This week's meals...

Well, I did pretty good sticking to my plan last week!  There was one day that was really rough behavior-wise with Calvin, so we grabbed something quick, but we just made our planned dinner the next day for lunch. 

Here's what I'm planning for this week:

Sunday- Spinach and Kale soup...never tried it before, but I think I have all the ingredients...with homemade beer bread. 
Monday- Tacos with homemade tortillas (or maybe a taco casserole??)
Tuesday- Chicken Divan with rice
Wednesday- Leftovers
Thursday- Split Pea Soup (out of the freezer)
Friday- Orange Chicken (from Trader Joes) with rice and green beans
Saturday- Pumpkin Patch!!

Weekly Meal Plans

Inspired by some fellow mom bloggers, I am going to attempt to create a weekly meal plan for our house.  Mostly just dinners because the rest of our days are typically pretty random, we never know where we're going to be, if we'll be home, etc.  And if it turns out Jake won't be home for dinner, sometimes I'll make the dinner idea for lunch.  Who knows :)  But I thought this would at least keep me somewhat accountable and get me a little better prepared for the week.  And some day I might get ambitious and go for two weeks at a time!!  Now, I am blessed with a husband who likes to eat leftovers, so I am able to make extra at dinners and spread them through the week.  I know not everyone is that lucky :) 

This week: 

Monday -  Beef roast (already in the crockpot!), steamed broccoli, focacia bread
Tuesday - Meatloaf, roasted potatoes, green beans
Wedneaday - leftovers...Jake works and I have a Partylite show
Thursday - Mustard Oregano Porkchops (from Fix, Freeze, and Feast...a must have cookbook!), steamed broccoli (I bought the big bag at Costco!)
Friday - Leftovers...another Partylite show!
Saturday - Cider Pressing with family!
Sunday - Taco soup in the crockpot

There's my week!  I hope this helps me be a little more organized, and maybe get a little more creative.  If I'm planning ahead to be creative, it might help me actually accomplish it.  Creativity doesn't work very well at 4:00 in the afternoon...it must be planned ahead in our house :)

Happy eating!!

Perpetual Motion

I know it sounds cliche, but my oh my, how time flies!!  I literally can't believe how fast our boy is growing up.  It feels like the last few weeks have brought major changes, physically and mentally, and it is such a blessing to get to watch him grow and change.  He is keeping us all on our toes from morning until he lays his perfect little head down to sleep at night.  I am loving every minute of it, but every stage has it's chalenges.  I currently have three parenting books on hold at the library...the true sign one is parenting a toddler :)

Some of the things that have changed in just the last few weeks:

• Walking is his primary mode of travel.  He still crawls if he thinks he needs to go super fast, but picks himself right back up and walks. 
• He has started a bit of sign language while eating, specifically "all done"...although he doesn't quite get when to use it.  I'd all but given up on the sign language thing. 
• He can drink out of a sippy cup!  I thought my child would be the only one who couldn't use one!  But he totally has it figured out and looks like such a big boy throwing his head back getting those last few drops of apple juice :) 
• He mimics my hand motions when I show him something is a "no touch".  I have to hide my face so he doesn't see me laughing...it's so cute!
• When we ask him what a doggy says, he responds with "oof, oof"...so cute!! 
• It's really hard to get him to eat veggies, even though he had loved them ever since starting solid foods.  I have to sneak bites in, or hide veggie purees in his pasta sauce, quesadilla, or even his PBJ sandwhich :) 
• He is definitely starting to get a bit naughty and we've had to start spanking and giving time outs when he is clearly defying us...trust me, it is quite obvious. 
• There have been several times when I can hear him just chatting in his crib.  Up until a few weeks ago, the first sound we would hear upon him waking was bloody murder screaming.  A very nice change :) 
• He is still the cutest, sweetest, loving, friendly little boy and I don't think that will change.  I took him to the play place at the mall on a rainy day this week and his biggest problem was that he would hug other children until he knocked them over.  We need to work on the friendliness factor. 
• Oh, he also loves to be bounced! If you are sitting with your legs crossed, he takes that as a sign you're willing to bounce him and comes and sits on your foot.  Literally anyone...even strangers at the mall. 

I know the changes will continue and I am just trying to cherish all the moments I have with him.  The other day, I turned on some music and he wanted to be held so we could dance...his grandma Karstetter has given him a great love for dancing :).  I stood there dancing with him, he was smiling, and I seriously started to cry because it was the most absolutely perfect moment.  Those don't happen all that often and I was just soaking it up!  I love how smart and independent Calvin is becoming, but I miss my little baby, and I cherish the moments I have that remind me of those days. 

Crazy Candle Lady

That's right...I'm a crazy candle lady now!!  Tonight I had my starter show to begin my business as a consultant with Partylite Candles.  I started with Partylite about six years ago because I was totally obsessed with the product...but ended up not being so great at the consulant part.  It was just the wrong time.  A friend signed up recently though, and it got me really excited.  So, a few forms filled out and I'm a consultant!  I am SO excited this time around.  It is a much better fit, super flexible schedule (because I'm my own boss!!), and I think it's really fun. 

Now, I am NOT a sales person.  I do not try to sell someone something they don't want.  I want to be low pressure and just let it all fall in to place.  I feel so blessed to recieve the reassurance I need that  this was the right decision over the past few days, though.  People actually showed up to the party tonight!  And I've had several people call me out of the blue to book shows.  Total blessing!! 

So, I'm just really excited and I wanted to share!  Call me if you want to book a show!!  haha :) 

Go burn a candle! 

Calvin's Birthday and Crescent Bar

Goodness, it has been a whirlwind couple of weeks!  I thought this summer was going to be pretty mellow, since we didn't have much on the calendar.  But the days have filled up and time has flown by!!  Before we knew it, we celebrated our little boy's first birthday!!  What a crazy day!  It is so wierd to think that a year ago on that day, we were meeting Calvin for the first time ever!  All day long, I was thinking about what we were doing at that same time one year ago.  When we introduced Calvin to our friends and family for the first time...the first time he fell asleep on our chests...the first time we went to sleep with a little baby in the room.  So many emotions filled that day and it was such a fun day to look back at our wonderful first year as a family of three. 

Calvin's party was so much fun!  We celebrated with some friends and family and gave lots of attention to the birthday boy!  He wasn't crazy about the cake, but he ate some.  And he was just a bundle of smiles and laughs! 

How grown up does this boy look??

My feeble attempt at a cake...everyone said it was cute, but I wasn't convinced :(

Starting to dig in!

Our one year old little family :) 

After celebrating Calvin's birthday, we got to spend some fun family time over in Crescent Bar, WA.  My dad and brother had tickets to the Dave Matthews show at the Gorge, so we tagged along.  It was toasty warm, mid-nineties, with nothing to worry about but what time we were headed to the pool, and what flavor of shaved ice we'd get.  We went with my folks, so grandma and grandpa were more than happy to sit with Calvin in the kiddy pool while I worked on my tan.  It was blissful!! 

The Gang

(My brother's girlfriend, Erica, Nick, me, Calvin, and Jake, and my folks)

Such a little pool dude!



It has been a crazy busy and crazy fun summer, and I am ready for things to settle down.  I can't wait for Fall to arrive!!  My scarves and mittens are calling my name and I am ready to pull out my fall decorations!!

Reuinited...

This week, some friends of ours, Sarah and Soren, came to visit from Salem, OR.  Sarah and I were roommates in college, and even though it was only for a semester, it felt like much longer (in a good way!).  We were "Sarah Squared" and had SO MUCH FUN TOGETHER!!  We were even trying to remember if we'd ever argued or been mad at each other, and we couldn't remember any!  Now, I'm sure there were a few disagreements, but the fun we had obviously outweighed the challenges :)  It is so refreshing and fun to reunite with friends from a different part of your life.  We had so much fun catching up, and it was a joy for them to get to know Jake better (they approved!) and meet Calvin.  We enjoyed a fun trip out to Deception Pass (our family favorite) and Sarah took some great pictures.  We had so much fun with them and we're going to try and not let it go so long between visits!

"Sarah Squared"...together again!!

Sarah captured so many great smiles..Calvin LOVED her!!

This boy loves the beach!

A Little Trip...

We don't have the chance too often to go away as a little family.  Most of our time away is with either my, or Jake's, side of the family, which we LOVE, but sometimes it is nice to get away as just us.  It makes us feel like more of a little family...more like grown ups :)  This weekend, my dear friend Kristy got married in Spokane, so we decided to make a little road trip of it and spend a few days over there. 

I wisely thought leaving Thursday evening just before Calvins bed time would make for the easiest six-hour drive, and he would sleep most of the way.  WRONG!!  He started crying in Bothell, wouldn't take a bottle, and cried off and on, HARD, for hours!  It was awful!  He finally fell asleep and we rolled into Spokane around 1:30 am, exhausted.  Luckily, Calvin slept in a little bit, which he rarely does. 

We didn't have a ton of exploring time, but we were able to enjoy time at Riverfront Park, swam in the hotel pool several times, and were blessed to be a part of a dear friend's wedding.  It was HOT over there!!  Like mid-nineties, which is basically my melting temperature.  But we endured :) 

The drive back went much smoother, despite choosing to take Highway 2 and being stuck in the traffic of every small town festival along the way...which translated into stop and go driving for miles and miles and miles.  But overall a fantastic trip!  Calvin was such a trooper!  I was getting cranky after our long drive, too, so I can't blame him too much :) 

Calvin's first hotel stay!  He did great and we had the perfect room for our little family!

At Riverfront Park.  I decided if we ever had to move to Spokane, this is where I would spend all of my time.

Doesn't this just look like summer bliss?  Calvin had so much fun splashing around! He was SOAKED!

How cute is this?  These two are becoming quite the little buddies...I LOVE IT!!

Such a lovely wedding!

A great dose of some much needed family time!