Yummo - meal plan and a new recipe!

Here's the meal plan for what we're eating this week. I'm excited to try out a couple new recipes.

Tonight we tried out a recipe I found on the Eating Well website. I bought an Eggplant at the grocery store a few days ago because they were on special, but wasn't sure what to make with it.  The only other time I've cooked with eggplant was to make eggplant parmesean and I didn't like it. The eggplant got all soggy and gross. So I went in search for a new way to use this eggplant I bought, and found this recipe for Eggplant Pomodoro Pasta http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/eggplant_pomodoro_pasta.html

It was super easy and we really enjoyed it! Just dice up the tomatoes and eggplant.

 Saute them up with some garlic and olive oil, then toss in the caper, green olives, and red wine vinegar.

Served over pasta and I topped ours with fresh parsley and parmesean cheese. Delicious!

Holding on to today

Somedays I can't wait for the girls to grow up. I look forward to the days when they are older and I have more freedom and flexibility. When they don't need me as much and can fend for themselves a little more. Being a mom is a 24/7/365 kinda job, especially with babies and toddlers, and it can wear a person out!

But then as I was rocking and cuddling with Kara tonight before bed, I was thinking how much I love holding her! I love that she needs me and wants me to be with her. I love singing to her and watching her fall asleep in my arms. I don't want those things to go away! I love love how excited the girls get when they see come in to pick them up after school. How they miss me even when I'm only gone for a few minutes! Sure independence and freedom from the worries of mommyhood would be nice, but I want to remember to embrace these moments! Not wish them away.

A time will come much to soon when they don't turn to me for everything, when they don't want to cuddle in my lap, or hold my hand. So I am holding on to these moments now. Moments I want to cherish and not forget!

"I'll love you forever
I'll like you for always
As long as I'm living
My baby you'll be."

Spring has sprung!

We go months with out needing to go to places like Lowes for anything. Then spring comes and I feel like we are there every week picking up different things. Mulch, garden stuff, weed killer, etc. As soon as the weather warms up, Lowes is hoppin!
Yesterday while Jack was working we ran a few errands. First we went to Hobby Lobby, that place brings out my crafty side. I feel like I'm Martha Stewart while browsing around getting tons of ideas for things I could make. Truth is though I'm not super talented when it comes to crafting, so most things just stay ideas. But I've been wanting a spring wreath for our front door, but didn't want to shell out the big bucks for a premade one. So with a little inspiration (ala pinterest) I set out to make one on my own.

Here's the final product...

I love it ! and it only cost $9.00 to make :)

Then we went to Petsmart because it's right next door to Hobby Lobby. We checked out the all the birds, fish, a chinchilla, and a couple of cute cats.

Kirsten and Kara both love cats! Too bad I have allergies :( So visiting the pet store is as close as we'll get to owning one.

Our last stop was Lowe's. We picked up a couple bags of mulch and some pretty purple flowers for the front porch. Kirsten was super excited to drive the big blue car! Kara was a cute sidekick, of course.

This is unrelated but we leave our front door open a lot so the girls can look out, and I found them like this the other day. Watching the rain together :)

Oops!

I had plans this morning to take the girls to see a magician act at our local library. It didn't start until 10:30 so we took our time getting ready this morning, but before I knew it, It was 9:30 and we were all still in our pj's, and I still needed to shower. So I went into hyper speed to get us ready in time! We were out the door at 10:15, with just enough time to get there before it started. But when I went to start the car...no keys! I had locked the keys in the house :( So we were stuck.

Thankfully I had my cell phone and Jack only works a couple minutes away, so he was able to come let me in. But we were still too late to see the magic show now. Kirsten was a little bummed, but I offered to take them to the park instead and that made it all better :)

So we played at the park for awhile, watched some ducks (there was one dead one laying in the grass...ahh, I told Kirsten it was taking a nap), and then headed to Kroger for a couple things.

Did you know that Kroger is the best place ever because you get suckers and can drive a car while mommy shops!? Those things are ridiculously hard to steer around the store though, I'm constantly having to apologize for ramming things and people. oops! But they don't mind because of the two cuties riding up front :)

Then we met daddy for lunch at Firehouse Subs. It's gotta be one of my favorite places! Mainly because of their 100+ flavor coke machine. Things like these are what make it hard for me to quit drinking soda :)

So the morning ended up being pretty fun after all even though things didn't go quite as planned. Here the girls are enjoying their suckers on the way home.




Her hair is a mess!

 

Love these girls!