We're Baacck

Breakfast at the Waffle House

Waiting in Line to Get in the Library for the Book Signing

Wendy Breaking the Rules...

Meeting the "Marlboro Man" (Ree Drummond's Husband)

The Girls with "The Pioneer Woman" Ree Drummond

I'm back from St. Louis and what a wonderful trip! It was the first time I had a true girl friend's weekend and we had a blast. We were a little concerned getting started yesterday as the highways were super icy and we witnessed a Jeep slamming in to a bridge guardrail right in front of us. We opted to stop 2 miles down the road for a Waffle House breakfast and to stock up on magazines and snacks at the local Wal-Mart to allow the salt trucks time to do their job. Once we were actually there, we shopped, we got our books signed, ate very well and laughed a lot. Thanks to Erin, Wendy and Mary for a wonderful time!

Girls Weekend In St. L

I'm off this morning for a fun girls weekend in St. Louis. The purpose of this weekend is to attend The Pioneer Woman's booksigning. I've been a fan of her blog for years and bought her cookbook for the event. It should be a blast!

2 for 2!

Coming in to winter, MJ was having some pretty significant problems at preschool. Enough so that I thought maybe we would have to switch classes or abandon preschool all together. He wasn't meshing with his teacher, he was having troubles with authority and most school days ended in tears (for him and me!). Over Christmas break we instituted a behavior/chore chart to earn Nintendo DS time (5 Smiley Faces = 30 Minutes of time). Since then he has had nothing but 'Green' days at preschool so far in 2011! I don't know if the Christmas break is what he needed or if he just matured but I am now much more confident that he will thrive this fall in Kindergarten.

Ingalls or Duggar?

Ring Around the Rosie

We attended a bowling party yesterday for one of MJ's friends. Molly joined right in and MJ had no problem being the only 4/5 year old boy.

Meal Plan 2/20-3/3

Sunday 2/20 - Grilling! Hot Dogs, Cheddar Bacon Hamburgers

Monday 2/21 - Broccoli Cheese Soup

Tuesday 2/22 - Happy Meal Night

Wednesday 2/23 - Chicken Bake

Thursday 2/24 - Weeknight Lasagna Toss

Friday 2/25 - Leftovers

Saturday 2/26 - Chicken Nuggets

Sunday 2/27 - Bobby's Choice

Monday 2/28 - Crock Pot Roast

Tuesday 3/1 - Happy Meal Night

Wednesday 3/2 - Barbeque Ranch Chicken Roll Ups (In Croissants)

Thursday 3/3 - Leftovers

Bravo Nike

Remember this? After my running break I was anxious to break it out again to track my runs. To my dismay, the screen wouldn't turn on. The computer recognized the USB plugged in but it was useless to me. I purchased this last May and had very little hope that my call to Nike customer service would result in anything more than a 'tough luck'. Imagine my surprise when they gave me an address to ship my sportband back to and immediately shipped me out a new one. Not just a new one but they shipped my old band back with it! Now I can officially accessorize with my sweaty running clothes ;-)

New Phrase

Molly's new favorite saying is "I can't". More like "I caaaaaannnn't". She uses this for a number of situations from reaching a lightswitch to putting on her jacket. As much as I love her talking, some phrases I can certainly do without.

Big Time

She's now climbing up to the big potty and going by herself without the ring. She's a rockstar.

Back in the Saddle

My last race was almost 5 months ago. I ran up until the begining of October and then took about a 3 month hiatus (due to daylight savings time and weather) until the new year. I've now been back running 2 or 3 times a week albeit on the treadmill and it feels great to be back at it.

Bath Night

It's Official

Molly is officially potty trained. I'm still a little bit in shock. She is wearing underwear for naps but I am still putting a Pull-Up on her overnight until I see a good pattern of her waking up dry. I was a little concerned when she and I left yesterday to go to lunch, Costco and the grocery store and I realized I had no diapers, extra pants or underwear (nothing like being prepared!). She was a pro and we survived the 3 hour trip with no accidents and pottying on strange toilets. Is it just me or is she growing up way too fast?

So Were the Dress Up Cothes

Do you think it's about time to kick the pacifier habit?

Kitchen was a Success!

Girl's Day Out

For Molly's birthday today, she and I had a fun "Girl's Day"

First to the beauty salon for haircuts (her 1st!)

Then to Zio's for a delicious lunch and coloring

Off to the mall to Build a Bear where we met a new friend "Kitty Cat" and took a ride on the carousel

Molly's 2!

She has been so busy this morning that this blurry pic is all I could manage. I'll try to get some more today!

Brothers and Buddies

Meal Plan 2/7-2/20

I have been successfully meal planning for about two months now. Twice a month I sit down and write out two weeks worth of meals. I then comprise my grocery list to include all the items I need to buy to complete those meals (and any other lunchbox items, snacks perishables etc). Therefore, I do two big grocery trips a month and about one small trip a week for milk and fruit and last minute items. I can't believe what a difference it's made in my food budget. It's so easy to coupon this way and it's also eliminated the chaos of any given night trying to figure out what I can make with the food in my pantry. I'm going to start posting my meal plan every two weeks as a reference for myself and to hopefully give you guys some ideas on how to mix up your menu. Enjoy!

2/7: Baked Potato Soup

2/8: Happy Meal Night (Every Tuesday!)

2/9: Fried Rice

2/10: Leftovers

2/11: School Carnival Night

2/12: Fiesta Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas

2/13: Beef Stroganoff

2/14: Chicken Noodle Soup

2/15: Happy Meal Night

2/16: Burrito Bake

2/17: Leftovers

2/18: Tater Tot Casserole

2/19: Chicken Fajitas

2/20: Chicken and Dressing Bake

Clean Baby

Ride Home

Bobby and I climbed in to the van to go get the kids from the babysitter's this afternoon only to almost get stuck in the unplowed road. Panic set in for a few short seconds before I realized that Brandon (our sitter's husband) has a plow on his truck. They were more than happy to bring the kids home. I would have braved the roads with my plow too if it was between that or having three other children stay the night.

Day 1 @ 8, 12 & 4