Your in for a treat!

Get ready to have your socks blessed off tomorrow after church! My dear friend, and fellow DRSr (although she is currently in remission), Emily McCarron graciously agreed to write a guest post for Sonday Sunday. I can't wait for you to read her heartfelt testimony- what a message! Her message will surly bless your life but I have no doubt Emily will receive the biggest blessing of all for being willing to share her story with all of us. Thanks so much Emily!

What a day!

I'm pooped, what about you? You had a lot of reading to do on DRS, sorry to be so long winded but the good news is Super Saturday only happens once a month. I hope your as excited about what's in store for February as I am.

Side note: I will be away from my home computer for the next couple of days. I still have posts scheduled to go out on designated days, there just might not be as many as normal.

Sonday Confessions

One of my favorite days to blog is Sonday Sundays. You know why? Some weeks in January that was the only time I spent in the Bible all week! Even though Jesus was soooo faithful to me last month, I let him down day after day when I neglected to spend purposeful time with him. He was so good to whisper my memory verse to me throughout each week, but I didn't make the time to sit "still" long enough to hear what else he might want to teach me.

My hope is that my sleep accountability will enable me to get in bed at a decent hour so I can awake refreshed and excited about my daily time alone with God (quiet times) vs. crawling out of bed after hitting the snooze 3 times and pushing my quiet times aside with failed intentions to "do it later."

February Project

Update on Last month's project- I did have a winter garage sale and I did use some of the proceeds to buy organizational baskets for my bedroom armour. Target only had 4, so I still need to get 2 more (please tilt head toward right to see the picture).

My February Goal: Repaint the Hall way. Maybe even do a decorative stripe!

February Familytime

My work schedule really slows down in February so I am hoping I can do a lot better about making our familytime a priority. Colby really enjoyed getting the Family Fun Can down last weekend, my hope is that we can do it more often this February.

As far as "Devotional Time" goes- I was really disappointed in the devo book I got for the boys last month. Does anyone have any suggestions? In the meantime we will just be working through Colby's Cubbies Book and working on "Jesus Loves Me" with Cohen.

Craft Time- I'm excited that this month hosts Valentines because there are lots of craft ideas floating around the Internet for V-day crafts. Next week we are going to start working on Colby's Valentines for his school party!

Learning Time- As I mentioned yesterday, the big goal is to help Cohen learn to talk and to help Colby develop his writing.

February Frugalness

I have some goals for Thrifty Thursday's I would like to share with you.

First off, I am hoping to do a better job this month helping the coupon newbies understand some of the basic lingo and tricks to getting the most out of their coupons.

Can't promise they will all come in February but I also hope to eventually have posts on the following:

• Grocery Game for Dummies (Please don't take offense to "dummy" these happen to be my favorite self-help guides)
• How to Organize your coupons.
• Where to get your coupons.
• Secret tricks to Walgreens
• How to get started in the envelope system

On a personal note- My goal for February is to get caught back up on my budget! You can go here to see where I stand to date.

Refill Envelopes Reminder

This is just a reminder to sit down and examine your February Budget and then fill those envelopes.

Wellness Goal and Update

Let me begin my Wellness Goal and Update by quoting my January goal:

"My personal goal for Wellness this month is to find a back doctor and schedule an appointment. I also need to recheck my metabolism (have not done this since before last pregnancy)."

Outcome: Didn't do it! Yep, that's right I can dish out the wellness advice but can't seem to follow it. Sorry!

Therefore my February Goal is to really do my January goal. In addition, I am also going to ask you to hold me accountable to getting some sleep! I know the damaging effects of sleep deprivation and can see what it is doing to me when I look in the mirror.
Sooo here is my specific goal: I am going to be in bed by midnight EVERY night (except maybe Friday nights). That means even if I am in the middle of blogging a post due the next day, I'll just pack it up and go to bed. Even if the lunches haven't been packed, I'm getting in bed. Even if I can't find the top of my kitchen table and I'm expecting Donna Reed herself for tea the next day- I'm going to bed!!!! (First off- it is highly unlikely I would ever host a tea (do people still do that) and second I'm quite sure I don't have to worry about Donna Reed ever seeing my messy table- she died in 1986, may she rest in peace.)

Now my long-term goal is to eventually be in bed by 10:30 every night. But I'm trying to be realistic.

What about you? Do you have a specific Wellness Goal you would like us to hold you accountable to for the month of February?

Daily Routine

Here is my Daily Routine Reminder
The final housework comes in the form of daily routines: Morning, Afternoon, and Bedtime Routines.

Morning Routine- usually 7am - 8am (Please note I am NOT a morning person, therefore I try to keep my morning routine as light as possible):

• Quiet Time
• Breakfast
• Take Vitamins
• Get dressed for day
• Get kids dressed
• Dishwasher emptied and refilled
• Clothes in dryer
• Crockpot turned on (if applicable)
• Kitchen and Bathroom counters wiped down

Afternoon Routine- usually take 1-2 hours (this is done during rest time for boys or after work on days I work)

• Zone Work (Flylady says to spend no more then 15 minutes on this)
• Day Tasks
• Fold laundry
• Prepare Dinner
• Straighten up all rooms
• Return phone calls and check emails

Bedtime Routine- this starts after supper

• Clean up supper
• Pack lunches, backpack and diaper bag for next day (only on work days)
• Start Dishwasher
• Boys bathtime
• Start load of laundry (I do one load a day and alternate between permanent press and regular- but NEVER take laundry advice from me- I am horrible!!!)
• Wipe down toilet (this is done everyday because I live with 3 boys), sink, counters and Spray Shower Cleaner
• Bedtime routine with boys
• Gather up stuff for next day ex: phone, planner, etc.
• Lay out clothes for next day (work days only- I totally wing it on days I am home:)
• Plan for next day
• Reading time

Day Task

Reminder of Day Tasks:
Day Tasks are weekly chores or activities, not included in the zone work, that are assigned to specific days of the week.

Monday: Library Day, Pay Bills and Office Filing

Tuesday: Vacuum or Swiffer floors throughout house

Wednesday: Clean inside Microwave and Mop Kitchen Floors

Thursday: Date Night (in my dreams!), Swish Toilets (swish v. 1. the action of inserting the toilet brush into the toilet bowl and swirling it around thus cleaning the toilet bowl)

Friday: Errand Day, Project Day, Feather Dust House

Saturday: Change Bedsheets, Family Fun Day, Clean out Refrigerator, Grocery Shop (if grocery game posts early enough)

Sunday: Cut up fruit and vegetables for snacks, Iron clothes for coming week, REST

February Cleaning Schedule

Effective Dates (Tuesday - Monday); Zone; Supplies

February 3 - 9; Outside, Garage, Laundry Room; All-Purpose cleaner, broom, mop, leaf blower (optional), windex, coins for the car wash, vacuum, trash bags, containers to sort: donate, garage sale, keep, etc., paper towels

February 10- 16; Kitchen and Dining Room; Windex, All-Purpose cleaner, Oven Cleaner (I have an older oven with no automatic oven cleaner), Turtle Wax (to shine sink), broom, mop or Wet Swiffer, vacuum, paper towels. Dusting Spray or Furniture Polish (ex. Pledge)

February 17- 23; Bedrooms and Closets; Windex, Dusting Spray, vacuum, Wet and Dry Swiffer (we have stained concrete in our bedrooms), paper towels

February 24 - March 2); Bathroom and Living Room; Windex, All-Purpose or Bathroom cleaner, Toilet Cleaner and Brush, Tilex or other soap scum and mold killer, Mr. Clean Dry Eraser, Swiffer Wet or mop, Dusting Spray, vacuum, paper towels

February Master Grocery List

To the best of my knowledge here are all the ingredients you will need to complete all 20 meals for the February Meal Plan. I like to give you the full grocery list at the beginning of the month so you can stockpile on items as they go on sale. For example: you should already have the ground beef in the freezer from the Laura Lean Sale last month!


Product; amount needed; weeks needed

Produce

• Shredded cabbage and carrots; 1 bag; week 2
• Onion; 4-6; weeks 1, 2, 3
• Green Pepper; 2, weeks 3 & 4
• Avocado; 1; week 2
• Asparagus; 1 bunch; week 3
• Side salad; 4 meals; weeks 1, 2, 3, 4
• Green onions; 2 bunches; weeks 3 & 4
• Coleslaw mix; 1, week 4
• Bib lettuce or other for lettuce wraps; 1; week 4
• Lemon; 1; week 2
• Spinach; 2 bags; week 2
• Shredded lettuce; 1 bag; week 1
• Yellow squash; 2 or 3; week 3
• Shredded or matchstix carrots; 2 bags; week 2 & 4
• Eggplant; 3; week 4
• Fruit Salad; your discretion; week 2

Meats

• Boneless skinless chicken breasts; 14-18 breasts; weeks 1, 2, 3 , 4
• Tuna; 12 oz can; week 1
• Ground chicken or turkey; 1 lb
• Peeled deveined uncooked shrimp; 1 lb; week 3
• Salmon; 1 per family member; week 2
• Lean pork roast; 1-3 lbs whatever you can find; week 4
• Tilapia; 1 lb or 1 fillet per family member; week 4
• Turkey Bacon; 1 package, week 1
• Deli Ham; enough for a sandwich for every family member; week 2
• Ground beef; 2 lb; week 1 & 3

Cans

• Great Northern beans; 2 cans; week 1
• Black beans; 3 cans; weeks 1, 2 ,4
• Baked beans; 1 can; week 4
• Chili beans, 1-2 cans; week 3
• Mushrooms, 9 oz can; week 1
• Healthy Request cream of mushroom soup; 2 cans; week 1
• Health Request cream of chicken soup; 5 cans; weeks 1, 2, 4
• Spaghetti sauce; 4 cans; week 1, 3, 4
• Jalapeno peppers; 1 jar; week 1 & 4
• Green beans- No added salt; 3-4 cans; weeks 2, 3, 4
• Chicken broth- low sodium; 2 cans; weeks 1, 3
• Crushed tomatoes; 15 oz; week 3
• Enchilada sauce; 10 oz, week 3
• Green chili's; 4 oz can, week 3
• Pumpkin; 1 can; week 1
• Rotel; 1 can; week 1
• Shoe peg corn; 2 cans; week 1
• Corn; 1 can; week 2
• Salsa; 2 jars; week 1, 2, 4
• Greens; 1 can; week 3

Dairy Section

• Milk; 3 cups total; weeks 1 & 3
• Buttermilk; 1/2 cup; week 3
• Mozzarella Cheese, part skim; 4 8oz bags; weeks 1 & 4
• 2 % Cheddar Cheese; 2 bag; weeks 3 & 4
• 2 % Mexican Blend Cheese; week 1
• Swiss Cheese; 8 slices; week 2
• Velveeta Lite; 1 lb; week 1
• Fat Free Cottage Cheese; 2 cups; week 1
• Parmesan Cheese; 1 jar; week 1 & 4
• Cream Cheese, Lite; 4 oz, week 3
• Sour Cream, Lite; 32 oz; weeks 1, 2, 3 ,4
• Butter, Lite; 1 box; weeks 1, 2, 3, 4
• Egg Substitute; 2 cartons; weeks 1, 2, 3, 4
• Redi Whip or Cool Whip; optional, week 1

Frozen Section

• Shredded Hashbrown Potatoes; 2 lbs; week 4
• Frozen Broccoli Steamers; 1 bag; week 1
• Frozen chopped Spinach; 2 10 oz bags; week 1
• Frozen corn; 1 bag; week 3
• Athens Phillo Dough, 1 box; week 2 (this is located by the frozen pastries and fruit section in Kroger)

Starches

• Cornflakes; 1 box; weeks 3 & 4
• Cornbread; 3 loafs; weeks 1, 2, 3
• Breadcrumbs, Italian; 2 containers, weeks 1, 2, 4
• Dried Pinto Beans, 2-3 cups; week 3
• Dried Lentils; 1.25 cups; week 2
• Whole Wheat Spaghetti noodles; 2 boxes; weeks 3 & 4
• Whole Wheat Lasagna noodles; 1 box; week 1
• Bow Tie pasta, whole wheat if available; 1 package; week 1
• Rice; 1 meal; week 3
• Baked Doritos; 1 bag; week 3
• Reduced Fat Butter Crackers; 1 sleeve; week 3
• Pizza Crust; 1; week 4
• Reduced Fat Biscuits; 2 cans; week 2
• Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls; 2 cans; week 1
• Whole Wheat Buns; 2 package; week 2 & F

Miscellaneous

• Dried Cherries; 1 package; week 4
• Dijon Mustard; 2 Tbs; week 2
• Dried Cranberries; 1 package; week 2
• Reduced Fat Bisquick; 1 box; week 1
• Wheat Germ; optional; week 1
• Pecans; 1/2 cup; week 2
• Almonds; 1/3 cup; week 4
• Lite Syrup; 1 bottle; week 1
• Horseradish mustard; week 2; week 2
• Ranch; 1 bottle; week 2
• Honey; 1 jar; weeks 2, 3, 4
• BBQ Sauce; 1 bottle; week 4

Spices and Other Baking Ingredients Needed

• Taco seasoning; 2; week 1 & 2
• Olive Oil
• Canola Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar week 2
• Rice Vinegar week 4
• Dried Onion; weeks 2 & 4
• Teriyaki Sauce; week 4
• Lite Soy Sauce; week 3
• All Purpose Flour
• Cornmeal
• Salt and Pepper
• Basil
• Dill (week 2)
• Thyme
• Poppy Seed (week 2)
• Parsley
• Garlic Pepper
• Splenda
• Cumin
• Ham Bouillon
• Italian Seasoning
• Oregano
• Paprika

February Month of Meals

I hope this month's meals look as yummy to you as they do to me!

Week 1

• White Bean Chicken Chile with cornbread
• Tuna Mushroom Casserole with steamed broccoli
• Spinach Lasagna with a side salad
• Taco Roll with black beans
• Pumpkin Pancakes with Turkey Bacon or Ham

Week 2

• Chicken and Dumplings with green beans
• Pecan Encrusted Salmon with Cranberry Spinach Salad
• Spinach Lentil Soup with cornbread
• Southwest Egg Rolls with side salad and Mexican ranch
• Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches with baked beans and fruit salad

Week 3

• Oven Fried Chicken with Squash Casserole and green beans
• Shrimp Kabobs with rice and asparagus packets
• Pinto Beans with cornbread and greens
• Spaghetti Pie with side salad
• Chicken Tortilla Soup

Week 4

• Cherry Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Crunchy Oven Fried Tilapia with Hashbrown Casserole and green beans
• Eggplant Parmesan with spaghetti and side salad
• BBQ Pork Sandwiches with Baked Beans and coleslaw
• Mexican Pizza

Call to Action FAQ

Shameless begging for comments cont....

Frequently asked Questions

Q. Niki, How do I sign up to join you in part of your DRS challenge?
A. Simply let me know which part of the DRS plan you'll be participating in at the Mr. Linky on the previous post. Or you really don't have to let me know at all you can just join in!

Q. If I "sign up" does that mean I have to check in daily?
A. Absolutely not. Although I would love to hear from you every day, you can check in as often or as little as you want.

Q. How will I "check in"?
A. Good question! Every day I will provide you with an Accountability Mr. Linky for comments and blog link ups. Your comments can be as simple as "task done" or as lengthy as you want. If you have a blog you will even be able to write about your DRS adventure from the comfort of your own blog and then simply provide a link from your blog post to this blog.

Q. Can I join in on more than one challenge?
A. You betcha! Join in on as many as you want, as often as you want. In fact one week you might decide to comment on Mealtime Monday and another week you might want to tell me about a fun activity you did with your family on Familytime Friday.

Q. Do I have to do what you do?
A. No way. You can plan your own meals, your own cleaning schedule, your own budget etc. Do whatever works best for you and your family.

Q. Niki, I have never met you can I still join in?
A. I would be thrilled, honored, ecstatic to have you!

Q. What's in it for me?
A. I'm glad you asked. Let me break it down for you:

• Accountability, Accountability, Accountability I just think we are all more likely to stick with something if we are held accountable
• The thrill of a challenge. Won't it be fun to see how often you can meet your challenge.
• Blogging for Dummies told me that comments are the "life-line" of a blog. So you can feel good knowing your doing your part to keep DRS alive! No pressure!
• Great opportunity to get increased traffic to your blog. If you have a blog and want more people to stop by, consider hosting a daily, weekly, or even monthly DRS post so that you can link to DRS and have these dear readers hop on over to your blog.
• Your comments and participation let me know that all the hard work (and sleepless nights) are worth the effort because someone is finding this blog helpful or at the very least entertaining. (Please don't get me wrong, I enjoy doing the blog, I might just tone it down a bit if I was only doing it for myself.)
• It will make Niki and Donna (maybe even Jesus) do a happy dance.

As additional questions come in (or I think of more) I will try to answer them.

Call to Action

You have had a chance to watch me attempt, and fail, to put all of the DRS plan together over the last month. Now I am begging you to join me- not in all of the plan (that would be ridiculous, only a nut would attempt the whole plan.... anyways....) but to choose at least one part to participate- so we can hold each other accountable. I know it is totally selfish, but I am confident that I will do better if I knew someone out there on the world wide web was suffering, I mean sharing in this DRS process with me. So what do you say?

Krista T., Mary G., Jamie E., Mom- Will you join me on Mealtime Mondays? Can you commit to preparing at least 3 home cooked meals per week for your families. I picked on you girls because either you have already shared with me your intentions to prepare meals for your families or I knew you already did this and it would be easy for you to keep me accountable. This doesn't mean you have to follow my meal plan but that you will simply report in every week that you do have a meal plan for the week.

Emily M., Stacy H., Jennifer B., Molly W. I picked on you girls for Tidy Tuesday. Your names came to mind because either we have a history with accountability here and I NEED you back, or you have hinted you might be interested in this area, or you have admitted to OCD so you will do great with DRS!

Quite Frankly I think everyone can participate on Wellness Wednesday.

Kelly M., Gray W., Jennifer C., Carri F. Girls you in on Thrifty Thursday? I thought of you girls because I knew you were master bargain hunters. Would you be interested in sharing your grocery shopping success stories, or even your annual budget countdown?

All you Mommies, especially those that stay at home- Can you commit to Familytime Fridays. Can you write in weekly to let me know about your devotional time, craft time, learning time or any other fun activities you share with your kids throughout the week.

Tambrey K., Krista T. Angela S., Emily M., Lynn H., Angie E. I have either talked to you or heard about your desire to memorize scripture. Can you share with me the scripture you are hiding in your heart each week?

I hope I didn't embarass anyone for mentioning your names on my blog. I'm just desperate here!
If I didn't mention your name, I would love, love, love for you to join me too!!! If I did mention your name but you don't want to join me or you would like to work on another area that's great too.

I am going to include a Mr. Linky with this post so you can tell me where you might want to join me in this insane DRS plan. Isn't this Exciting!!!! Thanks in advance! I'm holding my breath in anticipation.... not really.

Welcome to SUPER SATURDAY!!

Hold on to your keyboard ladies it is going to be a super exciting day. I have scheduled over 10 posts to go out throughout the day outlining and highlighting what's ahead for February!

A brief word as we wrap up the first month of DRS:
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You to all of you who have tuned in over the last month. Although I did not achieve full Donna Reed status this month (ok I didn't even come close, but anyways...) I have no doubt I did a lot better then what I would have done pre-blog because I knew you would be checking in on me. I appreciate you letting me share my few successes and my many failures without judgement. It was quite liberating to air my dirty laundry (literally, dirty laundry on my dining room table) for the www to see- you should try it!

I have to confess that I have become quite obsessed with my stat counter. I check it an embarrassing number of times every day. Although I can't tell who is tuning in, it does let me see how many new and return readers are visiting the blog. Of course I can't do anything without a plan and a goal; so no surprise- I have a goal number of new and return readers that I hope to reach each day- what a dork! Regardless, you gals have not let me down. Most days at least 30 of you tune in daily and on average there are at least 15 new readers to the blog every day which has resulted in over 1500 unique readers in the month of January! Thank you for sharing DRS with your friends and family- I am truly appreciative and humbled.

Last let me say, although I have enjoyed my stat counter, I have LOVED getting to hear your DRS success stories even more. I am soooo proud of all of you who are working on your meal plans, and I could listen to your money saving stories all day long! I can't find too many who have been as motivated about Tidy Tuesday but maybe their just not as vocal. Anyways, I look forward to sharing many more Donna Reed like moments with you in the future.

Now then Let Super Saturday Begin!!! Please imagine horns sounding and confetti flying and if you didn't read "Let Super Saturday Begin" with extreme enthusiasm- go back and read it again!

Please help- yes I'm begging

Ok Ladies, Last night I put out a Mr. Linky test to make sure this feature would work on the blog and asked that you leave me a short comment to test it out.


The Result: I am the only one who left a comment. So now I have to wonder did the Mr. Linky not work or was everyone just too shy to leave a comment.


Can I beg someone to give it a try tonight and if it doesn't work email me at rnt610@hotmail.com to let me know that it didn't work.


Just click on the Mr. Linky picture below and enter your name (you can even make up a name, if you want), your email (this does not show on the post- I'm pretty sure), your comment, and then you will be asked to answer a math question to help ensure spam doesn't get on the blog.

Thanks so much, my Super Saturday post is really depending on this function to work!

Deal Alert!!!

I actually figured out a deal all by myself tonight!!!

At the Walgreens by Moe's on the endcap of the razor aisle (at the back of the store) there is a discounted item section. On that endcap there is currently some BioInfusion Shampoo and Conditioner. This shampoo and conditioner is normally priced at a hefty $7.99 per bottle but it is marked down to $1.99 on the clearance endcap. Now that's a great deal, but here comes the really exciting part..... there is a $2 off 1 coupon in the EasySaver catalog (expires tomorrow).
Final Price: FREE glorious FREE!

Now I purposely left some for you dear readers so you could experience this high. But there aren't many left so run, run, run go get yours now!!! If someone is already there about to grab the last one..... introduce yourself she is probably a fellow DRSr.

PS I would love to hear who gets the last ones!

PSS Don't bother trying to get a high five from the checker- he just left me hanging mid-air!

PSSS Tonight I spent $7.52 plus got back a $2 RR ($5.52) and saved $41.56!!!!! Now thats just fun!

Learning Time

Ok folks, I've got to get really serious about learning time! I have been given 1 month to teach my now 16 month old how to talk or off to Speech Therapy we go! I have been instructed to stop giving in to his pointing and grunting when he wants something but instead to make him ask for it. Now given the fact he has yet to even say Mommy or Daddy I feel it is in his best interest to go ahead and give into his requests for basic needs (nourishment, comforting, Mommy, etc) after a sufficient number of "say (fill in the blank)" have been said. But I have been following Doctor's orders to increase our daily reading time. So my hope is he will be talking in full sentences by next weekend- ok, I would be tickled pink if he would just say Mama.

Big News: Last night, during bath time, Cohen not only showed me his belly button but also pointed to his nose, mouth, and ears!!! Sing Praise!

As for my big boy, Colby continues to work on his writing. He is definitely doing better but if you weren't his mama you might not be able to read what he writes.

Craft Time

I have found a really cute Valentine craft I am hoping I can convince the boys to do here.

However, I am thinking this is highly unlikely because Colby has been talking about putting on a "Blue Bird Frame Show" in his room all week. Don't worry I don't even understand what it means. But it has something to do with the coffee filters that he has hung from his walls and a blue racquetball that I have heard bouncing off his walls all week while he has been "practicing for the show." Last night he passed out tickets to each family member and told us the show would be opening tomorrow (that would make today the lucky day!)

I'll be sure to let you know if he decides to open the show for the general public. I bet I can get you a great deal on tickets!