Monthly planning

Ok, so I admit it, I'm a list-maker and planner. I make lists for everything (groceries, packing, work items, chore lists, etc) and I also plan my menus a month at a time. I've learned as our family gets busier that we need calendars to help us plan. I have 2 calendars I post on my refrigerator. 1 is our activity calendar that is color-coded based on which family member is involved and the other is our monthly menu. Without these 2 calendars every month, my house would be even crazier than what it already is. So, to go along with my previous post about freezer cooking, here's what we are having for dinner this month (or at least this is the plan):
1-3 (we were in Oklahoma)
4 spaghetti
5 Aloha chicken and rice
6 Pizza
7 Went to the State Fair
8 Chicken turnovers (buffalo style and regular)

9 Verde roast, rice and tortillas
10 Grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, grilled zucchini
11 Leftovers
12 More leftovers
13 Hamburger casserole
14 Esfrirras
15 Egg sandwiches

16 Sweet & tangy pork, noodles
17 Cashew chicken and rice
18 Hawaiian sandwich bake (recipe from my sister)
19 Leftovers
20 Beef and noodles (freezer cooking with Karri)
21 Soft tacos
22 Pizza on the grill

23 Tex mex chicken and beans, rice (crockpot recipe)
24 Lasagne (freezer cooking with Karri)
25 Grilled turkey burgers
26 Honey baked chicken and rice
27 Leftovers
28 Meatloaf and roasted potatoes (freezer cooking with karri)
29 French dip subs

30 Chicken enchiladas (freezer cooking)
31 Spaghetti

What's on your menu for this month? Do you like to plan as much as I do?

What's for dinner?

Over the past year I have really gotten into doing my menus 1 month at a time. This helps me plan out my grocery lists as well as helping me keep things organized since we have so many activities going on. I've also been able to make multiples of meals and freeze them for later use. While in Oklahoma this past week visiting my family, my sister (Melanie) told me and my sister-in-law (Karri) that she and a couple of her friends do freezer meal swaps. In other words, they each make multiples of 1 dish then exchange them so that they each have 1 of each others dishes. So, if Mel makes 5 of one type of dish, she comes home with 5 different dishes to put in her freezer. Karri decided that she and I needed to do this, so we each made our list of what we want the other one to make and are doing our exchange this weekend.
I'm making: white chicken chili, stroganoff and chicken enchiladas.
Karri is making: lasagna, meatloaf and beef and noodles.
I'm excited to see how this works and if successful, we'll do this every month.
If you have any good recipe ideas, feel free to post them here.

I'm BAAACK!

Ok, so I know several of you think I might have fallen off the face of the earth (except for those who keep up with me on facebook). While I have been around, it's been a very crazy several months. From kids activities (i.e. soccer, track, etc) to work activities and the every day challenges of life. Here are some pictures of what we've been up to. I promise to try and update a little more frequently.