Let's Eat! Part 1

When we moved to Colorado, we knew that we needed to be a little more frugal when it came to eating out.  So, I decided to try planning all of our meals, allowing for some splurge nights of course.  I've always wanted to be this organized when it came to cooking at home, but never followed through with it.  We would usually decide to eat out at a moments notice or just cook something that was on hand at that second.  That "strategy" worked for us then, but we needed some new habits with our new move.  Plus, I LOVE to cook, so it was a win-win!!

I began scouring my old cookbooks and Pinterest boards for meals that were easy, affordable, and ones I've always wanted to make even if they weren't easy or that affordable (A little culinary splurge now and again never hurt anyone or any budget).  Next, I had to create a calendar.  When I get organized I go all the way people.  I found this neat, dry erase magnet on Zulily.  It makes me happy, so it's perfect.  It's made by a'la Board.

I've decided I have horrible handwriting. Don't judge me.

Every two weeks, I plan the next set of meals and make a grocery list for said meals.  I really enjoy this planning process; especially when I have the time to sit down and really go through all my delicious pins on Pinterest and pull out those tried and true recipes passed down from my mom and grandma.  Sometimes though I find myself saying, "Oh shoot, it's Sunday and I have to cook something tomorrow!"  Those are the weeks where we have a lot of frozen meals or sandwiches.  It's all good though, my family loves me.

Other than the recipes I use from my falling apart, old-time recipe book, I pin everything I make into my Pin Accomplished -- Recipes board on Pinterest (I'm going to officially stop typing "on Pinterest" and assume you'll know what I mean when I say, "I pin..."  Ok?  Good).  If you're on Pinterest, look me up and look on my board.  I type in notes about how each recipe turned out and if I did anything different.  I even put ones on there that were bad, so that I know it stunk and to not make it again.  

I love that I have found some amazing go-to recipes in this meal planning process and have made things that I probably would have never thought to cook.  My family is loving trying new recipes, and enjoying the fact that dinner rarely is a last minute decision like before.  On these meal planning posts, I hope to share some of my favorite recipes that I've made.  Who knows, maybe it'll encourage you to step out and cook one of those thousands of pins you have on your Favorite Recipes board (you know who you are)!  Do it!  ENCOURAGEMENT! 

I'll leave you with pictures of what I cooked on January 14 (See the calendar above!): Crockpot Country Style Ribs, Loaded Twice Baked Cauliflower, and a tomato salad (Ok, so the tomato salad isn't listed or pictured; I basically made it up. It's kind of like this recipe.)  

Please note these are not my pictures.  I, of course, didn't think to take any, BUT my food looked just as appetizing.

You want to make these now don't you! 
I've never made country-style ribs; these were delicious.
Here's the recipe.

This is a fantastic go-to side, especially for those low-carb folks.
I blend the cauliflower until it's nice and creamy, soooo good.
Here's the recipe.

Happy cooking!!

You're Welcome

For those that don't understand, let me clarify

Holiday Hoopla

We've been back at home in Colorado for a week now.  Garrett and I just knew this would be a hard week for the kids, having to transition back into their regular schedules and no being "pampered."  Well, it hasn't been that bad actually.  Ben had a hard time sleeping the first couple of nights; he kept waking up crying because he didn't know where he was at (poor guy).  Olivia had just gotten used to sleeping in the pack and play, so has really struggled to remember how wonderful her bed and sleeping through the night is (I keep telling her it's awesome, but she just won't listen). Otherwise, we're all good and happy to be back home.
We had such a wonderful time in Arkansas. Ben and Olivia made out like bandits with more toys than we care to admit. My parents loved every second with them and cried like babies when we left.  It was hard to say goodbye, but we'll be seeing them soon.

Also, over the break, Olivia decided to grow up. Ok, so she's not driving or anything (though we expect that any day now), but within a week she was pulling up, crawling, and cruising.  She even seems like she wants to walk.  Ben was barely crawling at a year old, so it's funny for us to see her booking it at this age.  It's pretty overwhelming now that we're home trying to keep her corralled and watch Ben. I'm slowly getting the hang of it though, no major accidents yet!

Ok, so enough typing I'll just leave you with what you really want (ok with what only my immediate family wants), some pictures of the kids.

The only picture I could get of the kids with their matching pjs.
Typical Christmas mom thing to do I know, but aren't they adorable!

Ben reading one of the many books he got for Christmas.

Olivia in her pretty Christmas dress. What a goofy face.

Olivia in my favorite dress of hers and her new purse.
A girl has to be prepared for anything, and a purse is a go-to
accessory for any woman on the go.

More lights Pops!

Every year my parents take Ben to Rhema Bible College in Tulsa, OK to look at Christmas lights.  My son LOVES doing this.  Like any young child, he loves walking or driving around and looking at all the wonderful colors of lights.

Last year Ben, who was not quite two years old, held onto my dad's hand as they walked through the display.  He kept repeating, "more wights, Pops (what he calls my dad), more wights."  This thrilled my dad to no end and has stuck with him as one of his favorite moments of a grandfather.  

"More wights Pops!"

Now that Ben is a year older, they were even more excited to take Ben, and now Olivia, to see "more wights" this Christmas.  We made the trek to Tulsa, paired it with a dinner at a local Mexican food joint, and indulged in a freezing walk through Rhema.  Garrett joined in the fun this year; he's never seen the lights at Rhema and was pleasantly surprised, yet concerned for their electric bill. 

If you've never been to see the Rhema lights, and are in the Tulsa area, I highly recommend it.  

Rhema 2012, Ben's first trip. Look how small he is!

            

Rhema 2013

It was so much fun seeing him so excited

   

         

Rhema 2014. Not a great pic, bummer.

"I just want to touch the lights, mama"

                          

Ladybug Princess

My daughter is a ladybug, but not just any ladybug; she's a ladybug princess.  The ladybug came about when Olivia received a ladybug backpack from Meme (my mom) for all her important things. I love it; it makes me smile whenever I see it.

Super cute from Skip Hop.  They have an entire line of ladybug stuff.  Olivia will need it all.

To her daddy, Olivia is a beautiful princess, fair and true.  She must be protected and fought for.  Garrett makes sure Ben knows that protecting our princess is part of his job as a big brother.

THUS, with that logic, she's a ladybug princess.  We love calling her this, and hearing Ben say it is a little joy.

Ben is a BIG reader, and has a couple of characters that are his favorites (basically characters that I fell in love with when I was shopping for books for him) like Little Blue Truck and Duck & Goose.  So, when we deemed Olivia to be a ladybug princess, I remembered coming across the Ladybug Girl series in my children's book search.  I was super excited to find a series for my little miss that was really cute with great stories.

This is the original Ladybug Girl book. Olivia got this book along with a more baby-friendly, board book.

She got her first couple of Ladybug Girl books this Christmas, and she loved them!  It's funny because Olivia does not sit still very often, but when I showed her the book, she sat very still and studied each page.  So sweet, my ladybug.

I know it's a little cliche, but we also decided to introduce Olivia to the Olivia books.  After finding out that my little girl was feisty and full of energy, I just knew that Olivia the pig was a good partner for her.  It's another cute series that I hope my little princess will love.

Olivia exploring her new books