Money!

I'm trying to figure out how to get our finances in order.  It's a sorry sight.  DH is a public school teacher.  He makes an okay amount of money, thought not enough for our whole family to live on.  I used to be a public school teacher, but now I teach preschool.  I almost love everything about teaching preschool, but the one big downside with it is my pay, which is just a fraction of what I would be getting as a public school teacher.  And here comes the summer.  So many people say, "I wish I was a teacher - don't have to work all summer!"  What they don't realize is that we don't get PAID all summer, either!!!  DH's paychecks are spread out over 12 months instead of just 10, but mine are finished soon and won't start up again until September.

DH's dad used to be career military, so we have access to USAA, a financial site for military families.  I just received a refund from our oil company (paid a budget amount all winter and was left with almost $800 that they were going to put towards next year - umm...think I could use the money now!) which will be used to pay off the credit card from USAA - woohooooo!!!  We still owe on our Discover Card AND have a line of credit from when we changed our garage into a playroom AND our mortgage.  Now I'm trying to determine if maybe we should transfer everything to USAA.  I guess I need to determine if they have the best rates around.  I THINK they do, being geared for our military, but guess I should check first.

I know, this is not an exciting post, but it's what I'm thinking about right now!

Menu Planning

While I haven't stepped on a scale to see if this new eating plan (I can't think of it as a diet) is working yet, I'm proud that I'm sticking to it.  Just keeping in mind that I only get two carbs a day allows me to plan my meals around that, making sure I still can have my end of the day bowl of cereal.  Hey, I'm a cereal addict, what can I say?  So here's my menu plan:

Lunches for me this week Endame Salad, Vegetarian Chili with Avocado Salsa

Monday Grilled Sesame Salmon

Tuesday - Thai Basil Chicken

Wednesday - Very Veggie Omlet
I think if I promise them toast for eating a few bites, the kids might try it and discover they like it!

Thursday - A serving of whichever of the other three meals I liked the best
Mac and Cheese for the kids with frozen fish sticks

Friday - Potluck Shabbat dinner at my synagogue
My contribution will be Sauted Green Beans.

Saturday - Mish Mash (A.K.A. Finish all the leftovers)

Sunday - Dinner at my in-laws'

Be sure to check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu plans.

Menu Planning

Okay, it's not Monday, but I'm still trying to do:

Let's review last week first, okay?

Last week, I made a big batch of Quinoa Vegetable Salad for lunches, which I'm still eating a little of this week.  It was pretty good, but not great.

Tuesday I made Peanut Butter Vegetable Chicken Soup, which also was pretty good, but not great.  The kids tried it (though A spit it out), but no one really loved it.
Wednesday was Tuna Casserole - everyone but A liked it.
Thursday should have been Sour Cream Chicken Quiche, but that didn't happen.
The rest of the weekend involved no cooking on my part - woo hoo!

Now let's get back to this week.  Again I am going to try to use what I have here at home as much as possible - money's tight!
Tuesday:  Spaghetti and meatballs
Wednesday:  Sour Cream Chicken Quiche
Thursday:  Frozen Raviolis
Friday: Shabbat dinner at my parents'
Saturday: BBQ at my sister's (and boy do they know how to BBQ!)
Sunday: Dinner at my IL's

And I have everything necessary for those recipes here already.