Menu Planning

We started planning out our meals for the week on Sunday and making one trip to the grocery store for everything we'd need for the next 5-7 days. This will be the third week we've done it and let me tell ya...It's made a HUGE difference in our week nights.
I used to go to the grocery store multiple times a week and it was so draining. I only get a few hours with Benjamin Mon-Fri after work before he goes to bed and the last thing I want to do is spend that time at the store.
It's made things so much less stressful, plus I've been finding new recipes and trying them out (at least 1-2 new meals a week)

Our Menu for this week

• Tacos (which Benjamin tore up last night. I was surprised, he ate the whole taco shell and everything inside)
• Chicken, Rice and Broccoli Bowl (I'm using a new recipe for this one)
  
• Meatloaf, roasted sweet potatoes and Broccoli
• Chicken skewers with grilled peppers

I only have four meals this week b/c it never fails, there's always one night we end up doing something simple like a sandwich or cereal for dinner.

I'm looking for more suggestions. If you've got a favorite recipe-please pass it on. Anything that's appropriate for a week night dinner and somewhat on the healthy side. Just leave a comment on this post with the recipe or the link :)

And just b/c a post without a picture is sad, here's a picture from last weeks menu














It's Tilapia, roasted asparagus and potatoes.

Unfortunately, we've realized David has developed a fish allergy so it'll prob. be a while before I make fish again.

Mr. Bean

What does two bags of dry beans get you?

20 whole minutes of play time!






























I still can't believe it. Anything that keeps Benjamin's attention for more than 5 minutes is a success in my opinion :)

Chicken Soup w/Barley

Have you ever cooked barley before?
Is it weird that I was excited about it? I've never made it before and to be completely honest I thought barley was a spice. Oooops!
We had a Chili/Soup cook off at work a couple of months ago and Barley soup was entered in the contest and it was AMAZING!!

So I decided to make it for dinner tonight.

I'm pretty mad I forgot to take nicer pictures, I only remembered after I put it in the leftover container














Clink Here for the recipe I used.
David added some corn and green beans to it after it was done simmering for an hour because he wanted to add more color and veggies.
It was really really good! A + and perfect for winter dinners :)

Finger Paint = Epic Fail

I had grand plans for Benjamin last weekend. We went shopping for poster board and finger paint. I envisioned him making master piece after master piece but that was far from what actually happened.
First, we had to come home and put him down for a nap. I guess shopping just sucked the energy right out of him. While he was sleeping I prepped his little table. I taped the poster board down, laid a towel under the table and put a trash bag over his chair, I was ready to go. But I had to wait for not one, not two but THREE hours later for him to wake up. I kept asking David-should I go wake him up? He always replied...Uh-no, I don't think so.
Finally at 6:30pm he woke up and we brought him out to become the little Picasso I knew he could be.

Here he is with the paint after 3 seconds
Notice the mouth hanging wide open. Anytime he tries to focus on something, the mouth is wide open. It's so cute!














And here we are 5 seconds in...finger in the mouth














I tried to show him how to do it, but as you can see he clearly wasn't interested














But don't worry, I haven't given up hope yet on my little artist. We'll try it again soon :)

Toy Box

It was recently brought to my attention that I never gave David the full credit that he deserves on the amazing toy box that he made WITH HIS OWN TWO HANDS :) I really thought I had posted something about it already. I even got out of bed last night around 12:30am and pulled up the blog to double check b/c I was just so sure that I already posted about it and couldn't stop thinking about it (yes, I am that crazy). But Nope, I was sadly mistaken. There wasn't a toy box post to be found :(

So here we go...The making of Benjamin's Toy Box

The Frame















And with the floor and side boards















A peak inside. This thing is solid, David and I both jumped up and down and it didn't budge at all. This sucker is going to be around for a long time. It needed to be sturdy because Benjamin is a full blown destroyer. He LOVES to bang on things. He'll take whatever he can get his chubby little baby fingers on and just pound away. I think we might have a drummer on our hands.














And the thing that melted my heart the most...
That sweet little note David wrote inside. "Merry Christmas 2011, Love Dad" Seriously, Adorable!














David debating on whether to stain the box or paint it. I'm SO happy he decided to stain it. I just love the color!














Benjamin checking out his toy box Christmas morning. I think he Loves it :)














I'm so proud of David, he did such a great job. And it was so cute to see how much fun he had building it. Now he's talking about building a desk for me. Heck Yeah! :)

Pinterest Party

Friday night Brenda and Danielle came over for some food, sangria, and crafty fun times. It was A LOT of fun. I think we should make it a monthly event.
We've been finding all sorts of cute fabric flowers on pinterest so we decided to get together and actually make some.

The yummy Fondue














Crafting away














The necklace I made, I'm already planning my outfit for 4th of July :)














So what should our theme for the next pinterest party be?

Snow Day

The way this winter has been I was afraid Benjamin wouldn't get the chance to play in the snow. We've had so many days in the 50's the past few weeks, it's been nice for play time and walks outside but I really wanted him to experience snow.
Soooo, I was super excited earlier this week when we got a couple of inches. Not so excited about the hour and a half commute to work but excited to play in it :)

The first thing we did when we got home from work was bundle Benjamin up and take him outside.














He looks like mini line backer :)















Once he fell down, it was super hard to get back up.














Helping David shovel the drive way














I think it took us more time to get him dressed than the time we actually spent outside. But it was worth it.

Addicted to Goodwill

We Love Goodwill. We probably stop by the local goodwills about once a month. It's always a hit or miss but this week was definitely a hit :)

David found all of this stuff for Benjamin at a few different locations this week

• Yellow and Blue mini folding chairs $4 each
• Backpack with wooden blocks $3
• Power Wheels Fire Truck $10
• Little Tikes work bench with tools $10

We wiped down everything with disinfectant wipes and soaked the plastic tools is diluted bleach water and then washed with soap because Benjamin is still putting stuff in his mouth to chew on. I can't wait for these molars to come in. It seems like he's been teething FOREVER!!!

David's actually out and about right now and said he was going to stop by the Goodwill in O'Fallon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed he comes home with more goodies!

December Birchbox

December was my third month with the Birch box subscription. I still love seeing the box in the mailbox every month and racing inside to open it up to see what's inside :) I just loving getting good old fashion mail that's not a bill or credit card application.

Here's the break down

• Oscar Blandi-Invisible Volumizing dry shampoo
• Atelier Cologne
• Jouer-moisturizing lip gloss in pink
• Nuxe-multi usage dry oil shimmer
• Prep Showstoppers-designer fashion tape
• Recharge EBOOST-Orange natural energy booster

My November box had a bottle of Zoya nail polish in the Holly color. I used it for Christmas and loved it. Katie passed along a promo code today to get two bottles for free! You just have to pay $6.95 in shipping. Each polish is $8 so I definitely took advantage and picked out a fun pink and blue color

Tobi

Zoya.com

And Yummy

zoya.com

I think the promo code expires on the 9th so hurry up. Promo code is zoya2012.

Play Date with Evan

We took Benjamin over to our friends house last week. They invited us over for a little play date. Evan is about 5 months older than Benjamin, they were super cute together. They didn't really play together, more like playing side by side and a lot of looking at each other. But I was really impressed how well behaved both of them were. Considering how crazy Benjamin can be at home, he was pretty mild with Evan.

Evan with his choo choo whistle and Benjamin with a spoon (of course, anything to do with food-Benjamin will find it). Look at all that blonde hair and blue eyes. I can't get enough of it!!! :) You can't really tell but Evan has a football on his sweatshirt too. They were just so darn cute together!

More Pinterest Stuff-Organizing my scarves

David hung up a curtain rod next to my jewelry box today so that I can finally organize my scarves. They used to be shoved in a drawer but now they look pretty, almost like they're hanging at the store waiting to be bought :)
I think we should hang a mirror above the scarves, or maybe a couple of shelves? I don't know, I keep going back and forth and can't decide.



















That's my earring organizer hanging above my jewelry box. I made it around this time last year when I made a new years resolution to be more organized. I think I'll keep that resolution for 2012 too :) I'm going to have to come up with my top 5 resolutions by the end of the week, otherwise my list will be never ending.

New Years Eve

We stayed low key for New Years Eve this year. We stayed at home and had a few visitors throughout the night. David started a bonfire and we had a few dance offs with the kinect game Dance Central 2 :) I had a ton of fun and am so excited it's a new year, I have high expectations for 2012.

Here's a few pictures from the night

Yes...I have new bangs :) It took a few minutes to get used to it but I'm kinda in love with them now. Benjamin stayed up until about 8:30, he was a trooper.















Katie playing her hand at the kinect adventures game















David and Brian boxing it out














It was definitely a fun night at home. We've decided next year we're going to do a big hotel party. Ya know, the kind you get all dressed up in fancy dresses for. It's a whole year away but I already can't wait :)