Meal Planning Monday

We're in a rut around here for dinner time.  With piano lessons every afternoon, I need to remember to think about dinner early or we eat a lot of quesadillas or pancakes (not that the girls are complaining- they love those nights!)  Or, in desperation I'll make an enormous pot of something on Monday, like soups or chilis or pasta, and plan on serving it day after day.  Which doesn't make for exciting meal times.  (Except the repeated announcements of "I don't like this!" by the four-year-old.  That's always exciting.)

Over the weekend, I made a list of my go-to meals.  We have most of the ingredients in the pantry, and I know at least 2 or 3 members of my family enjoy it.  Then we all sat down as a family and planned our week's dinners out.  Here's hoping for more variety, and less drama!

Sunday: Yellow Curry with potatoes and shrimp, served with rice (Curry paste recipe  and entree recipe can be found here.  I subbed peeled shrimp and boiled potatoes for the lobster.)

Monday: Turkey Pot Pie (It's bread day, so there will be bread available too.)

Tuesday: Beef Stroganoff (This will make good use of the mushrooms our CSA sent last week, and use up the rest of our sour cream.)

Wednesday: Black Bean- Chipotle Chili , served with rice

Thursday: Scrambled eggs and toast (Ernie's request- here's hoping our Egg Lady can meet me before Thursday!)

Friday: Church party

Saturday: Sushi (Ernie's request- I normally do a tuna/sesame/sweet chili sauce filling.)

What does your family do?   Do you plan your meals in advance, go grocery shopping on Saturday, and sleep soundly at night knowing what your family will eat for the next 7 days?  Do you dive headfirst into the cupboards or freezer at 5:30 hoping you can find another "ten-minute-meal" for your hungry horde?  Make a vat of something every Monday and blithely assume you'll serve it ad nauseum to a willing and adoring family?

And, more importantly...what DOES your family eat?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Sunday Thoughts

Ernie gave her very first talk in Primary today- the topic was "What my family can do to help other people."

This is what she said:
"I have been asked to answer the question "How can my family help other people?"


Sometimes we take our neighbors and friends cookies.  My preschool class is going to visit a nursing home.  We are going to do a play about the night Jesus was born.  We will sing songs and hand out cards to the people who live there.  Another thing we do to help others is pay our tithing and fast offerings.


I love Jesus and Heavenly Father.  I love my family and I'm glad we are a forever family.  I love my friends.  I know the scriptures are true. [smiley face at the bottom of the page]"

I was so proud of my girl.  It's amazing to me that at this time last year SHE WAS NOT SPEAKING!  She really didn't start until late December/early January.  We came into Primary to watch her give her talk, and she was so proud to be sitting up front, facing everyone (there are chairs set up for the children who will participate that day for talk, prayer, and scripture.)  The primary president gestured to me when Ernie stood up, to ask "do you want to come help her?"  No, no- she's fine.  And she was!

She read her talk so well- I'm so happy for her.  It's such a big deal for these kids to have the opportunity to succeed- I firmly believe that we should make efforts to create environments where they are able to learn and grow and feel well-earned successes.

Shop Update

Shop update! Beaded things this week- badge lanyards for the lady looking for a little shine in her work day, eyeglass holders for the people looking to keep their glasses or sunglasses close by with a little sparkle, and crystal earrings for everyone just looking for bling.

Watch for kids' stuff coming soon- tutus, flower clippies, headbands.

A Pretty New Wreath

Welcome to our friends from Melissa's holiday decorating carnival!

I've had this grapevine wreath for years now- I love it!  In every season I can fill it full of new stuff, and it hardly costs a thing to change my look.

I've always loved berry wreaths, but they're so expensive!  I pruned these berries off some tall bushes growing along the west fence in my yard- I'm not sure what they are.  Magic Bamboo?  Witch Hazel?  Whatever they were...they're wreath material now, baby!  They're fairly boring bushes, and tall, most of the year so I had meant to tear them out over the summer.  I'm glad I didn't- I think I'll leave them there just for the free wreath every year!  I clipped berries and red-leafed branches last year and put them, dry, in a vase- the color stayed true when they dried.  I'm hoping this wreath will last until the new year.

For construction, I just stick stuff in- no wire, no tape.  Easy peasy, rice and cheesy!

Oh look- here's my Spring wreath!






Have you started decorating for the Christmas/Holiday/Winter season?  Ernie and Wonder Daddy put up the lights today, and I'm so excited to pull out our favorite indoor decorations and watch the kids' faces light up!

Sknahtevig

Sigh. Banner-stringing FAIL.

Regardless of my spelling prowess, I can GIVE THANKS for so many things. For a warm home, for a happy family, for health, for knowledge, for the ability to learn and grow, for the opportunity to raise our children the best way we know how, and for many, many other things.

I'm especially grateful for my husband, my daughters, my forever family, and my Savior.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. May your hearts, your bellies, and your chairs be full!

From the Workshop (Mine, not Santa's)

After mulling over ideas for a LONG time (at least a year- I know..."little less conversation, a little more action!") and I finally took pencil to paper this week to draft a doll pattern. Around Christmas time last year my friend bemoaned the lack of dolls for her daughters- she wanted dolls the girls could relate to. Why is it that when little girls come in so many beautiful colors, dolls....don't? Pink skin and blonde hair is definitely not representative of most of the population!*

Here is the first in what I hope is a long line of "me" dolls- this is my "Ernie" doll (I know she's faceless- I'm still figuring that part out.) Not perfect, but I'm pretty pleased with how she came out! She's a nice big size, and firm to squeeze. The legs and arms are sturdy too, so there's no problem if/when this gal is dragged around by the limbs.

Now....I had thought Santa would bring dolls to my girls this year. But a certain little miss found this gal in my room yesterday during piano lessons and ran breathlessly out to me "Mom! Is this me? Is this me, Mom? Is it mine? Can I have it?" (No.) "Whose is it?" She repeated that last question more frantically each time as I reiterated "It's not yours! I don't know whose it is! Put it back!" Phooey. Oh well, she'll be excited to unwrap her Christmas morning, anyway :) But I'm happy she recognized herself!

I'm planning so many details for future dolls- aprons, skirts, embroidered hair, little mary-jane shoes. It's such a fun project! I'm especially excited to match them to my little girls- pig tails, big curly mops of hair, little baby whisps, and side-swept bangs. I'm getting excited for Christmas :)

* Please ignore the irony that my first doll IS fair skinned and blond-haired. I never dreamed I would have blond children.

Sliding in under the wire

Day 24 of NaBloPoMo.  No auto-post this morning, and I've just finished a girl's night with a very good friend I've not seen in years.  We ate sushi, we watched the last video and a half of the REAL Pride and Prejudice, followed quickly by the full play time of the newer version.  We ate kettle corn *, we ate truffles, and I finished up the construction of a not-so-secret Christmas present (more on that later.)

So to all...a good night!

*Oddly enough, the kettle corn recipe is from Our Best Bites, co-written by Sara (my friend and I both went to church with her when we were teens) and her good friend Kate, who I met in college.  Kate later married the son of my Sunday School teacher.  Small, small world.  Yummy, yummy popcorn.