how did i get here?

Yesterday, my house was mostly clean.  I was almost caught up on laundry.  My kids were healthy and happy.  I had a plan for dinner.  Life was good!

Then somehow, sometime during the day yesterday, it all turned upside down.  I can’t pinpoint exactly when it started – whether it was when Kat suddenly got unusually grouchy over some blocks.  Or when I put off emptying the dishwasher so I could watch The Hills.  When I spent way too long picking up a few things at the grocery store.  Or when Jason came home late again.

Nope, I don’t know where exactly the dominoes started to fall, but I’m sitting here amidst the wreckage.  A baby with a fever, a Son who went to bed too late, woke up tired and therefore fought me over every detail of getting ready this morning, a husband who got grouchy over his morning routine being messed with and a kitchen with a day and a half’s worth of stinky dishes piled up.  I’m overwhelmed.

In a situation like this, I take extreme measures to make myslf feel better so that running far far away doesn’t seem so tempting.  This morning it’s Illy coffee and Decadent Peanut Butter Pie.  A mama’s gotta do what a mama’s gotta do to keep her sanity, knowwhatImean?

pork chops with balsamic-honey glaze

I was about to type out the recipe, when I remembered I’d shared it once before on flickr.  You can click on my photo of the rosemary and garlic to see it.  I’ve since stopped putting the dijon in it (for Jason – he’s not a mustard fan), but it’s still my very favorite.  I could eat the glaze with a spoon!  YUM!

more than you ever wanted to know about my meal plans

Saw this over at Carol’s and thought it was a neat idea, so I’m participating for the first time this week. 

I have been writing out my weekly menus for years now.  It’s one of those things I once hated, but that I’ve grown to almost like now, and something I completely rely on to get my weekly shopping done (I’d be lost without my “plan!”).  I started it as a way to save money; I’d sit down once a week with the grocery store ads and plan meals around what was on sale that week, then write up my grocery list accordingly.  I don’t shop the sales fliers anymore, simply because I’ve started shopping the dreaded Walmart Superstore for groceries (I really don’t like to, but they are significantly cheaper than other local stores, they have a larger selection and they’re a lot closer than most other stores so I save in gas as well - I usually prefer to give my money to the little guys but in this case it’s a big enough difference in cost that I can’t justify doing it any other way < / defensive tangent >) .

My ultimate goal for mealtime is that we all sit down as a family and eat the same thing – something delicious, easy to prepare and healthy.  If you’re a Mom, especially of picky eaters, you know that’s way easier said than done.  Add in a kid with food allergies, and it’s practically impossible to please everyone.  So, as a result, my weekly menus are all over the place, a combination of adult type meals for Jason and myself (kids get something different those nights) and totally kid-friendly meals. 

I’m not a gourmet chef and I don’t pretend to play one on tv.  I like to cook, but I don’t LOVE to cook.  I only go all out when I’m in the mood.  So you’ll see a nice mix of instant-mix type foods and home-cooked from scratch stuff.

Also, I should add – I have a general idea of which days we might eat each meal, but since my moods change and things come up, we rarely eat the meal specifically planned for that day.  I just list them on the fridge each week on a small dry erase board, and I mark them off as we eat them.  Whatever is left is what I choose from each afternoon when I start thinking about what’s for dinner.

Oh, and I almost always plan for a “bonus meal” each week.  Couple of reasons:  1)  it gives me an extra day incase I can’t get to the store on time the following week, and 2) incase one of the pre-planned meals doesn’t work out for whatever reason (if we’re too busy to make it, we’re not in the mood for it, if I realize at the last minute that I forgot an important ingredient or if an important ingredient goes bad before I expected it too, etc).  I almost always make sure the ingredients in my bonus meal are ones that don’t perish quickly so that if we don’t use it this week, we can save it for next week.

I JUST sat down this morning and wrote out my menu for the next week, so I’m prepared.  I haven’t shopped yet, that’s in my afternoon plan.

Monday:  all-beef hot dogs, baked french fries, Annie’s white cheddar shells & cheese

Tuesday:  meatloaf, steamed broccoli w/ cheese sauce and mashed potatoes  (meatloaf made w/ seasoning envelope, steam-in-the-bag broccoli, microwaved velveeta and pre-made mashed potatoes in a tub – fancy, eh?)

Wednesday:  chili w/ beans  (another seasoning envelope – served w/ saltines or bread)

Thursday:  chicken & peppers pasta (new recipe I’m trying from the Kraft Foods website – I’ll post later if it’s good)

Friday:  garlic steak w/ roasted red potatoes and steamed green beans (the seasoning for the garlic steak is another new recipe from Kraft Foods, potatoes are just chopped and tossed w/ fresh garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil and then roasted in the oven, green beans are steam-in-the-bag)

Saturday:  balsamic rosemary pork chops, herbed rice and steamed mixed veggies (the balsamic rosemary is my very favorite marinade/sauce recipe – I’ll post it later, the rice is instant and veggies are steam-in-the-bag)

Sunday:  “pigs in a blanket” (just halved hot dogs rolled in canned crescent rolls w/ slices of cheese if that’s what you like - totally for the kids, but I love them too, hehe)  still undecided on a side dish, I usually have extras of veggies, fries, pasta and rice mixes, etc, so I’ll pick one later

Bonus meal:  homemade pizzas  (hubby makes his own crust, if I can get persuade him to let me share his secrets with the world, I’ll post his recipe, otherwise all the usual ingredients:  organic jarred sauce, Boar’s Head pepperoni, mozz cheese, peppers and onions for the grown-ups)

just because i know you’re all sitting on the edges of your seats…

I got my online grocery order and hallelujah!  It was perfect!

I had started to worry since I hadn’t received a call about substitutions or out of stock items.  In the past that usually meant big mistakes.  But just as I was getting the kids together to go pick up the order, the personal shopper called to say the shop was done with no problems and she was about to ring it up.  The nicest man load my perfectly bagged groceries into the back of the van for me, the kids and I drove it home whilst happyily singing and laughing, then I unloaded to find that everything was there and exactly as I’d ordered it.

Oh happy day!  No stress, no kids screaming in Walmart, no frustration at the wrong sized apple juice in my bag… just quick and painless groceries.  (And I swear, I do not work for the grocery store – I’m just REALLY relieved!)

Speaking of food… did anyone else happen to catch Jessica Seinfeld on Oprah yesterday?  I watched the show and then read some reviews of Jessica’s book, and I have to say I’m intrigued.  I ordered a copy from Amazon, I’m going to give this whole pureed vegetable thing a whirl.

i hate buying my groceries online

For me, online grocery shopping can be a real pain in the butt.  For one, it’s way more expensive.  I pay the fee for the “personal shopper,” and I’m not there to physically see and choose the best deals.  And two, they always get it wrong.  Always always always.  There are either things missing (they were out of stock and didn’t bother to substitute or call to ask my preference), or the substitutions are all wrong (for example, I order a 16 oz sour cream because I need that much for a recipe, and they substitute with an 8 oz).  One time Jason picked up the order for me, drove all the way home and when I looked in the bags I found someone else’s entire order!

All that said, I stupidly just placed an online order.  I know.  I know I know I know.  I am so asking it.  But you know what?  I’d also be asking for it if I tried to take two antsy children into Walmart.  It’s a lose/lose and I decided that today, I’d rather lose in the privacy of my own home and car.  Oh crap, I just realized I forgot the beer…

Welp, here’s hoping Lowes Foods to Go gets it right today.

monday

The start of the third and final week of fall break.  And believe it or not, we’re all happy, busy and my house is even clean!  I guess we finally found our groove!  *crossing fingers, knocking on wood and doing everything else I can think of to keep from jinxing myself by typing that*

We’ve got a warm start to this week, high today is supposed to be 89, but it should be appropriately cool later this week (low-to-mid 70s) so I’m excited to get outside with the kids; go for some walks, bike rides, maybe go to our favorite church yard pumpkin patch (that’s Wesley United Methodist on College, for those of you local to me – the BEST location for pumpkin pictures with the kids, and remember to take their pictures in the shade to avoid squinty eyes, Mom and Dad!).

Okay so on to some non-fall break news… I started my Christmas shopping this weekend.  I wanted to start sooner, like in August, but I didn’t start getting any good gift ideas until the last week or so.  I spent some time Friday night putting together my annual Christmas Shopping Workbook, in Excel, where I keep track of my ideas, where to buy, prices, what I’ve already bought, how much I’ve already spent, who the ideas and gifts are for and whether they are regular gifts or stocking stuffers.  It helps keep me straight so that I don’t forget all my best ideas and so that I don’t go overboard with how much I buy or how much I spend (easy for me to do, I’m not the frugal one in the family for those who couldn’t already tell).

My first official purchases were for the kids-  small stocking-stuff type things from Hearthsong.  Love that site, everything I bought from them last year was a hit!  I shopped the On Sale catagory and got some good prices, and made notes of lots of other things I want to come back to later.  Jag and I also looked through catalogs from Toys to Grow On and Young Explorers – they have nice selections as well, although I haven’t bought from them so I can’t vouche for quality or customer service yet.

Baby’s up and coffee cup is empty – more later!

hello, fall!

With that tough day behind me, I’m finally feel free to enjoy autumn with it’s slowly lowering temperatures, the gorgeous fall colors, trips to the pumpkin patch, the excitement of the holiday season just an arm’s reach away… and oh yeah, SICKNESS!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen (are there gentlemen reading?), our first illness of the season – Jag is sick.  Not sure exactly what it is, but it includes sore throat, runny nose, headache and pink eye.  Pink eye!!  We’ve never had pink eye before!

I guess on the bright side, he’s still on fall break (almost done with week two) so he’s not missing school.  He is missing football, but I’m not sure he minds so much.

I’m crossing my fingers that Kat doesn’t get it, too.

tomorrow

Tomorrow is October 2nd.  The anniversary of one of the best days of my life – my wedding day, and also the anniversary of the worst day of my life – my Dad suddenly and tragically passing away.

Gosh, what a mix of emotions.  The immense happiness, the profound sadness, the memories that make me smile and the memories that, even 5 years later, still leave me weeping.  I’m still not sure exactly how I’m supposed to feel or what I’m supposed to do on this day.

Eight years ago tomorrow, me and my Dad, and me and my husband…

It’s sad that I’m not looking forward to tomorrow.