Menu Plan Monday 9-29

Well folks, another week down and it is almost October! Holy cow, isn't it amazing? I know we all feel like this time of the year flies with all the approaching holidays. I make a special effort to cram fun things into the fall, just so it won't go by so quickly. Anywho, my meals worked out really well last week. I left out a couple of them because my hubby was out of town and I did kid friendly meals instead (aka mac n' cheese, chicken nuggests, etc). Because of the public nature of this blog, I unfortunately can't talk about when Brian is out of town. Sometimes I wish I could so that you all could cheer me on in my single-parent ness. :) But it is what it is. So here is my plan for this week. Remember to email me anytime or comment if you need a recipe. I don't post them all each time because of the time it takes and many of them aren't online. So just give me a shout if you need one. As I stated last week, here is the bullet point fashion that works best for me.

1. Out to dinner at Chick Filet. The reason for this delight is they are doing a deal (only at this location) where anything you buy today, the 29th, can be redeemed for free at a later date if you keep your receipt. So you betcha I'll be taking advantage of that!

2. Flat iron steak, mashed potatoes, and cheese broccoli

3. Homemade pizza.

4. Bacon wrapped chicken, salad

5. Tostadas (with ground turkey), beans, usual toppings, and chips/salsa

6. Leftovers

7. Out to dinner (we have wonderful guests coming this weekend as well as a hopeful date night for Bri and I, so we're bound to eat out one of those times).

I love-hate you, Coupon Organizer

It was a close call today, you know. I almost lost you. The sheer panic I felt at first realizing I left you at the grocery store. No problem, I told myself, I have done that before. Sheesh! Kroger always has it waiting for me at their customer service desk. Silly April. Don't worry too much. I put many freshly clipped coupons inside of you this morning with much care. I cleaned you up and removed any expired or unnecessary coupons that were cluttering your space and dirtying your slots. You've been so good to me, I have to remember to be good to you too. So Noah and I hopped in the car and sped back to Kroger where I expected you to be waiting for me at the C.S. desk. But you weren't. What is this? Not there? How can this be? Who would want my coupon organizer? (Well, many would actually because you are chocked full of savings!) As I walked away from the desk, quite puzzled, I started to feel kind of weird. I hate to tell you this, Coupon Organizer, but it was actually a little bit freeing to lose you. Suddenly the burden of using all those coupons and remembering all the deals still out there to buy, well, it was too much. Realizing I would be responsible for NONE of the deals trapped inside of you, was sort of......wonderful. I could just feel myself getting lighter and the once-grim circumstances now looked bright and sunny. Someone else could have the responsibility you possess. You demand excellence and while it pays mighty dividends, at times it can really stress me out! I know, I know, this is completely shocking to you. And I'm sorry. But a girl can only take so much running around to score deals while worrying about all her other duties. At times it left me feeling a bit greedy, even. Forgive these harsh words---but truly, you do have some drawbacks to your shiny exterior.
But let's turn this conversation around shall we? Because of my devotion, I didn't give up on you. Noah and I drove around to the area of the parking lot I left my shopping cart today. Many carts were crammed into the space, but there, calling my name among them, was you. Sitting in the lonely cart, all by yourself, just hoping I would come. And I came. I squealed with joy at the sight of you. No one took you! You were still there. I hopped out and grabbed you and held you up in the air so Noah could see my treasure. As we drove back home with you clutched in my lap, I realized how much I love you. While the grass looked greener for a moment, nothing can replace the savings you give me. Nothing. I will share whatever burden necessary in order for this relationship to thrive. I know you wouldn't want it any other way. And neither would I.

Menu Plan Week of September 21

Happy Sunday night yall! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and nice weather. We sure did. I went out and bought some fall-ish candles so the smell of our house is starting to mix with this wonderful weather and you know what that means........fall officially begins tomorrow! Yippee! I honestly don't know a soul that doesn't just love this season. I feel so alive in summer and fall. What a gift! Well, some yummy things to be cooked this week. I've decided that since I like to have flexibility during the week as to what meal I make on what day, I am going to start numbering meals instead of assigning them days. Does that make sense? I encourage you, if you are not a meal planner, to seriously consider coming up with 4 meals a week that you have the ingredients on hand. Then just pick and choose which one to make on what night depending on what is going on with your family. Maybe you like to plan what meal comes on what day and that is great. I like to keep it flexible for what my mood is or what I have defrosted already. So here it goes!

1. Chicken parmesan with sauteed zucchini and penne
2. Steak sandwiches and fresh fruit
3. BLTs and leftover chili
4. Chicken stirfry with brown rice and veggies
5. Flat iron steak, mashed potatoes and cheesy broccoli
6. leftovers
7. out to eat

After some yummy homemade pizza last night (crumbled sausage and pepperoni) Brian decided that he would be just fine with making our own pizza from now on once a week or however often we want it. I was telling him this article I read that was saying that if you order pizza once a week and decide to start making your own, you could save upwards of $700-800 a year!!! Since our pizza turned out so yummy, he conceded and told me we could do that. Wow. You remember that we live in the Midwest in a big college town. PIZZA places reign supreme around here. There is some awesome pizza to be bought so it's a big deal if Brian says he is happy with the kind I make. Woo hoo!! A big pat on the back for April. :) He wants to start making different kinds...buffalo chicken, bbq chicken, etc and that sounds yummy too. So anyway, if you need a crust recipe, click here. That is the kind I made last night. Super easy and quick. Then I just added lots of cheese, cooked sausage, pepperoni and some good pasta sauce. Waalaa.

P.S. I've stocked up on graham crackers, Hershey chocolate bars, and large marshmellows lately. You know what that means for dessert!!!!

As promised, pictures of Disneyworld

In the blink

It's September 18th and I'm wondering where in the world time has gone and where it is headed. I feel like every time I turn around a whole week or two has passed, or we're in a different month, or someone encountered a major milestone. So you can imagine what the title of this post means for me as I ponder why I'm always feeling in the blink. That weird place where there is no beginning or end, but just the moment. I think I said that before after just a few weeks of living here. Now we are at 3 months. I am happy to report, though, that after returning "home" from Orlando, B-town finally felt more like home. It was a respite to come home to with fall showing all of it's new colors. I will say that I'm really really starting to love it here. I love who our family is becoming, I love who I am becoming as a mother, and I love who my boys are becoming as brothers. The environment here only helps all of that. It's a beautiful place, Bloomington. And the next 60 days or so will only get more so that way. I thank God for all of it. Every little bit.

So my baby turned 4 and I'll be posting a slideshow with pictures of that on the boy's site.
We went to Orlando for Brian's sales meeting and had a lot of fun there. My camera battery just died so I was unable to upload the pictures. Drats. I'll give you the play by play now and then post the pictures next time.
-Wednesday we arrived at the Buenavista Resort which is on Disney property. We walked around Downtown Disney and then that night they had a big dinner for us in one of the ballrooms. Brian's company rented out the whole resort, so there were about 1200 of us. It's always a fun night because we are reconnecting with people we haven't seen in a year and a half. Most of these people last saw me when I was 8.5 months prego with Wesley!
-Thursday we went to Magic Kingdom for the day. Brian and all his coworkers stopped working at 1pm, so it was after that that we went. We rode all the rides and got drenched in rain but it was fun. For some reason I was thinking that it was different from Disneyland, but nope, pretty much exactly the same. :) We even went to Mickey's house to get some up close and personal pictures. Noah can't believe that we saw Mickey and Minnie "that move". :)
-Friday after Brian got out, he golfed and I did a spa day. Then that night Cook had a big dinner for us at the Animal Kingdom. There were tables and bars and buffet tables set up all throughout the streets of Animal Kingdom and then at the end we got to see this Lion King show. It was actually a very cool night.
-Saturday was a relaxing day. We have learned over the last 4 years that always do nothing on the last day. So instead of golfing or site seeing, we prefer to bask in the sun and treat ourselves to the spa. :) So that is what we did. We both experienced wonderful massages and just baked in the sun. Orlando is VERY humid and was in the 90's that day so it was insane. But I got a little color out of it, so that's good. :) Then that night they had a huge party/dinner for us at Hollywood Studios. **This was definitely the highlight of the trip**. Once again they set up tables, dinner, and bars all over the park and then we had exclusive use of 4 of the rides--the best ones. :) But get this, when we drove up to the park in our buses, they had prepared a long red carpet and had hired actors and actresses that acted like paparazzi. We all had to walk down the carpet with huge lights flashing at us. People even asked for autographs! It was hilarious. Then when we got through all the crowd, there was this awesome DJ just blasting music. We definitely felt like we were Hollywood stars! It was so fun not having to wait in lines and the Aerosmith rollercoaster is the best. We all felt like kids running like crazy people all over the park while dancing in between.
All in all, a great time was had by all and our boys had a blast with Nana and Papa. They are the best for letting us get away. We even came home to a mowed lawn (props to Lindy) and a very clean house. Wow. Well, if you made it to the end of this post, I'm impressed. I actually hate writing out details of trips, but many asked about our trip and so this was the most efficient way to go about answering them. So sorry if you found this post boring at best. :) Better luck next time.

Menu Plan Monday

Good afternoon everyone! It has been awhile since I posted because I was on vacation in Orlando with my hubby. We had a great time and I'll be posting pics soon as well as giving a complete rundown on all the fun we had. For now, after many weeks of not doing so, here is the menu plan. Nothing crazy, but I'm going to start cranking out some great fall recipes so stay tuned in weeks to come!
P.S. To get a ton of great menu ideas and recipes, go to orgjunkie.com every Monday!

Monday: Crockpot chicken tacos.

Tuesday: Chili, salad, veggie

Wednesday: Homemade pizza, salad, fruit

Thursday: Marinated porkloin, homemade applesauce, and sauteed zucchini

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Eat out

Sunday: Soup and sandwiches

God is good.

Good things have happened over the course of the last 3 days. I'm going to do quick summaries because my inlaws are here and I need to get off the computer.

--Friday I went to the first Ladies Bible Study called Roof Crashers at church. There are probably 100 ladies that come from around the city and they are all ages and from all backgrounds. But childcare and breakfast are provided and I felt SUCH A SENSE OF CALM when I walked through the doors. It was what I had been missing. Fellowship with other ladies, small groups, and a good Bible study. And less face it, a couple hours with no kids and a good breakfast definitely doesn't hurt. We're doing "Can We Talk?" by Priscilla Shirer and it's going to be a good one! God is so creative. Do you know that in this city of 100,000 or so, there were 3 people that I had met at various places around the city (IU game, library, etc) that all were at my Bible study??? I mean, come on, what are the chances? I've been meaning to write a whole post about how weird it is to live in a city that you constantly bump into the same people over and over. If you have seen them once, you WILL see them again---most likely in less than a week, at some other random place around town. I love it!

--My inlaws are here and that is a blessing. They were able to be here for Noah's birthday which is special. Brian and I leave for Orlando soon (trip pending due to hurrican Ike. Pray we get to go!!) and I look forward--with no small measure---to a lot of relaxing. I don't need to list the reasons why I feel like I deserve a vacation because let's face it, my life is a whole lot better and less chaotic than some. However, let's just say that I am oh so willingly accepting the opportunity to be responsible for no one and actually get to spend some moments by myself, sleeping in, reading books, exploring Disneyworld, and having good meals with my husband that I didn't cook. :) So, I pray we are able to go, despite the weather, and that we have safe trips there and back and that Ken and Lindy have a wonderful time with our boys.

--My baby turned 4 yesterday. Can anyone believe that Noah is 4??? I mean, seriously, where has the time gone? Four years old is officially NOT a baby or toddler or any image in between anymore. He is a boy.....growing more boyish by the second. We had his birthday party today and 6 kids from the neighborhood came over. It was a mellow party filled with playing on the playground, water balloon toss, pinata thrashing, cake eating, and of course, plenty of presents. But you know you do not have a baby anymore when he is getting Nerf guns. I currently have 3 suction darts stuck to my ceiling fan from just an hour playing with these new wonders!

Noah is so smart. He soaks up learning and can even be a bit arrogant at times. He loves kids---big ones and little ones, even babies. He is an incredible eater and enjoys almost everything I cook. It looks like he picked up his dad's palate which is great for his future wife. He is very gifted at sports. He received a brand new set of golf clubs from his Nana and Papa and has been taking regular trips to the driving range with his daddy. He also loves baseball but would play any sport any time. He loves to sing and dance....something that has been true since he was 6 months old. I'm so glad that trait has stuck around. He loves his preschool and I feel like his teacher, Mrs. Kim, is going to uncover even more amazing things about him this year. He wants to understand God better and is always asking good questions. He thrives on order and structure and needs to understand EVERYTHING that is happening now, will happen tomorrow, or happened yesterday. He is very reasonable and seems to be content with most explanations of circumstances or rules. He weighed 36 pounds one week ago and I'm not sure about his height yet. We'll get that measurement this week hopefully. Most importantly, he's very very loving towards his brother---showing lots of physical affection to all of us which makes me so proud. God has given us such treasure in Noah. Oh how blind I was in those first months of his life to all the potential he held. Thank you Lord for choosing us to love and grow Noah. I feel so humbled and grateful. I pray we have many many more years of loving and growing with him.

A Big thing and a little thing

So if you read my post a few days ago you know I talked about little things reminding me of home in TX. Well, another thing popped up tonight. I went out walking after dinner and went to grab my Ipod. Oh wait. I haven't listened to my Ipod since Texas (gasp!). Oh where oh where is it? I remembered it was in the van glovebox (really safe place) and as soon as I pulled it out, I turned it on and saw the last song I had been listening to....on the plane.....from Texas to Indiana. Ugh. Torture.


Okay, so the big thing is big to me. Probably not to you. But if you know us at all, throw up is an issue. I'm phobic, and my oldest son, Noah, is a gagger. So hence you have the problem. So get ready for the latest stumper. Noah. Throws up. Because he looked at his own poop. I don't think I should go on. But just think about that one for awhile while I go clean up the brightly blue stained bath rug that was doused with Capri Sun throw up today.