Home sweet home…Justin is home 🙂  It sure feels good to have Justin back after a week away in Japan! Last week was…interesting. It definitely had its share of challenges…car mishap, sick baby, power outage (brrr!), lots of sleepless nights, canceled plans (2 playdates and a trip to the library), plane delays. But we made it. And we are thankful Justin is home. Hopefully he can stay put for a while 🙂

We did do quite a few fun things last week. I’ll post more on that in our letter of the week post. In the kitchen I made beets, mayo, pesto, manna, breakfast cake, yogurt, sour cream and ice cream (experimented and made it with a combo of milk, yogurt and sour cream…pretty good). We also had a visit from my parents and went to a preschool open house.

It was kind of nice not having to go anywhere last week. Especially with all the snow we got! Just when we were starting to wonder if it was really winter we got a ton of snow the last 2 days. Schools were even closed on Friday. Maybe we’ll have to spend some time outside today. This week will definitely be busier than last week. Today is church. Monday Justin has off of work for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We have milk pick up, and I have a nursery cmt meeting. If time allows Rebecca and I might have some Mommy/daughter time. Possibly a trip to the library. Tuesday it’s back to normal routines and grocery shopping. Wednesday Rebecca and I both have dentist appts., and Justin has worship team. Friday is MOPS. My table is providing breakfast, so I’ll be doing some baking this week for that. Saturday I’d like to get to the fabric store. I think I’ve decided to skip our PERKS activity this month since it is painting pottery…we did that last month. We need to decide today if we’re doing swimming lessons and/or soccer lessons for Rebecca. I think the first session of swimming starts this Saturday! So we have to get that figured out.

The kitchen will be busier this week than last since I actually have to cook again 😛  Justin brought home some chop sticks from Japan, so maybe we’ll have a meal or two where we can use them. Since Justin wasn’t home last week we have quite a bit of milk yet to use up. So I’m trying to decide what to do with it. Maybe a batch of pudding? Or more farmer’s cheese? I might make another attempt at butter this week after getting more tips from Donielle. We’ll see how it goes. I also have to start thinking about cakes! I might be making a birthday cake for my dad next weekend. And I will be making my nephew’s cake again in a few weeks. Time to start brainstorming and planning!

I was a bit all over the place last week. I know it was mostly due to stress/anxiety and lack of sleep. The last couple days have been pretty good, though. I got my new order of magnesium drops (had a few days where I was out) and my magnesium oil spray. It’s hard to say if it’s helping after just a few days. I’ll have to report back on that. I do feel that overall the magnesium helps. I have continued to read and research about brain function, the nervous system, etc. And I’ve been reviewing my eating/health over the last decade. I have a lot of ideas in my head that I hope to put into a post very soon. But I did want to mention that over the last few days I have eaten a little bit of bread (fermented bread…I even ate a small sandwich!) and some potatoes. I have also been trying hard to increase my fruit and veggie intake while decreasing protein a little. I still make sure to eat plenty of healthy fat, but not go overboard. Only time will tell how the changes will impact me, but I can say that I tolerated the grains/starches a lot better than I had expected. So far no major issues. And on the positive side I feel like I’ve had a much better appetite the last few days. For the first time in a while I wake up to a growling stomach again 🙂  It feels like my tummy is digesting more effectively instead of feeling like there is a brick in my gut. It feels good to feel hungry! This week I will keep experimenting. I want to try sweet potato and rice. I also need to start baking some properly prepared grains so I have them on hand for myself…make sprouted flour, soak flour for breads, etc. Soon I’d like to make a new sourdough starter. I might also start more “juicing” this week. Not true juicing. But using my Vitamix to make smoothies that contain a larger variety of fruits and veggies than I normally use. And change the ratio of my smoothies. They are usually mostly protein (yolks, sour cream, etc.) and fat (coconut oil). I want to bump up the fruit/veggie portion in them. See if that helps. I know it will help in one way…making it easier to keep up with my little climber while I try to eat lunch 🙂

I did some experimenting with Rebecca last week. I still have more to do, though. Last week was not a normal week for us, so it’s hard to say what had the most impact on her. I hope to do a post on that soon as well.

Here’s what’s on the menu for the week.
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S (prep lunch, church, make vanilla pudding, make hot fudge)
  L – 7 layer dinner, peaches
  D – milkshakes/smoothies, pesto grilled cheese, chips, pudding

M (make yogurt, milk, MLK, grind flour, nursery cmt, soak rice, library)
  D – (early) – chx pesto pizzas, apple slices

T (skim cream, make sour cream, Meijer, make butter)
  D – sweet and sour chicken stir fry over soaked rice (w/ chop sticks)

W (dry apples, dentist, WT, marinate steak)
  D – (prep ahead) – pumpkin, squash, carrot soup, leftover pizza

Th (prep MOPS food, make almond butter, sprout wheat berries)
  D – marinated steak, baked sweet potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts

F (clean, bake casserole, MOPS?, soak lentils)
  D – soaked pancakes, homemade sausage links, veggies, pears

S (bake squash, cook lentils, laundry, swimming, fabric store?)
  D – stuffed squash w/ lentils, sausage, peas, onions, cheese; pears