After a bit of inspiration/motivation, I knew that my family's meal plan needed a major overhaul. After a summer of being lazy when it comes to preparing healthy foods (and relying a bit too much on processed foods) for my family, and not feeling the best that I know I should feel, it is time to get back to basics.
Last winter and spring, I had an excellent meal plan that incorporated a lot of fresh seasonal vegetables that the kids would try and actually enjoy. Even George (my most picky eater) was eating squash, peas, and most other vegetables I prepared (it was all in how and when they were served). I will be incorporating the same meal plan anatomy that I used then. I'm confident that it will get us all back on track!
Here are this weeks afternoon snack and dinner plans:
SUNDAY
Snack
none--late lunch
Dinner
Veggie Starter: Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Main Course: Creamy Pumpkin Penne w/ Crispy Sage
MONDAY
Snack
No-Bake Cookies
Dinner
Veggie Starter: Stuffed Mushrooms
Main Course: Tuscan Bean Soup w/ Bread
TUESDAY
Snack
Apples w/ Peanut Butter
Dinner
Veggie Starter: Salsa and Chips
Main Course: Veggie Fajitas, Mexican Rice, Refried Beans
WEDNESDAY
Snack
Phyllo Mushroom Turnovers
Dinner
Veggie Starter: ---
Main Course: Moroccan Lentil Soup
THURSDAY
Snack
Kiwi
Dinner
Veggie Starter: Chinese Green Beans
Main Course: Sesame Tofu, Brown Rice
FRIDAY
Snack
Chocolate-Dipped Almond Biscotti
Dinner
Veggie Starter: Bruschetta and Flatbread
Main Course: Spaghetti Squash w/ Pesto, Tomatoes, and Toasted Pine Nuts
SATURDAY
Snack
Grapes
Dinner
Eating Out!
Recipes for the meals above will be provided in later posts.
Linking up with:
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Friday, October 9, 2015
Week in Review 2015: #40
Life
Last weekend, we stocked up on food and other essentials in preparation for hurricane Joaquin. Thankfully, we did not get any damage at all. Areas south of where we live experienced a lot of flooding but we did well here. In the middle of the week, the sun made its first appearance in 12 days.On Wednesday, we celebrated George. October 7th marks the anniversary of his open-heart surgery. This year made two years. I made a short post about it here. For a more in-depth look at our experience with George and his congenital heart defect, you can read about his journey here. Doesn't his super hero scar look great?
The following day we celebrated my dad's 64th birthday. We joined him down at the farm where the logging trucks have just begun their work of clearing the forest in preparation for planting new trees. Later in the day, we went over to my parents house for birthday cake.
We finally made a trip to the library. We've been so busy with various different things (trips, birthdays) that I had not made a much needed trip for books. Now that we finally had books for school (and for pleasure), I could get back on track. The kids were nice and quiet after we got home as they looked through their new selection of books.
Homeschool
Handwriting
Bridget is finally doing her handwriting worksheets without putting up a big fuss. That's worth noting. I don't know what it is with writing. She has neat penmanship and always wants me to write stories for her as she tells them to me, but getting her to pick up a pencil and writing things on her own is worse than pulling teeth.
Science
We have been studying animals diets (carnivore, omnivore, and herbivore) and mammals. This week we studied big cats, beginning with lions and cheetahs. Next week we'll cover more big cats. Science is really getting fun.
A Few Books We've Read...
Outside and Inside Big Cats by Sandra Markle
Cats of the Wild by Alice Twine
Just Like My Papa by Toni Buzzeo
Family Movie Night
We finally watched African Cats! It is a great DisneyNature film following the family of a cheetah mother and her cubs and also a pride of lions. At one point, the two big cats come face to face. The movie was very well narrated and kept the kids attention. Bridget looked as if she was on the edge of her seat the entire time. It was exciting, funny, and at times heartbreaking. At one point (during a very intense part of the movie), my husband stated that this was just too stressful for him. But we all enjoyed it.
Next Week's Movie: TBD
Linking up to:
Labels:
birthdays,
books,
CHD,
first grade,
handwriting,
homeschool,
movie night,
science,
Week in Review
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
George: Two Years Post-Op!
Today is a special day, and it's a day all about George. It is not his birthday but it is a day I will remember each year for as long as I live.
George is now two years post-op! He had open heart surgery on October 7, 2013. It was the scariest day of my life, but he pulled through and he is stronger than ever. I am so grateful to all of his doctors and the nursing staff in the PICU who took care of him throughout this entire ordeal.
We are so happy to have this boy still with us. I look forward seeing him live a long and healthy life.
| October 7, 2013 (just after open-heart surgery) |
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| George today! Growing so big and strong! |
Labels:
CHD,
milestones
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Week in Review 2015: #39
Life
We had a good week! It started off with staying up extremely late on Sunday night to watch the lunar eclipse. The kids were so excited about it, but they couldn't make it to see the blood moon. I am glad that they were able to see anything at all because Sunday had been a very cloudy and gloomy day. Right about the time it got dark, the skies began to clear and we had an amazing view of the super moon right from our front yard. I was able to get some pictures of the lunar eclipse and you can view those a bit further down in this post.Wednesday was the big special day of our week. Bridget turned 6 years old! Wednesdays are busy for us, as Bridget doesn't get out of dance class until 6 p.m., so we only had a birthday dinner with my parents (who live just down the road) and opened a few presents, but no cake. She did get a few things she has wanted for a long time: a jewelry box, a wallet, and the movie Cinderella. I also threw in a few other items, such as the game Connect4, a new hairbrush and hairbands.
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| All three children on Bridget's 6th birthday |
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| Bridget and her new ballerina jewelry box. |
On Saturday, we finished celebrating Bridget's birthday. My husband's parents drove in from out of town, took us out for a birthday lunch, and we came home and had birthday cake. My parents came over for that as well. Bridget also got another birthday present that she had been wanting for a long time: an old fashioned baby doll. The doll itself is estimated to be about 59 years old and Bridget has committed herself to taking very good care of it. I think I will be helping her a lot with that, especially when it comes to keeping it away from her brothers.
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| Bridget and her antique baby doll |
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| Bridget's "sunflower cake" |
I guess I did good again, as Bridget said it was the best cake ever. That is what I was going for. I am so glad my birthday girl had an amazing birthday week.
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| Singing "Happy Birthday" to the birthday girl |
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| Blowing out her 6 candles, plus one more for good luck |
Homeschool
Grammar
I had gotten a bit behind in our grammar studies, as my focus had been a lot on reading, writing, and math. However, our everyday reading has helped Bridget so much that we were able to breeze through the lessons in her book, as she was already familiar with the concepts. I am happy to say that we did at least 3 lessons per day and we're almost back on track.
Reading
Bridget surprised me this week when she asked to read her BOB Books. I think we were working on writing at the time, and so we put that down and she read for about 30 minutes when it was time for me to begin preparing lunch.
I've been working with George on letter recognition. He has not been too interested with learning to read and at 3 years old, he does not know how to read all of his capital letters. I took some time this week to work on that with him and even purchased an app (my very first app purchase) on my kindle to practice his letters. It's his special thing now, and when he is being a bit too wild and noisy I just give him the kindle and open the app. Sometimes technology is a good thing (although I still stand firmly against it being my children's primary learning tool/toy).
Science
As posted above, we got to watch the lunar eclipse last Sunday. Even though we're supposed to be studying mammals right now, I took a break from that this week and we talked more about the moon, how the earth spins, the sun, etc. It's hard to not be in such awe when we look up at the sky and see the universe at work.
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| "Super moon" lunar eclipse, September 27, 2015 at 8:39 p.m. |
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| Lunar eclipse, September 27, 2015 at 9:51 p.m. |
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| Lunar eclipse, September 27, 2015 at 10:13 p.m. |
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| My teeny astronomers, up way past their bedtime. |
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| My love holding my teeniest astronomer. |
Family Movie Night
We were supposed to watch African Cats this week, but we decided at the last minute to watch Cinderella. We got it for Bridget for her birthday and we all had enjoyed seeing it at the movie theater. I need to remind myself of the message often: "Have courage, and be kind".
Next Week's Movie: African Cats
Linking up to:
Labels:
birthdays,
first grade,
grammar,
homeschool,
movie night,
outside fun,
preschool,
reading,
science,
Week in Review
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