“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” -William Morris

I made a HUGE boo-boo back in January, and I didn’t catch it until last week. Unfortunately, it ended up messing up some of Ken’s business stuff, and I feel horrible about it. It really was an honest mistake, but it’s something that could have been prevented with more … you got it, organization.

I was listening to Wife Swap on tv yesterday while cleaning up the bar/breakfast nook area, and this one woman said that she was the home manager, so everything that went on in the home was ultimately her responsibility. Granted, they were using her as one extreme while the other extreme was a wife/mother who did nothing, but her comment really struck a chord with me. When I left my full-time job to stay at home with Emma, my job became House Manager. Ken’s responsibility is to work and make money for our household, while my main responsibility is taking care of Emma while also managing this house.

I’ll never be a fifties housewife, and I’ll never have a spotless house, but it’s time to stop reading about it and do something. So for the next couple of weeks, you’ll see some big changes in our house. Well, you may not SEE them, but you’ll hear about them. And maybe I’ll take pictures, too … just for kicks.

On that note, here’s my weekly menu …

monday: spaghetti
tuesday: chicken soft tacos
wednesday: crockpot chili
thursday: chicken spaghetti casserole
friday: oyster stew w/ crackers & cranberry sauce
saturday: spicy shredded pork sandwiches
sunday: crock pot salisbury steak w/ mashed potatoes

I started using Google Calendar to do my menus, and I repeat each recipe every 3 weeks. That way, if I get behind, I’ll always have a menu to fall back on. But if I want to substitute something else, I can do that, too.

I already have a huge pork shoulder from a sale a couple of weeks ago (see how that stockpiling comes in handy?) so I added a shredded pork recipe to this week’s menu, and I know I’ll have TONS left over, so we can do sandwiches for lunch and then quesadillas for supper on Monday. Maybe even a quick pork chili on Wednesday. Why does stuff like that excite me??

Lastly, Ken is moving my blog over to a different server tonight, so if the blog disappears or acts funky for a while, that’s why.

Monday: ham & cheese egg scramble, biscuits
Tuesday: beanie weenies w/ leftover super bowl cocktail weiners
Wednesday: crock pot chicken & dumplings
Thursday: salisbury steak w/ mashed potatoes
Friday: leftover chicken & dumplings
Saturday: pork chops w/ tangy mustard & cheese cauliflower
Sunday: swedish meatballs w/ mashed potatoes

Need menu ideas? Organizing Junkie has plenty!

I need to go back to weekly meal planning, because we tend to spend way too much money on groceries (read: junk food) when I don’t have meals planned out.

Monday – Chicken, Bacon & Cheese sandwiches
Tuesday – Pinto Beans & Cornbread
Wednesday – leftovers
Thursday – Spaghetti & Garlic Bread
Friday – Crispy Yogurt Chicken
Saturday – leftovers
Sunday lunch – crock pot mac & cheese with peas & rolls
Sunday supper – egg salad sandwiches

I’m getting most of my recipes from The Pioneer Woman this week, because … well, they look really really good.

monday – ham ‘n’ cheese melts w/ french fries

tuesday – crock pot beef gravy over rice w/ whole wheat rolls

wednesday – spaghetti w/ garlic bread

thursday – almond chicken stir-fry w/ rolls

friday – leftovers/out to dinner

saturday – emma’s birthday party

sunday – breakfast for supper

Ken used to call me from work for supper ideas and then stop by the grocery store on the way home from work almost every day, but now that he’s working from home, I’m trying to go to the grocery store just once or twice a week to save gas.

So thanks to my good pal Mary Katherine, I found this great blog that reminds me to plan our menu every Monday.

Monday – grilled chicken quesadillas w/ refried beans*

Tuesday – crock pot chicken and rice dinner

Wednesday – grilled pork chops w/ baked potatoes and rolls

Thursday – leftovers

Friday – eat out

Saturday – blt salad with toasted garlic bread

Sunday – veggie meal