Back to normal?

Thanks for posting, Ann. I needed you to get me back on track. Paul finally finished his second to last semester on the 21st. On the 22nd we had Christmas Play practice at Church, then two christmas parties whereby Paul got absoultly wasted and proceeded to throw up all night and the next day which left me with Christmas Program at church with both boys, by myself after coming off weeks of a hellish school schedule and being a single working mom of two young boys and a dog with no christmas presents. So Monday, the 23rd I got all my Christmas shopping done, we finally got to see Santa Claus and were ready for Chritmas Eve when, what seemed like out of nowhere, Paul got this horrible influenza sickness - it was HORRIBLE! He literally had the flu that kills people all day Christmas Day he was down and the 26th and 27th he was motionless. He finally stood up on the 28th and yesterday he actually ate a meal - leaving me, once again, a single working mom of two young boys who's trying to dig out from the mountain of Chritmas presents and also trying to get a wink of sleeping next to a coughing sick big guy in my bed...sigh!! Now John has a touch of his influenza and Paul has bronchitis. OMG GIVE ME A BREAK, PLEASE!!!!! But no, Wilson has been scooting his tail all around the house and has anal sac issues that I had to get taken care of so not only to the Dr. today for John but also to the vet, with both boys since Paul didnt get home from work early enough, to get Wilsons anal sacs drained only 10 days after we did it last week...gross - and a Rx for what is dog metamucil. Double gross. What a crappy month - there I said it. I'm Ok though; "Just Keep Swimming!" THE MENU: Tonight - Papa Johns Alfredo and Spinach Pizza. Mom ain't cooking. Tomorrow - NYE Party at our house - NO IDEA What we're cooking. Its usually fondue, we will see what happens - I've gotta work tomorrow though so hopefully we figure it out soon ;) Wednesday - Chicken and Dumpling Soup, in the crock pot for six hours - easy and yum. Thursday - Reuben Pizza, yes, the one you sent me on Facebook - looks amazing, sounds amazing! My kids will likely hate it - too bad, they can have honey toast. Friday - Grilled Brats. Have a great week back to normal, Ann! You can do it and I'm cheering you on from the Tundra in MN (it was -17 when I woke up this morning...at 3:15am to a choir of coughing!)

Time to get back to it...

My maternity leave ends a week from tomorrow, so it's about time to get back to routine: the working, running and making dinner routine. This week is supposed to be super cold with wind chills in the negative teens, so there won't be any running outside. I may use my parents treadmill, but no promises!  Work is easy, I just have to go. There will be plenty to keep me busy!  So that leaves dinners...  I feel like I am in a rut and haven't even started!!

Today: Packer game/dinner at the Millers

Monday: pasta, sauce and GB. Leftovers from Saturday's Christmas dinner with Jon's dad, sister and her family.

Tuesday: Savory grilled chicken (already in the freezer, thaw, cook and eat)

Wednesday: tacos

Thursday: Jaedens choice - hot dogs with buns (I usually never buy hot dog buns, but she loves them)!

Friday: leftovers?

Saturday: dinner at or with the Millers?  If not, pizza :-)

Ok, so that wasn't too hard. The challenge will be next week: returning to daycare, working, running, dinners all in one week?  Sounds daunting. Slowly but surely!  No need to rush. I'll get there eventually. 

Have a great week!

Time to get back to it...

My maternity leave ends a week from tomorrow, so it's about time to get back to routine: the working, running and making dinner routine. This week is supposed to be super cold with wind chills in the negative teens, so there won't be any running outside. I may use my parents treadmill, but no promises!  Work is easy, I just have to go. There will be plenty to keep me busy!  So that leaves dinners...  I feel like I am in a rut and haven't even started!!

Today: Packer game/dinner at the Millers

Monday: pasta, sauce and GB. Leftovers from Saturday's Christmas dinner with Jon's dad, sister and her family.

Tuesday: Savory grilled chicken (already in the freezer, thaw, cook and eat)

Wednesday: tacos

Thursday: Jaedens choice - hot dogs with buns (I usually never buy hot dog buns, but she loves them)!

Friday: leftovers?

Saturday: dinner at or with the Millers?  If not, pizza :-)

Ok, so that wasn't too hard. The challenge will be next week: returning to daycare, working, running, dinners all in one week?  Sounds daunting. Slowly but surely!  No need to rush. I'll get there eventually. 

Have a great week!

Time to get back to it...

My maternity leave ends a week from tomorrow, so it's about time to get back to routine: the working, running and making dinner routine. This week is supposed to be super cold with wind chills in the negative teens, so there won't be any running outside. I may use my parents treadmill, but no promises!  Work is easy, I just have to go. There will be plenty to keep me busy!  So that leaves dinners...  I feel like I am in a rut and haven't even started!!

Today: Packer game/dinner at the Millers

Monday: pasta, sauce and GB. Leftovers from Saturday's Christmas dinner with Jon's dad, sister and her family.

Tuesday: Savory grilled chicken (already in the freezer, thaw, cook and eat)

Wednesday: tacos

Thursday: Jaedens choice - hot dogs with buns (I usually never buy hot dog buns, but she loves them)!

Friday: leftovers?

Saturday: dinner at or with the Millers?  If not, pizza :-)

Ok, so that wasn't too hard. The challenge will be next week: returning to daycare, working, running, dinners all in one week?  Sounds daunting. Slowly but surely!  No need to rush. I'll get there eventually. 

Have a great week!

All my bags are packed....

...I'm ready to go!  The doc said I was "almost 3cm" on Thursday, and she even asked how close I live to the hospital. She keeps hinting that when I go into labor, it could be quick. So....  Jon told me to pack a bag. I hate packing for any occasion, but this is the worst. What will I feel like?  What will the weather be?  When my maternity wardrobe is limited to begin with, how am I supposed to pack a going home outfit and other comfy clothes for lounging at the hospital?  I honestly have no idea what I packed for either Jaeden or Mya, so it's like starting from scratch. And shoes?  I only fit into my flip flops, and I only have 2 pair of those. So those can't go in the bag either. I suppose I will just have to wear home what I wore there :). Thank goodness this is the last time ;-).

Anyway, everything is day by day.  I got a bikini wax, a pedicure and a haircut. My last scheduled day at work is Thursday.  My bags are packed and the car seat is ready (wiped down and newborn insert put in). I have receiving blankets in the wash, but I didn't take those with either of the girls.  Oh well, if those don't make it into a bag.

I am pretty excited and have been for a while. It gets a whole lot more real when the doc says 3cm. I know I could be there for a while, but both Jaeden and Mya were early.  And I can feel a lot happening. Hopefully it's not just wishful thinking!

Long story short is I have no idea about a menu.  I am kind of distracted!  I loved your menu last week by the way. Especially Hamms. I thought you made a typeo and meant Ham. HA!

I hope you are enjoying your vaca.  Say hi to Paul!!

not creative enough for a title - very tired.

Celebration weekend!! I'm down 10 pounds since August 8th from watching my calories and carbs and my diabetes levels are way down back to the normal range.  Wahoo for me!!!! :) I took the weekend to celebrate with lots of cookies, donuts, milk, etc.  

Menu for this SHORT week!  Paul and I leave for vacation on Thursday to Tofte, MN.  Pretty excited.  Boys are staying with Grandma and Grandpa J.  

Monday:  Left over stew I made yesterday.

Tuesday: Something easy like Spaghetti - 

Wednesday:  Cauliflower crust pizza (wish me luck on this one - its a new recipe and I'm suspicious).

Thursday:  Wine

Friday:  Hamms

Saturday: Coors Light

Sunday:  Grilled black bean and Sweet Potato burgers with a side salad.

Have a great week!  I hope that boy makes an appearance this week!

Moving even slower...

I was horrible last week.  We didn't have a menu so every night was the infamous question, "what should we have for dinner?"  I hate that question. We were better the week before, but some things got bumped, so I don't feel great about that either. Anyway, I have a menu this week.  It was challenging because I am trying to generate meals for the freezer, not use them!

Today:  on your own. Breakfast for dinner for the females?

Monday:  Mediterranean fish

Tuesday: Chinese

Wednesday: leftover spaghetti. We have a boatload from last night's dinner party

Thursday:  tacos

Friday: spinach lasagna

Saturday:  leftovers?  Pizza?  Whatever?

Have a great week!

P.s.  I am 1-1.5cm and 36 weeks tomorrow. All menus are null and void if I go into labor ;-)

Moving slow (or slowly moving?)

What a week!  And what a weekend!  Missy, I am sure you are used to the lifestyle I've had the past 8 days, but I'm not. So I consider surviving it an accomplishment. 

Jon left last Sunday morning. I was determined to have a great week!  Hours later, Jaeden starts puking. Really?  Why do my kids puke when he leaves town?  Anyway, now I have to clean it up and I'm worried it will happen again.  It didn't though, so that's good. 

Tuesday was dinner at my parents. At least I had moral support for bath night :-)

I survived chaperoning the toddler room on their first field trip and I didn't go into labor on the bus or tractor ride. I probably survived because it was 2 kids to every one adult!

The girls slept over at Mimi and Bapa's Thursday night while I went to bowling. Coming home to an empty house was a little sad, but a lot of heaven!  As was getting ready the next morning. Man, I can get ready fast when it is just me!

Jon got in around midnight Friday/Saturday. The girls slept in a bit and I was ready to kick back and relax...  Not so much!  Jon was on standby and got bombarded by calls. That meant I had to swim with Mya during Jaeden's swim lesson.  Then I decided to make hay while the sun shines and pull up some annuals and plant some tulips and daffodils. Yikes!  I over did it.  I just can't bend over anymore. I felt horrible the rest of the weekend. Then overnight Jon got another call and was gone until 3am, had a call to be at another one at 10, then got paged for one this evening.  Phew. I guess the good news is that the overtime $ will be awesome! 

We managed to make a menu and go grocery shopping (saved about 43% off our bill thanks to coupons!) in between his calls...

Tonight - sausages from the freezer, not labeled so brats? Italians? Who knows.

Monday - beef stroganoff

Tuesday - chicken quesadillas

Wednesday - homemade pizza

Thursday - Mediterranean fish

We'll just wing it the rest of the week!

Here's to having patience, being efficient and not too exhausted. And remembering that I am 34 weeks pregnant and I can't do everything (although I will try anyway) ;-)

Have a great week!!

Wise choice

First, sorry its taken me so long to post.  I am not sure why it happened.  Anyway, here I am.  And I am going to reply to Missy's recent posts.

1) My reply to the plan to go vegetarian:  WHAT?!?!  You're nuts.  But if that's what you want to do, go for it!

2) My reply to the decision not to go vegetarian: Wise choice.  I admire your desire to make your meals healthier.  You are WAY ahead of me.  I consider having a vegetable on our plates healthy ;-)

Jon left early this morning for a week of training in Houston.  My goals for the week: 1) Not lose patience with the girls. 2) Eat real food (the girls can get by with mac and cheese, but this pregnant lady can't). 3) Keep the house straight (or at least have it cleaned by Friday).  4) Not go into labor (this was a goal Jon set for me).  So with those goals in mind, I will share with you my schedule for the week, even if it doesn't include a menu.  Maybe meal ideas will come to me as I type?

Sunday: We are at home.  I have already put the dishes away, cleaned off the counter top, started the laundry, gone through the mail, eaten breakfast...  Football is on later.  Maybe we will go for a walk.  We should go to the dog store to get dog food.  Who knows.  We got home late last night and I am OK with just being home.  Lunch - Me: leftover chili, Girls: ? Dinner - Me: Chicken Parm. Risotto, Girls: ? (in other words the girls either get what I get or I will improvise).

Monday: Breakfast boxes are already packed and ready for school.  Daycare, work, dinner...

Tuesday: Girls to Mimi and Bapa's, me to work.  After work I will go to my parents and stay for dinner.  Thank God I don't have to think about for that day!

Wednesday: Girls to daycare and me to daycare!  I am chaperoning their field trip to the Apple Barn Orchard and Winery.  I need to pack lunches.  Dinner?

Thursday: Girls to Mimi and Bapa's, me to work.  After work OB appointment.  Then bowling.  Maybe the girls will sleep over at Mimi and Bapa's?  Or maybe Grandma Patti will watch them here.

Friday: Girls at Mimi and Bapa's, me to work.  I think Mimi and Bapa may come over for pizza?

So I am getting a little taste again of what you go through all the time.  You're amazing!  I just hope I make it ;-)

I'm a Mom that can do everything, but I can't do that!

Totally not going vegetarian!  Nope..not going to do it.  It sounded totally healthy and good and all that jazz BUT, no thanks.  Not right now anyway.  I am, however, going to try to limit the red meat I eat and stick to chicken and turkey during the week - totally do-able and good for our family.  I have to go to the grocery store right now for milk.  I hate being gone all weekend, I've spent all night cleaning my house and doing laundry and now Paul just got home from school and has homework and I need to work.  I need a beer.

Going Vegetarian!!! (sort of), maybe.

Sooo.....I think I want to try going vegetarian, sort of.  I don't think I can take it out completely but I'd really like to go veg on weeknights and then just whatever on weekends.  I'm not going to make my family do it since I think Paul would waste away to nothing until I can come up with some meal ideas but after doing research over the past month or so I think its really a healthy option for me.  I'm also not going to be crazy like, "those french fries were fried in the same oil as chicken so I'm not going to eat it" but pretty much try taking most red meats out all the time and maybe eat the occasional chicken breast or turkey if I need to fill in on the weekdays then go meat wild on the weekends...like meatloaf or a hamburger or a brat - your cheeseburger meatloaf sounded so good tonight!  So...I think, hopefully, I can start Monday!  I'm excited!!  Please send me veggie menus as you come across them - the zuchini muffins I just saw looked wonderful!!  Tomorrow I am making Zuchini lasagna and I'm going to leave the meat out.  We'll see how that turns out.  My mom, aunt and cousin kate are coming over to try it out too - speaking of that, I should be cleaning my house, not blogging....I think this is called delaying.  Talk to you later!!

BTW, your last post really got me going!!!  After reading it I was going nuts cleaning my house and getting going - thanks so much for the motivation!!  Take care!

On a roll!

It's Sunday.  It's only 10am.  I've made Blueberry Cream Cheese Monkey bread, the laundry is started AND the menu is made.  PLUS, it's officially football season!  YAY!  Here's our menu.  Nothing much is happening this week, other than a haircut, an OB appointment, a round of golf and another attempt at "rolling".  Seems like a lot, but I think it will be a relatively easy week.

Sunday: Buffalo chicken pizza sticks and/or regular old pizza.  I just wish I could have a beer with it ;-)
Monday: Breakfast for dinner.  Pancakes?  French toast? Cereal?  Breakfast wraps?  Something like that.
Tuesday: Spinach Lasagna.  Already made.  Thaw and bake.
Wednesday: BBQ marinated chicken on the grill
Thursday: Bacon cheeseburger meatloaf
Friday: Wildcard.  I have no idea.  Left overs?  Eat out?  Something.
Saturday: Oktoberfest with the family!

Have a wonderful week!  I just wish the weather would be like today all week, but nope.  90 tomorrow and Tuesday. BOO!  I can't take it anymore!

My bestie is far away in the Sota. HA!

Ok, that was my attempt at being clever :)

First off, aww, Missy!  Thanks for saying that!  How did you know that I needed some affirmation?  Jon was on call this past weekend so I took the kids (including the dog child) Up North with my family. The weather was ok for Labor Day weekend, but wasn't great. The girls had a lot of fun, I am worn out and I think we are all getting colds. That said, we are making the most of Mama T's week off and we are going to the zoo today. With my parents (thank god). Today is the only day that works for them, so off we go!  Of course I am letting the girls sleep in first :)

Menu:  (shoot, I hear little feet upstairs)...  BRB.  Ok. I am back. They are up, dressed, hair is done and they've eaten breakfast. BTW, I cannot wait for a child to not cry or complain when I brush their hair and try to put it in a ponytail, etc.

Yesterday: pasta. Boring, but easy. And I was exhausted. 

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:  Birthday dinner out with the whole family

Ha!  Yup.  I don't know what we are having. I need to think about it :). I'll get back to you!!

Have a great week!

By the way, Missy, YOU are MY inspiration!  I couldn't do what you do. Remember, it doesn't matter if the house is messy, so long as the kids are happy.  And yes, it happens here. I clean several times a day and an hour later it doesn't look like  I even cleaned!

My bestie is far away in Sconnie :(

Ann,

I don't think I've said it much but I am so impressed with you through your entire pregnancy!!  Way to go - you are an inspiration!  I can't wait to see how well you deal with the three little ones because it will be, no doubt, amazing to watch you be the best mommy to THREE little ones :)   You're patience, kindness and love toward your family is beautiful...and you look great, too!  Your menu looks really delicious - yum - so glad you posted it.  I feel like I eat the same things here all the time....boring!

My house is a really big mess.  Like, I feel like I run around here all the time cleaning up.  Does that happen at your house?  I feel like there is always something to clean up.  Laundry/dishes/dinner messes/dog hair...I just don't know how to deal with it all anymore and I'm finding that I'm getting tired really early now - by like 9:30 when I need to start working again I just don't have the energy so the house doesn't get clean and work isn't getting done and its wearing me out I think!  I think I need a day off work to clean up my entire house just to get re-organized and ready for fall and a day off of kids and house to re-org work!  Even my garage and basement have taken a beating...sighs (many of them).  My dryer is buzzing right now - I hate that :(

I ran a half marathon on Saturday and during it realized how much I love and miss running.  I run about 12 miles/week but never get to do long runs...ever.  They're quick little 4-5 milers over my lunch hour at work with a great group of people and Thank goodness for them otherwise I'd probably never go and they're fast but I never get that time alone to 'run-think'.  You know?  I miss it.  Biking to work has a lot of plusses but the negative is that I don't get to run as much as I'd like to.  I couldn't ever run to work and home but i'm really hoping that by next year I'll be able to do a spring or fall marathon and really get back into the distance running.  I still have a 10 mile and another half marathon this fall which should be a lot of fun - I wish you were out there with me....can't wait for next summer :)

Ok:  Menu.

Tonight:  Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce and roasted vegetables
Tomorrow:  Bruchetta chicken.
Thursday:  Ranch Pork chops.
Friday: (Jon will like this) -  Grilled Sauerkraut/Sausage/banana pepper pizza (don't knock it until you've tried it).
Saturday:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, THERESA!  Paul and I have a 45 mile ride planned - I'm going to die.  He better come up w/ dinner :)
Sunday:  Dinner w/ the family.

Thank goodness its a short week.  We are busy again this weekend - this past weekend was booked solid.  Looking forward to some time to relax (I really need it!) and still wanna try to find time to come out there.

I wish John wasn't allergic to peanuts, I'm really craving some puppy chow!  MISS YOU!

Plugging away

I am trying really hard to be a "big person" about being pregnant. I think I have been fairly successful, for the most part. I am in my third trimester and I am beginning to feel it.  So, in the past few weeks (despite me not posting), we have done ballet on Tuesdays, swim lessons an Wednesdays and tumbling on Saturdays. While some weeks were better than others, menus were made and dinner was ready when we got home, or shortly thereafter. My shining moment menu-wise was BLTs. They were fabulous!  Anyway, I am starting to slow down. That said, this weekend I finished doing the cutting in on the nursery painting, they laundry is done and the menu is made. I'd share it with you, but that means I'd have to get off the couch :)

I'll do my best (I had to get up and check after Tuesday):

Today - leftovers. Jon was working plus it is super hot and, you guessed it, I don't have the energy to "make" a meal.

Monday - Stuffed poblanos. The pan was made a while back and has been frozen. Pop it in the oven and done!

Tuesday - baked cheesy chicken casserole. Supposedly it tastes like Olive Garden. 

Wednesday - Chinese:  homemade fried rice and frozen egg rolls. 

Thursday - tostadas. I have been craving these and I have no idea why. 

Friday - dinner at the Millers with Denisia's parents who are visiting.

Saturday thru Tuesday - Jon is on call so we are leaving him home alone and going Up North with my family. I am crazy. It will be exhausting without Jon.

That's it. I hope to finish painting the nursery this week including the "finishing touch". Don't worry, I will post pictures :). I hope it turns out well.

Have a great week!  Stay cool!

First day of Paul's last year..

Screw the menu I made yesterday - I just ordered Papa Johns pizza :)  Have a great weekend!!

ONE MORE YEAR!!

Dude.  Paul starts school tomorrow night. He's studying tonight...ggrr.  So, time to get back into the habit of making dinners NOT on the fly and cleaning my house - both which have been neglected the past five weeks or so and I don't care!  We had an awesome mini-summer with the family and I'm happy to have spent so much time doing fun stuff rather than doing crappy junk like cleaning my house and planning meals.

BY the way, I found a new love in Costco (do you have those?).  I buy most of my fresh food at costco these days.  Milk, eggs, bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, fruit, etc is always in the fridge, always eaten for breakfast, dinner and  lunch and I just love it.  ADDITIONALLY, a few months ago my A1C was high (Boo diabetes) so I've been working at lowering it and yesterday my results from eating a  healthier lifestyle were huge and my A1C was a normal level this time.  WAHOO to that!!   I've been doing a food diary for almost a month now and really kind of love knowing exactly what I ate and how many calories and carbs I've been consuming - oh, and by the way, I'm down 5 more pounds since I started the diary...VICTORY!

Here we go.

Tonight:  Grilled Brats, Grilled Corn on the cob - because it was so dang nice outside!!

Tomorrow: Paul has school on Fridays - SUCKY!  We will likely have taco's and sit home twiddling our thumbs until he comes home because we won't know what to do.

Saturday:  My niece Kaylas 2nd birthday party - dinner is made by family!  Wahoo!!

Sunday:  Noonans over for dinner.  Grilled Bulger Bean burgers or Sweet Potato bean burgers - we will see if I have time to go get some Bulger or not since time is not on my side anymore (sniff, sniff). 

Monday:  Chef salads to use up the rest of the veggies from the fridge and that are ripe from our garden.

Tuesday:  I'm thinking some kind of adult-ish grilled melted cheese sandwich w/ tomatoes from the garden and good cheese and I'll make some pesto with our abundance of basil...yum!

Wednesday:  I don't know, I can't get off how good Tuesday sounds!  Maybe I will have leftovers and the boys can have pancakes.

Thursday: Garlic or ranch chicken.

Friday:  Meat loaf cupcakes

Saturday - this is a half marathon day (I think!?)  Hopefully I can finish it and hopefully I'm not dead tired!  I haven't been running more than 8 miles in a really long time - though I did do 17 in less than a day last weekend..hhmm...I'm sure I'll finish but it might not be pretty :)

Have a great week, Ann!!

Proud

I am pretty proud of the fact that after the laziness and heat of last week, we are back on track.  Menu was made last weekend and shopping was done Monday.  So, it's a bit late, but here's our menu.

Sunday - Pizza (Daddy was golfing all day)
Monday - Cajun Chicken Pasta (fresh peppers, mushrooms, a bit of chopping prep, but a pretty easy recipe).
Tuesday - Cilantro Garlic Chicken on the grill - YUM!  SUPER EASY, too!  Check this one out on my Pinterest page.
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Manapua (Hawaiian meat-stuffed rolls).  New recipe, new-to-me idea, excited to try it.  Lots of "different" ingredients including chopped water chestnuts.
Friday - Leftovers or on your own.  Daddy is on call, so the menu is always up in the air.
Saturday - Brats or Italians on the grill.

Enjoy the nice weather!

Makin' it quick...

The girls are eating breakfast, so I am making this quick:

Sunday - We had pizza.  We just got home from a week away, so I don't feel guilty about it.
Monday - Stuffed poblanos.  The girls wouldn't eat it, but we liked it.  It needed Adobo seasoning rather than just plain salt.
Tuesday - Pina Colada pork chops.  Should be interesting!
Wednesday - Garlic and BS chicken (brown sugar) - a crock pot recipe, I think.
Thursday - left overs?
Friday - Dinner at Bastille Days
Saturday - Pasta?
Sunday - Mya's 2nd Birthday party (a taco bar since she likes salsa)

Have a great week!

Back to reality!

We also had a GREAT time in Winona!  The weekend was awesome, despite returning home to mid-80's, high humidity and an air conditioner that doesn't work.  Regardless, it is back to reality today!

First, Missy, I can't believe you not only had a menu, but you also blogged about it last night....  I clearly haven't kept up!

Anyway:
Yesterday - on your own/leftovers/Hamburger Helper from Mimi
Today - French's Onion Chicken (never made it last week, so the chicken is thawed).
Tuesday - Pulled Pork (in the freezer; thaw, heat and eat!)
Wednesday - Pasta/tortellini/ravioli
Thursday - Mimi's Birthday Dinner at the Fox and Hound
Friday thru Sunday - Jon is on call...  so... pizza? leftovers? wing it?  We have to clean out the fridge because we will be gone ALL NEXT WEEK Up North for the 4th of July!  WAHOOO!!

Take care of you and your littles!

Ok - refreshed after a weekend away with friends :)

Had a great weekend in Winona!!!  Feeling happier and energized after being away from home and the boys for a bit - despite coming home to a kid with Pink Eye.  ick.

SO here is the menu

Monday:  Lemon Pepper chicken with Brocolli on the side.

Tuesday:  Steak Tacos

WEdnesday:  Greek yogurt chicken, Glazed carrots.

Thursday:  Ranch Pork Chops

Friday: Grilled pizza if its nice outside.

Saturday:  Chicken Parmesan bundles.

Lots of chicken but it should work.

Im so tired.  Gotta go to bed.  It was so awesome seeing you this weekend!   Since you can't really complain about weather or your age, I wouldnt have changed a thing.  Take care! Glad you guys made it home safely!

I'm still waiting...

...for you to come back!  ;-)

Our menu was easy this week.  That's probably because I couldn't walk on Saturday so I had a lot of time to think about it!

Sunday was Father's Day - we grilled out.
Monday - we ate leftovers (there's still a lot left)
Tuesday - Beef and Cheese Enchiladas (made 2 pans, one for today and one for the freezer.  YAHOO!)
Wednesday - French's Onion Crispy Chicken - can't be too hard
Thursday - Chinese, either make our own or take-out
Friday - Somewhere in Winona ;-)
Saturday - WINONA!

Woo hoo!  Can't wait to see you!  I know you need the break and it will be lots of fun.  See you in 3 days!!!!

Getting back on Track

Alright, I'm nipping this in the bud and I'm going to get back on track.  Now that we have nice weather I have a hard time sitting down to make a food list and taking time to go grocery shopping AND cleaning my house.  Ugh, and I hate when everything is all disorganized - especially when the food list is what saves the most time!  Ok, ok, it doesnt help that Paul has had two man weekends in a row and has class Mondays and Wednesday and I have softball every Thursday but we will make it work!

So here we go:

Tuesday dinner - I have no idea
Wednesday dinner - no ideas
Thursday dinner - no idea
Friday dinner  - somewhere in WINONA!!!
Saturday dinner - WINONA!
Sunday dinner - Celebrate Fathers Day since my dad was gone.

Alright, three nights, I can do it.  But I have to put my kids to bed first.  I figured if I'd start here I would  come back to finish.  1, 2, 3........i'll be back :)

WAHOO!!! What a week it will be!

For the second week in a row, I am on track.  Laundry done (I am even working on sheets now), menu made and I am running (13.1 on Saturday - eek!)!  It must be second trimester...

Missy, I like what you are doing - making dinner from what you have in the house.  I hate grocery shopping. I hate grocery shopping last minute even more and what I hate most is the it's-4-o'clock-and-I-don't-know-what-to-eat and nothing-is-thawed routine.  So....  here goes!

Sunday - Dinner at the Miller's (last post I said that was supposed to be Saturday, but it didn't happen so we made calzones).
Monday - Chicken Quesadillas
Tuesday - Jalapeno Sausage braid (using sausages that have been in our freezer forever).
Wednesday - Baby Day!  BOY OR GIRL??? Something fast since my ultrasound is late and we won't be home until even later.  My favorite, Tastefully Simple Beef Stroganoff
Thursday - CARB LOADING DAY! Spaghetti with meat sauce (using meat from the freezer).
Friday - Dinner at Polish Fest.  Welcome to Festival Season!
Saturday - Since I am "racing" in the morning, I am guessing I will be out of commission for the day.  I will not be cooking.  Maybe we can go out (or pick up) nice fatty, greasy burgers?

Have a wonderful week!

Back on Track!

The checkbook is balanced.  The bills are paid.  The house is straight.  AND I HAVE A MENU!

Sunday: On Your Own (Girls trip to Ikea in Shaumburg, IL; Guys are golfing.  No idea when dinner will be.)
Monday: Buffalo Chicken Ranch Pasta
Tuesday: Caprese Stuffed Burgers
Wednesday: Zatarain's Jambalaya
Thursday: On Your Own (Daddy is going to the Brewers Game).
Friday: Tastefully Simple Mediterranean Fish (Surprisingly amazing!)
Saturday: Dinner at the Millers?  Leftovers?

YUM!  Have a great week and an even better weekend!

I'm right there with you, Missy

• I haven't had a menu in 7+ days.  I hate it.
• Mya gave me her cold, complete with eye drainage.  Even though I ran on Wednesday, I am drained.
• I started the laundry Monday night after we got home from the long weekend Up North (despite having a cold - all I wanted to do was lay on the couch, but I knew I had to get to it).  Load number 3 has been in the wash since Tuesday.  Time for a rewash.  Good thing it's Friday and time to start THIS WEEK'S laundry when I haven't finished last week's.  Ugh.
• The house is a mess.  Period.  Not straightened nor cleaned. Ugh.
• I also bought plants and got the planters planted.  YAY!  Now for the tough part - the annual bed.  I love it when it's done, but it's tough to do, especially pregnant.  Sigh.
• Where did the morning go?  Oh yeah, I spent 2 hours trying to balance my checkbook.  Now I know why it is important to (and why I usually) enter receipts every week.  What happened these last few weeks?  Ugh.  Then I spent the last hour paying bills.  All the while the girls have been playing.  Imagine a tornado going through the house.  That is what mine looks like (refer to point 4 above).  BTW, Lucky Charms were spilled twice during the check-balancing process.
• (As I write this, Mya spilled her milk all over the table.  Instead of telling me, she decided to play in it. Ugh.)

OK, time to go.  I need a nap, but there's too much to do.  And I would LOVE to get a run in today (even though at the moment I feel like a nap would trump a run).  Ugh.

Everything has fallen apart.

• No menu
• No laundry
• Nothing clean, except the kitchen and the boys room because John has horrible allergies and needs like hospital quality air in his room...annoying.
• Plants are finally planted but it has been raining everyday for about three weeks - I planted flowers in the rain for 12 hours on Sunday.  Jaime will tell you plants need rain and sun - we need sun.

• ugh.

ready...finally

Sometimes its harder to come up w/ a meal plan for the week than other times.  Here's what I got:

Tuesday:  Greek Yogurt/Parm chicken with stove top stuffing and roasted sweet potatoes

Wednesday:  Grilled Pork Tenderloin (I've never made one).  FOund this recipe on Pinterest with broccoli and baked beans

1⁄2 cups olive oil
1⁄3 cup soy sauce
1⁄4 cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp dry mustard
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 1-lb. pork tenderloin (silver skin removed) - sear then cook for 30 - 40 min at 350 degrees.

Thursday - Softball day and Paul has class, needs to be quick.  Spaghetti and meat sauce, Strawberries.

Friday - Grilled Steak Tacos w/ Black beans, greek yogurt, spinach, cheese.  Left over fruit to go along with it.

I'm so tired and I'm in bed.  BTW, I left Target and it was pouring rain when I walked out of the place and I mean pouring at 10:45pm on a Monday.  Awesomeness....NOT.

I colored the font to add some color to these dreary days we're having in MN.  You'd think we lived in Seattle.  GOOD NIGHT!

Totally using the blog for an idea.

Its been crazy the past few weeks - its really starting to drain me.  Paul went through two weeks of hell in finals which made our lives miserable.  He finished up on Friday last week.  WE had a busy weekend full of birthday parties, no naps, fun outside, 3 inches of rain in about an hour and evenings full of entertaining and fun but...whew.  Nothing got done for housework - or grocery shopping and since I don't plan to have extras we're getting a little scarce on food.  Grilled brats, roasted green beans and grape tomatoes with feta cheese,  apple slices and carrots were on todays menu - which was pretty good.  The brats don't really fit into my healthy meal planning but hell, whatever, we ate. 

Paul started up school again today - he goes every day from 8am until 5:30 and has to put in about 3 more hours of prep for the following class each night.  He's not working this week due to the schedule and he's not happy about all the work its going to be.  It wears on me a little bit - just one more year...sigh.  After this week he starts summer school on Tuesday and Thursday nights.   Much better than 5 nights per week like we had since January but nothing like the full summers off he's had the past two years.  I'm totally ready to never say "My husband is in Law School" again.  I'm sick of it and I think he is too.

So which brings me to right now.  Monday night, 9pm, I'm making a dinner list for the week and have to go to Target tonight and buy all the stuff.  I also have to finish putting the 11 loads of laundry I folded last night while watching Flashdance away and clean up more of the kitchen that I didnt finish because of bed time.  I also have to get everything ready for tomorrow.  Additionally, I don't have our normal daycare this week so I have to make lunches for the boys both Thursday and Friday for their backup daycare that they don't want to go to.  Lunches are the hardest for me for some reason.  I think probably because I rarely have to make them.  Let me know if you have ideas for easy kid lunch ideas - peanut free, of course :)

Alright, so I'm here to find dinner ideas from past blogs :)  ITs becoming a useful tool as well as a fun to read tool!!!   I'm tired.  I believe I can and I will.  Good night, Ann.  Take care and please tell Jon and the girls I say, "Hi".  Miss you guys :)

Better Menus, Thanks Pinterest

I have been slacking at putting menus on the blog recently.  Probably because they are so boring.  ANyway, I have renewed excitement after tonight's dinner, so here is this past week's and this week's.

Sunday (Mother's Day): Dinner at Bill and D's
Monday: Pulled Pork (pre-made, frozen.  Heat and eat.)
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Dinner at Dale and Kathy's
Thursday: Left Overs.  Jon worked late.  The girls had Spaghetti O's.  I had left overs.
Friday: Pizza.  I just wanted it!
Saturday (today): Tortellini with ham and peas.  Frozen tortellini, boil.  Leftover frozen ham, thaw and cube.  Frozen peas, add to pasta water for 30 seconds while pasta is finishing.  Make a white sauce (butter, flour and milk).  Mix it together.  YUM!  Add garlic salt afterwards, or spice more during the prep.  Pretty good, though!

Sunday: Missy's Garlic Chicken on the grill (can't wait to try it!)
Monday: Mexican Stuffed Jumbo Shells
Tuesday: Spinach Lasagna
Wednesday: One Dish Chicken and Stuffing Bake
Thursday-Monday: on the road Up North for Memorial Day weekend.  HAPPY SUMMER!

P.S. If you want a recipe, either check my Pinterest YUM! board or ask :)

Outside a lot, house is a mess.

A few months ago I gave up caffeine - except for the occasional piece of dark chocolate.  While it was a super tough transition of headaches, tiredness and crabbiness...oh, and trying to figure out what I could drink if I wasn't drinking Diet Coke it really did help my overall health.  I don't think I've had a stomach ache since, I don't ever get really hungry and crash, and I just feel better overall.  However, I am craving a diet coke today like none other and, since we've been outside so much I really haven't been keeping up with the housework - and since I've added 90 miles of biking to my weekly routine I'M TIRED!  I don't want to play catch up from last weekend when I spent all day sunday fixing my washing machine.  Argh.  It never ends.  It doesn't help either that I haven't seen Paul since early last week since Law School finals are ruining both of our lives.  Boo.  

While I love the warmer weather (its 64 today!) I'm not loving how messy my house has gotten.  After my bike home from work, running with the stroller to pick up the boys, coming home to this beautiful weather I literally drop my bike bag and the boy's school bags and grab a snack and come back outside to enjoy the wonderfulness we haven't seen in 7 months.  Then, since I live in St. Paul and I can't just leave the guys in the backyard so I end up grilling every night and run inside, prepare, run it outside without cleaning up the mess then running back in to grab something, out ASAP to check on them -----the house is getting messy.  Then we eat outside and I run the dishes in really quick to get back outside to hang out with them.  There's no cleaning up in the process...at all.  THEN, since the boys have gotten filthy from playing outside they need a bath almost every night so right to the bathtub.  By the time they're in bed, I need to work for a little while, Paul comes  home so I chat with him while he eats dinner then its like 11pm and I'm exhausted and don't want to clean up inside.  Its hard!

A diet coke is the answer to my problem.  A little extra energy for the 3rd shift. (first shift being work, second shift being a mom, 3rd shift being a homemaker).  The problem with drinking a diet coke is that once I start I JUST CAN'T stop!  So, tonight since Paul plans on getting home around 1am when the school closes, I'm hoping I can get everything cleaned up and ready to go for the weekend.  Sigh.  Can I do it?  YES I CAN!  but I'm so tired.  sigh.  

We have plans for tomorrow and they don't include cleaning the inside of the house!  Paul is gone most of the day (school opens at 8...), so the boys and I are going to make a bigger sandbox with real sand v. the little rocks we have right now.  Jaime wants sand so sand Jaime will get.  Do you guys have a sandbox?  Last weekend I picked up a bunch of landscape stones for sandbox - I think its going to be a good summertime play area for the boys - yep, they're taking up MORE of my gardens :(  Tomorrow we are also doing the following:  Trip to Best Buy, Trip to the Dump, trip to Target and Menards.  I also need to figure out what to get everyone for Mothers Day.  Law School sucks, I need a diet coke.

Have a GREAT Mothers Day, ANN!  Take care!  

Lessons learned - first two days of biking to work.

I think your week of meals looks really good!

Since you said, "Lesson Learned" - I have a few.

1. if you bike 9 miles to work, you really do need to take a shower once you get there.  Its not worth showering before you leave.
2. if you bike 9 miles to work and you havent biked for years and you biked 18 miles the day before your butt is REALLY going to hurt in the morning and your legs will be tired.
3. biking to work isnt as easy as it sounds.
4. biking to work isnt faster than driving (though, its really close - only 10 min slower).
5. If you bike 9 miles to work and you've never done it before you get really tired and want to eat and sleep when you get to work - not work.
6. if it rains and you bike to work....yeah, thats tomorrow. Lesson learned tomorrow? sigh.
7.  if you bike to work and have plans to get the boys at daycare afterward, get the attachment for your bike so you can actually pick them up.  I'm currently biking 40 min home and have 5 min to run to daycare with the stroller to pick them up - that'll be fixed this weekend.
8. if you bike to work  and haven't learned #1 yet, then, since you organized a running club back in November that runs every tuesday and thursday you still have to run with your group and you also have to take a shower after the lunch-time run (shower #3 in 5 hours) and if its 78 degrees out when you get home from your 9 mile bike home you'll likely have to take a 4th shower.  Grr.
9.  Biking is actually hard when carrying in all your clothes and a laptop.
10.  Bring multiple sets of clothes!  Sweaty clothes don't dry fast enough and when you're biking to work, running during the day and biking home - the clothes are still sweaty wet.  Gross.
11.  Backpacks get really heavy with so many workout clothes, work clothes, shampoo's, etc.
12.  I'm actually starting to like this biking thing and I think its really going to work once I learn my lessons.
13.  I found a new way home today cutting off 1 mile of my route!!!  YAY!!

BO-RING.

Here's this week's boring menu.  I feel like I make the same stuff over and over.  I am bored with it.  But until I get some better ideas, here's what we're doing (by the way, most stuff is coming out of our freezer, so that's a plus):

Sunday - we returned from Up North.  Kids skipped lunch so they had an early lunch/dinner.  We had leftover pizza.

Monday - Chicken Enchiladas (from the freezer)

Tuesday - Chinese.  Homemade fried rice (using leftover spiral cut ham from the freezer) with egg rolls.

Wednesday - ?  Pizza?  On your own?  Pork tenderloin (pre-marinated and already thawed.  We should eat this)?

Thursday - Margaritaville Jalapeno Popper Shrimp with rice? or noodles?

Friday - Pasta with Meat Sauce

Saturday - ??

Sunday - Mother's Day.  Early dinner at the Millers?

On a lighter note...  I ran 3 miles yesterday WITHOUT STOPPING!  That was 24 hours after my first official "long run" while pregnant (4 miles.  Yippee.)  Lessons learned:  running consistently helps get you back in shape.  Gray Grandma's marathon finisher shirt does not ride up to show off the baby bump:  good running shirt.  Gray sports bra is not nearly as supportive as I need it to be.  OUCH: not a good running bra.

getting ready for the week - the menu

The Menu:

Sunday: Papa Johns Pizza - strawberries and green beans for sides
Monday: Brown Sugar Chicken - left over strawberries and broccoli
Tuesday: Hamburgers - chips and carrots
Wednesday: Taco's - corn for sides.
Thursday: Lemon Pepper Chicken nuggets/salads
Friday: Turkey/Ranch burgers - baked beans and whatever left over veggies I have.

I made it the whole week last week without having to go get anything for food.  I loved it! :)

I CAN DO THAT and I WILL!

#1. So I decided today that on Monday, after the snow we're supposed to get tomorrow and Thursday(its May by the way), I am going to cancel my contract parking, conveniently located just one block from work, and start biking to work.  HELLS YES its going to be hard biking to work and home everyday - thats 16 hilly miles each day but will I love it?  I think so.  Will it be just another avenue during the day for me to get outside, yep!  Will it save me almost $1000 dollars between June and October?  YEP!!  SIGN ME UP!  I think it will take me about the same amount of time (and in some cases less time) to bike to work than it takes me to drive.   I'm pretty dang excited!  I still have to bring the boys to daycare and pick them up so the bike trailer is going to be their transportation.  It should be an interesting change and transition but I can do it because i'm a freaking mother and I can do anything!  ROAR!

#2. I decided yesterday that my ass, inner thighs and saddlebags needed some work.  I found this website www.prevention.com/fitness/strength-training/love-your-lower-body. I started it doing yesterday and HOLY CATS are my ass, inner thighs and saddlebags sore!  I even had a hard time on my run today - its amazing how much running doesn't touch those important areas :)  My abs need some work too - grr.

#3.  I started walking Wilson every morning before I bring the boys to daycare.  What a lovely experience to walk the dog without any kids!  Its so relaxing, quiet, we don't take up the whole sidewalk and we both love it!  Thursday we will be a full week into our morning walks and I am more productive than ever at work.  I hope these walks continue with the biking into work but we'll have to play that by ear.  My real plan was to start by walking him them get into running in the morning but really, thats not likely to happen.

#4.  I'm totally only on bag 34 of my 40 bags in 40 days.  I have eleven days left.  AHH!!  I need to get things out of here but I'm so out of ideas!   I have three computers that still need to go and a mattress and box spring.  St. Paul's clean up day is May 11th so I'm hoping I can take more stuff there. 

#5.  Dinner this week.  YAY to me, by the way, for planning my meals on Sunday and going shopping to get everything I need.  Since I cleaned my house and we don't have anything to eat since I donated it or threw it away I know exactly what we have in the house and I had to go buy the things we needed.  I'm trying to not to go Target now until Saturday or Sunday but we'll see how that goes.

Monday - Grilled pizza with spinach, broccoli, red pepper flakes, goat cheese and garlic and strawberries for a side. yum - it was good.  

Tuesday - Sloppy Joes and corn on the side.

Wednesday - Ranch Pork chops (one of my favorites because its so easy and good) and roasted green beans and the rest of the strawberries on the side.

Thursday - ugh, I have softball on Thursday at 6 and its supposed to be 40's and rainy.  I hope they cancel it.  Quick dinner of Taco's.  Raw carrots for a side.

Friday - Lemon Pepper Chicken and roasted broccoli on the side.

Two little boys and a mom have allergies really bad.  We're hoping to get some relief with the cooler weather coming in tomorrow but the warm temps sure have been great!!!

I hate these weeks.

Some weeks I am full of ideas and have no problem coming up with a menu.  This week is not one of those weeks.  I hate when that happens.  This should be easy, though...  it's a "short" week.

Sunday - yesterday we were On Our Own.  I had leftover Sweet and Sour chicken, but the chicken was dry, so I ate the rice.

Monday - BOO!  Nothing planned, so what do you do?  Throw noodles in a pot of boiling water and top them with sauce from a jar.  Serve with heated garlic bread from the freezer...  if you have some.

Tuesday - ???  I have ground beef.  I have no creative ideas for it.

Wednesday - Pork Tenderloin with some kind of side (the pork is pre-marinated.  I just have to cook it.)

Thursday - Left overs (a.k.a. clean-out-the-fridge-because-we-are-gone-for-the-weekend)

Friday and Saturday - We will be freezing our butts off in Northern Wisconsin.  It's Opening Weekend and there is supposedly still ice on the lake.  That makes for one boring and cold opening weekend!

So, Missy.  If you have any ideas for ground beef, send them this way.  OH!  Maybe it is time to play on Pinterest!

Have a great week!

Change of plans for dinner since we finally got temps above 50!!  Wahoo!  WE had the easiest but really good Garlic Chicken and I had everything for it at home already.  Here's how it goes....ONLY THREE INGREDIENTS

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts - pounded out flat and beat to hell with a chicken smasher hammer.
one can of chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced (I just used McCormick dried minced garlic)

put garlic and broth in big ziplock bag.  pound out the chicken and add it to the bag to marinate for 15 min.  Then Grill for 15 min turning often and basting each time you turn.   I actually added red pepper flakes to it while it was grilling, it was an added bonus since my guys like spices. Wallah - DONE! BAM!  so good :)

We had roasted carrots with it too - 400 degrees, 25 min.  Carrots, olive oil, salt, pepper, honey.  thats it.  I let it roast while I prepared the chicken and grilled it.  Both boys ate all of it along with two pieces of honey toast.

Ann, I make my meatloaf cupcakes w/ onion soup mix too - my boys love it!  We use ketchup as the "frosting" and I let them pick them up and eat it like they're cupcakes too.  Now, chick parm risotto, yes please - send me the recipe :)

I have to admit, I am blessed that my boys eat everything (except eggs!?)  Thats my next thing is to get them liking, eggs - I'm going to try this weekend....with chocolate chips as bribes - which is what seems to work most of the time :)  Paul and I eat 18+ eggs/week - it would be great if I can get the boys eating them too!  Healthy, cheap, delicious!

Alright, so I'm growing a lot of plants inside my house right now and JOHN has really grown fond of them.  He pets the leaves and sometimes I find piles of leaves he's pulled off.  Interesting kid.  Jaime never once would have thought about doing that.

Time to take my swollen ankle and get the boys in bed.  Take care, good night and MISS YOU!!

I wish I had the energy for 40 in 40.

I'll be honest.  This pregnancy hasn't been horrible.  I never felt too sick or too tired.  But I have been lazy.  I used to get so many things done around the house on non-work days and on work days when I am home in the afternoon.  I cleaned, organized, made dinner and went for a run.  I still am managing to make dinner (see below), but everything else either isn't happening or isn't happening very much.  Oy.  I think I have made the turn and am feeling less like I have to eat constantly, which is a good thing for the scale and for my running.  When I was eating constantly I never felt like the food had digested enough so that I could run.  Running has been suffering.  I have no idea if I am going to fun my half in June or even if I am going to manage walking it at the rate I am going ;-)  So, Missy, you are not alone.  Maybe we both are taking a break from running.  No problem.  We can get back into it together again, just like we did last time!

This week's menu (in retrospect):

Sunday - We were out of town, no dinner necessary
Monday - Leftover Spaghetti with meat sauce
Tuesday - 15 Minute Chicken Parmesan Risotto (one of my FAVORITE dishes...  too bad Mya only eats the chicken and Jaeden only tried the dish after 15 minutes of crying that she didn't want it and I bribed her to try some).  If you want the recipe, I can get it to you.
Wednesday - Frozen Island Citrus Margaritaville Shrimp and rice (Jaeden only ate the rice because it didn't have any "sauce")
Thursday - "Homemade Salisbury Steak" (a.k.a. Meatloaf).  My kids love Salisbury steak, the kind in the Family Size frozen tray that you cook for 45 minutes and Bam! done.  But that's not what we had.  I made Souperior Meatloaf (meatloaf made with an Onion Soup packet).  It is awesome.  But to get her to eat it, we told her it was homemade salisbury steak.  She was either really hungry or she loved it because - WOW!  Did she eat a lot!
Friday - On your own.  Dad is working in the evening, so it is leftovers, or breakfast for dinner or something easy....
Saturday - Jaeden loves pizza.  Correction, she loves to assemble pizza, but won't eat it.  So we are splurging.  We are assembling pizzas.  Jon and I will eat them, maybe Mya, too, but Jaeden will have something else.  Even though she loves to "sprinkle the cheese", etc.  Seriously, kid?  Are you ever going to eat normal?

That's it!  Take care of yourself and your loved ones.  Next week's menu coming soon!

40 in 40.

Running hasn't been going well.  I honestly don't have time this year since Paul has class until 11:50pm or 9:30 each night.  I tried during work which worked until I had to run 10 milers on Wednesdays and I was away from my desk like 2+ hours. Then I got really dehydrated (which really isn't good by the way - I really had no idea how bad it was!) so whatever.  While I haven't decided if I'm going to run the marathon I do know that 1. if I do run it I will not be fast.  I will finish but it might take me 6 hours and I'm fine with that (sort of, OK maybe not - I'm not really a half ass type of person - more of an all or nothing type of person.).  2. I need to take care better care of myself.  I am always last on my list of take care of's and running 17 miles after not drinking any water for three days isn't good.  So, to fill my void of achievements I decided to "spring" clean my house -  YES, we have gotten 12 inches of new snow in the past week and its APril 23rd but whatever - spring will come and I may as well clean now so I can garden later, right?  I decided that I would get rid of 40 garbage bags of "stuff" in my house.  Toys, clothes, garbage, junk, etc.  Today, I'm 23 days in and 34 bags and I love it!  After this weekend I should hit 40 and I'm pretty proud of that :)  I donated 11 bags of clothes yesterday to a place called Josephs Coat which is a place people in need can go to get free clothes - I felt so great when I dropped them off.  They get them free.  FREE!  While I was emptying my car a man came up to me and asked if I had any mens dress shoes in my car.  I would have LOVED to give him some but I didn't have any :(  Hopefully he will wear something of Paul's next time he goes there to get some clothes.  That guy wanted dress shoes so he could get a job.  How awesome is that?  He was a great guy. 

So 40 bags in 40 days.  My house is empty.  Everything has a place.  There are no more messes, no more bins of stuff I don't know whats in them.  No more extra computers (we had three!), no more Xbox, old cell phones, McDonalds toys, etc.  No more bowls I never use or forks I don't like or anything in my pantry or fridge that we can't use in the next week.  Speaking of the next week, I found enough food that I also don't need to go shopping at Target this week - saving us hundreds of dollars.  Here is my menu:

Yesterday:  Beef stew I had made earlier this winter and frozen.  Bam, done.

tonight:  Chicken and Planko nuggets.  We had two half boxes of planko so some were lemon pepper, some italian.  I also had half a bag of broccoli so we had that and a can peaches.  Perfect.  Done.

Tomorrow:  Its Wine Wednesday so it has to be something quick so we can get to my wine :)  Hamburger and Rice hotdish. Paul hates it but he can have leftovers.  Easy.  Done.

Thursday.  "Silly Supper" (aka Pancakes for dinner).  Yup.  w/ Eggs and bacon.  Yum (and yes, done).

Friday:  I don't know Friday yet (not done) - it will come though and it will be out of my pantry/freezer because I am having a Target-less week!  Except for Milk, shoot, I might have to get milk.  Thats fine. 

Ann, I saw a picture of your house today and all I could do was stare at your green grass!  I can't wait until we can see ours again.  Its supposed to be warm this weekend so I'm sure it'll be mostly gone by then.  ITs getting a little annoying.

Take care, have a great week!

The Easiest Menu EVER

I think it's time for a REALLY easy menu.  I've been trying to keep up with things around the house despite being preggers and feeling nauseous at the first sign of hunger or sleepiness.  Thus meaning I eat all the time and take more naps than I would like to admit.  But, (knock on wood), I think all of that stuff is coming to an end - I am 10 weeks tomorrow - almost thru the first trimester!

Anyway:
Sunday - Dinner at Mimi and Bapa's
Monday - Leftover Chicken Marsala from last week.  Good taste, needed a lot more salt or seasoning.
Tuesday - Spaghetti with meat sauce.  We didn't end up doing this last week because we were working on cleaning leftovers out of the fridge.
Wednesday - Dinner at the Treptow's
Thursday - Dinner on the road (Road trip to Ohio begins at 4:30pm).

Maybe the menu is easy because I will need to rest up for the road trip???  I will let you know how 4 days away from home goes ;-)

Of Course I Can Do That, I'm a Mom (of THREE!?!?!?)

I'm not sure how it happened (figuratively speaking, of course), but wow.  I am still in the surprised phase (upgraded from stunned).  I will be excited, eventually!  Anyway, I have my moments of wondering how the heck I am going to be able to manage three kids.  On of the things I take solace in is knowing that I've mastered (or am doing a whole lot better at) having menus for the week and having food on the table almost every night.  That being said, last week wasn't great (we worked on lots of leftovers).  This week, however, I am pretty pumped for our dinners.  They may not seem like much, but they are different (not the same old stuff), and Jon is even excited for two meals he picked that he would have gagged at in recent months.  Here goes:

Sunday - Tacos

Monday - Chicken Marsala, slow cooker: http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/slow-cooker-chicken-marsala/d00785b5-3bcb-4a19-a752-d175d763441f  Seems easy, peasy!

Tuesday - Beef Stroganoff: Tastefully Simple, slow cooker (OK, I make this more than I make other dinners, but I really like it and both kids eat some component of it).

Wednesday - French Toast

Thursday - Spaghetti

Friday - Pizza or Dinner at the Millers?

Saturday - Confirmation Party, no dinner needed.

YUM!  Have a tasty week!

EASY RECIPE - TRY THIS!

I still wasnt feeling great last night but I was hungry but didnt want to spend time cooking.  AND, since the day before I was down for the count the kids got Shells and Cheese so I couldnt do that again.  So,  I made this recipe in like 2 minutes and baked it for like 45 min. and it was SO GOOD!  Its a pinterest recipe but it was so good!

1/2 c parmesan cheese,1 c Greek yogurt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt 1/2 tsp pepper, spread mix over chicken breasts, bake at 400 45 mins

I actually cooked it longer after that because I wanted my top to be crispy.  SO GOOD!  I paired it with some roasted brocolli that I baked at the same temp - here's there recipe for that:

broccoli olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, 425 for about 20 minutes....then top with parmesan cheese and lemon juice!

YUM!  I want it again tonight!

One of THOSE days!

Home - I just love days that start out really, really crappy and end so great!  The time change has been rough on all of us and the boys and I have a cold.  Needless to say, mornings have been bad and not just bad but terrible, rotten, no good grinchiness! Grrrrowel!  This morning Jaime earned his 3rd time out in his life - thats how bad it was!  I say to the boys that each hour is a new hour and as time passes things usually start getting better but I didn't expect the greatness that I came home to!  Sure, the house is a complete mess and I can't remember the last time I went grocery shopping so we have zero things for dinner at our house - oh, and we didn't eat until 7pm but by turning on a little Bruce Springsteen on Pandora and having a tall-boy coors light we are sitting pretty at home.  The boys played by themselves and stopped their normal whining so I could get some cookin' done (Shepard's pie - not too bad, right?!) and the boys ate EVERYTHING!  WAHOO!  Clean plate club for two boys - they deserved an ice cream sandwich for that!

Running - todays run felt terrible.  3 miles on what is a warm day at 30 degrees and it was partly sunny - should have been nice, right?  Nope.  I started off freezing my fingers since its super windy.  My running club was clipping along at an unusually fast pace, 7:29s!!, and I was feeling tired, crabby and kind of mad.  We hit every stop light green so no breaks.  Argh.  When we got back I felt like I needed a four hour nap, sweatpants and a comfortable shirt - the pencil skirt, tight sweater, tights and 3.5 inch heel boots were NOT what I wanted to wear.  By the time I was done showering and dressed I was totally ready for bed.  UNTIL I went out to lunch afterward and what a great time I had.  Two diet cokes later and a great Rachel sandwich to eat and I was ready to go!  I love things that turn out bad but end up great!  I have a half marathon on Saturday morning - I'm looking forward to it!

Work - this morning I had a conference call that went for an hour for a two year project I had been working on that spans many cross functional teams across the entire Target organization.  I learned how to do a few things and when It was over i tried it and ooops....F'd the entire thing up after I had written the procedure manual and had it all set. OH MY GOD.  Back on a conference call to fix it.  We got it fixed only to find out that while I was fixing mine my secretary was also doing the same thing I had done and ooops, she did it too.  Back on a conference call to fix it and re-write the procedures ASAP.  Work started off shitty but by the end of the day I actually learned a lot and go it all fixed and ready for production.  I'm super excited  :)

Life is so stressful but I just love it when everything falls into place.  We have our ups and downs for sure but everything always seems to work out.  I'm a mom, wife, aunt, friend, daughter, grandaughter, professional, cook, nurse, planner, housewife, sister, runner, skier, firetruck and diggie driver, photographer, decorator and bill payer (among others).  Sure I'm busy but its a great life and I wouldn't do it any differently :)

Ahhh... Naptime!

Hurricane JaedenMya went through today.  Twice.  The damage was so bad that I couldn't even see the carpet.  I shouldn't have bothered cleaning up the first time because it just went through again.  At least I know they are playing and using their toys to their fullest potential!

Yesterday my mom and dad came over mid-morning so that my dad can continue helping Jon with their no-so-easy-let's-install-recessed-lights-on-out-porch-before-our-new-siding-gets-put-on project.  There has been 2 full days of work thus far and there is more to go.

Anyway, my parents took the girls and I out for lunch.  Jaeden picked "ice cream" (Culver's) over Playland.  My was crabby the whole time because she's sick and she was ready for a nap.  She didn't eat much.  She did manage to spill an entire cup of ice water (that Mimi left within reach) all over herself, the table and Bapa, though.  Fun.

Jaeden didn't eat too badly, and came with us to go to the counter with Bapa and I while we ordered out shakes.  His Vanilla, mine chocolate.  The lady is typing his card number in because it didn't swipe and Jaeden says, "I want green."  I halt the process and add a mint mixer.  The lady says, do you want chocolate chips?  "Yep. Chocolate chips."  So I confirm: "Jaeden, you want green ice cream and chocolate chips?"  "No, chocolate chips."  I said, "No green?"  She says no, chocolate chips.  OK.  I change the order to vanilla chocolate chip mixer.  We get our ice cream and go back to the table.  Jaeden eyes hers skeptically and says, "I want chocolate chips."  Bapa digs out a chocolate chip and gives it to her on a spoon.  "NO!  I want chocolate chips!"  She doesn't eat a lick.

Mya, in the meantime, has started pitching a fit.  She wants out and she wants to run.  Mimi takes her on her lap and she proceeds to climb all over her and the table to wave at the cars going by.

Jaeden is still not eating.  She wants on Mimi's lap too.

It's incredible how two girls manage to fit in such a little space and how quickly their moods change.

I've had enough.  It is time to go.  I put Jaeden's coat on and she begins to cry, "I am not done eating!"  Oy vey.  Really?  Needless to say they needed naps.  So do I.

Anyway, they are sleeping right now and instead of sleeping off this cold that's knocking on my door, I am balancing the checkbook, making a menu, a grocery list, cutting coupons, picking up debris from Hurricane JaedenMya and I haven't even thought of laundry or cleaning yet.  Not to mention showering or putting clothes on.  Oy vey.

MENU!!!
Sunday: Chili
Monday: Turkey Tetrazzini.  The least Easy Peesy of the week: Heat butter and flour in a skillet until brown. Add wine and chicken broth.  Add half and half and cubed turkey.  Heat Though.  Mix with cooked spaghetti.  Put it in a greased casserole dish.  Sprinkle toppings (panko crumbs, Parmesan, almonds) and bake until bubbly.
Tuesday: Missy's chicken pot pie cupcakes
Wednesday: Spaghetti with meat sauce (brown ground beef and add to left over pasta sauce).
Thursday: Balsamic Pot Roast:

1. Place roast beef into the insert of your slow cooker. In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together beef broth, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Soy sauce, honey, red pepper flakes and garlic.  Pour over roast beef and set the timer for your slow cooker. (4 hours on High or 6-8 hours on Low)
2. Once roast beef has cooked, remove from slow cooker with tongs into a serving dish. Break apart lightly with two forks and then ladle about ¼ – ½ cup of gravy over roast beef.
3. Store remaining gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for another use.

EASY PEESY!

Friday: Tuna Casserole (or dinner at the Millers?)

Saturday: O.Y.O. or left overs

Monday Monday!

Mondays are hard on me....well, ok, maybe its not the MONDAY so much as the weekend but it is something less satisfying to blame (since really, can you blame the weekend?  No.).  Ok, so Saturday, the boys desperately needed haircuts (check!), we had plans to go sledding (nope, its been cold here again) so I took the boys for a "walk" at Target.  An hour and 15 minutes later I was tired from constant chaos of a  very busy Target store, trying to figure out what needed to be bought and just the boys in general (check!).  Lunch, Naptime (check, check!), 9 mile run - three of which were with Wilson, a discussion within itself, all 9 miles on top of four inches of ice/snow that we got last weekend.  I'm not going to lie, it wasn't easy.  Every step forward was a half step/slip back and jumping over mounds of snow at the intersections...sigh (check!).  Anyway, a trip to Hastings to meet my friends wonderful 6 day old baby girl!! (check :) )  So cute - some dinner and discussions later before I Know it I'm beat, its 9:30pm and I still have to drive my scotch drinking husband and our kids 35 miles home.  Sigh.  I got home (check!) and remembered I had a skijoring date scheduled with my brother in law, his dog Kaija and Wilson at 8:30am on Sunday.  My running jacket was still damp from my run so I threw everyrhing in the washer/dryer and got ready for my sunday morning workout as well (check :( ).

So I skied and wilson ran, then I wanted to ski and Wilson pulled ice out of his feet, then we skiied and then Wilson pulled ice out of his feet, then Wilson pulled ice out of his feet, then Wilson pulled ice out of his feet - then we skied, then more of wilson pulling ice out of his feet.  5K later I had had enough and his paws were bleeding from the salt/chemical/ice we ran on on Saturday and the picking at his feet from the snow on Sunday!  We went home, I was home by 9:20am.  Paul studies on Sundays so I get the boys all day to myself.  Yay (kind of?).  Laundry, laundry, clean, clean, play play...pet the puppy and the kitty. NAPTIME!   I sat on the couch and watched Hockey Day in America and researched dog booties.  $60 dollars later I bought four dog shoes that I HOPE will work.  It will make my life so much easier if they work .  I can't wait to get them.  They shipped today, Whoot, whoot!!  THen my parents came up and we went on to a tropical garden at the Como zoo to pretend it was warm outside with the boys, then out to dinner.  Yum.  Came home and I was so tired.  I stayed up until midnight though doing everything.

So Mondays are rough!  I wanted to take the day off but I've been so busy at work that I'm working at night from home and have big projects I need to complete this week.  I'm making dinner right now - grilling hamburgers and making roasted broccoli (it smells so good!!).  I can't wait to eat (but john just came up and he's poopy, awesome).

TONIGHT:  Grilled burgers/Roasted broccoli
tomorrow:  Hamburger and RIce hotdish
WEdnesday:  home made chicken nuggets (my new favorite!_
THursday:  Pork with sweet potatoes and apples.
Friday:  I have no idea.

My husband is no longer wiser than me.

I have a lot of time on my hands today.  It feels like a Saturday for some reason.  The girls are at Mimi and Bapa's (hopefully napping, although I doubt they are) and Jon is home.  He had a wisdom tooth pulled this morning, so I got to be chauffeur, read my book for an hour in peace in the waiting room and now I am "attending" to his every need.  Just kidding.  He's not that bad....  just watching TV.  So I am now cleaning and doing laundry AND I had the time to come up with next week's menu.

Sunday: Dinner at the Millers

Monday: Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken: Chicken in slow cooker, 1 chopped onion on top, 1 can cream soup over that.  Cook.  Before serving, mix with 1 package of Zatarain's Yellow Rice, 1 can of whole kernel corn, 1 cup cheddar cheese.  I think I might make corn bread too.  Or maybe just fresh bread.

Tuesday: Dinner at Pops and Kathy's

Wednesday: Ash Wednesday.  Tuna Casserole

Thursday: Beef Stroganoff.  Already made (Beef stew meat, onion onion, garlic garlic, cream cheese, beef broth, sliced mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce - mix in freezer bag and freeze).  Thaw and throw it in the crock pot.

Friday:  Dinner at the Miller's.  If not: Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup.

Saturday:  DATE NIGHT!  Valentine's Day.  WHAT?!?!  We are going out for Valentine's Day?  We even have reservations!  I don't care what I eat, so long as it is accompanied by red wine.

I ROCK!

So it is 4:23pm on Thursday afternoon and my laundry is (almost) DONE!!  I rock!

And... I have next week's menu planned already, too!  Now I just need to do the grocery shopping to make said menu.

Sunday: Superbowl party at the Miller's
Monday: Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
Tuesday: Chinese (make our own or order out - TBD)
Wednesday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches in the crock pot
Thursday: Salisbury Steaks (frozen or make our own - TBD)
Friday: Whatever.  Jon's having a wisdom tooth pulled - no food for him.  I will whip up whatever I have time for (probably Easy Mac).
Saturday: Soup (Make our own, I think, but the flavor is TBD).

OK, so maybe the menu needs a little more definition.  I will work on that.  BTW, I am not as big of a rockstar as I make myself out to be -- the only reason this stuff is done is because my hours were cut - AGAIN.  Boo.  And I let the girls watch TV all day.  Ha.  I don't rock at all!  Oh well, better luck tomorrow!

Living in the Laundry room TOO!!

Ann,

Please tell me how you get by with (typically) 4 loads of laundry/week.  Do you know I do 13 or more loads every week!?  I get 7 done over the weekend and at least four or five during the week and most of the time I still don't get all my wash done. What am I doing wrong?!   I don't even have sick kids and zero accidents since before Christmas - OK, I lied, we have had one accident but it was an overnight and he fell asleep before we could have him go potty and didn't wake him up to go. Oops, my fault 100%!  Still, accidents in sheets are not fun!    I think I have so many loads because I have a very tall husband - his clothes are big and his towels are too!

Towels
Boys x2 (sheets, towels and mattress pad included here)
pink/red load
Colors x4
whites
Workout clothes
bed sheets
dog blankets
Socks

I planned out dinner this week for the first time in a while.  This is what we're having:

Monday:  Cheddar Broccoli Rice Cups (easy peasy!)
Tuesday:  Chicken nuggets (I make my own now w/ Chicken and Lemon Pepper or Italian Planko) - YUM - and also super easy!
Wednesday: Taco Stuffed Shells.
THursday:  I have broomball on Thursdays - still not sure what the kids are going to have.  Leftovers?
Friday: Minestrone Soup (its supposed to get really cold.
Saturday:  I hope to not cook but I have frozen Crock Pot Beef stew I prepared that I could throw in.

Well, I hear my dryer telling me its time to switch the laundry.    Gotta run.  Have a great week!!

Living in the Laundry Room

I am usually pretty good about laundry.  In fact, it is "my" thing in the house.  Do not mess with Mom and her laundry.  I typically do 3 loads on the weekend (hopefully washing, drying and folding all in one day) and 1 load mid-week.  If Jaeden doesn't have any accidents, then maybe I can skip that mid-week load :)

Not this week.  It all started last Saturday.  Poor Mya, still getting over a "really icky" ear infection, puked in the car on the way home from my parent's house.  A late night just got later.  After getting home, her jacket, Jon's jacket and her blanket now needed to be washed.  Her car seat had to be removed, disassembled, laundered, dried and (eventually) put back together.  Oy vey.  That was like 3 loads right there.

Then, I did my normal mid-week load (Tuesday or Wednesday), even though Jaeden was accident-free.  Until Thursday.  Daycare sent home the dreaded "wet bag" (bag of wet clothes).  OK, time for another load!

Friday, I began to do my normal weekend laundry (usually just Jon's and my clothes).  I thought I was ahead of the game until Jaeden peed in her car seat on the way home from lunch Saturday.  Yikes.  It was a repeat of remove, disassemble and reassemble of the car seat (only this time it was the other kid's).  Not only did I feel like I was living in the laundry room, I became an expert at the removal disassembly and reassembly of car seats.

I thought I was all done.  Until 2 hours later, when Jaeden woke up from her nap wet.  Seriously?  OK, I pulled off the "training pad" to wash it, only to realize she had been wrapped in her top sheet funny, so that was wet too.  So, not only did I have to wash the pad, I had to wash the (brand new) spare sheet set so that I can take off her sheets and wash them too (there is no way I am going to be able to wash, dry and replace the sheets before the next time she needs to sleep - I am just too tired).  So here we are...  I am just waiting for the next time I need to wash something :-)  P.S. I can't wait to see our water bill this quarter.

On to the obligatory this week's menu!
Today: Spiral sliced ham.  I have no idea why I have been craving this, but I am           sure the girls will love it too!
Monday:  Way too busy for dinner.  We will have a freezer meal (Macaroni Grill           Basil Chicken Pasta something).
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Leftovers (there is probably going to be a TON of ham left)
Thursday: Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups (made and frozen previously - heat and eat!)
Friday: Dinner out with the Millers
Saturday: Pizza? Burgers?  TBD.

Here's to no more laundry, at least of a couple of days!  Have a great week!

P.P.S.  Oh yeah, I washed the sheets from Jon's and my bed, too.

Back to "normal"

I return back to work on Monday after my 5 weeks as a SAHM.  That means that after 5 weeks of "abnormal", life will get back to normal.  Is there such a thing?  Maybe it's just that we are getting back into our routine.  Is there such a thing?  Whatever.  I think we are all ready for Monday.  Well, everyone except for me.  What was I doing at work when I was told to take the next 5 weeks off?  Ugg.  Whatever.  I can't be blamed for the lack of consistency because the 5 week break wasn't my idea.

Anyway, I LOVED the time at home with the girls.  I got to know them even better that I already did.  They are growing and developing a lot.  They surprised me in a lot of ways.  I got a lot done around the house (including cleaning the kitchen, 2 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms more than they have been cleaned in months.  Years?).  I made a lot of meals and learned that I can be (and am) somewhat domesticated.   I can work, be a mom and get dinner on the table.  It takes planning.  And having ideas (thanks ZipList and Pinterest)!

So here goes...next week's menu.
Sunday: Dinner at That's Amore for Baka's birthday

Monday: Something from the freezer (I have been doing so well at making fresh meals that the pre-made frozen stuff is taking up all the room in the freezer so nothing else fits.

Tuesday: Stuffed Shells (to be made on Monday)

Wednesday: Bruschetta Chicken

Thursday: Beef Stroganoff

Friday: Leftovers/O.Y.O.

Saturday: Dinner at the Miller's


Here's to happy returns.  Make it a great week!