weekly menu:: week 44

this week it's all about fall flavors.

making this week:
monday: chicken, spaghetti and hot dogs for the kids
tuesday: pork chops, homemade applesauce, autumn salad
wednesday: biscuit topped chicken pot pie
thursday: butternut squash soup, grilled cheese sandwiches
friday: pizza?  feeling like i need a break from pizza so this is subject to change.
saturday: the boys are on a campout, girls are eating out
sunday: leftovers

baking this week:
at first i thought it would be crazy to bake something on the week of halloween.  but to be honest i'm not a big candy eater.  i can have a few pieces and be good.  so i know i won't be eating them all week.  i'm really craving more pumpkin bread so i thought i would give this pumpkin pull apart bread a try. i will make these modifications to it.

have a wonderful halloween.

five on friday:: trick or treats

today is the school's halloween carnival.  it's the first year i am not on the planning committee.
tomorrow we have a halloween birthday party.
and monday we'll be out with the ghouls and goblins scoring some babe ruths and snicker bars.

needless to say, halloween is here.
i've made a few things over the years that would be perfect to serve on halloween or take to a halloween pot luck.

1. mummy cupcakes

love this idea.  it's so easy if you use a boxed cake mix and store bought icing, like i did.  i made mini cupcakes for the middle school dance last week and they turned out so cute.  i drizzled the icing in a zig zag pattern and used mini m&m's for the eyes.  i ended up with over 100 cupcakes using 2 cake mixes.

2.  apple coffee cake

i know this isn't halloween-ish but it's so good i had to share.  the apple filling was just perfect.  a great, not too sweet treat to have with some coffee. the recipe is quite a process, not an easy one.  but in the end it was worth it.

3. mini pumpkin tiramisus

wow.  these were so good.  cream cheese and pumpkin filling, layered with whipped cream and lady fingers.  and then topped with chocolate shavings.  just a note, i made these for our kindergarten social.  i made them ahead of time and then put them on the serving platter and then drove to the house where we were having the social. i held them on my lap the entire ride over and freaked out as they slid and tipped over.  bobby had to drive 15 miles an hour the whole way there.  BIG mistake. i obviously didn't think this through and will do it differently next time for sure.  but these were definitely worth making again.  find the recipe here.

4. chili and chips

i thought i had this recipe posted somewhere on my blog.  maybe i do and i just can't find it right now.  super easy turkey chili.  cook up the ground turkey with a little garlic salt and then put in your crock pot.  add a can of kidney beans, a can of chopped tomatoes, 2 cans of chili beans and let it go.  no need to add seasoning, the chili beans do all the work.  i top it with shredded cheese, sour cream and green onions.  and look what i found at the store this week.

i'm such a sucker for marketing.

5. hot dog mummies

i made these last year for the kids but never got a good picture of them.  hot dogs wrapped in breadstick dough.  use ketchup or mustard for eyes.  recipe can be found here.

have fun celebrating or relaxing this weekend.

blog your heart

i have to be honest...
i've been struggling with what to post for the last few weeks.
i mean really struggling.
i think you can tell.
i put it off.  i write at the last minute.  i don't have a plan.

today i knew i wanted to write about honesty.
being honest.
with myself.
with life.

then i read this post by stephanie howell.
and there was my answer.

blog from the heart.

so here goes:

1.  i've been so preoccupied lately.  stressed, overwhelmed, a little loopy.  it's a busy time.  the kids had an incredible amount of homework and projects and tests last week.  we had parties and socials and meetings.  it got to be a little too much to stay on top of it all.  i'm glad that week is over.  this week it's been all about halloween.  school carnival, kids' costumes and parties.  the truth is the work never ends.  i need to learn to deal with it better.  yoga and running are helping.  at least to get rid of some of the stress and feel at the end of the day that i did something positive for me.

2. my to-do list isn't getting any shorter.  i have projects and housework that i have been trying to get to.   it seems overwhelming to start.  but the truth is that if i could get through it, it would make life so much easier.  getting rid of the clutter and excess helps us see clearly what we have and what we really need.  i'm focusing on doing it a little at a time. 15 minutes sound so much easier to handle than 3 hours.  it will get done in time.

3. halloween costumes...always a last minute task for us.  i'm not sure how into the holiday the kids are to begin with.  sofia didn't want to wear her pajamas to school yesterday on "pajama day".  i can't expect her to wear her costume to school on friday.  but we finally have them all.  and i know they will all look great.

4. work is on my mind.  work is always on my mind.  i think the topic alone warrants a blog post in itself.  i've been an at home mom for 12 years.  i've thought about going back to work for 12 years. i've done a little here and there.  but the reality is, the time has come to commit to something.  i have lots of questions, self doubt and excuses.  looking for the answers and advice as i go.

5. live in the moment.  last week when i was in the throws of cupcake making and event planning and dealing with issues at school i had a breakdown.  i cried.  i lost it.  i thought about everything that was going wrong, that i hadn't done, that i knew i had no control over.  and in that moment i asked myself, what do i need to accomplish right now?  forget about everything else.  what is the priority?  that was frosting the cupcakes.  that's what i did.  i focused all of my energy on doing it and doing it well. and somehow that made everything better.

6. i've had conversations with friends who read my blog and i'm afraid i'm leaving an impression that i have it all together.  could not be farther from the truth.  maybe i just choose to focus on the positive and fun on this blog (except for maybe this post).  the yoga teacher told us in class that you can train your mind to think about the details of one thing so that it doesn't wander off and think about those things you'd rather not think about.  life for me is not hard.  life is challenging.  and it comes in waves.  the great thing is that i can recognize the bad and the good.  i am thankful for all of it. i am more grateful than i have ever been in my life.  thankful for my family, my home, the things that we are able to do, the body that keeps me moving everyday, whether i am nice to it or not.  that's what i write about.

and i am so very thankful that you took the time to read this.

have a great one.

wordless wednesday:: friends and bullies

her friendship award

the 3 musketeers posing with the bully-o-meter from their play, "bullies anonymous"

weekly menu:: week 43

i made it through a very busy week.
i am heading into a very busy week.
i may not have it all in order.
but i know what we'll be having for dinner.

making this week::

monday:  potato crusted red snapper, steamed vegetables
tuesday:  chicken tostadas
wednesday:  black bean and grilled vegetable burritos
thursday: grilled balsamic bruschetta chicken sandwich, salad
friday: pizza 
saturday: birthday parties
sunday: no plans

i'll share my baking tomorrow.  there was a lot last week.  and it was all good.

happy monday!

wordless wednesday:: the process

currently

wondering what to say.
thinking that there is nothing exciting to talk about.
knowing that i have to keep practicing and writing.
upset that i forgot that today was mix and match day at school.  the kids looked very matched when they left in the morning.
preparing myself to tackle the mess in the sink.  how does it get like that in one day?
vowing to get things ready for school tomorrow...today.
making the apple coffee cake.
listening to adele's someone like you over and over.
enjoying the quietness of this day.
happy that i took yoga with my sister this morning.
committing to doing another 5k on thanksgiving morning.  it's time.
hoping this persistent cough goes away soon.
thinking and thinking and thinking.


wishing everyone a good day.