Good Parenting

 

Also known as: the day we turned the TV off.

Meal Planning - Week of December 10th

I kind of can't believe that I've kept this up as long as I have.  And honestly, I have cooked a good 95% of the meals I've intended to cook since I started this, so, pat on my back. 

However, last week was a bit of a bust.  The pesto and pea pasta that I had made a couple months ago (that Ben loved at the time) literally made him throw up this time.  I don't know if it was a rogue spaghetti noodle swallowed wrong, but after one bite it was obvious that he was over it.  And in need of a bath. 

I also did not check out properly when ordering my produce box, so all of the vegetables I thought were arriving on Wednesday never showed up, which made me have to alter my menu a bit for the remainder of the week. 

Throw in my teaching yoga two nights this week, and Greg spending one evening out with a friend, the motivation to cook just wasn't there most nights.

The week wasn't a TOTAL bust though, as the crispy black bean tacos I made were AMAZING.  Both Ben and Greg loved them - we will be repeating this one for sure.  (We used cheddar, not feta and I added in some of my my homemade guacamole).



As for this week, here is my plan:

Monday: Greg is going to make Chicken Parmesan for himself and Ben on Monday night, because I will be at a wine tasting and work dinner at The Barking Frog for our staff holiday celebration.  Dang it ;)

Tuesday: I have an all day staff meeting and Greg has a long day at work, so the plan will be to have my mom throw a Costco lasagna in the oven for us (she will be watching Ben that day) and I'll throw together an arugula salad to go with it when I get home.

Wednesday: Cod and Lemon Orzo Pasta with Asparagus and Tomatoes.

Thursday: BBQ chicken quinoa salad - This recipe calls for BBQ chicken, which I'll make in the crock pot during the day and then toss into the salad that night.

Friday: Cobb Salad Pizza - one of my favorite dishes that my friend Brenna has made for us!

Santa Visit #2

Ben was a little nervous this year meeting Old Saint Nick.  As soon as I put him on his lap and stepped away, he began to whimper a little bit...but it never turned into a full blown cry, (which would have been kinda fun).

 

Also, he looks ENORMOUS!  (Ben, not Santa).  Last year, little 12 week old Ben fit into the crook of Santa's arm.  Sigh. 

And just for fun, below is my picture with Santa when I was Ben's age.  I think he has a better poker face than I did :)

A conversation with Siri

Siri SO doesn't get baby talk.

XO Cookie Exchange/Jewelry Party :)

Tis' the season for cookies and jewels!

My friend Layne is a stylist for an awesome jewelry company called "Stella & Dot".  I have ordered a few items from them in the past, which I absolutely love, and as soon as I had enough space in our new home to host a jewelry party, I wanted to get one on the books to see her growing collection of jewelry!

Since the Chi Omega girls have an annual cookie exchange during the holidays, I volunteered to host this year and we combined it with a jewelry party.  Cookies, wine and jewels!  Yes, please!

For those of you that were not able to place an order last night and want to, or for anyone else interested in some new jewelry or need stocking stuffer ideas for others, please feel free to use this link - it's open for the next 3 weeks - here are the specials running right now:

It was SO fun to have everyone over to eat, drink and catch up.  I spent the better part of the day baking cookies, prepping food, cleaning the house and setting up for the party.  We have never had this many people over, and I think I underestimated the amount of time it would take me!  I was so thankful to have Greg there keeping an eye on Ben so that I could get everything together :)

On Saturday, I prepared the Honeycrisp Apple Sangria to soak overnight. 

 

I thought it turned out pretty delicious! 

Another new recipe I tried was Pumpkin Pie Dip.  My friend Hilary had made this for Thanksgiving and recommended it - and we loved it :)  Especially Ben!

Here are a few more pictures I took from the night:

At the end of the evening, Maeve and Ben had a little couch jumping party courtesy of Aunt Rachel as head supervisor and playmate.  Thanks, Erica, for capturing this amazingness.

 

 

The babies were completely WIPED OUT at the end of the night (yessssssssssss).

 Thanks everyone for coming over and for all of the delicious cookies :) 

A few pics from the weekend

This weekend was a busy one!  I felt as though I was moving from one project/chore to the next - but luckily, it was all enjoyable to-do's!

I had been scheduled to teach yoga last Thursday evening, but at the last minute I got a request from one of the other instructors to switch classes with her, which freed up my evening to go get our Christmas Tree!

Greg had heard about a lot in Woodinville from one of his coworkers, and I am SO glad we went to check it out!  Each tree was so beautiful, and we got ours for a great price!

 



On Saturday, I taught yoga in the morning, and then Greg and I (and Ben) hit the grocery store to pick up items for this week and stuff for the cookie exchange party on Sunday.  Ben totally seems to enjoy our trips to the grocery store these days.  It's funny how something that I used to do on my own has now turned into a family affair, but we have it down to a science now and it tends to be a pretty fun outing :)

 

On Saturday evening, we went over to the Christensen's house for dinner!  Laryd, their 4 year old, was so nice and patient with Ben.  It has been fun watching them together, and each time we get together, Ben is able to play with him a little bit more.

 

 

Here is a typical scene at their house -

Drinking wine, making dinner, chatting about fantasy football

Greg's Dream Come True