Just Enough Info: Back-to-School Edition

I'd love to introduce you to the other members of The Zelie Group that are participating in the Thursday linkup this week:

Kerry from Fishbowl Fortune

Alicia from Sweeping Up Joy

Kirby from Under Thy Roof

Welcome to another week of Just Enough Info with The Zelie Group. Back-to-School is in full swing. School supplies, memories, traditions and the fresh scent of new composition notebooks floating through the air. This has always been my most favorite time of the year. The start of school, fall sports and all the amazing things autumn brings! If this is your first time hearing about The Zelie Group please check out my previous post from last week (Click on the link here). Here are my answers to this weeks Just Enough Info Questions:

1. What is your best school memory from your childhood?

My best school memory from my childhood was getting to go on a field trip to Sea World! This was no ordinary trip. We were allowed to sleep within the park overnight! I chose to sleep inside the Shark Encounter area and I will never forget going to sleep watching all the sharks swimming back and forth throughout the night. I was only in the 3rd or 4th grade (The same grade as Little Man) and I remember the entire trip. It was my first time traveling without my family and it was an 8 hour trip on a big bus. I hope my children get to have memories like this one. The ones that stay with you throughout the years and bring a smile to your face and make you feel young and vibrant. I wish I had a picture or something to share from this trip but this was prior to smart phones, fancy compact cameras and I think the small one-time use camera I developed from this trip is still at my parents house somewhere. 

2. Do you have any back-to-school family traditions?

We don't really have any cool back-to-school traditions in my house. Unless you consider the yearly first day back-to-school pictures. I don't even have the boys hold up signs or anything because I don't want to put too much pressure on the kids. I try my hardest to not make school too much of a "big" deal because my Goalie has a really hard transitions so it is easier to transition into the school year if we make it seem like a normal everyday things that isn't anything dwell upon. Even while we are preparing for school we try our best not to purchase everything at one time. We will buy clothes throughout the summer and keep them put away until school starts and the same with school supplies. We try our hardest to enjoy family dinners together every night but I try to make a family favorite so we end the day on a high note. My kids LOVE meatloaf, spaghetti and meatballs and taco nights so we usually prepare one of those together. I would love to have some special things to incorporate into my kid's day without making it too stressful so I am looking forward to reading what everyone else does to celebrate back-to-school.

3. Markers or colored pencils?

Coloring pencils! We actually have TONS and TONS of coloring utensils but me and my boys like coloring pencils the most. I think they are our favorites because you blend colors more easily when we are creating the many masterpieces that decorate the bulletin boards and refrigerator. We also use crayons quite often. I am a huge fan of coloring and I think it is a great way for me to spend time with my boys and be still together. In our crazy busy lives these are the moments we get to sit together, admire each others work and share our feeling with one another. This is ironic but we will be having a coloring session later tonight because it will be the first time since last week we have not had soccer or football practice, a school event or a doctors appointment. I am counting down the hours to pull out my arts and crafts boxes and sit with my boys while we color and enjoy a nice cup of tea and a snack!

Please Join us and Link Up with your answers to this week's questions about Back-to-School:

1. What is your best school memory from your childhood?

2. Do you have any back-to-school family traditions?

3. Markers or colored pencils?

Next Week's Just Enough Information questions all about Prayer:

1. What are your favorite devotions?

2. Have any of your prayers been answered? 

Do you have any prayers that you are glad weren't answered the way you hoped?

3. How do you pray with your kids?

Linkup Party Rules:

1. Please follow each of the party hosts in at least one way.

2. The blog that you are linking must be Family Friendly.

3. Link the individual post, not the main page of the blog.

4. The post that you are submitting must be on topic.

5. You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, old or new. Do not link the same post more than once.

6. Please Visit at least two other bloggers and leave a comment on their posts for each link that you share with our link up.

7. Please put a link to the party and/or link up button that you are participating in somewhere in your post so that other people can find the party, too.

8. By submitting a link to the party you acknowledge that the images in your post are either your original work or licensed as free for whatever you want. You give me and the other party hosts permission to use an image from your post on Pinterest and/or to link to your blog.

Menu Plan Monday: August 15- August 21

I have a confession to make, I really did not follow my menu plan last week. I did not handle all the extra to-dos I knew were coming all that well so we did not eat the healthiest foods last week. Man Oh Man! Let me tell you, all of us have had not so happy tummies so it is important we get back on track this week. I am admitting this because we have things that I planned on making last week that will be here on this menu since it was never actually made last week or a variation of something I was going to make last week. My poor husband has been waiting a long time for that meatloaf he's been requesting. We have another 4 day week of football practice, school starts, soccer should be starting and it will be my first full week at work. This is linked to the Menu Plan Monday linkup. Here is our menu plan for the week:

Monday: The Assumption

Steak and Assumpta Salad

Tuesday: First Day of School

Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Salad

Wednesday:

Ground Turkey Stir Fry

Thursday:

Leftover Dinner Buffet

Friday:

Spinach and Mushroom Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Saturday: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Crockpot Dijion Chicken with Rice and Vegetables

Sunday:
Chicken Noodle Soup

I am a huge fan of Catholic Cuisine and the amazing recipes that are shared on this blog. If you are looking for some great Liturgical feast recipes they can be found there. Check out these recipes suggested for the Feast of the Assumption, it is where I found the Assumpta Salad recipe and the suggestion for Dijion Chicken in honor of Saint Bernard! I used my own recipe so I could utilize my crockpot but this website gave me the idea. I didn't include any recipes yet, I will be sharing them throughout the week so please come back and check out my latest posts!