tree huggers

We decided to take advantage of our rain free Sunday and toddle down to Elizabeth Park. Brrr. The kids 'climbed' (rather Dale placed them in the trees) and we played tag. A quick play at the playground and we were ready to head back to our warm house.

pink, please.

Amelia moved into a big girl bed last week. Besides the cessation of naps it's gone smoothly. We decided to make her room a bit more 'Amelia' by painting it pink! She loves it.

meal plan monday

sunday: ham, roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli bake,
monday: Swiss steak (thanks Mary) baked potatoes, salad
tuesday:(I work) ham leftovers
wednesday: tuna burgers, coleslaw, carrots and hummus
thursday: (I work) maple walnut chicken, couscous, green beans
friday: (I work and bb practice) corn dog muffins(recipe on blog), veggies and dip
saturday& sunday: boys week end in Eastern Washington.

maple glazed stuffed pork roast

Sounds a lil fancy but it was easy! I ripped this off from the Kraft website (you can sub pear for the apple and add nuts if you're into that type of thing. Dale and I are into that type of thing but the kids are not and this was a kid pleaser meal. The sacrifices we makes as parents!)

2 Tbsp. butter
1 apple, chopped
1-1/2 cups hot water
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 pork loin (2 lb), butterflied
2 Tbsp. maple-flavored or pancake syrup
2 Tbsp. GREY POUPON Hearty Spicy Brown Mustard
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

MELT butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add apples; cook and stir 3 min. or until crisp-tender. Add water and stuffing mix; cover. Let stand 5 min,; mix lightly.

SPOON stuffing mixture onto cut-side of meat to within 1/2 inch of edge. Roll up, jelly-roll fashion, starting at one of the short ends. Place seam-side down, in roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray.

BAKE 1 hour. Mix syrup, mustard and rosemary; spread over meat. Bake 20 min. or until meat is done (160°F). Let stand 15 min. before slicing to serve.

c.r.a.z.y.

Yesterday was not a great day day. It started before school when I was trying to reach something on the top shelf of the garage and I spilled a container of paint all over. All over the floor, my new freezer, a few splashes on my car. Awesome. Cleaning up paint is just smearing paint. I was frantically trying to clean the mess up before driving the carpool to school, drop Amelia at a friend's and return to the school to help in Aiden's class. I like helping in Aiden's class but yesterday was a bit overwhelming. I was working with three kids that require so much help that either them or the rest of the class is going to suffer this year. It made realize we are going to have to work so much harder with Aiden at home if we want him to be as successful as he can be. Then when I returned home and was trying to make dinner before work I spilled an entire bag of brown rice all over the kitchen. I could have got the shop vac out of the garage but I was trying to forget the giant paint mess that was still there. Dale called right then to let me know he is going to require some incredibly expensive dental work. Great. Work just seems to be an added stress these days. And to keep with the theme of my day I was at work until 2am. This morning I lay in bed and counted my blessings (there are a ton) before getting up and facing the day. It's going to be so much better!

meal plan monday

monday: leftover potato burritos and salad
tuesday: teriyaki meatballs over brown rice, stir fry veggies
wednesday: lasagna, salad
thursday: stuffed pork loin, roasted vegetables and sweet potatoes
friday: Dale and the kids fun night, I'll be fine dining at the cardiac conference
saturday: chicken fajitas
sunday: BBQ steak, twice baked potatoes, green beans and carrots

trick or treat

Halloween we had a little pre funk with friends and then let the kids loose in the neighborhood. I love to watch the kids trick or treat while it's still light out. It was a bonus that it wasn't raining. Our neighbor and Amelia both were dressed as Snow White.Amelia did our street and then joined me inside to hand out candy. We didn't get many kids this year but I was impressed with the ones that did come. Their costumes were fabulous and every single one had great manners.