Showing posts with label southern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label southern. Show all posts

Sunday, February 1, 2015

What's for Dinner?

This week I looked through the freezer to plan around the Freezer-Only Challenge. What's in your freezer to help you stick to the challenge this week?

Monday
 Sweet and sour chicken with rice and Asian mix veggies

Tuesday
Bun-less turkey cheeseburgers with French fries and corn

Wednesday
Rosemary and onion sirloin pork chops with baked potato and green beans

Thursday
Beef and pepper fajitas with refried beans

Friday
Baked tilapia with green salad

Saturday
Spaghetti with meat sauce and green salad

Sunday 
Leftovers from the week


Sunday, January 25, 2015

What's for Dinner?

Mmm mmm mmm look what's for dinner! You may have noticed that I'm sticking to simple, filling, easy-to-make recipes. Doing that is much easier with a newborn right now. The fancier dinners, including things I've never made before, are coming once life settles down more.



Monday
Bar-b-cue chicken thighs and baked potatoes
Tuesday
Baked tilapia with broccoli and rice

Wednesday
Steaks with corn and mashed potatoes

Thursday
Waffles with mixed fruit salad

Friday
Green salad with shredded chicken on top

Saturday

Sunday
Jamaican Allspice pork chops with peas, carrots and baked potatoes

Monday, January 19, 2015

What's for Dinner?

Here are dinner ideas for your menu, based on what we're eating this week.


Monday
 Leftover shredded whole roast chicken on mixed greens salad

Tuesday
Leftovers 

Wednesday
Baked tilapia with brown rice and mixed veggies

Thursday
Pork chops smother in apple sauce with baked potato and green breans

Friday
Spaghetti with side salad

Saturday
Turkey and three bean chili with French bread

Sunday
Orange chicken with fried rice

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Baby2's Room: Bright and Beachy

A and I finally picked out a paint color and he painted Baby2's room this week as musical couches was completed with the donation pickup. We went with Valspar's beach blanket color to keep the room colorful, light and airy while being in line with the nautical/sea theme. It also goes with the rest of the colors in the house to keep the peaceful, relaxing vibe going. We splurged and got the new top-of-the-line paint with zero VOCs that's easily washable. It needs to hold up and last a long time so we thought it's worth the extra bucks. With the paint up, a trip to Walmart yielded a turquoise and white rug that will go down once we carpet clean the whole house.
Fresh beach blanket color paint. 
M2's contribution is a twinkle twinkle little star wall hanging. She grabbed it at the store and loved it so into Baby2's room it goes! What's a nautical theme without some stars to guide you, right? I also got an anchor decoration to paint and hang. One of our family traditions is my painting a big wooden letter of the new baby's first initial to put up on the wall. I haven't found one I like yet though I've got a few ideas on colors. M2's was pink and glittery. Her room didn't have much pink so it became a girly statement piece.

All the other wall decorations have been picked. I plan to buy them off Amazon this week, along with all Baby2's and M2's birthday and Christmas presents. I want everything done at least a week before Baby2 arrives so I don't have to deal with it! Gamma and Gampa will send the new crib and mattress soon as well. As deliveries come in, I'll be hanging and A will be building. M2's room is getting a slight re-do as well--the changing table it coming out of her room to go to the new baby and she's getting a set of cubbies for her toys and treasures instead.

Now, to get the closet cleaned out and reorganized so I can wash all the baby clothes, blankets, bibs, burp cloths, etc., and get them put away. Not to mention the big pile of stuff that needs to clean out of the room and all the books and knickknacks to take off the bookcase. The laundry hamper and diaper pail need to be selected. In other words, (as you can see from the picture) there is still a ton to do and not very much time to do it in since there is only about 5 weeks to go! Our next two weeks are packed with other appointments and activities (Halloween fun!) which eats up even more time. The to-do list of non-baby before-baby items is long as well. If you don't see many posts from me, that is why.

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Thursday, October 9, 2014

A Quick Update: M2's Speech and Baby2

This week has been busy with kid-related appointments and having my parents in town visiting. One of the big appointments was to get M2's speech intervention rolling.

M2's Speech Development
M2 isn't quite where she should be speech-wise. She understands everything, has ways to get her points across, she just won't use words most of the time. Except for a select few, the words she does know she refuses to use often. A and I have been working with her doing everything we can think of to no avail. The pediatrician said we could either start looking into therapy now, or wait until she turns 2. However, when she turns 2 is just after Baby2 is born. Taking that into account, we decided to start intervention now.

When asked what the next step is to get her help, the doctor very helpfully only said to "call the county." The county very helpfully only has info on getting assistance with speech for kids 3 and over. After some research and asking around at library time, I found a place not too far away that specializes in therapy for under age 3 only. The nice lady I spoke too arranged an appointment for initial intake at our house. She came over this week, met M2, asked a bunch of questions, and set us up for the next step of a complete evaluation. In a few weeks, M2's going to have "playtime" with a couple ladies who will do a full eval then give us the results. The woman today said she's obviously very intelligent, we just need to get her to start using more words. It's expected that she'll be on track with everything else.

After the evaluation, our intake coordinator sets M2 up with a therapy plan. The good thing about this organization is that they find it important that the child is in their own environment for therapy. The therapist comes out and word with her and show A and I things we can do with her the rest of the time.

The plan right now is to get all this set up and maybe even get a session or two in before Baby2 arrives. At the least, we'll be ready to go as soon as things settle down with him.

Baby2's Room
Last week, we finally narrowed down the choices of paint colors for Baby2's room to four. Once we get those up on the wall we'll (hopefully) be able to pick one. Right now, there's a futon in there so we can't paint the whole room. The futon needs to go in the family room, which has another couch in it. That one needs to go in the living room which--you guessed it-- also has a couch in it. The hospice we're donating one couch to comes next week, then we can play musical couches and start painting. You can read more about the plans for the nursery here.

At my weekly appointment the doctor said Baby2 is on track. The only downside is that he hasn't flipped yet--he's still breech. He's got a few weeks left to make the flip and I'm hoping he does as I don't want a C-section for a number of reasons (the big one being surgery and I don't mix, at all).

A and I checked out the other choice of hospital for labor and delivery finally. M2 got to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa going to the pumpkin patch, animal park and out to dinner while I was busy with the tour and doctor appointment. It's a good thing we did the tour since we've decided we like the hospital better than the one we were thinking of using. As long as Baby2 doesn't come earlier than 38 weeks, we plan to use the one we toured. The big selling point for me was all private rooms and wireless monitors so I won't have to be strapped down uncomfortably to a bed for hours. That part was NOT fun with M2 and I think labor would have gone faster than the 41.5 hours it took had I been able to move around. I also can't get comfortable in beds sitting up or lying on my back--which is the position I got stuck in so the doctors could have the monitors work.

With less than seven weeks to go, there is still plenty to do on our lists!

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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Doing the Baby2 Nursery Scramble

Not looking like a nursery. Nope, not a bit.
We found out last week that Baby2 will be arriving early--I'll be induced the week of Thanksgiving so we've only got eight weeks left to get everything ready rather than nine. The doctor even pointed this out to me when I mentioned we haven't finished the nursery yet.

Ok, it's really not even started. I know what I want to put in the nursery, we just don't have it all yet and nothing is complete. There's a big pile of baby things I have gotten along with guest room stuff, Christmas presents for M2 and who knows what else in there. Not to mention all the stuff crammed in the closet, from my wedding dress to toiletries. That means A and I are going to be super busy getting it all done so Baby2 has some place to sleep other than a dresser drawer in a guest room. And so that what is in there now has a new home elsewhere in the house.

Baby2's nursery theme is nautical. We know that much at least! Ships, boat gear (is "gear" the right word for boat-related stuff?), sea critters, beach stuff--if it's water-related, it fits in. I want it to feel calm yet fun. Nursery yet not too babyish, something that will last awhile. M2 still loves her nursery, which is an animal theme.

We have a lamp! I love the cute boats.
Last week, we finally picked out a stack of possible paint colors (probably about 30) that we need to narrow down to 4 to test on the walls. M2 and I eliminated four so far. Anything she didn't like, she happily ripped up and threw around the living room. The color is going to be beachy, but not blue as we have too much of that in the house already. The room is at the end of the hall so we also want it to blend in enough that it's not jarring but still have it's own style. I love the color we have in the room now. Sadly, it's too pink to fit for a boy or a nautical theme!

Once we paint, we need to get a crib, decorations, diaper pail, hamper, etc. Plus a rug to cover M2's bleach toilet cleaner carpet art.  I also need to find a wooden letter of Baby2's first initial to paint, a tradition I started with M2's big pink glittery M. Baby2's shelf is one A's dad made him when he was a kid. The changing table was M2's and the bookcase was my aunt's so those we have. Good friends gave us a chest of drawers this weekend as well, checking that off the needed-items list. We have some blankets, sheets, clothes, a lamp and a few things to decorate the room that belonged to A's mom and A. As you can tell, I like to incorporate furniture and items that have meaning and belonged to people we care about. It makes it feel more special. M2's room and the rest of the house is the same. I love the look of mixing old with new.

By the way, we do have a name picked for Baby2 but are waiting until he's born to share it with family and friends. For the blog, he'll get a special nickname like the rest of us have.
There's no crib yet, but Baby2 has adorable sheets I got on sale.
M2 picked and LOVES the blanket on the left. It's her present for her new brother.






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Sunday, September 7, 2014

What's for Dinner?

This week I've got a nice, big case of cook's block. I seriously can't think of what to make for one night, let alone a week! Luckily, I've got a handy list of go-to foods I can make. Writing out the menu also helps kickstart my cooking juices. Let's see what I can come up with.



Monday
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and veggies

Tuesday
Pork chops, couscous and veggies

Wednesday
Green salad

Thursday
Black beans, rice and ground beef with cheese

Friday
Sausages and veggies

Saturday
Herb chicken, baked potatoes and veggies

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