Too Busy

You would think that with as busy as we are, there might be post after post of all the things we've been doing. We have reached maximum capacity overload though and first to go was time to write.

Otherwise known as officially too busy.

Here's some cute pictures to go with an apology and a promise of an update.

Someone asked me to post this week's meal plan

Refer to this post for more detail.

Here, by request, is our menu plan for this week.

Sunday: Roast chicken, from our farm. 6lb bird. I used an upright cast iron roaster (it has a stand in the middle to mount the bird on) and surrounded the bird with mushrooms, carrots, onions, and potatoes, seasoned with Swamp Fire, and stuffed with butter (instead of olive oil).

This chicken will be used for dinner tonight, leftovers shredded (2.5.lbs), and the carcass made into broth. 4 meals. This chicken was $24, but that equates into $6 per meal in meat. About $1.25 per person for meat.

Side dish with the chicken tonight is jasmine rice with the veggies mixed in and a cream sauce. The result is like the rice in "chicken and rice" casserole. Heavily buttered.  Some of the vegetables could be set aside to make a soup, but I am not doing that.

Monday: Lamb chops (6$). Sweet potatoes on the side. Leftover rice is there is any, peas if there isn't.

Tuesday: I take salad (with chicken $1.25 see above) for lunch or dinner, kids eat pizza with dad. I work a 12 hour day.

Wednesday: Steak (3$ that's right, from our farm too) broiled. Roasted turnips. Asperagus.

Thursday: Ham ($3.50) and beans with corn bread. I use black eyed peas, carrots, onions, and braising greens. Lily will make the cornbread from a mix into muffins. Uses 1 quart of chicken stock.

Friday: Curried chicken (using the leftovers) over jasmine rice. Variety of vegetables cooked in. Veggie egg rolls on the side.

Saturday: Beer batter fish (5$ on sale from Hy-vee) and chips. Salad on the side.

I will also make a batch of chili (beef $3) at some point for the freezer.

Lunches:
Cheese noodles
Ponyo Miso (with chicken, broth, veggies, and rice noodles).
Peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches
Pancakes
Grilled cheese and tomato soup

Breakfast:
Farm eggs and sausage x2
Fruit and cheese plate, maybe with venison summer sausage
Oatmeal
Muffins (that Lily makes)

Snacks: yogurt, fruit, venison sausage, chips and salsa, popcorn.

We will also make rolls and pizza dough for next week. Some chicken gets carried over by freezing it.

$45 in meat for the week. $20 in veggies. 20$ in dairy. $20 in bread and noodles and rice.
Time? 15 minutes prep for each meal. 20 minutes if the kids help.
105$ total but most of it is paid in bulk once a year. So really, just $50 at the grocer for food.

All real, most local, most from our farm.
No desserts. We only do desserts on holidays or special treats. I know, I'm a mean mean mommy.

That's the plan. I don't beat myself up if we veer off it or sub in other stuff. 

Rider in the Wind

Lily loves horses. She loves horses almost as much as the colour purple. I love how she comes out of lessons sore and utterly happy. I love how she asks to share the last part of her hour giving her sister and brother a turn. She is a wonderful big sister to them, always. Little gestures of generosity remind me of this. She is usually tired and sore, but when Holly is done with her turn they commiserate.  Isaac is in awe of the horse too. He gets quiet and watchful and then touches the horse with what looks like reverence.

Jessica really understands my kids too. She works Lily hard, but also respects her as a person. It took a long time to find a teacher that was just right, that met this relationship criteria.

I love Thursday mornings.

Ballet Dancers

Last year Holly hated art class. She hated it so much she would try and make herself throw up in the car to avoid going in to class. So I stopped asking her to go in. She relaxed a lot when I finally told her art class was done. I finally got out of her why she hated it! It was because the teacher asked her to use colours other than yellow. I should have known as much. That girl LOVES yellow. 

Lily wanted to do art. Lily loves art. The reality though is that I can't drive them to both. We can't afford it. So I asked Lily if she would try ballet. She likes it enough. I did tell her that next year she could go back to art. Maybe we can arrange that as soon as January. We'll see. Lily also takes riding.

Still, Holly practices 3 hours a day. She lives in her tutus and dance dresses, sleeps in them too. She is all things ballet. She bounces out of the car for classes. I have never seen her so excited over something, except maybe the colour yellow. ;) I love seeing her so engaged!