A Night Out

Though Matt and I share the same spring birthday month, I took the liberty of extending his birthday well into the summer this year. Two weeks ago we had a night out to celebrate, just the two of us. It was fantastic!

Following dinner at McCormick and Schmick's, we headed to our box seats at WolfTrap for a summer evening together. For Matt's birthday gift I purchased tickets to see WolfTrap's HD showing of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The movie was shown with a live orchestra and choir. Wow. I'm not a huge fan of LOTR, but I couldn't help but thoroughly enjoy myself.

To compliment the event, I wore my Lord of the Ring's Evenstar necklace that Matt had bought me for my birthday. Hmmm, see a theme here?

Breakfast for Dinner

I have a love-hate relationship with weekends. Who doesn't love being with family and having daylight hours to blow through to-do lists?

But I don't like cooking on weekends. By the time Friday night rolls around, I'm done with food prep. Despite menu planning - which I love - I still am not in the mood to be in the kitchen.

In an effort to curve our weekend take-out bill, I've established Saturday's dinner as breakfast time. :-) It's working so well for us, especially since I can't do the fancy recipes I'd like to on Saturday mornings because of being pregnant.

Banana-nut pancakes have become a favorite of ours. I double the recipe and freeze the extras for quick weekday breakfasts. We had them again tonight and loved them yet again... so I thought I share the love recipe with you:

Hearty Banana-Nut Pancakes
*Recipe adapted from epicurian

1.5 cups flour (wheat or all-purpose)
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
3/4 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large very ripe bananas)
2 large eggs
1/4 to 1/3 applesauce (amount dependent on flour type)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped pecans or walnuts

~Enjoy!~

Growing Up - The Lengthy Edition

My first thought was to begin this post with the proverbial: Morenna is growing like a weed. ::Yawn:: That's a no-brainer. Instead I'll try to be a little more purposeful in sharing what her life (and ours as parents) is like these days.

As I type, I'm glancing at my husband's khaki-clad pant leg, which is currently a marbled tie-die of marker smudges. Drawing is a new thing for our little BG, but I'm elated that she's finally taking an interest. It didn't take long for a "marker rule" to be enforced after this picture was taken. After cleaning my floor numerous times (what heavenly provision washable non-toxic markers are!) we finally moved all coloring to the table. We're still having issues with marking our face, teeth, lips, clothes and other extremities, though. I thought about switching her to crayons. No stain. No mess. Brilliance! But she's taken to badly chewing the ones we get at restaurants so I've stuck with drawing utensils that can defend themselves.

Concurrently, I'm listening to Morenna (who's supposed to be sleeping) on the baby monitor counting the dots on her pajamas. It sounds something like this: "won (one)... doo (two)... tree (three)! Seriously, in the matter of about a week she picked up counting to three and will typically perform on demand. Yes, this is definitely my most favorite developmental milestone at the moment. I'm trying to move her past "three" and on to "four", but she's pretty adamant about staying at three. She refuses to even say "four". So, no dice. (Note: as you see in the picture from Monday's post, Morenna refuses to fall asleep unless her feet are propped up. She also has to prop them up at the table, too. So funny!)

Speaking of refusals, what's up with the sudden arrival of picky eating? If offered to her, any variety of food will be refused. Even favorites. But if haphazardly placed within her reach (whether purposefully or accidentally), any food may readily be devoured, including, but not limited to: raw potatoes, garlic, prunes, onions - gross stuff like that. What the...?

She very much enjoys climbing and standing on her stool to watch me cook, prepare food, do the dishes, you name it. I can't believe how big she looks to me standing there and trying to help out. Too cute!

By far her favorite thing to do is stand and swirl around the bubbles in my dishwater. It will keep her entertained the whole time I do the dishes. Can't beat that!

One personality trait Matt and I have been a little disappointed about is her lack of luster for outside activities. We are both big outdoorsy people... but not her. No way. She'll play out in the yard with us a for a little while, but in no time at all she'll waddle her way to the door and pound on it until we let her in.

On a positive note, she's a big singer. Yes, she loves music. And loud music, too. Matt and I still haven't outgrown our loud music tastes from college, but Morenna is a great sport and will start bopping to the music as soon as she hears the beat. Not to worry: she listens to Christian music, too. :-) My mom taught her to sing the Hosanna song. It sounds something like this:

Morenna: Ho, ho, ho, ho...

Mommy: Hosanna...

Morenna: Ha, ha, ha, ha...

Mommy: ...hallelujah...

Morenna: He, he, he, he...

Mommy: ... Saved me...

Morenna: I got da...

Mommy: ...love of the Lord...

Morenna: in Me! ::big grin::

I'll be sure to post the video we have of that sometime soon.

This Too Shall Pass

One thing I'm learning as a mommy is that time moves on. Thank. God. It's been a struggle this week to be a patient and energized mommy.

A big struggle.

I'm still playing detective as to where Morenna picked up the new habit of night-waking (teething? hunger? new developmental milestone?) but wherever it came from, she has it. Bad.

Several nights this week she'll wake up between 2am-3am, wide awake. For the first hour or so she'll just sit quietly in her crib and stare at the wall, poor dear. Ask me how I know this? Bathroom visit, every two hours. Blah.

After the initial hour, she'll get frustrated and start whimpering for attention. I give in. I can't help it - I sympathize as I'm dealing with my own pregnancy-related insomnia. There's nothing worse than being awake and feeling like the only one in the world to be that way.

Anyhow, she's always so delighted to see me and will sit quietly on my lap and rock. And rock. And rock. Every now and then she'll count to three, or identify my eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, or ask about her favorite book. An hour later, she'll start asking for food, milk, juice, her toys. Finally around 5am Matt gets up for work, so she laughs and chatters while chasing him around the bathroom as he gets dressed. Did you catch the time? Yeah, 2-3 hours later.

I can rarely get her back to bed until around 6am. She'll sleep until about 9am and then be grumpy and out of sorts the rest of the day until naptime. From what I've read, this night-waking phase usually lasts from month 18 to month 20. We'll see about that.

Sounds like I'll get one back into the habit of nighttime sleeping just in time to welcome a new addition... with her own reasons for night-waking. Fun stuff!

One thing in which I have found comfort is the wisdom of seasoned moms, saying: "This too shall pass." Should nothing I try work, I know this won't last forever.

I hope. :-)

Bringing Nature to Suburbia

Most of you know that I grew up in the country. And loved it.

Now being a forced resident of suburbia, I find I'm lonesome for the freedom that owning land can bring. Since our backyard is fenced in, I'm all primed to attempt planting a garden in our rock-infested yard next year. But what to do in the meantime?

Enter brilliance. Not my own, unfortunately, but I shamelessly stole the idea. No rocks. No weeds. Just good nutritious soil and yummy greens in... my gutter garden.

It took only one evening for Matt and I to purchase our vinyl gutters and other materials. Easy-peasey. I back-ordered the seeds and in late July I put in a crop of baby spinach, gourmet greens and Simpson lettuce. Both have done really well and we had some of the lettuce in salads a night ago. Yum, yum! (Sorry the picture is blurry.)

I know you're probably as taken back about the brilliance in suburbia gutter gardening as I am. You're thinking: Man, this gal's got it going on. Or maybe not. Perhaps you think I'm crazy, and you might be right...

Last week our little family (read: me) decided gardening didn't quite fix our back-to-nature cravings so we pulled out all the stops and... joined a raw milk club. :Gasp: Now you really do think I'm crazy, don't you?

Best. Decision. Ever. Despite the multiple health benefits I was a little apprehensive about the switch, but I'm so happy we did it. And let me tell you, once you join the little raw milk community you find your fellow raw-milk-drinking-friends start popping out of the woodwork. Who knew?!

So anyway, we've been purchasing (yes, purchasing... even though it's against the law. As if it's the government's place to regulate what I drink... it's just MILK people, come on!) about a gallon and a half a week. From that amount I'm able to skim off quite a bit of cream and make my own butter (all-in-all about 3/4 cup) using my kitchen aid mixer. Simple and tasty.

Wow. So there's the good, bad and ugly regarding my back-to-nature cravings. Well, not totally. Would you believe in the same time period I also made the decision to switch Morenna over to cloth diapers?! I blame my pregnancy hormones. More on that later. The diapers, I mean, not the hormones. :-)

All About Roo - Part Two

Ignorance is bliss, or so they say. Frankly, I'm inclined to believe there's a whole heck of a lot of truth in the statement. When I was pregnant with Morenna it seemed that my OB implied first-time mommas were the biggest worrywarts. Oh, contrare.

Perhaps it's the been-there-done-that factor that makes second pregnancies much more worrisome, at least for me. I compare every twitch, every movement, every ache and pain to what I experienced with Morenna. And when they aren't the same, I wonder what might be wrong. Sheesh.

On a non-hormonal note, everything in Baby Roo's world is in tip-top shape. :-) I'm cherishing these last two weeks of my second trimester (already nearly to my third! where did the time go?) and am attempting to harness my energy wisely. Sadly, I'm already noticing my stamina patterning that of our booming economy. (Yeah, about that...)

Thus far, Baby Roo has been MUCH more active than I ever remember Morenna being. Matt and I are quite entertained most nights watching her acrobatic skills shift my belly this way and that. In that regard, I'll be glad when her growth starts limiting movement a bit. Many. Sleepless. Nights.

Thankfully, I returned to the pregnancy chiropractor I used with Morenna and it's made a huge difference with the aches and pains of physical changes. The special table my doctor uses is designed for pregnant tummies, so it's definitely an added benefit to lay around on my stomach for at least five minutes each week. If the office isn't too busy, I shamelessly ask to lay around "for just five more minutes?".

On another note, Big Sister Morenna most likely doesn't understand why my lap has disappeared, but she has picked up on the fact that I rub my belly a lot. She'll prance around with hers stuck out like a little Budda, rubbing it and jabbering on about Baby GiGi, as she calls her.

(Oh my word, did I just drop a hint as to what baby's name might be? But definitely don't be thinking in the French Poodle department...).

Life Happens

Ah, how time slips away! I've had so many blog posts in the works in my mind, but finding time to actually write them, well, it hasn't happened. :-)

This summer has just flown by to me. Already it's the end of August and the kids are going back to school. Matt recently announced it was time to start studying for the bar, something I knew was coming but was valiantly trying to ignore. It's funny how the things you ignore still end up appearing right in front of you.

Pregnancy has been wearing me out the past week or two (more on that later), so coping with my mile-high to-do list and the lack of time has been a bit discouraging. Couple that with a teething toddler (her molars, poor thing) and a busy schedule and you get... no blog posts. :-)

As a start on updates: we recently went to visit my family for a long weekend and had a really good time. For once none of us were sick (as has been the case for the last several visits)! Matt had to work while we were there, but I did happen to snag him for a night out at the Ohio Theater, a posh historic landmark that shows old movies in the summertime. I have a lot of memories of going there while I was growing up, so it was fun to share that with him.

And of course, Morenna had a blast with all the extra attention. Here's a few shots while we were there. And stay tuned for more posts to come in the next couple of days...

Wrestling with Daddy is her favorite thing to do.

Sometimes funny things happen when you
keep her up past her bedtime. :-)

And Grandmas never help things.

Morenna has really been enjoying the pool this year.
Thankfully my aunt has a pool we can enjoy when we're home.

Camera Love

Last November we splurged and bought a new Nikon D60 camera. It was love at first, um, click. Throughout the year I've had a blast playing around with it, and I adore the great features - like a speedy flash and continuous shutter release - which has revolutionized my photos. Trying to capture shots of a busy little lady has become a breeze, and I never feel like I miss any special moment.

This past weekend we packed up and headed to Ohio for a brief visit with my family. My dad is a big-time model train enthusiast and while we were there he asked me to take a few shots of his model train. It was a bit of a challenge as the layout is still a work-in-progress, but I had a lot of fun capturing what shots I could. After a little editing, you'd never know it was unfinished.

Messes

We've entered a new phase here at our house. I never really pushed Morenna to use a baby fork or spoon. Occasionally I'd offer her one, but being the busy little bee that she is, her hands were the speedy and efficient preference.

Now at long last she's decided that any food placed before her should be retrieved with a utensil of some type. I'm definitely happy to see her moving more towards eating like a grown-up, but it's brought along a fair share of mess. :-)


Her utensils aren't all to blame, though. Eight teeth later... she finally has taken interest in attempting to eat just about anything. On Sunday she grabbed an entire ear of corn, husk and all, while I was in the process of shucking the others. She wasn't very impressed. Half an hour later we introduced her to the "proper" way of eating corn... and it was like a What About Bob? experience: "Mmmmm. MMMmmmm. MMMMMMMMMmm!"

Lastly, Morenna has been creating messes by helping me in the kitchen. I love how great an interest she is showing in baking, and even cleaning-up. The other night she demonstrated to Daddy how she helps makes brownies. I think he got a good idea...

Isn't she the cutest thing? I'm totally loving this phase, despite the extra work. Hopefully it will be double the fun when Baby Roo joins the scene... :-)

Who Can Find a Woman of Strength - Part Two

This week I was able to move on to verses 13 and 14 of Proverbs 31. As you may recall, I felt the need to stay awhile in verses 10-12... and I'm glad I did. This past week I had the opportunity to put my meditations into practice regarding vs. 12.

I'm sure most of you can relate to a stressful morning when your spouse is all but preoccupied with issues of the day and his treatment of his wife and/or offspring leaves a lot to be desired. That was our Wednesday morning. And, like normal, I began to react with a cold, harsh, punitive attitude.

Immediately the Lord tugged at my heart and verse 12 ran through my head. With substantial effort, I attempted to switch gears: Warmth instead of cold; gentleness instead of harshness; grace, kindness and helpfulness in place of my punitive, judgmental attitude.

And what do you know? It blessed my husband! What victory! Less than 30 minutes later he returned to me with a soft, repentant heart. Though my purpose in blessing him was not to receive a grand apology, my blessing him ended up blessing me in the process. How kind of God!

My new study:

Proverbs 31: 13-14
She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.

Here we shift to this woman's more practical nature. At first glace, I didn't really feel like there was a lot here. It seemed a bit culturally out-of-date... but like all of the Bible, there was something to learn.

Verse 13

Perhaps I don't feel the Lord leading me to shear my sheep, (if I owned any) spin my wool, and shed some creative juices on my dust-laden sewing machine. (Yes, I have one. Does the simple possession factor count?). But at the very least, I am called to clothe my family.

Reluctantly, I think I could stand some growth in this area. My family is hardly running around naked, but my husband certainly doesn't look his best when he leaves for work in the morning. Why? Well, mostly for my self-created aversion to ironing. I own one. I try not to use it. End of story. Maybe I could actually turn it on sometime...

And once my husband's pants are ironed, what about hemming some of them? He's not the tallest tree in the forest and I'm stumped (no pun intended :-))to think of a pair of dress pants he owns that actually aren't baggy. It doesn't take a sewing expert to hem some pants... just a sewing machine and an iron. Ahem.

Verse 13b

I'm sure the Lord calls each of us to certain areas of growth concerning the above, but something that is relevant for all of us is the adverb: "eager". This Hebrew word actually insinuates doing a task with delight and pleasure. I hardly think I have to elaborate on this one. Yet beware: it holds the greatest punch of all.

Verse 14

1 Timothy 6:8 seems to reflect that food and clothing are the two most important things and it's not surprising that they are lumped together.

The ships in reference were likely the ships of Tarshish (Ez 27:25 and Is 2:16 and 1 Kg 10:12), which were known for their elaborate goods. The literal translation of the verse is that she is like these ships.

To try to reach some sort of clarification, I attempted to employ my college latin to translate the Vulgate passage. After shedding some blood, sweat, and translation toil... it didn't help. :-) Rats.

I think I'll spend some more time thinking through this verse this week. In the meantime, what basic facts I've been able to draw from the verse is this: she provides good things (and a good variety) for her family to eat. What do you think?

With that... I'm off to menu plan and visit the grocery. :-)

Daddy's Girl

What's for dinner?

My plan to post our weekly menu certainly didn't last too long! I'm still really loving the whole menu-planning thing. Not only has it saved us money, but my husband claims it's brought a whole lot more variety to our meals. Yay!

Here's what we ate for dinner the last few weeks:

Mondays: Out; Pineapple pork loin & rice; Cheddar cauliflower quiche

Tuesdays: Grilled chicken, green beans; Fettuccine Alfredo w/ zucchini; Fried chicken, spinach

Wednesdays: Stuffed green peppers, salad; Grilled chicken w/ grilled tomatoes; Vegan enchiladas

Thursdays: Taco salad; BBQ pork loin; Pasta, glazed carrots

Fridays: Chicken broccoli casserole; Buffalo chicken dip w/celery, carrots and tortilla chips; Out

Saturdays and Sundays we rotate with either eating out, having breakfast for dinner, or eating leftovers.

Any good recipes you've tried lately and care to share?

Fenced In

Join the warm weather of summer with the nesting instincts of a pregnant lady and you get: lots of home improvement projects! :-) Our most recent has been to fence in our small backyard. While we initially pursued this project so that my parent's dog would have a place "to do his business" during their visits, we've since discovered we LOVE having the privacy and security. Every evening has found us out back blowing bubbles, doing landscaping, daydreaming - you name it. Here are a few shots of the work:

Getting started. Notice all the utility marks on our lawn?
Red, yellow, and orange... it looked like a parade route or something!

My dad was kind enough to employ his talents for us.
Father and son-in-law workin' together...

Even this pregnant "nesting" momma picked up a hammer.
Tasks done as a family are much more fun!

Break time!
Here we all are: Uncle Buddy, Morenna, Baby Roo and I.

And the finished product!

Who Can Find a Woman of Strength?

One of my closest friends is getting married. Wedding preparations are in full swing and recently I had the joy of joining with several other friends in throwing the bride a Proverbs 31 shower. A heavy theme? Yes. But oh, so, valuable.

One of the wiser women in our group provided an excellent and encouraging devotion on this passage, and I came away encouraged to dig further still. Though the chapter can be overwhelming, what part of our walk/growth in the Lord isn't, apart from His grace?

For the past two weeks I've been unable to move past verses 10-12. There is so much within them, that I'm sure I could focus on them for months and still find the Lord revealing areas of improvement for me to better align myself with the godly character reflected! At any rate, I thought I'd share:

Proverbs 31: 10-12
A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her and
lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm
all the days of her life.

Here are a few thoughts I've been mulling around about this woman:

Vs 10: She is rare. In my past study of this verse I've always focused on the fact that this woman is valuable. But I've realized that it's more than that: she is rare. The law of supply and demand rings true: scarcity drives up value.

• Do I know many others like me? Even among Christian circles, am I different? How so? How not?

Vs 11: She is trustworthy, industrious and profitable. This verse packs a lot of challenge for me; most specifically the latter section. According to the commentary here (a great resource BTW), the basic translation reads: "so that he [her husband] shall have no need of spoil [goods gained from war]."

• In what ways am I profitable to my family? Is my husband "richer" because of me? What ways can I improve in spending my time wisely?
  

Vs 12: She rewards her husband with good. I love the basic translation "deals bountifully" here. No matter what her husband's actions, she continuously heaps good upon him. And they are blessed. I really can stand improvement here. My attitude tends to often be a tit-for-tat one. When it's convenient I'm kind. When I'm trying to make a point, I'm not. Yet the old addage "kindness makes a man attractive" is equally, even moreso, valuable for wives. It not only blesses her husband, but touches her whole family. And she is blessed.

• How can I actively reward my husband each day? Basics? Abstracts? Can I prevent any harm from befalling him? Do I value him above myself?

As you can see, I have lots of thoughts! Thanks for joining me as I'm thinking through the wisdom in these verses... and should you have any thoughts to add, I'd love to hear them. Much wisdom is gained from much council... and I have much to gain.

Momma's Little Helper

Morenna has developed a fascination for the kitchen. Her previous fancy of examining the drawers and cabinets has matured to a desire to help in any way she can: open the fridge, carry items, stir ingredients, play in the dishwater - you name it! Recently she stood by my side as I cleaned and snapped green beans. She took each bean as I was finished with it, chomped off an end, chewed and then slowly dragged "Mmmmm." She'd then place the chewed bean in the pot.

Last week she enjoyed standing on her little helper stool to assist me in cutting up a cantaloupe. I think the sweet smell and her love for melon got in the way with her "helping". :-) What do you think?

Melon euphoria


Must be clean-up time!

Sonogram says...

"It's a girl!" :-)

Ok, so we actually discovered this fact a week ago, but I'm just now finding a few moments of computer time to post the pictures. Sorry for the delay! We are very much looking forward to meeting our new daughter... and perhaps a few days earlier than expected as my due date has been moved back two days. Enjoy the photos... I'm in love with the little hand shot at the top:

~

CVS Love

It's been a long while since I last shared some CVS love. That's primarily due to the fact that CVS hasn't graced its customers with many new and exciting deals to employ the mind. Ad after ad has been a bit of a bore... I think all I've really snagged there in the last few months have been diapers.

But then there was today. And I am once again a CVS believer... you should join in, too. :-)

Today we scored $63.19 worth of household goods for only $3.27! (A total that even could've been lower, if I had been paying attention instead of ogling a candy bar.) You can do it, too!

Transaction One
1 - CVS Pantiliners $0.89
2 - Febreeze Noticables Starter Kits $6.50 each
1- CVS Tape $1.49

Used: 2 - $4 off Febreeze; $6.99 in ExtraCare Bucks (ECBs)

Total: $0.81
Got back $5ecb for Febreeze, $0.89ecb for liners and $1.49ecb for the tape


Transaction Two
3 - Post Cereal $3/10
2 - CVS Tape $1.49 each
1 - Glucose Moniter $19.99

Used: 3-$2 off Post Trail Mix; $19.99 off monitor; $5ecb

Total: $2.32 (Could've had it lower by using one of my other ecbs... oh well.)
Got back $5ecb for cereal, $5ecb for monitor and $2.98ecb for the tape

Transaction Three
5 - Theater Candies $1 each
4 - CVS Paper towels $1.29 each
3 - CVS Tissues $1.99 each

Used: 2-$1 CVS paper products; $13.99ecbs


Total: $0.14 (Was back to paying attention :-))


So that was that. And I left with $11 ecbs in my pocket. Yay! If you want to try your hand at CVS-ing, this post has some great scenarios at the bottom for this week's specials.

So Blue

The last weekend in June was a beautiful one. The weather just demanded you to be outside, so our little family trekked to a local farmer's market and then off to a blueberry farm deep in the VA hills.

We really enjoyed the organic grass-fed New York strip steak we selected at the farmer's market (totally sold on buying local beef now). But we really enjoyed the rolling hills of blueberries. In just over an hour we had picked 7.5lbs. Morenna, who is a big fan of blueberries anyway, appeared to be in complete awe that she could go 'round and 'round the bushes and pluck handfuls of the juicy little fruits.

And I forgot my camera.

We were able to get some video footage on Matt's phone, though. It's a bit blurry and the volume is, well, obnoxious, but if you listen closely you can hear her going "Mmm, MMMmmm!!!" after every bite. Enjoy!

Guess What Arrived?

You may recall me talking about this possible purchase last summer. Well, it's true. Matt and I are now the proud owners of this:



And Morenna is now the proud (and persistent) audience of the rear entertainment system.

Matt is too.

Guess who drives?

Who's Minding the... House?

It has been and continues to be a humbling experience to possess all the joys (who am I fooling?) of pregnancy while chasing down a toddler. My family and my home have all suffered. But it's also been a time of blessing to watch those around me chip in to help, especially my husband. I owe the current state of our home (yes, it's fairly clean!) to him... and also the current state of my emotional life (that's in good shape, too).

Now that I'm slowly regaining my pre-morning sickness ground, I've had to start doing things a wee bit different than normal. Here's how I'm minding my house at the moment:

-- My previous cleaning schedule has been shelved in lieu of an end-of-the-day tidying. There is dust in my house. Lots of it... but I'm only able to tackle a room when my energy meter decides to climb.

Did I ever mention that we purchased a Roomba?! I had hoped to write a full review of the newest member of our house -- affectionately termed Mosie (a combination of the Jetsen's Rosie and Wall-e's Mo) -- but something got in the way, I guess. So here's my review: Buy one. Now.

-- I'm managing my time using my personalized daily docket (at right). "MIT" stands for "most important things". Many thanks to SimpleMom for the inspiration.

-- And as you can see, I'm now menu planning. I've never been big into menu planning. Besides the pre-thought hassle (in my previously uninformed opinion), my tastes always changed from day to day, so I wouldn't follow it anyway. But now that food and I are not the best of friends, I've found a weekly planning session to be a winner of an idea. I only have to really think about food once a week, and my family has a rounded meal each evening. They are happy. Very happy.

Even better, I've started having Matt grill out a larger than normal amount of meat on Sundays, so then I can use it in quick dishes during the week. Doubling dinner portions also leaves us handy options for lunches.

Last week's menu:

Sunday - Matt grilled chicken; leftover green bean casserole
Monday - Blackbean vegetable soup; cornbread; peach crisp
Tuesday - Parmesan Tilapia; green beans; cantelope
Wednesday - Chicken tacos; corn-on-the-cob
Thursday - Dinner out
Friday - Beef stir-fry w/ carrots & zucchini

And that's the latest on who's minding our house... if you wanted to know. :-)