I Tri and Craft

thoughts from a mother of boys, a marathoner, a triathlete, a crafter, a wife, and a scientist


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Seven Days of thanks ~ Week 1

Last year I did a “Days of Thanks” blog posts during the month of November leading up to Thanksgiving.  I really enjoyed finding something new each day to be thankful for.  I wanted to participate again this year, but come Nov 1 I felt stressed about the idea.

I shouldn’t feel stressed about being thankful, that seems counterproductive.  I was stressing about having to remember to write something and post it everyday.  What if I don’t have time (I was at home on maternity leave this time last year, and now I am back at work) to write about it before the day is done and I am crashed out, asleep, exhausted?  What about the days that a “thankful” post will interfere with another post I want to write?  Will I end up doing a post about my kids everyday? or maybe about my coffee?

Those thoughts, and more, were going through my head as I was up with a sick baby at 4 o’clock in the morning.

So I decided it would be better to do a recap of the things I was regretful for during the week.

 

7 Days of Thanks Nov 1-7

Nov. 1
Our humidifier.  When Sid woke up in the middle of night having a hard time breathing, I was thankful that I already owned a humidifier.  His breathing was back to normal by the time the sun came up.

Thanks_week1_humidifer

Nov. 2
Pinterest.  I am thankful to be able to share creative ideas with millions of strangers.  I found the idea for these Mummy Juice Boxes on there.  Ian took them to his school Halloween party, and all the kids loved them.

Thanks_week1_mummy

Nov. 3
Brothers. These two are amazing.

Nov. 4
Ian’s love for LEGOs.  It is no surprise our family loves LEGOs.  I love being able to pass on my childhood favorites to my kids.Thanks_week1_lego

Nov. 5
That second cup of coffee.  Yep, I did it.  I posted about my morning coffee. But it is so necessary and everyday I am thankful for that cup.

Thanks_week1_coffee

Nov. 6
Preschool.  I am so thankful that someone else is teaching my kid.  I could never be a parent that home-schools their kids.  Way too hard for me.  How do I teach this left-handed kid how to write from left to right.Thanks_week1_chalkboard


Nov. 7
Face Time.  I don’t have an iPhone, but my mom does.  My baby cousin is away at college, a freshman, and we all miss her terribly.  It is so great to be able to see her face when we talk to her.  Baby Sid get’s so excited he tried to eat the phone.  OK, so maybe he was giving her kisses.

Thanks_week1_phone

What are you thankful for?

 
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Menu Plan Monday Nov. 4

Happy Monday to you.

I hope everyone was able to recover from Halloween.  I apparently have not yet.

I am so far behind in everything, and I am suffering from a cold. (This is where you feel sorry for me and give me condolences)

My dear husband tried to let me sleep in on Sunday (you know, little kids just don’t appreciate day light savings time), and he tried to let me take a nap to rest up.  But the kids had different plans.

How can I sleep when you have little hands reaching up and saying “Mama” or when your three-year old says “but I wuv you, and would be sad if you go back to sweep”

Yep my kids are very manipulative.

But hey, I still got this week’s menu planned.

MPM_04Nov2013

 

I have never seen a kid who loves food as much as this one.  Yes, he is eating popcorn.  It not, ‘how can I let him?’ it’s, ‘how can I stop him?’

Menu Plan 11/04-11/10

Mon: Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole 

Tue: Baked Chicken Parmesan with Garlic Rolls

Wed: Beef Carbonnade

Thr: Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches with potatoes 

Fri: Leftovers 

Sat: Kitchen is Closed

Sun: Cajun Chicken Stuffed with Pepper Jack Cheese over rice

 

 

Happy Cooking

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Need something to help plan your meals?  I use the Plan to Eat online meal planner.  Try it free for 30 days

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Find more recipes at I’m an Organizing Junkie


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Wordless Wednesday Oct. 30

It has been said a picture is worth a thousand words.  Hopefully on Wednesday’s I won’t have to write a single one.  

WW_30oct2013_boys

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Menu Plan Monday Oct. 28 ~ Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

It is that time of year for soup.

My husband asked me to make a pot of chicken noodle soup, so we can freeze a bunch of it.

Soup_28Oct2013

I got this recipe from my mom, and have been making it for years.  She got the recipe from her Grandmother and had been making it for decades.

But let’s be honest, it is nothing fancy, so I am sure your grandmother had the same recipe.

I love this recipe simply for the noodles.

Soup5_28Oct2013

Seriously. Look at those noodles. Don’t you just want to eat them up right now?  So doughy and creamy.

When I first made these I rolled them out and cut them with a knife like my mom did.  However they were as wide as the spoon I was supposed to eat them with.

Soup4_28Oct2013

I had the pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer, so the next time I made the soup I remembered that I had it and used it.

Soup3_28Oct2013

That time the noodles were too long….

I have since perfected my use of my pasta roller/cutter.

Soup2_28Oct2013

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 whole fryer chicken
2-3 32oz boxes of chicken broth
water
1 onion, chopped
3 cups flour
6 tbsp milk (preferably whole or half & half)
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs

  • Wash chicken and place in a large stock pot with chopped onion.  Dump in chicken broth, add water until you get desired amount of broth.  Make sure the chicken is covered and remember the noodles will soak up some liquid.  If you have added a lot of water, more than a quart or so, you can add a couple of chicken bouillon cubes so as to not dilute the flavor.
    • If you don’t want to use chick broth, you can just use water and bouillon cubes; one cube per quart.  Don’t want to use bouillon because of sodium? You can find a recipe here for a broth mix.
  • Bring to a boil, turn down heat to med-low.  Cover and cook for 2-3 hours.
  • Beat eggs and milk together, add salt and flour.  Mix until dough forms, add more milk or flour if consistency is off.
  • Roll out dough on a floured surface and cut into strips, then cut strips to noodle length.  Let dry out a couple of hours while chicken is cooking.
  • Remove chicken from stock.  Allow chicken to cool, and remove meat.  Shred meat and return to stock.  Season with parsley, salt and pepper.  Bring stock to a boil and add noodles.  Cook until noodles are soft, about 10-15 min.

Menu Plan 10/28-11/03

Mon: Chicken Noodle Soup

Tue: Cheese Tortellini & Sausage Soup with cheesy pull apart bread

Wed: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Thr: Halloween, so we will probably eat a bunch of candy

Fri: Leftovers 

Sat: Kitchen is Closed

Sun: Garlic Cheddar Chicken with Skillet Creamy Mac & Cheese I found some great looking green beans at the store so I changed the plan to make Chicken, Green Beans & Potatoes

Happy Cooking

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Need something to help plan your meals?  I use the Plan to Eat online meal planner.  Try it free for 30 days

Simple Meal Planning - Plan to Eat

Find more recipes at I’m an Organizing Junkie


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