Meals for the Week

We are working on saving money and for us one thing that means is less eating out. Since we have lived in England, we do eat out a lot less. We still want to cut back some. I am proud that last week we went the whole week without eating out. Saturday, we headed out to a local shopping mall and I packed us a picnic lunch to take with us. It was great since as soon as I get out somewhere I get hungry. I think we only spent about 15 pounds that afternoon and it wasn't on food. It was great. Steve and I did go out on Saturday night though. It has been weeks since we have been out together. We enjoyed a nice dinner at Coco's (a mexican restaurant) in P'boro.

So, in our efforts to save money and eat out less, here is this weeks menu.

Monday - Grilled Apple Pork burgers, potatoes on the grill, veg
Tuesday - Pesto Chicken Penne, fresh bread, salad
Wednesday - Baked Potato Bar, salad
Thursday - Stovetop casserole, corn
Friday - Grilled pork chops, bread, coleslaw
Saturday - Hopefully, we will be in London for the day (that is if everyone is healthy).
Sunday - Tuna melts with chips and salsa

Pregnancy and Food

I know I mentioned this in my last blog a little, but I wanted to explain myself a little. For the last 7-8 weeks, food and I have had a love hate relationship. The hate part comes when I need to eat (or be sick) and nothing sounds good. I search the house over for something to take away my nausea and head ache, but usually I find nothing that would be beneficial to my body or to the baby's.

Which brings me to my next point. I have always had a sweet tooth, especially loving anything chocolate. In the past, I would have had to have a sweet snack in the afternoon and again after dinner or before bed. About 10-12 months ago, I really started working hard to eat a bit more healthy. I cut out my afternoon snack of cookies or candy. If I was hungry, I would eat a banana, orange or some nuts. I would only eat sugary foods after dinner or before bed. I even tried to do it right after dinner as I have read it is healthier to stop eating a couple hours before bed. I was doing really well and I was proud of myself. I didn't even crave sweets as much. When I became pregnant this time, I was relieved and happy that I had already gotten myself into the habit of snacking less and choosing more healthy options. Well, let me say that is all out the window. I crave sugary food all the time now that I am pregnant, especially after meals and in the afternoon. I can't resist. Why is it that at the time when I should be eating things healthy for me and baby, I can't? AHHH! It is so frustrating.

So, if anyone has any ideas of healthy snacks I could try or ideas on snacking while pregnant, please leave me a comment.

Weekly Meals

This weekend started off great, on Friday a friend of mine called to say she was making her delicious Lentil Curry. She was wondering if I would like her to save me some. I was so pumped. Her curry is a yummy vegetarian curry packed with vegetables like butternut squash, sweet potatoes, spinach, potatoes, and peas. I usually don't like vegetables at all and hardly eat them. That is why I was surprised when I first tried her curry and loved it. I crave it. I have begged her for the recipe and will continue to beg until she gives it to me. She says it is so easy. I just need the base of how much of what and I will be happy. I so want to have this recipe. I picked up the curry on Friday night and we ate it on Saturday night. There was enough leftover that we also had it last night as well. I am so thankful for friends that think of me. I just hope I am as good of friend to everyone around me.

It is so funny how my life revolves around food now that I am pregnant. This is another blog in itself. Maybe I'll get to it later this week :) Here is what we will be eating this week. This along with chocolate chip cookies I plan to make this morning. Yep, another craving!

Monday - Lentil Curry, salad (pizza for the kids who don't eat curry)
Tuesday - Poppy Seed Chicken, corn, bread, salad
Wednesday - Tacos and applesauce, lemon bars for dessert
Thursday - Grilled cheese and Tomato soup
Friday - Frozen pizza
Saturday - Grilled chicken, potatoes, bread and salad
Sunday - Nachos

Number 7!

If you haven't already heard or seen the image on our sidebar, we are expecting baby #7 in mid January. We are thrilled at having a new little one join our family. The new one and our next youngest will have the largest gap in age that we have ever had. He will just be two when the new one arrives. The kids are excited as well. It just amazes us how welcoming they are to having more siblings. You would think selfishness would kick in, but not with them. They think the more the merrier. The kids are having a fight on what the baby will be. The girls want a girl and the boys want a boy. Our dd4 is sure it is a girl and will argue her case to anyone who says otherwise or argues with her. It is pretty funny. We will find out (probably) what we are having at the beginning of September.

If you have just found out, please don't feel like you are the last to know. We just started telling people last week. I thought I would put the baby ticker up on the sidebar for a week to see who noticed. Then I would post this this week. This is a picture from our 12 week sonogram we had last week.

Weekly Menu

We are working on our last week of school this week. We are all ready for a little break. Also, this week I am trying to catch up from being gone on Monday. I plan to order my groceries this afternoon and have them delivered tomorrow. I hope they have slot, because I don't know when I will have time to go to the store otherwise. Here is what we will be eating this week.

Monday - Out, we were on our way home from Legoland
Tuesday - Meatballs, mashed pototoes, peas, and bread
Wednesday - Fajhitas, Mexican rice
Thursday - homemade pizza regular and pesto tomato
Friday - Grilled pork chops, corn, salad
Saturday - Apple pork burgers, potatoes on the grill, salad
Sunday - Nachos

Potty Training in Our House

A friend of mine asked me to write tips I have on potty training. I have been thinking about it and pulling ideas together in my head. At first I thought, I don't have any advice because it doesn't always happen when or how I would like it to. I have learned a few things about potty training though and I do have five who are potty trained. So, we've done something right.

Facts I have learned about potty training:
1. Girls train earlier than boys, sometimes as much as a year earlier in our case. Girls seem to care more about this sort of thing. They want to be grown up. Little boys are too busy playing to care or notice they have to go. Plus they really don't care much if they pee themselves. The girls don't like it so much.

My oldest daughter trained at just before 2 1/2. My middle son was torture to train and he didn't do it until he was 3 1/2.

2. They get it and it clicks when THEY are ready, not when when I am ready. Unfortunately, even after training lots, I forget this and try to pressure them to train. I so wish they would do it on demand and it would only take a week, but that has not been the way it has happened in our family. Each child is totally different, just as they are in everything and have trained differently. My most recent, youngest daughter, didn't even know what to do on the potty. She would sit on it all the time and say she peed. But, she didn't do anything. I left her be and didn't pressure her anymore and then a few months later I walked into the bathroom upstairs to find her pooping on the potty. From that point on, she figured it out and she did it. I loved it with her, because I always have found it easier to train for pee. This time, she was trained the other first.

3. Just as with any other tool for parenting, you will finds various opinions on how and when to potty train. Please remember that you are the parent. You know your child and your circumstances best. Don't feel pressured from others, do what it the best thing for your family.


Tips:
1. Buy lots of extra underwear, even old ones from garage sales or save hand-me-downs. Often one would poop in their underwear and it would gross me out so much (mostly I would have been pregnant) that I couldn't get myself to clean them out. I definitely wasn't about to slosh my hands around in the toilet to clean them. If I had old ones, I didn't feel bad about just throwing the they yucky ones in the garbage. This took a lot of pressure off me and has been so worth it.

2. BE PATIENT - they will get it eventually. Maybe not in your timing, but they will.

3. If it leads to stress on you and them - STOP! Try again in a few weeks or months. Sometimes, they just pick it up on their own without any pressure, like my daughter.

4. Don't feel pressured to have your kids potty trained by a certain age, because they are all different.

Hopefully, this has been helpful to someone. If you have a tip on potty training, leave a comment.

Weekly Menu

Okay, I'm trying to get back on track with meals this week. We had a great time with my hubby's mom and brother. We are looking forward to getting back into our normal routine this week. This goes for meals as well. We stopped at the grocery store after church yesterday and I made my menu as I shopped. I was hungry when I was shopping and as a result I bought a lot of easy to prepare food that looked good. I think it will be a bit easier getting back to cooking by doing some easy things.

Monday - Chicken breast sandwiches, coleslaw, oven baked potatoes
Tuesday - Tortellini, garlic bread, salad
Wednesday - Poppy Seed Chicken, corn and fruit
Thursday - Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Friday - Pizza delivery
Saturday - Something BBQ'd
Sunday - we may be gone, but if we are here we'll to Tuna Melts and chips with salsa

It feels so good to get the week sorted. We are also finishing up school in the next two weeks and we all look forward to a six week break.