Saturday, February 26, 2011

Menu Plan for the Week of February 27

In lieu of Cora's morning nap, which she refused to take, we went to Publix. They have Boston butts on sale for $1.99 a pound, which is my stock-up price. Since we have NO room in the freezer (man, I wish we had space for a deep freeze), we will be making some barbecue. Oh, and when I say we, I mean Daniel. He is THE meat man.

Sunday: Barbecue, coleslaw, baked beans and chips

Monday: Garlic shrimp on whole wheat noodles, salad, and garlic bread

Tuesday: Chicken fajitas, refried beans and Spanish rice

Wednesday: Black-eyed peas, kale, and buttermilk cornbread

Thursday: Baked stuffed flounder with sauteed zucchini and rice

Friday: Pizza night!

Saturday: Leftovers

Breakfast:
French toast with maple syrup (I found 50 cent loaves of Italian bread, and Daniel whipped up some mean French toast for breakfast this morning. Thanks to the griddle we have enough for a few weeks!)
Homemade granola with yogurt and fruit
Oatmeal with fruit and cinnamon
Cheesy eggs with fruit

Lunch:
Grilled cheese and soup
Ham sandwiches
Black bean quesadillas
Leftovers

Answered Prayers

I remember many moons ago when I would go to bed, sleep peacefully through the night, and wake up well-rested and ready to go. A bad night was when I had a nightmare or had drank too much caffeine a little too late in the day and couldn't immediately drift off to sleep. But those days ended about three years ago when I was pregnant with Kate. Even after Kate started sleeping through the night, which wasn't until she was nearly TWO!, I was pregnant again, and everyone knows a pregnant body is not conducive to good sleep.

Cora started out a great sleeper. She would take three good naps a day and sleep five hours straight at night. Then, about a month ago, things changed. She had a growth spurt and wanted to eat every two hours at night. And then she started teething, which resulted in waking every four hours when her pain medicine quit working. Still, on good days, she takes two two-hour naps and a shorter nap later in the day, but lately that has been hit or miss. For awhile there I was stressing ridiculously about her lack of sleep until I realized there wasn't anything I could really do about it; I mean I couldn't make her sleep, and my methods of getting her to sleep did not always work. I had become reluctantly content with the fact that this child is not a good sleeper. Big surprise. Neither is her sister.

So when I went to bed last night, I totally expected to be up within an hour to feed Cora because she had been asleep since 6:45. Imagine my surprise when I woke up at 3:30 and my little angel had not cried out even once! I panicked. Was she still breathing? Had she gotten her blanket over her face and suffocated? Cora had moved out of the monitor camera's range, so I quietly tiptoed into her room and saw that she was sleeping peacefully. That is, until I tripped on a bag of diapers and woke her up. Only me.

Still, this was the first time EVER that Cora has slept for nine hours straight. And that means that I slept for six whole uninterrupted hours. I'm a new woman this morning. And while I know that this night might not happen again for months, maybe years, I thank God (and my praying friends) for that precious sleep.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Weary Days

So, for the past few weeks I've been going to bed around 8:00-8:30. I feel ancient. I want to eat by 5 and be in bed with the sun setting. I'm so tired of being tired. I thought that when the weather warmed up and the sun shone more brightly that I would perk up and come out of hibernation, that I would wake up and get moving, but that hasn't happened. There are moments during the day when I go go go, but then by 2:00 I'm pooped. It probably doesn't help that I'm up at least twice at night with Cora and then begin the day around 6:00 with Kate who rises to greet the sun. She is my morning glory. She wakes up talking and doesn't stop until bedtime.

Still, despite being tired, the girls are thriving and that is a relief! If they weren't, then I would be concerned. Kate has started a new thing where she wants to read like 15 books in Mommy and Daddy's bed in the mornings and then at night before bedtime with Daddy. That child has memorized the words to all her favorite books: Raindrop Plop, Dimmity Duck, Goodnight Moon, and all the nursery rhymes. Here she is with her stack o' books. A bookworm like her mommy!



And I have to brag on Kate: She knows all of her letters! Not just the "ABC Song" but she can recognize and say them, which is pretty impressive for a two-year-old. I'm so proud of my little nerd!

Cora has recently figured out how to roll over from her back to her tummy and loves to roll around in her crib when she should be sleeping! At four-months-old, Cora laughs and smiles all the time and has learned how to blow raspberries, which thoroughly amuses her.



Here are a few pictures of our girls now...







I suppose running after two little ones and fixing three meals a day in addition to all the chores we do and "school time" would make one feel pretty tired by the end of the day. But the girls are both growing and learning so much that I know the long hard days aren't a waste. And one day soon enough I will get plenty of sleep again. Until then I'll just fix myself another cup of coffee and read Kate some books.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Menu Plan for the Week of February 20

So I haven't been posting my menu plan lately for a number of reasons but decided that it was time to start doing it again to keep me sane. Guess it's an accountability thing plus when I write my menu down AND post it online I feel a sense of calm come over me that, hey, this is what we're eating this week. Stop trying to find something better to fix. I love that I can wake up in the morning and prep my meals during breakfast and not worry about it later in the afternoon when things are hectic. So, I'll shut up now.

Sunday: We had leftover pizza we made Friday night and pork Daniel grilled and roasted. Delicious!

Monday: Tonight we're having chicken fricasse with whole wheat egg noodles and broccoli. Kroger has chicken thighs on sale for 79 cents a pound, so I stocked up. Plus, I just made cake brownies with sliced almonds for dessert. I've been on a serious brownie kick lately. This is the third time in three weeks we've had brownies. From scratch. Only.

Tuesday: We will be having fish tacos with mango salsa and refried beans. Kroger has wild-caught cod and mahi on sale this week for $3.99/lb. Great price! Plus, it fits in nicely with our resolution to eat more fish and less meat this year.

Wednesday: White beans and cornbread. It's bean night! (I'll soak these Tuesday night so they're ready to cook Wednesday morning. I like my beans to cook a long time on low heat.)

Thursday: Hamburger steak with potato wedges and sugar snap peas

Friday: Pizza night! I picked up some hot Italian sausage on clearance at Kroger today that I'll brown up and use, plus whatever veggies I have on hand. I made a ton of pizza sauce last week that I froze for future pizza nights that we'll be using with some pesto.

Saturday: Leftovers and whatever Daniel makes. I have officially decided not to cook on the weekends.

Happy week!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Winter of My Discontent



Daniel and Kate built this snowman the last time it snowed and I feel like it accurately represents how I feel right now. About ready to fall over. Backwards.

I'm tired. What mother of small children isn't, right? But there are days that I think this weariness will never end. That Cora will never sleep through the night. That Kate will never be potty-trained. That the house will never be clean. That I will never have a moment to myself. I feel like this snowman must have felt before he toppled over: wobbly, uncertain, doubtful of myself and my future. Will I simply melt away or will something of me remain?

I know everyone says, "This is just a season. It will soon pass." But this "winter" seems to be lasting for an eternity. Hurry up Spring!