Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 9/6 - 9/12)

Friday (9/6) We survived the week and even though it was a short week, it felt long!  We did just as much but squeezed it into only 4 days and added a puppy on top of that.  We got up and moving pretty quickly this morning and Adrian helped get the boys ready before heading out for the day.  He is working all day and then heading back to Buckeye Game Fest so we won't see him until tomorrow and I'm on my own with the boys all day.  I got AJ and Daniel on the bus and then got Zak and myself ready for the day.  My friend picked Zak up on her way to school so that I could head into Daniel's school to volunteer at field day.  I manned the frisbee memory station and had a fun hour hanging out with about half the 5th grade.  Daniel was super excited to see me and told me he had an awesome morning at all of the field day stations!

After I finished up at field day, I headed home for a short break and then headed in to sub for the afternoon at West.  I had small groups all afternoon and even though some of the kids were very distracted I had a good afternoon and a lot of fun with them.  When the day was over, Zak and I walked home and we were all ready to start our weekends.  The boys settled in upstairs with video games while I got a few things done and got dinner together.  After dinner I headed out to the Scout committee meeting where we got a ton of great news and a lot of planning for the year done.  After the meeting, I came home and got the boys thru their night routine and down for the night.  Then I finished up a few things around the house and settled in with my snacks to watch this week's "Jersey Shore" before heading to bed.

Saturday (9/7) The day started early for me since I had to get up and teach this morning, although I doubt I could have slept much later since all 3 boys & the puppy were all up already when I got up.  We briefly saw Adrian before he headed to church for the Men's Conference for the day.  When he was on his way, I got ready for Zumba and also headed to the church to teach my class.  It was a small but mighty class today and I'm so glad I got a workout.  After class, I rushed home and picked up Zak to head to the field for his first soccer game.  He played great, even though he is on a bigger field this year.  His team lost in the final seconds of the game, but they all played great and Zak said he loves playing offense & can't wait until practice on Monday!!

After the game, we came home and had lunch together.  Then the boys played video games for a while and I worked around the house.  Adrian got home around 3 and watched the Buckeys win their game against Cincinnati.  The boys took a break mid-afternoon to do some homework and then Daniel and Zak headed to the yard and played in the water for most of the afternoon.  Adrian and I continued to work around the house until we all took a break for pasta for dinner.  After dinner, the boys went back to video games and Adrian and I worked around the house and watched college football.  We let the boys stay up a little later than usual and then got them thru their night routine and down to bed.  When they were in bed, we played our September month of Pandemic Legacy and we won again!!  We're still having a great time playing this game and seeing the story evolve and can't wait to finish up the last 3 months of this season.  After the game, we got our snacks and watched the past two episodes of "Younger" before we headed to bed for the night.

Sunday (9/8) We were up early again today since we had a busy day on tap.  I got up and moving and headed into church to volunteer in childcare for the first service.  We had a great lesson on kindness and I enjoyed my short time with my small group of K & 1st graders.  While I was there, Adrian got everyone ready and brought the boys to church to meet me for second service.  They went to their classes and Adrian and I headed into second service where we heard a great sermon on using the word "no."  After service, we headed home and all had a quick lunch together before we split up again for the afternoon.  I headed back to church to work an event as the front desk representative for the afternoon and Adrian held down the fort at home.

While I was at work, Adrian got thru a ton of stuff around the house with the boys including finishing all of the their homework for the weekend.  He also went to our friends' house to buy their used bunk beds for our boys.  We will set them up next weekend after a thorough cleaning of their room.  The boys helped Adrian out a lot all afternoon, especially with Rocky, and they also played some video games and made some YouTube videos.  Then they all headed out to Martial Arts for their weekly class.  When we all got home, we had dinner together, finished up a few more things and the boys had a little more video game time.  Then we got the boys thru their night routine and down to bed since it's a school night.  Adrian and I watched the NFL kick off games for both the Jets and the Cowboys since we couldn't watch them together this afternoon.  It sucked to see the Jets blow their lead and lose the game, but I'm glad the Cowboys looked good and got their first win!

Monday (9/9) Back to our normal routine today, well sort of.  We got word over the weekend that due to overcrowding, the boys would be on a different bus.  That was good news to us for some reasons but the bad news is that it now picks up at 6:15am.  That is too early for us to get both boys up and ready so I will be driving Daniel to school everyday, and driving AJ whatever days he misses the bus because we do not want to be super stressed out every morning!!  So we got up and moving and got AJ on the bus, Adrian out to work and I drove Daniel to school.  Then I came home and got Zak and myself ready and we headed into school for the day since I was subbing all day.  It felt like a long day before it even got started!!

I had a rough day with my K class, but I survived.  When I got home I was exhausted so I rested for a bit and then got moving to get ready for the night.  Thankfully Zak's coach needed to cancel soccer practice tonight so that made our night a little easier.  I got everyone thru homework and dinner before heading to the church for my Zumba Toning class.  We had a great class & got an awesome workout!  While I was there, Adrian took AJ to his Scouts meeting.  He finished up a few things before Court of Honor next week and also got to taste the popcorn for this year.  When we all got home, we got the boys thru their night routine and down for the night.  Then Adrian and I watched the end of the first Monday Night Football game, it was so exciting!!  We watched a few minutes of the first one as well, but it got so late that we needed to head to bed for the night.  It was an exhausting Monday!!

Tuesday (9/10) Day two of our new routine and we all overslept and AJ missed his bus.  We were all super tired from yesterday though so I understand how it happened.  We got up and moving quickly and Adrian left for work after helping get the kids and the dog settled for the morning.  Then I drove both AJ and Daniel to school and was surprised that doing the two drop offs wasn't really that bad.  It's nice to have that back up if when we miss the bus again.  After drop off, I came home and got myself and Zak ready and then put him on the bus to school.  Then I did a few things around the house before heading out for the day.

My first stop was the salon for a long overdue haircut.  Then I ran two quick errands and then headed to the Y to teach Aqua Zumba and Silver Sneakers.  I had two really fun classes and was worn out by the end of them.  I made a quick trip to Aldi after the Y and then headed home to drop off the groceries.  Then I ran to pick up Zak before taking Rocky to her first vet appointment.  Everything looks good with her, she's nearly doubled in weight since we got her!  We have a few medicines we need to give her over the next few weeks and then we'll go back again in four weeks for her next appointment.

After that, I came home and grabbed a quick dinner, got everyone else thru dinner and homework and headed out one more time for Zak's first Cub Scout meeting of the year.  I am the leader of his Wolf den this year and am so excited to lead with two other amazing parents!  Today was mostly taking care of some logistics, so I talked with the parents while the other two went outside and played games with the Scouts.  It was a fun and productive meeting!  When we finally got home, it was time for the boys' night routine and bedtime.  After we got the boys down to bed, Adrian and I did a few things around the house and then watched an episode of "This is Us" before heading to bed for the night.

Wednesday (9/11) Today we did much better getting up and moving on time.  Adrian helped AJ get up and ready and on the bus.  Daniel and I got ready and left together because I was subbing in his school for the day today.  Adrian went in to work later, after my friend picked Zak up to take him to school.  I had a great day subbing as one of Daniel's teachers, he has a great class this year.  Fifth grade was kind of a nice change of pace from the younger kids, I may try to sub over there more often this year.  When school was over, he and I headed home and it felt like we had a ton of time because we were both home earlier than we usually are!

When the other boys got home, we took a short break and then got ready for our night activities.  I got the boys thru homework and dinner and then got Zak ready for soccer.  I headed out with him and dropped him off at practice before heading to run a few quick errands.  Then I came back to pick him up and we headed home.  We were surprised when we got home to find Adrian home since his Bible study cancelled tonight.  He and I got a few things done and then got the boys thru their night routine and down for the night.  Then we watched another episode of "This is Us" and headed to bed as well.

Thursday (9/12) We overslept again so AJ missed the bus again.  He joked that we are at a 50% success rate so far on this new schedule, ha!  Adrian got himself ready and took care of Rocky while I helped AJ and Daniel get ready.  Adrian left for work and soon after I left to drop off AJ and Daniel at school.  Then I came home and got Zak and myself ready for the day.  We headed into school together because I was subbing for the day.  They didn't need me in the class they thought they did so I ended up working at the fun run with the kids for the day!  I marked how many laps each kid did on their shirt for all 5 grades in the school.  It was fun, but also very hot out there!

After school, we headed home and I enjoyed relaxing in the air conditioning for a while before getting ready for the night.  I got the boys thru their homework and made dinner for myself and Adrian.  Then I headed out to the church to teach my Zumba class.  We had a great time and got a great workout!  While I was there, Adrian took care of dinner for the boys and got them started on their night routine.  When we got them down for the night, I was exhausted but we managed to watch one more episode of "This is Us" before I crashed for the night!

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Sept 15 - Sept 21)

I have no idea how, but I stuck to my meal plan last week!  We had a ridiculously busy and hard week and most nights I didn't feel like cooking.  But I knew I needed to stick to it and get it done, so I did.  I'm thankful a lot of the meals were easy and the one that was a little more complicated, I did on a day that I had a lot of time.  This week is slightly less busy, especially during the days.  I'm not scheduled to sub much at all this week so I'll be taking advantage of the free time to get some stuff done and make sure I'm cooking every night to stock some leftovers.

This week we add another thing to our already busy schedule.  Zak will be starting bowling on Tuesday nights.  He and I will go straight from bowling to Scouts most weeks so we'll be gone for like 4 hours each Tuesday.  He will be getting pizza at the bowling alley on those nights and I will be packing a salad for dinner.  Adrian and I are excited to try a few new salad combinations over the next few weeks.  I'm hoping to get a few more heads of lettuce from our CSA as well this fall.  I wonder if I can do a cold salad with all of the squash we've been getting.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Frozen appetizers (we're taking the day "off")
Monday - Kielbasa and Brussels Sprouts and corn on the cob
Tuesday - Tacos for the kids and Taco Salads for me and Adrian
Wednesday - Lasagna Pepper Boats
Thursday - Pasta for the kids and Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp for the adults
Friday - Sausage, Kale & Potato Soup
Saturday - Grilled Chicken, Corn on the Cob and Loaded Potato Salad

Water Flavor - Lemon Strawberry.  I have some lemons to use up so I'll use them for my water the next few weeks.  But straight lemons are too sour for me so I'll add some frozen strawberries to sweeten the water a little.

Overnight Oats - I'm taking a few weeks off from making these.  I still have protein powder to use and I also have some protein shakes to use.  I'm going to have those for breakfast instead so I can use them up.  I'll get back to oats in a few weeks.

Use it Up - We have a bunch of kale and potatoes and I'm trying to use those up this week.  I also have a few different kinds of squash that I got from the CSA.  While I would like to save them for the winter, I don't want to store them that long and take the chance they will go bad.  So I'll be using one each week for now.  I'm still working on cleaning out the deep freezer in the basement so most of the protein from this menu comes from there as well.

Lunches - I'll be having either leftovers or salads for lunches this week.  It's not a super exciting week for lunches, and I'll be home most of the days so I can cook whatever I have around here instead of having to pack each day.

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 8/30 - 9/5)

Friday (8/30) We made it to another weekend, and thankfully this is a long weekend!  Adrian and Zak were so excited about the long weekend that they decided it should start at 4am.  Thankfully I was able to go back to sleep for a while longer.  Adrian helped me get AJ and Daniel ready and then he headed to work for the day.  After I got them on the bus, I played two games of Sorry with Zak before we both got ready for our day.  I got him on his bus and then headed inside to start on stuff around the house.  Although I would rather be subbing, I'm getting a ton of stuff done around the house with these long days at home without the kids!  The day passed quickly and before long it was time to get everyone off the bus for the weekend.  We were all pretty exhausted and worn out after the long week so we just had a chill night at home.  The boys played while I worked around the house, we had leftovers for dinner and an early bedtime for the boys.  Adrian went to CABS so I was on my own for the night.  After the boys went to bed, I enjoyed some wine and this week's episode of BH90210 before heading to bed too.

Saturday (8/31) After a great night of sleep, we were up a little earlier than we wanted to be on a weekend.  Zak woke up early and then I had to get up and moving to head to the church to teach Zumba.  My friend who does childcare had a family emergency so Adrian also had to get up and moving with me to help out with the kids.  We had a great Zumba Toning class and Adrian survived with the kids.  After class, I dropped Adrian off at home and took Daniel and Zak to pick out birthday gifts for Vinnie.  Then we came home, had a quick lunch and got ready to head out to Vinnie's 3rd birthday party!

On our way to the party, we stopped by to see a lab breeder and check out a few puppies.  She has awesome dogs, but not one we can take home right now.  We may get one from her newest litter which will be ready to come home in October.  After that quick stop, we headed to Carl's house for the party.  We had a great time visiting with them and enjoying the party.  The highlight for the boys was the balloon artist who made them giraffes, Pikachu and swords.  After the party, we headed home to have a quick dinner and then settle in for family movie night.  We watched "Iron Man" for Daniel's pick this week because the boys want to watch all of the Avengers movies in order since they haven't seen most of them.  AJ and Daniel loved it and it was cool for Adrian and I to see it again and refresh our memories of it.  Zak wasn't a fan, which I knew would happen, because there just wasn't enough action.  After the movie, the boys headed to bed and Adrian and I watched an episode of "This is Us" before we headed to bed too.

Sunday (9/1) We all slept in today after a long week, and we all needed it.  Since no one got up early enough to all get ready to head to church, only Adrian went to the first service this morning while the rest of us stayed home and got ready for our day.  After lunch we headed out to see breeder number two and of course fell in love with the silver male lab that they have.  We took him home with us today!!  We let the boys decide on his name and AJ came up with it - Rocky!!  We are so excited to have a dog in our house again!!

We spent the rest of the afternoon trying to be productive around the house while playing with the super cute puppy too.  We had a quick dinner and then settled in for another movie night since we don't have time next weekend for a movie.  We watched "Wonder Park" for my pick for the week.  The boys liked it but Adrian and I thought is was just OK.  After the movie, we got the boys down to bed for the day, but Zak came back down soon after because our neighbor was doing their annual fireworks display.  We brought Rocky out with us and enjoyed a fantastic 10 minute show in our yard!  After we got Zak settled back in bed, Adrian and I watched another episode of "This is Us" and then headed to bed for the night.  We're super excited to have the alarms off tonight since tomorrow is a holiday!!

Monday (9/2) We all slept in a little since it's a holiday and we have the day off.  We didn't really have anything planned for the day and that's pretty much what we did.  We spent a good chunk of time and effort training Rocky.  We're focusing on potty training and getting him used to the crate since he'll spend a lot of time there this week since we all have to go to work and school.  In between all of that, Adrian and I worked around the house, the boys finished all of their homework and we played some video games and board games.  It was a very chill and productive day, my favorite kind of holiday!  Adrian grilled dinner for us and then I headed out to teach my Zumba class at the church.  I had a great group for a holiday & we all had a fun and sweaty Zumba Toning workout.  When I got home, we got the boys down to bed, finished up a few things and then watched another episode of "This is Us" before heading to bed.  Even though it's a short week, it's a busy one for us!

Tuesday (9/3) Back to our normal routine today!  We all got up and moving early this morning and Adrian helped me get AJ and Daniel ready before heading out to work.  I got them on the bus and then got Zak and myself ready for our day.  We headed into school together since I was subbing for a few hours this morning.  After subbing for 2 hours, I headed to the Y for my first ever Aqua Zumba class.  I was super nervous and kept forgetting my choreography, but class went pretty well and everyone had fun!  It is super hot to teach on the deck in the pool area and it will take some getting used to for sure!!

After class I had a short break for lunch then taught my Silver Sneakers class at the Y.  I got a really great workout between those two classes for sure!  After class I ran to the library really quick and then came home to see how Rocky did in his crate all day.  He did great!!  He was super excited to see me thought and after we went outside he cuddled up to me and wouldn't leave my side for about 30 minutes!  Soon after I got home, the boys' buses dropped them off and we were ready to start on our night routine.  After a few TV shows, we got thru everyone's homework while I made dinner.  Adrian and Daniel both came home today not feeling well so they spent a lot of the night relaxing.  After dinner I took the boys to get haircuts because they looked really shaggy & we have school pictures soon.  When we got home from haircuts, it was time for our bedtime routine so they cleaned up, watched a show and we headed upstairs to read.  After we got them down for the night, Adrian and I finished up a few things downstairs and then watched another episode of "This is Us" before heading to bed for the night.  I'm hoping everyone feels better tomorrow morning!!

Wednesday (9/4) Adrian and Daniel were still not feeling well so they decided to stay home for the day.  Daniel slept in and Adrian got up and helped me get AJ up and out to the bus on time.  Then Zak and I got ready and we headed into the school together so I could sub.  I was only scheduled for the first half of the day but when I got there, they needed someone all day so I did that instead.  I had a good day with a great group of 3rd graders and got back into the subbing groove pretty quickly.  I met Zak at the end of the day and we headed home to see how everyone was doing.

Thankfully Adrian and Daniel were both feeling better after a day of rest!  Daniel got some homework done during the day while we were gone and Adrian ended up working for about 6 hours from home.  When we all got home, we got thru our afternoon routine and homework pretty quickly.  We had dinner together, then Zak and I got ready to head out to his soccer practice.  I dropped him off and ran a few errands while he had a great practice.  When we got home, we got the boys thru their night routine and then down to bed.  My throat was starting to hurt so I did a few things, watched an episode of "This Is Us" and headed to bed early to hopefully fight off whatever I have.

Thursday (9/5) Everyone was feeling better today, so we all got up and moving on time this morning.  Adrian helped me get the boys ready and then headed to work for the day.  I got AJ and Daniel on the bus and then got Zak and myself ready for the day.  It was picture day for Zak so he picked his favorite shirt to wear in his pictures.  We headed into school together because I worked the first half of the day as a floating sub in the building.  I finished up around 1:00pm so I went and ran a few errands before heading home.  When we all got home, we took a short break and then the boys helped me put away groceries and empty the dishwasher.  We also got thru homework and dinner since I had to work at night.  Adrian is out at a board game convention all night so I'm on my own again.  The boys were super helpful and we got thru everything and I got out to work on time.  I had a great Zumba class with my group at church and then headed back home to do the night routine and get the boys down to bed.  When they were in bed, I finished up a few things around the house then watched an episode of Real Housewives before heading to bed for the night.

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Sept 8 - Sept 14)

I did pretty good sticking to my meal plan for last week considering the week did not go exactly as I had planned.  Adrian and Daniel were both sick during the week so I had to do some extra things in the evenings that I wasn't expecting.  I also ended up subbing considerably more than I thought I would, which actually worked out great for me since I would like to be subbing as much as possible right now.  I made almost every meal I planned expect for Friday night's meal.  I was just worn out after the week and Adrian wasn't home so I decided to have a sandwich and salad for dinner that night instead.

We continue to be super busy this week, that will probably be the norm for at least the next 6 weeks or so.  There are a ton of fall events that we do, plus Scouts are super active right now and Zak has soccer.  I am subbing every day this week and we have something every night.  I have a plan for the week, but I also have a lot of pasta ready to go as well as sandwiches and salads.  I'll be using the instant pot a lot this week, both as a pressure cooker and as a slow cooker.  And we are still trying to make sure we keep up with our veggies from our CSA.  I had to throw out half of a cucumber last week because it got lost in the veggie drawer.  But that's the first produce I have thrown out in a very long time!

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Grilled Steak, Green Beans & Corn on the Cob
Monday - Lemon Feta Chicken with Roasted Potatoes & Green Beans
Tuesday - Pulled Pork (from the freezer) over slaw for the adults, Tacos for the boys
Wednesday - Eggplant Parmesan (carryover from last week)
Thursday - Mexican Stuffed Peppers and Roasted Kale
Friday - Asian Beef Slaw and Wonton Soup
Saturday - Firecracker Salmon and Roasted Kale

Water Flavor - Lemon Apple.  I had one more apple left from the bag that was bad and now I have a bag of lemons from Monday's recipe so I am using up the rest of them in my water.

Overnight Oats - I'm taking a week off from these this week.  I have a few mornings worth already made and I didn't use up any of the protein powder that I wanted to last week so I will be doing that this week. 

Use It Up - I'm again trying to use up the protein powder in my pantry for my breakfasts.  I'm also using up all of the fruits and veggies that I have in the fridge and all of the meat for meals this week is from my freezer, including using up the drumsticks that I found down there.  I'm also using up a bag of pulled pork and some wontons from the freezer.  My shopping list is only about 10 items this week, I'm pretty much just using what I have.

Lunches - I got a few bags of flavored salad last week on a buy one, get one deal so I'll use those to start the week.  The rest of the week will probably be leftovers or sandwiches.

Keeping Up With...2019 Goals (August Recap)

I did much better this month getting my recap done, it's still the first week of the month, yay!  I had a weird August, mostly because it felt like two separate months as it usually does.  Since the boys go back to school in the middle of the month we have a few weeks of fun and then a few weeks of getting back to our routine every year.  And this year is no different.  We have a lot of changes to adjust to this school year including everyone riding the bus, Daniel going to school earlier, me subbing way more often and Adrian working a lot of overtime.  Plus we still have a lot of after school activities to juggle and I'm still teaching 5-6 classes each week.  It's going to be busy but we also love being on a schedule!!

This month was weird in relation to my goals as well.  I didn't do a lot towards the goals the first half of the month but I got a ton accomplished after the boys went back to school.  And since I didn't really sub a lot in August, I had a lot of days that I was home by myself so I really focused on getting stuff done around the house.  It always amazes me how much I can get accomplished when I don't have anyone else around to distract me and demand my attention.  I have a huge backlog from this year so far so I am working on doing one thing from my giant to do list each day during the week so that each week 5 things will get crossed off.  The problem is every time I finish one thing, two more things seem to get added to the list, ha!

Here's how I did on my goals in August:

• Lose 50 30 pounds - Lost 0 pounds this month, 21 pounds so far this year!!  I actually gained a few pounds this month but I'm still down for the year so I'm considering it a win.  I'm refocusing for the next 4 months and am hoping to end the year down 10 more pounds for a total of 30 pounds for this year.  A little off the goal that I originally set but I'll still be happy.
• Exercise for 20 minutes every day - 235 days (out of 243) - I missed another day this month.  It was the first Sunday after school started and I was just exhausted and didn't feel like doing anything, so I decided to rest.
• Read the Bible in a Year - 243 days so far
• Read 100 Days to Brave - DONE!!
• Read "Be Still and Know" - 243 days so far
• Read 20 books - 11 books so far.  In August I finished "Woman Last Seen in Her 30s," "The Beauty Myth," and "The Color Purple."  I loved the two novels that I read, both were great!  And I'm thankful to have "The Beauty Myth" done, it's been on my to do list for a long time.
• Read the 12 How to Train Your Dragon Books - 3 books done so far
• Read "The Beauty Myth" - DONE!!
• Write 45 meal plan blogs - 24 blog posts so far this year.  I'm happy to be back to this weekly!
• Write 52 weekly summary blogs - 35 blog posts so far
• Write 12 9 goal recap blogs - 5 blog posts so far
• Pay off $3,000 of credit card debt - DONE!!  We've actually paid off $3,200 paid off so far
• Renovate the living room - DONE!!
• Watch 40 movies - 33 movies so far.  In August we watched: "Hotel for Dogs," "Angry Birds 2," "Pokemon: I Choose You" and "Iron Man"
• Go on 12 dates with Adrian - 9 dates so far.  In August we went out for a double date with Carl & Sarah for dinner and ice cream at Jeni's.  It was unplanned and so fun!  We also left the boys for that date and they did great so hopefully we will be OK going forward without a sitter.
• Sub 70 days in the schools - 25 days so far
• Do one group fitness training - DONE!!  I'm officially licensed to teach Aqua Zumba now.  I'm super excited to add this license to my resume and hopefully will start teaching a class regularly in the fall.
• Go to 6 Zumba jam sessions - 5 jams attended so far this year
• Clean out master bedroom - spent 20 minutes working in there
• Clean out play room - We spent an hour working in there this month and are about halfway done with cleaning out the room.  We have made great progress and the boys have decided to get rid of a lot of toys that they no longer play with!
• Have 12 family board game nights - had 5 family game nights
• Play Pandemic Legacy with Adrian once per month - We played 8 months so far.  We had to play August twice because we lost the first time.
• Have 6 nights out with friends - DONE!!  6 nights out so far, although this month was actually a day out with friends.  I went shopping and out to lunch with a friend after our boys went back to school for the year
• Go on an awesome spring break vacation to Florida - DONE!!
• Do 100 fun family things (one thing each week during school & one thing per person each week over the summer) - 70 things done so far.  We are going to slow way down on this now that we are back in school.  We may not make this goal, but we have had an epic year and I'm super excited about all of the memories we made this year!
• Go on 2 family camping trips - none planned so far and not sure we can do this now that we have a dog to deal with too

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Sept 1 - Sept 7)

Unfortunately, I didn't do a great job of sticking to my meal plan last week.  I just ran out of steam about half way thru the week and didn't feel like cooking.  It was a very emotionally draining week for me with lots of highs and lows so I know that contributed to it.  I did make five of the seven planned meals last week so that's not horrible.  The other two meals we ate frozen appetizers one night and then went out for burritos the other night.  I'm still calling the week a win even if we did veer from our plan.  Also, I was really feeling this meme last week.

But now I need to get back on track, not only following my plan but also eating healthy.  I did OK over the summer but there was a lot of up and down and that is reflected on the scale.  Our CSA is starting to slow down a little with things that need to be eaten immediately, we're starting to get a few squash now and they will keep for weeks.  So my focus is on the veggies that need to be eaten right now as well as continuing to empty out the deep freeze in the basement.

This week is crazy busy with a holiday on Monday, Adrian gone Thursday & Friday nights, me gone Saturday night and something going on every night this week.  I'm really hoping I can stick to my plan this week because I need to create some leftovers early in the week or we won't have anything to eat later in the week.  I also need to use up the veggies we have or they won't make it another week.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Frozen appetizers (again)
Monday - Grilled Steak, Roasted Potatoes & Corn on the Cob
Tuesday - Stuffed Pepper Casserole (carryover from last week)
Wednesday - Kielbasa & Brussels Sprouts and Green Beans (carryover from last week)
Thursday - Honey Teriyaki Drumsticks and Green Bean Salad
Friday - Eggplant Parmesan
Saturday - I'm going out to dinner with friends, Adrian and the boys will have pasta at home

Water Flavor - Apple.  I'm still working on the bag of apples that wasn't very good.  The water tastes fine with them so I'll keep using them.  I have one more apple to use up after this week, yay!

Overnight Oats - I don't need to make these this week because I have a bunch that I made last week and didn't eat.  I'm also planning on using up the protein shakes that I have in the pantry for breakfasts a few days this week.

Use it Up - I'm focusing on fruits and veggies again.  Also we have a ton of drumsticks in the freezer so I'll be using those once a week for the next few weeks.  And I'm focusing on the protein shake powder that I have in the pantry and the premade shakes I have in the garage for my breakfasts.

Lunches - I'll have eggplant salad for the start of the week and probably normal green salads for the end of the week.  I still have some romaine that I need to use up.  And I think I have a bag of coleslaw that I have to use so I may try to use that at some point this week for either lunches or a side.