Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

I can't believe it's Monday! I remember leaving work on Wednesday and being so excited for a 4 day weekend and feeling like I would have a ton of time off.... how is it that these days just fly? I left work on Wednesday at about 3:45, came home and grabbed Sean and the babies (Hunter didnt want to hang with us) and we rushed to Sam's Club to pick up our peanut oil for the turkey. So- as everyone was out at the bars for the biggest night out of the year, we were at Sam's Club and then home.

Thanksgiving morning, we woke up to pouring rain. Why did we not think to check the weather report? So- we quickly logged on to weather.com and saw that it was supposed to rain all day. I can't deep fry a turkey in the rain so I sent Sean to the store to buy chicken broth so I could cook the turkey in the oven. Thank goodness it's really easy to make and it wasn't my first rodeo! So- I prepared the turkey breast and it went from this

to this

It was very low-key this year. We only had my parents over, so didn't totally overdo it with food. My mom made stuffing and candied sweet potatoes and I did the turkey, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. My plate looked like this- yum!

Looking at my plate- how proud am I for portion control? As we were enjoying our food, we realized we forgot the dinner rolls in the freezer. Oh well.  Think Quinlin enjoyed her meal?

Owen was happy too. Notice both Quinlin and Owen enjoyed Thanksgiving festivities in their jammies. I didnt even put make up on- pure relaxation!

For dessert, Hunter made his strawberry cream pie. He was so excited to be able to contribute and made two of them- one for us and one to take to his dad's Thanksgiving feast with that side of the family.



Hunter got picked up at 4pm and spent the weekend with his dad's side. He texted us that night while eating his dinner with them that they had dinner rolls. Thanks Hunter! Sean's sister stopped over on her way home from their parents house and we hung out for a little bit. And that was it!

Friday was a day of cleaning and organizing around the house. I was not about to brave the crowds shopping. No urge at all- though I'm hoping to do a little something for cyber Monday. We had our bar top measured for the granite that morning and really did nothing the rest of the day. Saturday was another day of nothingness- though I did put some items on Craigslist so am hoping to get some bites- and then I got a text from my friend Kelli looking to see if I wanted to do something that night. Of course I did. We ended up planning a low key night with our friends Megan and Melanie and went to Champps (horrible service and my fantastic burger that I raved about here was pretty disappointing) and then to see Love and Other Drugs. 

It was really good!!! Full of nakedness that I wasn't prepared for (I almost felt like I was watching Skinamax) but it was a great story and Jake Gyllenhall was pretty edible. I never was a huge Jake Gyllenhall fan but I'll tell you what, I am now a fan... He actually is coming out with a movie (early next year called the Source Code that looks really good)

I got home about 12:45am and Quinlin was quick to wake up Sunday morning fussing about 5:45am. This is why I dont stay out late anymore. She put herself back to sleep and we got up about 7:45. I got an email from my boss so had to run into work briefly Sunday morning while Sean cleaned the house for the babysitter (isnt it sad when you need to clean for the sitter?). It actually was one of Owen and Quinlin's teachers from daycare and her first time over so we did want the house to look nice. She came over and off we went to the Browns game. We were in a suite but the weather was sunny and not as cold as I thought it would be- but still glad to be inside. We won the game 24-23 but barely. We got home about 5pm and Hunter came home shortly after. It was nice to have him back- nice to have all of my children together again. 





Adventures in Table Food

See above? That is the menu the daycare provides for lunches.... After Quinlin turned 9 months, I told them it was ok to start her on table foods. I thought we would go into it slowly, but my girl (mind you 75% weight) loves food! and to eat! So- I started her last week and its been a breeze. She's getting a balanced diet while attempting to eat real food. I still have her on rice cereal in the mornings in addition to a banana or fruit, but other than that, she's in it full force.

A friend asked me for good table food suggestions so I figured I'd put on here the things Owen ate at a year and also what Quinlin is venturing into:
Mini raviolis

Spaghettios
Morning star farms broccoli cheese bites or spinach bites
Fish sticks
Peas, carrots, squash cubes (in a microwave bag)
Chicken nuggets
Turkey lunch meat
Kraft crumbles- or cheese cubes in small pieces
Yogurt
I started PB&J at 13 or 14 months for Owen (but watched carefully with the peanut)
Pancakes
Waffles
French toast sticks
Bagelfuls
Apple sauce
Eggs are good (though Owen hates them- we keep trying)
Strained soup- see below about Quinny- the soups provide good veggies in them
Spaghetti
Toast
tacos- chicken or beef...cut into small pieces and eaten on a spoon to start

with Quinlin- she has gotten so far- chicken vegetable noodle soups- strained so she’s eating most everything but the broth
baked potatoes/mashed potatoes
salisbury steak
meatloaf
all fruit

Today on the menu at school for Owen and Quinlin is breakfast day- waffles, sausage, hashbrown, applesauce and milk. She should really like tomorrow too- chicken noodle casserole, green beans, peaches and milk.

I must say, one of the reasons we switched daycares, aside from the cost, was that the one we found provides breakfast, lunch, 2 snacks a day and is $400 cheaper a month (than if we would have stayed at Owen's old daycare. The food is such a HUGE advantage!

My lunch today- SOYCZ

Haha- two posts in a row. I wish I would have waited to do my post. i didnt realize my lunch would be a part of the step outside your comfort zone.



Exhibit A- My lunch today:

I am so incredibly lucky to get breakfast and lunch at work. This is what they were serving today!

red wine marinated london broil, potato crusted tilapia, pasta primavera, fried raviolis and cajun roasted asparagus. I totally stepped outside by comfort zone- twice. I would normally not have tried the tilapia (especially when London broil was being served) and I'm not a marinara person. Both- amazing!

SOYCZ

My new thing- stepping out of your comfort zone! Recently, after being inspired in a cheesy, corny way by my friend Tara at http://www.pineapple-grass.blogspot.com/, I decided to start stepping out of my comfort zone. I dont know how she did it, but every once in a while, she would post restaurant reviews and what she and her husband ate, etc. I started noticing, she would order different items wherever they went. I am pretty predictable. I go to a restaurant, I order a steak...all.the.time!

So- I went to Champps about a month ago and ordered a bruschetta cheeseburger. It was amazing! (I am in a big tomato kick lately so it really hit the spot). So- I had a thought... dont order what my husband will think I'm going to order. Step outside the box. Try something new. So- I started getting tomato, mozzarella and basil salads... and started ordering them at different restaurants. Amazing. again- tomatoes.

I went to Houlihan's and ordered the stuffed chicken breast with veggies and mashed potatoes. The chicken breast was stuffed with garlic-herb cream cheese. It was so good. This got me thinking- the next time I go out to try something new.

So- Friday night, we had a much needed date night and went to Bonefish Grill. We hadnt been there before. I am not much of a seafood person, will eat fish if its mild, but am up for trying things!

We looked at the menu and we were set! We ordered baja fish tacos as an appetizer and split them.

They were amazing... I could have eaten more. They were cajun grilled and had a mango salsa. The perfect mix of flavorings. For our dinner, we ordered the ocean mixed grill- dinner for two. We figured that was the best way to try everything... it came with jumbo shrimp and scallops, chilean sea bass, wild grouper, salmon, two sides (we ordered asparagus and mashed potatoes) and we each got a salad. I loved it. The shrimp and scallops were cooked in a pan asian sauce and were my favorite, while Sean enjoyed the grouper the most. It was such a great night- and I was so proud of myself for SOYCZ- stepping outside of your (my) comfort zone!

The rest of our weekend was great! Did some shopping, H had a cross country meet (scored 17:25- 1 minute faster than his last meet and 2 minutes faster than when he ran the course a year ago) and lots of laundry. I dont know how we manage to get 8-10 loads of laundry a week. I realize we're a family of five, but I didnt realize how much space in a washer even the little people's clothes are!

Looking forward to the week ahead- we have a menu going for the week to avoid eating out, two cross country meets, and a concert. Should be busy and fun!

Taken from http://fatcontrolfreak.blogspot.com- here is our menu planning monday!

Sunday- meatloaf, mashed potatoes, broccoli

Monday- Jack Daniels Pork Loin, baked potatoes

Tuesday- kids are eating pizza or fish sticks

Wednesday- tacos

Thursday- chicken and pasta

Friday- chicken fajitas