Week 2: Meal Plans

I recommend using organic fruits and veggies and of course grass fed beef and pastured chicken from Off the Farm Food Co-Op!

Day 1:

Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps and a side of fruit

I bake the chicken like this:

Line bottom of baking dish with foil. Spread some Italian Dressing on the foil. Put chicken on the foil and cover with more Italian Dressing. Cover chicken completely with foil. Bake for 45 minutes on 350.

When the chicken is done, I fry for a few minutes with olive oil.

Mix with Caesar Dressing, put on tortilla, and add loads of organic salad mix and some cheese if you want.

Day 2:

Hamburgers and Fries

We really like Rachel Ray's Patty Melts:

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/

If you like, you can do sweet potato fries; here are some from Cookie + Kate:

http://cookieandkate.com/2010/baked-sweet-potato-fries/


Day 3:

Salmon, Brussels sprouts, and quinoa

We like to spread honey mustard over the salmon and bake at 450 until it is cooked through.

Here is how to make honey mustard:

Combine 1 part raw, unfiltered honey and 1 part mustard. Add a little mayo (not much).

Try these spicy Brussels sprouts from Melissa's:

http://www.melissas.com/Recipes/Recipes/Side-Dishes/Spicy-Oven-Roasted-Brussels-Sprouts.aspx

And for the quinoa, this is from Ambitious Kitchen:

Bring 1 1/2 cups of water with garlic salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low, add quinoa and cover; simmering until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand another 5-10 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork.


Day 4:

Meatloaf-I know, I know...Meatloaf? I can't help it, I love it. Although I typically make my mom's recipe, here is one from Who Needs a Cape?:

http://whoneedsacape.com/2012/10/veggied-meatloaf/

I would use carrots and serve with mashed potatoes and steamed peas!


Day 5:

Omelets

Fill with tons of veggies (mushrooms, onions, olives, tomatoes) and some whole milk cheddar cheese


Day 6:

BBQ Chicken, salad, and squash and zucchini

I like to grill or bake my chicken. If you are baking, use the same method as above, take out with about 10 minutes left, cover with bbq sauce and continue to cook until done.

1 Week Meal Plan

I recommend getting organic fruits and veggies and of course pastured chicken and grass fed beef from Off the Farm Food Co-Op :)

Day 1:

Salad:
Lettuce mix, chopped green bell pepper, chopped onion, pears or strawberries (or both), cheese of your choice, sugared pecans (http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/sugared_pecans/), dressing of your choice (I like a vinaigrette). You can easily add a lightly seasoned grilled chicken on top. Toss and eat.


Day 2:

Cornflake Crusted Chicken

This is from Martha Stewart:
http://www.marthastewart.com/336896/cornflake-crusted-baked-chicken

I like to serve with mashed potatoes or cauliflower and peas

mashed cauliflower recipe (we add bacon to ours):
http://www.inspiredtaste.net/19731/simple-creamy-mashed-cauliflower-recipe/



Day 3:

Steaks, Baked Potatoes, and Asparagus

How we cook our asparagus:
clean, put on foil, coat with olive oil, sprinkle with sugar, cover with foil and grill until almost tender


Day 4:

Chicken K-Bobs

This is from Hasty-Bake:
http://www.hastybake.com/recipes/hawaiian-chicken-k-bobs


Day 5:

Breakfast for Dinner

One of our favorites! We love to make blueberry pancakes, bacon, country sausage, eggs, and fruit.


Day 6:

Tacos

We love to make "double decker tacos" (wrap a flour tortilla and beans around the taco shell). I also steam corn and make guacamole and pico de gallo.

Jessica Seinfeld has a taco recipe that I use where you can "hide" pureed veggies in the meat.

Recipe:
http://myfriendsandfood.blogspot.com/2008/03/tacos-from-deceptively-delicious-by.html


Recipe for homemade pico from The Mother Huddle:
http://www.themotherhuddle.com/homemade-pico-de-gallo-recipe/


Day 7:

I am ready to eat out!!!

Holden Turns 2

Holden Parke is 2!!  It seems like you are so much older than 2 because you are as smart as a whip.  At two you are running like crazy, jumping, climbing, and dancing.  You are learning things at the speed of light every day.  You talk in complete sentences, you can count to 15, you know red, blue, and green, and can associate really well.  You love to play outside in the dirt and pet the puppies, Daisy and Duddits.  Because you turn two in the summer, we are currently swimming a lot.  You are like a fish.  You have not had lessons, but you are starting to swim really well.  You love it and are not scared at all.  Mommy is ready for you to be potty trained and you are finally getting there too.  You will "tee-tee" on demand, but we have not started going in the potty yet, but you love your big boy underwear.  You will be starting Pre-School in a couple of months and your mommy is getting really sad that you will not be wih her everyday.  Mommy knows this will be good for you, and you love playing with other kids, so we think you will love it.

Hunter Turns 1!!

Hunter William turned 1!!  We can't believe our little baby is already 1 and changing so much every day.  Right now you are still not walking, even though you can stand up by yourself and will take a few steps here and there.  You cruise on and behind everything.  You especially love to push your new car and walk behind your walker.  You are learning new words all the time and can say: hi, bye-bye, ba-ba, da-da, mamma, cookie, up, poo poo, and apple.  You love to have books read to you, especially "Bubbles" and "Opposites".   Your favorite movie is Shrek.  Playing outside with brother is your favorite thing to do. You always want to be held, especially by grandma.  You are an eating machine.  You will eat pretty much anything we give you, but you love fruit and anything you can hold yourself.  You sleep from 8-8 at night and 1-3 during the day.  You sleep with a giraffe and two blankets.  Your mom and dad love you to the moon and back.  You are the sweetest little boy with so much lov in your heart already.  Your brother loves waking up and playing with you every day.  You two will be best friends forever.  Happy 1 year Hunter!!

2 1/2...really?

You would never know by looking at you that you are 2 1/2.  You look like you are at least 4 and stand as tall, if not taller, than most of your friends who are 3 and 4.  You are now in preschool 2 days a week from 9-1 and you love it.  You have made friends with Brody and Eli and talk about them all the time.  Mama really misses you while you are at school, but she is so proud of how well you have done going and the confindence you have gained.  You now wear size 4T clothes and size 8-9 shoes. 

As far as eating goes it is a hit or miss game with you.  Sometimes you will eat like a horse, and others you will not eat anything.  Your favorite food right now is bacon (more bacon...mama hears almost everytime).  You still do not like to eat casseroles or anything that is not crunchy. 

Toy Story is your new love.  You have a Jessie, Woody, and Buzz doll right now and they are your favorite things.  You already play with the toys exactly like the scenes from the movie and it is so funny to see you put woody in the tree outside over and over again.  You have found a new love for the puppy dogs.  You can sit and pet Duddits for ever. 

At 2 1/2 you are running so fast.  You love to run, jump, and spin around all the time.  Your favorite is when mama chases you around the kitchen and living room and jumps out and scares you.  You have the funniest sense of humor.  At night mama, daddy, you, and brother always drink milk and read a book on the bean bag chairs.  After brother goes to sleep you and mommy get some special time together where you read a book all by yourself and then mommy tells you "story again".  You always get the giggles at this time and mommy loves to hear you laugh.  You also love to say your prayers and say AMEN. 

Although you sometimes act annoyed by your brother's constant attention, you always want to know where he is.  If you wake up before him you will not take no for an answer to go wake him up so he can come with you to watch cartoons.  If brother is not around you, you will ask, "where's Hunter?".  Mom and dad think this is so special and we know you are going to be an amazing big brother.

You are still as smart as a whip, far beyond your years.  You know your ABC's, can count to 20, you know your colors and shapes, and are starting to memorize songs too (twinkle twinkle little star, jingle bells, and g-r-e-e-n are just a few).  You can hold a conversation really well for your age.  You are very intuitive and know exactly what is going on all the time. 

You have been potty trained since you were 2.  You wear big boy underwear all day, just not at night yet.  You tell everyone you need to go "tee tee in da potty", but you only want "mama commin".

Mommy and daddy cannot wait to see what the next 6 months will bring for you.  You are just now getting to understand your emotions and becoming such an idepedant boy. 

We love you buddy. 

We can't believe it...Hunter is 18 months old already!!

Hunter,

You are growing so fast...too fast.  Right now you are following your brother's footsteps, literally, everywhere he goes and everything he does, you go and you do.  You are so adventurous.  "Climb up" is one of your favorite phrases.  Mama has found you on top of your table, in window seals, and in chairs.  You love to eat, anything and everything.  About every hour on the hour you go to your highchair and exclaim "eat"!  You are not picky, but you love smoothies, fruit, and eggs.  "nack" time is your favorite. 

You, mom, and brother play outside all the time.  You love to yell at dodo and make sure you know where he and dayday are at all times.  You love to play t-ball and swing.  Now that we have moved into our new house, you love to climb up on the big playground and slide down. 

Independant should be your middle name.  You want to do everything on your own and if someone tries to help you, you tell them no.  At 18 months you are doing so much more than expected.  Your vocabulary is out of this world.  You love to sing your ABC's, and even if you do not know all of the letters, you know most.  You love to count with your brother.  You know all of the animals and their sounds, but your favorite is the "nay-nay".  Some of the phrases you are saying right now are: "there it is, where's brother, and go outside". 

You and brother play so good together right now.  You love to take out all of your pj's in your room and throw them in the air.  You also love to take out all the books and read them with brother.  You two wrestle with one another all the time, but you are always the one to instigate these sessions.  You also love to take your brother's favorite toys (Jessie and Woody) and then see if he sees you and then you take off running.  It is pretty funny to mom and dad to watch.

At night time you love to say your prayers and say loudly AMEN!

Gaga and daddy are your two favorite people in the whole world.  When daddy is home, you want him to "hold you" all the time. 

Mama and daddy are so awe struck watching you grow.  You are the cutest little boy with the biggest heart.  Keep that sensetive side of you!!

We love you!

Why is that a teacher's job...aren't you their parent?

With all the events that have taken place recently there is something weighing on my heart very heavily.  It is something that I have thought very strongly about for some time now, but with the free ground of facebook and everyone's opinions posted I have felt even stronger about it.  There is a lot of talk about teachers, God being put back in the school system, guns, etc...I don't claim to be an expert on all things, not even on the things I will talk about in this post, but what I do know comes from experience, observations, and just plain common sense.  With that in mind, I want to say that I have been a non-parent and a teacher at the same time and also a parent and a teacher at the same time.  I do come with several view points on this matter.

This goes for all people, those with kids not of school age, those with kids in school, and those without kids.  So many are quick to blame a teacher for the many problems that happen at school.  I am not saying that there are not teachers who do things wrong, I repeat, I am not saying that teachers are never to blame.  Back when I was in school, my teachers were just my teachers.  Now a days, if you want to open your eyes to this or not, teachers are not just teachers.  They are also counselors, nurses, patrol officers, disciplinarians, an ear to listen, lunch provider, and the list goes on and on and on.  Times have changed.  There is so much pushed off on teachers because in general, parents are just not involved as they once were.  I can speculate on why that is, but that is another post all together.  I have heard so many pool teachers in one big category.  I understand that there a lot, and I mean a lot of stories of teachers in the news and that it is easy to form an opinion.  I don't want to make light of that.  Just like with everything we do there are good and bad.  Good boss, bad boss. 

Everyone is missing the bigger picture here.  IT ALL STARTS WITH THE PARENTS IN THE HOME.  As parents you are responsible for teaching your children.  You are responsible for making sure they are the people they should be.  You are responsible for your children.  Stop passing the buck off to the teachers and loading them with the responsibilities that should be your own.  I am not saying that schools should not be a safe environment for our children.  I know from experience that there are many more people in the school system that try to make that happen than those that don't.  But unless there is a tragedy that puts that in the spot light you don't hear about it.  You only hear about the bad because that is what the media wants to talk about.

Parents need to be more involved with their children.  You need to teach them to pray at home.  If they pray at home and you teach them that they can stop and pray whenever they want, even when it might be difficult, then God will always be in our schools.  If you make sure your kids are doing what they should be doing at school, listening to their teachers and learning instead of causing trouble, then the teachers wouldn't be so stressed out and overwhelmed with the heavy load they have today.  If your child is having issues of some sort, don't send them to school for the teacher to sort out.  When did it become their jobs to do that?  Go to the school.  Know their teacher.  Make sure they are doing what they should be.  Please do not excuse your busy work load to not go.  You had them.  You are responsible for them.  They go to school to get an education.  I know that is the nature of taking care of kids that you will also have to deal with other issues, but it is getting out of control.  I know this from the experience I gained from being a teacher for 6 years.  Unless you are in that setting and hold the responsibilities, do not judge.  If you want to make a difference in the school system, you have to do something other than just complain. 

There is a reason a child's day starts and ends in the care of a parent.