Meal Planning- November 4th

Bobby and I are headed out of town for a family wedding. I'm looking forward to a little more time with family and sunshine for a couple of days. 

Day Lights Saving as hit us hard the last two days. I'm looking forward to making the best of these two days for dinnertime. Dinnertime is so important to me. I am beyond protective of our time together. Our family sits together every single night. Is is perfect? Absolutely not. Do I get frustrated that Bo is out of his seat a billion times? You bet. But I've worked really hard to remember what this time is. It's 20 minutes that we are all in the same place at the same time. There are no screens. If you want to eat, great. If not, great. But this is family time, tell me about your day. Before Bo was born, Bobby and I ate in front of the TV. Before Elliott was born, we would eat after Bo went to bed. But now, we eat all together. Even if you don't actually eat food at the same time as your kids, I challenge you to sit down without screens and talk as a family at a meal. 

Now that it is November, we talk about what we are grateful for. We've been adding it to our Turkey. Before you think that, I've gone above and beyond- the turkey is made out of a Whole Foods bag and I quickly cut some feathers. You could do this activity on Post it Notes. But here's what I do know- this practice is so special. Wait until your 3 year old says, "I'm grateful for how funny Elliott is, I'm grateful for Momma's hugs, and I'm grateful that Daddy played with me". Here's last year's Turkey. You won't be sorry that you did this. I absolutely promise you. This year, I'm just adding yellow feathers to what we had last year. I have no time to make a new turkey. If you are into this and don't want to draw, I've seen products like this in the Target Dollar Bin.  

			Grocery List
Monday	Find it in the Freezer	Breaded Chicken and Chicken Spaghetti (The only reason for the double chicken is that I FORGOT to put Chicken in the Chicken Spaghetti)
Tuesday	Snack Dinner	Eat whatever you want in the fridge
Wednesday	Out to Dinner	Date Night
Thursday		Out of town
Friday		Out of town
Saturday		Out of town
Sunday	Sheet Pan	Chicken Sausage Cauliflower Tot Casserole  (If you have a TJs nearby, please go right now!) Peas

Dinner Themes: 

• Snack Dinner
• Sheet Pan
• Crockpot
• Soup/Sandwich
• Italian
• Mexican
• Grill
• Sandwich 
• Leftovers
• Salad/Bowl Situation
• Casserole (Make one, freeze one)
• Take Out
• Instant Pot
• Quick and Easy  (Make your own Nachos or Pizza)

Thriving Thursday

How is it already Thursday? It's been such a busy week and on top of that it has snowed in Chicago. I'm surviving on candy in the laundry room and dry shampoo. Anyone else? Here's a couple of things that have made my life easier.

1. Did you know that Costco will fill up your tires for free and you don't have to get out of your car? I'm embarrassed about how much this makes me happy.

2. While we're on the topic of Costco, did you know that you can order pizza from Costco? Like from the snack shack. You don't have to even be a member to do it. Also, they will cut it into square pieces, perfect for our little ones.

3. Lined Jeans and Flannel Sheets are making my life so happy right now.  Literally it makes me happy all day long. Here's what I have Warm Rockstar Jeans- they are super cheap and I love them.

4. This Sherpa Jacket. Bought on a whim at Walmart a month ago in the Juniors section. You'd think for $10 this jacket would be falling apart but that's not the case at all.

5. I can barely dress myself everyday, I need to start passing the responsibility of getting dressed onto Bo. He's pretty frustrated by the fact that I've asked him to do this. So I started to do "I do one, you do two". Right now, he has three pieces of clothing that he has to put on. I ask him what one item he would like me to put on and he has to do the other two.

What is making you the best person ever this week? Share with us!

You've Got This. 

28 of Our Favorite Dinners

I have too many nights that I feel like I can only make quesadillas. I'm created this list so I could remember many of my favorite dinners. Maybe these will help you to feed those hungry mouths of yours that are tired of eating PB and J. 

Four Ingredients or Less	Sheet Pan Dinners	Bowl Dinners	Instant Pot	Crock Pot	Soup	General Favorites
Chicken Stirfy Sauce Frzn Stirfy Veg Rice	Chicken Sausage and Vegetables	Chicken Mediterranean Bowl	Hamburger Stroganoff	Chicken Salsa	Tomato Soup	Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet
Spaghetti Sauce Meatballs	Chicken Burrito Bowls	Burrito Bowl	Mac and Cheese	BBQ Chicken	Lasagna Soup	Avocado Caprese Chicken
Chicken Curry Sauce Frozen Peppers Rice	Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas	Sushi Bowl	Quinoa Enchilada Casserole	Cranberry Meatballs  (Put over noodles)	Tomato Tortellini Soup	Crunch Wrap Supreme
Sweet Potatoes Black Beans Tortilla Cheese	Crispy Parmesan Baked Chicken Milanese & Veggies	Fish Taco Bowls	Philly Cheese Steak Hamburger Helper	Pot Roast	Chicken Taco Soup	Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Meal Planning Monday: October 27

It finally feels like fall in Chicago. It's also Halloween this week, so we're eating quick and easy and mostly healthy. (Maybe not Wednesday with Heavy Cream). Here's what we're eating this week. Tomorrow, I'll share a month of kid friendly dinners to help you take away the dreaded question "what's for dinner?".

Also, there are multiple repeats from last week. Bobby worked late a lot and I just couldn't eat anything but spaghetti and meatballs.

			Grocery List
Sunday	Take Out	Order Something!
Monday	Soup/Sandwich	Chili	Ground Beef Onion Crushed Tomatoes Chili Seasoning Kidney Beans
Tuesday	Salad/Bowl Situation	Greek Chicken Bowls	Chicken Tomatoes trader joe's tzatziki sauce Cucumbers Rice
Wednesday	Italian	Creamy Spinach Mushroom Tortellini	Tortellini Mushrooms Spinach Heavy cream
Thursday	Sheet Pan Dinner	Halloween Chicken Sausage Vegetables (sub butternut squash for sweet potatoes)	Chicken Sausage Butternut Squash Brussels Sprouts
Friday	Quick and Easy  (Make your own Nachos or Pizza)	Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes	Sweet Potatoes Ground Beef Taco Toppings
Saturday	Sandwich/Soup	Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese	TJs Tomato Soup Bread Cheese
Sunday	Find it in the Freezer	Chicken Corn Chowder (Take Out of Freezer and put in crock pot)	Tortilla Chips Sourdough Bread

Thriving Thursday

Five Things for a Thursday that make me feel like an absolute genius.

1. This piece of plastic in my diaper genie. I wish I would have read the reviews about this one. You have to push diapers into the container WITH YOUR HAND. No thanks. For the last 4 years, I have been doing this disgusting task. This week, I refilled our diapers and had left over plastic. And genius struck-put this piece of plastic inside my diaper genie. Now, I don't have to touch diapers more than I need to.

2. Putting books on hold at the library. I love getting new books for our kids, I just don't have time to go through the library and pick out books. Did you know that you can put books on hold and then, you get an email when they are ready and you go pick them up? You do now!

3. Raise your hand if you hate brushing kids' teeth. 🙋 It has turned into an all out fight in our house. Enter the Chompers Podcast. This adorable 2 minute podcast helps entertain your kids and teaches them how to brush their teeth. You can find it anywhere you listen to Podcasts

4. We lay out our hats, coats, shoes, and gloves the night before. It used to take a lot of support with me to tell Bo what he needed to get. To be honest, I'd get mad and take over.  I begrudgingly put down painters tape to help him out and it has changed everything. He knows that he needs four things and I might even put down a picture. Really trying not to turn my house into a classroom, but I can't help it.

5. Clean your bathroom while your kids are in the bath. My kids love bath time and we're often fighting with them to get out. Go ahead and clean that toilet while they splash around. You're going to be in there anyway, take advantage of the playtime! (I already took a picture of my diaper genie, I figured you didn't want a picture of my toilet as well).