Friday, September 19, 2008

My Kids Won't Starve

This week, even though I haven't had time to post my full menu, I plan on cooking.

I just finished making egg salad, a huge tossed green salad, and penne pasta. I'm going to use part of the penne for tonights dinner "Shrimp and Pasta in a creamy tomato sauce" from Pioneer Woman's site. I'll put a link up on my menu side bar.

Believe it or not, I actually bought Velveta cheese. I plan to use some of the penne for a quick mac and cheese. I've never done this before, so I hope it's as easy as microwaving the Velveta to get it creamy and stirring in the pasta.

I'm also roasting a bunch of stuff. I figured if the oven is on, and I have enough room, I'm throwing in onions, potatoes, butternut squash, carrots and sweet potatoes. That way, my kids will have something healthy to grab during the week.

I'll be linking other items like Enchiladas and Tenderloin with melted gorganzola cheese and a yummy pasta side dish with roasted garlic and tomatoes. Anyway, tomorrow I will (hope to) post the full week of meals.

I just spoke with Todd, and if luck has it, he'll be home in a week. Good thing I'm starting to get in the cooking swing of things again!

Of course, I have a quart of Golden Spoon for dessert, since I am cooking this week.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Getting Back in the Swing of Things

Like you, I have my favorite blogs I try to read every day. I used to read about 10 a day, but that was during the summer, when life was easy breezy. Now, with Todd gone (going on 2 months) and school back in session, I'm down to reading 2 every few days.

But...... I can feel life getting back into a routine. Which means menu planning will soon be happening again. I have enjoyed taking 2 months off from cooking. Can you imagine? I have eaten Golden Spoon for dinner more times than I would like to count.

But remember when I was working out like crazy every day. Well, I haven't worked out in over a month, and yes, I am still the exact same weight. Ugh.

Austin started walking this week. No wonder they are called "toddlers". He is so funny toddling around. He's about 50% walking and 50% crawling still. Dad hasn't seen the walking, so it will be quite a treat for him! He recognizes dozens of things but still isn't talking much. Babbling, yes. Talking, not quite.

My new school is a hit. I almost felt like I was dropped in Mr. Roger's neighborhood yesterday. I had crossing guard duty for 10 minutes before school. Now, this school is quite charming with its rosebushes out front and nice manicured lawns in front of all the neighborhood houses. As I began my crossing duty, the children were all behaved walking hand in hand with their moms and dads. Many offered, "Thank you teacher" as cars would go by and the parents would wave at me. As I was waving at a car going one way, the bus driver going the other way stuck his hand out the window, waving it my way, cheerily saying, "Have a great day!" I had to start laughing. It really felt like Mr. Roger's was about to start singing in front of the school, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day ......"

I really couldn't be happier. God had placed an assurance in my heart that this would be a good move for me, and of course, it is.

I went to Palm Springs last weekend, and will probably go again Saturday, so menu planning will still be on the "to do" list.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

UGH....

I actually just wrote a lengthy post about the rotten day I had. When I was all done, I decided for the first time to use spell check, and somehow I deleted the whole thing. This just goes to show that everything that can go wrong today, did.

Friday, September 5, 2008

On My Own Again....

I'm back from Alaska, started working with students, and managing to play with Austin 8 hours a day!

Alaska was beautiful. Laid out in a grid pattern, it reminded me so much of New York. Walking everywhere to get breakfast in the morning, shopping in the afternoon, dinner at night and everything in between. They had wonderful parks for Austin that overlooked Captain Cook's inlet.

Todd and I went to street fairs, and I bought my first Ulu. A hand carved rocking blade made with whalebone, ebony and something else quite beautiful. Todd got a hatchet type for cutting through chicken bones and such. I figure I'm safe in the house alone until he returns with that on my counter.

School is now in full swing as well. I have wonderful students this year. The class is low in academics but high in fun loving spirit, so I think all will be well.

Austin is just about to start walking. He walks "along" everything, and is now known for taking an occasional step before retreating to his fast and furious crawl. Babbling like crazy, but not a lot of language yet. He is all boy though. Loving his bucket, shovel, swing time, and playing at the mall.

He's now clammoring for my attention, so I'll post more later. And I promise to take care of the blue next time!