let's get cookin'

here's the menu for the week. 

thursday 1/25

b: cereal
l: cheeseburger "cupcakes" with baked beans 
    http://www.emilybites.com/2011/09/cheeseburger-cupcakes.html
d: deli turkey sandwiches, cheese stick, pretzels, apple slices

friday 1/26

b: cereal or yogurt
l: grilled turkey and cheese sandwich with spinach and mixed fruit smoothie
d: foil pack chicken and broccoli
    http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/194728/foil-pack-chicken-and-broccoli-dinner-15

saturday 1/27

b: cereal or yogurt
l: salad and cottage cheese (for matt and me) pb and honey, cottage cheese (for molly and sophie)
d: pizza at a friend's house

sunday 1/28

b: cereal or yogurt
l: chicken fajita soft tacos with mexican rice
    http://realmomkitchen.com/9318/oven-baked-chicken-fajitas/ (i'll add black beans to stretch my chicken further and add fiber)
d: toad in the hole, bananas
  https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-nourishing-home/kids-in-the-kitchen-toad-n-the-hole-gf/307435849270948

monday 1/29

b: cereal or yogurt
l: grilled chicken with sweet potato and kale salad
    http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-yam-and-kale-salad/detail.aspx
d: at tbe folks

tuesday 1/30

b: cereal or yogurt
l: lemon garlic tuna burgers with asparagus
   http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/03/25/lemon-garlic-tuna-burgers/
d: oatmeal pancakes with mixed berries

wednesday 1/31

b: cereal or yogurt
l: make your own italian bread pizza
d: bean and cheese burritos, carrots, fruit

winter name graphing

molly and i did a fun winter graphing project for school today that allowed her to practice writing letters as well as graph. i found this idea on pinterest (my new addiction. i may need therapy!) we had fun figuring out how many more snowballs would be necessary to make all the snowman the same height. we also talked about abc order when two names where the same length.

slightly stubborn????

really, i have no idea where sophie would get her stubbornness from....matt?? yeah, that sounds good. (whisper "i'm lying!") but she is one stubborn little girl. today, she left her blanket in our computer room and realized it a while later while up in the living room. she began crying for it, wanting me to go get it. molly hasn't been feeling well so i was cuddling with her (a rare thing since sophie doesn't usually like to share my lap). i told sophie to go down and get it. she refused and continued her crying spell. battle: mom vs. sophie. i didn't cave, but molly did. she's such a sweet girl and loves to help. molly went and got sophie's blanket and handed it to her. this was not at all what sophie wanted mind you. she wanted me to get it. so, she threw it on the floor and continued her screaming. i'm totally ignoring all this because, well, i'm not giving in to her fit. stubborn? yes, (remember she gets it from matt!) but also teaching a lesson. a little while later matt calls me down to look at a humidifier on the internet (we purchased two today). sophie followed (with her blanket) and dropped it down on the floor in the computer room and began crying for me to pick it up again. this time, i'm laughing. the girl will not give up. (**note the cats in the background - it surprised me they stayed throughout the fit because they generally run at her crying)

finally she does, and collapses, thumb in mouth, onto the blanket. and the crying ceases. i gave up, too. when matt and i were finished on the computer, i scooped her up and carried her up the stairs. stubborn or not, i love my little mouse.

what's on the menu this week

here's this weeks menu:

tuesday 1/17/12

b: cereal or yogurt
l: chili/cinnamon rolls
d: breakfast for dinner

wednesday 1/18/12

b: cereal or yogurt
l: Creamy chicken and black bean enchiladas with Taco rice

    http://themealplanner.blogspot.com/2008/10/creamy-chicken-black-bean-enchiladas.html 
    http://themealplanner.blogspot.com/2008/10/mexican-rice.html
d: pb/honey, peas, apple slices

thursday 1/19/12

b: cereal or yogurt
l:  Creamy Cauliflower Soup w/ Rosemary Bread

     http://themealplanner.blogspot.com/2009/02/creamy-cauliflower-soup.html
d: bean and cheese burritos, fruit and spinach smoothie

friday 1/20/12

b: cereal or yogurt
l:  Buffalo chicken rolls

    http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/01/31/buffalo-chicken-rolls/
d: pb/honey for the girls, matt and i are going out for my bday

saturday 1/21/12

b: cereal or yogurt
l: leftovers
d: cilantro lime shrimp with garlic bread - i have to find this recipe (i think it's a pintrest one)

sunday 1/22/12

b: cereal or yogurt
l: Chinese Orange Chicken with broccoli over rice

   http://themealplanner.blogspot.com/2010/02/chinese-orange-chicken.html
d: chicken noodle soup/biscuits

monday 1/23/12

b: cereal or yogurt
l: Grilled Bruschetta Chicken with salad (we never had this last week)
   http://www.weight-watchers-recipes.net/grilled-bruschetta-chicken.html
d: at the folks

happy eating!

fun at the zoo

 the zoo in january? most definitely when the high is in the 60's! i almost wore shorts too, but i didn't  since there is a lot of shade. we had a blast and it was probably the best day for animal viewing we've ever had. the animals definitely like the cooler weather better than the sweltering temperatures in the summer. the rhinos, who NEVER move, were running laps for 20 minutes at least. they were still going when we moved on. i don't think i've ever seen that many people pausing to watch the rhinos. normally, you pass by, there's the rhino, laying in the dirt, and move on. i should have taken a picture but i didn't.

we went with some new friends and had such a great time. i'm thankful i'm getting to know more people around here. we saw the whole zoo (some animals were put away because of the cooler temps) and molly walked the entire time. sophie walked a good amount also. needless to say, when we left at 4:30, they were tuckered out! we rode the carousel twice. molly discovered there's a red frog to ride on so sophie was super excited. in the barn there were blue frogs and green and black frogs. sophie was in frog heaven. molly enjoyed the monkeys and the sea lions were a big hit as well. they put on quite a show for us. we ended the day with a train ride around australia and had to come to a complete stop so the kangaroo could move from beside the track. it was fun seeing them so close. hoping the weather stays nice so we can go again soon.

                                          

menu plan 1/9-1/16

monday 1/9

b - cereal or yogurt
l -  Cranberry Pork Roast with green beans
      http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cranberry-Pork-Roast-2/Detail.aspx
d- at the folks house

tuesday 1/10

b - cereal or yogurt
l -  Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage Wraps with kale chips

     http://www.alfrescoallnatural.com/RecipeDetails.aspx?ID=280
d- grilled cheese, broccoli, apple slices

wednesday 1/11

b - cereal or yogurt
l - lunch in paola
d - pb honey, peas, banana

thursday 1/12

 b - cereal or yogurt
l - turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans
d - turkey sandwiches, apples

friday 1/13

b - cereal or yogurt
l - turkey spaghetti, carrots, garlic bread
d - Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage Pizza

      http://www.alfrescoallnatural.com/RecipeDetails.aspx?ID=290

saturday 1/14

b - cereal or yogurt
l - leftovers
d - Grilled Bruschetta Chicken with salad

      http://www.weight-watchers-recipes.net/grilled-bruschetta-chicken.html

sunday 1/15

b - ceral or yogurt
l -  Turkey lasagna

      http://www.weight-watchers-recipes.net/turkey-lasagna.html
d - eggs, toast, fruit

monday 1/16

b - cereal or yogurt
l - turkey and dumplings
d - at the folks

ringing in the new year

 happy new year! while some like to party it up, my best friend, jenn, and i like to hang out in style....here we are at our hoppin' new years eve party in the snuggie and forever lazy.

I had never heard of the forever lazy until recently when a fb friend posted the you tube infomercial about it. hilarious. then i find out jenn had one. yes, my friends, i had to try it on. the back hatch is not the easiest to use (i really didn't try it) but did unzip it. i doubt it would really function properly in a desperate time of need. and it's almost impossible to rezip yourself. so, if you're home alone in the lazy, your hatch just may be open all the time should you choose to use it. if you haven't seen this, you should watch! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDs1rMzn5ew only $29.95 and you get 2 free pairs of socks!

okay, we didn't sit around all night in them (they're actually quite toasty). we had a yummy dinner, discussed recipes, kids, and played a fun game that matt spontaneously created with a camera and objects in a room. we added a special twist to the game....it just maybe a new years eve tradition! oh, and just for the record, i won!

our kids had fun playing, too. molly was disappointed that jameson didn't make it until midnight to yell happy new year. she and sophie did stay up but i'm paying for it today....GRUMPY!

happy new year to you! praying 2012 is a year where God is glorified in all we do.