Menu Plan Monday

This week's menu turned out great. The Pizza Braid was a big hit. Grilling BBQ chicken was wonderful. Partly because Mark did most of the work :). We even grill the potatoes on the grill. Although I used too much oil and it over powered the flavor of the spices I used. And my last minute Asparagus Pesto was a hit. Mark was looking for a heavier meal that night, but enjoyed it anyway. And Ian devoured it. I served it over egg noddles which was wonderful! I ended up making so much I froze about half of the pesto. :) I'm excited at the idea of enjoying it later on without the having to actually make it. Well here is the menu for this week. Tonight we ordered Chinese take-out. It hit the spot.

Tuesday: Cowboy pasta (carry over from last week)
Wednesday: Curry with coconut milk
Thursday:Leftovers
Friday: Peanut noodles with Chicken
Saturday: Quiche
Sunday: Leftovers

Be sure to check out more menus at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Asparagus and Rain boots

Wednesday the boys and I went downtown in the morning. I was in need of turquoise thread. I have some turquoise solarveil that I plan on sewing into a sling. Solarveil is a protective fabric that is very light weight and dry fast. I'm very much looking forward to using it at the pool. :) Here is the link to the pattern I'm going to use. She has a small explanation of solarveil. Unfortunately its getting very hard to find because the manufactures went out of business. I can't even remember where I found mine. Ok, so back to Wednesday. After we went tot the fabric store we went to Pages (a book and coffee shop) for a cinnamon roll and coffee. While there Ian asked to go to Healthy Baby Boutique, which is right next door on the second level. So we headed on up. While up there we found these awesome boots.I've been looking for a fun pair of rain boots for Ian. But I was trying to stay away from Disney themed ones that are so easily found at Target and such. I was very excited about these. They are from Melissa and Doug toy company and were a reasonable price. Ian was also very excited. He demanded to wear them as soon as I had paid for them. Which was right after I told him we could buy them because he wanted to wear them right then. :)He has been wearing them almost ever since. He will wear them around the house first thing when he gets up. This morning all he had on was his underwear and these boots. too bad I didn't get a picture of that.

So on our way out to the car, we past through Prairie Harvest, the local natural foods store. And one of the women caught me and told me they had asparagus held back for me. I have been going into this store for two weeks looking for asparagus. And every time I just miss it. I know several of the workers personally and am getting to know the ones I don't better all the time. I love that they remembered I was looking and held it back for me. :) It just made my day. So I now have fresh, local asparagus waiting to be used. Last night I made the Pizza Braid, instead of the Cowboy pasta. It turned out really well. And we all loved it. I think tonight I'll use the asparagus and save the Cowboy pasta for next week sometime. I've been wanting to try this Asparagus "Pesto" recipe I found over at Tiny Morsels. I really hope it tastes as good as it sounds.

Menu Plan Monday - May 18th

Well once again the week was crazy. And just as I thought it would be, the weekend was the craziest. But I had a great time hanging out with my friend K. And it was so good to see my dad, my stepmom and my stepsister. Today we are going to Wichita to have lunch with Dad and stepmom, and my grandparents before my Dad and J fly out. As far as last weeks meals they all went pretty good. Ian devoured the green pasta. I think he had two servings the first night I made it. I'm always glad when something I serve is a hit with Ian. :) Well here is the plan for this week. My hope is to use up some of the food in my pantry and freezer.

Monday: Pasta and meat sauce with veggies

Tuesday: BBQ chicken, potatoes, and either green beans or asparagus (depends if my local store has any in)

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: Cowboy pasta

Friday: Pizza Braid

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Breakfast dinner (carry over from last week. We ended up doing cheese and popcorn yesterday)

For more menu ideas be sure to visit Organizing Junkie

God made Everything!

We are still very much in the middle of the "why" stage. Ian continues to ask "why" all the time and about everything. Sometimes he asks "why" about nothing, and I have to ask "why what." This tend to frustrate us both because he doesn't get an answer and I have no idea what the question is to answer. Having run out of answers, on many occasions I simple reply "Well God made it that way." This works great for things such as why is the bird eating the worm, etc. And it came in very handy when Ian once again pointed out that "Momma doesn't have a penis." Just the other day Ian said this to me. I answered with "That's right. I'm a girl and I have a vagina. Daddy and you are boys and have penises." He thought about this awhile. Went on to observe that Cai is a boy and has a penis. Then came the why question. My response: "God made us that way." This seemed to satisfy him. So we went on with our day. Usually Ian takes well to the "Because God made it that way" response. The funny part is now he will tell me all the things God has made. And for the last several weeks we have had many conversations about what God has made verses what people have made. Just moments ago Ian and Mark were putting on Ian's sandals so Ian could go outside and mow with Mark. He had found his old pair from last year and loved how they lite up. After having a long discussion on why they did not fit, he went with Mark to put on his pair. He was telling Mark that his didn't light up. Then he said, "God made them that way." Mark's response: "People made them." The problem with answering with "People made them" is that we always get a "why" after. And after going around and around this question of "why" I tend to concede "Well perhaps God inspired them/the idea." So there you have it. God made EVERYTHING! And I guess when you think about it its true Even synthetic material is created out of natural material. And if God created the material we use and gave us a creative mind to come up with such grand ideas, than how much credit can we take? On some level Ian's right: God made his sandals, his purple ball and him.

Still living in Limbo

So I got a letter informing me I did NOT receive the full tuition scholarship I applied for at AMBS. I guess there were 11 applicants and only enough funds to grant two scholarships. Now I'm waiting to hear back on my financial aid package which should be awarded sometime towards the end of June. So we're still living in limbo. I'm not ready to just say it's not going to happen. Although without full tuition covered it does complicate things. A few more positions have opened up in Elkart Co, and Mark has applied. So there is still chance for him to find a job. Although with the economy there will be tons of applicants fighting for these positions. So we have both continued to take a wait and see attitude. As summer quickly approaches, I realize how much I really do want this to work. I'm sad and even scared at the idea of leaving my friends, family and community. But I'm so much more excited at the new possibles to come. I know I have an opportunity to start taking classes here at the extension site. But somehow that idea doesn't excited me as much. I want more than just the chance to take seminary classes. Plus somehow the idea of taking night classes just isn't as appealing. And the move would signify a new step in my life; a step forward in my own personal purpose. Staying here and taking classes just doesn't have the same effect. Not that it doesn't mean I'm not starting on the journey towards something new. Just doesn't have the same symbolic meaning. So for at least another month or two I'll continue to wait and see what happens. I'm not ready to give up hope just yet.

Menu Plan Monday

Well last week seemed to go fast. And something tells me this week will too. I just hope I have a few less power struggles this week. The Asian chicken wraps went over ok. I really liked them. Mark thought it was good, but it didn't make it on his must repeat list. And Ian, well wraps are tricky with Ian. He ate a few bites, so I won't complain too much. Didn't get to the baked chicken on Tues. We went to Wichita so Mark could work. He does contract computer work for my mom's church. Then we picked him up a bicycle listed on Craig's list. We have already gone on a family bike ride. On Saturday we rode down the bike trail by the river that is just newly done. It goes right through our friend's back yard where we were going to celebrate his birthday. Ian had a great time. Our friend J and M bought a house and it's been in need of major repair. So they are living in a trailer parked next to the house and are renovating it. J has done most of the work himself thus far. Currently they have the house jacked up and have been digging a basement underneath. It's all dug out, just needs to be leveled after all the storms we've had. There is a huge pile of dirt in their yard. So Ian and several other little boys at the party had a great time digging, running up and down, and just playing in the dirt. I still need to clean all the mud off his shoes. :) Well here is the dinner plan for this week. Looks like the end of the week I won't really be cooking at all. We're going to grill at a friends house on Thursday. I always love when T invites us over. Friday we'll be heading to Hays. I'm going to hang out with an old high school friend of mine. Saturday I'll attend her college graduation and then in the afternoon head over to my step-sisters reception for her high school graduation. I'm pretty excited. Excited to hang out with K. And also very excited to see my father who will be coming in for my step-sister's graduation. :) Although I know the whole weekend is going to be filled with stress. Wish me luck!


Monday: Green spaghetti, potato salad and leftover spinach and strawberry salad
Tuesday: Broccoli and bacon quiche, maybe muffins?
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Grill at T's, I've offered to bring brownies
Friday: Out to eat (hopefully with my brother on our way through. If he's not working )
Saturday: Reception and/or dinner with Dad and Step-mom
Sunday: Breakfast dinner

Check out more menu ideas at Organizing Junkie's website

Menu Plan Monday

Well this last weeks menus got completely shuffled and even changed some days. This last week Ian was very needy, mostly for attention, and unfortunately he has figured out that misbehaving gets him attention. Even when I try very hard not to give negative attention it still comes as I have to spend time putting him in timeout (we are currently making a game of getting up and running around the house while in timeout). So Mark cooked twice this week. I'm always so grateful when he cooks. Monday he made homemade hamburger helper. So we had the groundnut stew on Tuesday. Friday was suppose to be chicken pot pie. And Mark had planned on making that for me. But Ian asked for eggs. So we had eggs, bacon and toast. It turned out to be very nice. But since I bought chicken, I still have lots of chicken in the house. So I think this week will be a chicken week. All but Thursday when we grill out at the park with our small group :) I'm looking forward to that. The weather that day is suppose to be in the mid 80s. While I'm not understanding why we can't have 70s (we seem to jump from 60s straight to 80s), I'm excited to grill.

So here is the plan.

Monday: Chicken pot pie (since we didn't get to it last week)

Tuesday: Baked chicken with veggies and potatoes

Wednesday: Asian Peanut Chicken wraps (Organizing Junkie has this on her menu. It looked so good I thought I would try it)

Thursday: Hotdogs and Hamburgers on the Grill at the Park

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday:Dinner with friends. Celebrating J's 30th birthday.

Sunday: Church Mother's Day meal following church then we'll have dinner with my friend C. Her son K and Ian are good playmates. K is turning 3 and wanted Ian to come to his party. I can't believe Ian's friends are turning 3!!! We'll be celebrating Z's 3rd birthday later this month. That means Ian will turn 3 in just a few months! AHHHHHHH

For more menu ideas check out I'm an Organizing Junkie