ok, time to meal plan again!

Working and volunteering, being a mom and a wife, time is short. So, once again, I need to meal plan if we are ever going to eat at home again! This weeks plan: Cheesy Veggie Chowder:


Mini banana muffins (these are for quick before preschool breakfasts!


crockpot chicken and rice


turkey breast


beef stew with herb dumplings


tortellini veggie soup

Vacation Bible School for the Interfaith kid

We knew when we decided to raise Ethan as both Catholic and Jewish that it would not be easy. What we didnt think about was how other people would react, and how funny it might be. E went to vacation bible school at a wonderful local church.

This is a small community Presbyterian church that my friend has attended since childhood. The program was wonderful, the volunteers who helped every day were warm and welcoming, and made the experience special for each child. The overall message of the week was to trust God, and everything is possible with God (I am oversimplifying, he is 4!) It is a meaningful message, and really fits with both Jewish and Christianity. I love that Ethan not only got the message, but he sings the songs, and he tells me that nothing is impossible with god! He is also looking for God, and wearing his bracelet every day.

He had a wonderful time, and he loved learning more about God and Jesus. He is singing the songs, literally all the time, including right now! ("you, you, you, you can trust God") He is also quick to tell others he is sometimes Jewish, and sometimes Christian. :)

Of course, there are some messages in Christianity that you just cant find in Judiasm. Inevitably, there are questions. Why doesnt Jesus go to the synagogue? Why isnt there a cross there? Why don't we speak hebrew at church? Just a few questions I have answered recently.
Some funnies?
Mommy, Jesus was Jewish, but I think HE went to VBS!
Another funny, but not about VBS
Daddy, ask the JewPS how to get there!
T: what, E? what did you say?
E: the JewPS will give us directions. She tells us how to get there!
T: Do you mean GPS?
E: yes, JewPS! like the rabbi!

I think what we didnt realize about raising an interfaith child is how very much he would teach us. He opens my eyes so much about Christianity, and about Catholicism, and also about how much is so very similar in the Jewish faith, and that reminds us all too often that we are so much more alike than different. Ultimately we hope that E will find his own path to God, have a strong faith and a moral life. I think we are on the right path. Our thanks to Mimi (Missi dell'Orefice) and Forest Grove Presbyterian Church for sharing this experience with Ethan

I still love this! I admit it. etsy wont let me sell it, but they are letting about 20 other sellers sell angry birds stuff. That bugs me. So, here it is. :)

Strong Enough!

I have seen a lot of babies be born too soon. When you go through Infertility, often the very reason you struggle to conceive results in premature deliveries. I have said goodbye to too many babies, and they still occupy my thoughts so very often. But today, instead of saying goodbye, we are saying Welcome Home! My friend Jennifer welcomes home her little Layla today. Layla was born on October 28th, when Jeni was 24w2d pregnant. Layla was just 1 lb, 8 oz, but she is one tough girl! I was on vacation the day Layla was born, with my family. We all said prayers for her that day, and those of you who are IF friends know that we celebrate viability day, at 25 weeks which means babies born before 25 weeks rarely make it. But little Layla had other plans! After more than 100 days in the NICU, Layla is coming home! I am amazed at how strong and determined she is, and even more amazed at her mother, who has divided her time between pumping to feed Layla, traveling to the hospital to visit her, and being a mom to Layla's big sister, Alaina. I 'met' Jen through a message board of Moms. We have all known one another for the greater part of 4 years, and although many of us have never met, we have connected as we got pregnant, had babies, lost babies, divorced, remarried, had more babies, moved, had imaginary babies, fought, laughed, cried, and Layla is not the first time that we have all come together, 306 strong, to support someone who needed us and I am sure she will not be the last. But I cant help but think that Layla is one lucky girl, to have such a strong and devoted mom, and 306 Aunts! :)
Welcome home, Layla! You are loved.


Edited: LAYLA IS HOME! SHE IS HOME! She is amazing and miraculous and to quote a friend of mine: Every miracle of one is a step closer to miracles of many. Bless this little girl and hopefully more babies will be able to come home. Here with her beautiful big sister:

Menu for February 5 to February 11

Superbowl Sunday!
But here's the thing... we don't really care about the teams, and well, we are not 100% free of sickness here. So I might have some chips and dip, but no big superbowl foodgasm or anything!
So here we go!
Sunday: Homemade Falafal with yogurt sauce
Monday: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
Tuesday: Salisbury Steak
Wednesday: Shepherds Pie
Thursday: E wants hot dogs and french fries. Sigh. But he also loves sushi and thai
Friday: Spaghetti by special request from E
Saturday: it's my birthday, I want Sushi!

Dinnertime!

This weeks dinners are late, because we had some nights out! But here we go! Tuesday: I am going out to dinner with Mimi, so E and turtle are going to have Bubbe's leftover chicken matzoh ball soup and brisket!

Wednesday: Chicken Enchiladas

Thursday: Chicken cordon bleu in the crockpot!

Friday: Salmon with Yoshidas glaze

Saturday: chicken pot pie muffins

Sunday: crock pot jambalaya

alternate: just in case! Chicken Parm wraps

What's for dinner this week?

Last week, we did really well with the meal plan, especially since I am still sick, E is sick and now Turtle is sick, too. Enough already! But I still made dinner most every night and with the exception of the chicken enchiladas, we had all planned meals. I might throw the enchiladas in this week, since I still think they sound good!
So... here goes! Once again, I vow to stick to the plan!

Sunday: Stuffed shells and meatballs
Monday: Beef Stew
Tuesday: Torta Rustica Wednesday: Chicken Cordon Bleu, with crock pot potatoes (I am going to lighten the crockpot potatoes up a bit)
Thursday: chicken marsala
friday: Parmesan Tilapia
SaturdaY: We will likely eat out, or do take out
Sunday: chicken pot pie soup and a chop salad
What's for dinner at your house?

Recipe Reviews

just a quick note to say that we really liked this recipe. I was unsure, because of the sweet elements, but we liked it and turtle liked it enough for me to put it in his lunch! It will go in the permanent rotation! Slow Cooker Harvest Pork Stew I made the recipe as written, except for a few things... I didn't have any cider, so I used ginger beer. Hey, it worked! I didn't have a red onion, so I used a white one. I would have preferred red, but this was okay, too We also tried the WW Chicken Bruscetta We liked this one, too. I liked it more than turtle, and turtle liked it more than E. I think if I make it again, I will use more tomato, as it seemed to get lost and even more garlic. But overall, it was good!

Terrible Twos? No, the I-just-said-no-stop-doing-that-you-need-to-go-sit-in-time out threes!

The twos were not so bad. E is bright, and we could reason with him very well. IF that didnt work, we might have to send him for a calm down time out or 2. But something about the age of 3... 3 1/2 to be specific. My sweet little toddler who used to look like this:

now more or less resembles this:

only picture the honey badger whining and saying NO NO NO, I SAID NO!! Of course he still has his sweet moments, but they are so overshadowed by his crazy, disobedient, downright defiant moments. My moms group seems to all be in agreement that at age 3, those limits are really being tested. I hope we all make it to 4.

My godchild is about to have a baby. She is really special to me in so many ways, from the way we are connected (her mother is my godmother, I am her godmother, she is Ethan's godmother) to the way she has grown from a beautiful sweet little baby to a funny toddler and a smart and sassy kid to a beautiful and sarcastic teen (I was so proud there!) and most recently, to a newly mature and thoughtful adult. I think she is going to make a good mom. I wish I could somehow reassure her that even though becoming a mom is the most terrifying thing, It is also the most amazing and life affirming event. Becoming a mom is like starting a brand new book. When you open it, you have some idea what is about to come, but the twists and turns along the way are all new and exciting and often, not at all what you thought they would be, and they make the story worth reading. The story will change, the plot will get more and more complicated, but in the end, you are so thrilled at having read it. I used to laugh at all the mom stuff, like this:

But you know what? No matter what, it is simply true. When Courtney and I did the last set of maternity pictures, I shared with her a feeling I had, when I was about 35 weeks pregnant with Ethan. He was as safe as he would ever be, and selfishly, part of me wanted to keep him there, all to myself. He and I had grand talks, in the shower, in the car, watching TV. I would sit and pull my shirt up a bit to see my belly move and talk to him about anything. As much as I wanted an outside baby, I also savored that time, when he was just mine, my baby and me. I think Courtney was feeling some of the same, and she and her little one made quite a pair. Courtney looked simply lovely, with that sometimes mythical glow... here are some of my favorites:

She is beautiful, right? I know. Courtney is coming over today to take a second set of maternity photos, inside this time, because we were freezing the last time! and very very soon (next week if this little one is on time) we will be doing newborn photos, and I cannot wait!

It's what's for dinner!

This week, I will stick to the meal plan.
This week, I will stick to the meal plan.
This week, I will stick to the meal plan.
This week, I will stick to the meal plan.

No, I mean it.

Here's what I got:

Saturday: Noboru. Noboru is a local sushi buffet. I know what you are thinking, eww, Sushi Buffet! ick! But no, this place is SO GOOD! And last night, we discovered they have made to order crepes!
Sunday: We went out to dinner with friends! We had a gift card, it was fun!
Monday: Harvest Pork Stew in the crock pot
Tuesday: Grilled Chicken with Spinach Mac and Cheese muffins
Wednesday: Healthy Chicken Enchildas
Thursday: WW Bruschetta Chicken
Friday: French Dip Roll Ups

Yup, every meal this week is someone else's recipe! I am okay with that!

(and I think I need to put a piece of tape of the !!! key of my laptop, so I dont overuse it
So at the end of the week, let's see if I can actually stay on the meal plan!

I am the worlds worst blogger! and meet the girls!

No really. Last January, I declared I was going to be better. I wasn't.

Lets start over!

k?

Meet my newest family members:

Meet Sansa and Catelyn. Yes, we like Game of Thrones. We considered Cersai, but she is both scary and mean and we didnt want to temp fate. Daenerys was also an option, as was Arya. But in the end, fate actually intervened. We asked Ethan what he wanted to name the puppies.
"Cat and Bob"
"Cat and BOB??"
"yes"

Hmmm. Well, as luck would have it, Eddard Stark often calls his beloved wife, Catelyn, Cat. And there you go!

This is Sansa:

and this is Cat

They are both from the same litter, rescue puppies. They are a lab mix and the most likely breed is Border Collie. So Ethan should expect to be herded, I think.
They have not exactly been easy. I think we know all the folks over at the Doylestown Animal Medical Clinic by first name. We have seen the vet 5 times, and we have only had the girls for 4 weeks! They had intestinal parasites, fleas, mites, food issues, allergy issues, etc. They are currently on steroids, and getting a kick ass parasite drug.
But you know what? What Sansa sits down and looks up at me, her little head cocked to the side, I melt. When Cat bounds over to greet me, and tries to jump into my arms, I melt. I love these dogs already.
(but I feel like there is enough pee and poop for several more puppies) Housebreaking is a challenge, especially when one is also potty training a 3 year old. We are not so much succeeding, but we are still a work in progress i think. As I type this, Turtle is actually shampooing the carpet! :o)

Happy New Year!