Menu Plan Monday - Week of 9.29.08

Mike will be super busy this week, so I'm not sure if we'll follow through on all these meals. It could be me, Kaitlyn, and a couple of PB&J's or mac and cheese on one or more of these nights. If it is, at least I'll have some meals planned for next week!

Here's the menu for this week:

Monday
Pork BBQ (in the crock pot) for sandwiches, french fries and veggies

Tuesday
Spaghetti, green beans, and salad

Wednesday
Tuna melts, chips and veggies

Thursday
Pork chops, stuffing, and cooked carrots

Friday
Pizza, using left-over spaghetti sauce (which will include lean ground turkey, bell peppers, and mushrooms). Since my first attempt at making bread turned out well, I'm going to try this pizza crust recipe from Alaina at Meant to Be.

If you want more great meal ideas, visit orgjunkie.com and see what other bloggers have on their menu for the week!

Lessons learned from a frog

Yesterday morning we walked into the garage, like we always do when we get ready to go, and Mike took Kaitlyn around to her side of the car to strap her in her car seat.

I was getting into the car when I heard him say, "Oh! Look at that! There's a frog over here!" The frog was several feet away.

As Mike and Kaitlyn were looking at it, the frog hopped to the side a little and Kaitlyn let out a blood-curdling SCREAM.

She absolutely FREAKED! OUT!

We tried to reassure her that, 1) the frog wasn't going to hurt her; and 2) if the frog came anywhere close to her, she was in Daddy's arms and he would take care of her.

Our reassurances didn't do much to calm her, and she continued to freak out until we drove out of the garage. She talked about the frog the whole way (30 minutes) to Meagan's house.

As we drove, it struck me that Kaitlyn was only looking at the frog in relation to herself. She didn't see the frog in relation to her Daddy, or in relation to the fact that she was being held (and protected) by her Daddy.

And then it struck me that I often do the same thing when faced with "frogs" in my own life. I look at the circumstance in relation to ME, instead of seeing it from the perspective of my Heavenly Father.

When I look at various situations, all I can see is an icky, slimy frog who might pounce on me at any moment. The only thing I think about is what will *I* do if it jumps at me? What if it lands on my foot? What would I do? What if it knocks me over and starts hopping all over me??? What if it gets slime on me and I can't wash it off and then I'll be late for work and then I might get fired and then we might lose our house and then what would we do?

OH MY WORD THIS IS A HORRIBLE SITUATION AND WHAT AM I GOING TO DO????

[said in the whiniest and most panicked voice ever]

Yeah, so that's a little silly, but don't we sometimes get outrageous in our "what if" questions, when we let fear take over? I know I do.

These are the times when God (who is holding me in his arms) says, "Um, Erin, it's a frog. I'm bigger than it. Remember?"

The whole frog scenario was a great reminder to me, that I need to keep my eyes on Jesus. We have a few frogs in our garage (metaphorically speaking) at the moment, but I won't worry about them because God is so much bigger.

Ok, my flesh might take over now and then and I'll worry just a teensy bit.

But the Holy Spirit will gently remind me to put things in perspective. Instead of magnifying the problem (which leads to worry) I need to magnify the Lord (which leads to faith).

"O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together." Psalm 34:3

Just call me Betty

As in, Crocker.

Or, you might just call me crazy.

On Sunday I decided to make my own bread.

There were several motivating factors:

1) I now have a kitchen with enough space to do something like this
2) I now have a dishwasher
3) I enjoy making stuff from scratch
4) I wanted to see if this might be an occasional way to make something healthier and cheaper than what I buy at the store

I used this recipe for "Kid-Friendly Wheat Bread", but since I don't have a bread machine, or a mixer with a dough hook (or whatever it's called), I found these instructions to help me with the mixing/kneading part.

And yes, you read that right. I did everything by hand. It made me feel a little bit like a genuine pioneer woman.

Except that I have central air.

And a dishwasher.

And I wasn't wearing any form of a petticoat.

Isn't "petticoat" a funny word?

Ok, let's focus and get back on topic here. Where was I? Oh yes, the bread.

I was very pleased with the results. When it was warm out of the oven it was oh so very yummy! It wasn't quite as melt-in-your-mouth-yummy the next day, but it was still good.

I'm not sure if I'll be making my own bread on a regular basis, but at least I am no longer intimidated to try my hand at other yeast breads. The whole process was actually much easier than I thought it would be.

Here is a picture of the half-eaten results:



This success has spurred me on to try other recipes and to do more baking this year. Maybe I'll finally get around to making these. I've never tasted them, but they look absolutely delicious in Sara's picture and she has assured me that they taste as good (or better) than they look!

Works for me Wednesday - Pandora

A few months ago, I was introduced to the wonder of Pandora. Here's how it works:

1. You type in the name of a specific artist, or a song, or a style of music.

2. Pandora will find music similar to the artist, or song, or style of music that you entered, and will play it for you. For example, if you enter "James Taylor", it will create a playlist based on his style of music that will include some songs from him, and lots of songs by other artists like him.

3. If you create an account, Pandora will give you the opportunity to provide feedback on the songs you like or don't like. If it plays a song that you really like, you can give it a thumbs up. If it plays a song that you hate, you can give it a thumbs down. This helps the site to refine exactly the type of music you want to hear.

The great thing is that you can create lots of "radio stations", and every time you log in you can choose one you have already created, or you can start a new one.

And, the thing I REALLY love about it is the "QuickMix".

The QuickMix allows you to combine several of your stations into one big playlist. I love this because my musical tastes are all over the place, and Pandora allows me to bring them all together in one big group hug.

Here are the "stations" in my current QuickMix:
Salvador
James Taylor
Bon Jovi
Disco
The Righteous Brothers
Hillsong

See what I mean about my tastes being all over the place?

Another great thing (how many times have I said that now?) is it has introduced me to new artists. (Or old artists that I've heard of, but never paid attention to.) When I hear a song that I like but don't recognize, I'll click over to Pandora and it will give me all the info about the song/artist/album.

AND... it's all FREE. No commercials.

That totally works for me! Take a peek at Rocks in my Dryer for more great Works for Me Wednesday ideas.

Menu Plan Monday - week of 9.22.08

So this has now turned into "Menu Plan Tuesday". Oh well. Here is what is on the menu for this week:

Monday
Omelets

Tuesday
Pork roast and potatoes in the crock pot

Wednesday
Tacos

Thursday
Chili

Friday
Up for grabs

It's a pretty simple menu, but this week will be fairly busy between Mike's work load and family activities.

Next week Mike's company will be moving to a new factory, and to say that he's a little stressed about the details would be an understatement.

Regarding the family activities, we are celebrating my parents' 40th wedding anniversary this weekend. Their anniversary is at the end of October, but we originally decided to celebrate early as a family so they could take the time around their actual anniversary date to celebrate as a couple.

Unfortunately, my mom's chemo treatments will probably prevent them from doing anything too flashy for this year, but I'm sure they'll make up for it later.

Speaking of chemo, she is set to start this on October 7 so if you think of it, please pray that things will go as smoothly as possible.

On another note, I must tattle on her just a little. Last week she got a teensy bit carried away while rocking in her glider, and she tipped it over backwards.

I think she just wanted a little excitement and decided to create some.

She's always been a rebel like that.

(Next thing you know, she'll be trying to roller skate in the driveway.)

Ok, anyway, back to the topic of menu planning. If you want to see more menus, head over to orgjunkie.com. This week Laura is doing a themed Menu Plan Monday and has asked everyone to post a family favorite recipe, so you should be able to find lots of great recipes to try out.

As you may have noticed, I have not posted a family favorite recipe. In light of this, and in light of the fact that I am posting my Menu Plan Monday on a Tuesday, I will not link to my blog from Laura's MPM post.

I would hate for people to come in search of a family favorite and all they would find is a story about how my mom is off her rocker. (They would also probably think that I inherited the rebel gene from my mom, which I probably did.)

My sweet baby girl

Ok, so my sweet baby girl is not so much a baby anymore. But I still call her my baby, which I think is something most mothers do for quite some time.

(Which means I'm normal. At least on this count.)

Two weeks ago she turned two, and I am finally getting around to posting my official "I can't believe my baby turned two" post.

***************

Kaitlyn, when I was pregnant with you, I, like any mother-to-be, had visions of what my labor and delivery would be like. (And, by the way, those visions are usually NOT the way things go.)

One of the things I envisioned was the moment they would put my sweet baby girl in my arms, and I would kiss your head full of dark brown hair. Imagine my surprise when they showed me my towheaded baby!

I was shocked. If I hadn't been the only pregnant woman laying on the operating table in the room (you arrived via C-section), I seriously would have doubted that you were mine.


Where, in heaven's name, did that bleach blond hair come from??

I have since learned that both of your grandpas had blond hair when they were little, which explains where the recessive gene came from. The one thing I know is that it sure showed up on your little head with a vengeance!

While we were in the hospital you were the talk of the maternity ward. All the nurses would come in and say, "Oh, is this the blond baby we've heard so much about?" There were nurses who would stop in, even though we weren't assigned to them, just to see you and your hair.

The thing that made your hair remarkable is that you had so much of it. It was actually long.

When Daddy first called your Grandma in California to tell her about you, he said, "She has long blond hair." And Grandma said, "Oh, she does not! Babies don't have long hair."

When she finally saw a picture of you, she said, "Oh my goodness! She does have long hair!"


Your Dad and I were clueless and freaked out when we brought you home. We knew that we would be good parents - it's just that we weren't quite used to our new job description yet.

On our first night at home you would not stop crying. We didn't know what to do. Did your tummy hurt? Were you uncomfortable? Were you hungry? Were we doing something wrong? Did we need to call the doctor?

We made a frantic call to Aunt Monica.

"What do we do??????"

(Poor Aunt Monica.)

We eventually learned that you liked to cry. You didn't cry all the time, but you made your fair share of noise.

You also liked to be held in one particular way - you wanted to be on your stomach, but propped up so you could see what was going on. This was highly inconvenient. (But, just so you know, most of parenting is.)

You were always a social little person, and you still are. You enjoy people and want to be a part of whatever is going on. You are very aware of your surroundings.

The other week when I picked you up from Meagan's house, and as we got to the car I could faintly hear Meagan's phone start to ring. You looked at me and said, "Meagan's phone - ring." How did you notice that? How do you pick up on these things?

You also quickly pick up on songs and things on TV. When you started to sing along with the "Friends" theme song, I knew it was time to officially enforce a ban on any show that had questionable themes or language. (At least while you are awake.)

Your favorite TV show has always been Curious George. You love the episode where George has to take care of the animals on a farm, and you giggle like crazy at the end when he is driving around on the tractor, causing chaos.

It reminds me SO MUCH of how I used to laugh while watching "The Little Rascals". Someday I'll have to introduce you to Spanky, Alfalfa, and the rest of the gang and we can laugh our heads off together.

You take after me in a lot of other ways, too, and I underestimated how freaky that would be. For example, you are highly independent, but are easily frustrated when it can't be done the way you want it done, when you want it done.

I wonder if you will also be competitive.

(This, you would get from your Dad.)

(And maybe just a *teensy* bit from me.)

(Ok, maybe a little more than that.)

I'm a little biased, but I do think you are a smart little girl. You like to figure things out. I can already see that you are a good problem solver.

And you love books. Just last weekend I read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" several times in a row, and then you turned around and "read" it to me. Of course you didn't read the words, but you retold the story and I was surprised at how many of the concepts and phrases you got right.

You have quite a sense of humor, little girl. You enjoy laughing - you laugh at TV shows, like I mentioned above, but you also love to be silly and to laugh at or with other people.

I'll never forget the first time you had a true belly laugh - it was when you were four months old, and we were at your great-grandpa's house for Christmas. You thought your cousin, Ethan, was hilarious. You had us all in stitches with your contagious laughter.

I don't quite know how to end this because I could go on and on about you. Since you were born you have been a constant source of joy for your Daddy and me, even in the midst of the frustrations. We are so happy that God has entrusted you to us, and we can't wait to see the plans He has for your life.

One thing I suspect is that God has created a passion in your little heart for prayer. You've always been very tuned in to prayer, and you love to pray. You once prayed for Daddy's hip when it was out of place, and the next morning he was 100% better.

One morning, while we were driving to Meagan's, you insisted that we pray for Aunt Monica and your two cousins. I later remembered that it was their first day of school, and found out from Aunt Monica that one of them had had a rough morning and had certainly needed some prayer.

Yes, I think God has given you a gift of prayer.

My prayer for you is that you will never lose your faith in the power of prayer, and that you will always have a tender heart that knows you can talk to your Heavenly Father about anything, at any time. I pray that your Daddy and I will have wisdom in raising you, and that we will be godly examples for you.

I love you sweetie pie! Happy (belated) second birthday!

Poor Man's Steak, and how I almost poisoned my entire family

As promised, below is the recipe for Poor Man's Steak that I mentioned earlier this week. It is from the Fix It and Forget It Cookbook, which is full of wonderful recipes for the slow cooker.

This particular recipe only needs to cook for 2-3 hours on low, so it is perfect to throw in the crock pot on a Sunday morning before church.

It's also perfect for Saturday night guests, like we'll be having this weekend. I can mix it up a couple of days before, put it in the crock pot on Saturday afternoon, and know that I don't have to worry about my main course.

(Worrying about the bathrooms being clean and whether or not I've removed the layer of dust on my furniture, well, that's a different story.)

I do have three words of caution about the recipe.

First, it needs to be refrigerated for at least eight hours, so you need to plan ahead.

Second, don't accidentally mix the cream of mushroom soup and water in with the meat mixture. Yeah, I did this once (thankfully it wasn't for company) and I ended up with this mushy concoction that I had to finish baking in the oven. I baked it for 2+ extra hours because it was so mushy that I couldn't tell if it was done.

Third, use caution if you make this with lean ground turkey. The problem with this is that mixing lean ground turkey with the other ingredients and then dousing it in cream of mushroom soup makes it difficult to tell if it's completely done.

Plus, the time I made it with turkey, I must have done something extra to mess it up although I'm not sure what that was. All I know is that I pulled it out and thought it was done.

But it wasn't.

Unfortunately, I served this to my family.

It was quite comical. Eight of us were crammed into our small dining room - I think whoever sat at the end of the table was actually in the living room. After everyone got their serving, I noticed that they were looking intently at the meat and were sort of pushing it around on their plates.

I realized, with horror, that the meat was not completely cooked. I had almost inadvertently poisoned my entire family.

We didn't have a lot of room in our kitchen, so our microwave cart was out in the dining room. For the next ten or fifteen minutes the whole family passed their plates, one by one, around to me so I could pop them in the microwave and finish cooking the turkey.

I can just imagine, years from now, sitting around the Christmas tree with my family and recalling those treasured family memories.

"Do you remember the time Aunt Erin tried to poison us?"

"Yeah."

"Those were good times."

It makes me feel a little like Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha from Arsenic and Old Lace.

Anyway, here is the recipe. Please don't use it to poison anyone.

Poor Man's Steak
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup cracker crumbs
1 tsp. brown sugar
10 3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can water

1. Mix together all ingredients except soup and water. Shape into narrow loaf. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

2. Slice and fry until brown in skillet.

3. Mix soup and water together until smooth. Spread diluted soup on each piece. Place slices into cooker. Pour any remaining soup over slice in cooker.

4. Cover. Cook on low 2-3 hours.

Unwelcome houseguest

Ike, or at least what was left of him, came for a visit at our house this past weekend.

It rained and rained and rained on Friday night, most of the day Saturday, and most of the day Sunday.

I didn't mind the rain, until I went down to the basement after church on Sunday. I was in my bare feet and I thought, "Why do I feel like my feet are getting wet?"

Then I realized that water was oozing up through the carpet, and a small puddle had formed in front of our entertainment center.

Nice.

So, Mike ventured out in the downpour to buy a shop vac and some extenders for the downspout on that corner of the house. I thought he might also come home with pairs of animals, a dove, and an olive branch.

Thankfully it only affected that one room, and nothing was damaged. With the help of a couple fans, the trusty shop vac, and a few dry days, hopefully everything will be back to normal soon.

I also realize that our visit from Ike is trivial compared to what happened down south. My prayers go out to those who are facing weeks and months (and maybe years) of clean up and recovery. After seeing pictures of the damage, I think I can handle a little water in the basement.

(Plus, it's better than having bats.)

Random thoughts, in list form

1. I love Aldi's. I've heard from several people (including BooMama) that shredded cheese is up to $4-5 for a two-cup bag. Yikes! I went to Aldi's today and their shredded cheese is $2.99 for a three-cup bag. Yay for Aldi's!!
   
   Other things worth mentioning - their milk is $2.29/gallon, and their generic cereal (which, in my opinion, is just as good as name brand) is $1.89 for a 14.5oz box of the generic honey combs. If you've never shopped at Aldi's but have one in your area, you really should check it out. (Just be sure to take a quarter for a shopping cart, and realize that you'll bag your own groceries and will either need to buy bags or take your own.)
   



2. I realized today that my life has been taken over by little girl's hair thingies. You know, hair clips, hair bands, barrettes, etc. I find them in the car, in my purse, in my pockets, and all over the house. This realization made me feel simultaneously content and old. (Odd, I know.) Content because it makes me feel so mom-like. And old because, well, it makes me feel so mom-like. Oh the irony!



3. Confession: I made chocolate chip cookies this weekend and I think I ate an entire dozen (or two) all by myself. I felt blah all day yesterday.



4. Do you know how nice it was to take all of the dishes I dirtied while making cookies and plop them into the dishwasher? I love it! I feel like a whole new woman in the kitchen. (Does that make me sound like an infomercial?) If only it would also wash away the calories. **sigh**
   



5. Do you also know how nice it was to pull into an attached garage yesterday after church, during the Ike monsoon? At our old house we would have had to concoct a strategy for getting everything and everyone from the car to the house, and it would have involved some form of running or dashing or, at the very least, speed walking. Maybe a hop and skip in there as well. Between the dishwasher and the garage, I feel like I'm living in the lap of luxury.



6. Regarding this lap of luxury, something I realized a few weeks ago is that I would not appreciate the luxuries of my new house if I hadn't experienced the frustrations of my old house. Having to live for a time without certain things makes us appreciate those things even more, once we do have them. This is a good reminder for me, and also a good truth to remember as I parent.
   
   Sometimes being a good parent means saying no, even when it is within my power to say yes.



7. It is shocking to look at Kaitlyn and love her so much, and realize that sometimes being a good parent means saying no, even when it is within my power to say yes, and wonder how often God feels that way about me.
   



8. Kaitlyn had her two-year check up last Friday. It was an eventful visit to the doctor because she was SO! LOUD! in the waiting room. By the time we were called back, everyone in the waiting room knew that the fish tank had blue fish, and that the batteries in the toys were dead. For fifteen minutes that's all she talked about - over and over and over and over again.
   
   Hopefully everyone in the room either understands what it's like to have a two-year-old, or they went home with a new-found appreciation that they don't have a two-year-old.



9. Kaitlyn is 36" tall and weighs 23 lbs, 2 oz. She is in the 95th percentile for her height, and the 50th percentile for weight. And yet, she is still in 18-month pants. (And 2T or 3T shirts.) Crazy.



10. Our cat, Emmy, has formed this strange love/hate relationship with Kaitlyn. She'll saunter over to where Kaitlyn is playing, and pretty much beg for Kaitlyn's attention. Then she complains and looks tortured the whole time that Kaitlyn pets her, but she won't go away. Weird.

Menu Plan Monday - week of 9.15.08

I think I'm finally back on track and back in a routine with menu planning. I doubt that I will follow my plan to a "T", but for me, the point of creating the plan is to be in control of my grocery list (and money) and to know that I have definite options for meals during the week.

So... here we go...

Monday - Up for Grabs
This is coming earlier in the week than it has in the past, but I don't feel like cooking tonight and we have left overs in the fridge and lots of miscellaneous options that will make for a great "up for grabs" night.

Tuesday - Goulash (or something resembling it)
I will mix ground beef, noodles, canned tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, and who knows what else into a goulashesque concoction.

Wednesday - Pork Chops, Stuffing and Cooked Carrots
I'm not exactly sure how I'll make the chops - I'll probably throw them in the oven with some cream of something soup.

(Hmmm... I'm beginning to realize that I've used the term "plan" a little loosely since it appears that I have lots of ingredients, but the way in which I use them will be decided on the fly...)

Thursday - Frozen Pizza and Veggies
Not exactly the most nutritious, but it's nice to throw it in the plan every once in a while

Friday - Leftover Goulash
I'm sure we'll have oodles of this leftover, and it will make for an easy start to the weekend.

On Saturday night we are having some new friends over for dinner (they also happen to be our neighbors) and I will make Poor Man's Steak in the Crock Pot. When I find the recipe, I'll come back and post it. It's a keeper! [I have now added the recipe here.]

Also, last week we had spaghetti one night and I got to thinking about the sauce. Somehow we always end up with a little more sauce than pasta and I throw it away because it's not enough to do anything with.

This time, I decided to add a can of diced tomatoes to the jar of sauce, to stretch it a little bit. Then I saved the sauce, bought some whole wheat hoagie rolls and mozzarella cheese, and last night I made a cross between pizza bread and open faced meatball sandwiches.

It was sooooo yummy, and I was happy to have finally found a way to use the extra sauce, especially considering the rising cost of food. Next time I might also add fresh mushrooms and bell peppers to the sauce to sneak in extra veggies and to stretch it even further.

Visit orgjunkie.com for more great meal ideas!

Videos for which there are no words

Well, there probably are words.

Like, please don't do this at your church, or on your Christian TV show.

The first video was found through a friend on Facebook. (Thanks Tal!) The second was found via the blog of a guy that went to middle school with my sisters.

Well, technically, I also went to school with him since we attend the same small Christian school. But I was in kindergarten and he was probably in the seventh or eighth grade, so I think you can understand why we didn't hang out much.

Anyway... I found Matt's blog about a week ago - just in time to see him post this jewel.

On this first video, you have to hang in until at least the two minute mark to see the guy do some really bad dancing.

(I promise that the dancing at the two minute mark is worse than the dancing at the beginning. Oh yes ma'am, it certainly is. You may doubt that it could get any worse, but I'm here to tell you that unfortunately, it really does.)

Birthday party, and an ode to cheap gifts from Wal-Mart

Last night we celebrated Kaitlyn's birthday. My parents, sister, brother-in-law, nephew and niece came over to help us celebrate. Here are a few pictures of the evening...

We did a princess theme and got a Little Mermaid cupcake "cake"


Blowing out the candles

After she blew out the candles, she accidentally put her hand in the frosting writing beside the cake. She wasn't quite sure what to do about that at first, then she tasted it. Yummmm!

Getting down to business

After cake and ice cream, we moved on to opening presents. My sister's family got her a dog from Build-a-Bear. Kailtyn was very interested in what was in the box, but as soon as she saw the dog she pulled back, folded her arms, and said, "I don't want that!"

I don't know what it was about the dog that freaked her out, but she refused to have anything do with it until she discovered that she could take the shoes off. (She has a fascination with taking shoes off and putting them on again.) Here she is warming up to the dog.

My parents gave her money, intending for us to use it to buy some things for her room. (Possibly a new bedspread? Or maybe some fun artwork? Hmmm... Mom is going to have fun spending this!)

When she saw the money she took it and started "counting" it. Of course she didn't really count it, but she laid it all out on the floor in a way that made it look like she knew exactly what she was doing.

She loves playing with and mothering her baby, so we wanted to get her some toys that could foster her imagination in that area. We found two little gift packs at Wal-Mart (for $5 each - woohoo!) that have various baby-related items, such as bottles, diapers, pretend lotion, soap, food, etc.

And, of course, the el-cheapo gifts from Wal-Mart turned out to be her favorite.

I don't have any pictures of her playing with the play kitchen we got for her. Probably because she didn't really play with it, except for the spoon she used to feed her baby the pretend food from the el-cheapo gift.

Another recent cheap Wal-Mart gift was a little umbrella stroller we bought for her to push her baby around. It cost $7, and is probably the best investment we've made in a while - she LOVES that thing.

Apparantly we have not been doing nearly enough shopping at Wal-Mart.

I have more pictures and videos that I've finally saved on my computer - my intention is to get those posted sometime soon. (Which probably means that I'll have them up just before Christmas.)

I've also intended to post one of those mushy "I can't believe my baby had a birthday" messages, but so far I can't seem to get my mind fully wrapped around that. (Again, this means that I'll probably get it posted sometime around Thanksgiving.)

Bouncing back

I think we are finally getting back to normal, whatever "normal" is. I am still not feeling 100%, but I am close to it. I can't believe how much this virus kicked my butt - today is day #12 or 13 that I've been affected by it. Yuck.

One sign of normalcy is that I created a menu plan this weekend. Creating it took more energy than I thought it would, so I definitely wasn't going to get it posted. (Maybe next week.)

Another sign of normalcy is that I went shopping at Aldi's. I generally buy half (or more) of my grocery list from Aldi's because it is so much cheaper, but I have to be more intentional about shopping there because it's farther away from home. (And the past two months have not lent themselves to being intentional about anything.)

I am also back to work, which is bittersweet. I'm glad to be back in the swing of things but I am very much missing my afternoon nap. It's amazing how you can become so accustomed to something after just a week and a half.

My mom is also bouncing back, and had a good doctor's appointment today. It seems that her recovery is right on schedule. Praise the Lord!

I need to stop by later to write another post, dedicated to my little girl who is turning two today. I can't believe that my profile picture is already a year old, and I can't believe how much she has grown up since it was taken.

**sniff sniff**

But, more on that later. For now I am off to try and knock out more of my work to-do list without falling asleep at my desk. Maybe I should go grab some caffeine...