meals for 10.11.10 through 10.17.10

nothing fancy this week... :) we have an overstock of a few things, and i really want to get rid of some things... so, i tried to keep the grocery list to a minimum so that we could declutter the "mess!" :)


here's what is on the menu for us...

Monday: chicken, leftover cheesy bowties, corn

Tuesday: spaghetti

Wednesday: leftovers (maybe homemade pizza w/ the spaghetti sauce?)

Thursday: turkey burgers, carrots, & sweet potato fries

Friday: sour cream pancakes, sausage (Ry) & turkey bacon (R n K :))

Saturday: leftovers/scrounge or eat out

Sunday: not sure yet...maybe grilling out... :)

enjoy the week! :)

the best kind of surprises...

it seems like it was awhile ago when i sat in disbelief about being pregnant with K... i understood how it happened...and when it happened...and that it was truth, but, for months, i just felt like it was all a dream...

for weeks, i thought that i probably just had some "female issue" that mimicked pregnancy... as most of you know, you don't really "feel" much in the beginning of a pregnancy... i wasn't sick, i wasn't gaining weight, i wasn't having cravings...it just seemed impossible that a test "said" i was pregnant... i looked at that test for weeks after i first saw those two pink lines... weeks... in disbelief...


it wasn't until March 31st (yes, i remember the date) when we went for our first ultrasound that i had to believe it was true... the little legs floating around were the first things i saw... and i turned and looked at Ry and said, "i think it's really for real..." :)

i couldn't have ever fathomed the changes that would come from our little surprise... i would have never guessed that my "passion" for teaching would soon wane... i would have never guessed that i would resign from teaching, which was my identity for years...

and there are so many other wonderful changes that came from our little surprise :)


but, i know that the changes and surprises that we experienced are the best kind... i can't even begin to imagine life without my sweet Katherine... so many people told us, "ohhh, when the baby gets here, you'll never believe that life existed before it..." (no gender references here...we didn't know what we were having :)) how true that statement became... life is simply WONDERFUL! :)

well, new surprises await our family...

yep, Katherine is going to be a big sister this February...

i was emotional when i told Ry... i cried because i was scared at what this would mean for Katherine's world... i love how things are "now"...and i wanted her to have more one-on-one time with us before we rocked her world with a new little one...

but...surprise...again! :) it's not always about what we "want," is it?

i think experience has proven that surprises like this always turn out to be the most incredible blessing...kind of like that surprise back in the early months of 2008 when we learned that we'd be parents the first time...

and, now, i look at this "surprise" as an incredible gift... i can't imagine loving anyone more than i love Katherine...but i know we will... but i think the gift will be for Katherine... yes, it will be an adjustment for her, but what an INCREDIBLE blessing it will be for her to be a big sister... to have a little brother or sister with which to grow up with and to share life...

things will be a little different this time...there will be no "surprise" on the day of delivery :) i "made a deal" with Ryan when I was pregnant with K that if we didn't find out what we were having the first time, we could find out for the second child... :) so, in two days, we'll know if Katherine is going to have a little sister or brother. (and yes, we all know what Daddy wants! :)) and, well, knowing if we're having a boy or a girl will make it easier to pick out a name before we leave the hospital (Katherine was known as "baby girl" for her first 2 days of life...and the name has stuck :) that's what we call her a lot :))...and, maybe we will have a precious little blue or a pink outfit to bring home our newest addition versus the "non-gender specific" ducky sleeper we used to bring home Katherine :)

but, i think we're ready for a little surprise... after all, does it get any better than a sweet little one? i think they may just be the best kind of surprises... :)

meals for 10.4.10 through 10.10.10 (<---hehe :))

well, it's that time again...to think about food...
i'm starting back "to work" this week with my little tikes... Thomas (2 yrs.) and his new little sister, Tenley (8 weeks), will be joining us on Wednesday... we're excited to get back into the swing of life with our friends :)
but, i also know that, for the next few weeks, i'm bound to be tired and things may be a little hairy... :) and, who wants to slave in a kitchen when you just want to sit down and go to sleep?! :)
taking this new schedule into account, i tried to plan better because, basically, i want leftovers more often and don't want to spend an hour in the kitchen later in the week getting food together... :) and with cooler weather, i think our bodies are craving warm comfort foods... :) yay! :)

so, here's what we'll be munchin' on this week... :)

Monday: macaroni soup and grilled cheese

Tuesday: sloppy joes (Pioneer Woman) & mac n cheese
(if you have never had Pioneer Woman's sloppy joes, make them... you will LOVE them! :) it takes a little more time than opening up a can of Manwich, but it's sooooooo worth it!)

Wednesday: leftovers :)

Thursday: Morning Star buffalo wings & cheesy bowties

Friday: leftovers :)

Saturday: scrounge around w/ leftovers or eat out

Sunday: chicken hot dish (which will make leftovers for next week! :))



wishing you a wonderful week with your family and friends and lots of good eats, too! :)

potty...a beginner's tale...

so i have been contemplating whether or not to start K with potty training. she displays "some" readiness, but i don't think we're all the way there yet...

i don't want to force the issue...
but she tells me when she has to poop...
she runs out of the room when it's time to poop...
she observes me using the potty and tells me that i'm going pee pee...and she does the same thing when she hears daddy go...and when we take Beezer and Shorty outside to go... :)

i have picked some momma brains...when did you start? was it hard? how did your child do? did you give her M&Ms or other bribes? did you use a potty chair (on the floor) or a potty seat on the big toilet? did they regress when a new sibling came along? lots of questions... :)

so today, we went to Walmart to buy a potty seat... we went to Target a week ago and they had just Dora potty seats...and i will tell you in a few sentences why we didn't get that one...
ANYHOW, we got a cushy tushy potty seat today...it's white with yellow ducks... it's not the "cutest" seat, but hey, you're gonna use the bathroom on it, right?!
it's nice and cushy, too (as the name promises :))...for little tiny sweet little behinds... :) and it was better than the purple potty seat with "princess" printed on it (what?! who takes a wee on a potty seat that tells you that you're a princess?)...or, for the boy crowd, a baseball potty seat or football potty seat...or the ever popular Dora potty seat (which would probably, in a yelling voice, bossily tell you to take a crap in Spanish [i'm not a big fan of Dora])......

i forgot to buy M&Ms tho... but it's OK, i'm not like...DIE HARD potty training... i just want K to have a chance to sit on her potty seat to get started with the idea... if she seems ready and asks to sit on it semi-regularly, then I will get M&Ms... :)

and i really wanna get K the book "Once Upon a Potty" - forgot to get that, too... :) have you ever read it? it's so super cute... :)

so, before our nap and after lunch today, we opened our new cushy tushy potty... :) momma made a big deal out of it... i asked K if she wanted to sit on it to try to pee pee or poop, and she flashed me her smile and shook her cute head eagerly in agreement... yay! :)
as i was getting the seat situated on the "oval office," K decided it would be fun to put her arm through her cushy tushy toilet seat to surf in the water...
nice...
momma stops K with a raised voice "noooo!"...
tears follow...
momma kisses K and reminds her not to put her hands in the toilet...
tears are gone... :)

momma sticks her sweet girl on the cushy tushy...and we sit and talk... K talks about poop and pee pee and she wanted toilet paper... i tore off a few sheets for her and she was pleased as a peacock...
she promptly wiped as if she had done pee pee...
and hopped off her potty seat...
:)
we washed hands...antibacterial soap this time since she took a little expedition in the clean toilet water...

not a TERRIBLE first experience.... :) enough to make me laugh and look forward to doing it again in a few hours when she wakes up from her nap :)

meals for 9.27.10 to 10.3.10

gosh, i can't believe it's almost October already.... :)
i love fall... :)

i'm back to meal planning this week...i took off a week b/c my in-laws were in town... :) my mother-in-law is a much better meal planner than me :)

here are the eats for the week... it's a weird week here... Ry and i have dentist appointments on different afternoons and getting geared up for homecoming this weekend... that means Ry won't be home much...so dinners will be simple and....basic :)

and, i have to say that i'm not leaving K out of meals... for the last several nights, she's pretty much refused dinner... so, her dinners are things like fruit! i always offer her what we're having, though, but she rarely eats it and will not try it... can i mention, again, how much i love having a picky eater?! *ugh*

ok, ok... the plan... :)

Monday: leftovers (chicken cutlet sandwiches from Sat. night) & mac n cheese

Tuesday: bagel pizzas

Wednesday: tacos

Thursday: chick-fil-a (yum! :) a benefit of having a dentist appointment in town :))

Friday: *Homecoming Game* me: quesidilla Ry: eat out *probably subway*

Saturday: *Homecoming decorating all day and dance at night* take out - pizza

Sunday: Frenchie chicken fingers, mashed potatoes, & a veggie


hope you have a good week! :) enjoy the fall weather and eats with each other :)

caramel apple dip

i'm blessed to live near a beautiful apple orchard (which i toured every year i taught 3rd grade)... and, i am even more blessed to know the wonderful family who runs this apple heaven... :)

missy, one of my friends and the wife of one of the owners, shared this recipe recently... and it is Y.U.M.M.Y! it's not too sweet...it has an interesting but good taste...and paired with an apple slice... (or two apples, sliced, if you are us :)), you will think you've died and gone to apple heaven... :)

Missy's Caramel Apple Dip

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 t. vanilla extract

Melt your butter in a small pan. Add your brown sugar and stir constantly until smooth and dissolved. Remove from heat and add your sour cream and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.


go ahead...make it... if you do, i will warn you, you won't be able to stop eating apples with this dip... :)

oh, and buy lots of apples... :) you'll need them... :)

i can't wait until i need a snack this week... :)

meals for 9.13.10 to 9.19.10

i think fall is finally knocking on our door... i see leaves scattering the ground...and a cool breeze blows in our windows at sunset... :) i love it... fall is one of my most favorite times of the year...the colors and smells...pumpkins and mums... :) Earth's rest from a hot and demanding summer is well-earned... :)

my meals haven't quite taken that "fall" turn, yet...but we're looking forward to some yummy eats this week! :) here's what will be on our boring white plates this week... :)


Monday: chocolate chip banana pancakes, sausage links (Ry) and turkey bacon (me :))

Tuesday: leftovers (corn noodle casserole from Sunday)

Wednesday: BBQ meatballs (Meg's recipe), corn on the cob and mashed potatoes (totally stole
the rest of the meal from her plate picture - so original, i know :) - but it looks so good!)

Thursday: leftovers (corn noodle casserole?) OR bagel pizzas (me) and California Kitchen's BBQ chicken pizza (Ry)

Friday: meatball sandwiches (leftover meatballs from Wed.) & mac n cheese

Saturday: leftovers or eat out

Sunday: cream of broccoli soup and grilled cheese (haven't decided on which recipe for the soup...will post it when i do :))


happy eats to you all! :) ENJOY your time with your family and friends! :)

my love/hate relationship with Target...

we used to make weekly trips to our "new" Target...well, it was new 2 or 3 years ago... :) this wasn't a great thing for us since it's hard to go to Target without spending $100 on any given trip... i'm proud to say that we don't visit Target as often, but we love to shop there a few times a month...

now, in the last few trips i've made to Target, i've been disappointed... our Target isn't a Greatlands store (with a whole grocery section), but it does have a pretty decent selection of groceries that are actually cheaper than surrounding grocery stores...

we've had trouble getting yogurt that wasn't expired... one time, the yogurt remained in the refridgerator for almost a month past its "use by" date... disgusting... i even told someone that it was expired on my second trip seeing it...and on a return trip, it was STILL in the case...
by mistakenly buying this expired yogurt (only once, thankfully), i've learned to check the dates (usually i remember! :)) on ALL of my products, especially those that are more perishable...

today, i almost bought yogurt for K that had a "sell by" date of Sept. 6th... every single pack of YoToddler was dated for Monday...

last week, i bought milk for Ry that was to be used within 2 or 3 days, according to the date... i didn't pay attention the date (oops)... and Ryan informed me of a "thick" white substance, which looked like cream, all around the top of the spout... ew... who would want to drink that?!

we like buying diapers at Target because we can use both manufactures coupons AND store coupons...more money off... and, this week, they have boxes of Pampers Baby Dry (our favorite and only diaper for K), for $19.96... with our coupons, that's a pretty good deal! :) we headed there today...
when we got to the diaper section, it appeared that a tornado had been through the aisle... boxes were scattered here and there... there weren't any diapers in K's size... not one blessed box... and, don't you know, it was nicely printed on the sale tag that they were not offering any rainchecks...
doesn't that figure?!

and we'll forget about their "policy" about not letting you return more than 2 items in a year if you don't have a receipt... there were so many baby gifts we got when K was about to arrive that were repeats... what were we supposed to do with those things without a gift receipt? i mean, really... a kid can only have a few Pooh hooded towels, right?!

and how about only accepting TWO gift cards for purchases...and you're responsible for paying the remaining amount? we thought about buying a top of the line car seat from Target with some of our gift cards...as with most gift cards, they are usually $25 to $50... with that policy, however, it was cheaper to buy our car seat elsewhere...

it's the little things that count when you're the consumer, isn't it? and, i guess, honestly, Target will not suffer from our lack of patronage... they're a loved store, nationally, without a doubt... but, i'm afraid that the manager at our Target here needs to be reminded about restocking shelves and making areas look presentable...about employees making sure food products are not a month past their expiration... ya know...all we really want is good customer service....

pearls of wisdom

an advertisement was inside one of my Reader's Digest magazines...the insert was from the Bradford Exchange... they're offering a beautiful pearl necklace for a grandmother to buy for her granddaughter...
it comes with a poem, which was printed on the advertisement, and i thought the poem was just too wonderful not to share...
i love it as a message to MY daughter... and it could be a great message for sons or the "younger" people in your life... :)

enjoy... :)


"Grandma's Pearls of Wisdom"

I've traveled paths you've yet to walk
Learned lessons old and new
And now this wisdom of my life
I'm blessed to share with you

Let kindness spread like sunshine
Embrace those who are sad
Respect their dignity, give them joy
And leave them feeling glad

Forgive those who might hurt you
And though you have your pride
Listen closely to their viewpoint
Try to see the other side

Walk softly when you're angry
Try not to take offense
Invoke your sense of humor
Laughter's power is immense!

Express what you are feeling
Your beliefs you should uphold
Don't shy away from what is right
Be courageous and be bold

Keep hope right in your pocket
It will guide you day by day
Take it out when it is needed
When it's near, you'll find a way

Remember friends and family
Of which you are a precious part
Love deeply and love truly
Give freely from you heart

The world is far from perfect
There's conflict and there's strife
But you can still make a difference
By how you live your life

And so I'm very blessed to know you
The wonders you will do
Because you are my granddaughter
And I believe in you.

meals for 9.6.10 through 9.12.10

happy Labor Day, everyone! :)

here's the plan for eatin' for the week! :)

Monday: tacos

Tuesday: stuffed shells (meg's recipe)

Wednesday: macaroni lasagna (new - Sarah's recipe - will post :))

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: homemade pizza or stromboli (homemade dough)

Saturday: leftovers or eat out

Sunday: corn noodle casserole (new recipe - will post :))


hope you have a great week and yummy eats! :)