Meal-Plan Shopping

Hello!  My hubs and I decided to start eating a bit differently...not for a New Year's resolution, because heaven knows that would never last!...before Christmas we made a few changes.  Now we try to eat mostly fruits, veggies, meats, some dairy...basically grain and white potato-free during the week, with those allowed on the weekends.  

Don't get all uppity about right, wrong, type of diet, being a cheater, etc., haha!  We're not trying to follow a "specific" diet plan, just trying to pay closer attention to what we put into our faces!  And I know definitively that if we say something is not allowed, we will be miserable and gluttonous in turn!

So that's the back story for this post.  We are also trying to pay closer attention to the amount of food and money we waste, not to mention save myself from utter frustration at the daily question "what's for dinner?"  I have always wanted to plan weekly meals and then shop for them once, but we've just always been too lazy and noncommittal.  But those days are over!  Woot!

Some of this week's meals include pan-seared tilapia with lemon and capers and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, slow cooker chili, and taco salad.  If something sounds like a no-go as we get into the week, I can swap something out for some marinated, thin-cut pork chops I have frozen.  I am totally psyched!

Oh. And my shopping list? Organized by section at the supermarket! Finally, all those organizational blogs I read obsessively are sinking in!

Cheers to eating well this week!

Lindsay

Ps. How do you plan your family's shopping and meals?  Share your brilliance in the comments!  Xoxo

Home Cooking

Hi! Now that we are (a bit more) settled into our new home, and my littles are transitioned into the school year, I have been trying to rescue my homemaking skills!  I have more kid-free home time, which is surprisingly full of busyness, so I am trying to cook and bake more food from (semi-)scratch.  I still use some convenience foods, but I'm really trying to keep things a bit more whole...

Like applesauce. Like, the best applesauce I've ever eaten!

Mmmmmmmmmm, just a hint of cinnamon!

Or chicken pot pies! Before.....

And after.....holy moly, sooooo good!

I love being a wife and mama, and I'm so grateful for the chance to take the best care of them I can!  Can't wait to see what other kind of trouble, um, fun, I can get into in my kitchen!

The Devil's Lunch!

Remember when you were little, you went to your Grammie's house and she fed you either Spaghetti O's or that little can of "potted meat" goodness, aka Deviled Ham, on saltines for lunch? Yeah, that little paper-wrapped can caught my eye today while at the grocery store, but I resisted. Because, well, it really was on the gross side once I thought back to those lunches.

But it did make me crave a little ham salad instead of chicken or tuna or egg for today! So I knifed some leftover deli ham to smithereens and added a good dose of Hellmann's and mustard and topped a cracker. Meh. So I put the rest onto a piece of toast. I ate it, but I probably won't ever again.

Nostalgia can make creative lunches the Devil's playground. I'm sticking to PB&J the next time I romanticize lunches from my early-80's childhood!

Hope you're having a fabulous day! Any nostalgic food memories you'd like to share? Comment!

Lindsay

Balancing Act

It's summer vacation time, which basically means I'm doing more but getting less done! Haha! With both kids home, fighting betwixt themselves constantly, every chore seems to take ten times the energy to accomplish! Which translates to an extremely messy house and a grumpy mama!

Yes, this is one of those mornings when I already feel the epic fail of my day and it's just past seven! Hubby realized at six he had no clean work shirts, I have been to the supermarket twice this week and still had to feed the cat treats for breakfast and I really wish I would've just washed the spaghetti sauce out of the pot last night. Ugh.

Where is my silver lining, I ask myself? Well, it is only a bit past seven, and I get to see my (mostly) smiling babies all day long, we get to meet my girlfriend for a breakfast date and then take her to see the progress on our new home! Then I can come back to this current reality and do some packing in between loads of laundry! And dishes. And all those other things that always have to get done. While the kids are whining that "he keeps putting his feet on my blankie/face/ear..."

So, I'm going to take a deep breath and write down cat food and peanut butter on my shopping list! And I'm going to kiss my littles before they start grumping at me! It is a balancing act, this whole mom thing! But I love it!

Have a great summer day! Only 60-some left to go!
Lindsay

New House Vlog!

A little peek into our new project, you know, called "life!"

Cheers to home improvement!

Kindergarten Bound

You may remember my little folks are fairly close in age (15 1/2 months apart.) Yes we planned it, and yes we love it.

The only problem is I never really thought about how quickly they would both be leaving for school, college, life...and how empty my home/heart might feel. Yikes. And we just registered Gabe for Kindergarten.

I've only gotten teary a couple times, and just for moments. It has been a super-busy week and I just haven't had time to be heartbreakingly depressed yet. Haha. Seriously, the Fall is what I'm worried about. Ugh.

My fragility aside, Gabe could not be more stoked! He is talking about Kindergarten any chance he can...even his motorized toy dinosaur is in Kindergarten now, just like him! And he is a big kid. He can feed the dogs without my help now. Oy!

It is a boost to know my baby will be in school just one grade behind his big Sissy, and probably just across the hall from her, as well. I love our school and our teachers, and that my kids can be happy there all day. I know he's ready, so I will be, too.

Cheers to baby birds escaping the nest!
Lindsay

Sip Slowly!

Just wanted to say hello! As I rushed around this morning, getting the kids ready for school drop-off, my tax appointment, and whatever else inevitably crept onto my must-do list...I stopped.

For one brief moment, I let myself take a deep breath and refocused. As soon as my coffee had finished brewing, I poured my "rocket fuel" into the prettiest Vera Bradley mug with matching coaster/warming top ever! One of my dear clients had given it to me for Christmas, and I adore it.

No matter how crazy things are, or how hectic my day becomes, I always try to make something seemingly insignificant turn into a special moment for myself. Even if it turns out I slug my coffee out of a pretty mug!

So, as we moms often find, the kids always come first. But that doesn't mean we should always come last!

Grab a pretty cup and sip slowly, even if it is just one sip in the middle of a morning vortex!