meal plan monday

• monday: chicken caesar salads; bread
• tuesday: bruschetta chicken; salad
• wednesday: french dips; chips; carrot sticks
• thursday: hamburger helper; green beans
• friday: pizza and assorted other junk/health foods (for layla’s birthday party)
• saturday: this is layla’s birthday, and she mentioned wanting ribs, but since sunday is shane’s birthday, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to say ribs as well, we will have to figure out which one gets the ribs on their birthday… we may go out the other day, depending on what the birthday people decide.
• sunday: whatever we don’t do on saturday.

it’s still in the 80’s and 90’s this week, so I’m trying to avoid stuff that requires the oven to be one for an hour in the evenings, and nobody wants to eat soup when it’s hot out (well, I would, but nobody else).

meal plan monday

I have a heck of a time planning meals for warm weather. when it’s 90*+ outside, it’s generally not advisable to use your oven and heat your house up even more, but I’m such a “farm kitchen” kinda chick, I have a heck of a time coming up with recipes that aren’t soups, casseroles, or some kind of meat-potato-veggie combo. 2 of my kids won’t eat anything in the “al fresco” category, so yeah… I do my best, and it might be a little warm. oh well.

• monday: pork chops; broccoli; rice
• tuesday: pizza; green beans
• wednesday: slow cooker southwest chicken and rice
• thursday: meatloaf; baked potatoes; peas and carrots
• friday: chicken ceasar salad; sourdough
• saturday: burgers/dogs; chips; raw veggies
• sunday: waffles; sausages

meal plan monday

as I am slowly attempting to pull my life and homemaking duties back together, meal planning has returned to the top of my list. I used to post them in here, which is kind of silly, since I no longer have the “community” of blogging friends I once had, BUT, the fact that I’ve had them posted here in the past has given me things to look back on for menu inspiration (which I am always short on). so, for future, hungry me, I post.

• monday: pigs in a blanket; carrot sticks
• tuesday: pizza; green beans
• wednesday: mariners game
• thursday: tacos
• friday: creamy italian chicken; rice; peas and carrots
• saturday: french toast; bacon
• sunday: out for father’s day

project life–week 18

the three amigos… this trio of the neighbors’ poultry is always in my parents’ yard. and spark way too many “why did the chicken cross the road” jokes.

these are the two lilacs I gave my mom for mother’s day two years ago. last year, only one bloomed. looks like this year, both will have some nice flowers!

when I get to the bottom of a bag of chips and they’re too small to effectively scoop up salsa, I just dump them in a bowl, pour salsa over them, and eat the whole delicious mess with a spoon. not ashamed.

dave got himself a new set of bike tools. everyone had to check it out.

first grade music concert. micah had a solo!

saturday baseball fun. pitching, homerun derby, bouncy houses, dunk the coach…

and of course, eating kettle corn and horsing around.

project life 2015–week 17

sunday: this crazy dog…

monday: trial run of preschool science experiment. LOVE these vases.

tuesday: this cat. super helpful.

but snuggly and cute.

thursday: and another cat being cute and snuggly. beatrice is still faithful in giving my mom loves.

saturday: layla has determined that it’s time for a haircut… it was really long! but got so tangled.

sporting her shorter hair.

project life 2015–week 16

sunday: baby mario & baby luigi are ready for breakfast. apparently micah built them high chairs.

also sunday:  just hanging with my favorite girl and taking selfies. this was after she finished giving me a “fancy” new hairdo…

monday: not sure what possessed me, but I found myself obsessively thinking about fig newtons. hadn’t had them in years, and they weren’t that great.

thursday: more baseball.

friday: layla was so desperate for a wrap bracelet, but they are too big. someone tipped me off that the larger size can go 3 times around a girl’s wrist. happy girl!

saturday: contemplating whether or not my blades are salvageable, should I ever get around to buying new boots.

also saturday: sporting my own bracelet stack.

project life 2015–week 15

Easter Sunday!! layla sang and played bells with the children’s choir. she also had a solo with the adult choir. the piece was “mercy tree” and it was BEAUTIFUL. so proud of her!

traditional afternoon egg hunt, set up by grandpa!

monday: shane and layla made chocolate chip cookies… well, layla did. shane licked spoons and ate dough.

tuesday: ah yes, heat wave! it was a dry, sunny day. for me, that equals laundry on the line. apparently for layla and micah, it equals water play and sunbathing under umbrellas…?

wednesday: the people who live across the street from my parents have free-range poultry of varying kinds. their guinnea hens can be found in all sorts of odd places, including the very top of their 2 story house.

thursday: happy dog with TWO crusty casserole dishes to clean out.

friday: micah, playing DS mariokart with an audience of his new stuffed baby mario and baby luigi.

extras:

apparently porch railing = balance beam to this gymnast. and a shot of my dad’s gorgeous tulips.  

project life 2015–week 14

sunday: the kids choir sang in church. yes, there are just 3 of them… started as 5, now we’re down to 3…

monday: layla was sick last thursday and I made her skip gymnastics. so we were back at the gym on monday to do a make up class. I was impressed with the things this coach was having them do… handstands on the beam, roundoffs off the beam, etc… and then after the class, layla declared, “I hope I never have to go on monday again. it was awful. I felt like I was in a level one class!”… so apparently I need to pay closer attention to what she’s learning on thursdays.

tuesday: trying out some different jewelry looks… totally loving the “love is patient” window frame with the wrap bracelet and the doubled up “over the heart” chain.

thursday: baseball!! micah’s first baseball game ever. his team is the white sox and he’s #41 there in the outfield. he had a good game, and had his first hit at his first at-bat!

friday: money-pit dog is at it again! thursday evening, bonez was tearing around in the driveway and managed to tear one of he dew claws. so, a trip to the vet had them wanting to remove it, but they couldn’t do it right then. so they sent us home with antibiotics and pain meds (which, I’m pretty sure, make him sleepy), and we had to come back that evening. and then we went home with a bandaged leg and the cone of shame…

friday: oh, micah. he’s become obsessed with youtube videos of people playing mariokart. so now he makes his own… and narrates them… it sounds cute, but it’s really just annoying.

saturday: free entertainment with the cone of shame. watching bonez try to center his food bowl under it so he could eat was hysterical. and then micah decided to wear the cone as a lampshade.

extras:

every monday morning, I come into my classroom to find that my automatic paper towel dispenser has barfed into the sink over the weekend. the thing is possessed.

also, there may have been a slight glitch with the library website. I swear I do not owe that much in fines! 

project life 2015–week 13

sunday: the bug. woohoo! my parents bought this from my mom’s cousin. it’s a ‘67 and is in awesome shape. the paint isn’t perfect, but OMG, pretty darn close. the interior is amazing, it runs great… wowza!!! it’s a freaking dream-come-true for this bug-loving gal!

monday: it’s teacher appreciation week at preschool!!! I got delivered a grande, 2 pump. hazelnut latte to my classroom by one of my awesome parents and 2 of my kids – all before school started! LOVE!

tuesday: and teacher appreciation week continues! this time it was flowers. each kid brought in a flower and one of the moms put them all together in this beautiful display! LOVE! (the rest of the week continued in this fashion… chocolate on wednesday, pictures or cards on thursday, and an amazing scrapbook put together of interviews from the kids!  LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!)

wednesday: I have never been a bracelet girl. usually, bracelets are too big for me and I can’t handle things flopping around on my arms. BUT, I am loving these interchangeable O2 bracelet pieces I just got. this is the silver leather wrap bracelet, the medium wrap locket base, the medium enamel twist face in mint, rose gold LOVE expressions frame, and rose gold link bracelet. a couple of swarovski hex crystals and the gold star charms, plus a medium “love” plate that was part of the jan-march hostess exclusive.

thursday: I really don’t know what to say about this… my kids are obsessed with their little stuffed dogs and spend a lot of time setting up various scenarios with them. I usually stumble upon them sometime later… apparently this time, they’re playing foosball?

friday: as my business has grown, so has my collection of O2 jewelry… the ongoing struggle to figure out how to store it all, have it accessible to easily whisk away to a jewelry bar, have it easy to grab and wear, and safely stored away from hairspray, perfume, air, and any other random bad stuff floating around my bathroom.

also friday: bad dog is a graduate! bonez got a gigantic cookie and a certificate to prove that he’s passed basic training. does this mean he will refrain from eating the neighbors’ chickens if given the opportunity? probably not.

one extra:

my pantry was a DISASTER!!! I came home from costco and had a bunch of stuff to put away. I just couldn’t do it. so instead, I spent an hour organizing and cleaning (at least) half of it and THEN put my costco stuff away. it’s like a big ole sigh of relief.

project life 2015–week 12

monday: this is what our street looks like right now. I honestly have no idea what they are doing out there.

tuesday: YES!!! my spring catalogs finally arrived!!! so. much. awesome. stuff…!

wednesday: bonez in the front yard? yes! meeting the kids when they get off the bus? yes!! running around like a happy dog? yes!!! thanks, invisible fence!

thursday: micah got to take a free trial of a gymnastics class. he was so excited to get to jump into the foam pit! he wants to sign up for classes, but I told him he had to wait until baseball season is over.

also thursday: just a few things layla is working on… like being eaten by pacman.

friday: lutherwood!!! this was micah’s first year to be old enough to go, so dave got to be the chaperone! both kids had a blast. dave? I think he had fun. camp is kind of his thing. ;)

extras:

I’m not entirely sure how all this is going to shake out, but they’ll go in the book somewhere…

• micah, watching the work going on out front.
• apparently, “go do your homework” translates directly to “eat a pancake right out of the fridge”. who knew?
• this little creation is apparently a “potato leprechaun mario”… I had other thoughts.
• happy x2 is O2 boxes in my mailbox!!
• my dad and his feisty kitty, beatrice.