A Letter to Governor Brownback- please stop the insanity

I sent this via email and snail mail to the Kansas Governor office. My pessimism says no one will read it. So I'm sharing it with you. I want someone other than my husband to hear my frustrations and sadness. So here is my letter to Governor Brownback expressing my deep sorrow over the state of education and funding in Kansas

Governor Brownback,

I'm writing you about my deep concern surrounding education and educational funding in your state. Let me introduce myself, my name is Kristin Saner and I am a native Kansasan.  I was born in Kansas, raised in Kansas, went to college in Kansas, got married and gave birth to my three boys in Kansas. Five years ago I moved away to pursue graduate education. Now I long to move home. In fact I was exploring buying a business in Hesston, which is near my family and friends. Sadly your policies and new laws, which continue to cut funding to education, terrify me so badly that I decided that I cannot  move home at this time.

With 3 boys in elementary school, I am looking at what public schools offer for kids. I’m a huge advocate for public school, which provide education and opportunities to not only my kids but all our kids. These kids are our future. I know Kansas teachers are working hard day and night to make the education system the best it can be for the kids they teach. I hear about the daily struggles from friends, about how they are attempting to persevere. The reality is limited funding and resources continue to be huge barriers for both teachers and students.  My heart breaks knowing that friends, who have dedicated their lives to teaching, must face these barriers on a daily basis. But, at the end of the day, I have to look at what's best for me and my family. While all the teachers and administration staff where I currently live have their own barriers and hurdles to cross, I feel we are making positive strides for the education my kids are getting. I cannot say the same for the schools in Kansas.

Governor Brownback, your policies have made it so that I feel I cannot move home. And I wonder, if I feel this way how many other thirty something adults dismiss our state as a place to makes roots?  How many other born and raised Kansasans  went somewhere else to pursue an education but don’t move back due to your policies? How many people look for a place to raise their own families but dismiss Kansas due to the current state of the education system? How many young families currently living in Kansas are fleeing because they feel their kids would be better off elsewhere? Listen to your people, Governor, for I know that they are working to fix your mistakes. They are trying to provide the best for our kids with what limited resources you have left them. I can only hope and pray that in the coming years things will get better. I pray this for my friend's sake, for my friends kids, for the families I don’t even know.  Selfishly I pray for my own sake. While I can't in good conscience move home now, I still long to do so. And I desperately hope, in a few years time, I can feel that it is safe for me to do so.

Sincerely,

A Homesick Kansas girl

2015's Top Played Tabletop Games at Our House

With it already being February of 2016, I figured it was a good time to record what the kids' favorite games were in 2015. Heaven knows this year will bring about a new list. With new games coming out all the time, topped with my job at a game/comic book store, topped with my participation as a Double Exposure Envoy Herald, our game selection is always growing. It's fun to introduce games to the boys. And the boys love gaming. So here are the top games they played this last year.

Disclosure: At the start of 2015 my boys were 5,6, and 8 with birthday celebrations in August and November.  I say this because while games always have a suggested age on them they don't always give you alot of information as to what that means for how kids will respond to them. These are games my boys love and often play by themselves now. They may or may not be good for your family ;)

King of Tokyo

This game was a big hit this year. I often found it out on the floor as the boys left it after being called away for meals, school, bed, you name it. For the most part this is a dice rolling game. You get a fun cardboard monster with stand and corresponding health and life tracker. You roll 6 dice with have six different symbols, you then choose which dice to keep and which to re-roll over 3 successive rolls. The goal is to the be the last monster standing or reach 20 Victory Points. It's great for boys. The monsters are colorful and fun and the mechanics are really simple. There is some reading. There are energy card which you purchase by collecting energy cubes. That being said these cards are face up and can be read out loud by one player for all to hear. The biggest obstacle for my boys: trusting their oldest brother to read the cards so that they knew it's advantages.

Super Munchkin

As with all Munchkin games is satirical card game that parodies super heroes and villains.  If you've never played Munchkin, here's a summary from BoardGameGeek.com

Munchkin is a satirical card game based on the clichés and oddities of Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games. Each player starts at level 1 and the winner is the first player to reach level 10. Players can acquire familiar D&D style character classes during the game which determine to some extent the cards they can play.

Fair warning because it's satirical some of the cards can be edgy. Take the spray painted on body suit for example.  Mostly it all goes over my boys head. They like it cause they get to be super heroes fighting the bad guys, gaining treasures such as ray guns, jet powered pogo sticks and others. Plus Munchkin is a game that encourages you to team up for one move and betray your opponent in the next. What boy doesn't love to gang up on his brothers?

We purchased the Munchkin Level Playing Field which includes a board and munchkin tokens. This helps the boys keep track of their level plus has a place to put the draw and discard piles. It has been a very very helpful addition.

Tenzi and Zombie Run

More toward the beginning of last year top favorites included Tenzi and Zombie Run! Both are quick, easy games that are a lot of fun. Tenzi is a dice rolling game. Each player has 10 dice that they roll until they all match the same number. The goal is to be the 1st player will all the dice the same. You then yell out Tenzi! Lots of fun. All chance. And of course your own rules such as only rolling with your non-dominant hand, or no thumbs. :)

Zombie Run is a card game where the goal is to have the lowest score. If you have played Rat-a-tat Cat its the same concept only without any special power cards. You have 4 cards in front of you. You can look at 2 at the beginning but not after. Then you draw a card and either discard it or change it with one of your own. Once you think you have the lowest score you yell out "I got Brains" and count of the total. Aiden especially loves this one. While it hasn't got alot of play lately it was a bit hit earlier in the year.

Star Fluxx

While this game showed up in a stocking Christmas 2014, it wasn't until early that we finally sat down to play it. Fluxx in any form is tons of fun. It's the ever changing card game. If you have never played a Fluxx game, the basic rules are draw a card, play a card. The card then change the rules and goals of the game. Allowing you to draw more cards, play more cards, change what goal wins the game. You then work to collect Keeper card in front of you to match the goal. But as we said the goal is always changing. Fun and fast! Star Fluxx's theme integrates Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr Who, Firefly and Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy into the cards. So the goal could be Time Traveler where you need the Time Traveler and the Time Machine Keepers to win. Or add in Creepers, bad cards that don't allow you to win unless the goal specially call for them, and have a goal of Evil Robots where you need  Evil Creeper and the Robot Keeper to win. This game often gets played a round or two just before bed.  Aiden is a big Fluxx fan. When he visits me at work he loves to play the original version and Zombie Fluxx from our demo library. 

Small World

Small World is a great Risk like game. You have a race with a special power that you use to conquer regions to gain coins/points. The more areas conquered the more coins. After a set number of rounds (which changes depending of the number of players) the person with the most coins wins. Running low on troops or just not happy with your race's ability to conquer? Place your race in decline and pick a new one. Now start conquering all over again. There is a great random element that allows for lots of replay. The special powers are paired with the race cards each game, meaning this game we might have Seafaring Giants and Merchant Wizards and next game we could have Seafaring Amazons and Mounted Ratmen. Another thing to love about this game is it offers two different boards: a smaller board for 2-3 players and a larger board for 4-5players. This means the game lends itself very nicely to 2 player games. So Ian and I can sit down and play a fun game, and later we can all as a family sit down and play. This is another game that I often find set up on the landing upstairs or even in Ian's room. They play all the time. And Small World Underworld is on our ever growing must have list.  

Exploding Kittens

Exploding Kittens is a game of Russian Roulette with Kittens made by the creators of The Oatmeal. Game play is really simple. You play cards from your hand to gain advantage; either see what cards are coming up, make your opponents give you certain cards, skip your turn, or make your opinion take a turn in your place. After you have played any cards you want you draw a card to end your turn. If you draw an Exploding Kitten your out. Unless you have a Diffuse Card which allows you to place the Exploding Kitten back into the deck. Counting cards IS allowed . ;) It mindless fun, but the cards are hilarious. This is the Oatmeal though. So you have cards such as Attack of the Back Hair, Nope Sandwich with Extra Nope Sauce, TacoCat, etc. The boys find the cards funny, and love trying to  make their brothers pull the Exploding Kitten cars. 

A few other top games include Ticket to Ride, Castle Panic, Spot it, Flash Point, Five Crowns and the ever present Chess. And like I said our library is always growing. And I imagine this year will bring a new list of favorites. Already some new games being added to the mix are Boss Monster, Castle Panic Wizards Tower and Batman Fluxx. Plus there is the every growing list of games we love to own but don't that include Formula D. King of New York, Dixit and several more.  Gaming is such a great way for us to sit down and spend time together. And it makes me happy to find the boys sitting around a table playing a game during time at home.  What games do you find yourself connecting over?

Happy Gaming!

Menu Plan Month- A month of meals

Is it really February already??? How time flies when you're having fun. Or something to that effect.

Last months' planning of a month worth of meals worked out so great I'm doing it again. Really, it was so nice to have a plan, know I had all the ingredients (cause I did all my shopping immediately after my planning) and know that things were going to be taken care of. It made my life less stressful and it made things easier on my husband who has to feed kids 3 to 4 of the night out of the week. We won't go into why I have to plan and get everything ready. It's our reality and sometimes it's just easier to go with what works than to fight.

Biggest hit meals last month were the crock pot pulled pork from Living Well Spends Well , and shakshuka from  Nourish Atlier

I figured I should fess up for a moment. While I'm not one to reinvent the wheel, I also don't follow recipes to the T. While I almost always link to others recipes, I hardly ever follow their steps exactly. I tend to view recipes as more as guidelines than rules. I say this because this month especially I'm going to be deviating from what is written on the recipes. I may even take the time to post about how I changed things up and how it was received. We'll see.

Reminder: I have a kid who eats gluten free. So I always substitute corn starch from flour, use GF noodles instead of wheat and make sure that the meal does not contain gluten when I serve it. I realize this doesn't help you if you are new to a gf diet because I'm not giving you instructions on how to do so as well. But it does show that it's almost always possible to rework recipes so they work for you and yours.

February's Menu 
Week 1
Monday: leftovers -clean out the fridge day
Tuesday: Slow Cooker Mexican Rice
Wednesday: Broccoli Cheddar Soup in the crockpot
Thursday: Baked Egg Ham Cups with tater tots
Friday: Fend for yourself
Saturday: Crockpot Pulled Pork, chips, carrots
Sunday: Popcorn Cheese and apples

Week 2
Monday: Frito Taco Pie- use Pillsbury's Gluten Free pizza crust
Tuesday: Crockpot Rice lasagna 
Wednesday: Crockpot Ranch Onion Chicken, roasted potatoes, peas
Thursday: Sweet Potato and Chicken Hash
Friday: FFY
Saturday: Groundnut Stew in the crockpot- original recipe from More with Less Cookbook- going to see if I can convert it to the crockpot. More information to come later
Sunday: Popcorn Cheese and Apples

Week 3
Monday: One Pot Shrimp and Rice 
Tuesday: Crock pot Ham and Bean Soup
Wednesday: Crock pot Coconut Chicken Curry- recipe to come later
Thursday: Lo-mein 
Friday: FFY
Saturday: Crockpot Lentil Casserole - original recipe found here
Sunday: Popcorn Cheese and Apples

Week 4 
Monday: Sweet Potato, Bacon and Sage Pasta
Tuesday: Crock pot Pesto Minestrone 
Wednesday: Crock pot Beef and Broccoli- served over rice
Thursday: Pizza Braid
Friday: FFY
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Popcorn Cheese and Apples

Need more inspiration? Check out Organizing Junkie and all the linked menus there.  Happy meal planning!

Navigating comics for kids

Back in September of 2015 I started working for a new comic book and game store in Elkhart, In. Secret Door Games is a great small shop that offers comics, a wide verity of board games, trading card games, and role-playing games, books and toys. Before starting work here I read most of my comics in graphic novel format. Which meant that I read them much later than when they first were published. Now I can follow a handful of series as they come out. :) Good for me. Good for the store. My kids too before would check out graphic novels at the library, and still do to be honest. The library was and is great. I know that books in the kids section are safe for them to read. Graphic novels in the teen section I thumb through before allowing them to check out. And only I read graphic novels from the adult section.

Now that we have access to single issue comics the boys naturally want to read what they see in the shop. That's all great, but navigating what is appropriate for them (age 6,7 &9) is a bit of a challenge. So here's what I've learned and things to keep in mind when looking  to buy comics for kids.

Know your comic book publishers, their websites and their rating systems (if they have one). As you probably know the two big publishers for superhero comics are DC and Marvel. Each one of these have their own rating system. Knowing what their system is will help you figure out if you are okay with your kids reading certain story lines. To find their rating system visit  http://www.dccomics.com/ratings  for DC and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Rating_System for Marvel
Both DC and Marvel have a kids websites (click the name for the link) Visiting those and seeing what comics are advertised or offered there can be helpful.

For my boys, I feel safe letting them read Marvel comics rated T or All Ages. Anything else I have to read first and most times I just say they have to wait till they are older.  Current favorite is The Totally Awesome Hulk and Avengers Assemble Season 2.  DC I'm only okay with them reading E rated comics. My frustration is that there are not alot to choose from and I find that the art in DC is more gory than I think necessary in the T and T+ comics. But that's a rant for another time.

Sadly IDW doesn't have a rating system. While they have great titles for kids including Classic Disney lines such as Micky Mouse and Donald Duck, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and My Little Pony, the only way to know if they are appropriate for your kids is to pick them up and read them. Basic illustrations can give you a clue though. There are several TMNT story lines and the cover illustration often foreshadows how dark the story line is.  But the only true way to know is leaf through it. Some of my boys favorites are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Amazing Adventures, and Angry Birds.

I love Dark Horse and Image comics, but most of their story lines are not suitable for kids. I cannot speak for teenagers though. That I'll leave up to the parents of teenagers. Although as a scary thought I'll be there soon. ;)

There is a website that can be very helpful. Kids Comics has lots of great links, games and previews for kids. This is a great way to see some of the kids titles out there and who publishes them.
   
Don't be afriad to talk to the friendly staff at your local comic book store. They will have knowledge of many of the comic lines they offer and can give you some detail about story line, violence and such. Be sure to express what you are looking for, and what you are trying to avoid.

Comic books are not only fun for kids and adults alike, they are a great way to get kids, especially boys, to read. Just check out this great article from GettingBoystoRead.com  We here at the Earthmama household are quickly growing our comic book collection and loving it.

Let the comics abound!!

Menu Planning- Meals for the rest of January

Confession: I have NOT menu planned in a year or more. This has meant lots of frozen pizza, eating out, and panic, scrambling nights of "What do I cook?" This is made worse by the fact that 3 to 4 nights a week I'm not home for dinner due to work. Since my husband doesn't cook (ie hate cooking), I'm often left feeling guilty that I didn't plan ahead.

Well it's a new year. Sure we are already over a week in, but that doesn't mean I can't start anew. And rather than just plan my week of meals, I sat down and planned the rest of the month of meals. The internet and Pintrest are my friends. :) And should be yours two. So here it is. This months meals. Let my husband say he can't cook now. Blah! I won't believe it. Cause I have it all planned. All he has to do is follow the instructions.

January Week 2
Monday: Chicken pot pie from More with Less
Tuesday: GF Orange chicken over rice, frozen green beans
Wednesday: Asian Chicken Salad (using leftover orange chicken)
Thursday: Roasted Squash Lasagna, frozen peas, GF Pamelas Bread
Friday: Fend for yourself Friday! (this just means that they can have leftovers or frozen pizza. I'm leaving it in my husbands hands)
Saturday: Crockpot Pulled Pork, chips, carrots
Sunday: Cheese Corn Chowder from More with Less

Week 3
Monday: Italian Wonderpot, frozen peas
Tuesday: Crockpot Porcupine Meatballs in mushroom sauce, rice, frozen green beans
Wednesday: Midweek meal at church
Thursday: Creamy Pasta with Bacon and Peas
Friday: Fend for yourself Friday!
Saturday: Crockpot Mexican Tortilla Pie
Sunday: Popcorn Cheese and Apples

Week 4
Monday: Shakshuka
Tuesday: Porcupine Meatballs in tomato sauce over pasta, frozen corn
Wednesday: Crockpot Fajtas and toppings
Thursday: Southwest One Pot Wonder (use leftover chicken)
Friday: Meatball subs using meatballs from Tuesday
Saturday: Curred chicken and coconut rice, frozen peas
Sunday: Coconut chickpea curry over rice (used leftover chicken)

Originally I started meal planning due to the lovey lady over at Organized Junkie. You can check out her meal plan plus tons of others by visiting her blog at orgjunkie.com.

Here's to eating well with less stress. And of course being able to answer that age old questions "What's for dinner?"

Why you should read Tales of an Earthmama in 2016

It has been way to long since I have blogged. But 2016 is a new year, and I am committed to sharing my journey. But you may be thinking, so what? What does this blog have that's different? Well to be honest maybe nothing. Doesn't mean following won't be a joy. So here are some reasons I think you should follow my blog this year. :)

1) A household of 3 boys in Elementary school is never dull.
                 When I started this blog I had a toddler and a baby, was tandem nursing and cloth diapering. The journey was crazy, and now my 3 boys babies have grown into 3 boy kids with all the challenges that entails. I will be reflecting on how to continue to connect with my boys now that they are no longer little and cuddly.

2) Raising geek kids while maintaining the innocence of childhood for a while longer
               My husband and I firmly live and breath geek culture. We are both Star Wars, Dr. Who, and Star Trek fans. We are both into board games. He loves video games, mostly computer. And I love comics, mostly Marvel but I do love Batman, Catwoman and Wonder Woman. :) However as awesome as geek culture is there is lots of violence and gore, not to mention sex. Balancing what's safe for them to see  vs what needs to wait till they are older is a difficult process. We are not always right, but we try hard to find the right balance for our kids and our family.

3) Learning to balancing the desire to work with the desire to be present in the kids lives
                After 6 years of being a stay at home mom, I now gladly work outside the home. I have discovered that I need outside work. It allows me to nurture me which in turn allows me to be more fully present with my kids. But there are challenges. We constantly struggle with how to balance two working parents schedules with kids schedules and activities. As the boys schedules continue to change and grow this struggle will only continue.

4) Keeping a healthy diet, while creating easy, fast meals for our busy lives
                The goal has always been to eat healthy and local when possible. I will still be reflecting on meal planning, finding the right balance between healthy and fast, easy meals. In addition we still have one gluten free kids and the challenges that come with that :)

5) Trying to support public schools while fighting to make them better
              I'm a big supporter of public schools. But they are by no means perfect. If fact, their is much to desire in terms of my kids education. Follow us as we figure out how to fight for bettering our schools while still be supportive of our teachers and school staff who work hard withing the limitations they are given.

Overall you should follow me for your own reasons. If something I reflect on catches your attention there is your reason. Truth is I don't have a perfect life. My house is messy, my kids are loud and fight alot, and I often what to pull my  hair out. But my journey might help you. Whether it allows you to see you're not alone, it helps you as you parent your own growing little ones, or just makes your laugh, smile or say "I hear you," I hope you take something good away. Come join me on this journey.

Reading Challenge update.

In January, I made myself the challenge of reading one book from every section in the bookstore I work at. You can read about it here . I thought it was time to update, as June is quickly approaching, thus marking the half way point for 2014. And that right there is a scary thought. Time is a mystery, but one not for today. :) Today it a recording if you will of what I have read thus far, not including online readings including but not limited to various fan-fictions and such.  My own secret pleasure.  So here they are, plus reviews for your reading pleasure. 

Kid's Corner

          Board Books - My First Superman Book- touch and feel by David Bar Katz

                                There is a whole series of DC superhero board books. They are colorful and fun. And as far as I can tell attract the attention of all kids who love bright primary colors and superheros. This one is fun cause it's interactive. But watch out for the glitter, it gets everywhere. 

          Picture Book- I'm a Frog!  (Elephant and Piggie book) by Mo Willems 

                                I love Mo Willems. And I especially love Elephant and Piggie books. We just got this one in a few weeks ago. Piggie is pretending to be a frog. But Elephant doesn't know how to pretend. And doesn't believe he can. Join them while Piggie conveniences Elephant that he can indeed pretend to be anything. Favorite line "Grown ups pretend all the time" 

          Non-Fiction-  Real Ninja by Stephen Tumbull

                                This is a great picture book with lots of information and stories of real ninja from history. My boys loved it. Plus it was fun to learn what a ninja really was. 

          Early Reader- DK Readers: LEGO DC SuperHeros: Super-Villians

                                Early Reader are lots of fun, or just painful. DK has lots of good ones. Legos are popular. Thus Lego themed books. My boys love superheros. Batman for awhile was top of the list. You can guess what they thought of this one. :) It is a level 2. Meaning Ian (1st grade)  can read it but it is on the longer side. 

          Rookie Reader- The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

                                  If you have seen the movie Hugo and not picked up this book, you really really should. The drawings are fantastic. Half the story is told through these alone. Follow an orphan  as he tries to put together a mechanical man left to him by his father and befriends a young girl who's uncle works at a toy store in the train station. It's a wonderful story and a great read. 

          Series- Gregor The Overlander (Underland Chronicles, Book 1) by  Suzanne Collins

                                  Suzanne Collins is the writer of The Hunger Games. This series she wrote before. It's about middle schooler Gregor who's father has disappeared. He stays home one summer to look after his grandmother and youngest sister Boots who is 2. Boot and Gregor wind up in the Underland where people fly on Bats. Rats, Cockroaches and Spiders are bigger than they are. Follow them as they go on an adventure to find his father and fulfill a prophesy. It's a fun book, full of adventure. And while I haven't read the rest of the series I'm sure they are just as fun. 

Fiction

        General Fiction- The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 

                                  This is an awesome book. And very new. My boss handed it to me and I finished it the day it was released. The joys of  working for a books store and having access to prereaders. :) Anyway, this store is about a bookstore owner, who's wife died in a car crash. One night he finds an abanded child in his store. The next day the mother turns up dead, drowned. The story follows A.J. Fikry and his adopted daughter through the her life to adulthood. The fun part is each chapter starts with a book review. And while in the beginning it sounds like the review is meant for any customer, you get the feeling as the book goes on they are written for someone special. Trust me. Pick it up. Once I got started it only took me a weekend to read. Although I did have a sick kid who state on my lap all weekend while I read. 

        Suspense & Mystery- Naked Heat by Richard Castle - still reading

                                       If you watch the TV show Castle you'll enjoy this. I'm only about a 1/4 of the way in but already it's fun. This is the book Richard Castle is working on in the very beginning of the book. And the characters are clearly resemble all the shows characters. In fact that is the hardest part of reading this book. Reading about tv character by different names. :) 

        Fantasy/ SciFi/ Horror- Game of Thrones: Book One of A Song of Ice and Fire

                      by George R. R. Martin - still reading 

                                        So Mark and I started watching the HBO show Game of Thrones right after spring break. I quickly decided I needed to read it as well. The book is written with each chapter following through the eyes of a different character. I must admit after awhile I started just following my favorite character for awhile. I'll go back and read the rest but for now I want to see where she goes. :) 

        Young Adult-Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral                

                            This was a visually stunning book. The story if giving through newspaper articles, school letters, drawings, photographs, text messages and others. By the end I didn't know what was real and what was in the characters head. While not a happy ending this is a book I could ready a hundred times and still get something new out of it.  

Non-Fiction 

         Science- The Pluto Files by Neil deGrasse Tyson

                       This was an awesome book. Neil deGrasse Tyson writes like he talks. So it was fun, energetic and engaging. There was lots of sarcasm  and wit. Plus I found it fascinating to read about the history of Pluto and how it captured our love and loyalty. I highly recommend this one. 

        History- The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd by Richard Zacks- still reading

                     I will admit I'm having trouble getting into this one. I'm only about two chapters in. But I'm determined to finish. I'll let you know what I think once I finish or at least get father into it. 

Humor- How to tell if you cat is plotting to kill you  by The Oatmeal 

             My dog: The Paradox: A Lovable Discourse about Man's Best Friend by The Oatmeal

                           Got to love the Oatmeal. Both of these are funny. And very quick to pick up and read.  I particularly love How to tell if you cat is plotting to kill you. But it's probably cause I have three cats. And I'm convinced they are all out to get me. Not sure I can say more. Just pick them up and read them. Trust me. 

             

 Okay so that's it thus far. Sadly half my list is kids books. But hey what can I say. I'm a mom. In fact I've read many more kids books than this but I listed only one from each category. What to know what else we are reading to the boys? Me I've read Snot Stew by by Bill Wallace to Aiden and Cai. We are also in the middle of Charlotte's Web by E. B. White. Mark and Ian have been reading Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. They recently finished book 2. 

What good books have you read lately? 

Menu Plan Monday March 10, 2014

Despise the lack of posts, I have been menu planning. In fact in the last month alot has happened that I really ought to record here on the blog. We'll see if I find the motivation. For those not in connection to me on Facebook, I have recently moved from a part time position at the local bookstore to full time Assistant Manager. :) I'm very excited about it and really enjoying my work. However this has meant lots of shifting and changing at home, and we are still working out the kinks. One shift has been more use of my crockpot. As I don't come home till after 6pm, dinner needs to be done when I come home. As let's be honest, Mark IS NOT going to cook unless it's maybe spaghetti. While I like spaghetti I don't want it every night. So slow cooker meals has become our saving grace. The internet is a life saver in the area. But I have also recently bought a new cookbook. Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. So far I'm pretty pleased, Although there are recipes I can't used because they only require a few hours cooking time or require you to add ingredients half way through. For someone else I"m sure that's not a problem but I just can't do that. So here is this weeks menu. I'm off Monday so that meal I'll cook without the use of my crockpot. The rest... well just look

Monday: Black bean and sweet potato taco salad (uses the Simple in Season Burrito filling)
Tuesday: Chicken with Onions and Cheese (Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker) potatoes and peas
Wednesday:  Corn Chowder (Not Your Mother's Slower Cooker)
Thursday: Breakfast Casserole
Friday: Sloppy Joes
Saturday: Left overs or simple meal
Sunday: Popcorn Cheese and Apples

For more menus be sure to visit Organizing Junkie. Happy Meal Planning!!

Menu Plan Monday- Feb 10th, 2014

Anybody else sick of cold weather? Despite the fact that I should be excited about all the snow and cold weather (we are going skiing this weekend) I find myself just wanting spring to be here already. What I won't give to see dirt and brown grass, anything other than white and grey. Not to mention that I would love temps to get above freezing. Or even just stay in the mid to high 20s. Anything more than the single digit and neg numbers we been having. On the up side, we are going up to Boyne Highlands, MI this weekend. Hopefully I'll have a renewed love of winter, since it doesn't seem to be leaving anytime fast. That makes this meal plan a short one, as we leave Thursday morning and won't return till Saturday night. But in order to hopefully be prepared and not have too many things in the fridge while we're away here is the menu.

Monday: One Pot Wonder: Thai Style Peanut Pasta- made with Asian style Rice Noodles
Tuesday: Sweet Potato Curry
Wednesday: Leftovers!!!
Thursday- Sunday: Skiing
I am in charge of Saturday's supper- I'll be making Green Spaghetti, roasted carrots and garlic bread YUMMY!!

For more menus go check out Organizing Junkie.

Thoughts from a Night Owl Parent

So I have been thinking alot about sleep habits in relation to kids lately. Now I am a night owl. Always have been. When I was probably nine or so I got a nightshirt for Christmas that said "I may rise, but I refuse to shine." The statement was true then and still true today. But somehow I feel pressure from society to be an early riser as a parent. I hear about moms who wake up an hour before their kids, to have time to center, time to get chores done, time to exercise, time to be. Sounds great. But while my kids will sleep till 7 or even 8am depending on the morning that puts me getting up at 6am at the latest NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. I am convinced that not even God gets up that early. Really! And I am not motivated to get up that early if I don't have to. Let me sleep. I'll get my quite, kid free space at 10pm when the boys are fast asleep.

Now part of my problem is that I'm friends with alot of early risers. And as such I compare my days to their. Not fair to any of us but it's reality. But here is the thing. The advise we give to new parents is sleep when the baby sleeps. Great advise for a newborn who naps during the day yes. But the sentiment then becomes that as parents we change our sleep habit to fit our kids rather than help our kids learn our patterns. For the most part I'm pretty against the idea of sleep training babies. I was always one that let my kids sleep when they slept. But as I look back, I did sleep train my kids. By simply being myself, following my own sleep patterns my kids have learned to adapt to my schedule, just as I have had to adapt to theirs.

 As a college student with an infant, I would often shut myself in a kid safe room, lie down on a mattress, put on some music and let Ian play while I napped. It wasn't deep sleep by any means, but it was rest and Ian learned to play by himself while Mommy got some much needed shut eye. As he got older, we always had quite toys and books around for the mornings. He would get up play on his own and I would get at least another hour if not more of rest. The same thing happens today. The boys know they can crawl in with Mark and I and cuddle. But once they are done they go off and play while Mark and I continue to sleep till either they boys start fighting and need us to intervene or we absolutely have to get up. It's perfect. And works for us night owls.

But my other problem is that we live in a society that works on the early risers schedule. I would be perfectly happy to start my day at 10am. But most other people start at 8am if not earlier. So we adapt. I guess that's my point too. Not being an early riser never has made me a bad parent. I have created routines that work for me and for my kids. And that mean the I'm still laying in bed while my sister-in-law and nephews are already out sledding. Or that I don't realize that school was actually canceled till almost 9am because I went back to bed after finding out that there was a 2 hour delay. From my stand point it's wonderful. You early risers go ahead and wake up at the crack of dawn. I'll enjoy my beauty sleep. With cuddly boys by my side. Or at least the background music of kids at play.

Here's to the Night Owl Parents! May we continue to be Night Owls and not conform to a society of Early Risers!!!!!

A Reading Challenge for 2014

Being surrounded by books at least 3 times a week has made me think about all the wonderful books I have yet to read. Shelving books and organizing books at work at the books store has allowed me to glace at books I might normally look at simply because they are not in sections/genres I normally am drawn to. So this year I am giving myself a reading challenge for the year. To read a book from each section of our store. Now I'll be upfront. I'm giving myself a few passes. I see no reason to read something from Large Print when they are elsewhere throughout the store. Nor do I figure I should force myself to ready something from foreign language or Kids foreign language since the only foreign language I know is German and it's been so long I probably don't even have a kindergarten reading level anymore. Our $1 bin/ Mass Market paperback I feel I can also overlook as again some of these will be found elsewhere. Although if I get through the rest of the sections I'll take a took to see what I can find :) Finally I feel no big need to read through one of the bibles or hymnals. I own 4 hymnals and at least 6 bibles, and the point of this is to read books that I might not have originally thought to pick up.
I guess I should outline some other thoughts I have about this challenge. I am a avid believer that reading is and should be fun. I did the whole reading for the sake of learning in school. And I know I'll do it again when I start my graduate work. But for right now I have no need to read for the sake of knowledge. If I learn something great. But for me at this moment in time, in this stage of my life, reading is pleasure. If I don't like what I'm reading then I won't continue reading it. So that means I plan on picking books I'm drawn to. Books I hope to enjoy. I'm not going to force myself to read a book from every section of the store just to say I did. But because I think there are some great books I will enjoy in sections of the store I normally do not browse for myself. When in the store for myself (outside of work) I tend to stay near fantasy/sci fi, graphic novels or the children's sections. There are so many more sections to browse and that's what this challenge is for.
The other thing I hope this does is show the boys all the different kinds of books there are out there. As a 1st Grader Ian is starting to really read on his own. He still needs some help but I often find him on this bed with a book in his hands. Cai at 5 can read simple sentences. And Aiden is starting to learn what sounds the letters make. Lately I have come across reading and friends facebook posts or pintrests pins to links about how to get you children to read. To be honest they all say the same thing. Read to your child. And read yourself so they see you read. Not to sound haughty, but I could have told you that years ago. That being said, I tend to keep to similar books. I am often scared to try a new book/genera for fear I won't enjoy it. So hopefully the boys will see me trying new books and that will encourage them to try new books as well.
Interested in some of our sections that I will be reading from? Here are only a few.
History
Memoirs/ Biographies
Suspense/Mystery
Philosophy
Psychology
Classics
Poetry
Science
General Fiction
Political Science
Business
and many more
So far here is what I have started
Yesterday while taking a break between sweeping and mopping the store I read "How to tell if you cat is plotting to kill you" from Humor- although due to it's popularity it is keep up on the front desk display. It is from the Oatmeal and of course very very funny. I think my cats are plotting to kill me based on the evidence in this book :)
I am currently in the middle of  Book #1 of the Underland Chronicles: Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. This is from our Kids Series sections which is aimed towards late Elementary and  Middle School kids. Thus far it is very enjoyable.

So what are you reading for you pleasure???

Menu Plan Monday_ Jan 13, 2014

Hello to anyone and everyone who still checks up on this blog. It's been awhile. But a week and a half into 2014, I figured I might start again with a meal plan. My boys are becoming more picky. While that doesn't stop me from continuing to cook the way I have for the past 7 years, it still  makes menu planning interesting. On the one had I want good, healthy food. On the other I want my boys to eat it. And more importantly I just plain don't want to hear them whine.  For those that may hear from personally or on Facebook, I got a part time job at a bookstore, which I love. However since I work more evenings then mornings/afternoons, that means I have to plan meals even more than before. Cause if I'm going into work at 3pm than I need to make sure that dinner is either already put together on the stove/in the oven or everything is out and ready to be put together by Mark. I believe he can cook. But he doesn't, so I try to make it easy on both of us by having it planned or even cooked before I leave.  This week my goal it to have some meals with leftovers. I am getting tired of grilled cheese or pb&j for lunch. Not that my boys care. But Mark and I do :)
So here is our menu for this week.

Monday: Salsa chicken over rice, (using home-canned salsa) some side veggie, probably frozen peas
Tuesday: Crockpot black bean and corn soup
Wednesday: Midweek meal at church
Thursday: Curry over rice
Friday: Creamy Pesto Pasta (Simply in Season)
Saturday: The boys are on their own. I'm going with the Jr Youth to snow camp. Mark gets to decided what's for dinner :)
Sunday: Popcorn cheese and apples.

For more menus be sure to head over to Organizing Junkie. Hope everyone one has a Happy Monday! and Happy Menu Planning

Moments to remember

I'm going to completely ignore the fact that I haven't posted in months. Today several things happened that I wanted to remember. So what better way than blogging about them right? So here they are.

1st: I woke up to little voices on our landing. It took just a moment to realize that Ian was reading jokes from his library book "The Substitute Teacher from the Black Lagoon." Ian does very well with reading. It's getting him motivated to read out load. The fact he was reading to his brothers without any prompting made me smile. He later read the jokes to me as the boys were getting dressed

2nd: Aiden decides he "needs choices" before he could decide what to wear to church. He proceeds to lay out at least 10 shirts in a row on the floor. After I told him he had enough choices (it took some motivation as he thought he needed more), he walked up and down the row. All the while he is tapping his chin with his finger going "hmm, hmm." He finally picks his Easter suit. This is the conversation that followed
              Me: You will be the best dressed young man ever
             Aiden: Yes, I be beautiful.
             Me: Yes you are very handsome
             Aiden: Mommy I don't like you clothes, but I LOVE you shoes

He than ended the conversation and started to put away all the rejected shirt back in his closet. Oh that boy!

Friday also had many fun moments with Aiden. Aiden decided to bring along our X-Men early reader book on our errands. In that car he stated this
               Aiden: "Wolverine can't have a tattoo
               Me: "Why not?"
               Aiden: "His arms are too hairy."
I laughed. Most likely this came from the fact that Cai can't keep temporary tattoos for more than 30 mins. The hair on his arms causes them to rub off very easily. Still the very fact that he boldly told me that Wolverine couldn't have tattoos cause he is too hairy still makes me smile. The way these boys' brains work is simply amazing.

Later, still carrying his X-Men book, Aiden had a long conversation with our pastor about X-men, snakes, cats, and dogs. He jumped from one subject to the next as if it was the obvious conclusion. When our pastor asked if he would come back another day to talk, Aiden responds with an energetic "YES!" Our pastor then asked what book he will bring to talk about and Aiden tells him "Sonic, but we don't have the book anymore" We had checked out "Sonic the hedgehog" comic books a month ago and he still asks for them.

I'm sitting here trying to think if Cai has done anything to remember these last few days. Sadly I'm drawing a blank. He is reading a few words. His preschool is working on letter sounds, so he is learning to sound out words. If he keeps picking up our cats I swear he is going to come crying with a bloody hand from a claw or tooth. Personally I wish the cats would just scratch or bite him, maybe he would learn to be nicer to them. Cai has decided to be Wolverine for Halloween because he has claws. I was told I had to include the claws in the costume. Thank you internet searches. But I'll post closer to Halloween about costumes.

So there you have it. A few moments to remember. If I can remember to continue recording them, maybe I won't have to rely on my shading member to remember these awesome times. But for today I'm thankful for little boys reading, silly jokes, fashion styles all their  own, and out of the blue comments that make me smile.

Menu Plan Monday- May 20,2013

Happy Monday everyone! Hopefully yours started off better than mine. Although the day has ended pleasant enough. I can tell we are at the end of the school year, as my 6 year old has become hard and hard to deal with. 6 Days left of Kindergarten. And only 3 left of Preschool. Arrgg when the end of the year come so close? On the up side that means we leave for Kansas in less than two weeks :)

I'm going to keep this short. Here is our menu this week.

Monday: Stir-fry noodles (Simply in Season)
Tuesday: Quiche
Wednesday: Quinoa Pizza Bits
Thursday: Groundnut Stew (More with Less)
Friday: Mexican Rice Casserole
Saturday: Black Bean Burgers
Sunday: Leftovers or other simple meal

It should be noted that weekend plans might change if we decided to have friends over. But I figure I could at least make some plan even if I change it  later. There more like guidelines, than rules :)

For more menus head over to Organizing Junkie. Happy Menu Planning!

Menu Plan Monday- 4/29/2013

After a month of trying to get back into routine and failing, I figure at least I could start menu planning again. Even it the rest of our lives is pure chaos, this is a small step to gaining some measure of control. At least that's my hope. With the sun shining and the weather warm enough for short sleeves we have starting grilling some. It's a nice change of pace. And being outside in the sun is doing us all some good. Me especially. So here is the menu. What's on yours this week?

Monday: Hotdogs and roasted potatoes on the grill. Eat outside on the pond deck
Tuesday: Macaroni and cheese with peas
Wednesday:  Chicken curry
Thursday: Taco salad
Friday: First Fridays- eating out - most likely the hotdog stand
Saturday: my mother in law is cooking- Cai and Aiden have a dance recital and while have dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house after
Sunday: Leftovers or simple supper- maybe popcorn and apples?

Head over to Organizing Junkie for more menu idea. Happy menu planning!

Delightful Daffodils

The sun is shining. The trees budding. The worlds is bright and green. A week ago it was dark and dreary. Raining and cold. I thought spring would never come. But in among the dark and depressing landscape were yellow and white pockets of color.

 Delightful trumpets of joy. Waving heads of sunshine when I thought the sun would never come out again. My world has been filled with daffodils. And their very presence makes me smile.

 In the mist of the cold, the wet and the dark, these cheerful flowers brought some joy. I love daffodils. But it wasn't until recently I discovered the beauty of (and existence) of other varieties of the flower.

 While I have gotten to enjoy the cheering yellow and white daffodils all over town, its in my own backyard that I have discovered new varieties of this lovely flower.

 Walking my yard is an adventure. And simply gazing on all the different varieties puts a smile on my face. Might seem silly, but true. 

And while the days were dark and gloomy it was a much needed break. Now the view includes other colors of purple and red with tulips and other flowers popping up. But still it's the daffodils that bring me joy. Hope they bring a smile to you ! :)

Menu Plan Monday- April 1st, 2013

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted a menu. Last week was crazy being Holy Week. Add to the fact we made a trip to PA, heading out Palm Sunday and arriving home late, late on Wednesday night, for Mark's grandfather's funeral and I was feeling exhausted. Despite the fact that Holy Week and Easter seems to fly right on by, I feel like I got to enjoy Easter. We had dinner at a friends house with another family which was so nice. Our host made ham , rice, peas and salad. I brought pies (chocolate pudding, peanut butter chocolate, and strawberry). And the other family brought cheese and crackers. It was wonderful. And we had a big egg hunt with some other families from church. Now we are on spring break. Which has it's advantages and disadvantages. Aiden has been cranky and I'm starting to wonder if it's because he has spent so much time with his brothers without a break. With our trip last week we are on week two of time together without school. On the up side, my mom and step-dad arrive tomorrow afternoon for a few days! We'll get to spend tomorrow afternoon and Thursday with them. They we'll all head to Chicago on Friday for the day. Mom and Andrew will head back home sometime in the evening and Mark, the boys and I will stay the night and spend Saturday in Chicago. Should be a fun weekend. :) With that all in mind here is our menu for the week.

Monday: sweet potato oven pancakes (Simply in Season cookbook- sub gf flour for wheat) with bacon on the side. (Ian went to the dentist and had to get a filling. He was told only soft food for the day.)
Tuesday: Cheese corn chowder (More with Less cookbook)
Wednesday: Egg curry (Extending the Table cookbook)- maybe make gluten free naan
Thursday:???? I'm going to leave this undecided and have my mom help me. :)
Friday and Saturday: Chicago!!
Sunday: Leftovers or simple meal such as popcorn and cheese

For more menus go visit Organizing Junkie. Have a great week!

Family and Life updates

It's been almost a month since my last post. And the last few posts were menu posts, so I thought I would post a general update and such. Time is always marching, even when I don't sit down to write. So life happenings.

 This winter the boys have all been in an activity of some sort. Ian has been taking tennis lessons. He will have his last lesson next week. Ian seems to really love these lessons and always looks forward to them. In fact he already told Mark he wants to take more again this summer when they are offered again. I took him to his few few. It was fun to watch him do the drills. Of course this means he bring these drills home. Lately he has been setting up chairs or other large objects across the floor. He and his brothers then run through them, weaving around them in what every way Ian determines. If they are not sitting they see to be running. Mark has been taking him these last several weeks. Leaving me to take Cai and Aiden to their dance classes

Aiden is in a creative dance class for 3 year old. He is the only boy but doesn't seem to mind. It he fun to watch how his own dance movement at home has changed due to the class. This week was watch week. Meaning parents could sit and watch the whole class (rather than just the last 10min normally allowed). It was really fun to watch him. I was surprised he stayed focus on his teacher and not me. But he did great.

Cai also has a dance class following Aiden's. His is called Dance Sampler and is for 4-5 year olds. He too is the only boy but for the most part doesn't seem to mind. Cai had a lot harder time focusing in class with me there. I'm not sure if his lack of focus is normal, but I know I was the distraction this time as he was constantly waving and looking at me. It was cute even as I felt bad for his teacher. He too was fun to watch, when he was actually focused on what he was doing. :)

March 2nd was Dr. Seuss' birthday. Ian's class celebrated on the 1st (Friday) by watching the newest Lorax movie. Neither Mark nor I have seen it yet. In fact I had not even thought it an option to watch with the boys as I figured they would get scared. So I was nervous when Ian told me that watched it in class. Last time they watched a feature length film he had to walk out and stay in another room. But he told me that while he was scared at first he stayed for the whole movie. And HE ENOYED IT! I'm so proud of him. He stayed despite being afraid. This is one of those times that I'm grateful they don't stay little forever. It's nice to see Ian learning to face his fears and conquer them.

Cai got to celebrate his 1/2 Birthday (since he is a summer birthday) at preschool on the 1st. We decided to bring Dr. Seuss themed snack. I searched Pinterest and found lots of ideas. I pinned a few but this website gave us the ideas for our snack. We made One Fish Two Fish jello. Next time I will add the Swedish Fish right before serving instead of the night before. They got alittle soggy. And I made Marshmellow and Strawberry Cat in the Hat hats. Cai loved it. And it seemed to go over well with the class.

Our Dr. Seuss kick has continued into this week. I think we brought home 8 or so Dr. Seuss books from the library yesterday. And less than half of those I picked out. We also got 4 Star Wars easy reader books. The Lego one has Ian's name in it. The character is actually Han Solo but the H on his name tag gets turned to look like an I, so until the last page you think this the boy is named Ian. Cai loves it. Ian has not had me read it yet. But something tells me that as soon as he figures it out it will become the most demanded book of the week.

Since homework is one of Ian's afternoon chores and he doesn't not always bring homework home (only about 3 out of the 5 days does he have any), we recently decided that on non-homework days he gets to read to us for Book-It. This week he has read Green Eggs and Ham, The Foot Book and I Can Read With My Eyes Shut. This last one caused him a few problems in places but really he is flying though these books. I'm constantly amazed at his reading abilities. I guess one could probably guess we are a book loving family. Last night while he was reading I Can Read With My Eyes Shut, he was struggling with a word and Cai read it. I'm not sure if he picked it up from the picture or the rhyming scheme or just recognized the word. Either way it was impressive. He will probably start reading soon too. Fun things are happening at our house.

Menu Plan Monday- Feb 11th, 2013 and Fat Tuesday Meal

So clearly I have not updated in awhile. Of course we have been sick around here. I think I was sick for two weeks with only a few days in between. First the fever, ache body flu, then the stomach flu which Cai and Aiden gave me and I gave to Mark. Only Ian seemed to be spared. We are all healthy now. And I couldn't be more grateful. Really!!!!
This week will be different for my family as far as menus cause I'm leaving Thursday with a group of women to go to Meridian, MS for the weekend. We are helping out at the Women's Retreat at Jublee Mennonite Church and then our pastor Brenda is preaching there on Sunday. It should be lots of fun and I'm very much looking forward to the trip.
 For those who follow the Christian church calendar you know that tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. It's so early this year. To be honest it's kinda freaking me out. I'm not sure I'm ready. But here we are. Which makes today (Tuesday) Shrove/ Fat Tuesday. So in honor of the day I made sure to prepare us a feast. :)

We had steaks with this marinate. Baked potatoes. Peas.

For dessert we had these gluten free yeast donuts.

 I used an egg and 1% milk in place of the flax seed and rice milk. They turned out nice.

Everyone liked them.

 It was a good feast. Mark especially liked the steak. I know he likes my cooking but on nights like tonight it is really nice to hear and hear multiple times. :)

Okay so here is our menu for this week.

Monday: Basic Curry recipe over rice (La Leche League's cookbook Whole Foods for the Whole Family)
Shrove Tuesday Feast: Marinated steak, baked potatoes and peas.
Ash Wednesday: Lentil soup
Thursday: I'll be eating on the road- Mark and the boys will eat Cheese Corn Chowder at Grandma and Grandpa Saner's house
Friday: Mark's cooking
Saturday and Sunday: Mark will cook one night and his mom will cook another. TBD

Mark has told me he plans on having Chicken Dijon one night. He loves it but I'm not a huge fan so I haven't made it since our first year of marriage. We have had it at his mom's on occasion.

For more menus head over for Organizing Junkie. There are always lots of ideas and recipe links.

Menu Plan Monday- Jan 14, 2013

I'm not sure what to say right now. Mark got back Saturday and I was very glad to have him home. Monday and Tuesday for the most part were good days. I decided to try something new for dinner and tried out the Curried Carrot Soup from Simple in Season. As I really wanted something more than just soup I thought it might be a nice topping over rice or quinoa. I tried quinoa. It wasn't as good as I thought. As a soup the topping would be great. It needed more salt but other than that it had a nice flavor. I used some sweet potato in addition to carrots. The boys liked the curried carrots but not so much the quinoa. They seem to like quinoa better when it's flavor is masked with a strong dressing, etc. Oh well. Now I know. Today has been crazy. Luckily I didn't have to cook. Got to love church meals! :) The boys all have activities on Wednesday afternoon now. Aiden has dance from 3:30pm till 4pm. Cai then has dance from 4:10pm till 4:55pm. Ian has tennis lesson from 4pm to 5pm. So today Aiden, Cai and I got in the car and picked up Ian from school. Then we took Aiden to dance class. Dropped Cai off at Mark's work, which happens to be right next door, and drove to Ian's lesson across town. Mark then picked up Aiden and made sure Cai got to his class before returning to his office to work till Cai was done. Ian and I then met up them at Mark's office after tennis. Then Ian stayed at the office to work on homework while the other 2 and I went to the grocery store. Martin's  in Goshen is currently selling a personal size gluten free frozen pizza for $2.99. I picked up 3 this morning and went back this evening for more. When gluten free frozen pizza is normally 6 to 8 dollars depending on the brand, I could not pass up this price. We have enough to last Cai for months. :) I don't remember off the top of my head what this brand was. It was not one I have tried before. But as Mark pointed out Cai won't care. Even when I don't like it, Cai will eat it if it means that he gets what everyone else is getting. If he gets to eat pizza he is happy. I feel very blessed that he is so good about trying almost anything. And the fact that for the most part he doesn't fight about not getting exactly what everyone else is getting is wonderful. He seems to accept that he can't have gluten and that means there are many things he can't have. Luckily there are so many things he can have. And the boy loves rice. What a blessing! Okay I've rambled enough. Here is the menu. Sorry it's late and out on Wednesday and not Monday.

Monday: Spaghetti with tomato sauce, frozen peas
Tuesday: Curried Carrot Soup (from Simple in Season) served over quinoa
Wednesday: Mid Week Meal at church
Thursday: Chili with corn bread
Friday: Family Movie Night- Order pizza- Book It coupon for Ian- Frozen GF pizza for Cai
Saturday: Spaghetti Pie, frozen peas for the kids and Grandma- Date night for Mark and I
Sunday: Leftovers


Go visit Organizing Junkie for more meal plans. You know you want to ;)