Jackson

I hope you are Rockin the Red today for Jackson.  Today is his MRI.  Today they will find out if his tumor is responding to chemo.  Today we really need to pray for this brave little guy!  He has lost his hair and looks sick now, but he's also begun to enjoy McDonald's nuggets and fries and cheese balls.  And his mom shares a great story about that on her blog.  You can read the story and more at TheDundonsnest.blogspot.com. 

You can also help Jackson's family by purchasing some handmade items at Jennifer's Etsy Shop.  She will be donating March's proceeds (listed on each item) to Jackson's family.

Growing Up

There is so much growing up happening in our house this week.  The boys started on a new solid; sweet potatoes.  I was going to wait, but Brendon spent quite a bit of the weekend red-faced and grunting with no results.  So I started the sweet potatoes to help.  They did, and the boys were like little birds waiting for their next bite of the yummy potatoes.

Mo is still working on his potty training.  He has the peeing down!  He is so good at that, he doesn't even go when sleeping or napping.  It's the other business we are working on.  Dana also made a deal with Mo this week.  If he sleeps in his own bed for 7 nights in a row, he will get the Hot Wheels of his choice.  Mo really wants a Jeep Custom Motor, not enough to sleep in his own bed yet, but I think he's working up to that.

Kaia finally has a loose tooth!  But, in true Kaia style, one loose tooth wasn't dramatic enough.  No, she decided to have two loose at the same time.  So now both of her bottom front teeth are wiggly, and she's eagerly awaiting their loss and the arrival of the tooth fairy.

Finally, I had to grow up too.  Only in years, though.  This week I turn 32. 

Dana opted out of growing up this week, he's going to wait until July. 

Hope you all have a great week.

Menu Plan Monday

I was negligent in posting my menu plan last week.  Probably because I only had a partial plan.  That worked out pretty well when I came down with some sort of stomach thing on Wednesday, and the boys stayed with Grammy and Papa, and Dana and Kaia ended up getting microwaved frozen meals.  I ate a turkey sandwich.  Actually I ate several turkey sandwiches, and turkey is one of my least favorite lunchmeats.  But, it was bland, and that was what I needed.  I created a plan for the rest of the week, and followed it and was glad I did.

So back to business this week!

Monday:
Beefy Barbecue Macaroni and peas

Tuesday:
SOS and asparagus

Wednesday:
Tacos with homemade salsa

Thursday:
Round steak and potatoes in the slow cooker with veggies on the side
Friday:
Hamburger patties or chicken nuggets with salad on the side

Saturday:
Birthday Dinner at my parents' house.  I've requested my mom's steak strips (I'll share recipe later this week), baked potatoes, asparagus, and salad

Sunday:
Open

For more Menu Plan Monday, visit Orgjunkie.com and have a great week!

PS So many of you are amazed at my organization with these posts.  But, I'm not organized, this meal plan thing is helping me to be just a bit more.

Sandwich Party Wrap Up

Saturday was my first ever House Party, and it was so much fun.  I asked all of my guests to bring their favorite sandwich toppings, and I used the coupons sent to me to purchase 3 packages of Sandwich Thins.  We all agreed that they are fantastic!  We tried the whole wheat, honey wheat and multi-grain.  I have personally eaten all of them, and think the whole wheat is my favorite.  At only 100 calories per Sandwich Thins, and plenty of fiber, they make a healthy base for your sandwich.  Cheap bland white bread is 70 calories a slice, making them 140 calories a sandwich and no fiber (or next to none).  Whole wheat and other breads have more fiber but are also higher in calories.  The Sandwich Thins also offer portion control, due to a slightly smaller size.

My biggest surprise was how much the kids and Dana liked them!  I'm usually the lone wheat bread eater in my house, but not anymore.  We all had sandwiches for lunch and dinner Saturday.  Kaia and I ate the bread with cream cheese the next morning for breakfast.  Mo grabbed one for a snack after church.  Kaia and Dana had sandwiches on them for lunch Monday.  I bought a new bag Monday night, and we are already out again!  That's a record for any bread product in our house.

Here is one of the healthy sandwich toppings from Saturday.  This is my mom's recipe and I didn't get all the measurements, but you can just add to taste.  She was nice and substituted the icky cashews for almonds, so that I could eat it.

Chicken Salad
shredded chicken breast or 1 can of chicken
slivered or chopped almonds
dried cranberries
lite mayo
Mix together and enjoy!  I am not usually a big fan of dried cranberries, but they were really good in this.  It was especially good topped with red onion, sprouts and lettuce.

We've gone bananas!

28 weeks pregnant and at the beach.  Back when the boys were eating whatever I ate.

The boys have a new favorite food!  The boys have been eating rice cereal and oatmeal cereal for about 4 weeks now.  I wasn't going to give them fruit and vegetables for a few more weeks, but I broke down this weekend and gave them some bananas.  They aren't big fans of the oatmeal cereal I have, and I didn't have any rice cereal.  So I opened the jar of bananas, and gave it a try.  The bananas were met with lip smacking, smiles, and open mouths whenever the spoon came near.  Now the hard part is not introducing any more new foods for awhile.  It's so much fun watching them experience new tastes and waiting to see what they think.