Mean Girls.

So yesterday after school I was asking Kirsten how her day was and she said one of her good friends didn't play with her. Kirsten said, "I tried to play with her but she said 'Dont talk to me, I don't want to play with you"" Hearing this broke my heart :( I asked Kirsten why she thought her friend said that, and she said "I guess she was just grumpy or something." Then I asked her how that made her feel. Her simple heartbreaking response was "sad".
Most days I'm sure her and her friends get along great! But hearing that one of them wasn't nice to her really made me sad. I ,of course, think Kirsten is the sweetest, most awesome 4 year old alive! So to think of someone not wanting to be her friend, or hurting her feelings in anyway was really hard for me. I talked to her about it a little more and told her that even when we are grumpy or having a bad day it's not nice to say things like that to people. I reminded her about how God wants us to love everyone and by saying mean things we are not showing that person love.
I really don't think it was that big of a deal to Kirsten and I'm sure her and her friend went on playing like normal today, but I just can't stop thinking about how if as a 4 year old she is already feeling the affects of "mean girls" on some level, how I am ever going to be able to get through middle school and high school. Anytime another girl says something mean about her or a boy breaks her heart, it will crush me!
I just hope and pray both her and Kara will have complete confidence in who they are as individuals and more importantly who they are in Christ! I pray they will know that no matter what anyone else says or thinks, they are beautiful, amazing, and uniquely crafted! I pray they are always kind, caring, and uplifiting to their friends and peers. And I pray that as their Mom I will have the wisdom to help them along their way, and complete trust in God that their hearts are always in his hands!

Pick a pumpkin!

I'm part of a Mom's group at my church and yesterday a bunch of us met up for an outing to a local pumpkin patch. We went to Boyd Orchards. In this area, everyone and their mom go to Boyd's during the fall. They have hayrides, pumpkin and apple picking, pony rides, miniature train rides, a petting zoo and an enormous play area for the kids. We had a blast!


It's nearly impossible to get Kara to look at the camera when there are so many other things to see :)

Kirsten on the hayride with her good friend Bailey



Kara checking out the goats.



Getting ready to feed the animals. Kirsten was a little nervous about getting close enough to feed them....just like mommy.

Kara on the playground. She likes to go, go, go! It's was really hard to keep track of the two of them! There were several "Oh no, where's Kara?" moments. Don't worry I found her, but if I lose sight of either of them for even a second I freak out! :)





Family Zoo Trip

We didn't make it out to the Zoo at all this summer, so I wanted to make sure to go before it got too cold. So yesterday morning after my race (which I'm still pumped about!) we headed out to the Louisville Zoo. The place was packed! I think everyone had the same thought and were trying to get a visit to the zoo in while it was still nice.
Despite the crowd, we had a great time! The girls loved seeing all the animals, although Kirsten told after we got home that her favorite part was the playground. Go figure! Kara made sounds imitating the animals at every stop. She's got a good little lion roar : )

They had all lots of  fun displays and decorations up for Halloween!

The gorilla started walking right towards us! Both of the girls backed away from the glass real quick at that point :)

Giddy up!

I am loving the new fall like weather! We've been taking advantage and spending a lot of time outside. The girls love riding bikes and taking walks around the block. I push Kara in the stroller and Kirsten rides her new big girl bike!
Today after naps I took the girls to our neighborhood park to play. We brought our snacks and had a little picnic and then spent a long time playing. It's so nice now that Kara is big enough to climb and slide by herself. They have a blast! I forgot my camera so I took pictures with my phone but they're not any good so I'll just share some other pics from last night and today instead.

                                                                     CHEESE!!!

Kirsten loves pretending to be a teacher and Kara is her little student. She gets out paper and has Kara do her "work". We've had this step stool out since we're doing a lot of painting and other things. So the girls have started using it as a little desk. I got back from a run last night and found them playing like this :)



washing off her hands after she's all done.

Kirsten loves pretending to be the mommy too. Sometimes this gets her in trouble, because she can get a little bossy! But generally she is very sweet and helpful. She especially loves helping with all the chores. Here she is helping me do the dishes last night. 

Going for a horse ride around the house. They're loving having a little more space to play!

Kara says "diddy up!"

Out on the deck playing with bubbles and eating popsicles! 

I'm super excited for all things fall! Trips to the pumpkin patches, corn mazes, sweaters, crunchy leaves, painting pumpkins, pumpkin pie...pretty much pumpkin anything!

What are some of your favorite fall traditions?

What I feed my family.

I've been talking to a few different people lately about meal planning, menus, and not knowing what to fix for dinners. It's really easy for me to get stuck in a rut of fixing the same meals all the time. I know how to make them, I know my family likes them, we have the right ingredients/spices already on hand, so that's what I plan on making. And then we end up eating out a lot because whatever I have planned doesn't sound good because we eat it ALL the time.
So I decided to share what I have planned out for us this week, maybe if any of you are like me and looking for some new ideas this might help. Most weeks look very similar to this, sometimes I throw in a new recipe or something, but like I said...I'm kinda in a rut. So if you have any awesome recipes to share or family favorites pass them on :)

Monday:
Lunch - Cobb Salads.  The girls will probably have a sweet potato, grapes, and cheese roll ups.
Dinner - Grilled Salmon, Penne with sauteed Green Beans, Cherry Tomatoes and Parmesan Cheese.

Tuesday:
Lunch - Tuna Salad Sandwiches, Chips, and Carrots
Dinner - BBQ Chicken, Roasted Potatoes, Corn

Wednesday:
Lunch - PB and J's, Apple Slices, Broccoli (raw)
Dinner- Enchiladas (we usually do chicken but this time it''' be beef and bean)

Thursday:
Lunch - Toasted Ham and Provolone Sandwiches (we sprinkle Little Caesar's zap pack spices on them, try it! It's very yummy!) with Pretzels and Grapes.
Dinner - Spaghetti  and Green Beans

Friday:
Lunch - Leftover Enchiladas or salads
Dinner - Mediterranean Chicken, Brown Rice and Peas
 (I've been making this for a few years, it's a recipe I found on Kraft's website. We really like it and it's easy to make. Here's the link if you want to try it out.
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/mediterranean-chicken-107266.aspx

Saturday is leftover day and Sunday we eat out after church, which ends up being a later than normal lunch so we don't ever eat a real dinner, like tonight I had popcorn  :)

 

What are you eating this week? What's one of your family's favorite meals?