Monday, May 5, 2014

Ryan is 4 years old!

Our big boy recently turned 4 years old! It is hard for me to believe it. He is growing up so fast. To celebrate, Ryan had a superhero themed birthday party where he and his guests came dressed as their favorite superheroes. I was glad so many people participated because he loved seeing everyone in shirts and costumes. I even went all out and borrowed a friend's costume so I could be Wonder Woman for the party. Ryan was absolutely thrilled and kept calling me "Superwoman". We rented the play area at 1st Baptist Mansfield for the party and served cake, juice boxes, and some fruit and veggies for snack. The grandparents joined us back at our home after the party for pizza and gift opening. Thank you for everyone who came to celebrate our big boy! We had so much fun!

Two weeks after Ryan's birthday, he had the dreaded 4yr old well check. His stats were 41" tall (which fell between the 75th-90th percentile lines, so somewhere in the 80's I guess.) He weighed 37.6lbs (75th%). He was not a fan of the gown this year (it was cool last year) and was very grouchy about it until he finally got to take it off. We were in a new room this time with fish on the walls and it had a Doc McStuffins play area so he pretty much ignored me and the doctor to play instead. He passed his hearing and eye test-yippee. Unfortunately, he had to get 3 shots (which he knew about). He said he was going to be brave, but as soon as she stuck the first needle he tightened up and started screaming and crying and trying to kick his legs. It was sad. After it was over we went to get a Braums ice cream to help make his legs feel better. He complained about them hurting for 2-3 days. The afternoon of his appointment he actually came out from nap walking on his knees because he said it hurt too much to walk. It was so pitiful. Glad to have it all over with.

While Ryan speaks mostly clearly at this point, he still has several funny words that we try to teach him the correct pronunciation, but still joke about. Here are a list of a few I thought of.

Hos-a-fital (hospital)
Refrig-E-ator (refrigerator)
Blank-let (blanket)
Opacle course (obstacle course)
A and T (AT&T where Daddy works)

***I am realizing now 3 months after Ryan turned 4 that I never actually published this post as I was waiting on photos from our family photo session to attach. Here are a couple of Ryan 4yrs old and then a few from his Superhero party. We love our smart, silly, strong, sweet & sensitive Superhero Ryan!!













May Menu Plan

I just realized I never posted May's menu plan, so here it is for those who may be looking for a new idea. MPYBO refers to the shrinking kitchen menu plan with a particular week listed, the recipe folders are found in my Facebook photo albums. Feel free to ask if you need help finding a particular recipe as some I know by heart.

May menu plan

Thursday-1
Hamburger stroganoff

Friday-2
Homemade pizzas
Salad

Saturday-3
Out-San Antonio

Sunday-4
Out-San Antonio

Monday-5
Chicken quesadillas

Tuesday-6
Mandarin orange chicken (recipes 2)

Wednesday-7
Spinach and chicken farfalle (shrinking kitchen MPYBO 4/20)

Thursday-8
Pesto Cheese Ravioli and spinach salad
(Ryan tball game)

Friday-9
(RCMA's)
Spaghetti and meat sauce and salad

Saturday-10
Easy Mongolian beef (recipes 1)
with rice & Veg stir fry

Sunday-11
Mother's Day

Monday-12
Hawaiian chicken (St luke cookbook)

Tuesday-13
Turkey and avocado burgers with Mexican stir fry veg (MPYBO 4/6)

Wednesday-14
Poppyseed chicken
Egg noodles
Green beans

Thursday-15
Crockpot BBQ pulled pork

Friday-16
Chicken fried rice and vegetable dumplings

Saturday-17
Out

Sunday-18
Crockpot salsa verde chkn tacos
With spring hummus (MPYBO 4/6)

Monday-19
Goulash

Tuesday-20
Beef tacos/taco salad

Wednesday-21
Bleu cheese chicken meatballs
Cheddar mashed potatoes
Green veg

Thursday-22
Loaded vegetable frittata and French toast (shrinking kitchen MPYBO 4/6)

Friday-23
Crab cakes side vegetable/salad

Saturday-24
Brisket?
Lifegroup cookout

Sunday-25
Hawaiian falls
Grilled chicken salad with poppyseed dressing

Monday-26
Grill burgers
Sweet potato fries

Tuesday-27
Kung Pao tacos (recipes 1)

Wednesday-28
Crockpot tortellini (recipes 2)

Thursday-29
Ginger garlic tofu (allrecipes)
Brown rice

Friday-30
Margarita lime chicken skewers (cards)
Black beans/rice

Saturday-31
Afghani style chicken pulao (shrinking kitchen MPYBO 4/13)

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

April Menu Plan

April meal plan

Tuesday-1
Sirloin strips cooked in tomato soup with mashed potatoes and veggies

Wednesday-2
Taco bake (Madsen cookbook)

Thursday-3
Heavenly broiled fish with veggies (Madsen)

Friday-4
Kung Pao Chicken tacos

Saturday-5
Ryan baseball game 5pm
Out

Sunday-6
Lifegroup
Crockpot chicken stroganoff (recipes Facebook)
Egg noodles

Monday-7
Chicken divan with rice

Tuesday-8
Honey dip chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans

Wednesday-9
Turkey sausage links and macaroni and cheese

Thursday-10
Chicken and dumplings

Friday-11
Out

Saturday-12
Fajitas (Tyler's ultimate recipe), rice and beans, guac

Sunday-13
Rangers game

Monday-14
Teriyaki Beef stir fry with veg and rice

Tuesday-15
Ranch Parmesan chicken bake with quinoa and spinach

Wednesday-16
Crockpot chicken pot pie (email recipe)

Thursday-17
Basil and tomato balsamic cheese tortellini

Friday-18
Out

Saturday-19
Grill Ribs and baked potatoes, corn on cob salad

Sunday-20
Easter with family

Monday-21
Chicken green bean and rice casserole
Rolls

Tuesday-22
Cream cheese chicken sandwiches
Fruit

Wednesday-23
Out

Thursday-24
Verde green chili chicken enchiladas
Rice and beans

Friday-25
Uncle Jack's marinated grilled chicken with sweet potatoes and corn

Saturday-26
Beer can chicken

Sunday-27
Breakfast for dinner

Monday-28
Honey hoisin chicken with rice and sautéed mixed veg

Tuesday-29
Spaghetti and meat sauce with salad

Wednesday-30
Chicken salad

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

March menu plan

Just realized today that our page has hit 10,000 page views, now that is pretty crazy. I am continuing with my 2014 monthly menu goal and am posting March now to share with others who might need some ideas or inspiration for their family. I also realized as I went through last month that I had quite a few errors with days of the week and dates so if you were following I apologize and hopefully will have fewer mistakes this time. Remember if something comes up you can always adjust and push back meals or eat an extra leftover night if you have too many. Mike is great about taking leftovers to work each day and we save Saturdays to go out or have leftovers so one day a week I do not plan. Here is March!

March meal plan

Sat-1
Out

Sun-2
Breakfast for dinner 
Eggs, bacon, fruit and toast

Mon-3
Spinach salad with grilled chicken sliced, strawberries, pecans and feta

Tues-4
Caesar chicken and parm Bow tie pasta (recipe cards)

Wed-5
Rotisserie chicken with squash casserole and potatoes

Thurs-6
Sliced Steak salad (spinach&romaine) w/bleu cheese and pecans

Fri-7
Pesto chicken and Parmesan garlic orzo (both all recipes)

Sat-8
Out

Sunday-9
March bday brunch Blue Mesa
No Lifegroup 
Sandwiches/leftovers for dinner

Monday-10
Mike's bday meal his pick

Tuesday-11
Crockpot Ginger lime pork tacos with avocado/corn/tomato/lime salsa

Wednesday-12
Turkey Chili w/ rice and cornbread

Thursday-13
Grilled fish with
roasted vegetable orzo (all recipes)

Friday-14
Wheels pasta with cucumber 
(Recipe cards)

Saturday-15
Out

Sunday-16
Crockpot garlic chicken (MOPs)

Monday-17
Mediterranean pasta toss

Tuesday-18
Hamburger Stroganoff

Wednesday-19
Poppyseed chicken (Christie)

Thursday-20
Crockpot tortellini (Vivian)

Friday-21
Crockpot chicken tacos

Saturday-22
Out

Sunday-23
Lasagna and salad

Monday-24
Goulash

Tuesday-25
King ranch chicken

Wednesday-26
Ginger garlic tofu with rice

Thursday-27
Ranch Chicken bake 

Friday-28
Chicken pad Thai

Saturday-29
Out

Sunday-30
Taco salad/nachos 

Monday-31
Chicken spaghetti 

Saturday, January 25, 2014

February Meal Plan

*So many people asked for my meal plan for the month of February I just decided to post it here. We typically eat out once on the weekends or have leftovers so when it says "out" that is my night off. ;-) Hope this is helpful.

February Meals

Sat-1
Out

Sun-2
Chicken/red potatoes/green beans bake (Marisa)
Recipe: 9x13 pan, 2 Chicken breast, red potatoes, fresh green beans.  Top with a package of Italian seasoning mix and then 1 stick of melted butter.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Mon-3
Ground Turkey lettuce wraps (Lisa)

Tues-4
Kung pao chicken tacos (recipes Facebook)

Wed-5
Crockpot Zuppa Toscana (recipes 2 Facebook)

Thurs-6
Ryan's Birthday his pick!

Friday-7
Cajun chicken penne (shrinking kitchen)

Sat-8
Out

Sun-8
Crockpot Roast, potatoes/carrots (st luke cookbook)- packet onion dip mix and can cream of mushroom

Mon-9
Chicken curry in a hurry (Renee- in recipes folder)

Tues-10
Mustard and dill fish filets (Madsen cookbook)

Wed-11
Chicken fried rice

Thurs-12
Loaded baked spaghetti (Kelsey)

Fri-13
Garlic ginger tofu (allrecipes)

Sat-14
Family Vday celebration
Homemade pizzas & movie

Sun-15
Chicken enchilada casserole (MOPS)
Rice and beans

Mon-16
Baked ranch chicken with mashed potatoes and veggie

Tues-17
Caesar chicken and parm Bow tie pasta w/ salad (recipe cards)

Wed-18
Amatriciana (all recipes)

Thurs-19
Hamburger stroganoff (Mimi's recipe)

Sat-20
Out

Sun-21
Crockpot chicken tacos/nachos
(Vivian)

Mon-22
Baked eggplant Parmesan with noodles (recipe cards)

Tues-23
Fish and veggies foil bake

Wed-24
Mac n cheese and turkey sausage

Thurs-25
Sausage pasta (all recipes)

Fri-26
Hamburger tacos/taco salad

Sat-27
Out

Sun-28
Breakfast for dinner


Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Christmas in a nutshell

We were so blessed once again this Christmas season to be healthy throughout all the holiday parties and spend lots of time with our family. We had many get-togethers starting with the Smith cousins party, followed by the Swan family Christmas, Mimi Roberts' Christmas, Roberts Christmas Eve, Santa at our house, & Campbell family Christmas.

Our children were very well loved by their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts & uncles and received a wide range of wonderful gifts. When asking Ryan about his favorite gifts he says: my train set, Wall-E & Robin Hood movies, Jessie doll, Spider man board that he colors, his Jake pirate ship & karate. Ethan seems to enjoy his elephant that shoots out balls, his new chair with his name on it, lots of cars, a talking phone, his big Thomas train, and Mom appreciates all his new clothes.

Mike received some new clothes, tennis shoes, books, a new mini-beverage fridge for upstairs, a 4 slice toaster, bullets for his 9mm, and gift cards among many other things. I was grateful to get to pick out two new light fixtures for our home that were gifted to me from Mike. I also am finally the owner of a large food processor which is pretty awesome. I also received some new purple luggage, new books, ornaments, Arthur Court grapes pieces, and clothes were among the many thoughtful gifts we received. We were gifted some money this year as well which was a big blessing as we were able to buy a few fun "want" items as well as pay to have the garage door replaced and painted over the holidays and take care of other household needs.

To all our family, we are so very grateful to have you as a part of our lives and are especially thankful for your thoughtfulness as you gifted to us and our children this Christmas season. It was wonderful being able to spend time with you all and we realize how lucky we are to have almost all of our family so close in proximity to us. Thank you for your generosity shown throughout the season.

The week after Christmas we were lucky to have Mike home from work with us and the boys thoroughly enjoyed soaking up a lot of extra "Daddy" time. We relaxed and enjoyed playing with our new gifts and just taking it easy after the busy week leading up to Christmas. We were thankful to have such a nice break with Mike around before he had to head back to a very hectic schedule awaiting him at the beginning of the year. The boys and I sure miss him when he works long days, but are very thankful for the hard work and hours he puts in for our family to provide for us.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season and are enjoying a great start to 2014! Here are a few photos from the season.















Ethan 15+ months...

I realize it has been quite awhile since I have made any kind of blog post, so I am hoping to do a little bit of updating today starting with some stories about Ethan and including his 15 month stats (a month late...)

height: 32.75 in, 95th%
head circumference: 47cm, 50th%
weight: 22lb 4.5oz, 50th%

Last month Ethan cut his 15th tooth- lower right incisor, and he is days away from the 16th lower left incisor breaking through. The tooth is huge already just hasn't yet broken the skin. Poor baby has had a busy time since his 1st birthday in cutting teeth.

Around November (14 mo) he took his first bubble bath with mom and brother. I really thought he would love it since he loves blowing bubbles outside, but instead the bubbles really seemed to scare him. He clung to Mom the whole time and didn't want the bubbles to touch him, which resulted in a rather quick bath. I am hoping to try bubble bath again sometime soon and see how he does.

In December (15mo) Ethan finally stopped crying when dropped off at nursery during church and MOPs meetings which was a big step and relief for Mom and Dad as I always hate leaving him crying because it tugs at my heartstrings (even though I know he is better in less than 5 minutes)

As of 15 and 16 months- Ethan's favorite books include; "Pat the bunny" he wants to read it over and over and (his favorite page is playing "peekaboo" with Paul.) Also loves his hand me down ELMO books of his brother's and now requests them each by name except the food book "ball, baby, woof (puppies)". He also loves his foam books that he can take the pieces out of.

Ethan is newly discovering "craft" type play and loves play doh, although he mostly tears it apart and puts it in and out of the container. He loves stickers and I am finding them around the house especially on the floor. He also likes when he gets the opportunity to write in dry erase marker on his brother's marker board.

Probably one of his favorite people however is his big brother and he loves just being with his big brother, Ryan and playing. He asks about his "bubba" when he is at school and when I take him to the car for pick up he typically asks "Bubba?" and when I say "yes we are going to get him from school" he gets very excited, such sweet brotherly love.

Newest discovery to Ethan is various body parts. He takes delight in pointing out body parts on everyone in the room over and over again (ex: nose, ears, mouth, belly button). He will poke you right in the eye if you aren't careful!

I have begun singing a song to Ethan before bed each night while we sit in the rocking chair for a few minutes of cuddle time. His favorite song seems to be "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (with motions ever since I showed him a few weeks ago) he points to the sky to request it and says "yeah" if I ask if that is what he wants to hear.

About a week ago I started feeling like Ethan really wasn't adding too many new words and so I started keeping track of the words he was saying on a daily basis to see if I felt like he was still on track. After 4 days of trying to remember to write down his words, here is my list. At just about 30 words, I think he is doing just fine. :)
16 mo words in no particular order:
boo (for peekaboo), baby, done, book, more, milk, up, mama, dada, nana, dis (this), nack (snack), hi, bye bye, night night, yeah, owie, uh oh, cheese, bubba or bruhbuh (brother), bubbles, ball, dat (that and cat), dog, badle (bagel), duck, brr (when it's cold), bear, sounds: meow, oof oof (dog), arrr (lion)

Ethan is really developing and starting to be so smart just like his brother. He is definitely a mimic and likes to copy sounds and words that his brother will say and laughs like brother is the funniest guy in the whole world. He also seems to pay attention to directions just like his backseat driving sibling and already recognizes when we pull up to certain locations such as Nana's house, our home, and school to pick up brother. He is rather sensitive and when told "No" he will generally cry. He gives the biggest hugs and kisses and is our little lover-boy. I absolutely love the cuddles and love that he shows to his Mama. He also seems to be fairly accident prone and I am certain will be my child that gets broken bones and stitches :-/ oof... not looking forward to that. He is quite fearless as he doesn't always know about the consequences yet. Outdoor and upstairs play continue to be his very favorite places in the house. He wakes up between 7:30-8am daily and is in bed by the same time each night with a 2.5-3.5hr nap somewhere around 1pm. Ethan is so happy a majority of the day. He is learning how to stand up to his brother and wants to get "his own way" already of course, which does lead to occasional tiffs that I know are just beginning. We sure feel blessed to be Ethan's parents and are loving life with our sweet yet spunky little 16 month old. What a blessing he is to our family.

Love,
Emily (Mom)