Girly-Girl

I am not a girly-girl.  It's hard to be with five boys.  But, honestly, I wasn't ever really one before the children either.  I wear my hair the same way, every day.  I wear the same jewelry, every day.  I pretty much wear a variation of the same clothes, every day.  I don't really like heels; they hurt.  I don't enjoy facials and massages.  I don't do my nails.

Now, I do like a good pedicure in the summer, or if I am going on vacation.  I like the idea of a manicure, but it just hasn't ever worked for me.  I can ruin a manicure, and have, before I even get into the car to go home.  Doing my fingers at home hasn't ever worked for me either.  There is always someone who has to have a bottom wiped, pants zipped, or shoes tied.  And, I am obsessive about hand washing.  It could be my medical professional background or just all those bottoms!  Plus, honestly, I do about 3000 dishes a day and fold like 8000 clothes.  It's just no use!

Well, my friend, Jaime was raving the other day (see this post) about this great manicure she had, with gel nails.  They looked marvelous, and her manicure was almost a week old.  And, she had been doing dishes, changing diapers, and wiping bottoms!  So, I had to check it out . . .

Had to go with red!

I am thoroughly impressed!  The best thing, is that they are not "artificial".  Nothing was glued to my nails, and my nails were not sanded down; so no possibility of infections.  Yeah!

I will keep you updated on the condition of my mani.  I may become a girly-girl yet!

By the way, the boys are going to flip when they see me with painted nails!

What's for Dinner - Week of 1/10/11

This has been a crazy week already, and it's only Tuesday!

It's amazing to me to look at other people's meal plans.  So many people plan out breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I thought that I was being so good planning out a week's worth of dinners!  Breakfast around here during the week is usually pretty hectic.  I typically act like a short order cook making everyone's choice, but it's all really easy stuff:  instant oatmeal, freezer waffles and pancakes, poptarts and cold cereal.  Lunch is fairly boring, usually with just myself and Rowan eating PB&J (my personal favorite).  The older ones either pack or buy lunch at school.  Weekends are when those meals become a little more structured.  I will usually cook one "big" breakfast; almost always it includes bacon.  Lunch will be subs or sometimes leftovers.  I guess that by knowing that the children get their choices for breakfast and lunch I don't feel so bad if they don't particularly like a dinner I prepare (I only offer one option for dinner, take it or leave it).  They don't have that long til their next meal!

For this week . . . .

Monday:  Pork Tenderloin, brown rice, green beans
                 Nothing fancy.

Tuesday:  Takeout from City BBQ
                 This is for a fundraiser for our school.  Hard to turn it down when it is a favorite!

Wednesday:  Tortilla Casserole, salad
                  The recipe is from Everyday Food magazine.  It is a "lighter" recipe, but I will add in a pound of ground beef to appease the boys.

Thursday:  Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches, french fries, crudites
                  Also from the above magazine.  This is a crockpot recipe.  Bonus!

Friday:  Out to dinner for hockey game
                   Go Jackets!!

Saturday:  Leftovers
                    Lots of goodies to eat up!

Sunday:  Spicy Black Bean Soup, corn muffins, salad
                    Everyone pretty much likes black bean soup here.  The fact that it is labeled "spicy" should make it a hit.

Have a good week.

Enjoy!

I am participating in Menu Plan Monday over at http://www.orgjunkie.com/!

Manager's Special

I love a good deal!

I play the drugstore game.  I subscribe to the grocery game.  I collect coupons.  I can tell you a million ways to save a buck.  Despite all of that though, my grocery bill stays crazy high.  The five growing, starving, and skinny boys I've alluded to in the past, go through food like water.  But I still look for deals to help out.

I was doing my weekly grocery shopping at Kroger on Friday and the "Manager's Special" markdowns were everywhere!  Bread, meat, and yes, dairy!!

Why, so excited about dairy, you ask?  Well, my five boys and husband can easily go through 8 to 10 gallons of milk a week!  A week!  The check-out people laugh at me every week and cow comments ensue with reckless abandon (don't think I haven't thought about it.  My sister has chickens.  Why can't I have a cow?!).

I actually found milk marked down to $1.29!  Needless to say, I bought as much as my cart would hold.  The crazy thing was that this milk doesn't expire until January 16th (this was on the 7th).  Go figure!

You have to understand though, my boys are biased against anything that is marked "Manager's Special".  They think that it is spoiled or rotten or ruined; somehow further working into my twisted plot to poison them all.  Mind you, I have served beets, eggplant, mushrooms and Brussels sprouts this week; all just further evidence.  (Insert scary music here.)

So excuse me while I go peel off some stickers!

Grocery List?!

The boys often complain that I don't buy anything "good" at the grocery store.  I do admit that I try NOT to buy too much junk, not because I am averse to it being in the house, but that I'm averse to it being in my trunk (if you know what I mean!).

I do try to make an effort to ask the children before I go to the store if there are any special requests.  And, honestly, I do try to remember them.  But, as more often is the case, I forget.  I really just forget.  Or, it could be that I avoid that aisle entirely.  At any rate, "I don't buy anything good!"

So, I mentioned that I leave my grocery list out for all to add to.  And so far this method has worked for me; primarily because no one has truly taken advantage of this fact.  Until now. . . .



The waffles, eggs and poptarts are my entries.  Mark added in the olives, hummus and rice cakes (he's trying to be good!).  The flaming hot Cheetos washed down with the four types of ice cream are courtesy of Patrick and Conor.  Followed by the chips with "lots and lots" of French onion dip!  Oh my!

And like any good mother with five growing and starving and skinny boys, I bought it all.  Just please don't ask me to get on the scale any time soon!

Seven Springs

We spent the New Year's weekend skiing at Seven Springs.  Great food, great friends, pretty good skiing and lots of relaxing was had! 

I do have to admit that although skiing in the rain has it's advantages (empty mountain, no lift lines, slick slopes), the soaked-to-the-bone aspect was a little less than pleasant.  Thankfully, it was warm!

Some pics from the weekend: 

Top of the mountain

What's a lake doing up here?

Liam navigating the chair lift

Rowan in his favorite position, on the ground!

Conor shredding up the terrain park

The guys chillin'

By the way, a thousand piece puzzle and two OCD women do NOT mix well; we will leave it at that!

Happy New Year!

Ready to Join the Circus?!

My, oh, so talented, husband . . .

And my, oh, so talented, son . . .

This was the half-time entertainment at my house for the Ohio State Game.  Yea, Bucks!

The Lunastix that Santa brought were a big hit.  Maybe we can forgo college!

Eat your heart out Chris!!

What's for Dinner - Week 1/3/11

Happy New Year!  It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone.  The years just fly by with children anymore.  They keep getting bigger and hungrier! 

One of my goals this year is to continue with the menu planning and posting.  My mother was laughing at me the other day at my organization.  This woman is amazing.  She would grocery shop for two weeks at a time, for a family of seven, off the cuff.  She would push one cart and pull another and manage it all without a list!  I am attributing my inability to do this to the fact that I am significantly older now than she was then; but my mother has always been known for her great memory.  I'm just happy that I haven't actually left anyone at the store yet.  Notice that I said actually left the store, just almost!  Thankfully, one of the benefits of having five children is the fact that they noticed the missing child!  Oh well, not one of my finer moments.

On to the food . . .

Monday:  Leftovers/Smorgasbord
                 I try to make it sound a little bit better than it is by calling it "Smorgasbord".  Sometimes it even fools the younger ones!

Tuesday:  Leftovers/CORN (clean out the refrigerator)
                 I don't know where it is all coming from, but we have a lot of food to kill off!  Again, trying to fool the kids into thinking it is something else.  I'm not sure it is going to work!

Wednesday:  Eggplant Pita Sandwiches/Greek Sandwiches
                 I'll offer a meat option for the children.  They will think I'm trying to poison them with an eggplant only option.  I love eggplant though!  Will try to convince them to try it.  It may work, as Patrick is at ski club this evening.

Thursday:  Roast Chicken, Cheddar and Bacon Stuffed Potatoes
                 We never had this a couple of weeks ago, so it is reappearing on the menu.  I will get the roast chicken from the grocery.  The children will love the cheddar and bacon potatoes.

Friday:  Seared Fish with Beets and Broccoli
                This is from Everyday Food magazine; their "light issue".  A perfect recipe for another one of my New Year's goals . . . lose weight and try to eat more fish.  They have a "grocery bag" section that has five recipes with a shopping list.  It helps make menu planning very easy!

Saturday:  Parmesan Chicken with Mushrooms and Brussels Sprouts
                The chicken will be a huge hit.  I am always amazed at how good brussels sprouts are when they are roasted!  Who would have thought?!  More from the magazine.

Sunday:  Steak and Potato Salad
                Enough said!  My carnivores will be drooling.  Ditto the source.

Have a great week!
 
Enjoy!

I am participating in Menu Plan Monday over at http://www.orgjunkie.com/!