Shopping Success

I have a big fancy work party next weekend and need a new dress.  Kat needs new shoes.  So I decided to be daring and conquer both tasks with a single mall trip.

Sure - this might not sound daring to you... but unlike many women, shopping is not one of my hobbies.  I  try to avoid the mall if at all possible.  And usually, finding a dress is about as challenging as establishing a colony on the moon.  For this occasion, my ideal dress allows me to wear a full-support bra (thank you breastfeeding), isn't too clingy (giant mommy pooch), is modest enough to wear around colleagues but still flattering, and maybe a color other than black.  And if that wasn't enough, since I was going to get Kat new shoes, she would have to come with me.

I prepared for this adventure by planning a crock-pot dinner (Chicken Curry) and throwing it all together to start cooking at lunch time.  Since dinner was hands-off, I wouldn't have to worry about rushing home.  And I decided that leaving just after her nap would give me optimal Kat cooperativeness.  During naptime, I pumped so that NerdDad would have milk to feed Buddy while I was gone.  And just before we left, I snuck a pack of fruit snacks into my purse.

The store where we got Kat's last pair of shoes no longer carries her size (what's up with that?!).  She has wide feet, so the pickings were pretty slim already.  Since find a dress had a more concrete deadline, we moved on to that.  And somehow we made it past the kid play area with minimal whining.  Score!

When we get into the first department store, Kat announced that she had had enough of the stroller and wanted to "walk myself".  So we played "Follow Mommy", which surprisingly worked perfectly! She very obediently followed me around while I browsed each rack and picked out four dresses to try on.

And now here is the most amazing part of this story...  The first wasn't bad, but a little too casual for this party.  And the second was AMAZING!  In fact, it was so amazing, that I didn't even both trying on the other two dresses! The dress met all of my criteria AND it was only $60!  Thank you shopping gods!  Check back after this weekend; I'll post pics.

P.S. The rest of the trip was a success too: Kat got new shoes and sunglasses, Buddy was napping when we got home, and dinner was ready!

Meal Plan Monday - 1/26 thru 2/1

I have been meal planning in one form or another for quite a few years.  I’ve learned that when I don’t plan, I aimlessly wander the grocery store deciding what to buy, and we order-in or pick-up a lot more food because “We don’t have anything for dinner”.   But I already feel like I don’t have enough time, and I don’t want to waste time I don’t have at the grocery store!  And most of time, I prefer to my spend money on things other than mediocre restaurant carry-out. 

Basically, meal planning saves time and money!  What more could you ask for?

I hope to go further into how I do meal planning in future posts, but for now, I’ll just share what we’ll be eating this week.

DINNERS

Saturday - Celebrating NerdDad’s promotion with a carry-out steak dinner**

Sunday - Chicken Curry {adapted for crock-pot} and Rice

Monday - {Frozen} Fish sandwiches, Fries, and Veggie

Tuesday - Spaghetti and Salad

Wednesday - Chicken Enchiladas {new} and Salad

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Pizza Sandwiches

Saturday - Fancy work party, just simple dinner for Kat & Grandma

LUNCH

Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup {new}

BREAKFAST

Spinach & Bacon Egg Burritos

SWEET

Oatmeal M&M Cookies {new}

 ** Despite my above-mentioned opinion on carry-out, steak house carry-out is an exception and is awesome!  1. We didn’t have to spend a meal keeping our two munchkins under control at a white-tablecloth restaurant.  And 2. We didn’t have to pay exorbitant amounts of money for a babysitter!  Instead we got to relax in our own living room, eat delicious steak (I still haven't mastered steak), and celebrate!

What are you eating this week?
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The post is linked at OrgJunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday.

I'm baa-aack!

After a month-long hiatus, I'm back! It turns out that working a full-time job and being present (mentally and physically) for all the mommy/wifey stuff doesn't leave a whole lotta time to write a blog.  Who would've guessed!?!

Actually, I did guess.  Especially not enough time for the type of blog that I thought I was trying to write.  You know the kind - the ones with all the pretty pictures of food and crafts.  The kind that get pinned on Pinterest.  The ones with step-by-step photos and 14 pictures of the same cookie. Now, don't get me wrong!  I love reading that kind of blog.  I frequently use them for inspiration and ideas.  But, this is not ever going to be that kind of blog...

For starters, I don't have that kind of time.  If I spent as much time as needed taking pictures of cookies and posting about baking cookies, then I probably wouldn't have time to ACTUALLY bake the cookies.

And after reading this totally down-to-earth post from Okay BA! and thinking about it for about a week, I realized that a pretty blog is actually the opposite of what I want my blog to be.  (And the great thing about having a blog is I get to decide what I want my blog to be!)  I want to share real life - balancing two kids and a husband and a job and all the fun stuff!  And for me, real life doesn't include DSLR photos of my latest creation or the patience to explain every step of a recipe to folks in internetland.  For me, real life includes photos taken on my iPhone and a messy house in the background.  Real life means letting Kat help me cook and not having the time or energy to actually measure ingredients.   Real life is mostly spent living, and documenting real life is secondary.

And realizing all this removes a lot of pressure.  My goal isn't to gain hundreds of readers (but that would still be awesome).  I just want to share what I'm doing.  So expect more posts - honest, real life, messy posts.