February 23-March 1 Menu

Happy Monday, friends!  It got down to minus 10 while I was driving Leah to school.  It's definitely February in the midwest!

We're having a pretty quiet week this week!  We are having friends over for supper tonight, and Gracie has pre-K screening on Tuesday.  She is SO excited to go to school!  It's hard to believe my baby is getting to be so grown up!  

The other thing on my plate is getting Leah's birthday party ready.  She's having friends over on Sunday evening for pizza, cake, and a movie.  I think it's going to be low key...as low key as a birthday party for a 9 year old girl can be :)

Here we go!

Monday, February 23  Tacos al Pastor

Tuesday, February 24  Skillet Mac and Cheese (my own variation)

Wednesday, February 25  Island Chicken (I'm going to make this on a stick, because they girls eat chicken better on a stick.  I shall play their game in this department :))

Thursday, February 26  Crispy Hash Breakfast Skillet

Friday, February 27  Pizza

Saturday, February 28  Sandwiches on Soft Wrap Bread

Sunday, March 1  Leftovers  Birthday Party Fun!

For Muffin Monday, we are going to have these muffins, and I'll be making this granola to have on top of yogurt!

What are you cooking up this week?

February 16-22 Menu

Well, we just finished up birthday bonanza 1 of 3 this weekend!  Leah's birthday is this Tuesday and our families came to celebrate her on Saturday...yep, Valentine's Day!  We had a really great day!

Anyway, what time is it?

It's menu time!!!!!!

In my head I sounded like a really fun announcer and you all sounded like a gym full of overly excited elementary school kids :)

Monday, February 16  Lasagna Soup (this is my favorite soup)

Tuesday, February 17  Hot Dogs (for Leah's birthday)

Wednesday, February 18  Burritos (this for Aaron and this for me.  I already made them and they are in the freezer for a quick meal!)

Thursday, February 19  Breakfast Pizza with Hash Brown Crust

Friday, February 20  Pizza

Saturday, February 21  Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos (we didn't get to these last week)

Sunday, February 22  Leftovers  Silly Cereal Supper

Have a great week!

Yesterday...One of Those Days

I had one of those days yesterday but not one of those days.

The big girls were happily off at school.  Gracie watched a PBS-esque cartoon.  We played Uno, Hoot Owl Hoot, and Spot It.  She traced her name.  We did puzzles.  We made muffins. A friend stopped by for a bit.  Gracie got her hair trimmed.  She had an uneventful quiet rest time while I read my Bible and watched Gilmore Girls. 

Yep, it was one of those days that you picture in your mind when you imagine being a stay at home mom.  One of those days when I am so overwhelmed by the goodness of it all.

And it is worth mentioning to you.

Why?

Because my days are never, ever like that.  

Usually, there is fighting.  People are spending time in the corner.  There's lots of disobeying, spilling, coughing (did you know coughing makes me crazy?), ignoring, and arguing.  I'm distracted or disengaged.  Oh, let us not forget the self-centered behavior and general messes.  Or, I the times I try to play blocks or babies with them and they are bossy, telling me that I'm doing it wrong.  Yes, apparently there is a wrong way to do imaginative play.  When they were little, there were blowout diapers, large amounts of spit up, and so.much.crying (but who are we kidding, we still have that going on). 

That kind of day isn't what I pictured when I imagined what it would be like to be a stay at home mom.  

But, the more I think about it, the more I realize those days are good, too.  

Those are the days when I realize just how much I love them.  I love them even though their noses are snotty.  I love them even when they get pee on my pants.  I love them even when they stubbornly refuse to eat the food I made.  I love them even when they are irrational and clingy.  I love them even in the midst of their defiance.  I love them even when they call out because they "need" something right after they went to bed.  I love them even when I have to repeat myself one million times.  I love them even when they cry about what seems like nothing to me.  I love them even when I end up so exhausted at the end of the night that I don't even want to think about getting up from the couch.

These are the days, too, when I look at Aaron and think about how I would never want to do this crazy little life with anybody but him.  

But, most importantly, these are the days when I know that the fierceness with which I love my girls in the middle of their messes dramatically pales in comparison to the way God fiercely, wildly, and perfectly loves me in the midst of mine.

And that's why I'm thankful for all kind of days.

February 9-15 Menu

In a shocking, SHOCKING turn of events, I'm not making a monthly menu.  

I know.  I hardly even know who I am any more.

For now, I'm going to be doing it weekly.  I really enjoyed making a monthly menu, but it does take a lot of time.  I recently got some meat on a good sale that wouldn't have necessarily fit into the monthly menu.  While I have no problem changing up a menu, it seems like a waste of time to do a whole month only to change it due to a good sale.  

So, I'm going to give it a shot and see how I like it!

Here's what we're having this week!

Monday, February 9  Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Tuesday, February 10  Honey Lemon Chicken (making kabobs, not stir fry)
Wednesday, February 11  Manicotti 
Thursday, February 12  Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos
Friday, February 13  Korean Beef
Saturday, February 14  Celebrating Leah's Birthday and Pizza!
Sunday, February 15  Leftovers and Silly Cereal Supper

What's on your menu this week?

The Daily File: #5

Happy Winter!  I feel like we are really in the midst of winter here in the midwest, and I'm one of those weird-o's who actually like it:

Day 29:

Like I said above, I do like winter, but the STUFF!  Sometimes I think our living room will be overtaken by it all.  And, the above picture is a tidy day!


Day 30:

It's nice being the grocery shopping helper when you have a package of toilet paper to lean up against :)


Day 31:

Hanging out at Piggly Wiggly looking at some books!


Day 32:

source

No, these guys technically weren't hanging out at my house on Sunday!  But, we had some friends over to watch the Super Bowl, and I was so busy enjoying the people that I forgot to take pictures.  I'm okay with that!  I was also more than okay with the Patriots victory...


Day 33:

"Mom, take a picture of me saying sweet...sah-weeet!"


Day 34:

Cereal that is stuck together is a big deal at our house!  Maggie had a four-er and a five-er!


Day 35:

And this a why I love winter!  Look at those busy, happy, creative, imaginative sisters!

Have a great day!  I'm working on a talk for the Women's Day Seminar at our church today.  At a coffee shop.  By myself!  Wheeeeeeeee!

The Daily File: #4

I'm writing this post while watching the Timberwolves game with Aaron.  Perhaps he'll watch an episode of Gilmore Girls with me afterwards.  Bahahahahahahahaha!


Day 22:

Oops!  Forgot to take a pic.


Day 23:

I'm reading and enjoying this smart guy book.  


Day 24:

Sitting sweet in their Minnie Mouse dresses!


Day 25:

They tore themselves away from Uno long enough to play some Chef Cuckoo!


Day 26:

Fun times at the water play area of the aquarium!


Day 27:

Happy end of the day with this lady!  


Day 28:

I think their love language might be Uno :)


Have a great Tuesday!

The Daily File: #3

Good times here at our house :)

Day 15:

Leah is loving the foil chocolate wrappers :)  I hit up the BEST clearance at Aldi!  They had Christmas chocolates for 10 cents a package!  Each package has about 24 chocolates.  I bought 20 :)


Day 16:

I believe I have effectively passed my love of Laura down to the next generation.


Day 17:

Gamers.


Day 18:

Puzzle-er-iffic!


Day 19:

No school on Monday equals more grocery shopping helpers for me!


Day 20:

Hannah and Emma came over for supper when Brandon was out of town.  Maggie and Gracie kept running to lay down in front of Emma so she would crawl over them :)


Day 21:

It's tower-tastic!


I hope your week is off to a great start!