this week

We shall eat:

Sunday- One pot pasta
Monday- Sausage and peppers- we did not have it last week
Tuesday- Pulled pork sandwiches and baked beans
Wednesday- Burgers and french fries
Thursday- Leftovers

Go us!

last moments of maternity leave

3 months has flown by
typing one-handed
holding baby Z
who refuses to be put down
hubby stuck at work
the temperature is at a record shattering low
i haven't polished my nails
or packed my lunch
my outfit is not laid out
but the ones for my children are
his lunch, her bottles
some stuff is done
a bunch isn't
instead i hold her
knowing this is what i need
at this moment

Meal Planning

Like many other folks, I am going to try and do better about planning our meals. A plan will help us not waste so much time thinking about what is do dinner and wasting our dough at the pizza place. You see what I did there ;) I would like to incorporate things like meatless Monday and theme nights but not now. Right now I am working on operation use why we hve in the overflowing pantry. Plus I had the best grilled cheese sandwich so you may see a couple if soup and sandwich nights around these parts. Oh and it is freezing (doesn't help that we just spent the last month in Florida with temps in the 80's) so you will certainly see some warm weather meals too. Maybe those things are a theme in themselves: Pantry Purge and Warm Me Up. Anyway here is my menu for the week!

Sunday- Meatloaf, roasted veggies and roasted potatoes

Tuesday- Chicken with black beans and rice

Wednesday- leftovers

Thursday- chicken tacos 

Friday- Burgers and fries

How about you? Planner or no?

2013: in review

Each year starts with the hope of something better than the year before. A chance to right some wrongs and grow in the process. Without even checking on a long lost post or trying to recall any real resolution, I would like to take a moment to look back on the year that was and how 2013 changed me.

* The biggest change was going from the momma of one amazing little boy to being the mom of one amazing little boy and one amazing little girl. Two is better than one. My heart grew to make room for her and she is all that I could have hoped for in a daughter. I really feared how my son would react to having to share the throne in the household but he has done well :)

*I learned that getting help is well helpful. Sometimes I have a do it all attitude and that can get a little overwhelming.This year I was all about the help. I hired a cleaning lady, assigned pic-up days for my husband and my mother came up for months to help out with the children. She helped stock the freezer before she left too. For all of this assistance I am  beyond grateful.

* I reevaluated some relationships and my expectations for those relationships. A big part was accepting that people don't always do what I want them to do or what I would do. Accepting this only frees me from crazy expectations.

Of course there was much more learning and growing but these are the big 3.

10 Minute Declutter

I love a challenge. Summer is the time for  projects. Combine those two things and I did get a little tidying up done thanks to a challenge organized by Michele at Get Organized Wizard.  It not took me a minimal amount of time and I even got to put out my cool candle holders that my sister got me from Vietnam, they may or may not have been in the bag since April. Opps! Any who I will throw embarrassment to the side and share the before and after pics. Don't judge, I am 7 months pregnant. :P

                           Before,yikes and oh my!

                          Much better!! :)

the only cure

The only cure for getting over not writing is to write. Yeah, having a blog post idea is not the same as actually posting. Life has been good and life has been busy. There have been so many positives to my summer that I am feeling rather blessed and certainly happy.

I have taken two trips this summer. I went on a girls trip with my sister and my niece to Cleveland for a baby shower. It was my first time going to Cleveland. It was nice to be away, pretty cool temp wise and we enjoyed each other. Just a nice time.

The following week my bestie and her family came to visit. I hadn't seen my bestie in 2 years (when does that happen!) so it was fantastic to set eyes on her. Our littles play so well together. It is great when the cousins make memories together. Our families took a trip to NY and wow we crammed a lot into that trip: Statue of Liberty, Empire State Bldg., Time's Square, Harlem and a Broadway play! Did I mention I am 7 months pregnant and NY was boiling hot! Crazy and not in the crazy, sexy , cool way either!?

My folks are coming today- in a few hours- and my house is rather messy. Oh well. Thank gosh, my parents can look past the clutter :)

How is your summer going? I miss blogging and reading blogs!

confessions

~I clean before the house cleaner comes. Yeah, my house is that much of a wreck :) Anywho my little one exclaimed, " Wow this is the cleanest my room has been ever" after I cleaned it tonight. He is going to be over the moon when he sees how good it looks tomorrow.

~I haven't eaten like a madwoman this pregnancy but I often think about how amazing it would be to go plum crazy and then blame it on eating for two.

~I can't remember a gosh darn thing. I really can't. Yikes.

~All I want for Mother's Day is a day to myself without worrying about anyone else. Selfish me, huh.

~ The other things that I want for Mother's Day I have already covered: hair appt and housekeeper both  on schedule for tomorrow.

So, what confessions do you want to get off your chest?