I can't believe how fast 12 days went! We kept busy, with only a few days "at home". We went to visit my 87 year old great Uncle in Fond du Lac (1.5 hours away), Jaeden had her 3rd birthday party, we saw Disney Live!, we spent an hour at a McDonalds playland for Jaeden's birthday, I golfed (only 9 because I had to take Jaeden to her 3 year well-child doctor visit), we watched the Macy's parade and spent the day at my parents' on Thanksgiving, we saw Seasme Street Live!, swim lessons on Saturdays and a Target shopping adventure today. Phew! No wonder why I didn't get as much done as I wanted!
Anyway, this week's menu:
Sunday: Pizza and Buffalo wings
Monday: Left over turkey in gravy served over rice (a childhood favorite of mine)
Tuesday: Jack Daniel's pork chops
Wednesday: Spinach Lasagna (I am going to try roll-ups this time... even half of a recipe is too much for us. Maybe roll-ups can be frozen individually?)
Thursday: Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Dinner out with the Miller clan
It is back to the grind tomorrow for me. Have a great week!
Monday, November 26, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
Happy 3rd Birthday, Jaeden!
You know how it is when you are a mom. You want to give your child everything they ask for, you want to make everything special and you want it all to be perfect. About a month ago, Jaeden and I sat down at the computer and looked through all of the birthday party themes at Party City (even the "boy" themes). After much consternation and discussion, Jaeden decided she wanted a Barney birthday. Sounds about right -- she's been fascinated with the purple dinosaur for... about a year. I am into making our own invitations (I hate the fill-in-the-blank ones at the store. They are so much more work than printing them out and mailing them), so I used the image on the Party City website (do not tell any lawyers) and created our own invitations.
Invitations: check.
Cake: not a problem. Jaeden does not like cake and does not like frosting. She wants brownies. Check. Wait a minute. How do I decorate brownies to make them "special"? I can't write on them. I can't sprinkle jimmies on the top (they won't stick on baked brownies that are dry on the top). So I am thinking I might sprinkle purple and green sugar crystals on the top before I bake it. I have no idea how it will turn out. Then, I fount the Barney Logo (kids marching in line after Barney). I am going to cut it out, lay it on the cooked brownies, sprinkle powdered sugar on the top, then lift the printout. Dessert: Check?
The menu: What does Jaeden like to eat? Noodles. Plain noodles. How do I serve plain noodles to our guests? With chili, of course! Other guest are bringing caprese salad, serloin medallion sandwiches, and corn bread. We will have taco dip, chips and dip/salsa, and dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets ("Barney chicken" at our house) for appetizers. Check!
Tableware: Yesterday I decided I should get going on Jaeden's party. (with 2 days to spare). We went to Party city to buy the Barney cups Jaeden saw on the website and wanted to have so badly and dessert plates, etc. I couldn't find them so I asked where they were. I was told they didn't have them. I said, "But you have them online." "Yes," was the response. I said, "Your store is always so disappointing." I put down my things on the counter and walked out. I hate that store. Do not get me going on it... Anyway, I had already checked Target with no luck so we moved onto Bartz's. Nope. Nothing there either. We called WalMart. Nope. DARN IT! Lessons learned:
1) Party City's website does NOT say "Sold online only." They want to you go into their store and be disappointed.
2) DO not wait until the last minute to buy party accessories.
3) Do not pick a theme that is (apparently) no longer trendy.
Anyway, after deciding I did not want to pay $25 for expedited shipping on $14 worth of product, we are moving to plan B: make your own decorations. Here's what we are doing. Cups: plain green and purple cups will have a 2 "x 4" white label put on them with Barney printed on the side. The rest of the label is reserved for guests to write their name. Dessert plates: plain colors. Jaeden won't care (right?). Check.
Other decorations: Balloons. No one has Barney mylar balloons. I guess plain purple and green balloons it is! I am also printing a whole bunch of Barney images (thanks to google) to use around the house.
Yikes. Why do I care so much? Why is this so difficult?? The answers are summed up in: Of course I can do that, I'm a MOM!
Invitations: check.
Cake: not a problem. Jaeden does not like cake and does not like frosting. She wants brownies. Check. Wait a minute. How do I decorate brownies to make them "special"? I can't write on them. I can't sprinkle jimmies on the top (they won't stick on baked brownies that are dry on the top). So I am thinking I might sprinkle purple and green sugar crystals on the top before I bake it. I have no idea how it will turn out. Then, I fount the Barney Logo (kids marching in line after Barney). I am going to cut it out, lay it on the cooked brownies, sprinkle powdered sugar on the top, then lift the printout. Dessert: Check?
The menu: What does Jaeden like to eat? Noodles. Plain noodles. How do I serve plain noodles to our guests? With chili, of course! Other guest are bringing caprese salad, serloin medallion sandwiches, and corn bread. We will have taco dip, chips and dip/salsa, and dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets ("Barney chicken" at our house) for appetizers. Check!
Tableware: Yesterday I decided I should get going on Jaeden's party. (with 2 days to spare). We went to Party city to buy the Barney cups Jaeden saw on the website and wanted to have so badly and dessert plates, etc. I couldn't find them so I asked where they were. I was told they didn't have them. I said, "But you have them online." "Yes," was the response. I said, "Your store is always so disappointing." I put down my things on the counter and walked out. I hate that store. Do not get me going on it... Anyway, I had already checked Target with no luck so we moved onto Bartz's. Nope. Nothing there either. We called WalMart. Nope. DARN IT! Lessons learned:
1) Party City's website does NOT say "Sold online only." They want to you go into their store and be disappointed.
2) DO not wait until the last minute to buy party accessories.
3) Do not pick a theme that is (apparently) no longer trendy.
Anyway, after deciding I did not want to pay $25 for expedited shipping on $14 worth of product, we are moving to plan B: make your own decorations. Here's what we are doing. Cups: plain green and purple cups will have a 2 "x 4" white label put on them with Barney printed on the side. The rest of the label is reserved for guests to write their name. Dessert plates: plain colors. Jaeden won't care (right?). Check.
Other decorations: Balloons. No one has Barney mylar balloons. I guess plain purple and green balloons it is! I am also printing a whole bunch of Barney images (thanks to google) to use around the house.
Yikes. Why do I care so much? Why is this so difficult?? The answers are summed up in: Of course I can do that, I'm a MOM!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
SUCCESS!
I knew for months that I would have to leave home for a business trip at the end of October. The month FLEW by and before I knew it, the trip was days away. For some reason, I had the feeling that if I didn't have everything in line for the 60 hours I would be gone the world would end. And maybe it would have, but I'm a Mom and of course I can do that!
I had a printed schedule of where the girls were going to be when and how they were going to get there. Of course, I was leaving on Halloween and they would be at school that day. So it wasn't as simple as dropping them off. We're talking costumes, clothes that matched with and were functional with the costumes, and snacks for their parties. Check!
Daddy was on standby, so I had to pack the girls' bags (as well as my own) for their 2 days at Mimi and Bapa's. It wasn't as simple as 2 outfits. Jaeden is still working on potty training (although she has been dry during awake times for the past 9 days), so I had to pack backup outfits. And because I am OCD, all of the outfits had to match. Yikes!
Anyway everything was a success, especially on the home front. While I am sure they missed me, the girls had lots of fun with Daddy and at their special sleepover with Mimi and Bapa. Jaeden didn't have any accidents. Mya was Mya and just went with the flow. Neither seemed to really mind that I was gone. I had a pretty decent conference and enjoyed dinners out, socializing and a few drinks. Now it is home sweet home!!!
This week's menu/schedule:
Monday - Chinese at home: potstickers, egg rolls and crispy orange beef and broccoli. (Recipe for the latter from Sandra Lee -- 20 minutes - Easy! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/crispy-orange-beef-with-broccoli-recipe/index.html
Tuesday: Tastefully Simple Chicken Enchilada Casserole with Spanish rice
Wednesday: Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Treptow's
Thursday: Salisbury Steaks with frozen veggies and Au Gratin potatoes
Friday: TAKE OUT! Pizza?
Saturday: Dinner at Mimi and Bapas?
Sunday: Early dinner out with the Vanden Eykel family!
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