Laundry

This is why I try to do a load of laundry a day...



I had let the laundry slide but it had to be done today. Paul was out of t-shirts to wear under his button-downs, Logan was out of underwear, and I didn't have any white socks. But here's the problem. After spending all day sorting, loading, switching and folding clothes, I know have that (see picture above) to put away before bed. And you can't even see the basket of Logan's clothes on the far end, or the baskets of socks and undergarments on the side. And, there is still a load in the dryer and one in the washer. Now to be honest, I want put the stuff in the baskets up tonight. I'll just leave those on the dryer until tomorrow since the kids are asleep. I did put the towels up already, taking a stack whenever I went that direction. But seriously, this is just ridiculous and I won't let it get this bad EVER again!

Meal Plan Monday September 5

Check out more menus at Organizing Junkie.

This week was very busy with teacher inservice at preschool, parent orientation, and going to visit my sister. I tried to be realistic when making the plan. I am also going to try to double at least one of the meals so that I can use it in later weeks on workdays.

Monday: Asian Chicken Noodle Salad

This was on last week's plan, but we ended up going to the in-laws for dinner one night so I bumped it to this week. The recipe called for using a pre-made bag of slaw mix. I had a half head of cabbage from another meal so Paul chopped it up for me. It also called for a store-bought rotisserie chicken but I just baked up some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and chopped them up. I was able to have most of the prep done for this Sunday night which was great since Monday was the first "real" day back to work.

I really didn't think this would go over with the kids, but I wasn't too worried. Paul had to work and so the kids and I ate before he got home. When this happens they end up eating again when he comes in. So I figured if they didn't like the salad that was fine they could eat chili leftovers later with Daddy. Logan ate 3 servings and Sophie had two (although she didn't eat the cabbage just the chicken and noodles). I had also given them cottage cheese and applesauce.) Sophie loves cottage cheese, but I don't like to give it in her school lunch because she's so messy. Tonight, I mixed a little applesauce into the cottage cheese for Logan hoping maybe he'd eat some. He actually liked it that way and finished a whole serving.


Tuesday: Slow Cooker Pork Cacciatore

Normally I'd save crock pot meals for work days but I figure this week was going to be stressful so the more convenience I can give myself the better. This was one of those meals that still required a little effort before serving. We all liked the dinner.

Wednesday: dinner out

We had parent orientation tonight so I fed the kids a corndog before we went to work (just to tide them over). Paul got us Pei Wei afterwards for dinner.

Thursday: Baked Pesto Chicken

This recipe came from OAMM Cooking. I doubled the recipe so that we have another meal later in the month. I fixed some broccoli we had in the fridge and also had fresh strawberries that came in the co-op basket today. Logan has started eating broccoli and Sophie tried it but just spit it out. We all liked the chicken.

Friday: Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole

We had a potluck at preschool today and I had planned to take a frozen meal I had made a couple of weeks ago, but the Asian salad from Monday was so good and I still had some cabbage left so I decided to take it instead. I was able to put this casserole together on Thursday evening so it was really easy. (I forgot to take a picture.)

Saturday and Sunday: out-of-town

We are going to my sister's for Labor Day. She's fixing pulled pork sandwiches so I decided to take sweet potatoes from the co-op to make fries. Her sandwiches were really good. My fries weren't crispy enough for me, I'll have to try a different recipe next time.

Next week's plan:

Monday: Peppery Chicken

Tuesday: Easy Mexican Meatloaves

Wednesday: Sessler's Homemade Gourmet Salad

Thursday: Shrimp Carbonara

Friday: Leftovers (unless I get my act together and put something better together)

Saturday: Paul's Choice/Pizza Delivery (I'm gone all day.)

Sunday: Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Meal Plan Monday August 29

Since I have never linked up to this before, I decided to do it a little different. First up, will be last week's meals along with some pictures and comments about the meal. I'll post this week's plan at the very end (and hopefully do it all again next week, showing you how those meals turned out). Check out more menu plans at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Monday: Broiled Chicken with Oyster Sauce

This recipe came from the cookbook we got when Paul and I did the cooking class. I very rarely use "bone-in" chicken. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are about all I ever buy. And for good reason. This is the second Chinese food recipe that called for bone-in chicken, and both times the food didn't get cooked. I promise, I am following the directions. This one I ended up broiling about twice the instructed time, then ended up baking for 15 minutes. I didn't get a picture when I fixed it so this is the leftovers Paul took for lunch. The bad part was that I did a double batch so I'd have chicken for another meal later in the week. Once it was cooked Paul loved it, I on the other hand had lost my appetite. (I think I ate a toaster strudel after the kids went to bed.)

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Chicken and Noodles
Because I have been working on Tuesday and Thursday, I try to make those nights the easiest meals. That way when I don't really have an excuse when I don't feel like cooking. I put everything in the crock pot in the morning except the noodles (those I made just before serving). I looked and smelled great. Paul and I liked it, and between both kids they liked it. Logan ate the noodles and Sophie at the chicken. There was a lot left over though. I kept a couple of servings for me and Paul and gave the rest to a friend.

Afternoon Snack: Apple Nachos
This recipe came from the newest Kraft Food & Family Magazine. I love this magazine, it used to be free but now I think you have to actually pay for a subscription. You should be able to find all the recipes online though. While the kids napped, I sliced the apples and got everything ready. Once they woke up, I gave them each a plate with the apples laid out. then they got to choose which toppings they wanted. Logan wanted it all, but Sophie didn't want the marshmallows. Not that it mattered...the only thing she ate was the chocolate chips.

Wednesday: Stir-Fried Chicken with Zucchini
This was also from our Chinese cookbook, but it turned out so much better than Monday's. I have been planning my meals smarter by waiting until I pick up the produce co-op basket and then choosing meals where I can use some of that produce. This week's basket included zucchini and yellow squash so I used them both in this dish. This recipe was a little spicier than normal (I think that was the garlic chili sauce). Because of that, Paul loved it. Actually we all did. Of course, the kids and I just had "no thank you" helpings of the veggies, but Sophie probably ate a whole chicken breast by herself.

Thursday: Pulled Pork Chili
Another recipe from Kraft. I couldn't find just a plain pork shoulder at the store. All they had was one that was already seasoned, so I just left out the seasonings that the recipe called for.

It turned out really good (and I'm not much of a pork person). If you don't believe me, just take a look at my kids.

Sophie loves all kinds of soup and I think this is why...she loves to slurp from a bowl! Both kids ate 2 helpings of this chili.

Friday: Dinner at Grandma's

We went to visit Paul's family so we had chicken and veggies at her house.


Saturday: French Onion soup

Both Paul and I had plans for Saturday night and the kids were getting dinner where they stayed so I fixed this for our lunch. It really wasn't a great choice for a 100+ degree day but that what we got. It tasted pretty good and was fairly simple. I will probably make again the next time we get onions in the co-op basket. I thought the kids would love it since they like soups but I think putting the bread on top wasn't the thing for them, so next time I'll just put that on the side. (It looked more appetizing before we broke up the bread in Logan's bowl.)

Sunday: Mexican Stuffed Peppers for Two

As it turned out Paul had something tonight so he didn't eat with us. The kids didn't like dinner much so there are plenty of leftovers for Paul to have for lunch.

Here's next week's plan:

Monday: Asian Chicken Noodle Salad

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Pork Cacciatore

Wednesday: dinner out

Thursday: Baked Pesto Chicken

Friday: Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole

Saturday and Sunday: out-of-town

I've actually already started the next week too, but I'll tweak it after I get the produce co-op on Friday.

Visiting the Cousins

The kids and I went to East Texas several times this summer to visit my sister and the cousins. We had so much fun! Logan loved getting to play with Matthew (who is 2 years older) Sophie had a blast with Kalyn (who is 2 weeks older). There were some days that I was at home with the all 4 of the kids while Kelly worked but we did also get to do some things altogether.

The boys getting ready for bed. Logan didn't go to sleep right away and Matthew ended up coming to tell us he was keeping him awake so Logan slept with me in the guest room.


Morning snack of fruit and whipped cream.


On one of the trips I had brought cornstarch to make "goop" or "slime". We decided to do it outside in the wading pool because it can be messy. The kids eventually just stripped down to their undies, then they decided I needed to get in on all the fun.

They even slimed Lucy, the new puppy!

We took the kids to a children's museum in town. It was so neat. We got in really cheap because of the science museum passes I have. They had a man-made cave you could walk through that led to the second story where there was a replica of a ship. They had tables set up with various activities like dinosaur rubbings, magnets, domino chains, gears and gadgets. There was a climbing wall and the room below where you could race balls all around.

Steering the ship. They had a HUGE globe up here where we found China for Logan.

Inside the cave.

Then they had a town set up in the other half of the building. They had a bank, grocery store, internet cafe, newspaper office, milking cow, diner, vet's office, theater, doctor's office, ambulance, and neonatal nursery. Each of the places was sponsored by actual businesses in the area. For example, the internet cafe was sponsored by Suddenlink which is an internet/cable provider. The neonatal nursery was sponsored by Mother Frances Hospital, where my sister works as a Labor & Delivery nurse. The ambulance was a real vehicle in the middle of the room where you could go into the back and take care of a patient. I cannot wait to go back again!

I took the slip and slide Jill gave us with me on one of the visits. The boys loved it!

Here's Logan, face down the whole way.

Matthew sittin' and sliding.

Sophie was more interested in the swings.

Kalyn never did get the sliding part figured out so she just crawled!

More water play.

Hanging out in the front yard.

We had a great time visiting with the family. Can't wait to do it again next summer!