Reflections and Predictions

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommas of all kinds!  Today was a wonderful and relaxing Mother's Day.  Little A let me sleep until almost 7am...well after he fell out of my bed at 5am and gave himself a black eye, but I digress :)  He made me a beautiful necklace at daycare and a card and then grandma and grandpa helped him pick out 2 new cookie sheets for me which I desperately needed!  Then we went for a delicious brunch at Great Escape.  I highly recommend their brunch!  Lots of variety, no wait at all, not over crowded and only $20 per person ($10 for kids).  I know I sound like an advertisement, but it really was good haha!  We came home after and cleaned up the garden for planting next weekend, watched Ghostbusters and just hung out.  It was a wonderful day with my little man with almost no time outs and that is always a plus!

Now to get back to the grindstone tomorrow.  We have 1 more week of classes before final exams and I am predicting a rough few weeks.  The students have been a bit crazy the past few weeks already, tensions and stress running high.  My goal for the next two weeks is to plan ahead as much as I can at home and work, take things with a grain of salt knowing that people don't always mean things the way they sound, and make sure to cherish every moment at home with my little guy to keep me grounded.  Let's hope we all make it through!

 So part of the planning: make ahead breakfasts and dinners this week!

Breakfasts:

Low Fat Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

Crock Pot Peanut Butter Craisin Oatmeal  (edits: skim milk instead of almond, peanut butter extract instead of almond, craisins instead of cherries)

Dinners:

Monday: Fish Tacos: leftover tilapia fish sticks from last week smothered in peach salsa rolled in tortillas with lettuce and cheese,  Served with rice and black beans.

Tuesday: Double Delicious Mac and Cheese: I have been trying to make this recipe for 3 weeks and it keeps getting pushed off.  It is so delicious and since it can be made ahead and used for 2-3 meals it is DEFINITELY getting made this week!  Plus it is a guarantee that Little A will eat it and I have to work until 8 on Tuesday :) Served with spinach salad.

Wednesday: Salmon and Roasted Potatoes with green beans: marinated in lemon, dill and salt and pepper overnight (add olive oil to potatoes).  Salmon cooked at 425 for 30ish minutes.  Potatoes at 425 until crispy.

Thursday: Leftovers OR Back Up Dinner: eggs, pancakes, fresh fruit (this is my go to when I am too tired to cook!)

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: eat out

Sunday: Cranberry Crock Pot Ribs with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob.  Made a few edits to this recipe.  No jelly, ketchup, bbq sauce or brown sugar.  Added 1c low sodium chicken broth, 1tsp red pepper flakes, 1/4c orange juice.

Dessert:

1 box Lemon cake mix (no pudding added)
2 bags frozen peaches
16oz diet Sprite

Spray 9x13 baking dish.  Dump in both bags of frozen peaches.  Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the peaches.  Pour diet Sprite over the top do not mix!

Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes

Thank you to Living a Changed Life blog for the inspiration for this and so many of my recipes and for daily inspiration to keep going on this Weight Watcher journey!


This weeks goal: to figure out how to post a recipe to Pinterest and link it to my blog!  Anyone know how??


 

What's for Dinner...better late than never!

So this week's dinner post is a little bit late because...well....I just didn't get to it yesterday!  I was so busy actually cooking the food and shopping for it and doing laundry that I just forgot to write this post, so here it is!

Breakfast for the week: Crock Pot Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (edit: I used 2c water and 2c fat free half and half)

Monday: Baked Fish Sticks, Rice and Salad

Tuesday: Crock Pot Beef Stew with Quinoa (I wasn't sure about the spices on this one, so I substituted onion soup mix since that is what I use for my pot roast.  I'll post a pic after I make it!)

 

Wednesday:  Double Delicious Mac and Cheese with veggies (I usually make this with sweet potato puree, but don't have any so I will use carrot this week.)

Thursday: Leftovers!   I keep forgetting to schedule a leftovers day and we have SO MUCH food in the fridge by Friday, so this week I scheduled one this week :)

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Eat Out

Sunday: Crock Pot Cranberry Ribs (edit: no chili sauce or red wine vinegar, add chicken stock and red pepper flakes) with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob

**DISCLAIMER: all images are the result of a Google search I make no claim that these images are my own!**

Hope you all have a wonderful and yummy meal filled week :)

What's for dinner?

When I sat down to put this week's menu plan together, I rewrote it about 10 times.  I just keep falling back on the same recipes over and over again, but isn't that kind of how it goes with everything?  I find myself thinking of changes this week.  There are some pretty significant ones coming my way soon, but for this week I just chose a few changes to my menu :)  (New recipes on Tuesday and Wednesday.)

Monday: Cracker Barrel Chicken Tenders 5PP/serving with rice and broccoli

Tuesday: Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings (2^nd recipe listed) 5 PP/serving with mashed potatoes and carrots 

 Wednesday: Veggie Crustless Quiche, pancakes, bacon and fruit  (Few minor changes, I double the eggs, 8c chopped fresh spinach, omit onions, add mushrooms and red pepper and I use cheddar cheese- 2 cups not 3, and bake in a 9x13 pan. 2PP/serving)

Thursday: Apple Cinnamon Pork Chops 4PP/serving with roasted potatoes and corn

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Eat out

Sunday: Double Delicious Macaroni and Cheese (Jessica Seinfeld recipe 7PP/serving) with oven roasted broccoli and green beans.*Note: I love the Jessica Seinfeld puree recipes, but find this one to be the easiest to make and hardest to taste the purees, so it is a win-win!

Hope you all have a wonderful week and take the risk to make a change to your menu this week!

Confessions of a so-so planner (and What's For Dinner)

I am not organized!  This will more than likely surprise any of my co-workers who read this because at work I am ridiculously organized.  I plan my lessons out weeks (if not months!) in advance much to the chagrin of the members of my course team who are not so crazy anal um...organized.  At work, I always know what comes next....   

 But at home it's anyone's guess!!

I work to come up with plans and strategies to improve this.  I make lists, lay out clothes for the next day, put A's clothes in the drawers in outfits so I don't forget what goes with what, get containers for items so they have a place and but just about every organization tool or book I see, but nothing seems to work!  I have come to realize that I may just need to accept the chaos that surrounds me as a byproduct of being a full-time teacher momma!

Now for the confession...I kind of don't care that my house is a mess or that I don't always know where everything is.  I would rather spend my time playing with A, reading him a book or just sitting on the couch watching a movie with little A (confession #2, my child watches tv), I am on a roll with these confessions today haha!  Little A and I have a system that works for us and we are rocking it!  I have come to realize that there are a lot more important things in life than always knowing what comes next...just don't ask me to stop planning at work :)

What's For Dinner:

Monday:  Salmon and Lemon Dill Roasted Potatoes (quartered red potatoes tossed in olive oil, lemon juice and fresh dill.  Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until fork tender on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray)

Tuesday:  Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

Wednesday:  Burgers and grilled fruit (pineapple, pear, banana and apple)

Thursday: Chicken Enchilada Bake (will use the leftover chicken from the tacos on Tuesday.  Changes: peppers on one half only, salsa instead of enchilada sauce, low fat cheese)

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Eat out/Order In

Sunday: Steak and Tuna Steak on the grill, fresh green beans and brown rice

 

What for dinner at your house this week?

What's for Dinner?

Hello all!   

Wow!  It's been forever since I have written!  There has been so much going on, I don't even know where to begin!  There have been some major developments in my life lately that I can't share just yet but will very soon.  Look for a post later this week about some of these exciting new life experiences :)

Today's post is something new that I am going to try and start doing every week to keep working toward that mission of improving myself: What's for Dinner?  It will be a weekly menu plan listing what we will be eating for dinner each night.  I have been trying to incorporate new recipes when I can so there may be links to things other bloggers have posted to give them credit for what is theirs.

Monday: Garlicky Bread Crumb Pasta 

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Apple Sauce Chicken  with brown rice and corn (Will probably use apple juice in place of apple cider vinegar because I don't have any and won't make it to the store before Tuesday.  Did this last time I made this recipe and it tasted great!)

Wednesday: BRINNER!!  Pancakes, low sodium turkey bacon, eggs and fruit

Thursday: Tuna Steaks with sesame ginger marinade, brown rice and broccoli

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: I don't cook on Saturday so we will order from somewhere :)

Sunday: Cranberry Pork Ribs (made a few edits to this recipe: no chili sauce and no red wine vinegar, add 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth and dash of red pepper flakes) with smashed potatoes and a veggie

Well there you have it, my first attempt at a weekly menu plan!  I am hoping by making it public I will stick to it.  I will let you know how it goes next Sunday!

Hope you have a happy, healthy week!

Meghan

I've got boogers and other things my son taught me this Valentine's Day

The past few weeks Little A has had a brutal cold.  It keeps coming back, annoying little virus that it is!!  That combined with some really exciting things going on for me I haven't had much time to sit down let alone post.  So today's post is just a few quick insights into the things my almost 3 year old little man has helped me to realize as of late.

1. Boogers are a very exciting thing! 

 
Since this cold has joined out lives little man has learned to blow his nose like a big boy.  That does not mean however that the boogers stay in the tissue.  His new favorite this to do is announce in a very enthusiastic voice "I have boogers!!!" and then proceed to share them with whatever part of me he can reach.  (disclaimer: this is not Little A in the pic this is an image I found using a Google search for toddlers and boogers) 


2. It is sometimes ok to eat a chocolate bar for breakfast!

 The past few morning Little A has woken up feeling kind of crummy due to his cold and he always asks for a mini chocolate bar for the car ride to daycare.  Most mornings I tell him no, but today I gave in.  This may not qualify me for mother of the year in most people's eyes, but to him it was the world's greatest gift.  He saw it as mommy responding to something he asked for and actually saying yes, yippee!!  He was so excited.  I figure as long as we don't do this every day it isn't that bad, and at least it was dark chocolate so it was sort of healthy right? :)


3. I will never be perfect or be able to do every single thing I want to for Little A exactly the way I want to, but to him that doesn't matter!


I have had a lot going on over the past few weeks personally, professionally and just in general.  There have been a few times, more than I care to admit, that I have not been the most "present" mom for Little A.  I admit, he watches WAY more tv than he should (look for a post on that next week!) and plays with things most people wouldn't consider toys like old phones, unplugged cords and surge protectors and old computers.  I question my effectiveness as a mom almost every minute of every day.  Then today I pick up Little A from daycare and he hands me a beautiful heart he made me with a very nice poem.  He tells me "Happy Valentimes Day Mommy I Love You" and I realized that even though I am not perfect, the most important person in my life still loves me and that is all that will ever matter!!






So this is me wishing all of you days filled with boogers, chocolate and most of all LOTS of love be it imperfect or not!  Happy Valentine's Day!!


 

So we are all supposed to be grown ups, right?!

It has been a while since I have written and I wish this was going to be a more fun post, but I just have to put this in writing.

I decided to start a blog for many reasons, but one of the biggest was I read a LOT of blogs and love to see what people have to say.  I figured if even one person enjoys reading what I write, that is pretty amazing, so I gave it a shot.  Obviously mine is just a little blog meant for a few, but most of those I read have thousands of readers.

Over the past few days I have watched a few things unfold on some of these blogs.  I have watched moms bashing other moms for their life choices (SAHM, WAHM, work outside the home, breast feed in public or not, co-sleep or not) and I was about at my wits end when the last straw hit.  I watched 2 bloggers attack each other each claiming to be the more original blogger and criticizing the other for "stealing" each others material.  These were very public, very vulgar bashings.  As I was reading these posts I thought to myself, "aren't we all supposed to be grown ups?"  Both of these pages are for 21+ so I would hope that the admins themselves are at least 21, and I felt like I was trapped in my classroom with 2 teenage girls about to pull each others hair!

The most disturbing part was I couldn't stop reading it!!!  It was like I was a gaper driving past a car accident craning my neck as far as possible only this was much easier to see.  As I was reading I just become more and more disgusted and realized I was most disgusted with myself for reading it, so I unliked both pages and am moving on.

The reason I am writing this post is because I really feel the internet has given us this sense of invincibility and bad-assness that we typically only see in teenagers and I am wondering if that is a good thing.  I mean of course we grown ups like to feel invincible too, but how many of us would actually verbally attack a co-worker or fellow mom at the park simply for having a different opinion?

My new goal is to try and think before I type just as I think before I speak and to avoid all the drama!  I see no reason to get involved or even bear witness to behavior that makes me feel like I am teaching my 15 year olds.  It may be a cheesy old adage, but I plan to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and I most definitely don't want to be treated the way I have seen others treating people on many blogs lately.

Ok now this is me climbing off my soap box :)  More fun post to come soon!