Menu

I thought I’d jot down our menu for this week. I’m watching my neighbors 6 month old baby boy this week, so I need to make sure the shopping is done and things are as easy as possible. I’m excited to see how homeschooling goes with a little one here with us. It will be good for my boys as well because it will get them excited about our little man’s arrival. So, this week dinner at the Wentzel homestead will look something like this:

Monday - Sandwiches and Soup

Tuesday - Chicken Tacos

Wednesday - Taco Salad

Thursday - White Chili

Friday - Digiorno Pizza & Salad

Saturday - Chicken & Cheese, Rice, Green Beans, & Rolls

Sunday - Leftovers

So, that’s exciting! I love having a plan.  Last week I used some of the recipes from the Weekly Menu Mailer I told you about a while ago (which I really like). Our favorite thing we had was Cheddary Chicken & Broccoli (we used Grands Rolls instead of pastry shells). It was really easy to make. Here it is:

1. Tonight’s chicken dish is served over puff pastry shells. If you can’t find them (they are located near the frozen pie crust at the grocer), serve over another bread of your choice. English Muffins would be fine, but truly the puff pastry shells are what make this dish so wonderful.

Cheddary Chicken & Broccoli

• 1 package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells, baked (we will use 6)
• 2 jars chicken gravy
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 cups cooked chicken (from freezer)
• 2 cups frozen broccoli cuts, thawed
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a saucepan, combine gravy, lemon juice, broccoli, and chicken. Heat, stirring frequently. Serve in pastry shells with cheese sprinkled on top.

Hope that’s helpful to someone. Have a great week!

Baby Brain

I’ve got baby on the brain.  I just read a bunch of birthing stories, which is always lots of fun.  Why do we women get a kick out of telling their story?  Why do I so enjoy hearing other people’s stories?  It is just amazing how the Lord created us to bring life into this world.  It is an amazing process, and so right now I am eating it up.  I’m letting myself enjoy this time of baby focus, and also trying to learn a little more about how to do this birthing thing “better.”

On the pregnancy topic, I made myself laugh the other night when my husband ran out to Home Depot and I asked him to bring me back some chocolate.  I have been craving chocolate big time.  He was very sweet and brought me a whole, big, yummy, gooey Snickers bar.  Another funny thing about being pregnant is that I can be dead tired and needing to go to bed yet not be able to think of doing anything other than scrubbing my bathtub, or washing the floor.  Or how about that hall closet that needs to be organized?  I’m not naturally like that, so we know it’s pregnancy.  My house does usually get pretty organized while I’m expecting.  Although my two little guys keep me pretty busy these days, so we’ll see if I get as much done as I’m hoping.  Those are my random musings on the blessings of being with child.  Repeat after me, “Chocolate is my friend.  Chocolate is my friend.”

Poem

I read this poem today on this blog.  I LOVE it!  I don’t know the appropriate protocol for borrowing this, but I really wanted to share it with you all.  May my little boys worship their Maker! 

He sees me in the morning,
Lifting him out of bed.
The sun comes with little warning,
A brand new day’s ahead.
To the kitchen for some breakfast,
A plate of toasted bread,
A cup of milk just as expected,
Close your eyes and bow your head.

You can thank him for anything you want to,
For the flower’s and the trees
And pray,Lord Jesus, make me,
A little boy on my knees.

He’s Mommy’s little helper.
Learning to comb his hair.
And loves his baby sister,
Though he doesn’t always share.
A quarter in the bucket,
A memory verse or two,
Although he may not know it,
He’s beginning to follow you.

You can thank him for anything you want to,
For your Daddy and for me.
And pray, Lord Jesus, make me,
A little boy on my knees.

As we teach our Son to serve the Lord, in every way,
Lord the most important thing is this that we now pray,
Lord, we thank you everything you give us, but most importantly,
We pray Lord Jesus, make our Son a little boy on his knees.

Lord we thank you for everything you give us, but most importantly
We pray, Lord Jesus, make our Son,
A little boy on his knees.
We pray that someday he’ll become,
A young man on his knees.

“Little Boy on His Knees” by Cheri Keaggy

The Milestone

This week we had a huge milestone at our house.  The big guy read his first book.  What an amazing thing it has been to teach someone to read for the very first time.  He is very excited about this new ability, which is exactly what we want.  My husband and I both LOVE to read and we feel it is very important for our kids as well.  Just think of all things available to someone who has the ability and desire to read.  It is truly a whole new world out there!  So, on to making sure I’m putting good quality reading materials into his hands, for he has a VERY hungry mind.

Noisy Hand Me Downs

What do you do when someone lovingly gives your kids the loudest toy ever?  It’s too late, they’ve already opened the bag and are loving this toy….but I might go crazy soon.  It’s been a good lesson for one of my boys because he doesn’t particularly appreciate noise unless he’s making it.  All that said, what would you do?????  I could just take it away it away but I feel bad.

So, today I went through 2 of the little guy’s drawers in his dresser and sorted through the sizes.  The small stuff went into that size tub, and the next size clothing went into the washer to be ready for him.  I’ve been meaning to do this for some time but just haven’t felt up to it.  I still need to go through his shirts and shoes.  I did weed through the box of shoes we have kept and got rid of a bunch (we don’t want this 3rd guy to look like he’s worn ALL his big brother’s stuff.)  There’s still a huge list of stuff to do pre-baby.  Those nesting, cleaning, purging, tossing hormones are going strong over here.  Hide all your dear possessions, cause Momma’s on a rampage

Dinner Menus

I just found this site that offers free menus each week with an accompanying grocery list (with estimated costs).  It looks pretty cool.  I took a look at the sample menu and was surprised that the meals looked like things my family would eat.  So, I went ahead and subscribed…anything to spice up dinner time over here.   

Baby Update

We had an appointment today for the newest little one.  The nurse practioner went over the ultrasound results and said everything is looking good.  We also heard the heartbeat again which is always a treat!  It’s fun to see the boy’s reaction when they get to hear his little heart.  So, according to all the cool websites out there our little guy weighs just about a pound.  Fun, fun.  So, Kimm hopefully this was helpful and put you to sleep.  Happy surfing, maybe I’ll see you out there in blogosphere during those late night insomniac attacks.   

Shocking Announcement

It’s a…….BOY!!!!  We are so thrilled. 

Ultrasound

Todays the big day!  We go for this baby’s ultrasound later this morning.  I’m so excited, I feel like it’s the first day of school.  It really doesn’t matter to me if it’s a boy or girl, but I’m just so excited to have a little peek into this life inside me.  We can pick a name, get started on preparing for their arrival, and pray with more clarity.  So, this morning is like Christmas morning for us…only I have to undergo a small amount of water torture to unwrap our present.  :-)  I’ll update you later, Lord willing.

The Little Things

This morning, we had a bunch of things do fairly early (early for our little bunch).  We had to go get copies made, send a fax, take the car for an estimate for repairs and make it to the 10am free movie to meet some little friends I was going to watch there.  Phewww, that makes me tired just reading it.  Well, I was a bit anxious about getting it all done and not being late or missing meeting up with the kiddos I was going to watch.  I just want to praise the Lord because it all worked out perfect.  He worked out the timing in all those things, and we were able to do them happily.  I am tired now, and thankful for my dear friends who helped with the ALL the little ones but also very thankful to the Lord.  Today reminded me again that He is involved in the everyday workings of my life, the big and the little.  It didn’t have to go smoothly but it did and I am so very thankful.