Meal Planning: Week of March 9th

Review from last week:

The coffee ancho chile short ribs were really great, but for some reason they didn't absorb as much of the flavor as I had expected.  They were very tender though, they just tasted more like pot roast than I would have assumed.

 

The kalua pork, which we had made before, was SO good and paired with the cauliflower rice - amazing.  I'm hooked.  I have tried cauliflower rice before and wasn't that impressed.  Maybe this is a different recipe?

After a meat-filled weekend, I was feeling the need for an off night.  Carrots, butter lettuce, cucumber, and basil with the spicy peanut dipping sauce I used for the Vietnamese wraps.

Greg and I LOVED these Chilaquiles and the pork we added put them over the top.  This will be a repeat recipe for sure.

Steaks with rutabaga-barberry tabbouleh and labneh cheese.  I don't think you could have paid me $10,000 to correctly identify a rutabaga prior to cooking this. It was good!

 

Italian wedding soup. I really liked the pasta in this recipe (Fregola Sarda).

Plan for next week:

Saturday: We are going to Callie's house for dinner on Saturday!  Looking forward to some nice weather and I know Ben is going to be thrilled to be back at his second home :)

Sunday: I've been wanting to make another batch of these Ricotta meatballs with Chianti Sauce, so I shall.

Monday: Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Biscuits

Tuesday: Leftover meatballs.

Wednesday: Leftover chicken.

Thursday: Crockpot Kalua Pork, Cabbage and Cauliflower rice.

Friday: Leftover pork. And margaritas.

 

Week in Photos

Dr. Ben, giving us check ups and showing us how to say "Ahhhhhhhhhh":

 

A morning with our trucks:

 

I recently got upgraded at work to a Surface Pro 3 and it's CHANGED MY LIFE.  Goodbye old, slow, heavy laptop that took at least 15 minutes to boot up that I had to haul back and forth to the office every day.

 

We purchased a family membership to the Science Center last weekend and met some friends.  Ben's favorite attraction was the selfie booth.

 

And the water exhibit outside:

 

Selfie at brunch:

 

We had planned on going to Portage Bay Cafe for breakfast before the Science Center, but it was packed and they were not accepting walk ins.  We stumbled down the street a few blocks and had the most delicious brunch at Serious Biscuit, a place we had been wanting to try forever.  

 

Greg testing out his new golf net:

 

Me, Brenna, Paige, Max, Maureen, Emmett and Becca celebrating Cam's surprise 40th birthday party (and Ben's first time "bowling")!

 

A few pictures proving that Ben seems to be doing at least OKAY at school when I'm not there...

 

Ben has been obsessed with the movie Cars, (and to be honest, I really like it too).  I bought him these little car figurines and he loved them - so much so that he wanted to nap with them watching over him for the first few days he had them :)

 

A fun playdate with Bronson (and Shauna, and Alivia):

Goofballs!

Dear Ben

 

Yesterday was tough for Ben.

Transitioning into school has been a little emotional and not what I expected for him. I had assumed that he would thrive in an environment full of kids his age, which I'm confident will be the case soon, but to be honest, I think the change of pace and scenery has been a little abrupt and overwhelming for him.

When I walked into the cafeteria yesterday to pick him up, he took one glance up at me walking in the door and broke down into tears as he ran towards me. When he finally could muster the words, he said "Can you take me home Mommy? I'm feeling sad". 

While I have had experience with feeling empathy for others in the past, I don't know if I've ever felt it so strongly as I did in that moment. I was ready to pull him out of school, quit my job and home school him through college. It truly broke my heart.

It occurred to me that in this very moment in our lives, there is absolutely nothing that brings comfort to Ben like the site of his Mama. At school, he was crying tears of relief because when we are together, all is right in his world and he feels safe. 

I never ever want to take that for granted and it pains me to think know that I will not always be able to provide that for him. One day, the sight of me or my holding him in my arms will not be enough to erase a tough day out in the world.

Last night, the nasty cough that Ben seems to have had come and go a zillion times over the past 4 months woke him up. He cried until I came to be with him in his room, continued to say "I want mama" even as I was holding him, and proceeded to barf down my arm because he was so worked up. But the entire time I was changing my clothes, and his, and his bedding, and getting him water, and Tylenol, and adding water to his humidifier, and finally rocking him back to sleep in my arms, all I kept thinking about was how lucky I was to be the one there providing him comfort and how grateful I was that it was me he wanted. I was in his bed, pinned underneath him, frozen because I was too afraid to sneak out because I wanted him to stay calm and asleep. And cherishing every second.

I now am realizing that for the rest of my life, no matter the circumstance, I will be feeling his pain, wishing I could fix everything, and hoping that he still will turn to me (to us) to help him. I don't knew how many more months or years (please GOD let it be YEARS) that he will be soothed by me and want me there when he is sad.

So, Ben, should you read this someday: Being your mom has been the greatest gift and the best experience of my life. I hope you always know we are here for you and I hope you always know and feel how much we love you. I will be working hard everyday of my life not to screw up this bond we have right now :)

 

Meal Planning: Week of March 2nd

Review from last week:

A few tried and true recipes don't need reviewing :)

I was happy to come home to a big plate of MEAT on Tuesday after I had to stay late at the office.  Thanks, Greg!

One of the Blue Apron dishes this week was inspired by one of the winning dishes from the Top Chef Finale this season. Crispy chicken thighs with braised lettuce, kimchi & mushrooms.  It was so good.

Lamb and Beef Shawarma with creamy radish salad. 

 

Tilapia Meuniere.  This was especially good.  God I love Blue Apron.



Plan for next week:

Saturday: Crockpot Coffee Ancho Chile Short Ribs OMG.

Sunday: Out to eat! 

Monday: Crockpot Kaluah Pork and cabbage with a side of cauliflower rice. 

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Blue Apron Meal - Roasted Poblano Chilaquiles with Sunny Side-Up Eggs and Avocado.  Knowing my husband, as I do, I'm going to set aside some pork on Monday to add to this dish because I'm certain he would divorce me if I served him Chilaquiles, one of his favorite dishes, without meat.

Thursday: Blue Apron Meal - Za'atar-Spiced Steaks with Rutabaga-Barberry Tabbouleh & Labneh Cheese

Friday: Blue Apron Meal - Italian Wedding Soup with Fregola Sarda and Spinach

 

Week in Photos

For possibly the most random birthday celebration ever, and a seriously fun and hilarious way to spend an hour, we celebrated Lisa's birthday trapped in a room with a zombie.  I couldn't recommend this event more if you are looking for a fun and exciting mini adventure. 

 

 

 

My mom picked up a fun sticker book for Ben to play with when she was watching him the other night, and he has been enjoying sticking them everywhere BUT the book itself :)  Luckily they are reusable stickers!

 

 

Earlier this week, Ben had his 40,746,296th cold of the season, so instead of spending the day at school coughing all over everyone, he joined me for a few hours at the office (while he coughed all over my keyboard, phone and desk).  I also showed him how the copy machine works.

 

 

I finally got to meet baby Alivia James Broady, Bronson's little sister, on her 3rd day of life.  Lovvvvvvve her and loved seeing Shauna as a mother of 2!

 

 

A friend posted a picture using an app called Waterlogue and I quickly downloaded it and transformed some of my favorite pictures:

 

A lovely morning at the Children's Museum with a quick timeout when he refused to take a potty break.  (I won).

 

Maeve and Ben had a blast running around the house like maniacs, which resulted in a much needed bath.

I swear, it WAS a fun day.

A morning at the beach with my little guy.

"Mama, I made you breakfast"!

Meal Planning: Week of February 23rd

Review from last week:

I had forgotten how delicious these meatballs were.  And the sauce has prosciutto in it - so you KNOW we loved it.  I will be making another batch of these soon.  They made for great leftovers.

Callie, Mira and Maylee came over on Monday and we made pizzas!  Ben was THRILLED to have them over to play. 

The Blue Apron meals were interesting this week.  We especially loved the shrimp po' boys:

The orange beef lo mein was good, but Greg reported that he doesn't like his noodles sweet.

The last blue apron meal we made, chicken and sage biscuit pot pie, was by far the best. Enjoyed this one on Friday with an extra large pour(s) of red and caught up on our shows from the week.



Plan for next week:

Monday: Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken and Creamy Lentil Soup for lunches for the week.

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Blue Apron Meal: Lamb and Beef Shawarma with Creamy Radish Salad

Thursday: Blue Apron Meal: Tilapia Meuniere with Moroccan-Style Lentils & Rainbow Chard

Friday: Blue Apron Meal: Crispy Chicken Thighs with Braised Lettuce, Kimchi & Maitake Mushrooms

Saturday: We are headed to a birthday party in the afternoon and will probably grab some take out on the way home.