entire month of March as:
"Use What I Have" months.

I have a freezer and pantry full of food, but don't often make sure to rotate as well as I should.  So this month, I am making an effort to use up a bunch of the stuff from both the freezer and the pantry to help clear out some room for new items that will be grown this summer.

I hope to get rid of a bunch of "freezer meals" that I already have stored (such as four containers of leftover chili, pre-made beef taco meat, homemade soups/stock and a large ham that may (or may not) be any good as it has been in the freezer well over a year.  We just don't eat that much ham.  Bacon, yes.  Ham, no.

So this week our dinner meals will look like this:

Sunday ~  Homemade Baked Beans (using dried beans from the pantry) - recipe to come!
                 Hamburger Patties (1/4 cow in the freezer)
                 Coleslaw

Monday ~ Hamburger Vegetable Soup (pre-made in the freezer)
                  Italian Breadsticks

Tuesday ~ Nachos & Fixings (taco meat in the frezer)

Wednesday ~ Mexican Stackers (using leftover taco meat from last night)
                       (hashbrowns, taco beef, scrambled eggs, cheese, black olives, sour cream & salsa)

Thursday ~ Scalloped Potatoes & Ham in the Crock Pot (package of ham in refrigerator)
                    Vegetable (from the freezer)

Friday ~ Homemade Pizza (shredded cheese from the freezer)
               Smoothies or Fresh Juice (juice to use up veggies/fruit from refrigerator)

Saturday ~ Curry Chicken
                   Brown Rice
                   Vegetable (from freezer)

Hopefully, after a couple weeks of focusing on using up what we have, our cupboards will start to look bare and I can start with buying on sale again to re-stock. 

This menu plan is shared at Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.  Head over to find lots of inspiration for your menu planning needs! 

Potty Training Update*

Libby is finally potty trained.  No more diapers.  At all.

Of course, she still has the occasional accident, but for the most part she has done an excellent job at making sure she gets to the potty to do her business.  We have only had one accident overnight and that was when she slept for 13 hours straight.

So proud of my big girl! 

I have no idea what is on her face... Or what is going on with her hair.  Okay, so she gets the messy flyaway hair from me.  Winter is hard on our "stylish looks"...  As I sit here typing with a ponytail/messy bun for the 200th day in a row.

Photo Friday: February 22*

Daddy's coming home tonight!!!

Down for the count*

I have been sick with the stomach flu the past few days.  I am finally starting to feel better.  Just in time for William to leave on his snowmobiling vacation out west.  I just hope he and the kids don't get it!