This week's menu

I am a meticulous menu planner. I sit down every Saturday or Sunday, plan the week, and make one trip to the store to cover everything. It's the only way we stay out of the Chick-fil-a drive through which we still admittedly end up visiting several times a month.

I thought I'd make a weekly effort to share what we're having in hopes it helps inspire you as well.

Bon Apetite!

Recipes: Greek turkey burgers/Buffalo chicken lettuce wraps

The rest are my own recipes, but if you'd like them let me know and I'll share :)

I should know better

I've been that mom bragging about my perfect children who will eat anything (anything!) for quite some time now and this, this is what I get for all that bragging.

See the below email sent to the BFF yesterday:


note: "try" should ready "tray"

 My sweet little boy, the one for whom I made copious amounts of homemade baby food. The one who ate plain steamed zucchini and broccoli like there was no tomorrow. You know, the organic zucchini I bought from our local farmer's market from a real farmer, not that I was being smug about it.

Well, those days are gone. I'm sure it's a phase like everything else, and I suppose it serves me right. But come on, dude, help your mama out. My mom pride takes a serious hit every time you throw the veggies.

Finally

Fall is finally here! My favorite season for so many reasons and I can't wait to enjoy it this year since we missed 2012's version.

Given the state of my brain these days, I find our life can best be explained in bullets, so here goes:

• I got to spend the weekend with all of my favorite girls which does more good for my soul than almost anything. There is just something about unfiltered girl talk and senseless laughing that fills me with joy.



note: one very important BFF missing here but this is the only pic I have.

• Said weekend was followed up by a THREE HOUR cardiologist appointment for Davis which I of course attended alone with both children. After texting Matt that I surrendered and to please send reinforcements, he came home with these trusty allies. Yet another reason why I love that man. And yet another reason why I love AP and her posts like this.

• Davis is starting daycare on November 6. For the past year he's either been home with me while on maternity leave or home with our nanny, and now I have to send him out into the big bad germy world. I have a feeling I'm going to be relying on the above a lot that month. It's too bad day drinking is so frowned upon. Darn you, societal norms.
• I am dying to go to the pumpkin patch but I refuse to go this weekend when it is projected to be 77 degrees outside. (note: it was 45 last night I'll be in shorts this weekend. What the heck)
• Madelyn's new saying is "your mommy is so silly, Davis"--um, I'm your mommy too, kid. Three and a half and she's already ditched me. Nice.

Davis' first birthday

Davis' first birthday was not just a party. It was not just a chance to see friends and family and open presents and dress up the kids and have yummy food. It was a day to reflect on this past year and to be grateful for every.single.moment we've had with our sweet little miracle boy.

It's hard to believe what has transpired over the past year and I am beyond thankful for where we are. There is nothing I'd rather do than celebrate than my healthy little boy, and so we did just that. It was a wonderful, happy day.

Menu card (and other details) by Sweet Birdie's Nest

 

Yo

 

Aunt Lacie, Uncle Luke, and cousin Logan (your future BFF)

 

 

Dear Davis,

You have changed me, and our life, in a way I could have never anticipated. You make every one of my days better and I cry happy tears over you more than I'll ever publicly admit. Thank you for every smile, every snuggle, and every little slobbery kiss. I treasure them.

Love,

Your mommy

Incase I forgot to mention...

Someone had a birthday!

Unfortunately, this same someone also has a mommy who is very busy at work and fighting a yucky cold. She promises to post all about her precious boy's first birthday celebration very soon.

In the meantime I'll leave you with this. You wouldn't have believed his smile when he saw that cake. Such a testimony to what a happy little angel he is.

Don't even get me started on how cute he was in that button down. I can't even take it.

The Things I Wish I Knew

The things I wish I knew when I became a parent for the first time...

Everything is a phase. It doesn’t feel like it when you’re in it—when they won’t sleep, when they cry for hours, when they insist on only eating a certain color food. No, when you’re in it, you feel rationally convinced it is going to go on forever. But it won’t. It never does. Just ride it out.

Your body will go back to normal. It may take a while, but it will. You will not feel like a jiggly blob forever.

The window of time that you get to hold your baby- truly hold them and snuggle them- is so short. Do it whenever you want to and don’t feel guilty. By the time they turn one they’ll be so active they’ll be running away from you (ahem, Davis) and you’ll miss those days when they laid on your chest for hours.

You are doing a great job. Even when you have a bad day, and you have no patience, and you feel like you’re doing everything wrong- you’re doing a great job. All your kids need is love. If you love them, and they know that, you’re already doing better than you think.

Trust your intuition. Don’t ever doubt the God-given sense that mothers have- it’s there for a reason.

Don’t stress- your kids can feel it.

Kids do everything at a different pace. Everything. Do not panic because your child isn’t clapping, or holding their bottle, or waving at the exact second the other kids are. These things are trivial. And they all catch up to each other at some point.

You will never be the same. Ever.

You will understand why mothers cry at Hallmark commercials and feel so silly for all the times you rolled your eyes. Those moments on those commercials, they are important. When you walk into your child’s room and they light up to see you. When you take them to school for the first time. Sitting around the table eating dinner. Brushing your daughter’s hair. Every moment is important…treasure it, and never take even those seemingly mundane activities for granted. Those moments make up your life.

The Labor Day Fail

Our long Labor Day weekend didn’t exactly go as planned. One of these days I will finally learn that MY PLANS MEAN NOTHING. Aren’t your 30’s supposed to be a decade of clarity and knowledge? Yet somehow I continue to live in sheer denial and with the belief that I really can control everything.

Saturday and Sunday were great, albeit I had a minor migraine both days. And let’s be honest, saying you have a “mild migraine” is like saying you got shot by one bullet not three, so you should be ok.

After said migraine got the best of me on Monday morning I took a very strong pill that my doctor prescribed for when prescription strength naproxen won’t do it. And what did this little magic pill do? Make me magically and deathly ill for 8 hours. I spent all of labor day in bed. Every time I got up I immediately started to faint or be sick and thus returned to the fetal position.

Not My Plan.

Turns out, and this is the worst part, I think somehow white wine has suddenly become a migraine trigger for me. And if you know me, you know how devastating this is. As I posted to twitter last night, I'd advise that you hide your children and the faint of heart- without my wine I am officially a threat to society.

To recap:
Nausea
Dizziness
Fetal position
No wine
=Holiday FAIL.

Needless to say I'm looking forward to Halloween.