Weekly Menu Planner: 4.23.2013

Good thing I have this blog right? Looks like my last post was Sammys newborn photos. Guess what I have been doing since then? That's right! Photography. I feel like it's taken over my life.

One thing I haven't been doing is meal planning and our grocery bill was a whopping $100 last week! It is usually 50-60. So the hubs came down HARD on me. Told me I better find a new place to live if I don't straighten up my act. OK...he NEVER said that. In fact he didn't care. I seem to be the one crazed about going over my budget because it is a big fat fail in my book. Dan LOVES food, so if we are spending money on that it doesn't phase him. Now about those shoes I bought...kidding.

Anyways, back to meal planning I go. We just purchased forty pounds of chicken through this site. So needless to say a lot of my menu will be chicken related.

By the way, if you are interested in getting chicken, or other products from zaycon foods I highly recommend it. The food comes from a farm a few days before and it is delivered to a site close to where you live where you go pick it up. The chicken we got, is boneless, skinless breasts from chemical, antibiotic free, free-range chickens. We paid $1.69/lb. Not back right? So check it out. Click here for more info.

Back to the menu:

Tuesday: Kielbasa and Fried Potatoes

Although I plan to start making my menus a little more healthy, this is an easy go to meal for us and pretty self explanatory.

Wednesday: Fix it and Forget it Chicken Crockpot Fajitas

Thursday: Turkey Burgers

 We bought a new grill! Hence the yummy burgers on the menu.

Friday: Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Quinoa

Saturday: Homemade Pizza!

Sunday: Grilled Chicken Spinach Pesto Pasta

Monday: Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

My friend Becky sent me this recipe and I am so excited to try it out! 

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/lattice-chicken-potpie

Samuel Joseph: {Newborn}

I am so happy to give you a little glimpse of Sammys photo session from the other day. I was completely spoiled with a very content baby and overall photogenic family. Lucas loves his little brother so much that it just melted my heart when he would give him a little kiss on the forehead.

Of course, Sam wasn't going to miss anything during his shoot. Although in his few short weeks here on earth as a sleepy little man, he surprised us all by staying awake for the entire session. I got a few shots of him with his eyes closed but I think he was just blinking. He is so aware of his surroundings already, he is sure to be a little smarty pants. Just like his big bro, who was the only one who "was right" and knew he was going to be a little boy!

Enjoy!

 

Riley Niamh: {1 YEAR!}

After a gruesome move, I am back. Ready to blog. First on my list is documenting my sweet Riley and how she recently turned one! I am still in shock.

You are smart as a whip. Dare I say, smarter than your sister? You probably say at least ten words and the list grows by the day. Just for documentation sake: you say (no, hi, hey, mama, bubble, ball, also for elmo, ball, and many other words).You comprehend so much that it is scary. No, you are not a baby anymore...and you are high-tailing it out of toddlerhood as well if you keep up this pace. Slow down baby girl.

I am lucky though. You LOVE to cuddle. You need a good twenty minute cuddle after waking up from a nap. How lucky am I?

You are strong willed and very confident. You try to do anything your sister does. That includes jumping off steps and running, which you haven't yet mastered. I love you to the moon and back baby girl and you have brought us so much joy. You are the ying to Kayleighs yang and it has balanced out our household perfectly.

So here are some shots from Rileys "One year photo shoot." I was a little upset that I couldn't coax a smile or "stinky face" but a photo shoot is not everyday life and she knew that. We both did the best we could and I am so excited to show you the results. Enjoy!

 

 

 

10 things to do with your kids....besides watching TV....

So we have been watching a lot of TV lately. I'm not going to sugarcoat it...putting the TV on is easy and it has made me a lazy mom. My kids still get out everyday and go to the library, storytimes, playdates, museums, indoor playgrounds. Don't get me wrong they are socially and educationally stimulated on a daily basis but this TV thing has gotten out of control.

Don't ask me how much time they spend in front of the TV because I purposely try not to keep track. I am lucky, Kayleigh rarely just "sits and watches TV." Most of the time she will watch for a little bit and then go on playing with her toys. Riley just likes watching a few minutes of Mickey Mouse and then goes on playing. They aren't couch potatoes but I just don't like that it has become a crutch.

So when we were looking at houses I had one demand. A family room. This way all their toys would be in a separate room and that TV would be out in the living room. No TV in the family room. This means in a week I am going to have to step up my game. Or just become the mom I was before I had two kids. The two kids thing did it. I got lazy when I had Riley and had to nurse 24/7. I would put on a show for Kayleigh so I could attend to Riley. Well she is a year now and it is time to break the habit.

So I decided to write this post. Most of them are pretty common things to do with your kids but since a friend commented on a photo of mine with "why haven't I ever thought of that." I figure I would divulge all my secrets...or at least the first ten that came to mind.

1. Read. When Kayleigh was little we read a lot. I would read books to her for hours. I am not exaggerating. Riley has just started liking books and we spend some time each day reading as well. Kayleigh still gets read to for about twenty minutes each night but the day reading came to a crashing halt. It's about to make a comeback.

2. Have a dance party! If you need the background noise of a TV, just turn on a music channel. We have the pop hits on a lot and my child now knows who Taylor Swift is and screams her name when one of her songs comes on. If you don't fancy your child singing pop hits, there is also a toddler station (we currently don't get it) or go to your local library and rent out some CD's. If your son LOVES cars, rent the Cars soundtrack. During dinner I try to play classical music and Kayleigh thinks it is Fantasia. So she likes it. Also, the dance party will help you burn some calories...WIN!

3. Throw the kids in the tub and have bubble time. When Kayleigh was four months old we started going to the little gym. At the end of every class they blew bubbles and said it helped with eye coordination. I have no idea if that is true but Kayleigh loved bubbles so much that we blew them while she was in the tub every night. This way they don't make a big mess. It is also fun to paint in the tub and Crayola has those tub markers and paint. Also, if you are looking for an educational activity for the tub, run to Target and grab those foam letters and numbers. Kayleigh loved playing "what is this letter/number" in the tub, or spelling out her name.

4. Go for a walk. Seriously. Kids learn so much on walks. Kayleigh loves to ask what kind of flower, tree, dog that is when we go for a walk. If it is snowing out, read "The Snowy Day," by Ezra Jack Keats and then go out and make tracks in the snow, snow angels and then talk about the book and your day and how similar they were. Going for a walk also helps with colors and numbers since houses are a plethora of colors and they all have house numbers :)

5. Puzzles. My kids both love puzzles. We have every Melissa and Doug puzzle I am pretty sure and it keeps them busy for a while. Kayleigh loves the jigsaw puzzles now that require a little more help. Which means I am interacting and talking to her a lot...which they say expands their vocabulary.

6. Coloring. Do it. Kayleigh can color for an hour straight. Riley thinks she can color for an hour straight but usually ends up eating the crayons. Make sure you get non-toxic. :) This is also a great color recognition exercise.

7. Tracing. Kayleigh loves to trace letters, numbers and shapes. They have these preschool preparation books you can find at B&N or just print stuff offline.

8. Take your kids grocery shopping with you and make them help. Kayleigh puts all the food on the belt now and helps me "look for food." Food recognition!

9. Clean up the toys! If your kid is driving you crazy and you feel like twenty minutes of a show will calm both your nerves...make them clean up first. We have bins with pictures of princesses, balls, trains on each one so Kayleigh knows where everything goes. Organization!

10. Hide and Seek...have you tried playing this with your kid...they learn how to count and they can play it for hours. It is awesome.

So I hope I gave you some new ideas. I feel I will be referring to this a lot in about a week. I cannot wait for the spring/summer since we have a backyard now! I will write a whole separate post on things to do with your kids in the backyard instead of watching TV in a few months...keep your eyes peeled!

Riley Niamh: 11 Months!

Can you believe it little one...you are almost ONE! Not yet though. You are still my toddling little baby. Even if it is just for a few more weeks. 

You have grown so much over the last month. I swear you are going to wake up and be a five year old any day now. You want so much to be like your big sister that you are just leaping over milestones.

Yep! You are walking. Not 100% of the time and only several steps at a time but you are crawling less and less. One thing I learned about you and walking (which I am sure will become you + doing anything) is that we can't force you to do it. If we try and get you to walk from one person to another..even your favorite person, Kayleigh, you quickly fall to your knees and crawl away. However, you will walk from one piece of furniture to another or just get up into a standing position without holding onto anything (yeah you mastered that a few weeks ago) and just toddle several steps before falling on your butt. Kayleigh is always very excited when she spots you crossing a room! 

So what have you been up to?

• You are walking!! Like I said not 100% of the time but I am sure you will leave crawling behind in a few weeks
• You EAT EVERYTHING. Seriously, I have never seen such a little person eat so much! I know I will be complaining about your lack of eating pretty soon but here is documentation that at one time you did stuff yourself silly.
• Did I say little person? Girl, you are wearing mostly 18 month clothes! You are going to be talllllll.
• You have started talking. At least trying to mimic what we say. So far you say:
• Ball
• Mickey - Nickey
• More
• BaBa - you actually say mama for this most times but refuse to call me mama...nice I am just a giant bottle to you :)
• Night Night - NighNigh
• Pooh - Pooh
• You still put your arms in the air when you are all done. Actually you have started throwing your food on the floor and going "uh oh." If I hear that I usually know you are done.
• You put your face in the water at bath time and blow bubbles. I have no idea where you learned that from but it is awfully cute!
• You sit in the book nook corner and babble away to yourself and read to yourself. So cute. You aren't very good at wanting someone else to read to you...you usually get bored. I guess you read it better right? 
• You love to pretend to tickle someone and go "ticka ticka ticka" as you tickle them. 
• You are still nursing 2-4 times a day! You LOVE your bottle of whole milk though. 
• You could possibly the happiest kid ever. Always smiling and laughing
• You did have your first temper tantrum the other day. You just threw yourself on the floor and kicked your feet and screamed. This stopped when you realized all three of your audience members had left the room. 
• You give the best kisses and hugs. You are always down for some snuggle time.

"I love you through and through. Yesterday, today and tomorrow, too"

Watermarkin' it up!

I would like to thank my niece Jennifer for creating this awesome watermark. I spent some time in elements making a circular text around the MacLeod crest which looked good until I realized, crap I will totally be in violation of copyright infringement if I use this image. The image was just a basic MacLeod crest, but a drawing. So I contacted the site that published it and they assured me it was not copyrighted. Luckily, I am from NYC and we don't trust anything anyone says. Especially when it comes to lawsuits. My NYC paranoid brain told me that person just wanted me to use it to sue me later. True story.

The story goes on and on with all the copyright laws I learned about over the next few days. Luckily I have relatives and friends from my old job that filled me in. Thanks again.

So here it is. My creative niece did a fantastic job! Thank you Jen I love it!

Rumor has it I may be dipping my toes into a little photography business. Keep your eyes peeled for more information on portfolio building shoots! I need to build my portfolio and since both my kiddos are mobile and hate the camera, I will probably be recruiting. 

Thank you for all the support from family and friends as I drag you all down this obsessive hole with me. I am sure none of you care about backdrops, props, lenses or anything else that I have been gabbing away about. I do appreciate the nods and smiles though! :)

Nate {Senior Pics}

Let me tell you, when I was approached about doing this young mans senior photos I was a little nervous. I had flash backs of myself as a senior graduating from highschool and I got overwhelmed with insecurity. I guess it just comes with the territory.

Nate is very grown up for his age and was a breeze when it comes to taking photos. I am sure being very photogenic did not hurt him in the least. Also, when he informed me he aspired to be a firefighter/emt/nurse, I felt nothing but pride coming from a family with multiple cousins who also share that same passion for firefighting and other careers that can be all lumped in the same group - "hero."

So here are his senior pictures. I hope you enjoy them! Good luck Nate I am sure you will be great at all you do.