Yay for being organized :)

I've always been one for meal planning! Most of the time I just do a week at a time. I like to get all the groceries I need for the entire week in one shopping trip. It saves me time, money, and then I don't feel like I'm running around like a chicken with it's head cut off in the late afternoon trying to decide what we are going to have for dinner!!

During summer time things kind of become a little more slack. Bed time isn't always that consistent and dinner is not always planned.

In the past I've always just written out our meals for the week on paper. Over the weekend I bought a whiteboard calendar. Now I have five...yes that's right five weeks of meals planned.

 

On Sundays we have Pancakes with Strawberries and Whip Cream YUM...the best part is that Irish makes dinner for us!! 

For the next little while Tuesday is going to be our Crock-Pot night, as the kids have swimming lessons just before supper time, and this will make tuesdays a little less hectic!

So here it is:

Week 1

Sunday: Pancakes

Monday: Shepard's Pie

Tuesday: Sausage Minestrone

Wednesday: Chicken Enchiladas

Thursday: I don't have to make anything as it's our Stake Fall Fair

Friday: Spaghetti

Saturday: We are going to Waterton with my S-I-L and her family...so I'm assuming we're going to eat out ;)

Week 2

Sunday: Pancakes

Monday: Homemade Pizza

Tuesday: Hamburger Soup

Wednesday: Lemon & Herb Salmon with Rice & Veggies

Thursday: Freezer Meal

Friday: Warm Lemon Pepper Salad

Saturday: Left Overs

Week 3

Sunday: Pancakes

Monday:Creamy Beef & Noodle Bake

Tuesday: Turkey Meatball Soup

Wednesday: Chinese Sundaes

Thursday: Tacos

Friday: Left Overs

Saturday: Irish has a big date planned for us this night...so I'm assuming NO cooking for me!

Week 4

Sunday: Pancakes

Monday: Chicken Burgers

Tuesday: Chunky Pizza Soup

Wednesday: Beef & Bean Chimichangas

Thursday: Lemon & Herb Salmon with Rice & Veggies (we are not the biggest fan of fish, but we like the recipe I do for this...so it's the same)

Friday: Loaded Baked Potato & Chicken Casserole

Saturday: Stuffed Pizza Rolls

Week 5
Sunday: Pancakes
Monday: Hamburger Stroganoff
Tuesday: 3 Bean & Lentil Soup
Wednesday: Chicken Parmesan Cutlets with Rice & Veggies
Thursday: Freezer Meal
Friday: Left Overs
Saturday: Cajun Chicken Pasta

 I always write down where I'm getting the recipe from so I know where to look on the day that I'm making it! If it's from somewhere on the internet and we like it, I add it to my Binder!!

Feel free to use this as your new 5 week meal menu!! Enjoy :)

He's all grown up

My Big M...has grown up so fast! He had his first day of Kindergarten this week!! I can NOT believe that I have a child old enough to go to school!! How did this happen!?

The night before I was prepping him a bit. Telling him how I was going to go to school with him, do some paperwork, meet his teacher and then it would be time for me to go. He kept telling me that he could go all by him self the whole time...or in his words "Mom, I can go by myself all the days"

I agreed with him, reassuring him that he was in fact a big boy and could be at school 'all by himself', but that I had to go and do some paperwork, and would leave afterwords if he was okay with it.

I love his expression in the picture above. I think it captures his excitement (he's only been asking me every day for the past 4 months if 'today' was the day he gets to go to school), but at the same time it captures his nervousness for the 'unknown'. Marshall did not attend any pre-school, so he really had no idea what he was actually going to be doing in school...he just wanted to GO!

We sort of had two 'first days' this week. Tuesday was an open house and so all the children and a parent/grandparent/babysitter etc were to go. The adult was allowed to leave after the first hour if the child was feeling comfortable.

At the beginning of our walk to school he was still pretty persistent that I could leave...but by the time the school was in sight there was a little less jump in his step, and he started saying things like "I don't know any of the kids". By the time we got to the classroom, he was pretty much glued to my side!

I kept encouraging him and telling him that he was a brave boy, and could make friends with the other kids in his class.

By the second hour he was feeling a little more confident in himself as he and another boy worked on a puzzle together.

  What's not to like about school!? You get snack time!

It will definitely take some getting use to, not having him around the house for 3 hours during the day. I think the hardest thing for me is going to be just knowing that he is in someone else care...whom I have only met three times now...for brief periods of time.

Up until now he has been with me, a family member, babysitter (who I know) or primary teacher...at ALL times! I know I can't have him 'under my wing' forever...it's just hard to let your first one go...

It makes me happy that he is still excited about school and is making new friends. Today was our second 'first day'...after the open house day they had a staggered entry. Half the class went on Wednesday and the other half went today, Thursday...with no parent/adult there. So today was his first day, without me there.

As we were walking home from school today he said in such a proud voice "Mom, I made a new friend today! His name is Adam, but it's not big Adam (he has an Uncle Adam), just little Adam. (as he used his hands to show me how 'big' and 'small' Adam was...hehe.)

 I Love This Boy