I am really enjoying my new meal plan still from the Food Nanny. I emailed her today saying thanks and she emailed me back! How fun is that!!! This week I didn't feel as gung hoe with planning my meals. I have to say when you sit down to plan all your meals for the coming couple of weeks it feels a little overwhelming. But after you start deciding on the first few recipes and figure the ingredients it starts to flow and before you know it you have your plan done. And then it feels like a big relief to know what your cooking and you don't have to fret and stress over it. I can't tell you enough how great these recipes are! Every home needs this cook book.
I had a friend ask me today if I really only shopped once for two weeks. The answer is no. I do have to go back to the store the next week for perishable items like milk, and a few produce things. But it is still very easy because its just a few items. I have bought heavy cream or half and half that I was to use the second week and it turned out that the day I was planned to use that ingredient it was a day or two past the expiration date. My mom adamantly told me that if you use creams in a recipe that a day or two past the date is fine. So I did use it and it was good, but it made me aware that I won't buy certain things until the week I will be using them. A lot of produce last a long time but delicate items like spinach need to be bought the week of the meal. The main thing is to have two weeks of meals planned out and most of the shopping done.
I've been doing this meal plan for over 6 weeks now and I have felt a lot of satisfaction as a wife and mother knowing that I have made an awesome dinner. Everyone is tired at the end of the day and when my husband says, "That was the best pot pie I ever had!" it makes me feel proud and successful.
Today I made stir fry and fried rice for dinner. My husband has been requesting it for a month now. I don't really have a recipe for that. I find a nice marinade with sesame and ginger and soy sauce for the veggies and chicken. The fried rice I use oyster sauce, sesame seed oil and soy sauce. I made a simple one with green onion, frozen green peas and of course egg. I made separate white rice too but I probably could have forgone the fried rice except that it is so yummy I thought, "why not?" This meal was little tricky because I couldn't prepare any of it ahead of time. I had to make it all right before we ate and its difficult with lots of children at my heals. Unfortunately I had to threaten Andrea if she didn't help me with the baby she would be in BIG trouble! --I just have to get dinner done because Daddy will be home soon!
I also had my niece Mak over today and was helping her with her homework. It is nice to have her around. So some days I have 5 children! I can see that in the future most of my late afternoons and evenings are going to be spent helping with homework with all the kids! Yikes! --All the more reason to be organized with my meals! Organization is no longer a choice if I want to survive!
My sweetheart Lydia has recovered amazingly from her bike crash. A week later and you can barely see that she had any scrapes on her face.
On Monday I had a couple of hours because my two babes were sleeping and Lydia was at a friends house. I felt like taking a nap but instead felt like I needed to get my kids journals out. I realized it had been two months since I wrote in them and felt an urgency to get it caught up. I spent all that time writing in each one. I felt a little emotional about my sweet babies and how they are growing up. As I looked back on past entries I was amazed at how easily I can forget the details of each child's development. It seems like after I have had four babies that each stage from each child sort of blends in. I can almost think of my babies as one. Some things stick out as different for each of them but as a whole I generalize like, "oh yes I remember this age and stage and what babies like to do." I never want to forget their individuality and the feelings and emotions I have with them as a mother. I'm so glad I am recording it. I feel such gratitude and honor to be their mother. What matters most?
By the way,...King Benjamin is amazing!!!
Love and Light
