Good morning. It’s nice to see the sun shining again after a rainy week. It’s also very nice to be feeling (mostly) better again after being sick all week. At least I passed my glucose test with no problems.

We are getting close to the end of the school year and our regular activities. It’s hard to believe. This week I have to get groceries. We have our Kindermusik family night. My son has his three year check up. I have a chiro appointment. We might have a playdate this week. We might see some family this weekend too.

Yesterday I started some experimenting in the kitchen. I have to make tweaks to the recipes before they’ll be ready to post. Maybe I can work on them this week. I also made coconut flour bread as a treat for my son and me. Now that he can eat eggs there are a few more options.

We just picked rhubarb from our garden. That means it’s time for rhubarb crisp! I also have quite a bit of milk left this week. So I skimmed some cream to make a batch of ice cream today. I also made a batch of yogurt last night. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to make yogurt from our raw milk.

Yesterday I started the process of moving my son’s clothes into my daughter’s room. I have to keep working on that this week. Then we need to get started assembling the trundle bed and buying a mattress and bedding. Before we know it our little guy will be sharing a room with his big sister. Then it’s finally time to start digging out the baby clothes!

Menu planning is a bit tough this week since I basically have ground beef and breakfast sausage in the freezer right now. I might have to make a stop at a meat market some time this week. So I may leave a few blank spots and fill them in as the week goes depending on what we get. Eet smakelijk!

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S (church, baseball game, make ice cream, make rhubarb crisp)
L – cp meatballs, mashed potatoes, peas
D – bacon sandwiches, fruit salad, beans

M (groceries)
D – mac ‘n’ cheese, roasted cauliflower

T (Dr. S., KMFN – bring fruit)
D – (early/light) – tacos

W (chiro, HF?)
D – hot dogs, roasted asparagus, TBD

Th (make granola, dance)
D – (early) – ham and bean soup, bread

F ()
D – sausage, fried eggs, toast, broccoli

S (zoo?)
D – TBD

Happy Mother’s Day! I was blessed to spend time with all of my “moms” yesterday – my mom, my mother-in-law, my grandmother and my big sister. We had a wonderful time celebrating my son’s third birthday. My goal for today now is to do as little as possible 🙂

Since last week was so busy cleaning and preparing food I’m looking forward to a slower week this week. I’m giving myself a few days off  to rest. I’m hoping to even squeeze in a few naps. Sadly at 25 weeks the swelling in my legs is already starting. So I need to make sure to get my feet up every so often each day…and not spend hours at a time standing in the kitchen.

This week I have a dentist appointment. It is our last week of Kindermusik for the semester. It will be nice to have a break from our crazy Tuesdays after this week. I am going out for dinner with some other moms. I have an OB appointment – the “fun” glucose test. We also have our last mom’s group meeting of the year.

Even though I’m trying to give myself a break I do have some things to get done in the kitchen. I need to bring a meal to someone that recently had a baby. I also have to make food for our mom’s meeting (I haven’t figured out what yet, though). I have a few experiments that I’ve been wanting to try as well once all the party prep was over. We also have lots of rhubarb growing in our garden! I need to figure out what to make with it.

I think we are getting both kids back on track with food stuff. My son is back to his usual happy self. We introduced peas last week. As far as I can tell he tolerated them fine. We are all very excited about that! I have also had my daughter back to strictly gluten free for about two weeks now. I can already tell a difference in her behavior. I guess both of my kids have a strong reaction behaviorally to gluten.

I’m gradually starting to count down the weeks instead of count up. Not because I’m anxious for this pregnancy to be over at all. I’m thoroughly enjoying it! But now I’m well past the half way mark. Less than 15 weeks to go!

Here is what’s on the menu this week. We have quite a bit of leftover food from the party. So that will help with some meal prep this week. My daughter claimed she wanted to make dinner for me today (with the help of my husband). But we’ll see what comes of that. What’s on your menu? Eet smakelijk!

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S (church, Mother’s Day)
B – banana bread, fruit, yogurt w/ granola, toast w/ pb
L – cp roast chicken and vegetables
D – party leftovers

M (dentist)
D – (prep ahead) – sloppy cornbread, roasted cauliflower, fruit

T (AKM, RKM, MNO)
D – (prep ahead) – cp pasta fagioli (family), out to eat (me)

W (Dr. E., bring meal)
D – sweet and sour meatballs, roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes

Th (make food for MB, dance)
D – (early) – cp steak, baked potatoes, beans

F (MB, bake muffins)
D – scrambled eggs, bacon, muffins, broccoli, fruit

S ()
D – grilled salmon, peas, TBD

Birthday week is finally here. I’m feeling a little better about it since I got so much done yesterday. I’m not sure my body was too happy. But at least this week shouldn’t be too stressful.

This will be a pretty normal week for us. I have to pick up milk (we’re back to 3 gallons a week!!!). I have to go grocery shopping. I have to get the rest of the stuff ready for the party, clean and be ready to host overnight guests.

My goal for today is to make the decorations for my son’s birthday cake. Once I get that done the rest is pretty easy.

Last week we got to do a little wheat experiment with my son. Unfortunately it did not go well. I was amazed at how quickly his body reacted. It took a few days for the eczema to show up. But his behavioral reactions were almost instantaneous. The digestive upset didn’t take too long either. So he’ll continue to be off wheat for quite some time now. We’ll try again in the future. This week we will experiment with peas. He is very excited, so I hope it goes well. I’m thankful that so far eggs are going smoothly.

I re-read part of Beautiful Babies yesterday. It’s such a great book on nourishing your body for before, during and after pregnancy. It helped me get back on track with how well I should be eating to nourish my little one. So I started today with gf toast with lots of butter and jam, an egg fried in butter, grapes and a big mug of my hot chocolate with added gelatin and coconut oil. I can already feel my legs on the verge of starting to swell. I want to see if I can prevent it this time by combining adequate protein intake with sufficient calories to absorb it.

I’m planning easy meals this week so I have enough time and energy to focus on party prep. My mind is drawing a blank right now about what to serve when family arrives on Friday. I’ll have to fill it in later.

By the end of the week I’ll have a six-year old and a three-year old. My babies are growing up way too quickly! Enjoy your week. Eet smakelijk!

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S (church, make cake decorations)
L – grilled steak, sauteed cauliflower and brussels sprouts, seasoned rice
D – mac ‘n’ cheese, fruit salad, lettuce salad

M (milk, soak flour, make graham crackers)
D – fried chicken, beans, quinoa

T (AKM, bake brownies, RKM)
D – (prep ahead) – cp meatloaf, baked potatoes, broccoli

W (groceries, clean kitchen)
D – chicken nuggets, peas, tater tots

Th (roast beets, make salad dressing, make muffins, dance, clean)
D – (early) – cp split pea soup, gf df muffins

F (make frosting, crumb coat/frost cakes, make hummus, make lemonade, boil eggs)
D – (easy) – squash and sausage soup, bread, muffins, apple slices
dessert – gf df brownies, chocolate grahams, fruit

S (prep fruits and veggies, decorate cake, party)
B – banana bread, fruit, hard boiled eggs
L – (party) – fruit kabobs, lettuce salad w/ cucumber, olives, cranberries, cheese, beets, mushrooms, croutons and dressing, sloppy joes on buns, hummus w/ pita, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers and peppers, tortilla chips w/ salsa, yogurt parfaits w/ granola and berries, potato chips or popcorn, homemade gummies, homemade chocolates, gf df white cake w/ chocolate frosting, yellow cake w/ chocolate frosting, dairy ice cream, coconut milk ice cream, milk, water, pink lemonade
D – grilled brats and hot dogs, grilled asparagus, fruit salad, misc. leftovers

Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Happy Easter!!

Last week we had so much fun celebrating my daughter’s 6th birthday. She enjoyed all of her special treats and presents. It sure kept me busy, but it’s worth the effort. We also went to an Easter egg hunt. The kids had fun finding the eggs. The tough part is telling them they can’t have the candy inside. But we compensate at home 🙂

We were also blessed with a wonderful ultrasound last week!! God is good. We are so thankful for this little miracle.

This week will be even crazier than last week. Last week I was busy around the house (which I don’t mind). This week we’ll hardly be at home (which I don’t like). I have a chiro appointment. We have our usual Kindermusik. I also have a blogger meeting. My daughter has her 6-year check up. My son has an allergy re-test. We also have MomBreak. Somehow in there I need to at least do a quick trip to the grocery store. We’re almost out of some staples.

My son’s birthday party is in 3 weeks. I was hoping to get started on a few items for it this week. But I’m not sure I’ll have time. Which means next week will be back to crazy busy in the house with cleaning and baking.

This week’s menu has to be quick prep foods. Hopefully I can keep everyone decently fed. I was so focused on birthday stuff last week that I totally forgot to get anything special for Easter dinner. I thought I had some ham in the freezer…but no. Bummer. What’s on your menu? Eet smakelijk! Happy Easter!

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S (church, make chocolates?)
L – cp honey mustard chicken, cheesy mashed potatoes, green beans, applesauce
D – leftover homemade pizza, roasted cauliflower

M (chiro, groceries)
D – hamburgers, french fries, peas

T (bake muffins, AKM, RKM, WMB?)
D – (prep ahead) – cp chili w/ TBD (for the family), me – at the meeting

W (Dr. S., co-op)
D – (separate) – cp sweet mustard roast w/ vegetables

Th (Dr. B., dance)
D – (early/separate) – hot taco rice

F (MB)
D – scones, sausage, roasted vegetables, fruit salad

S (groceries)
D – baked cod, TBD

April showers bring May flowers. I hope that’s what all this rain will do! After such a long winter it feels very strange to have rain and thunderstorms.

It’s hard to believe it’s mid-April already!! I feel like I missed half of it because we were on vacation for a week. It’s good to be back home now.

Now that vacation is over it’s time to get to work. I’ve already been working on lots of cleaning over the weekend. I need to keep at it. There is so much more to do. We also have quite a few events this week. We’re back to our usual activities like Kindermusik and dance. My husband has worship team rehearsal and is playing for our Maundy Thursday service. I have a steering team meeting.

There are two big events this week. First I have my ultrasound!!!! In case you were wondering…no, we are not finding out the gender. We also don’t share names before the baby is born. We like surprises. The second exciting thing is that my little girl is turning 6!! I can’t believe my baby is going to be that old.

That being said, I have a lot to do in the kitchen this week. We are not having a birthday party. But that doesn’t mean we won’t celebrate. I will be working on the birthday cake all week (I really need to get started with the planning/details!). In addition to the cake, my daughter wants me to make soft serve ice cream. My daughter has also requested decorated cookies to bring for a school snack. That plus our usual meals, etc. should keep me plenty busy.

I’m starting to feel more and more like myself again. Today is 21 weeks. Aside from airplane-induced nausea I think that symptom is gone. I am still battling the cold we all picked up on our trip. But I’m trying to keep going since I have so much to get done.

The most exciting thing for me over the last week has been feeling a lot more baby kicks. Even better is that my husband has been able to feel them. But the best of all is that my daughter got to feel a big kick! She’s been waiting so long to feel the baby move. It’s so exciting to get to share this with her.

Here is our menu for the week. Hopefully I can keep up with the cooking and the baking and the activities. What are you eating this week? Eet smakelijk!

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S (church, make gummies?, make ice cream?, chop fruits and vegetables)
L – cp beef roast with vegetables
D – TBD w/ leftover honey herb chicken breasts

M (bake cake)
D – butternut squash quinoa risotto, roasted asparagus, home-canned peaches

T (AKM, RKM, soak flour)
D – (prep ahead) – cp pork chops w/ fruit, potatoes, salad

W (Dr. E.!!!, make/decorate cookies, WT)
D – soaked cheeseburger cups, roasted squash, home-canned peaches

Th (make cake decoration, dance, church, Rebecca’s birthday)
D – (early) – goulash, corn, garlic toast

F (MBST, make frosting, decorate cake, make soft serve ice cream)
D – grilled steak, grilled asparagus, baked or roasted potatoes (Rebecca’s requested birthday dinner – we’re celebrating a day later since we won’t all be together on Thursday evening)

S (clean)
D – TBD pot pie (gluten/dairy free), roasted cualiflower, applesauce

It’s April! I only have one more week with a five-year old girl. At least I get to spend lots of time with her since it’s spring break. That means none of our usual activities. We’ll do lots of fun stuff together instead.

Since it is spring break I’m taking a break from my usual to-do’s as well. I’m just spending time with my family and relaxing.

Last week we celebrated my husband’s birthday. As usual the kids enjoyed  helping him open his gifts.

I’m making the final plans for my daughter’s birthday cake. We’re just celebrating as a family, but I still always try to do a fun cake. I’ll be working on that next week. I’m also planning my son’s cake and party.

Today is a pretty exciting day…I’m half way through this pregnancy!!! It’s crazy to be at 20 weeks.

Since I’m not 100% sure what our activities will be this week my menu will be pretty flexible. I am the kind of person that loves to be organized and prepared. But this week I’m going to just see what happens. I’m trying to stretch myself a bit. I’m just going to list meal options and pick and choose as we go. Maybe we’ll even go out to eat for a treat.

What are you eating this week? Eet smakelijk!

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hot dogs, chips, vegetable

waffles, sausage, fruit salad, vegetable

honey herb chicken breasts, baked potatoes, vegetable

chicken noodle soup, bread

cp beef roast w/ vegetables

soaked cheeseburger cups, vegetable

Good morning. March is almost done…and hopefully the really cold weather is too. I hope the 60* forecast for tomorrow is true!!

We don’t have a whole lot going on this week aside from the usual activities like school and Kindermusik. That means it’s time to work on cleaning! At least that’s my plan for now. We’ll see how my body and my kids feel about the idea. My husband’s birthday is Saturday. So we’ll be going out for dinner.

I would also like to get a few things done in the kitchen. Last week I made ice cream, muffins, scones (recipe coming this week!) and graham crackers. This week I want make gummies and “cheese” crackers. If time allows my kids would like me to make chocolates.

My kids’ birthdays are quickly approaching as well. That means it’s time to plan cakes. I also have to plan my little guy’s party (he can’t be turning 3 already!!).

Here is our menu for the week. Simple but nutritious. What’s on your menu? Eet smakelijk!

**********MENU**********

S (church, nursery, make gummies, make broth)
L – cp chicken legs, potatoes, carrots
D – bacon mac ‘n’ cheese, sauteed zucchini and spinach

M (make “cheese” crackers)
D – tacos

T (AKM, RKM)
D – (prep ahead) – crockpot gumbo

W ()
D – salmon cakes, baked potatoes, squash

Th ()
D – hamburgers, fries, broccoli

F ()
D – TBD chicken, salad

S (Justin’s birthday)
D – out to eat