Here I go again

Every year I say that I am going to be better about blogging and every year I make it just a little bit further into the year. In 2013 I made it through to March and then I quit. Life got in the way, work got in the way and sometimes I was just being lazy or didn't feel like I had anything to say. And so, here I am again, with renewed ambition. We all have things that help us ease stress and induce calm. Writing does that for me - even if it's just talking about some new recipe I tried. Refocusing my energy away from work (especially now that I have a newer, more intense job) and towards something else is always refreshing and relaxing....and my family will tell you if it's one thing I need to do it's relax.

I know that it's not quite the new year, but I thought maybe I would start now. I'm really only two days away anyway. And I'm totally stressing out about the next 6 days. In 6 days I am flying to Boston where I will be staying for 6 weeks! I'm worried about leaving my work behind, I'm worried I'm not going to pack the right stuff, I'm worried about the unknown that will meet me in Cambridge, I'm worried that I'm going to miss my husband and kids so terribly that I'm going to be miserable, I'm worried about making friends, and on and on and on.

I'm working on quelling some of my fears. I've already written list after list after list for packing. And, if you follow me on Pinterest, you'll know that I've been compiling outfits that are inter-related so that I can maximize pairing different things together. I've done my best to get things taken care of at work ahead of time but I am still leaving in the middle of contract negotiations with a sensitive group that has already been through a lot.

 Mostly, the main root of my fears is that I feel selfish for pursuing this schooling (at Harvard! Did I mention that?) at the expense of the hubs and my kids. I'm going to miss my daughter's birthday. I'm going to miss countless wrestling matches and basketball games. I know they'll be ok and can make it without me, but I work hard to make sure our family life runs smoothly. Perhaps I won't be scarring the kids for life - heck, maybe they'll barely notice - but either way I hope that I am at the very least showing them what it means to take the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that are presented to you and finding a way to make it happen.

Now, I have to get back to creating my family notebook for my mom. (She's going to be staying here off and on while I'm gone.) As I've been typing it I almost think it would a nice thing to have around all the time - contact info, medical stuff, dog care, kids chores, their schedules - but I hope that it helps her.

I know that I will be reachable by phone. And I hope to be able to Skype with them every night. And, we even are taking the opportunity to fly them out to see me for a week. But I still won't be here at home.

Menu #5 of 2013

Well it's easier to make a menu when you get to carry over a bunch from the previous! I'm kind of excited about this menu because there are many times that we get to the end of the menu and I've either put off all the things that take a little longer or I just don't feel like cooking the couple of things that are left. That's the dilemma right? Trying to make sure you have 2 weeks of stuff you actually want to eat. It's just so fun in the beginning of the menu period when you have 14 delicious meals to choose from. When you are down to two time-intensive meals, both of which are not what "you feel like tonight," it's much harder to resist running to a restaurant.

So here's Menu #5:

• Thai Peanut Wraps
• Chiken Broccoli Packets
• Flank Steak with Chimichurri & Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
• Crockpot Zuppa Toscana
• Tortellini Soup
• Steak w/Chicago Marinade & Baked Potatoes
• Italian Chicken & Noodles
• Shrimp Scampi
• Salmon (AGAIN, I actually made this last week) with Roasted Vegetables
• Baked Eggs & Hashbrowns
• Hamburgers & Buffalo Cauliflower
• Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage
• BBQ Pork Fried Rice
• Chicken Fajitas & Mexican Rice

Tonight we had the Pesto Pasta and it was delicious! And fast! I really recommend this one. The kids were immediately saying this one was a keeper and Logan doesn't even like pesto. We didn't hardly modify the recipe so here it is, copy and pasted from Gimme Some Oven: (my notes are in purple)

Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage & Roasted Brussels Sprouts  

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and any yellowed/browned outer leaves removed, then sliced in half
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 lb (16 oz.) orecchiette (or any pasta) [I used whole grain medium shells]
• 4 chicken sausage links (I used spicy Italian), sliced into 1/4" thick coins [I used 5 - Aidell's Apple Chicken Sausage from Costco]
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup pesto
• Parmesan cheese, for serving

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together brussels sprouts, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, salt and pepper. Gently stir until well-combined.

 

Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then spread the brussels sprouts on it evenly. Roast for about 20-30 minutes, stirring once partway through, or until they are crispy on the outside and cooked on the inside. (My batch of tiny sprouts only took about 12 minutes to cook.) [We cooked ours for 15] Remove from oven and set aside.

 

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning occasionally, until nearly-browned, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic, and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and the sausage is browned.

 

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. (I begin heating my water while preparing the brussel sprouts, and added the pasta to the boiling water just after beginning to cook the sausage.)

 

Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water (reserving 1/4 cup pasta water), and then toss together the pasta, pesto, cooked sausage and garlic, and brussels sprouts. Add in some of the reserved pasta water if needed for extra moisture.

 

Serve warm, and sprinkle with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

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Menu #4 of 2013

Wow, I can’t believe I haven’t posted ANYTHING since February 5^th! February has been a busy month though. The hubs had to go to LA for work for a good chunk of February so I was single-mom-ing it for a while. My last menu was made before Bud went to LA and, while I was pretty good at still coming home and making dinner, we did fudge a few nights.

Here’s menu #4 of 2013:

·        Chicken Broccoli Packets

·        Enchilada Casserole

·        Hearty Chicken Stew

·        Cilantro Lime Jalapeno Chicken Salad

·        Thai Peanut Wraps

·        Flank Steak with Chimichurri & Homemade Sweet Potato Fries

·        Crockpot Zuppa Toscana

·        Brazilian Shrimp Soup & Pao de Queijo

·        Grilled Pork Chops, Grits and Brussels

·        Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

·        Tzatziki Pasta Salad

·        Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage

·        Salmon & Roasted Brussels

·        Hawaiian Grilled Chicken & Spinach

I wish I would've gotten this post up when I originally wrote the list but alas, life gets in the way. So there are some carryovers to next menu because of the following:

Lilly was having a VERY bad day one day and told me that she would feel better if she got to have Chinese food for dinner. So I stopped at Lucky Dragon on the way home. She was right, I saw her smile after that.

I hadn't been feeling great - and my back had been hurting - so one night I swung by Pizza Hut and let them make dinner for us.

Because we just weren't in the mood to make Enchilada Casserole, we decided to go to Playa Bonita instead. It was a Friday. I really needed a margarita. :)

Since Brandon was gone and I was still cooking we ended up having a good amount of leftovers so one night I took the easy way out and cleaned the fridge.

Another night I forgot to take anything out to thaw and the kids said they wanted hot dogs, so we had hot dogs...and a can of baked beans....and store bought potato salad. It was yummy but UGH the preservatives we ate that night!

Here and there I think I quickly made something that was easy to grab from the freezer too. I definitely can't say that this was the ultimate home cooking couple of weeks. However, I did manage to make a good amount of new dishes - even one from Brazil! - and mostly they were all delicious.

Since I'm so bad at posting recipes (or linking to them), if you find me on Pinterest you'll be able to find these recipes. If you want to know what I did differently just let me know!

Happy cooking....and better luck next menu :)

BLTA's & Mushroom Soup

Like many American's my family loves a good BLT. I mean, it's bacon, do I need to say more? The hubs and I have always liked our BLT's with tomato soup but my dear girl isn't much of a fan. When I found this recipe for Mushroom Soup I knew we had to try it - and what better to pair it with than a delicious BLT(A) - my way!

Mushroom Soup
Click on the link for the recipe I re-pinned. I only made super minor modifications

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups of white button mushrooms, sliced thin
1 3/4 cups of baby portobello mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 c porcini mushrooms
1/2 c portobello mushrooms (gills removed) diced small
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 c vegetable stock
2 Tbsp flour dissolved in 2 Tbsp water
2 c half-n-half
Dash of nutmeg
Fresh cracked pepper
Wondra for thickening

1. Heat olive oil in a sauce pan. Add butter and lightly sauté garlic on medium heat.
2. Add in mushrooms, thyme, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium heat for 6 minutes.
 

3. Add in chicken broth. Stir occasionally until broth boils, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
4 Add diluted flour in, and stir constantly (while simmering) until the mixture thickens. Season with salt and nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5. Finally, add half-n-half, and bring to a simmer. Turn heat off.
6. Serve hot in your soup bowl. Add freshly ground black pepper.

I specified the mushrooms I used and liked and also left out the choices of dried vs. fresh thyme (I aways prefer fresh herbs and I happen to have a ton of thyme growing outside). I also try not to use heavy whipping cream anytime I can avoid it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE vegetable broth and use it often in place of chicken broth. Usually I buy the Knorr brand vegetable broth cubes. They dissolve quickly and easily and have great flavor. Also, I generally totally shy away from the use of nutmeg - for some reason I can taste it in almost anything and, for me, it overpowers a lot of dishes, but I did use just a pinch and it really worked.

BLTA's
I know you probably know how to make a BLT. But I like to put a little twist on all of the sandwiches I make - just so you know I made it :)

Ingredients:

1 lb bacon
4 large leaves of iceberg lettuce
3 lg Roma tomatoes
1 lg avocado
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
mayonnaise
sea salt & pepper to taste
8 slices multi-grain bread

1. Cook the bacon. I don't know about you but I hate when I bite into a BLT and the bacon all falls out the back. I've seen this technique across the internet for weaving and baking bacon for burgers and so I tried it for our BLT's and it works amazingly well.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Separate bacon into 4 groups of 4 slices. With the four slices stacked on top of each other, cut one third of the bacon off.

Next, line a large aluminum pan (with a lip) with tin foil. Place each of the four bacon slices next to each other. Using the pieces you cut off weave the bacon through, starting by alternating one piece over, one piece under to make a woven piece of bacon the size of your bread. Repeat for each of the 4 bacon groups.

Put the pan in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

2. Slice tomatoes. Sprinkle with fresh sea salt and lemon pepper

3. Peel the avocado and place in a bowl. Mash with a fork until it looks something like a really chunky guacamole. (Simply slicing avocados and adding them to your sandwich will have the same "fall out the back" effect as the bacon and again, I hate that!) Add the lime juice, the garlic powder and salt & pepper to taste.

4. Toast bread.

5. Take the bacon out of the oven and drain on paper towels.

6. Assemble your sandwich by spreading some of the avocado spread on one side of the bread and mayonnaise on the other. Lightly sprinkle oregano on the mayonnaise. Add tomatoes to the avocado side, and lettuce on the mayonnaise side. Place bacon weave on the tomatoes, close the sandwich and cut at an angle (perfect for dipping).

Like I said, I know we can all throw together a BLT. I just like to give mine a little bit of flair!

Menu #3 of 2013

I can't tell you the elation I feel when I've gone through all of my Pinterest food boards, planned out my menu, looked through my cupboards, copied the recipes, made my grocery list and cut out all the coupons that I know I'm going to use before I go grocery shopping. Oh, and I usually clean out the fridge in the process too. But not this time.

I have been sick. I don't know about you but when I'm sick our whole schedule gets thrown off. The hubs, bless his heart, tries his best to pick up the slack but for whatever reason things still just don't go quite as planned.

Because of my being under the weather, our dinner plans changed a bit. Here's what our menu ended up looking like:

Corn Dogs & a can of Corn

French Dips & Mac-n-cheese

Tuna Melts & Salad

Shake-n-Bake pork chops & canned Green Beans

Chicken Pot Pie from IGA

Pizza

Lasagna Rolls & Caesar Salad (I found a homemade Caesar dressing that is delicious!)

Mushroom Soup & BLTA's

Leftover Lasagna Rolls

Baked seasoned Chicken, Roasted Green beans and Rice-a-Roni

Mississippi Roast (tweaked my way, of course)

Linguine with Clam Sauce

Appetizers for Dinner (we went to a friend's house)

Superbowl Sunday snacks and sandwiches

You know that I'm sick when Corn Dogs end up on the menu. I'm usually pretty against having any kind of processed foods for dinner. We get enough at lunch or other times. I like our dinners to be made from fresh ingredients. But when you feel like death-warmed-over I'm happy just getting something edible on the table.

Saturday we were invited over to our friends house. We had a great time. I had a little too much vodka and, even though I brought my stuff, I never ended up getting my grocery list done. Luckily, because of the last two weeks I have plenty of dishes to carry over to this next menu. Here it is:

Loaded Baked Potato & Chicken Casserole

Greek Quesadillas & Greek Salad

Tofu Pad Thai

Flank Steak Rolls & Ratatouille

Turkey Melts & Baked Pickles

Enchiladas (see here's one of those favorites)

Shrimp Fried Rice

Crockpot Zuppa Toscana

Chicken Tiki Masala with Brown Rice and Naan

Ham Steak & Roasted Vegetables

Almond Chicken Pasta

Mexican Haystacks

Crockpot Honey Apple Port Roast & Crispy Brussel Sprouts with Garlic Aoili

Steak, Baked Tomatoes & Bacon-wrapped Green Beans

For the recipes I have tried I will post them on the blog, with my modifications of course. I try SO very hard to make a recipe exact at least the first time I try it but sometimes I just can't resist. I've considered posting all of the recipes with the menus on these posts but I think it will make them too long.

Try anything new and exciting lately? I'm always looking for tried and true recipes that are not a part of our regular repertoire so send them to me!

Going Granola...according to my Mom

Mom: (On the phone while I'm at work) "I'm at your house and I was going to throw a load of clothes in for you but I can't find your detergent."
Me: "It's in the cabinet over the washer & dryer in the glass jar."
Mom: "This powder with the yellow waxy things in it?"
Me: "Yes. I make it myself. It's much less expensive and is helpful for the environment (less plastic containers)."
Mom: "What are you doing? Are you going all granola on me?"

There are only 4 of us in my family. But with my husband being a big guy, not to mention working a dirty job, and having an 8 year old son, I do a LOT of laundry. I have been a Tide girl for a long time, particularly the liquid version, but about a year ago I came upon homemade laundry soap on Pinterest and decided to give it a try. I'm just getting down to my final glass jar of my second batch and thought I would pass my experience along because it really does work and it really is inexpensive!

I could hardly believe the claims - lasting for months upon months of laundry loads - but even still, I wanted to check it out. While I'm not the most frugal girl, and I'm not the most environmental nut, I do like to save money and keep plastic out of the environment as much as possible.

And so last April I tried the recipe I found on Pinterest. I would link to the original recipe I used but there are TONS of them and they are all about the same.

Here are the things I used in the first batch:



This picture is the property of simplelifeandhome.com

 

It took me 5 months to use it all! At 2 tablespoons per load it really goes a long way. The initial cost of the products listed above when I purchased them was $20.19! I don't know about you but I have never gotten away with $4/month for laundry detergent. And it works!

 

When I went to make the second batch I decided I really missed my fresh Tide smell. Since Tide doesn't make a powdered fabric softener, I went with Purex Crystals Fabric Softener and, because soccer season was upon us, I also added a box of Ultra Clorox 2 for Colors.

 

So, here is the complete list of the ingredients for the kind I like the best:

 

1 - 4lb 12oz box of Borax (You can find Borax in the laundry aisle. It is also good for your carpets)

1 - 3lb 7oz box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (found in the laundry soap aisle)

1 - 3lb container of OxiClean (found in the laundry soap aisle)

1 - 4lb box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (You'll have to get this in the baking aisle)

1 - 55 oz container Purex Crystals Fabric Softener (found in the laundry soap aisle)

1 - 49.2oz box Ultra Clorox 2 for Colors (found in the laundry soap aisle)

2 bars of Fels Naptha soap (found in the laundry soap aisle. You could also use Zote)

 

Here's what you'll need to do:

 

First you'll need at least a 5 pound bucket to mix all of the ingredients together in. Ideally you'll probably end up using this bucket as storage so make sure it has a lid. I keep the detergent in a smaller glass container in the cabinet and then refill from the bucket as necessary.

 

Next, you will want to shred the Fels Naptha. There are different suggestions floating around the internet on the best way to shred the Fels Naptha. In my experience and opinion the fastest, easiest way is to put it through your food processor. The first time I had Brandon shred it with a cheese shredder and while he's much faster than me, it was still hard work and took a little while. The second time I ran it through the food processor and was done in less than a minute.

 

Now, mix it all together and stir! Be careful where you are doing your pouring and mixing. When the borax, washing soda, baking soda, etc. come rushing out of the box it can create quite a cloud of soap dust (which doesn't taste very good either I might add).

 

Use the detergent just as you would any other powder detergent. For everyday loads you only need about 2 Tablespoons per load. I add an extra if I'm washing soccer uniforms, or other really dirty stuff.

 

Call it granola if you like, but I am quite happy with this method. And I'm totally down with anything that saves me money!

 

 

Menu #2 of 2013

After a December of stopping at the store every evening on the way home from work, or eating out, or eating whatever junk we could throw together I am SO happy to be back to meal planning. I've been following my first menu of 2013 almost exactly and it has been great. Made the menu and bought all the ingredients - all I have to do is pick which recipe I want to make. While some of the recipes I make take some time and effort I always feel like I spend as much time or more just figuring out what to make when I don't have a menu. Besides, trying all of these new recipes is fun, I enjoy putting them together and, so far, almost everything has been really tasty!

As has been my modus operendi lately I pulled many of these recipes from Pinterest. Don't get me wrong, we have favorites at our house - those trusty old standby's that always hit the spot - but I love experiencing new tastes! So here's menu #2:

• Loaded Baked Potato & Chicken Casserole
• Greek Quesadillas & Greed Salad
• Tofu Pad Thai (Lilly LOVED this recipe)
• Flank Steak Rolls & Ratatouille
• Tuna Melts & Baked Pickles
• Enchiladas (see here's one of those favorites)
• Shrimp Fried Rice
• Crockpot Zuppa Toscana
• Chicken Tiki Masala with Brown Rice and Naan
• Lasagna Rolls & Caesar Salad (I found a homemade Caesar dressing that is delicious!)
• Mushroom Soup & BLTA's
• Mexican Haystacks
• Crockpot Honey Apple Port Roast & Crispy Brussel Sprouts with Garlic Aoili
• Mississippi Roast (tweaked my way, of course)

I've been considering posting all of the recipes (maybe on a different page of my blog?) and/or creating a shopping list. Is there anyone out there that reads my humble little blog that would benefit from that? When I create my own shopping list I only write down the things I don't have on hand - and I usually have A LOT of things on hand (my friends say that they will be coming to my house in case of the Apocalypse).

Here's my family's review of Menu #1:

Steak and Shrimp - Baked potato - Caesar salad (New Year's Day).

This was the special at our local IGA and Brandon cooked them wonderfully!

Linguine with Clam Sauce.

One of my new stand-by's. I got this recipe from a Family Circle and I don't think I tweaked hardly anything. Everyone loves this one and the total cost for the entire meal is about $6.00 and it feeds the 4 of us plus one or two lunches the next day - depending on whether Logan is on a growing spurt.

White Chicken Chili.

Another stand-by. I picked this one because I can crockpot it for wrestling nights. One of my favorite recipes EVER.

Pork Carnitas Burritos.

We are having these tomorrow so no report yet.

Tofu Pad Thai.

I know a lot of people scrunch their nose up at the mention of tofu but it really can be quite tasty. I like to marinate it in an extra batch of the sauce for the Pad Thai and fry it until it is crispy. If you are hesitant I would encourage you to try it AND make sure you buy the extra-firm tofu - it has the consistency of chicken. The whole family loved this dish too and you can put it together in about 30 minutes.

Philly Steak Stuffed Peppers & Roasted Yukons.

Holy Smokes! These were delicious! I found the recipe on Pinterest - if you're on there you will probably have seen it. The problem is I used to work for a Philly Cheesesteak restaurant, run by a guy from Philly, who had his ingredients shipped from Philly and this recipe called for deli roast beef. I'm sorry but no proper cheesesteak, or cheesesteak-type food, can be made without prime sliced ribeye. That's what we made ours with and they were phenomenal.

Shrimp in Jalapeno cream sauce - Pinquito beans - Mexican Rice.

Another recipe we haven't quite gotten to yet. Maybe Sunday?

Skinny Chicken Pesto Bake & Veggies.

This is one of the first recipes I made in the new year and while Logan is not especially keen on pesto, I found these to be incredibly delicious, as did the hubs and Lil.

BBQ Kielbasa - Coleslaw - Potato salad.

Hubs and I are both working at the wrestling tournament this weekend so this will be a pretty easy dinner for Saturday night.

Quinoa Veggie Fried Rice.

I'm slowly but surely working this miracle food into our diet more and more. This was not my favorite recipe. I'm not sure I would make it again. It was ok, and everyone ate it, but it was not show stopping.

Crockpot Thai Peanut Chicken.

The kids and the hubs really enjoyed this meal. I found it to be lacking in peanut flavor and think if I make it again I will use a different type of peanut butter.

Parma Rosa Veggie Primavera.

This is just a throw together recipe for me. We love the Knorr powdered sauce mixes you find near the taco seasoning. Parma Rosa is one of our favorites. I like to work at least one or two vegetarian meals into each week. This isn't because I have anything against meat, I think that vegetarian menus use ingredients in new and innovative ways and that is something I really like. For this one I chop up whatever veggies we have around - zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, onion, red bell pepper - toss in a bag with 1/4 cup of butter, garlic and lemon juice and roast in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Cook your pasta and drain. Make up the sauce according to package directions and mix all together. Top with Parmesan cheese. Yummy!

Breakfast for Dinner.

Need I say more.

Seasoned grilled chicken over Zuchinni & Roasted potatoes.

This is a dish I had at Applebees (off their 500 cal and under menu) and decided I could recreate at home. Everyone liked it and it was super simple and quick to make.

Quinoa & Sweet Potato stuffed Portobellos.

This was another vegetarian dish. I LOVE that my kids have a dinner such as this one and ooh and aah over it. I'm so glad that I do not have picky eaters. I guess it helps that in general I'm a pretty good cook, and they've tried things in the past they didn't think they'd like and have been wrong, and so in general they trust me when I tell them I think they'll like it. A definite keeper. Can't wait to enter it into my Reedy Family Recipe Cookbook.

Stuffed Acorn Squash - Veggie Rice.

This one got the boot this time because I could not find acorn squash ANYWHERE! This is a really good recipe - especially in the fall when the weather is just turning colder and the leaves are falling outside. (Ok, I'm nostalgic) I replaced it with mustard rubbed Shake-n-Bake pork chops, roasted asparagus and Kraft Mac & Cheese.

Crockpot Noodle Bake (Brandon asked that I not call this lasagna. My homemade lasagna is his favorite and he cannot believe that this dish will do it justice - awww, what a guy).

Ok, I will admit it, I couldn't do it. I broke down and just made lasagna - the old fashioned way.

Tortellini Soup (Lilly's Birthday Dinner with Family).

One of the kids very favorite dinners....tripled in size! This recipe is good even doubled or tripled and is great for a laid back family get together.

Dinner out for Lilly's Birthday.

Maybe I was hungry but the Old Spaghetti Factory hit the spot!

I hope you all are inspired to try new foods. If you come across something you think we need to try please send it my way!

11 going on 25

It doesn’t seem like it’s been a year since I posted pictures of my cute baby girl on her 10^th birthday. She is now 11 years old and I can’t believe it. Her attitude and moodiness is far surpassing that of her age. Just recently I’ve watched her turn the corner from thinking Mom and Dad had most of the answers to thinking that Mom and Dad not only know nothing, but are unfair and cruel. I mean, I knew it was coming, I just thought we had a little more time.

Her whiny face hasn't changed much

For the big birthday celebration this year I took her and 4 of her friends to the ice skating rink, to the mall for some shopping, and to dinner. I really do like her friends. They are all really supportive of each other and they all have really unique and funny personalities. But I’m still the girl who never wanted to have kids and I was SO grateful that my mom asked to tag along. She is much better at tolerating the goofy, off-the-wall behavior than I am.

We started our day at the ice rink. Lilly was tentative about having a part of her party there because she didn’t want to come across as copying her friends (she’s been there for 2 other birthdays in the last month). But alas she couldn’t resist. The girls skated around for a little over an hour before their ankles were sore and they had each fallen at least once. They were ready to hit the mall!

After the giggly, goofy car ride to the mall we stopped off at Starbucks (Lilly’s favorite) for a drink. I was so impressed that after ice skating and Starbucks all of the girls thanked me. What good manners – nice work parents! And even though my mother doesn’t think it’s right, I love that the girls remember to call me Nichole and not Mrs. Reedy. I know that Mrs. Reedy is “proper” but that name belongs to my mother-in-law, not me.

We stopped in a PACKED Aeropostale, spent a long time in Claire’s, and perused through Justice, but JCPenney took the cake. The girls decided to try on prom dresses. Like my normal nervous Nellie self I was worried they were clogging the dressing room, or making too much noise, but my mom was quick to say, “Nah, this is fun. You’ll miss this. Let them go,” so I did. They tried on dress, after dress, after dress, taking time between each to model for Murmur. My daughter is such a character I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t end up pursuing an acting degree. She’s dramatic, she’s expressive and she’s over the top….and it’s SO cute even if it does get annoying.

 

 

 

When we were done crashing the dress department we headed over to the high heels so that the girls could attempt to break some ankles. It cracks me up to watch them attach personalities to the shoes. There they are, in their own clothes, with a crazy pair of high heels on assuming the personality of the person they think might wear them. A couple of turned ankles later (with no real injuries I might add) we put a stop to the high heels and headed to Macy’s.

 

Macy’s was not too exciting (except that we lost Murmur along the way – don’t worry we found her) and so we headed to Forever 21. They were all overcome with the aisles and aisles of cheap makeup, and jewelry, and accessories. I asked Lilly to borrow her phone (mine was dead) and she couldn’t find it. We looked through her purse but it was nowhere to be found. A quick check in with Murmur and off we went to retrace our steps. I was SO mad…and she knew it. We have had many discussions about the importance of keeping track of house keys, phones, and wallets. I couldn’t believe she lost the phone. Turns out there are still some nice, honest people out there, and someone returned the phone to a sales associate who turned it in to lost and found who called “home” and notified Dad that they had her phone. I was still really mad but the hubs reminded me to let her have a good evening. After some more tears from Lilly, and some deep breaths on my part, smiles started to return and we went back to shopping.

 

It had been a long, exhausting day and we were all ready for dinner. The Spaghetti Factory was packed to the brim but thanks to their call ahead seating we only waited about 20 minutes. By this time the girls were all jacked up on some candy they had purchased and all of their extra energy was directed straight at our waiter. They each ordered Italian sodas and while one would order, another would ask the waiter some bizaare question. When it was time to order, First Riley ordered a “rocket” off the kids menu (the word “rocket” was in the word search). Our poor waiter looked at her puzzled. “It’s on the menu,” she said, “right here.” Being a good sport he ran to the kitchen, came back, and said, “Sorry, the last one just took off.” The girls spent our whole dinner laughing, asking the waiter for special requests – like, “My lettuce is in too big of chunks, can you make it smaller?” – and in general showing their own special combination of humor and wit. At some point, because the rocket issue could not be let go, the waiter went and got the general manager. They barraged him with questions and requests. I think someone asked if he could please get One Direction to come to the restaurant. He was also a good sport and ended up leaving noting that “These are the girls that are going to make it. They are witty and smart and I can tell they’re going to do something with their lives.” In the end, they made the waiter guess their ages, guess their names, they insulted him by guessing he was 37 (he was 33) and told him that he was probably smart because he wore glasses. They were so happy with him putting up with all of their razzing that they insisted on giving him a tip. Being a good guy, he continued to hand the dollars back to the girls. Then Lilly, in an act I expect she will look back on in several years and laugh even harder, tucked two dollars into the waist of his apron! All I could do was shake my head and laugh – it really was pretty funny. Daniel, you made the girls’ night. They talked about dinner the whole way home! Thank you for being such a good humored and patient waiter.

 

 

Just when it finally seemed like they were tired and quieting down the giggling began again. We dropped the girls off, one by one and went home. At each stop Lilly asked her friend, “Did you have fun?” Everyone answered yes with a big smile. I truly think that some life-long memories were made that night. I can only imagine how hard they will laugh when they are at their high school reunion, remembering this night, and wondering how they got away with continually asking their male waiter for a rocket! (Sorry, I tried to keep my mind out of the gutter but they just kept saying it – over and over and over!)

I hope you had a fun birthday party Lil. Despite the large dose of hormones that you seemed to have gotten from Mother Nature for your birthday that has turned you into a moody snot, I still love you. You’ll always be my favorite daughter!

The Allowance Dilemma

From the time my kids were pretty small the hubs and I were discussing what we would do for allowance. Would we give the kids money for nothing? Would we make them earn it by doing chores? Would they earn more if they did extra chores? Would we take it away if they were misbehaving? How much do we give them? How early do we start? What can we teach by giving an allowance?

I have to tell you I have googled A LOT about this subject. I've read experts opinions, I've read other parents opinions, I've read blogs about how families have adapted some mixture of all the suggestions from the first two together. There are so many ideas, so many different takes on the subject, I was left reeling trying to consider all of the possibilities.

Initially we floated the idea of allowance to the kids when Lil was about 6 years old, making Logan only about 4 at the time. I didn't feel like I could leave him out so we implemented for both of the kids. I think I recall giving them like $1.50/week and they had to save at least $0.50 of that. The problem was they didn't really get it, didn't really care about receiving it and I was really bad about having the cash on hand to present to them every Friday. I think it may have lasted about 3 weeks at the most. They forgot to ask, I forgot to provide and so it went by the wayside.

Now that they are older we decided that it was time to implement allowance again. Several things prompted the beginning of this new allowance system.

1. Their wants are getting increasingly more expensive. With technology becoming more innovative and cool they want the latest gizmo and gadget. While we could probably get them some, if not all of it, if we really wanted to, we feel like they don't have any understanding of how valuable the item is. Someone hands you an iPod and it's like, "Great! Woohoo!" There is no concept of the fact that the little piece of technological parts you're holding in your hand cost that someone a pretty penny.
2. They value money. They are both at an age now where getting cash & gift cards is one of their favorite things. They like to know that they can buy something, with their own money, when we go to the store.
3. We want to teach them what it's like to be responsible with money. Not only are far too many of us up to our eyeballs in credit card debt these days, there aren't many of us that are on board with the "save up until you can afford it" mentality. Our society is so full of "needs" that are really just wants -  and damnit we need these things RIGHT NOW! The idea of waiting to get something you want is nearly lost on my generation and, if it's possible, is only getting worse for my children's generation.

As I researched what was working for other families and what the experts recommended I thought about the constraints we would face with regards to allowance. Here's what I knew some of our limitations would be: 1) I would not have cash for them every week on Friday. I never carry cash and I know I wouldn't stop on Friday after work to get it for them; 2) They will probably forget to bring their money with them to the store OR they might not know that we were going to stop at the store and thus not bring their money; 3) They had to have easy access to whatever system we implemented. Otherwise they'd just ditch the whole idea, money or not; 4) It had to be something that was visible. They will need to be able to see what's happened with their allowance.

In taking all of this into account I developed our own system. It's definitely a hybrid of all of those other cool ideas I've seen on other people's blogs, but it is customized for the way that we live.

First, we discussed how much money per week to give the kids. Many of the things I read suggested an amount equal to their age either per week or per month. For us, $10 and $8 per month seemed a little low considering the cost of consumer items these days but we were also unwilling to shell out that amount per week. In addition, because we have two children who are constantly arguing about what is fair, we knew it had to be the same amount for each of them. We settled on $5 each per week.

Second, the earn for chores or just be given the money question. While we like the idea of earning your money (that's how we get our money, right?), we didn't want them to think that they should get paid for helping out around the house. We don't get extra money for doing laundry, or picking up dog poop, why should they? We felt like it was more important for them to realize that they had an obligation to lend a hand because they are a part of our family and they live here, rather than pay them for chores.

Third, do we take money away if they are misbehaving? While this is tempting we felt like the main reason why we were giving them an allowance is to teach them the value of money and to learn how to be responsible with it. It is not part of a reward/punishment system and so we have chosen not to use it in that way.

Fourth, I read that many people made their kids split their money into different banks: spending, saving, and donation. We decided we also thought it was important for the kids to see what it was like to save their money and so we came up with a hybrid spending/saving plan. Of their $5 per week they are required to put at least 30% of that amount into a Spendable Savings Account (SSA). It is a savings account, but it is money that they will be able to spend. The caveat is that they will only be able to spend this money on a big purchase that they save up to buy. This stemmed from a goal Lilly had to buy herself an iPod. She had saved up $140 (the one she wanted was $200) and over the course of a few weeks piddled her money away on junk with nothing to show for it. The money in the SSA can only be withdrawn at $50 or higher. Also, for every four weeks they have $50 in their SSA they earn $2.50 interest. And that is compounded so if they have $100 for four weeks they earn $5.00 and so on.

Now that we had answered the important questions we had to figure out how to implement. Knowing that their allowance would not be my top priority I set up automatic transfers from our checking account to their savings accounts at the bank. This way their money would always be available and designated for them. I decided that the best way for them to keep track of their earnings, savings and spending was on a form that looks like a check register. I created these folders to hold their registers for both their regular spending account and their spendable savings account.

I created the registers to look and work exactly like the check registers of the days of yore. I say that because I haven't kept a check register in ages - I just use a debit card - but I do know how to use a check register if I have to and it's as good a tool as any to teach the kids how to manage their money.

I wanted to make sure they knew the regulations of the Bank of Mom & Dad up front so each of them have a copy of them in the back of their folders. These are the regulations:
 

·       Paydays are weekly on Friday.

·       You must save at least 30% of your allowance for a long term goal.

·       You must keep all purchases up to date in your register.

·       You are allowed to spend your allowance at any time, on anything you wish to purchase.  However, the items you buy can and will be regulated by the parents. For example, you can choose to buy candy but the parents have the right to deny access to any item that you buy, at any time, for any reason.

 

·       You ARE allowed to deposit more than 30% of your allowance into your spendable savings account.

 

·       There is a minimum $50 withdrawal amount from your spendable savings account. In other words, you cannot withdraw an amount less than $50. Any amount over $50 is ok.

 

·       Money in your spendable savings account will earn an additional $2.50 per month for every $50 in your account

I initially included a regulation that required that they add their money into their registers each week but upon further reflection decided not to. While I wanted them to think that getting their "paycheck" was important, I remembered that I get my paycheck whether I remember to pick it up or not. I complied with the regulations set in order to get my paycheck and the company I work for cannot then say since I didn't pick up my check ON payday that I don't get to have it. Since the goal is to prepare them for how money works in the real world I left that regulation out.

I also thought about letting them get themselves into a situation where their account could potentially go negative and setting regulations as to what fees would be charged - just like the actual bank. But I decided to hold off on that for now until they start to get a better grasp as to how this all works.

The kids have a pretty good memory of how much money they have in their accounts at any given time and I usually watch them when they add their paychecks in so I have an idea as well. This way they don't have to bring their wallets with them everywhere (where they get lost or stolen) and if we make an impromptu stop at the store they have their money available to them. We simply pay for their items separately and they take the reciept home and log it into their register. This way they pay the sales tax, they get whatever discount might be going on, etc. We haven't run into a time where they've gotten into the negative yet. If and when we do I will have to revisit my ideas about adding regulations on that subject.

We started this at the beginning of November and it has been going quite well. It is interesting to watch the differences between the two kids in the way they save and spend money. They are definitely both very different.

 

Logan began putting a little more than the required $1.65 into his spendable savings account ($2.00), but he is quick to spend his money. He is also the one who always remembers to add his Friday paycheck into his register.

Lilly hasn't spent much of her allowance at all. I think she may have bought TicTacs one day. But she designates a much larger amount to savings. She really wants to start earning the interest and building that savings account up because she wants an iPad REALLY bad.

 

 

 

Do your kids get an allowance? What system do you have in place?

 

If anyone is interested in getting the templates for my register, folder cover, a copy of my regulations or otherwise please let me know and I will post links to them as free printables.

First Menu of 2013

Well, 5 days in and I'm just now getting around to posting in the New Year. I had this idea that since we were spending New Year's Eve at home I would play games with my family, blog a little, surf the net a little, and watch the Space Needle's fireworks at midnight. While we did get some games in, the hubs and I ended up falling asleep on the couch by 9:30pm. The kids played the Wii until midnight and then woke us up to go to bed. Nothing like feeling old....

In any case, I did spend some time at the end of December coming up with our first menu of the New Year. Because I wasn't going grocery shopping until this weekend I had to make up a 5 day temporary menu and then my usual two-weeker. Here they are:

• Steak and Shrimp - Baked potato - Caesar sald (New Year's Day)
• Linguine with Clam Sauce
• White Chicken Chili
• Pork Carnitas Burritos
• Tofu Pad Thai
• Philly Steak Stuffed Peppers & Roasted Yukons
• Shrimp in Jalapeno cream sauce - Pinquito beans - Mexican Rice
• Skinny Chicken Pesto Bake & Veggies
• BBQ Kielbasa - Coleslaw - Potato salad
• Quinoa Veggie Fried Rice
• Crockpot Thai Peanut Chicken
• Parma Rosa Veggie Primavera
• Breakfast for Dinner
• Seasoned grilled chicken over Zuchinni & Roasted potatoes
• Quinoa & Sweet Potato stuffed Portobellos
• Stuffed Acorn Squash - Veggie Rice
• Crockpot Noodle Bake (Brandon asked that I not call this lasagna. My homemade lasagna is his favorite and he cannot believe that this dish will do it justice - awww, what a guy)
• Tortellini Soup (Lilly's Birthday Dinner with Family)
• Dinner out for Lilly's Birthday

Our first new recipe of 2013 was the Philly Steak Stuffed Peppers. They were delicious - though I did substitute the deli roast beef in the recipe for Prime sliced rib eye. I used to make Philly Cheesesteaks for a living and could not bring myself to try to pass off lousy roast beef into anything labeled "cheesesteak."  I have a goal to post that recipe, and my changes to it, soon.

Anything sound good? Got any suggestions for the future?