Menu Plan Monday - 4/13/09 - The "I'm Back Edition"

Life "got in the way" of the blog for a while (a move, a lay off, a "surprise" surgery and another move), but now I'm back and plan to try to post at least a few times a week. I decided to jump back in with Menu Plan Monday (Check out Organizing Junkie for lots of menus). So, here's our plan for the week:

Breakfast:
Baked Oatmeal - 2x's
Waffles with yogurt and cherry sauce 2x;s
Eggs, Bacon and grits 2x's
French Toast

Lunch:
Leftovers
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches

Snacks:
Strawberries
Grapes
Blueberries
Carrots and ranch dip
Herb cheese on crackers
Her bread dipped in olive oil
yogurt
cheese cubes
banana nut bread

Supper:

This week, I asked the guys to each plan a meal (and the kids will help prepare their meal).

Monday
(N's Choice) Muffaletto's on homemade bread (these are soooo yummy!) with a green salad and strawberries

Tuesday
(A's Choice) Boiled crabs (with bacon, he said, lol), boiled potatoes and half ears of corn with grilled asparagus on the side (you should see that kid eat asparagus! You'd swear it was candy.)

Wednesday
(B's Choice) Meatloaf with steamed broccoli and a salad

Thursday
Crockpot BBQ ribs and tomato basil soup

Friday
Fish tacos with chipotle mayo and fresh fruit

Saturday
Asian Salad (any leftover protein on a bed of lettuce with chow mein noodles, manderin oranges, sunflower seed and bottled asian sesame dressing).

Sunday
Grilled chicken sandwiches with yummy grilled mixed veggies (red pepper strips, asparagus, squash, cauliflower).

We are also going to make a practice cake for A's birthday which is coming up in a few weeks. He wants a cake shaped like a tank (curse you, "Ace of Cakes"). We'll see if I can pull that one off. I'll try to post a picture if my ego can take it, lol.

Click here to participate in my Bzzz Agent Giveaway.

Snow Day

Here in the deep, deep south, snow is very uncommon. Yet, we awoke this morning to find a blanket of white on the ground. Here are a few pictures:

This is out of the upstairs window.

Here is A, enjoying the snow at 6:00 am. You can see the flakes still falling.
Here is N with a giant snowball. This picture was snapped seconds before he threw it at me, lol.
Here is their snowman.

I had hoped to get pictures of some of the area wildlife in the snow, but none were out. Not even the cat was willing to walk out in the snow. I guess they chose to live here to avoid the snow :o)

Hummus recipe

We love hummus and it is so easy to make. Our hummus recipe is based on this one. Here is a picture of the ingredients we used last week to make hummus.
We like to have it with bagel or pita chips, cut up vegetables or warmed up flat bread (pita or naan). We usually buy our bread dippers already made, but surfing the other day, I found this recipe which we hope to try in the next few days.

Fall Garden Update

Here's a picture of a salad we grew in our fall garden. You can see pictures of the garden from a few weeks ago here. It is a square foot garden and we have one 4X4 foot "block" of lettuce and spinach planted. Currently, it is growing fast enough to make a salad for 6 every other day.

Great Post

This post, is beautiful and I hope you enjoy it.

More Math Stuff

This morning, the boys were playing with some math manipulatives (not "playing" math - using the manipulatives as weapons in a Star Wars action figure war), and somehow, we managed to sneak some "math" into their play. The above photo is what our Kindergardener did with his chips (its hard to see in the photo, but the numbers are written on the paper and he put the matching number of chips on it). Our third grader made a long "chain" of chips, the counted it and wrote down the total number (sorry - no photo of that one - they turned into weapons again before I could snap, lol). Even though our 3rd grader is beyond really requiring counting practice, he still enjoys it and I think its good for them to practice things below their "grade". For N, it encourages him (he is really easily discouraged when he doesn't already know something or when he gets things wrong) plus, it helps with "fluency" just like reading below grade level. (jumping down off soap box :o)

This photo is of our Kindergardener's word box. Both boys have one. We put the words they recognized easily on cards and file them in the box alphabetically. Sometimes we just flip through the box and read the cards. Other times, the kids make up games to play with the cards, re-file them alphabetically, make easy sentences with them, etc. We started using this idea when I read about it in a book called Real Learning in the Heart of the Home by Elizabeth Foss. Great book! We are slowly incorporating many of her ideas - slowly (when I try to make them do too many planned "fun" learning activities, they stage an attempted coupe - not a fun time for the family, lol). They learn so much better, and much more enthusiastically, when I just stay out of their way. Your library might have her book, or if you are interested in buying it, you can click on my Amazon link in the side bar.

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My Favorite Snack ~~~ The Kids Like it, too

I finally got around to visiting the local health food store yesterday to pick up some cashew butter. You can often find cashew butter at "mega-mart" type stores and some grocery stores, too. I absolutely love cashew butter spread on graham crackers. Its a nice alternative to peanut butter (which we also love). The boys and I snacked on these and they were sooooo yummy. I find that cashew butter on graham crackers makes not only a filling snack, but also a snack that keeps me feeling full for a long time. I usually have only a small "sandwich" (1/4 graham cracker spread with a thin layer of cashew butter and topped with another 1/4 graham cracker - like in the photo) and feel full for hours. I guess something in the cashew butter helps prevent blood sugar spikes or something.

One day last week, I saw an episode of Good Eats (I'm a Food Network addict) about making crackers. Boy would I love to try homemade Graham crackers. Maybe one day . . .