Menu Plan Monday (the Tuesday version)- Week of 8/22/11

Busy busy busy! Summer is wrapping up and we're trying to enjoy every last minute of it. Our days are filled with bike rides, walks, the swimming pool, and (for me) my OB doctor visits. Therefore, I haven't had too much time to blog these days (again...and as usual) but I did finally get around to making my menu plan for the week yesterday. I am planning on doubling some meals this week so I can save half for an easy, healthy freezer meal once the baby arrives (only 5 weeks away!). Here's what we have planned for the week:

Breakfasts:
Peanut Butter Granola (doubling recipe) and yogurt
Cereal and toast
Waffles and fruit

Lunches:
Sandwiches with carrot sticks, ranch dip, and crackers
Creamy Mac and Cheese, fruit
Homemade Spaghettios (new recipe), apple slices
leftovers

Suppers:
Monday: we had an impromptu day/evening at Valleyfair amusement park with the kids so we ate junk food there
Tuesday: Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos - double recipe (made on Monday but we were at Valleyfair too long...luckily it kept well in the CrockPot!), chips and salsa
Wednesday: Cheesy Beef and Rice (doubling recipe for a freezer meal), lettuce salad, carrot sticks and ranch
Thursday: Spinach Tomato Tortellini, fruit salad
Friday: leftovers
Sat. and Sun.: ??

Friday Favorite Finds

Today is my first time participating in Friday Finds hosted by Finding Joy in my Kitchen. Here is the list of recipes that caught my eye the past couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to trying in the near future:

Homemade Spaghettios
(my kids love Spaghettios but the list of ingredients scare me so I'm really excited to try this recipe and hoping it is a winner!)
(Photo and recipe by Natalie at Oven Love)

Mandarin Orange Pie
(Photo and recipe by April at Angel Foods Kitchen)

Homemade Larabars
(we love Larabars in our house so I'm looking forward to making a big pan of the homemade version!)
(Photo and recipe by Sarah at Clay in His Hands)

Baked Zucchini Sticks
(I think these will make a great appetizer/side dish on spaghetti night! I'm hoping that I'll be successful in getting my son to eat a vegetable!)

(Photo and recipe by Gina at SkinnyTaste.com)

For more great recipe ideas visit Finding Joy in My Kitchen!

Back up and at 'em

I've missed a week of posting, but I like to think I had good reason. After about a week and a half of not feeling well at all, and a trip to the Minute Clinic which told me nothing, a late night trip to Urgent Care two days later finally diagnosed me with strep throat AND mono. So, not only was I in extreme discomfort from the strep and suffering from extreme fatigue from the mono, but I am also 7 months pregnant on top of all that.

Needless to say, after one week of being on antibiotics and a blissful weekend of family who came up to help me out (thanks to mom, dad, niece and nephew) I am now feeling nearly 100% again. Looking forward to getting back to "normal."

Gratituesday - Summer

Like much of the country, we had nearly unbearable heat and humidity here in Minnesota last week. With temps near the 100 degree mark and dew points in the 80s, the heat index was around 115 degrees for nearly four days. It was even too hot for us to go to the pool. The kids just wanted to stay inside in the air conditioning. (On a side note, this Gratituesday post should also be about showing my gratitude for our central a/c and the ability to pay our electric bill this month!)

Yes, it was hot. Apparently people were baking cookies on the dashboards of their car while at work during the day. BUT - I forced myself NOT to complain. I am extremely thankful for a warm, sunny Minnesota summer because, before you know it, we will be faced with a cold, snowy, LONG Minnesota winter. Below zero temps. 15 inches of snow at a time. Coats, hats, mittens, snowsuits. Unfortunately, we have that for about six months, too.

So I will not complain about the heat. Instead, I will enjoy this very brief time we have with running with sprinklers, shorts and flip flops, and Popsicles.

For more Gratituesday posts, please visit Heavenlyhomemakers.com.

Menu Plan - Week of 7-25-11

What a crazy summer! Husband working terribly long hours, house guests in and out of our home for the past two weeks, and some crazy hot and humid weather haven't really allowed me to follow much of a menu plan the last couple of weeks. I still have carryovers on this week's menu so nothing too new or exciting. However, I am thrilled that we are blessed with a houseful of food this week. My husband took both kids to a Twins baseball game on Saturday (by himself...a brave man!) which allowed me an entire afternoon of do-whatever-I-wanted-to-do-by-myself. Being the crazy gal I am, I headed to Costco (where I've never been without the kids) and enjoyed roaming the aisles at my leisure and picking up LOTS of great deals. I spent a pretty penny but we are completely stocked up for months to come (plus I got some great deals on fresh produce, cheese, milk and eggs - I cannot believe Costco's great prices on organic items!)

Anyway, despite my Costco excitement...here's what we have planned for the week:

Breakfasts:
Cold cereal and toast
Blueberry muffins
Whole Wheat Pancakes (leftovers from Sunday)
Fruit and yogurt

Lunches:
leftovers
PB&J, chips, carrot sticks
Fruit salad and cottage cheese
Egg sandwiches, carrots and dip, fruit
Creamy Mac and Cheese, fruit

Suppers:
Monday: Slow cooker Chicken Tacos (carryover), chips and salsa

Tuesday: Dijon chicken breasts (new recipe + carryover), lettuce salad, sweet potato fries

Wednesday: T-Ball night so probably out to eat afterwards

Thursday: Homemade pizza, Caeser salad, fruit

Friday: leftover buffet

(I'm not planning anything for the weekends this summer - who knows what our plans will be!)

Check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu planning fun!

Wordless Wednesday - First T-Ball Game

My 4-year-old daughter Alison had her first T-Ball game last week. How can she be this big already?

Gratituesday - My Husband

What a crazy past few days. As I said in my last post, I started feeling ill on Friday which, unfortunately, coincided with my husband's five-day long terrible stretch at work while he was working on a big brief. Not only was I sick, weak, and achey, but I had the kids to myself 24 hours a day for five days straight. My husband's brief was due yesterday so I was so thankful when Monday finally rolled around.

I started to feel quite a bit better yesterday. Later in the afternoon, Christopher was still napping and Alison was up from rest time. I finally had enough energy to sit with my daughter and do some preschool workbook pages with her. We were having a really nice time and I was enjoying having some energy back that allowed me to do something my kids other lay on the couch watching Nick Jr. with them. Then the phone rang. It was about 5:10 p.m. It was my husband. I could tell from caller ID that he was on his cell phone. He asked, "Would you mind if I came home early today?". I shouted happily, "Yes, please!" to which he responded, "Then come to the front door and let me in!". WHAT?! I cannot remember the last time my husband was home so early! It was such a sweet surprise to see him home and I was so thankful that he made it home safely, given the fact that he had slept about seven hours total in the last five days.

Today I am extra thankful for my husband. All too often I get in one of my martyr moods when I think that I do everything around the house and with the kids. It's when my darling husband is away that I realize how much he really does help me out and how much I depend on him. And how much the kids and I love him and enjoy when he's home.

I am also thankful for his job. While I wish he didn't have to work so hard, he is an awesome provider for our family and gives 110 percent to his work to make sure it's done right. During this economy, I know so many people who are looking for work and I am extra grateful for my husband's job and his work ethic.

Thank you honey!! I love you!

This post is linked to Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers.