Snow in May & Update

The weather here took a crazy turn yesterday when the temperature dropped and a front moved into the area.  What did we get....SNOW!  Not only did it snow yesterday but is snowing again this morning.  What a crazy start to the month of May!

As an update on us, the busy month of April has tapered off into a much slower paced but event filled May.  May is a festive month for us because it contains 2 birthdays and our wedding anniversary.  In addition, as a faculty member May is full of final grades & graduation activities, and for those who participate in triathlons (for some reason, I can't seem to call myself a triathlete - that would indicate that I'm good rather than merely a survivor), May kicks off the tri season!

As I mentioned before my oldest's birthday party is this weekend (solar system themed) and I still have plenty on my to-do list to prepare.  In addition, this Sunday is also my first tri of the season.  Our friends from Denver are coming down for the weekend and my friend K is doing the tri as well!  We love them so much and can't wait to see them!

As far as the tri goes, I am not nearly as well prepared as I would like to be.  I haven't been in the pool in about a month and most of my bike training has been indoors on a trainer.  While that's par for the course for the first race of the season, I hope that I'm prepared enough to enjoy it.  Thankfully, the weather is supposed to be a warm sunny 80 by the weekend.  Please no more snow!  :)

Birthday Tea Party

My middle child turns 4 this week and wanted a very girlie "tea" for her birthday party, and girly it was!  Her older brother took one look at all the pink and flowers covering the downstairs and fled to the backyard (he was not opposed to eating the pink cupcakes though).   The party was fun to throw and also fun to plan.  Since it was a tea, but four year olds don't really like tea, I found a punch recipe that resembled iced tea.  My friend who decorates cakes made the cupcakes while I handled the rest of the food.  Everything was in the miniature: mini ham & cheese sandwiches, pigs in a blanket, frozen fruit cups, PB&J sandwiches & cream cheese & jelly sandwiches shaped like flowers, grapes, cheese & crackers.

For activities, the little girls decorated foam sun visors with flowers (I wanted to decorate straw hats, but the only ones I found were a bit more expensive than my budget would allow), and made fruit loop necklaces.   For tableware, I borrowed some crystal/glass tea cups and plates from church.  The girls were adorable and acted like grown ups with their fancy tea cups and plates.  They were extra careful with the breakable items and I'm happy to report that all borrowed items remained intact and will be returned on Wednesday. :)

It was a wonderful party and my girl was thankful enough afterwards to pose for a picture with her mom.  This was the first of 2 back-to-back birthday parties for us.  My oldest son turns 5 exactly a week after his sister turns 4 and we're having his "solar system" birthday bash next weekend. :)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

For the Love of Cooking

From many of my previous posts, you can probably tell that I love to cook.  However, juggling cooking with working is not always easy.  In general, I cook 3 times a week, we have leftovers 3 times/week and go out/get takeout once a week.  That seems to have worked well.  Below is my meal plan for the week - there are a few who have been asking how I organize the meals with working.  This is an atypical week b/c I usually do a lot of cooking and prep on the weekends, but was out of town this past weekend so will be putting the meals together in the mornings and evenings this week.

Tuesday (today): grocery store trip, eating out at a fundraiser

Wednesday: crock pot beef vegetable soup: throw the following in a crockpot and cook on low all day: 1 lb stew beef (trim excess fat), 1 cup each of the following: sliced carrots, sliced celery, and cubed potatoes; 1/2 cup of the following: corn, peas, chopped onion; 1 can tomato sauce, water to cover, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 TBS worceshestire sauce, 1 TBS kitchen bouquet.  I may make a cornbread to go wit this, but only if I have extra time tonight to bake it.

Thursday: Asian chicken salad (from a 1/2 a rotisserie chicken, the other half will be used for chicken salad sandwiches):

Friday: frozen pizza

Saturday: leftover soup (above)

Sunday: ham, brussel sprouts, baked fruit, rolls, deviled eggs,  for Easter (leftover ham will be lunch meat for the next 2 months)

Monday: chicken salad sandwiches & fruit

Tuesday: grocery trip.  TBA

Anyway, above is how I plan our meals and I definitely shop for everything we need for the week at one time.  I try to keep extras on hand so I can thrown a simple meal together if needed. 

Girls Weekend!

Whew - April really has been and will continue to be a busy, crazy month with soccer, dance, final exams, and graduation prep. In the midst of the madness, I dashed off to the northeast for a girls weekend with one of my best friends. We hadn't seen each other in almost 5 years!!!

The most wonderful thing about a close friend is that no matter how long it has been since you saw each other, you pick up right where you left off. We had a blast in NYC for a couple of days window shopping, going to a spa, and enjoying the city. Then we drove to the beautiful Connecticut town where she and her family live. They live about a mile from the water in a green, daffodil laden area where there are lots of young families. I found myself thinking how neat it would be to live there! The trip was a nice respite. Now with a voice hoarse from chatting incessantly and a suitcase considerably heavier than when I arrived, I sit at Laguardia waiting to board my flight. I can't wait to get home to my family but am so thankful to have been able to come for a visit!

Busy Times

Seems like the month of April is going to be pretty busy for our family.  I'll pick up blogging again some time after Easter.  Hope you all have a wonderful spring!

United States Quesadilla

My son created this while eating his lunch today after church.  He proudly exclaimed, "Look Mom!  It's a United States quesadilla!".  :)