Menu Plan Monday

Week two as a working mom. I've found that having these weekly menus written down really helps me feel less stressed. In the limited amount of time I have in the evenings, the last thing I need is to try to come up with a good meal off the top of my head.

Monday - Crockpot pot roast - I bought a couple of these crockpot "kits" yesterday. The roast, veggies and seasonings were all included. But they can't be frozen so I'll cook them both in the crockpot at the same time, then freeze one roast to be eaten at a later date.

Tuesday - Pesto chicken - Didn't get to make this last week. My husband decided to make Indian for dinner and used the chicken I had thawed out for pesto chicken.

Wednesday - Spaghetti bake

Thursday - Chicken and rice and beans - This is a favorite with my kids. I just cook the chicken w/ some taco or fajita seasonings and serve it up with black beans and rice ala Chipotle bowls.

Friday -

Saturday -

Sunday -

As you can see, I'm not really feeling inspired this week and could use some ideas on filling the last few days. Help!

Potty success!

How could I not post about this?!

Yesterday, with no prompting from us, Shaggy said, "I go tee-tee."

Then she walked upstairs, took off her pants and diaper and peed in the toilet!

Not once. Not twice. THREE TIMES!!!

And she's continued to do it today as well!

She's still peeing in her diapers, but she's starting to get the idea.

Hooray!!!

It's been a long week

I started last week off with a cold and a new job. Love the job, don't love the cold. I have really enjoyed getting out of the house and being around other adults. Honestly, going to work has been like a vacation. I chuckled to myself when I thought, "I hope they don't send me home because I'm sick. It's more restful at work than at home!"

This cold has beaten me down though. I was thoroughly exhausted by the time the kids went to bed each night. I was even going to bed before midnight! Now that's tired!

I didn't really get to stick to my menu plan for this past week, but I rarely do. I find that having the menu plan is really helpful though. It eliminates the last minute "what's for dinner" stress for me.

Friday night, a couple friends came over for Nacho Night. Yummo! And an interesting round of "Would You Rather?" left me wondering at our sanity. I mean, really. Would you rather gnaw off a homeless man's toenail or lick his armpit clean? What kind of choice is that??? Would you rather stick your head up an elephant's butt or lick a corpse after an autopsy? Even with such radical decisions placed in our hands, we had a good time hanging, drinking, eating, laughing and sharing.

Then last night, it hit me. The flu. Holy wow, this is not fun! I was shaking so hard from chills that I couldn't hold a glass. And seriously, what gives?? I have a killer cold AND the flu?! With luck like this, I should start buying lotto tickets because something has to go my way, right?

My fever broke a little bit ago but I'm still all shaky and oogie feeling. Hopefully all the sleeping and fluids today will take effect and I'll be good to go in the morning.

Oh, and guess what? I have ANOTHER sewing machine. Yes, that bring the count up to FOUR. I have my Brother which I want to sell. Quilting keeps knocking the needle out of alignment and I can't afford $60-$85 in repair fees every time it messes up. I put the word out that my machine was broken and I was looking for a new one. My friend Georgia gave me an old Singer that was in her attic. I'm pretty sure it's a good machine but it's a tank! I didn't really have an opportunity to figure it out because my bad back prevented me from sewing. And during that time, my grandfather gave me my grandmother's sewing machine. It's a mid-90's Singer and has done a great job so far.

That brings the count to three machines in my dining room.

Then Georgia called again. Would I like a machine in a stand? Ohhh yah baby!! I now have another Singer, in a cabinet, sitting in my living room. I can sew and watch TV!! I haven't had a chance to try it out because I was hit with the flu not long after I got the machine but I'm excited! If if can handle the heavy layers of quilting, I'll use it for binding and thick quilts. But most likely, I'll put my grandmother's machine on top of the closed cabinet and use that one.

Time to lay back down and rest. Or go find clothes to wear to work tomorrow. You don't realize how few clothes you own -- and like -- until you have to start dressing for work every day!

My first week at work

Summary:

• super bad head cold
• great company to work for
• amazing company to work for
• not a lot of actual work this week
• there is a gong in our office and it gets banged regularly
• Shaggy is starting to have separation anxiety about going to daycare and cries when I leave her and pick her up
• I have zero - and I do mean zero - time to myself
• I have almost zero time on the internet, hence the short summary

This is a big adjustment and I'm only working 24 hours a week! Big kudos to all the working moms out there!

Menu Plan Monday

Tomorrow is my first day back to work after a 4+ year "retirement" to play with my kids all day. This week's menu is designed to be easy for a working mom. We'll see how that works out.

Monday - Pesto chicken with RiceARoni and a random veggie
Tuesday - Freezer chili in the crockpot
Wednesday - Meatloaf muffins with lots of veggies added in.
Thursday - Bourbon chicken with rice and a veggie
Friday - Splurge and eat out to celebrate my new job! And I'm having some friends over for nachos and spirits.

Pesto Chicken

This is so stinkin' easy and it's so delish!! Buy premade pesto, rub it all over some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and let them rest for about half an hour in the fridge. I have no idea why you should do this but it sounds like a good idea and it lets me pretend that all those yummy pesto flavors are attacking the chicken and spreading their yummy goodness around.

*Ahem*

Cook! I put mine on the new grill pan I bought from Ikea (and love it!!). YUM!!!

Crafty things I'd like to make

Patchwork Oven mitts
http://lindamade.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/hot-stuff-patchwork-oven-mitts/

Bagsket
http://foofanagle.wordpress.com/2007/06/26/bagsket-tutorial/

Eye pillows
http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=280

Patchwork blanket
http://happythings.typepad.com/happythings/2006/10/tutorial_chenil.html

Baby loves her new school

Shaggy started daycare yesterday. I wanted to give her a few days to acclimate before I start work on Monday.

To say that she is enjoying it is quite an understatement! She has jumped right in and is soaking it up. I like to stand outside her door and watch her interacting after I say good bye to her. She is so eager to participate and to be given instructions. This is something I just can't give her at home and I'm so glad she's enjoying "school".

When I pick her up, she is so excited to tell me about her day. I've asked her teacher to send home a list of the childrens' names so I can help her remember them. I've also asked if they have a printed menu so we can talk about her food and lunches. (My girl loves her food and loves to eat so it's always fun to hear what she has to say about it.)

Monday is a holiday; I anticipate some wailing and whining once she learns that there is no school. That's okay though. It just means that she really enjoys school and that makes me happy.

Pomp and Circumstance

Big M's info for commencement came in the mail today! I became verklempt reading through it all. I was imagining dropping him off to line up, waiting to get seats in the coliseum, seeing him walk across the stage to accept his diploma. Just imagining it all made me tear up!

I can't express how profoundly proud I am of this man.

And how glad I'll be when this stage is over. It's been a long, rough road and we're almost done!

Ask for what you want

I was a bit of surprise and a teensy bit of jealousy when my friend Tara first told me that her full-time work schedule was a 32 hour work week. She had every Friday off and didn't have to make up the hours during the rest of the week. I always wondered how people were able to get such sweet deals like that.

She told me her secret: Ask for it.

Well, duh! How simple!! But I've never really tried to negotiate for anymore beyond salary because my perception was that the companies were rigid in their structure and would be turned off by my demands.

But this time, I did ask.

I applied for a part time position at a great local company here in Richmond. They have a great corporate culture and an amazing attitude towards their employees. I've been trying to find a good job fit with this company for almost a year now. After many, many, many interviews, I was the final candidate for the position.

As we sat down to discuss compensation, start date and other details, I found it deep down inside me to open my mouth and ask. Even though it was a part-time position, I asked if I could get health benefits. I explained that coming into this, I wasn't expecting benefits so it wasn't a deal breaker for me, but I'd be willing to take a reduced hourly rate in exchange for health coverage.

To my utter surprise, the recruiter said she'd check into it and see what they can do.

I got the official job offer yesterday.

And I'm getting health benefits!!

Ask for what you want! I would have *never* expected a part-time job to provide me with benefits. But by increasing my hours per week slightly, I qualify.

Counting down

I'm a guest blogger!

I volunteered to write a post for the Quilting Gallery and today is my day. So click on over and read what I had to say! Can you guess what it's about? Can you? Can you?

Here's a hint.... Q U I L T I N G.

Buy a new one!

Oh that Shaggy. She's a funny little girl.

Earlier in the week, Little M accidentally gave Shaggy a fat lip. Around the same time, we did away with the pacifiers. Shaggy's new way to self-soothe and fall asleep is to mess with the dead skin on her lip from the fat lip. She already picks on her fingers and now this.

Today, I joined Shaggy at nap time. She was fighting her nap so bad and I was hoping she'd relax and fall asleep if I lay down with her. As we lay there, she held her finger up to me and said, "Here Momma. You get it. It's a booger."

Thanks, baby. Thanks.

Then she realized that I have nostrils. She peered at my nose, tilted her head to the side and moved in closer.

"Do YOU have boogers Momma?"
"No baby. Lay down."
"You DO have boogers Momma! You do!!"

She then moved in closer and started to rub my lip. Why my lip?? After rubbing my upper lip, she started tugging on my lower lip.

"Awww! It PINK, Momma!! It PINK!!"

I sure hope so!

"You need to buy a new one, Momma. You need brown."

What the... ????