Weekly Meal Planning

August 25, 2022

Here we go, another week of meals. 


Thursday | Breakfast Tacos 


Friday |   Game Night Apps - Dill Dip with Veggies and Ruffles Chips, Pepper Jelly Cheese Dip, French Onion Beef Sliders 


Saturday | Youth Event - so we are picking up stuff while Mama is running errands 


Sunday | Some sort of dip I find at Sam's Club this weekend. We've gotten to where we like to eat a dip or cheese and crackers on Sunday night while watching a show together in bed. Jeremy is so all over the place that this is technically a date night lol. 


Monday | Lemon Garlic Butter Chicken with Green Beans 


Tuesday | Leftovers


Wednesday | Sam's Chick-fil-a knock off nuggets and fries (the kids fav and my fav on single mom night) 


Lunch - Chicken Salad (with mayo, mustard, wickles pickles, and pepper jack cheese), Crunch Master Crackers, and fruit (I never made this, ran out of steam to meal prep and bought Lean Cuisine... and I starved all week lol) 

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1st Day of 1st Grade & Pre-K 3!

August 24, 2022

Harry has been pumped to finally start 1st grade and has had a great week and a half of the festivities!  


He's the easy one here, but also the reason I take photos staged and days in advance. 




This goof on the other hand, smiled once and didn't hold the board right. So I tried to make him take more...



But that didn't pan out well. Bribery wouldn't even work. He was over me and moving letters on the sign. 



But the first day of PreK 3 with Mrs. Connie and the child was beyond excited and all smiles. 




He smiled himself into a triple chin and no eyeballs he was so dang excited. 


Who knows if this is good or not, but several of his buddies are in class with him. 


Hopefully they continue to enjoy this school year. I can't wait to see what Elliot learns, or agrees to learn. At the moment he will argue you down about a color, when he doesn't have a clue. 


In true second child mode, while arguing with me about something he wanted, I was told "But Mama I a person too!" 

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Meal Planning Thursday

August 18, 2022

This might be a pipe dream. But Hopefully I can start posting our meals again, mainly for my own benefit when I can't think of what to cook. 


Thursday | Pioneer Woman Pan Fried Pork Chops, Roasted Potatoes, Cucumber Salad


Friday |   BBQ Chicken Stuffed Potatoes 


Saturday | Family Dinner for the August Birthdays


Sunday | I'm on a Sunday Night Cheese and Crackers kick. 


Monday | Creamy Taco Soup


Tuesday | Leftovers


Wednesday | Sam's Chick-fil-a knock off nuggets and fries (the kids fav and my fav on single mom night) 


Lunch - Chicken Salad (with mayo, mustard, wickles pickles, and pepper jack cheese), Crunch Master Crackers, and fruit

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Brazil || Sorocaba

August 12, 2022

 Now that we are back in school, maybe I'll be back in the groove of a routine enough to hop on the blog regularly. 


Monday was a first full day in Sorocabo. At least I think this was Monday. This very well could have been Tuesday. In fact, this was probably Tuesday. 


We did so much, and on many of the visits we made it would not have been appropriate to take photos. 



This day is actually in reverse. We ended the day at the city center with the visitation teams walking around while the drama team preformed. 





In the morning we were asked to go to city hall to pray with the mayor. This actually happened after our visitation team had visitor a carpentry shop earlier that morning. 


Part of the team prayed with the mayor a while we were at city hall. 



Later that night was the anniversary celebration for Boas Novas Chruch. 


I'm also forgetting, we also spent some time in one of the favelas around Sorocaba that afternoon. I know I sound crazy when I tell you that so much happened that it all blurred together. I would start looking at photos and not know what day it happened on. 
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August Simply Earth || Candle Artisan

August 1, 2022

August first means the first day of Fall right? I realize it will still be summer for another two months, and continuously hot for at least one more after that. 


But let's break out all the scents and pretend. 


This month's Simply Earth theme, Candle Artisan, and the beeswax candle materials in the box just feel like cooler months. 


 

Y'all know I love a new blend, and they've delivered yet again with Liquid Luck. It just smells warm. 


This blend is used in one of the candles as well as the Reading Nook Diffuser Blend, and that blend makes the entire house smell like you're hidden away in a library. 


I'll be working on the candles this afternoon, so be sure to check out Instagram for the story. 



For reference, here's a bit more about each oil that is included in the box for August. 


Liquid Luck | blend | calming, uplifting (kid safe 10+) 

Peppermint | single | energizes, soothes (kid 10+ and pregnancy safe) 

Blood Orange | single | uplifts, stimulates, cleans (kids 2+, pregnancy, & dog safe) 

Fir Needle | single | supports respiration, calms, soothes (kids 2+, pregnancy safe) 




This month's extras include 3 beeswax sheets, cotton candle wick, and 3 leaf molds.

It took me a second to realize that the molds for the wax melt warmer recipe were in the shape of leaves. This is super cute, and would make a great back to school gift for any teacher. Especially sine many have wax warmers... but the artificial scents aren't so helpful for kids with allergies. 



The first thing I did on this rainy day was fill all of our diffusers with this lovely blend. 


I'm always suspicious of how Fir Needle with turn out in a diffuser recipe, I never want to to be too Christmas smelling. Or on the other side of that - too many tree oils and I'm a snotty mess. This one though has just enough to add to the warm scent but not enough to scream Fir Needle at you. 




A few things before I wrap this up - 


Every month Simply Earth donates 13% of their profits to end human trafficking. With an estimated 4 million victims globally, human trafficking is among one of the worst atrocities. No one deserves to be exploited, which is why Simply Earth donates to organization on the front lines. This month Simply Earth is donating to Call to Freedom. They provide safe housing, mental health counseling, medical assistance, transportation, and many other supportive services to those who have survived slavery and sexual exploitation. 


As always head over to Simply Earth to order your AUGUST box and use the code LABRIDEFREE to get a $40 gift card/credit towards your next order when you get your Bonus Box! 



Also -- here are a few things you can do with your box every month! 

1. Add items to your box to get free shipping. 
2. Exchange oils. 
3. Gift a month to a friend. 
4. Get 50% off your next box by sharing your unique voucher code with friends, they'll also get $10 off their first 5 months -  you'll get 50% off for every friend that subscribes! 




One last shot of those cute little leaf shaped wax melt silicone forms. 
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