Menu Monday

I'll include last weeks as well since I never got around to posting it.

Last Week:
Sunday- I honestly don't remember
Monday- leftovers
Tuesday- Pot roast with veggies
Wednesday- Homemade mac & cheese
Thursday- leftovers (I had a hair appointment)
Friday- beef and noodles
Saturday- stuffed shells

This week:
Sunday- Chili
Monday- leftovers (We have A LOT!)
Tuesday- parm crusted pork chops
Wednesday- leftovers, or grilled cheese & tomato soup
Thursday- tacos
Friday- pizza
Saturday- meatloaf

18 Months!

Isabella is now 18 months old.  A year and a half!  Wow.  Many of my blogging friends have started using an easy-to-read format for their monthly updates.  I think I'll try it out.

Age: 18 months

Weight: Not sure, but we'll find out at her check-up this week
Length: Again, not sure
Size: 18-24 months, mostly and I think she's about ready for size 5 shoes
Hair: Getting longer
Teeth: 14 and counting
Sleeping: Eh.  She's not a terrible sleeper, but the teething has caused some disruption.

Eating: She's all about pasta, bananas, cheese, crackers, and mandarin oranges.  She still prefers ground meats over all others.  She hasn't been eating her veggies as well lately.  She's getting better about drinking milk.  She is also getting better at using utensils, although sometimes they just slow her down. ;)

Movement: Cuh-razy!  Seriously, she is all over the place.

Milestones:  First peanut butter sandwich!  She loved it.  

Favorite toys/activities: Kitchen, magnets, coloring, reading books, "helping" Mommy, playing ball

Dislikes: Being put down?  She's very clingy lately.  

Words/sounds: A lot.  Cheese, cracker, poo-poo (associates it with the potty and diapers, but doesn't tell me when she's gone yet), bear, banana, chair, Elmo, Mouse (as in Mickey), Peanut (PP), and several more that I'm forgetting.  I swear she uses a new word each day.

I've been awful about taking photos, as usual.  Here are a few I was able scrounge up.


First peanut butter sandwich

 Having a snack at her new table.  We're very serious about nutrition, apparently.

Having a tea party with Peanut.

"Isabella, say cheese."

"CHEESE!"

Such a silly girl!

Menu Monday

Well, I didn't cook much at all last week since I was sick.  Some dinners were  pushed back again. 

Monday- Clint has class.  Isabella and I will scrounge something together.
Tuesday- Lemon pepper chicken
Wednesday- Another class night.  Isabella and I will have something quick and easy.
Thursday- Tacos
Friday- pizza
Saturday- Chicken Parmesan
Sunday- Chicken pot pie

Menu Monday

We have a house full of sickies today.  I'm pretty sure I have the flu.  I felt horrible yesterday- headache, body aches, stuffy nose, and chills.  Today I feel a little better, but now I have a little cough.  Awesome.  Way to spend my day off.

Clint is home today too.  He went to work and came straight home.  He says she has a stomach bug.  Sigh.  Isabella is teething, but otherwise good.  Cross your fingers that it stays that way!

Onto the menu.  We made some last night changes last week, so you'll see a couple of repeats that got pushed back.

Monday: leftover chili
Tuesday: Shepherd's pie
Wednesday: leftovers or grilled cheese
Thursday: pizza pockets

Friday: lemon pepper chicken

Saturday: tacos
Sunday: chicken pot pie

March for Babies 2011

Some of you may remember that I signed up to walk in last year's March for Babies.  That day wound up being very drizzly and the possibility of rain scared me out of taking Isabella.  I wound up not walking myself because I was worried that she'd need to nurse and wasn't sure how long the walk would take.  I dropped off my donations and came back home, disappointed.

I've signed up again this year and plan to walk, rain or shine.  I'll be sure to get Isabella a cute raincoats and rainboots just in case. :)

We would really appreciate your support of his wonderful cause.  At the right you'll find a handy tool to make donating easy.  Help us start of on the right foot!

2010 Christmas Extravaganza

For those of you who don't know us well allow me to provide a little background.  Clint and I both have divorced parents, and Clint's dad has remarried.  This accounts for four separate Christmas celebrations.  I have two brothers, one sister and a nephew.  Clint has two brother, a step-sister, and two step-brothers.  All of our grandparents are still living, except for my maternal grandfather.  Clint also has a set of step-grandparents.  We have several aunts and uncles, plus their children and grandchildren.  All of our immediate family lives within 45 minutes of our house.  Holidays get a little complicated.

We wound up with five family Christmas events this year?  If that seems like a lot now is probably the time to inform you that we once had nine.  Yeah, we've had to cut back to say the least. 

This year we had one dinner with my mom's side of the family a week before Christmas, Christmas Eve at our house with Clint's dad, step-mom, siblings, and their families, Christmas Eve at our house with my dad, brother, and nephew, A New Year's day Christmas celebration at Clint's mom's, and on Saturday my mom and sister stopped by to exchange gifts. 

That's probably enough text for you, right?  Onto pictures!



Best. Picture. Ever.

How cute is this outfit?!

And the boots!

Checking out the kitchen Santa brought her.

Opening gifts.

Books!

Ready to play some ball!

Another adorable outfit.  

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!

Menu Monday

I've got a long list of goals I'd like to achieve this year (I'll post them later on down the road).  One of them is to blog more regularly.  Many of the blogs I read post their weekly menus online and I always enjoy pulling inspiration form them, so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. :)  Menu planning has really helped our food budget.

I usually only plan dinner and just keep breakfast and lunch staples on hand.  I also only plan dinner for 5 nights a week since Clint has class two evenings a week.  Isabella and I have leftovers or easy meals like grilled cheese and tomato soup the other nights.  Tonight, it finally dawned on me that I could take advantage of Clint's absence and have breakfast for dinner since he absolutely refuses to eat breakfast food after 10 am.  Isabella and I just ate cheese omelets, toast, and applesauce.  Mmm.

I also try serve one Italian dish a week (my favorite), one Mexican (Clint's favorite), and one vegetarian (When my carnivorous husband doesn't protest too much).  Clint likes to have pizza once a week, but it doesn't always happen.  :)

So, here is my menu for January 10 - 16, 2011:
Monday: Clint has a meeting.  Breakfast for dinner.
Tuesday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans.
Wednesday: Clint has class.  Grilled cheese and tomato soup, or leftover meatloaf.
Thursday: Quesadilla casserole and salsa rice.
Friday: Pizza crescent rolls.
Saturday: Lemon-pepper chicken, four cheese risotto, and asparagus.
Sunday: Chili.