Menu Plan - Week of February 1

I haven't been much in a menu planning mood lately. But now it's a new month, and I'm ready to get back to it. I even got ambitious and made a tentative plan for the entire month. I'm feeling quite pleased with myself, even if the emphasis is on the word tentative. But still, it should be a bit easier to figure out the details for each week with at least something already planned, instead of feeling like I have to start from scratch. Here's what I've got on this week's list:

Salad for supper

vegetable bean soup

pineapple peanut stew, quinoa

baked tofu, cooked greens, sauteed broccoli

vegetarian chili

homemade veggie pizza

Oh, and if you're looking for a breakfast idea, we had muesli this morning, and I had really forgotten how good it is. I even kept it really simple, with just orange juice, chopped apples, raisins and chopped cashews, and it was so good. We make ours with steel-cut oats, and it's both very filling and refreshing.

For more menu planning inspiration, visit Organizing Junkie.

Scrap Packs

It's so good to let children be free and creative with their artwork, and the only things they really need are time and some basic supplies. I tend to be a minimalist, so we don't have a ton of craft supplies at our house, but some of my best purchases have been scrap packs, or remnant packs. These are just packages of things like card stock, ribbons, or buttons, usually with a wide variety of colors, shapes, and textures. I've found this is a very easy, cost-effective way to supply my kids with a variety of crafting materials.

You can find these sorts of things at craft stores, and also the big-box chains. I got a large bag of assorted ribbons a while back at Hobby Lobby in their fabric section (which have been used for countless projects and games), and I found this pack of card stock for just a couple of dollars in the scrapbooking section at Wal-Mart.


This way the kids can craft to their heart's content, and I don't have to feel like we are spending a fortune supplying them with paper. I should mention that I do think quality art supplies are important for young children, but sometimes the crafting happens fast and furious with little ones, and you just need some basic materials!

It seems Millie was inspired by the uniform-sized squares in the scrap pack to create her own paper patchwork quilt. It's these sorts of projects - when she comes up with the idea on her own - that really capture her excitement.

This post is linked to:

Frugal Friday

Ordering Seeds

It hardly feels like the time to start thinking about gardening, with the freezing temperatures and the dusting of snow currently on the ground. And yet, I have my seed catalogs open, and my gardening plans are underway. Now is the time to order some seeds. I won't be starting my seeds indoors for at least another month, but I've found that if I put off placing my order until February, I may not be able to get the varieties I want. So, here's what the process involves for me:

• First, I review last year's gardening successes and failures. For me, this is little more than thinking through what worked and what didn't, as those things usually stand out in my mind. For instance, last year we tried, yet again, to grow broccoli and cauliflower. And yet again, we had very little success. This year I'm not even going to bother with them, and I'll devote that space in the garden to either something more reliable, or to something new I want to try.
• With those thoughts in mind, next I simply make a (long!) list of what we want to grow, based on what we like to eat, what grows well in our climate, and also considering which vegetables are more costly to buy at the grocery store. And I usually elicit participation from Tom and the kids to find out what they'd like. Millie likes to sit and look at the seed catalogs, so I let her help weigh in on which varieties we should try.
• Then I take inventory of my seeds from last year, and check to see what seeds I already have on hand. I was pleased this year to find that I won't need to order any new seeds for peas, bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini or cabbage.
• Though you can do all your browsing online, I really like having a print copy of the seed catalogs. I tend to take my time reading the descriptions and comparing different varieties. I like to order from either Seed Savers Exchange or Seeds of Change. The seeds you get through these companies are more expensive than the packets you'll buy at the big box stores this spring. But, this is one of those opportunities to vote with your dollars and support organic growing practices and seed diversity. If the cost is prohibitive, you could even consider buying just some of your seeds through companies such as these. And you can still figure you'll be saving money gardening, even if you pay a dollar or two more per seed packet.

Even though we won't be digging in the dirt for several months still, planning for the garden on these cold winter days is such a nice reminder that the warm weather will return eventually and we'll enjoy fresh garden produce once again. Happy garden dreaming!

This post is linked to:

Works for Me Wednesday

Carrot Salad

This light, refreshing side dish makes a nice winter salad. I use a food processor to grate the carrots, so it comes together quickly. For such simple, basic ingredients, this is surprisingly good.

Carrot Salad

1 pound carrots, grated
1 apple, chopped
a handful of walnuts, chopped
a handful of raisins
juice from one orange
a splash of vinegar (I like using a fruit-flavored vinegar, either raspberry or pear)

Combine all and refrigerate for an hour before serving.

This post is linked to:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesdays at the Table
Tasty Tuesday

Feelin' the Love

Millie makes valentines all year long. As she's told me, "Mommy, I just love people!" And it's true, she does. She loves to show her affection in person, and she loves creating little notes to send to family and friends. So now that Valentine's Day is less than a month away, she's stepped up production a bit.

Now, if you are anything like me, the paper mess from crafting is not exactly your favorite thing to deal with. But the absolute truth of the matter is, these are wonderful signs of the love and blessings that surround me. I really do love seeing what Millie creates, seeing her funny drawings, sloppy handwriting, and cute misspellings.

It's a beautiful thing to see.




This post is linked to
You Capture
Finer Things Friday

Homemade Slime

The winter gets pretty long around here, so I'm always looking for some fun indoor activities for the kids. This homemade slime is fun to make, and then fascinating to play with. It has literally provided hours of fun at our house.


For this slime recipe you'll need:
1 paper cup
1 paper bowl
1 plastic spoon or wooden craft stick
Glue solution:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white glue
1-2 drops food coloring
Borax solution:
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon borax

Here's what you do:

First, stir together the glue solution in the paper cup. 1/2 cup of glue is exactly one 4-ounce bottle of school glue. So you can just dump a whole bottle of school glue into the water, along with the food coloring.

Then, mix together your borax solution in the paper bowl. You can find borax in the laundry aisle at the grocery store.

Once you've got the two solutions mixed, pour the glue solution into the borax solution.

Mix rapidly.

Here Millie was trying to pour off the excess water, which didn't work terribly well.

So instead she just picked it up. It's messy at first.

Knead it just a bit in your hands to get rid of the excess water.

And in no time you'll have a nice, smooth, stretchy, slimy substance.

Really, it is fascinating stuff. I mean, what kid wouldn't love a big blob of slime?
Be sure to keep the slime away from carpet and upholstery (don't ask me how I know that). You can keep the slime stored in a plastic bag for fun on some other day.

This post is linked to:
Works for Me Wednesday

Fruit Nut Snacks

These are based on a recipe from an old Rodale cookbook. These little treats are similar to the date nut snacks that I usually make, but I thought it would be fun to try something a little different. The kids liked the change, especially the addition of coconut.

Fruit Nut Snacks
1/2 cup prunes
1 cup dates
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried apricots (soaked in water to cover for 30 minutes, then drained)
2 cups walnuts
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
unsweetened coconut shreds

Chop walnuts and sunflower seeds finely in a food processor, set aside. Add all dried fruit to the food processor, and chop finely. Add ground walnuts and sunflowers to the fruit mixture, and blend to combine. Roll fruit-nut mixture into one-inch balls, then roll in coconut. Enjoy!

Babywearing My Big Kid

At 16 months, Isaac has completely abandoned babywearing while at home. He is way too busy to be bothered with something boring like riding around on mama's back. Ironically, my hefty 3-year-old, Silas, will beg for a ride if he sees me with the sling or the Ergo. And so sometimes that's what we do. I don't remember why I decided to take a picture of me carrying Silas in the Ergo, but here we are, with me in all my frumpy-mom glory.

And even though this shot turned out blurry, I really love it. These are the moments to treasure.

Morning Tea Party

The kids had everything set up for a tea party breakfast, and I was more than happy to provide the refreshments.

Menu Plan - Week of January 11

I think it took me all last week to really get settled back in after being out of town for two weeks. Of course, it didn't help that the kids and I had colds, so we were sort of moving in slow motion. And we got lots of snow. So it was a week for staying in, de-cluttering, reading, and making plans. Lots on the calendar this week, so it's time to get back into real life, ready or not.

We did a fun food craft tonight. Despite all the snow, it's not the kind that's good for building, so the kids haven't been able to make a snowman. So instead we made popcorn snowmen tonight, using this recipe. I only made a half recipe, and that was enough for two and a half snowmen. The kids decorated their snowmen with craisins, peanuts, and pretzel sticks. Then they promptly started eating them the moment they were done decorating, so I have no picture of our sticky project.

On the menu this week:

Veggie lo mein

Roasted vegetables

Super stuffed tortillas

No hurry vegetable curry

Homemade pizza

Hope your week is off to a great start!

For more menu planning inspiration, visit Organizing Junkie.

Sibling Love

These may be my favorite shots from the holidays.

There were plenty of other places the kids could sit, but for some reason they all piled together into one spot to watch...something I don't remember.

These three kiddos certainly have their moments when they are each other's worst enemies, but when it comes down to it, they really are the best of friends.

Virtual Hide and Seek

Other ways to pass the time on a long road trip: sleeping, and checking out the map feature on daddy's blackberry.

During our holiday road trip, we tried to come up with some fun ideas for ways to pass the time while driving. My sister directed me to this site, which has lots of great ideas for car travel games. An idea from that site which was the biggest hit, with Millie especially, was virtual hide and seek. One child would pick a place inside our house to hide, and imagine that they were there. The fun twist is that you can be any size, so you can hide in any little space that you can think of! (Millie's favorite spot was on top of a ceiling fan.) The rest of us would ask yes/no questions in order to figure out where the child was hiding. A very fun little game, whether you are driving for 10 hours, or 10 minutes.

This post is linked to:
Works for Me Wednesday

More Hats

I will admit that I was a bit of a reluctant knitter, but I think one of the things that won me over was the portability. Hours to spend riding in the car? Just bring along some knitting and the time passes quickly. (Unless the children are whiny and bored, but that's a whole different topic.)

So you can see I'm on a bit of a hat kick. Pictured are the third and fourth hats I've knit in the past couple of months.

This one is my first time doing a rib hat (I used this pattern, and now I want to make one for myself!). It's made of organic cotton, and it's a baby gift for a friend.


And finally, finally, a wool hat for Silas. I wanted to make one that sort of matches the ones I made for Millie and Isaac. The benefit of being last, in this case, is that his turned out the best of the three I made for the kids. It fits him perfectly, and there are no significant mistakes.

So, the other thing I'm loving about knitting these hats is that I've been able to knit all of them using a set of size 7 double-pointed needles. No separate needles to buy for separate projects. But the very best of all? I have something to show for those nearly 40 hours spent in the van.

Menu Plan - Week of January 4

Finally, we are home again, home again. We've been out of town for the past 2 weeks, traveling to and through the great state of Texas to spend the holidays with Tom's family. Considering the many hours we spent driving, the whole trip went really well. I suppose the only glitch was that both Silas and Isaac came down with chicken pox. So it was a fairly low-key Christmas with keeping the boys in at Gran's house for the week. But the boys recovered just fine, we spent New Year's visiting my family, and now we are back in the freezing cold temperatures here at home. But still, it's good to be home. And, it's good to get back into a routine. I enjoyed a bit of a break from cooking, but I'm ready to get back to our veggie routine here at home. This week I'm falling back on a lot of my basic dishes:

peanut butter stir-fry, baked tofu

potato kale soup

roasted veggies

rice and beans

vegetable pot pie

So, nothing too exciting this week, but I am hoping to try some new dishes in the coming weeks. Hope your week (and year!) is off to a great start.

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday.

New Year

New Year's Eve was...

A cold night, full moon

Family, and lots of food

Games of dominoes and checkers

Sleepy parents, excited children

Cheesecake at 11 pm

A celebration

Bundling sleeping children, through the cold

Tucked into bed

New Year's Day was...

Sleeping in

Sunny and cold

Bowls of leftover potato soup

Talk of the year to come:

Books to read, seeds to plant

Early bedtimes for little ones

Thinking back, looking ahead

Many blessings to you and yours in the coming year!