appel farms

Amelia had a field trip to a cheese farm today. The weather cooperated beautifully and we were able to check out some cute albeit smelly cows. Amelia did exactly what I expected her to do - walk around with her nose pinched for the first while. She is her mother's daughter. Amelia asked me if they use baking powder to make cheese and from what we saw today I would say no. There was a cute farm cat that seemed to follow us around and the cows would sniff and lick her when she walked by. Interesting.  We ended the tour at their cheese shop where I picked up some yummy cheeses to sample!

survival tip...

Mom, foxes eat meat and meat is inside you so if you see a fox you need to run away!

(told to me this morning while brushing Amelia's teeth)

monday meal plan

monday:spaghetti and meatballs with salad
tuesday: left overs
wednseday: grilled chicken with broccoli salad and sweet potato fries
thursday: fish tacos with rice and beans
friday: homemade pizza and smoothies
saturday: dinner at Disneyland!

frog bonanza....

Dale has been going a little rogue in the landscaping department lately. We are down two large trees (too close to the foundation) and a front corner garden. While digging out the front garden yesterday Dale found a frog jackpot in the water main thing-a-moo-dobber. The kids were over the moon and had  a great time playing with their new 'pets'.

the duck pond

Last Saturday Dale was at a class and the sun was shining. I gathered up the kids and a few slices of bread and we headed to the duck pond. We have been going there since Aiden was a baby and I wanted to take some pictures to remember these times. I'm sure all too quickly the kids will think it's 'lame' to go feed the ducks. But for know we like it. 'Like it' as in I can tolerate it for a few minutes but as soon as the ducks start to get aggressive and swarm you on land my moderate bird phobia goes in overdrive and I'm backing up leaving the kids to fend for themselves. Fabulous mother aren't I?

meal plan mondays

monday: crock pot bean burritos and fresh veggies
tuesday: blt's
wednesday: chipotle pork roast, polenta and spinach salad
thursday: baja shrimp tacos, refried beans and mexican rice
friday: homemade pizza and fruit smoothies
saturday: left overs
sunday: night off

craigslist snafoo

Dale checks out craigslist a lot. Time to time we find something to chuckle at. Remember the 'slightly used' stripper pole? Tonight he found something grosser. Baby change table or kitchen island! The seller states she used it as a baby change table but you could use it a kitchen island! Complimentary E.Coli :)

self esteem

Yesterday we were getting ready for a birthday party. I asked Amelia if I could put a big flower clip in her hair. I told Amelia she would look adorable with the pretty hair clip. She looked at herself in the mirror and replied "No I just want to look cute today not adorable. Just cute the way I am."
How could I argue with that?

meal plan frame

I realized this week I need to have our meals for the week displayed prominently . I had made dinner before going to work on Monday and thought Dale would see the giant casserole in the fridge for dinner. But if you don't look in the fridge you don't know that dinner is made and you take the kids to the Shrimp Shack for dinner. I'm hoping this will be hard to miss... I just need to pick up a black dry erase marker this week end and fill in the blanks.

balloon wreath

I saw this cute craft on a blog a few weeks ago and thought it looked cheap and easy enough to tackle with Amelia. It cost a bit more than I anticipated but it was easy and Amelia liked to help sort the colors while I pushed the pins in the wreath. My thumbs were a bit sore the next day. Now we have a fun decoration for anyone's birthday and I'm hoping to find a small chalkboard to hang in the center to personalize each celebration!
ps March in the Pacific Northwest is acceptable swimsuit weather is it not?
pps Don't you like the stick on jewelry?

meal plan mondays

trying to have a bit more organization in my life...

monday: scalloped potatoes and ham with green beans
tuesday: leftovers
wednesday:  Costco rotisserie chicken,roasted brussel sprouts and spicy n sweet butternut squash
thursday: sesame seared albacore tuna, roasted asparagus and brown rice spinach pilaf
friday: turkey burgers, sweet potato fries and edemmame
saturday: night off
sunday: chipotle pork roast, polenta and black beans with green salad

this week end was...

yummy homemade omelets
shopping with gift cards
a bike upgrade for Amelia
family bike ride at Semiahmoo
beach time
Nerf target practice
Thai food
Ugandan Orphan's choir
quad time for Dale and Aiden
laundry
family movie date

Boomer's

wednesday weigh in

I know it's not Wednesday and I know I haven't posted anything regarding my weight loss. But it just seems to being slowly but steadily. Yesterday I hit the 11 pound weight loss mark and it felt good! I still have 24 pounds to go but I think I will break it up into smaller milestones. My next goal is to lose 4 pounds before April. That will set me up to countdown the last twenty pounds in smaller manageable chunks.