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.

Winter Hat for Kat, Part 3

Kat's winter hat has been stalled for the past several weeks.  I was able to extend the hat successfully.  But once I figured that out, the hat has sat on the end table neglected.  Which is just plain sad, 'cause the only thing I had left to do was weave in the ends.

I researched quite a bit to figure out how to extend the hat.  I read lots of suggestions about ripping out the bottom row(s) of stitches (like this), but I wasn't a big fan of this method.  First of all, it looked really tedious (and I'm lazy).  Also, Kat's hat was knit from the bottom up, with ribbing at the bottom, and most sites that I read cautioned that adding on to ribbing would result in a half-stitch jump between old and new stitches.   Finally, and probably most importantly, the thought of cutting into the work and having the whole thing unravel scares me!

Instead, I chose to use a contrasting color and basically sew a cast-on row to the bottom of the hat in the new color.  I threaded a yarn needle with the new color (gray).  I put the needle between the stitches on the original cast on row, looped around my knitting needle, and back through the hat in between the next stitch.  The biggest trick was just making sure to cast-on the same number of stitches that I had in the original cast-on row.  Once I had a new cast-on row, I continued the same rib pattern top-down.  And because I looped my new cast-on stitches between the old stitches, I didn't really notice any jumping, mostly just that the ribbing isn't exactly smooth (but I expected that).

So, what do you think?  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and I think Kat is too!  (What a ham, eh?!)

This project is listed on my Ravelry profile.

Hi Ho Hi Ho! It's off to work I go!

Please excuse my absence as I have been settling back into my routine at work and trying to figure out my new life as working mom of TWO!  And for added fun, this past week included: preparing for Christmas, an overnight visit of one of NerdDad's friends, one kid with pink eye, and both kids with ear infections...  And you have one very crazy week!  

Now that I'm back at work, my mother-in-law (MIL) watches Buddy and Kat twice a week.  (And at the end of the month, Buddy will join Kat at daycare for the other three days.)  Unfortunately, with Buddy's ear infection, he has been a lot fussier than usual (the sign that indicated an ear infection in the first place) and hasn't been napping well.  I know that it's because his ear hurts, and I had lots of ear infections as a kid, so I understand his pain.  But his fussiness really tests my patience.  Fortunately, I am able to hand him off to NerdDad when I've had enough, but my poor MIL has been struggling while watching both kids on her own.  Hopefully, the antibiotics will do their thing, and he'll be back to his old self again soon.

So far, the work-family balance hasn't been too hard, but I am also working from home half the week, at least until the end of December.  So the back-to-work adjustment is spread out over the month.  On one hand, adjusting to this new routine has been fairly easy, so spreading out the adjustment period has been nice.  But on the other hand, I know that another new routine is just around the corner, and I almost just wish I could get it all over with at once.  For now though, I'm trying to enjoy my workdays at home with my Buddy.

Yesterday, we started off the weekend with a little mid-morning Christmas shopping.  NerdDad and I each took one kid and off we went.  Thankfully the crowds weren't too heavy yet (probably because of the non-stop rain).  Between just a couple of shopping trips and a decent amount of online shopping, we have made a decent dent in our Christmas lists already.  Considering our usual procrastination, we're feeling pretty proud of ourselves!

After the busy week, I'm spending today getting into the Christmas spirit and recharging for the week ahead.  I spent the morning sipping peppermint mocha coffee and listening to Christmas music while making cookies with Kat.  It's been sooo nice!  A big thank you to NerdDad for holding Buddy all morning so that I could bake.  :)  He'll be rewarded with lots of cookies!

End of Maternity Leave

It's been a bit since my last post; the family and I went to visit my family and celebrate thanksgiving. My ten weeks of maternity leave is over on Monday, so I've been trying to enjoy my last week where my sole focus is family.  As nearly every working mother will tell you, the end of maternity leave is an emotional milestone.  When I was on my maternity leave with Kat, the weeks before I went back to work were filled with worries about starting daycare, finding a routine, pumping at work, and how in the world was I going to be able to leave her?!  Since Buddy is my second child, I'm not (nearly) as worried about daycare or pumping.  I know that I did it before and am confident that I'll manage again this time.  But establishing a routine and finding time is an even bigger worry this time around.

Being on maternity leave has given me plenty of time to not only focus on Buddy, but to also spend extra time with Kat and to start a few projects (like this blog!).  I know that as Buddy gets older, the evening rush between the time I walk in the door until I fall into bed will become less stressful.  But I remember how frantic that time of the day was when I first went back after Kat was born.  Taking care of just Kat and preparing for the next day was sometimes all that I could do.  So how do I take care of Buddy, prepare for the next day, AND spend some quality time with Kat?  And I might be totally insane, but I would so love to be able to find time to continue some of my fun projects. Oh, and let's not totally forget NerdDad!

Plus how in the world am I going to leave this grin?

 

So before I get entirely overwhelmed, I want to write a few reminders for myself:

• Take life one step at a time.  Try not to become overwhelmed thinking about things that need to be done tomorrow, next week, etc.
• Enjoy the few free moments throughout the day.  Use those few seconds to take a deep breath and relax.
• Be willing to let some things go. 
• Ask for help when needed.  (And if I don't, I shouldn't get mad at NerdDad for not being able to read my mind!)
• Be open to change.  With a new person in the family, we may need to change responsibilities or routines.  For example, moving dinner time a half hour later might make the whole evening less stressful.

Wish me luck!

Recipe: Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

This past Sunday, our furnace decided that it needed a day off. Fortunately, the weather was near perfect, so the furnace wasn't really needed. Unfortunately, the HVAC tech couldn't come out until Monday afternoon.  The high temperature on Monday occurred early morning, and the temperatures were supposed to fall the rest of the day.  So Monday morning was the perfect time to turn on the oven, bake some treats, and hopefully heat up the kitchen a bit.

I still have half of a refrigerator crisper drawer full of apples from our apple picking trip earlier this fall. So of course, I've been on the lookout for recipes using apples. Last week, I saw a few links to Caramel Apple cookies, which sounded delicious!  And even better, I was able to find caramel bits in my grocery store's new expanded bulk section - score!  Caramel bits are like chocolate chips, except they're made of caramel.  And they are much easier to use than chopping up a bunch of caramel candies.

After comparing a few recipes, I decided to use Cooking Light's recipe for Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies as my inspiration and make a few adaptations.  These cookies full of chewy oatmeal, softened apple, melted caramel.  Even NerdDad with his "cookies need chocolate" stance agreed they were pretty good.

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
3/4 cup finely chopped, peeled apple pieces (use a baking apple like Granny Smith or Winesap so the pieces don't get too mushy!)
3/4 cup caramel bits or 16 small soft caramel candies, chopped

Pour the oats into a food processor and pulse 5 or 6 times, or until only half the oats are still whole.  While this step is optional, doing softens the texture of the cookie and allows the apples to stand out more.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine processed oats, flour, powder, soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat sugars and butter with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and egg and beat until mixture is smooth.  Gradually add the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.  Gently stir in the apple pieces and caramel bits.

Drop dough by 2 teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets.  Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.  Cool on pans 5 minutes.  Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Makes 3-4 dozen. 

Knitting: Winter Hat for Kat, Part 2

I have been racing against falling temperatures, trying to finish a warm winter hat for Kat.  Kat's head measured a whopping 19", so originally, I thought I would need to follow instructions for the child sized hat.  However, when I first started the hat, I had a little bit of trouble matching gauge, mostly because I wanted to use a heavier yarn than the pattern recommended.   So after going back and making several gauge swatches, I decided that following the instructions for the 12 month to 2 year size would allow me to accommodate a worsted weight yarn. 

The pattern calls for the hat to be worked in the round until it measures 6" from the cast on edge, but the last hat that I made for Kat (just 1 month ago) only measured about 4.5" for the same part.  So I started the decreases for this hat at 4.5" too.  This turned out to be a bit of a problem...

As you can probably tell, the hat fit around, but just barely reached the tops of her ears!  Uh-oh! 

So now I'm working on how to make her hat longer.  Guess I should have followed the pattern.  (I'm really not good at following directions!)  Since this hat was knit bottom up, I could either (a) rip out all my decreases, add more rounds, and redo the decreases (giant UGH! to ripping out my working and then having to redo it) or (b) figure out a way to add length to the cast on edge.  I think I pick B.  Stay tuned!