Menu Plan for the Week of March 20th

One of our Christmas presents from Mom and Dad this past year was beef from a grass-fed cow. We split a whole 1,100 pound cow with them and my brother and his family, so we have beef for quite a while. I'm super excited!!

Here is my menu plan for the week:

Sunday: Shredded beef in the crockpot (from above-mentioned cow) for tacos with salsa and beans

Monday: Barbecue beef, baked four-cheese macaroni, and broccoli

Tuesday: Festive chicken, black bean, and tortilla casserole with salad

Wednesday: White beans and kale (from the garden)

Thursday: Paella with shrimp, Italian sausage, and chicken on saffron (yellow) rice

Friday: Pizza Night!!

Saturday: Leftovers

I also found a great new pasta salad recipe that I made for some friends who last a loved one and a dear friend of ours and will make some more this week for us. I will try to post the recipe on here later.

I Want To Want To...

Inspired by Amy, writer of The Finer Things in Life, I'm listing my own things "I want to want to" do: things that I probably should be doing but either can't because I've got two small, dependent children or won't because I'm just too tired. As you can tell from the above picture, I could definitely use a trip to a beauty salon or spa or just a shower and some sleep. Here they are:

I want to want to clean the filthy pigsty that is my house. There are cobwebs in the corners of the walls that I should knock down not only because they look horrible but also because they fill Kate with dread that a spider might be near. But I just despise cleaning house and dusting will probably not be a regular chore until Kate is old enough to do it for me.

I want to want to not want sweets ALL THE TIME. Seriously, I'm like a junkie with my cravings. But Daniel put his foot down and said no more! So, there are no sweets in this house right now except for some Kashi cookies (I might as well eat sawdust!) and yucky conversation heart candies that are Kate's potty treat. Lord, help me!

I want to want to exercise every day...or even every other day...or even one day a week, but honestly, I am exhausted and thoughts of movement and getting my heart rate up are enough exercise for me. Maybe when Cora is older.

I want to want to be able to encourage and inspire others, namely my children and husband, but most days I can't even persuade myself to do what needs to be done.

I want to want to read, write, and study like I did a few years ago when I was working on my doctorate, but my mind just doesn't work that way anymore. I tell Daniel I'm dumber now, but really I guess I'm just using my brain in different ways.

I want to want to take a nap right now while the girls are sleeping because I know as soon as one or both wake up, it's over and I'll regret that I didn't catch a few winks. But I lie on my couch and my mind races and I can't sleep. So I write.

I want to want to be and do A LOT of things--things I should do and be-- but right now either it just isn't that important or I just don't have the energy. But maybe in a few more months...or years. Right now what's important is loving on my babies and taking care of Daniel. Everything else will fall into place in its own time.

Menu Plan for the Week of March 13th

This Thursday is St. Patrick's Day, and in keeping with my Irish heritage and the annual sale on corned beef, we will be eating some corned beef and cabbage this week. Here is my menu plan with some links to recipes I want to try out:

Sunday: Leftovers

Monday: Taco Salad (ground beef) with homemade refried beans (from last week's leftover pintos)

Tuesday: Chicken Caesar Salad with homemade buttermilk Caesar dressing and my quick rolls

Wednesday: Cuban black beans and Colcannon (yummy mashed potatoes with cabbage)

Thursday: Slow Cooker Corned Beef with potatoes, carrots, and cooked cabbage and some kind of "green" dessert

Friday: Pizza Night!!

Saturday: Reubens with leftover corned beef and sauerkraut

The Finer Things: Quiet Time for Mommy

I read A LOT of mommy blogs, and my favorite thing on Fridays is to read the "Finer Things Friday" posts where people write about something that happened during their week that was really special. It can be anything, even something as simple as a freshly-made bed or finding a new favorite recipe. For example, The Diaper Diaries, one of my new favorite mommy blogs, wrote this great post that inspired me to attempt to make "Finer Things Friday" a part of my weekly repertoire as a way to look back at my week and assess where we've been and where we're going.

Looking back over this week's events, I feel like life is returning to normalcy (or at least as normal as it can with a 2-year-old and 5-month-old). Cora is settling more into a routine at night, sleeping 6-9 hours at a time, which has certainly improved my own nighttime rest, and most days takes three decent naps. As long as she is well-rested and has a full belly, Cora is the happiest child, cooing and smiling. But when she is tired or hungry, watch out! Her cries sound like she's being violently attacked, which is embarrassing when you are at the grocery store or doctor's office, and everyone is staring at you like you must be pinching her. (By the way, both events occurred this week.) I don't think a day has gone by since she was born that one of those terror-inducing screams hasn't escaped her little lungs.

With Kate we are constantly struggling to rein in her strong will and independent spirit without stifling her. Some days I feel like I am spanking or sending her to her room all day long. Still, when she isn't being stubborn and bossy, she is a fun, happy kid who loves reading, learning new things, and doing everything HERSELF. On Wednesday while Cora napped, Kate and I went outside to fly her Buzz Lightyear kite. Well, that was a fiasco! She wanted to fly it by herself and ended up getting 3 feet of string wrapped around her legs and feet and consequently throwing a temper tantrum because of her frustration at not being able to do what she so desperately wanted to do.

Despite the craziness of my life right now, I am blessed because at this very moment I am sitting in the peace and quiet of my house doing exactly what I love most: writing. And the best part is that both of my girls are sleeping at the same time! And that is definitely a "finer thing" in my book!

Menu Plan for the Week of March 6

I love Sundays for many reasons--worshipping God, spending time with my family, and planning our week. So, I was excited when I opened the Kroger ad and saw split breast chicken on sale for $0.99/lb. I stocked up and spent these evening while Daniel and Kate went to church (Cora HAD to go to bed) roasting and shredding chicken. I also made chicken salad for lunches for the week. I use the Sonoma Chicken Salad recipe in the Whole Foods cookbook my wonderful sister-in-law gave me. It is THE best recipe for chicken salad I have ever had. Yum!

So, here is our menu plan for the week:

Sunday: Today Daniel made us sour cream pancakes and sausage on the griddle for breakfast and for lunch buffalo chicken paninis. Yes, we like chicken.

Monday: Chicken enchiladas with black beans and pico de gallo

Tuesday: Fish and chips, coleslaw, and hushpuppies

Wednesday: Pintos and buttermilk cornbread

Thursday: Spaghetti with ground turkey, steamed broccoli, and garlic bread

Friday: Pizza Night!! (I discovered Philadelphia Cream Cheese's cooking cream with Italian herbs and garlic, which is DELICIOUS mixed with pizza sauce.)

Saturday: Leftovers

Breakfast:
French toast (freezer)
Cereal and fruit
Oatmeal and fruit
Eggs, toast, and jam

Lunch:
Chicken salad sandwiches
Soup and grilled cheese
Black bean nachos
Leftovers

An Unfading Beauty

When I first found out I was having a girl, my immediate response was joy. I know girls. I am one, right? It shouldn't be too hard to raise a little girl. But as I look at the females on T.V., the movies, and even around me, fear creeps in. And one of my biggest fears is that my daughters will question their beauty, that they will compare themselves to Hollywood standards of beauty and find that they come up short. In short, that they will think they are ugly.

Growing up I never felt beautiful. I still don't, even though Daniel constantly tells me how good looking I am. And while I don't remember comparing myself with Hollywood stars when I was in grade school, I did wish I looked more like some of the popular girls in my classes. I would gladly have traded my red hair and freckles, buck teeth and baby fat for blonde hair, straight teeth and a tan, thin body. To look like everyone else. That is the goal when you are young and faced with pressure to fit in.

So when I came across this scripture recently, my heart smiled:

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment...Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight" (1 Peter 3:3-4).

Here Peter is instructing women to develop their inner beauty rather than worrying about their external appearance. Far more important in winning over others is having an inner spirit of Godliness.

More than anything I want the beauty God values, to have "a gentle and quiet spirit" that never fades, that will only deepen as I age and the wrinkles and crow's feet appear. And I want my daughters to value and have this beauty, that they can cling to it during the tumultuous middle and high school years when their physical beauty is called into question.

Raising girls is more of a challenge than I had initially expected because it means coming to terms with myself and my own insecurities. I know God gives us our children for a reason, and He blessed me with two girls to help me grow and develop in areas where I personally struggle. I think that is why He gave me two girls and not two boys or one of each. How is God using your children to grow you?

Sowing Seeds: Getting the Garden Started

The weather has been incredible here lately. Sunny, warm, breezy: the perfect weather for being outdoors and the ideal climate for planting lettuce and onion seeds. I picked up some seeds, starter cups, and a bag of potting soil a few weeks ago, so while Cora napped this afternoon, I hightailed it outside and planted ten cups of onions (on the right). Last Saturday I planted ten cups of lettuce (on the left), and already there are some little sprouts in the cups.



While I was outside, I noticed that my apple mint is trying to make a comeback. Mom was right; you can't kill that stuff! I dug up the plant and separated the dead from the roots with green leaves on them, which I replanted. I also sowed some lettuce seeds in the pot.



Hopefully, in a few weeks, we'll have some lettuce and onion sprouts to transplant to the garden. I guess we need to get the garden ready. So excited about homegrown veggies and even more pumped about warmer weather...