Convos with Kids

July 10th:
Picking up road trip pop tarts.
Cam: Dad, can I have the Saturday kind?
Dad: You mean the sundae kind?
Cam: Yeah, the Sunday kind.

Sure, kid.

July 12th:
Hell hath no fury like a one year old who ate all her blueberries.

Wreck It

Usually I'm not very fond of my kids wrecking anything, but I was really excited about getting THEM excited about journaling, so I got the boys a Wreck This Journal for us to do together over the summer while Ay naps. 

Cam (4, YouTube addict) wants to film our crazy antics. We watched a few kids wreck their book on YouTube and that's all he needed to be really excited (but he still keeps asking for the day we can rub our book on a dirty truck... ew.)

So here's some videos of our first couple wrecks.

Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/qccncRzD0FQ

https://youtu.be/6E2_bYz34V8

Weekly Meal Plan

Aldi is my new favorite place.
We've been able to follow some frugal (but tasty) meal plans and feed our family of 5 (and a half) for less than $100 a week.

Like what.

We adapted this Meal Plan on a Budget plan for our meals this week.

M: Pasta, sauce, with bread and frozen vegetables.
T: Gumbo
W: BBQ Tofu Sandwiches w Veggies (the slaw is our new favorite thing!)
R: Bean and Rice Burritos w Chips & Salsa
F: Chickpea Salad Sandwiches 
S: Grilled Veggie Fajitas w Black Beans

S: Leftovers

Breakfast will be frozen waffles or oatmeal with a banana, apple, or blueberries. Lunch is PBandJ or hummus and cucumber sandwiches with apple sauce or trail mix.

It's not the first time we've adapted this plan, but I'm always astonished how much left overs we still have. Plus we grab some snacks and things (trail mix, muffin mix, fruit bars, freeze pops) that weren't on the PBOAB plan, and still came in way under $100! 

Convos with Kids

Why do they say these things?!

***

Ay climbing up the steps.
Me: Where you going? Everything is shut up there anyway.
Cam: Shut Up is a bad word!

Well... yeah... but...
(June 6)

***

Car, don't eat all those blueberries.  You might turn into one!

Car: *quickly eats all the blueberries* See! Me no turn into a blueberry!

Not this time, kid. Not this time.
(July 9)

Live on the edge.

I was texting my sister in law today about what was new in our lives and we got to talking about how dang hot and nasty it is.

I read earlier that the library was having a drop in craft take-and-make today and was trying to decide of I should drag my three kids out alone, or just shoot myself in the face. I'm not sure which option would have been better...

After wrestling with Cam to put on some pants, dragging him away from Minecraft kicking and screaming, and having a 20 min chat on the edge of the minivan about how this new library isn't "scary" and they probably have computers like the "grown up library" near our old house, I clip all my tiny people in and went on a hunt for the library.

Everyone was in a better mood and I was getting my cardio chasing three kids in a million directions around the blocks, puzzles, and books. I finally tricked the boys into leaving to go make the craft.

A rainbow. Because I love helping two preschoolers tie 5 billion strings of yarn to half a paper plate and cover it with cotton balls.

During all this exciting crafting, Ay climbed up into the umbrella stroller and, spoiler alert, it tipped.

And bigger spoiled alert, she bit her lip. And in true baby fashion, bled and screamed like she was being slaughtered in a horror flick.

Awesome.

Sensing the urgency of the situation, the boys decided they needed rocks taken out of their shoes, different strings tied on their cloud, or that it was a perfect time to do ninja flips in the craft room...

So... that was awesome.

I took Ay to the bathroom in a screaming bloody mess and half cleaned her up and made sure nothing  (i.e. her teeth) was broken.

She was fine. Gross... but fine.

So we walk back to the craft room where the older boys are rolling all around and the two preteen library assistants are wide eyed and confused  (but still attached to their phones). Thanks, girls. I appreciate you keeping my other kids blood free for the moment. Seriously. It takes a village, folks!

We rushed out of that library covered in blood, sweat, and tears, but we made some beautiful freakin' rainbows, yo.

And I was wearing white.

Because I live on the edge like that.

Happy-ish July

4th of July Status PreKids: I love living at the beach! Fireworks in every direction!

4th of July Status PostKids: It's way pass bedtime. You kept one kid from falling asleep and woke up another. Go away, fireworks. You're done now. You're time is up. See you again at New Year's.

Weekly Meal Plan

We're back to the grind with school and work. I'm working Monday nights and Mr. has class on Thursday nights so we are running solo when it comes to dinner and bedtime. While Mr. is the cook, I am the ... not cook. So it's important to have some fool-proof meals I can throw at expertly prepare for our little humans (here's looking at you, pizza and pasta!). We're also trying to limit our grocery costs so we're using the Plant Based on a Budget blog for a lot of our meal planning.

Super excited for the lime tofu bowls this week!

Day	Dinner
M	Pasta and Sauce with Salad
T	Red Pepper Wraps
W	Sweet Lime Tofu Bowl with Rice
R	Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers with Chips and Salsa
F	Lentil Tacos with Black Beans
S	Pizza
S	*New Recipe Night*

Produce Dairy Packaged Goods Spices/Sauces

M

Bag of Salad
Cucumber
Tomato
Croutons
Dressing
Bag of Pasta
Sauce

T

4 large whole wheat wraps
2 cups (or less) your favorite hummus
2-3 cups shredded lettuce
2 whole roasted red bell peppers, sliced thinly
1 cup grated carrots
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 red onion, sliced

W
1 Pound Green Beans, Trimmed and Halved

1 Fresh Lime, Squeezed
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
3/4 Teaspoon Pepper
14 oz Extra Firm Tofu
2 Tablespoons Oil
4 Teaspoons Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sliced Shallots

R
4 Green Bell Peppers
1 Cup of Uncooked Brown Rice
1 Can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 Cup of Diced Onion
2 Cups of Water
1 Can of Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1 Can of Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tablespoon of Chili Powder
1 packet of your favorite taco seasoning

F

1 Cup of Uncooked Lentils
1/2 Small Onion, diced
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
2 1/4 Cups of Vegetable Broth
4 Teaspoons of Dried Minced Onion
3 Teaspoons of Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1/2 Teaspoon of Paprika
1 Teaspoon of Cumin
1/8 - 1/4 Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper. Use more or less depending on your heat preference.
1/2 Teaspoon of Oregano
1 Tomato, diced
1 Avocado, diced
1 Cup of Shredded Lettuce
Salsa
Hard Tortilla Shells
Chips