Grandpa's Little Helpers

Have you ever tried to find a "girly" bulldozer shirt? They don't exist! Imagine that! My father in law and husband are in the construction business, so my girls are rather obsessed with bulldozers, dump trucks, and the like. They climb up on a machine every chance they get.

I decided to use my Silhouette and the tried and true freezer paper method to make them some bulldozer themed shirts that were a little more girly than the options at the store. I'm sure you're familiar with this method. If not, google "freezer paper stencil" and you'll find a bazillion tutorials.

I love Tulip Soft fabric paint in matte finish. It always turns out good! My local Jo-Ann is upgrading to a larger location, so I recently scored a bunch of new colors of paint at 75% off. Score!

My Silhouette made cutting out the intricate design easy. I used the font Cheri Liney for the text. I will admit, getting all of those tiny pieces was pretty tedious. I ended up using tweezers, although I'm pretty sure you can get a special tool from Silhouette for that job.




I ironed the stencil on and started dabbing away with my paint.

I ended up using about three coats, since I was using lighter paint on a darker color shirt.





Ta-da! I got these particular shirts at Walmart. I think they were $3.50 each and they had coordinating skirts. Can't beat that! Plus, I love the fact that they're wearing a ruffly, flowery skirt with a pink bulldozer shirt. :) And most importantly, the girls love them! They couldn't wait to show Grandpa.

Meal Planning

I've gotten lazy this summer with my meal planning. I used to be very disciplined about making my meal plan for the week and sticking to it. I would plan our meals and grocery lists around the weekly sale ads and what was in season. I've noticed that we've been eating out more and there have been a lot more of those "Oh, no! It's 5:00, what I am going to do for dinner?" moments.

In an effort to be more organized, I'm going to post our weekly meal plan, hoping that it will help me stick to the plan. Of course, I know we will eat healthier and save money in the process.

I should also note that I don't usually bother with planning our breakfasts. I always make sure that we have our staples on hand. We don't cook big breakfasts around here, it's usually an English muffin, some fruit, cereal, etc. I did make a double batch of Chocolate Zucchini Muffins and stuck them in the freezer to use up some of our abundance of zucchini. We've had those a few times a week for breakfasts.

Saturday:
Lunch - leftovers from the fridge
Dinner - Brisket, Honey Balsamic Bean Salad, cottage cheese, fruit

Sunday:
Lunch - deli sandwiches
Dinner - Grilled Turkey Po' Boys, oven roasted brussels sprouts, oven baked chips

Monday:
Lunch - pool party at a friend's house, taking fruit and brownies to share
Dinner - Grilled chicken, Bulgur Wheat and Grape Salad, watermelon and canteloupe

Tuesday:
Lunch - drive thru in between appointments and errands
Dinner - Egg frittata with cheese and veggies from the garden, turkey bacon

Wednesday:
Lunch - leftover turkey po' boys
Dinner - Dinner on a Stick night -- Ginger lime chicken skewers, grilled vegetable skewers, rainbow fruit sticks, salad on a stick, frozen bananas dipped in chocolate with sprinkles

Thursday:
Lunch - deli sandwiches
Dinner - Pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob, broccoli

Friday:
Lunch - grilled cheese
Dinner - Trip to the county fair to watch Daddy in the demolition derby :) The girls and I will pack a cooler with drinks and fruit and buy hot dogs or sandwiches. And an elephant ear, of course.

Saturday:
Lunch - leftovers, PB&J, whatever
Dinner - my cousin's wedding

I know I'm not as specific as some people, but I like to have some wiggle room. Things don't always go as planned. It will be interesting to look back at the end of the week and see if we stuck to it!