Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for April 26 - May 2)

I did great with my meal plan until Friday last week, then I just didn't feel like cooking at all.  We were all exhausted after the week on Friday, probably because it was a pretty emotional week for all of us.  We decided to scrap our dinner plans and order Chinese from the place up the street instead.  Then on Saturday we were having so much fun playing board games and watching TV that we again didn't feel like cooking so we decided to just have frozen pizza, leftover Chinese and snacks for the day.  So some of our meals from last week are pushed to this week instead.

This week I'm back to baking up some goodies for us to have for breakfasts.  We went out to get donuts yesterday for breakfast so the boys had them for today, and Adrian and I made a breakfast casserole with our leftover ham.  I'm also not shopping this week so we'll be using whatever we have around the house.  I'm actually hoping to not shop again next week, although I may be out of produce by then so I may have to go.  I can't wait for my CSA to start in a few weeks, then I'll have fresh produce every week delivered to my door so I won't have to worry about that.  I will also need a trip to Costco pretty soon to restock on some of our snacks and meats, but I'm hoping to wait until mid-May for that trip.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday -  Fully Loaded Deviled Eggs and Air Fried Buffalo Cauliflower to use up more hard boiled eggs and a head of cauliflower
Monday - Ham and Bean Soup and Air Fried Zucchini to use up more ham and 2 zucchini
Tuesday - Chili Mac
Wednesday - Mac and Cheese and salad to use up the other half of the can of evaporated milk from when I made this a few weeks ago
Thursday - Salsa and Veggie Soup to use up the black beans that I have in the fridge
Friday - Cavatelli to use up ricotta that I have, plus it's my favorite pasta and I can never find it
Saturday - Leftovers from the week or frozen appetizers since it's family fun day!

Water flavor - Apple again this week.  I have this apple and one more and then I can move on to another flavor.  But again, produce is scarce around here so I may need to use some of my frozen fruit for this in 2 weeks.

Breakfasts this week:
Ham and Hashbrown Casserole - to use up our Easter ham
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars - to use up the half of can of pumpkin from when I made these a few weeks ago
Amish Friendship Bread - I got a start from a friend last week and am excited to do this with the boys.  I'll have a few starts to give away later this week if anyone is interested.

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 4/17 - 4/23)

Friday (4/17) - Day 35 of "Corona break."  We got up and moving pretty early this morning because we had a few appointments.  Adrian has been coughing for the past 6 weeks so after a few video conferences, he finally went in for some testing today to see if his doctor can figure out what is going on.  I got up and got the boys and myself ready and then we started school for the day.  We worked quickly today because we wanted to be done by 2pm since all 3 boys had pediatrician appointments this afternoon.  AJ and Zak had their 3 month med check and Daniel and Zak had their annual well check.  Everyone is doing great and everything looks good.  The doctor told us to just keep doing what we're doing.  Daniel got 2 shots today and said they didn't hurt at all!

After we finished at the doctor, we came home.  Daniel had a little bit of homework to finish up and we also had to do our daily cleaning.  When all of that was done, I released the boys to play video games and I did some work around the house and chatted with my Mom for a bit.  When Adrian finished working, he came down and we had dinner together and then hung out relaxing.  We were going to do a family movie night but no one was interested in that so we watched another episode of "Stranger Things" together and then the boys headed to bed.  We came down and finished cleaning up a bit and then watched a few comedies before heading to bed too.  It felt like it was an exhausting day, probably because we all left the house for only the second time in these 35 days!!

Saturday (4/18) - Day 36 of "Corona break."  It's another family fun day for us today!  We're back to having one day each weekend that is all fun and one day that is all work.  Today started early for me since I taught a Zumba class on Zoom this morning.  I had a great time dancing with a fun group of ladies and then did one of my friend's Zumba Toning classes online.  When I got home, I was hungry and tired!  After a shower and some food, Adrian and I started playing board games.  We alternated between playing games and watching TV shows for pretty much the whole day.  We played Takenoko (Adrian won), Reef (Adrian won) and Wingspan (I finally won!)  We also played our April games for our two Legacy games, Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 (we won, barely) and Machi Koro Legacy (I won).  The boys spent most of the day playing video games and Adrian took a break from hanging with me to play some Tower Defense with them while I played around on Facebook and Candy Crush.  We watched all of our comedies from the past week, caught up on two episodes of "Young Sheldon" and saw the last episode of "Tiger King."  All in all it was a fantastic and fun Saturday!

Sunday (4/19) - Day 37 of "Corona break." Today is our family work day.  We slept in a little and then got started on our stuff around the house.  We got a ton of stuff done today including finishing up a few small things for school, cleaning Daniel's room and catching up on laundry.  We also gave the boys haircuts because it was so long and I couldn't look at it anymore.  Adrian did a great job cutting and styling their hair, it will look awesome for the next month while we wait for salons to open back up.  The house is looking great and my ever existant "to do" list is actually getting smaller finally.  Adrian and I also cleaned and organized the fridge so we know exactly what's in there and what we have to eat first.  I made a plan to use up all of our leftovers so it should be an easy week of cooking for me.  We finished the night with make your own sundaes and another episode of "Stranger Things."  Then we put the boys to bed and Adrian and I finished up a few small things then watched a few comedies and headed to bed too.  We're ready for another great week of sheltering at home!

Monday (4/20) - Day 38 of "Corona break." Back to our new normal routine today.  We slept in a little and then got up and moving.  The boys did a great job with school and we were done with everything we need to do for school by 2:00.  We spent some time working on organizing our last room left in the house, the play room.  Then they had free time while I took a Zumba class with two trainers from Florida and then finished a few things I needed to do to be ready for this week.  We also found out this afternoon that the boys will not be returning to school this school year.  We all knew this was coming, but it was upsetting to hear it officially.  After a dinner of leftovers, I headed to the church to teach my Zumba class over Zoom.  We had a fun class and I was exhausted when I came home after two classes today!  Adrian and I cleaned up from dinner and then we watched the next episode of "Stranger Things" with the boys before we got them down to bed for the night.  Then we watched two comedies and headed to bed too.  It was a pretty routine day over here and what most of our days will look like for the next 5 weeks.

Tuesday (4/21) - Day 39 of "Corona break." It was another pretty normal day for us, well at least what normal is for now.  We slept in a little and then Adrian started working in our room and I did a Zumba class that my friend recorded.  When I was done with class, I got the boys started on school work for the day.  They did another great job of staying focused and finished fairly early.  When they were done, they played video games and I ran out to Aldi to pick up a few things, especially more produce because that's what we're running out of.  When I got home, we made tacos for dinner for everyone and then had family movie night watching "Smallfoot."  It was super cute and we all really enjoyed it!!  When the movie was over, we got the boys to bed, watched a comedy from our DVR and then headed to bed too. 

Wednesday (4/22) - Day 40 of "Corona break." We have made it 40 days of basically staying home all the time!  This week feels really hard, not sure if it's because it's been so long, or knowing this isn't going to change for the next few weeks or what is going on.  Anyway, Wednesdays continue to be our busiest days of the week around here.  We got up early and Adrian dropped Rocky off at daycare while I took my first Zumba mini jam of the day.  When that was over, I got the boys started on school for the day.  They did a great job staying focused and were all finished early in the afternoon again.  Zak also had his second class Zoom call this afternoon and he loved seeing his teacher and all of his classmates!!

I tried to take a Zumba class with Beto, the creater of Zumba, this afternoon but it just didn't work out.  There was too much going on at that time, including FedEx delivering our new laptop that we bought earlier this week since Daniel's isn't holding a charge anymore.  I did a few songs with Beto and then just gave up on dancing with him.  We finished up school and Zak had his second Zoom call of the day, this one for speech therapy.  Then the boys headed upstairs for some free time and I recorded my first ever Zumba class on the new ZIN Studio.  I'm thankful that I can now record classes and make them available to my students whenever they have the time to do them.  I also got a few things done around the house and then started on dinner.  I did my second mini jam of the day while finishing up making dinner.  I loved the choreo from both jams and can't wait to use it!

Thankfully Adrian finished working early today and was able to go pick up Rocky from daycare.  She had a great day there as always!!  When they got home, we had dinner together and then I headed to church to work for about an hour while Adrian fed the boys and got ready for his Bible study.  After work, I went to a friend's house to pick up a friendship bread start and then to Meijer to grab a few things we needed.  When I got home and Adrian's group was done, we put away the groceries, cleaned up from dinner and then we watched the last 2 episodes of season 1 of "Stranger Things." It was SO good and we can not wait to start watching season 2!  It was later than we normally stay up, but it was well worth it to finish the season.  We got the boys down to bed and then watched this week's "Survivor" and headed to bed too.  It was a fun night at home!!

Thursday (4/23) - Day 41 of "Corona break." We all slept in a little this morning after staying up late last night.  We got up and got started on our school work pretty quickly because everyone wanted to finish up early.  Everyone did great and we got everything done, including Daniel's art assignment.  He needed to use items in the kitchen to create a picture.  He used iced tea and blue food coloring to make a beach scene and did a great job!  After school, we did another big chunk of work in the toy room and we're nearly done cleaning out the whole house.  When we finished with that, I got started on dinner while the boys had some free time.

After dinner, I headed to the church to teach my first Zoom Zumba Toning class.  It started a little rough because I got to the church and realized I brought the laptop without a camera so I had to run back to switch it out!  Then I kept messing up my choreo for the first few songs, probably because my adrenaline was already pumping after running back and forth from the house.  It evened out finally and ended up being a great class!  While I was there, Adrian fed the kids dinner and worked a little overtime.  Then when I got home, we cleaned up from dinner and then decided to watch an episode of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" as a family instead of starting the next season of "Stranger Things."  When that was over, we got the boys to bed and watched two comedies from the week before we also headed to bed for the night.

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for April 19 - April 25)

I am late getting this post up this week because I almost didn't write it.  We did a great job sticking to our meal plan from last week and made everything that we planned.  However between me cooking just about every night and Adrian not taking leftovers for lunch since he's working from home, we had a TON of leftovers going into this week.  On Sunday, Adrian and I cleaned out the refridgerator and made a plan to use up everything this week.  I thought that was a boring meal plan, especially since two of the days were just "leftovers."

But then I start to look for things to make with our leftover ham and I found some fun things to make.  And we also have 2 dozen hard boiled eggs from Easter morning that I found some fun and easy things to make.  So I figured I'd share my plan for this week in case anyone out there is also trying to use up their Easter leftovers this week and looking for creative ways to do that.  I'm also hitting the grocery stores this week, went to Aldi yesterday, will go to Meijer tonight and then I have a Kroger order ready to pick up on Saturday.  This should last us until early May and then we will reevaluate where we are.  The boys are not going back to school in person this year, and I will not be going back to subbing either.  I'm waiting to see what the final decisions for gym classes is, but I'm not planning on starting to teach until mid/end of May when I feel a little safer.

Here is what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Leftovers
Monday - Leftovers
Tuesday - Tacos for the kids and Pork and Potato Bowls for the adults to use up the rest of our salsa pork, black beans and leftover corn from when we made these last week
Wednesday - Ham and Noodle Casserole and Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad to use up some ham, open bag of noodles and Brussels Sprouts (note - I'm not making anything homemade for the salad, I have croutons, bacon bits & Caesar salad that I'll be using)
Thursday - Gnocchi for the kids and Pesto Egg Salad Sandwiches and Air Fried Pickles for the adults to use up an open jar of Alfredo, hard boiled eggs, and an open jar of pickles
Friday - Ham and Bean Soup and Air Fried Zucchini to use up more ham and 2 zucchini
Saturday - Fully Loaded Deviled Eggs and Air Fried Buffalo Cauliflower to use up more hard boiled eggs and a head of cauliflower

Other than that, we are just trying to eat what we already have in the house.  We have a ton of goodies (bobka, crumb cake, pumpkin bars, cookies) left over from Easter.  I also have a carton of orange juice so I'm using that in smoothies most days this week along with some frozen fruit that we have.  I'm having rye bread and farmer cheese every morning for breakfast to use up the farmer cheese before it goes bad.  And I have another apple flavored water pitcher going this week to use up an apple that was starting to turn but worked fine in the water.  We have really become resourceful while staying safely at home!!

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 4/10 - 4/16)

Friday (4/10) - Day 28 of "Corona break." After a great night of sleep, I felt so much better today.  It's been a rough few days with lots of saddness but I'm determined to pull thru and make this a great weekend!  I started today with an awesome Zumba class with a Zumba instructor in Brussels.  He is awesome and if I ever make it to convention I'm doing at least one of his sessions.  I had so much fun dancing with him and learning from him.  After class, Adrian and I spent most of the day getting some work done around the house so we can have a fun weekend together.

Late in the afternoon, we called the boys down and played Zak's board game choice for the weekend "Forbidden Island."  We lost the first game we played and decided to play again immediately and we just barely won that one!  Then we all had dinner together and then started getting ready for Easter.  We baked two more crumble cakes and the colored our eggs.  The boys had a great time coloring them and making them different colors.  After we cleaned up from that, we settled in for family movie night and watched Zak's pick "Avengers: Age of Ultron."  Adrian fell asleep and missed pretty much the whole movie.  When the movie was over, I got the boys to bed and then came back downstairs and watched the first episode of season 2 of "Big Little Lies."  I didn't know about it but I have HBO Go for free right now so I'm trying to watch the whole season while I can!  I wanted to watch more but I was so tired so I had to go to bed.

Saturday (4/11) - Day 29 of "Corona break." I got up early and got ready to teach my Zumba class this morning.  I decided to sleep in a little and not go to the church for class this morning.  It went really well, except for stepping on Rocky during one song.  But we all got a great workout and had fun dancing together.  When class was over, I jumped on to my parents' church's Facebook page to have my food blessed for breakfast tomorrow.  Then I started working on baking the bobka for tomorrow morning too.  The rest of the day we relaxed, did a few things around the house, played video games and Uno.  I ran out in the afternoon to pick up my order from Kroger and was happy that I got everything I ordered!  I also got gas for the car for the first time in a month, this is so crazy!!

When I got home, the boys finished up a few things for school from the week and then we played a family game of "Fury of Dracula."  This is one of AJ's favorite games, but Daniel, Zak and I are not fans at all.  But we agreed to play one game that each of us picked this weekend so we made the best of it.  After playing for 3 hours, and still not being done, the three of us quit so Adrian & AJ finished up the game.  We all had random leftovers and frozen apps for dinner and then the boys went upstairs to play video games while Adrian & I watched the finale of "Modern Family" from this week and did a little more prep for Easter tomorrow.  The boys wanted to stay up late tonight, so we let them stay up until midnight playing video games.  When they finally went to sleep we hid the eggs for tomorrow and headed to bed.

Sunday (4/12) - Day 30 of "Corona break."  Happy Easter!!  The boys were of course up early and ready to go this morning.  We enjoyed some of the candy buffet and then the boys did their egg hunt.  They found all of the eggs, but it took them a while.  After the egg hunt, we had our traditional breakfast of kielbasa, rye bread with farmer cheese, hard boiled eggs, bobka and crumb cake (new addition this year!)  Then the boys wanted to do a special event on their video game so they went upstairs to do that and Adrian and I started watching our church service from home.

After they beat their event, the boys came down and we played family board games for the rest of the day.  We played Daniel's pick of "Castle Panic" and we won, but just barely.  Then we played Adrian's pick of "Qwerkle" and he won and my pick of "Sushi Go" and I won.  In between games we video chatted with my parents, brothers and all of my nieces and nephews.  We cooked a delicious dinner of ham, risotto, broccoli casserole and bread.  After dinner, we finished up a few chores and homework assignments for the weekend and then the boys had a little bit of video game time while Adrian and I plyed "Castles of Burgundy" and he won this time.  When we finished the game, we finished cleaning up the kitchen from dinner then had the boys come down.  We watched the second episode of "Stranger Things" as a family and then we put the boys to bed.  Then Adrian and I came downstairs and watched two episodes of "Man with a Plan" before heading to bed as well.  This was definitely not the Easter we were planning, but I think we made the best of it!

Monday (4/13) - Day 31 of "Corona break." We got a late start today because everyone wanted to sleep in a little.  I had to wake AJ up for his virtual speech therapy meeting at 10am.  Once we finally got up and moving, we were back to our normal routine of Adrian working in our room and the boys doing school around the house while I supervise.  They did a good job of getting their work done for the day and even set up a race track in the hallway for some indoor recess.  After we finished school, I gave them free time and I started getting dinner ready.  I made homemade noodles for chicken and noodles for the first time.  It was time consuming as I expected, but not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.  And the end result was delicious so I may be doing it more often.  After dinner, I headed to the church to teach my Zoom Zumba class while Adrian stayed here with the boys and got AJ set up for his weekly Zoom Scout meeting.  When we were all done with our night stuff, we watched the new "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" as a family and then got the boys down for the night.  Then Adrian and I watched two episodes of "Young Sheldon" and then headed to bed as well.

Tuesday (4/14) - Day 32 of "Corona break." We all slept in a little today and it was wonderful!  When we got up and moving, the boys did a great job with their school work!!  All three of them did everything they needed to do with minimal help from me and were done before 2:00pm.  We spent a little bit of time working on cleaning Daniel's room and then they were released to have some free time while I headed downstairs for a Zumba class with two ZJs in Brazil.  I had so much fun dancing with them and did a ton of rhythms I don't normally do which felt awesome.  After class I had some time to myself so I decided to read a big chunk of my book and watch another episode of "Big Little Lies."  It was a super relaxing afternoon!!  After resting, I made dinner for everyone and then got Zak ready for his Zoom class meeting.  He loved seeing all of his friends, as did I!  We finished up our night with another family movie night watching Daniel's pick of "Ant Man" on our way thru rewatching the Avengers movies.  When the movie was over, I got the boys to bed and since Adrian was already sleeping, I finished my book and then headed to bed as well.  It was a really great stay at home day, I could get used to days like this!!

Wednesday (4/15) - Day 33 of "Corona break." Another great night of sleep for all of us, the boys slept in and Adrian and I were able to get up and get a few things done before they got up.  He showered and then dropped Rocky off at daycare in the morning before heading to work for the day.  I also showered, watched another episode of "Big Little Lies" and did a Zumba mini jam before anyone else got up.  It was nice to ease into our day.  When the kids got up and moving, they got ready for the day and started their school work.  Once again, they all stayed really focused and got their work done early in the afternoon.  Zak had his virtual speech appointment this afternoon so he did that while the boys stayed occupied upstairs.

After school and chores were done for the day, the boys had some video game time and I took a Zumba Step class online from my friend.  It was so much fun to try a new format, I really enjoyed it!!  After that, I headed out to pick up dinner and Rocky.  I had a free pizza from Marco's so we ordered each kid a small pizza from there.  Adrian and I were going to eat pizza too but then we saw there was a food truck in the area tonight so we ordered street tacos from there instead and they were delicious!  After we had our take out dinner together, I headed to the church to work for an hour while Adrian had his Zoom Bible study.  When we were all done with that, we watched the season finale of "Lego Masters" together as a family.  We loved all 3 of the final builds and were happy to see the couple win.  We're also excited to hear there is a Lego Land coming to NY next year, we may go check that out!  After the show, we put the boys to bed then came back down to watch "Survivor."  It was family visit night and it was SO sweet this season, they let everyone's kids come and everyone got to visit with family.  We really enjoyed this episode and weren't too upset to see Tyson be voted out again, he's not one of our favorites.

Thursday (4/16) - Day 34 of "Corona break." We all slept in a little this morning after a late night last night.  I missed my morning Zumba livestream so I just started with a relaxing morning instead.  When the boys got up and ready we started on their school work for the day.  They were super focused today and finished everything up before 2pm which is great!  I think we have finally found our groove with all of this school at home stuff.  I got a ton done around the house and made a big pot of soup from our leftover ham tonight.  It was a pretty normal and non-eventful day around here.  I taught my Zumba class over Zoom tonight and had a big group who all had a lot of fun.  When I got home, we finished cleaning up from dinner and then watched another episode of "Stranger Things."  We are all loving that show!  When it was over, we got the boys to bed and then came down and watched "The Goldburgs" from this week before we also headed to bed for the night.

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 1/17 - 1/23)

Friday (1/17) My fever spiked back up last night so I called out of work before heading to bed.  I slept in again while Adrian got the boys up and out for school this morning.  He was excited to hear that since it's pizza day AJ and Daniel both buy so he only needed to pack one lunch.  He got everyone off to where they needed to be and then headed into work for the day.  I slept in until about 9:30 and then moved to the couch to hang out with Rocky for the day.  We watched TV, slept, read and rested.  The day passed quickly and before long it was time for the boys to get home from school.  AJ and Daniel took the bus home and Rocky was super excited to see them when they got home.  They took care of her and then Daniel and I went to pick up Zak from school.

After we got Zak, the three of us headed to Target to get birthday gifts for the two parties we have this weekend.  They did a great job of picking toys for their friends and also picked something for their cousin whose birthday is in February.  After our quick trip to Target, we headed home and I rested for a bit while Daniel packed for his sleepover.  I dropped him off at his friend Patrick's house for a birthday sleepover party around dinner time.  Then I came home and relaxed at home until Adrian got home.  He brought us Jersey Mike's for dinner and it really hit the spot!!  After eating and doing a few small things around the house, I was really knocked out.  I headed to bed early to try to get some rest before a very busy weekend around here.  Adrian got the boys down to bed and got some stuff done around here before he headed to bed too.  He's been great during all of this and I'm thankful for all he is doing to help out around the house!

Saturday (1/18) We were up and moving on an icy, rainy, cold Saturday morning way earlier than any of us would have liked to be.  But we all had things to do so we needed to get moving and we did.  Adrian left early to go and pick up Daniel from Patrick's house and bring him downtown for his first art class of this session.  He is taking a digital art class at CCAD, the local art college, for the next 10 weeks and is so excited about it.  While they were there, I got Zak ready and drove him to his bowling league.  He bowled two great games, including getting a 107 in his second game.  After all of that, we met back at home to grab lunch and get ready for our busy afternoon.

After a quick lunch at home, Adrian headed out with AJ to his basketball game.  He had an "away" game at a different church so they headed there for the afternoon.  AJ had fun and played well but unfortunately his team lost again this week.  While they were there, I took Zak and Daniel to Zak's friend Hailey's birthday party.  It was at the new Get Air in Pickerington and the boys had a blast!!  They loved jumping, especially Zak since a bunch of his friends were there.  They also enjoyed pizza and exploding cupcakes at the party.  I enjoyed catching up with some old friends and meeting a few new ones.  It was a great party and we all headed home exhausted when it was over.

When we all got home, we were pretty worn out.  We rested up and also got a few things done around the house.  Adrian cooked pasta for all of us for dinner.  The boys got some of their homework done and spent the rest of their time playing video games.  Then around 7:30 we settled in for family movie night, watching Daniel's pick of "Captain America."  I watched the first hour or so and then headed to bed because I was really struggling.  The boys loved the movie, they all watched the whole thing with no complaining!  After the movie, Adrian got them down to bed, cleaned up a little and then headed to bed too.  It was a jam packed Saturday for us!!

Sunday (1/19) I finally got a good night of sleep last night!!  I woke up feeling a little better, just really depleated.  I got dizzy and knocked out just getting showered and dressed so I decided to cancel my whole day and just rest.  We spent the day watching TV, doing small things around the house and hanging out.  I haven't spent much time with the boys and Adrian so I tried to hang out with all of them too.  The boys did some more homework and played some video games as well.  Daniel was finally able to get his YouTube videos to post to his channel again so he is super excited to be back to doing that!

Adrian and I watched the playoff games and enjoyed Chinese take out for dinner, because that's what I was craving.  The AFC championship was fun to watch and I would have been happy to see either team win.  The NFC championship wasn't quite as exciting but I am glad the 49ers won.  We'll both be cheering for the Chiefs in two weeks!  We also played a game of Pandemic Legacy Season 2 tonight and lost.  We are having a hard time figuring out how to balance the new mechanism after playing a few trial games.  We'll start our real games next week and hope for the best.  After the games were over, we put the boys to bed, watched one of our comedies from our DVR and headed to bed.  I'm still not 100% but I am much better than I was.  I'm thankful I got to rest all day today!

Monday (1/20)  We all have today off so we all slept in this morning.  We had a lazy morning of coffee, video games and TV.  Then we started getting some stuff done around the house so we're ready for the rest of this busy week.  The boys finished all of their homework and chores and a few other small things we needed them to get done.  I'm still not 100% so I took a lot of breaks and did a lot of things that I could do sitting down.  The day passed quickly with a good balance of relaxing and being productive.  Rocky is getting spoiled having all of us at home all the time!!

Adrian cooked us a delicious pot of soup for dinner tonight and then I got ready for my return to Zumba after nearly a week off.  Class was hard but I had so much fun!!  It felt great to move after resting for so many days.  We had a large group again tonight, hopefully we'll keep the big crowds going.  After class, I ran to Meijer to use a few coupons that were going to expire tonight and get a few things we were running really low on.  While I was out, Adrian fed the kids dinner and then cleaned up the kitchen.  When I got home, we got the boys to bed and then watched a few comedies together before heading to bed too.  It was a great holiday Monday!!

Tuesday (1/21) We were back to our regular schedule today and even though I'm not 100%, it feels good to be back to normal.  Adrian helped get AJ up and on the bus and then he headed to work for the day.  I got Daniel ready and dropped him off at school for the day then came home to get myself and Zak ready for the day.  We headed in together because I was subbing for the day.  I had a great day with a fun class of 2nd graders and the day flew by.  Before I knew it, it was time to drop Zak off at home, then head back to school to teach my Zumba class.  We had an awesome time dancing together this afternoon & got a great workout.

After class, I ran home and got the boys thru their homework while cooking tacos for dinner.  After we all ate and finished homework, Zak and I headed out to his Scout pack meeting.  Each den put on a few skits tonight to finish that requirement for the year.  They were all cute and we had a lot of fun.  My Wolves all did great & I'm very proud of them.  When the meeting was over, we headed home for the night.  Adrian and I got the boys thru their night routine and then down for the night.  We finished cleaning up a few things, watched two comedies while having a snack and then headed to bed too.  Nothing super exciting, but after all the changes of the past few weeks, we like a normal day!!

Wednesday (1/22) And after one day of a normal schedule, we're back off it.  Today AJ and Zak both had pediatrician appointments early this afternoon so they did not go to school.  We got up and got Daniel ready and I dropped him off at school for the day while Adrian headed into work.  Then I came home and picked up Rocky and dropped her off at doggy daycare for her first day there.  After I dropped her off, I came home and got the other boys ready for our day and got a few things done around the house.  Then we headed to the Y together so I could teach my two classes there before heading to their pediatrician appointment.  They are doing great and the doctor is pleased with how their medicine is working so we'll keep doing that.

After the appointment, we ran as many errands as we could and then headed to pick up Daniel from school.  Then I dropped all of the boys off at home and went back out to try to finish up the grocery shopping, since this is my normal errand day.  I did as much as I could before it was time to pick up Rocky from daycare.  She did awesome and had a blast playing with the other dogs!  She came home exhausted and spent most of the night sleeping on the couch.  I was also exhausted when I finally got home but I had to cook dinner for everyone, finish homework with the boys and put away all of the groceries.  Adrian had Bible study tonight so he headed there after work.  When he got home, we got the boys to bed, did a little bit more clean up and then headed to bed for the night.  Wednesdays may be my day off, but they are exhausting! 

Thursday (1/23) Continuing our trend we again veered off our schedule today.  We woke AJ up and got him ready and on the bus while Adrian headed to work.  When I woke Daniel up, he told me he wasn't feeling well and couldn't go to school today.  So he stayed home from school for the day.  I had to sub in the school all day so he said he could stay home alone and we decided to let him try for the day since I'd be right up the street.  Zak and I headed into school for the day and I had a great day in one of the special ed classes with some of my favorite teacher's aides.  Daniel did great staying home, I didn't hear from him at all during the day.  He said he just rested on the couch with Rocky all day.

When we all got home, we quickly go thru homework and dinner for everyone.  Adrian was able to leave work a little early so he could get home in time for him and Zak to go to basketball together.  Zak played a good game tonight and did really well listening to his coaches.  While they were at basketball, I headed to the church to teach my Zumba class.  We had a fun night and I felt a little better than I did for each class this week, slowly but surely recovering and regaining my stamina.  After all of our night activities we all came home and got the boys thru their night routine and down for the night.  Then Adrian and I did a little bit of clean up, watched a few comedies and then headed to bed for the night.  This week has been exhausting!!

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 12/20 - 12/26)

Friday (12/20) Happy last day of school of the decade!!  I feel like we limped to this day and I'm so excited to have two weeks off to relax, refresh and enjoy time with my guys.  But first, we have to get thru the last day of school.  We got up on time and Adrian helped me get AJ up and ready an on the bus before he headed to work for the day.  Then I dropped Daniel off at school and came home to get Zak and myself ready for the day.  We headed in together since I was subbing for the day in school.  I started my day subbing in a 3rd grade class and helping with their pancake breakfast when their teacher came in.  Then I headed to Zak's class for the afternoon and subbed for his teacher and ran their party as well.  It was a fun but tiring day since they kids were all sugared up and excited!!

After school I ran to Kroger to pick up a quick order of last minute food, then we came home to get ready to leave for NJ in the morning.  We decided it's best for us to drive across tomorrow, stay until the service on Monday & head back home.  It will be rough but it's what we need/want to do. I focused on doing everything that needed to be done around the house and Adrian focused on packing us up and making sure we're ready to hit the road early in the morning.  The boys helped us clean and pack what they could and did a great job of staying out of our way and playing with Rocky while we worked.  We all headed to bed pretty early so we can get up and on the road by about 9:30 tomorrow morning.  Hoping for a good night of rest!!

Saturday (12/21) Well I got a good night sleep and woke up ready to go with our plan.  Unfortunately, Zak had Adrian up in the middle of the night with a raging fever and sore throat.  He has clearly come down with what his whole class had last week and is most likely contagious.  So while he was up in the middle of the night, Adrian found a few flight options for me to go to NJ alone.  I talked with my family and figured out how to fly in Philly, rent a car to share with Jon and his family, and fly out of Philly on Monday around the same time as Jon.

I hurried up and got ready because ironically I was the only one not packed up to leave.  Adrian drove me to the airport and my flights went well from here to DC to Philly.  I picked up the rental car and headed to my Aunt Joan's house to meet up with everyone there.  They fed me a delicious dinner and dessert and I was thankful to spend some time with my parents, Uncle Tom & Aunt Joan.  I hung out there until about 9:30 when I needed to head to Newark airport to pick up Jon, Rebecca and the girls.  We drove back down to a family friends' house to spend the night there.  Thankfully everything worked out great today and I am able to be here in NJ where I need to be.

Sunday (12/22) After a great night of sleep, I woke up to coffee and NJ bagels for breakfast.  While I am here for a horrible reason, I am enjoying all of this delicious food.  We spent some time with Barbara and Ed and then we got ready to head to Aunt Joan's house again to spend some time together before we headed to the funeral home.  We enjoyed being together, eating lunch and watching football, including seeing the Jets beat the Steelers for the first time ever.  Thanks for that one Uncle Tony!

In the evening, we headed to the funeral home for the viewing.  It was a beautiful service with a lot of friends and family there to pay their respects.  It was nice seeing some many people I haven't seen for a while.  My Aunt Sue, father & cousin Mark all gave beautiful speeches about Uncle Tony and the Port Authority came to do a final salute.  It was a long, sad night but it was nice to be with family.  We headed back to Aunt Joan's house when the service was over to have dinner together and enjoy some laughs over some wine.  Then I headed back to Aunt Sue's house to spend the night with her and her dog, Barney.

While I was dealing with all of that in NJ, Adrian was here in Ohio with the boys.  Zak still wasn't feeling well so he spent the whole day resting on the couch and watching TV.  The other boys mostly played video games and watched YouTube and Adrian was able to borrow the TV downstairs for a bit to watch some of the football games.  He was excited for the Jets win but bummed that the Cowboys lost, pretty much ending all hopes for the post season for them.

Monday (12/23) After thankfully another great night of sleep, I was up early with my Aunt getting ready for the funeral.  My parents picked us up so there would be one less car to worry about and we headed to the funeral parlor for our final goodbyes.  Then we went to church for a beautiful mass including a great eulogy by my Aunt Joan.  There were also bag pipers from the Port Authority playing outside the church.  After the mass, we headed to the cemetary and then to a local restaurant for lunch.  I ate quickly and then headed out with Jon, Rebecca and the girls so we could all catch our flights back home from Philly.

While I was there, Adrian was home with the boys and thankfully had the day off from work.  Zak wasn't getting any better so we decided he should head in to see the pediatrician.  Luckily there was an opening this morning so Adrian took him in only to find out that it is just a bad virus and we need to wait it out.  I was honestly hoping for something that could be cured with an antibiotic so we're all healthy for Christmas but no such luck.  The boys spent the rest of the day at home playing video games, watching TV and waiting for me to get home.

After two very easy flights I landed in Columbus around 8pm tonight.  Adrian came and picked me up and we headed home to see the boys and Rocky, all of whom were very excited to see me.  I brought everyone pretzels from Wawa for a special treat tonight and they were all excited to eat those too.  We spent some time catching up and then it was time for the boys' night routine.  We got them down to bed and then pulled out all of the stuff that our elf was leaving for them tonight, our annual scavenger hunt, reindeer food, a gingerbread house and a gingerbread train.  We are hoping that Zak will feel better tomorrow and we'll be able to do all of those things together as a family.  After that, I was exhausted so we headed to bed for the night hoping to start fresh with everything in the morning.

Tuesday (12/24) Merry Christmas Eve!!  We all slept in a little this morning and then were ready to have a fun day of family fun.  Unfortunately Zak still wasn't feeling great so we were somewhat limited in what we could do.  Daniel and I made homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast tomorrow and we all attempted to decorate our gingerbread house and train.  Since Zak still wasn't feeling well though, he couldn't sit at the table to decorate with us so we did part of the decorating today and saved the stuff so he can do it when he's feeling better.

The rest of the day was spent just hanging out and relaxing around the house.  The boys played some video games upstairs while Zak watched YouTube downstairs on the couch.  I got some stuff done around the house since I've been gone the past 2 days.  Adrian and I went to Christmas Eve service at church alone and joked that we felt like we were on a date.  We roasted a chicken for dinner in our new oven since Adrian has been wanting to do that since we got it.  We decided to postpone our Christmas light scavenger hunt until Zak is feeling better so he can enjoy it too.  We did get outside briefly to sprinkle some reindeer food on the lawn for tonight.

After the boys went down to bed, Adrian and I got to work on setting up for tomorrow morning.  We put Rocky to bed with them in her crate in their room so she wouldn't be downstairs while we were trying to wrap and set things up.  I wrapped the few gifts that we still needed to wrap and Adrian brought up everything that was already wrapped and set it up under the tree.  Then he set up Rocky's new crate so it would be ready for her in the morning.  We watched "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Christmas Story" while we worked and were done pretty early.  We headed to bed soon after we finished because we know the kids will be up and ready to go early tomorrow morning!

Wednesday (12/25) Merry Christmas!!  Shockingly the boys were not up super early this morning, Adrian and I were actually up before them this year.  When they did make it downstairs we had some coffee & started our homemade cinnamon rolls and then we opened our gifts!  The boys were of course super excited to get the Occulus Quest virtual reality headset that they have been asking for the past two years.  We had all of our family members chip in this year to gift it to them since it was pretty pricy, and there wasn't a lot that they were asking for.  They did enjoy all of their other gifts which including board games, video games, clothes and gift cards.  Everyone said it was an epic Christmas!  Even Rocky got some new toys and treats and seemed to enjoy herself this morning.

After opening everything, the kids retreated to the video game area to play with their new VR headset.  Adrian and I decided to open my new toy, an air fryer and make something with it.  We started small and made pizza rolls & they were delicious!!  I can't wait to use this thing to make yummy dishes now.  We also opened up some of our new games and checked them out.  In the afternoon, we did a video call with my parents and exchanged lots of texts with the rest of the family.  Zak is still not 100% so we just laid low for the day, which is our tradition anyway.  We played with our new stuff, ate junk food, drank wine and relaxed together as a family.  It's what we do every Christmas Day and it's the perfect tradition for us!

Thursday (12/26) After the excitement of yesterday, we were looking forward to a calmer day today.  We all slept in a little and then the boys pretty much spent most of their day playing with their new video games on the VR headset and the Switch.  Zak is finally feeling better and he was ready to finish decorating our gingerbread houses today!  Adrian and I took turns helping him and we all had a lot of fun.  I'm glad he's feeling better and am really hoping this is the end of the germs for us for a while!!

After we finished our gingerbread house and train, Adrian and I played a few board games together.  We played our final month of Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 (we got season 2 for Christmas - yay!) and won the whole season!  We did really well, got one of the highest ranks in the game.  We also played a new game Adrian bought for me, Takenoko which is super cute and fun!  We finished up the night with a bottle of wine and Adrian's Tuscany expansion of Vitaculture which is one of my favorites.  The expansion makes it harder and more interesting, definitely a fun upgrade!  Other than that, our day was pretty much similar to yesterday, lots of relaxing, junk food and family time.  I'm still recovering from traveling so I am enjoying some much needed down time!!

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for April 12 - April 18)

I'm getting my meal plan up two weeks in a row, yay!!  I did pretty good sticking with my plan for last week except for Friday night.  Adrian and the boys had Friday "off" from work and school so we ended up having a fun and relaxing family day.  I didn't feel like cooking a big meal that night so we just had leftovers that day too.  We had plenty of food in the fridge and a few apps in the freezer so we did that for both Friday and Saturday night last week.

This week is all about using up the Easter leftovers.  I am a day late getting this plan up since I unplugged yesterday (Easter Sunday) and enjoyed celebrating with my family.  We had a huge breakfast and dinner yesterday so there is leftovers from both of those meals.  I also did a huge grocery shopping last week to try to stock us up for the next few weeks.  I'm not planning on going shopping at all this week or next so I'll just be using what we have here.  I'm hoping the "stay at home" order is lifted soon, but I will say I am having fun cooking more and all of us eating dinner together most nights during this time.  It's definitely been a silver lining for me.

Here's what we're eating this week as well as some pictures from our Easter feasts.
Sunday breakfast (Easter) - Kielbasa, hard boiled eggs, rye bread with farmer cheese, crumb cake and homemade bobka
Sunday dinner (Easter) - Ham, parmesan risotto, broccoli casserole and bread
Monday - Chicken and Noodles (carry over from last week) - I have to make this tonight because I already have the broth made and the chicken defrosted.  This will be the only big meal I cook all week.
Tuesday - Ham Quesadillas for the Adults and Tacos for the kids
Wednesday - Egg Salad Sandwiches and Salad
Thursday - Ham and Bean Soup using leftover ham from Sunday and the stock I made from the ham bone
Friday - Marco's Pizza - I have a free pizza from my birthday so we will pick up dinner for everyone tonight and I will take a night off from cooking!
Saturday - Leftovers - We will be back to one day of fun and one day of work this weekend and this will be our fun day.  I prefer not to have to cook on these days so I can really just focus on having fun with the family!

 Candy buffet from the Easter Bunny

Traditional Easter breakfast

Homemade Bobka

 Slow cooked Easter ham

Brocolli Casserole

Blackberry Sangria

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 4/3 - 4/9)

Friday (4/3) - Day 21 of "Corona break."  Zak and I were up about 8am this morning and everyone else slept in.  He and I had breakfast and some TV time before everyone else woke up.  I jumped online and went to one of my friend's Zumba Gold classes which was super fun!  When that was over, everyone was up so we started our school day.  I was lucky enough to get to jump into another friend's Zumba class around lunch time too, it was such a fun morning of dancing with friends!!  The boys did a great job of staying focused and finishing up all of their work for the day and the week, especially Daniel who had a ton to finish up today.  They all worked hard and I feel pretty good about what they got accomplished this week, and what they learned to change for the upcoming weeks.

The day passed pretty quickly with me helping them with their school work, working around the house and getting some time outside in the beautiful weather.  I talked to my mom for a while and had a Zoom call with some Scout friends tonight so I got some social connection as well.  After finishing up for the week, we ended the night with a family movie night watching the new movie "Onward" that Disney released on Disney+ today.  It was a great movie and we all loved it!!  It was also sad and some of us cried (read: me) which lead to a discussion on how not everything has a happy ending.  After the movie and our great discussion, we put the boys to bed and then we watched "The Goldburgs" from this week and headed to bed for the night.

Saturday (4/4) - Day 22 of "Corona break."  We stuck with our routine and made today a fun day for us, very little work and lots of fun.  It started a little early since I had to get up and teach a Zumba class at 9am, but I had a ton of fun and it felt great to start the day out with a fun workout!  After class, I came home and we started hanging out.  Adrian made us omelettes for brunch and we started catching up on our comedies from the week.  Then we spent the rest of the day switching back and forth between watching TV and playing board games.  The boys spent most of their day playing video games upstairs, which is what they wanted to do for the day.  I learned two new games today including "Castles of Burgundy" (I won) and "That's Pretty Clever" (I won one & Adrian won one).  AJ and Adrian played "Unlock" and won earning 3 out of 5 stars and we played "Castle Panic" with Daniel (we won).  Adrian and I also played "Ticket to Ride Europe" (Adrian won), "Gizmos" (Adrian won) and "Hanabi" (we did great and got 20 out of 30 possible points).  We also caught up on all of our comedies from the week and finished up "Tiger King" on Netflix.  It was a great day of relaxing and having fun together as a family!!

Sunday (4/5) - Day 23 of "Corona break." We all slept in after staying up past midnight last night.  Adrian and Zak were the first two people up and they played (and won) a game of "Flip Ships" this morning before everyone woke up.  When we were all up and moving, we started working around the house because since yesterday was a fun day, today is a work day.  We worked on our weekly chores and got some stuff done to get set up for a successful week of school.  We also made some fun plans since this is Easter week and the kids are "off" on Friday.  We finished deep cleaning the kitchen, downstairs bathroom and laundry room today as well.  We were done our list of chores by around 7pm so the boys got a little bit of video game time while Adrian watched some YouTube and I got my giant grocery shopping list made for the week.  I'm hoping I can find everything we need this week!  We finished the night by starting a new series together as a family, "Stranger Things."  We all really enjoyed it and are planning to watch it as a family over the next month or so.  After the show, we put the boys to bed and came down to watch "Man with a Plan" from last week and then headed to bed too.  It was a super productive day and I'm ready for a great week!!

Monday (4/6) - Day 24 of "Corona break." The boys all slept in this morning since we were up late last night but Adrian and I were up around 8am.  We enjoyed a cup of coffee together before he headed upstairs to go to "work" for the day.  The boys eventually got up and moving and we started school for the day.  AJ and Daniel both had Zoom calls so I made sure they were online and ready for those.  The boys did great today doing schoolwork, I had a rough day.  It's really hard for me to keep them all on task and make sure they are doing what they need to do.  Plus it seems like one kid is always done way early so I have to have stuff ready for them to do too.  Thankfully AJ and Zak have Scout requirements they can work on, Daniel is a little more challenging.  I know it's just a season and we will get thru this but it was just a rough day for me.

When everyone finished school for the day, I headed out to Aldi to stock up on some things that we need for the next 2-3 weeks.  I was pleasantly surprised that they had just about everything I needed and I was in and out quickly.  When I got home, the boys helped me unload and put away all of the groceries.  Then we had dinner and I headed out to the church to teach my Zumba class.  I finally figured out my music issues and we had an awesome class together!  I did hurt my back somehow over the past few days and it was screaming at me after class tonight.  While I was at class, AJ had a virtual Scout meeting and Zak practiced learning how to ride a two wheeler (a goal for this month!)  When we all finished up, the boys had some video game time while Adrian and I cleaned up the kitchen.  Then we got the boys thru their night routine and down to bed.  Adrian and I watched 2 comedies from our DVR and also headed to bed.

Tuesday (4/7) - Day 25 of "Corona break." After a great night of sleep, Adrian and I were woken up a little early by thunderstorms coming thru our area.  We got ready to start our day and he went to work in our bedroom while the boys slept in so I enjoyed some "Housewives" while drinking coffee.  I was supposed to do a live core workout on Facebook but since my back is still bothering me I decided to rest instead and hopefully be OK for the rest of the week.  When the boys got up, I got them showered and dressed for the day and then we started on school.  They did great again today and got everything done that needed to be done.  Zak had a live Science class today and since AJ was downstairs for lunch at the same time he decided to join in for it.  They had fun watching Mystery Doug live from his house and learning how to make animals out of tinfoil.

Around the boys' school schedule I was able to do about half of a Zumba class with my friend Liz and half of a Zumba class with a Zumba trainer named Steve who is awesome.  He broadcast from his home in Brussels and I loved every minute of dancing with him.  After the second Zumba class, I headed out to run a few errands which did not go as planned.  I went to rent E.T. only to find out that the video store is now closed (should have known).  I went to Giant Eagle and found almost everything I needed there then headed to Meijer to pick up the boys medicine.  Unfortunately that wasn't ready yet so I went inside the store to finish up my shopping and got everything except mac and cheese for Daniel.  I wasn't planning to do all of the errands to day, but I'm kind of glad that I am done for the next two weeks now.

When I got home, we made tacos for dinner for everyone.  The boys had regular beef tacos and Adrian and I had pork tacos with salsa pork that had been slow cooking all day.  After dinner, we cleaned up a bit and then settled in to watch E.T. together as a family.  The boys all really enjoyed the movie, it was a fun family night watching an old favorite with them.  After the movie, it was really late so we got the boys to bed, watched one comedy and then headed to bed too. 

Wednesday (4/8) - Day 26 of "Corona break." I really struggled to sleep last night and had a hard time getting up this morning.  I finally dragged myself out of bed because I had to drive Rocky to daycare and then get home in time for a Zumba mini-jam.  I loved the song and choreo we learned and am hoping to add it to my classes next week!  After the jam, I got the boys started on school work and grabbed a quick shower.  The day passed quickly with Zoom calls for each kid at a different time and lots of school work due either today or tomorrow since there is no school on Friday.  When the boys were done with school for the day, we spent some time working in one of their bedrooms and then I gave them free time to play some video games.

Adrian finished up work early today and went to pick up Rocky from daycare.  She came home and immediately went to sleep on the floor in the living room.  We cooked spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight, which was a request from Zak.  After dinner, I headed to the church to work my one night there and Adrian got on his Zoom call for his Bible study.  When we were both done and back home, we cleaned up from dinner and then got ready for family night watching "Lego Masters."  We really enjoyed the Star Wars themed builds tonight and were glad that none of the teams went home.  Can't wait to see the finale next week, it's been a fun series to watch as a family!!  After that was over, we got the boys to bed and watched this week's "Survivor."  We were happy to see Adam go home, he has been driving us crazy for weeks!  This is such a good season and so fun to watch past winners fight it out!!

Thursday (4/9) - Day 27 of "Corona break." We all slept in this morning and got a very late start on our day.  I have been struggling to sleep the past few days since we've had some storms come thru every night.  I think we all needed the rest and I'm not even upset that we started late today.  The boys did great staying focused and finished school early today.  We finished purging AJ and Zak's clothes and moved on to cleaning that bedroom as well.  When we were all done with the work we needed to do, the boys played video games and I got dinner together.  Adrian and I ate an early dinner together and then I headed to the church to teach my Zumba class.  He fed the boys pasta for dinner and then mowed the lawn since the weather doesn't look good for the rest of the weekend.  When I got home, we cleaned up from dinner and then watched the first episode of the series "Lemony Snickett's Series of Unfortunate Events."  The boys really liked it, Adrian and I thought it was just OK.  But we'll watch it since the boys liked it.  After the show, we got the boys to bed and watched one comedy from the week before heading to bed too.