Menu Plan Monday (Sept 28th)

Sorry for being out for a long stretch again. Cai has been sick for the past week. It start last Monday (Sept 21) and he ran a fever till yesterday. Today has been much better. But he is still really stuffy. Poor guy. When we took him to the doctor, he said it was a virus. And when we called later in the week to ask some more questions, the nurse said that it could last 7 to 10 days. But I think he's mostly better now. So hopefully things will continue to look up. I actually went grocery shopping today which felt really good. Yeah for small accomplishments!!!
So this weekend is Fall Fest at Bethel College (where Mark and I graduated from). I always love Fall Fest weekend. In the last few years, I really come to appreciate Taste of Newton which happens the Thursday before. And I'm looking forward to all the food this coming Thursday. It also means that I won't be cooking alot this week. Which is both good and bad. Good because it's less work for me. Bad because last week I hardly cooked because I was constantly holding Cai. And since I was unable to go shopping we ending up eating out way more than I like. But that is life sometimes. On the bright side. We got a van last week!!!!! An 06 Toyota Sienna. So now we just have to sell our car. Which will be happening within a week or two, as a good friend of ours is buying it from us. It's seems to be working out so smoothly. And mostly we are ready for the baby. My friend K just need to come visit to help me with my belly cast before the little one comes.
Ok enough about that here is this weeks menu. Tonight we had spaghetti and meatballs. I used the recipe in Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Sienfeld. I just got this cookbook for my birthday (this last Friday 9/25). I'm so exicted about it. Thank you Grandma Anita! Ian loved the meatballs. And I made enough that I froze half for later. Starting to stock up my freezer for easy meals when the baby comes.

Tuesday: Spagahetti and meatballs
Wednesday: Church meal
Thursday: Taste of Newton :)
Friday: Pizza Braid
Saturday: Slow Cooker Enchiladas
Sunday: Red Lentil Coconut Curry
Monday: Fish Nuggets, Butter pasta (both from Deceptively Delicious) with a side of veggies

Be sure to visit Organizing Junkie's website for more menu ideas.

Menu Plan Monday (Sept 14th)

So despite the fact that I have not posted the last two weeks menu's, I have indeed planned out my menus. However, life has been extra crazy and even with a menu we don't always follow. Several things have been happening around here. First, we are heavily shopping for a van. And we have it narrowed down to two: a 06 Toyota Sienna and an 06 Chrysler Town and Country. So the last few weeks have been filled with trips to dealers around town or trips to Wichita to look at and test drive vans. The other big thing that happened was the father of my best friend from high school died of a heart attack. My mind and heart have been with her as she deals with this major loss in her life. And then of course there is the transition to preschool which is still a fight. While Ian seems to have fun at preschool, he still fights going. But once home he goes on and on about what he did that day. I keep hoping that drop off will get better. I'm sure it will just take some more time. So here is this weeks menu. I'm hoping to keep it simple. That way (keep my fingers crossed) I can stick to it. :)

Tues: Ground nut stew
Wed: Church supper
Thurs: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: NOOMA Sunday School class Party at R & G's house
Sunday: Breakfast dinner
Monday: Cheese Corn Chowder and muffins (maybe corn bread?)

Be sure to check out Organizing Junkie for more ideas.

Menu Plan Monday -Aug 24

Last weeks menu went over really well. Thursday we had Small group which worked out nicely because we didn't have as many leftovers as I was planning. With Cai eating more and more table foods my predictions on what will be left over are become less accurate. Saturday Mark and I went out to a movie and dinner to celebrate our anniversary. It was wonderful. The kids stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's and from what my mom said they did really well. We ate at P.F. Chang's. We shared the Honey Shrimp and Sweet and Sour Chicken. It was really good. Especally the honey shrimp. So this week I have decided that since I am grocery shopping on Tuesdays now I'm going to plan my menu for Tuesday through Monday. So from now one plan on seeing my menu post either late Monday or early Tuesday. Here is what is on for this week.

Tuesday: Baked Chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans and salad
Wednesday: Chicken curry
Thursday: Chili and corn bread (I have been having lots of craving for corn bread :) )
Friday: Tacos
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Ham and cheese sandwitches
Monday: Homemade Hamburger helper

Be sure to check our Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas.

Menu Plan Monday- Aug 17th

As we slowly adjust to the upcoming new preschool schedule, my normal Monday routines are changed. Yesterday, rather than going grocery shopping we went to music group. We normally meet on Tuesday. But since the kids going to preschool this year and evenly divided between Tues/ Thurs schedules and Wed/Fri schedules, we have moved the group to Mondays. So with no grocery shopping yesterday, I was not as motivated to get my menu up. Last night we had black bean soup and corn bread muffins for dinner. It worked out nicely for the rainy day that yesterday was. I was craving corn bread and was glad to find a simple recipe that didn't take too much time. The last time I made corn bread the recipe, while very very good, took some work. And for the soup I used the dry soup mix I was given a few years back. Just added a can of black beans to give it more texture (otherwise it is really mushy). Last weeks menu went pretty well. I don't really have any highlights. Ian's party in the park was wonderful. I plan on commenting more on his birthday later. Even though I know it was now over a week ago. I'm so slow sometimes.

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband!!!! I love you lots.

Okay, here is the plan for the rest of the week.

Tuesday: Chicken and rice casserole, green bean side
Wednesday: Sweet potato and black bean burritos
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Movie and dinner to celebrate Mark and my anniversary!
Sunday: Breakfast dinner

Don't forget to check out Organizing Junkie's website!

1st Birthday Celebration

It's hard for me to believe that it's been a year since my baby Cai was born. I don't have words to express the awe I feel watching this beautiful boy grow. And I know that time will only continue to slip by quicker than I can comprehend. Cause clearly a year just past by without my permission. My tiny newborn is no longer tiny, while at the same time just as little and precious in my eyes. I guess that is part of the wonder of the first birthday. They grow so much within they're first year, all the while still staying a little baby fully dependent on us. But all too soon, he will be learning to walk and pushing his independence more and more. And while I long to keep him wrapped up in my arms, I know my little adventure seeker will demand his independence to the fullest as he learns to navigate further and further from my embrace. So we head straight into the world of walking, running, talking and exploring. I'm sure this next year of his life will bring lots of adventures.


For more fun pictures and videos of the first b-day cake and opening presents check out our Picasa Albums.

Menu Plan Monday- Aug 10th

So last week was a horrible experience. We all came down with some kind of stomach bug, with me having it the worse. It was bad enough that I was sick, but then it took days for me to function on a somewhat normal level. Oh the joys of being sick while pregnant. I still feel like my energy is lacking. So as you might guess, last weeks meals were scraped for canned chicken noodle soup and applesauce (or similar such foods). Sunday, despite being very busy, was a good day and we all seemed to enjoy gathering with family. I'll post later on the birthday celebration at my mothers house. We have lots of great first cake pics of Cai from Sunday (we were all too sick to celebrate on his birthday). This week looks to be starting off to a good start. And lucky for me I'm not really going to have to cook all that much. Yesterday we celebrated the boys birthdays again by inviting our friends M and C over for dinner. It was wonderful. And I finally cooked the lasagna rolls I've been wanting to make for weeks. Although my noodles ended up breaking, leaving me with only enough whole noodles to do the vegetarian ones in rolls. The other I just layered and baked. We had green beans, salad and peach crisp for dessert. It was a good night. :) So the rest of the week as followed.

Tuesday: Pizza at friend H's house.
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday:Eat out
Friday: Pizza Braid
Saturday: Breakfast dinner
Sunday: Hamburgers and hotdogs at the park to celebrate Ian's b-day with his friends- Digger cake and homemade ice cream
Be sure to check out Organizing Junkie's website for more menus. And have a great week.

Today's number of the day: The number 2

The number 2 seems to be a permeate our house. We live in a 2 bedroom house at 222. We have 2 young boys, and because of this many of our toys come in twos. 2 firetrucks, 2 diggers, 2 green swings, 2 toy pianos, 2 coin banks, etc. We often have 2 computers running in the evening, as Mark works on the desktop and I work on my laptop. Ian is currently 2 years old.
I'm slowly realizing that the quickly our life is going to change. Soon the number 2 will lose some of it's significance in our lives as the number 3 take over. First Ian will turn 3 years old on the 10th (in just 6 day!). Somehow this feels very important. For one it means he is going to be starting preschool. AHHHH!!! When did my baby get old enough to start school? But turning 3 also means he is no longer a toddlers, no longer a baby. Can someone tell me how to slow down time? Really, my babies are getting too big too fast. Second we will soon be adding another boy to the family. That's right, for those out of the loop, I'm due the beginning of November. And we'll be having another baby boy! Truth be told I'm freaking out a bit. Three boys is going to be a handful. And than you take into account that Cai will barely be 15mo (if even) when the new baby arrives, it just scary. But I know that it will work out. Things are changing around our house. And while I keep hoping I'll find time (and energy) to post more regularly, when I'm honest with myself I know that it just might not happen. Cause thing around here are not going to slow down anytime soon, if ever. And right now I'm just trying to figure out how to adjust to the ever changing thing that is our lives. :) Wish us luck. Number 3 is coming and in so many different ways!