Meal Planning - August 30

Once again, I was reminded this weekend how utterly awesome my husband is. First, after I took a nasty spill at dance class, he drove 45 minutes to pick me up and take me to Care Now to get the ankle x-rayed (good news - nothing broken, just a sprain!). Second, after taking exceptional care of me after we returned home last night, he woke up this morning ready to help me with this week's meal planning and go to the store with me. Yes, I am truly blessed :-)

So here's what we'll be eating this week:

Monday Lunch - Turkey sandwiches on ciabatta, sliced nectarines, baby carrots

Monday Dinner - Spaghetti, garlic bread, green beans

Tuesday Lunch - Leftover spaghetti (me & hubby) / Lunchable (for Monkey Boy - no microwave access at his school), apple slices, yogurt

Tuesday Dinner - n/a (Bowling League - last night of summer league with free pizza!)

Wednesday Lunch - PB & J (AB&J for me, due to peanut allergy) on wheat bread, string cheese, applesauce

Wednesday Dinner - Chicken quesadillas, refried beans, salad

Thursday Lunch - Turkey sandwich on ciabatta, apple slices, baby carrots

Thursday Dinner - n/a (Bowling League - eat out)

Friday Lunch - Chicken enchiladas (me & hubby) / PB & J on wheat bread (Monkey), green grapes, broccoli

Friday Dinner - Ravioli, garlic bread, salad

Saturday Dinner - Baby burgers, french fries

Sunday Dinner - Salsa chicken, rice

Our big plans for Labor Day Weekend include doing freeze ahead cooking on Saturday and Sunday and barbecuing on Monday. Oh yeah, we know how to party ;-)

Need more ideas for yummy meals? Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie's Meal Plan Monday section for tips from hundreds of other bloggers!

This Is It, Kid!

I just returned from dropping Monkey off at Kindergarten. Dropping off might be too loose of a term - it was more like I walked in with him clinging to my leg and hand like a spider monkey. He actually wanted "up" (the preferred mode of transportation when freaked out or sleepy), but I reminded him that Big Boys in Kindergarten don't have "up" outside of their homes.

Surprisingly, I didn't cry. Not surprisingly, he did. After three hugs and multiple kisses, I had to just stand up, say goodbye, and walk out of the room without looking back, the sound of my baby crying, "Maaaaaaameeeeeee!!!" in my ears. The walk into the building had been noisy, with parents giving pep talks to freaked-out looking little people. On the way out, it was silent, each mommy and daddy lost in his/her own thoughts. Here were some of the things going through my mind...


First Kindergarten lunch - Lunchables, salad with Ranch, apple slices and apple juice. The first day of school Lunchable is a tradition dating back to my childhood.


Walking to school. 7:20 am when we left and it was already 90 degrees! Estimated high for today is 105. Sure am glad I put that water bottle in his backpack for recess. And yes, that WAS the smallest backpack we could find!


The calm before the storm: Monkey doing his morning work, still blissfully unaware for a few more minutes that, yes, Mommy really was going to leave him in this classroom where he doesn't know anyone. You'd think a kid who's been in preschool for two years would be the calmest one in the class, but apparently not.

Finally, of course, I have to think back to August 2005, when my sweet boy really was a baby, and remember how perfect he looked in his Daddy's strong arms. Time flies when you're living life.

Meal Planning - August 23

A new school year, a new meal plan! I am feeling somewhat reluctant to make a shopping list and actually go get groceries this afternoon, but as I sit here and bask in the warm glow of friends and events from this weekend, it gets a little easier to motivate myself. One of the most awesome developments of this summer was my husband getting more actively involved in meal planning and cooking dinners, so all of the dinners this week were planned by him, while I did the lunches. I must note that tomorrow is the first day of school for most kids here in Texas, and we are marking Monkey Boy's first day of Kindergarten with the traditional first day of school lunch from my childhood: a Lunchable. So much sodium, but even more memories ;-)

Monday Lunch - Lunchable, Apple Slices, Green Salad w/Dressing of Choice

Monday Dinner - Potato Soup (made ahead & frozen), French Bread, Green Salad w/Dressing of Choice

Tuesday Lunch - Turkey Sandwich on Wheat Bread, Green Grapes, Baby Carrots

Tuesday Dinner - n/a (bowling league night)

Wednesday Lunch - PB&J (AB&J for me) on Wheat Bread, Mango Slices, Green Salad w/Dressing of Choice

Wednesday Dinner - Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (sauce made ahead & frozen), Garlic Bread, Green Beans

Thursday Lunch - Spaghetti with Leftover Meat Sauce, Apple Slices, Steamed Broccoli

Thursday Dinner - n/a (bowling league night)

Friday Lunch - Turkey Sandwich on Wheat Bread, Yogurt, Fresh Berries

Friday Dinner - Sandwiches, Coleslaw

Saturday Dinner - Hamburger Helper

Sunday Dinner - Chicken Parmesan with Marinara and Pasta

Need more meal planning inspiration? Head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie's Meal Plan Monday section and check out the amazing menu from hundreds of other bloggers!

The End of Summer Hiatus

So I wasn't planning on taking the summer off blogging. Meal planning went awry pretty quickly after Monkey Boy headed out of town for the summer, so there went about half of my posts. Then I had some unexpected things to take care of, both professionally and personally, and pretty much ended up with no time or desire to blog. It's funny: My summer ended up completely differently than I had expected/planned, but I actually do feel more relaxed coming into this school year than I have the past three years! You know what they say, though - If you want to make God laugh, make plans.

Anyhow, I figure with the new school year rapidly approaching (and Monkey Boy starting Kindergarten - eek!), it's time for me to make some Back to School Resolutions. I don't know if I can call this a tradition, as I haven't done this before, but check back in twelve months to see if there will be a repeat performance ;-)

They say it takes 30 days to form a new habit. They also say you are more likely to stick with a goal if you have someone to be accountable to. So brace yourselves, cyber friends: Y'all are about to embark on this habit-changing journey with me. Buckle up, there will probably be some turbulence up ahead!

1) Get on a consistent, adequate sleep schedule
It's actually 1:13 am as I write this, so hopefully that explains why this is the first resolution that sprang into my mind. I am a natural night owl, so it's hard enough for me to be awake during the day, but throw in fun summer activities, household responsibilities, and the occasional nap (my personal Waterloo) and suddenly I'm unable to fall asleep if my life depended on it! Which, y'know, theoretically it does, if you read all the research about sleep deprivation.

2) Get on a consistent, adequate exercise schedule
Man, I had some awesome plans for working out this summer! Instead, I let the Texas heat get to me and managed to gain another 5 pounds which, when combined with the 5 pounds I gained in the Spring, makes my grand total weight loss for 2010 so far...+10 pounds? Yeah, clearly not doing a good job on that. Beyond the weight issue (which, again, might kill me, if you read the research) I am much happier in general when I work out regularly.

3) Plan & pack lunches for the family at least 4 days per week
We're doing pretty well with the freeze-ahead cooking or, as I told my husband last week, "I think we're starting to get dinner under control..." You know, like it's a misbehaving child or something. So the 2010-11 academic year will be the Year of the Packed Lunch. I'm feeling very apprehensive, but also excited about this new endeavor and how it will impact both our waistlines and our budget.

So there you have it: The three small (huge!) goals that I am endeavoring to tackle in the upcoming months. I know that outlining general goals here is not enough for me to actually achieve what I want to achieve. The next step is coming up with smaller objectives that will take me in the right direction with these goals. Rest assured I will share those as they come together in consultation with my family. I appreciate any tips y'all might have that have helped you achieve similar goals in the past :-)