supper planning sunday

I have officially decided to move Meal Planning Monday to Sundays. It just make more sense. I usually shop on Sundays and plan my meals for the week on Sundays, so there is no reason to wait until Monday to make the post. Plus, we live in the South and we eat supper here, not dinner.

Here's what I've got so far for the week. Recipes may or may not come to follow, seeing that I am coming up with all of this as I type.

Sunday-
Burgers on the grill. Grownups will have theirs on salads with sauteed mushrooms and onions and some shredded cheese and diced tomatoes. Kiddos shall have theirs on a bun or in a pita with sweet potato fries and baked beans. Watermelon for dessert.

Monday-
Macaroni and chick peas
I have been meaning to make this and post pictures/recipes for awhile now, but with our beach trip it just never happened. I will make it happen this week!

Tuesday-
Sweet tea pork chops on the grill, corn on the cob and onion potatoes.

Wednesday-
Cheese tortellini and salads

Thursday I leave for NY with my mom. Super dad is flying solo... well not really. Mimi is coming in town to help out, so I'm sure dinner at their favorite pizza place is in store for at least one night, possibly some Annie's mac and cheese will be thrown in there and who knows what else! They will survive! Plus there are sure to be some left overs floating around!

I also really want to make these muffins this afternoon. Strawberries are on sale and we have VBS this week which means we will be out the door early every morning... muffins travel well in the car!

So, what will you be eating this week? Leave me a comment and let me know! Share a great recipe with me! I am all about trying new things!

neutral baby bedding.... where art thou??

I ran up to our local baby shop today to get an accessory for my new stroller when I stumbled across this baby bedding. To say I'm in love with it is an understatement. I really want to do the new baby's nursery in a pretty yellow since we have white bead board half way up the wall. I also really want to do something very different than I have done in the past.

We didn't find out the gender with Bubbie and I did his room in light green and white. When he was born I added lots of baby blue accents to his room. We did find out with Sass and since she was a girl, I went all out, bubble gum pink and super girly! This time I want to do something unpredictable. I want yellows and reds and blues or turquoises maybe even some oranges. I don't want trucks or butterflies or any kind of pattern like that. And this bedding I saw today totally fit the bill.... minus the FLORAL print!! So forget the floral print for a minute and let's chat about the other ways I love this bedding, like the accessories....

How stinkin' cute is this mobile??

And these picture frames are to die for, I mean seriously so cute!

But my all time favorite is this diaper stacker! I am dying over it! How many cloth diapers could I shove in there??


Really bedding designers, is it that hard to come up with gender neutral bedding that doesn't have monkeys, jungle animals or ABC's on it?

potty training woes

I just wrote the longest heartfelt post about potty training and totally lost the whole thing.... ugh.
I will try and recreate it, but we'll see if it comes out the way I wanted it to.

I am a firm believer in early potty training. I believe our children are totally capable to learn this skill way earlier than society now gives them credit for. People actually think I'm crazy for attempting to potty train my 2 year old, but I know she is smart enough to learn this skill and believe that the habit of going in a diaper is going to be harder to break if she gets to practice it for another year.

All that being said, even though I introduced the potty at just around a year, we didn't really start training until right after Sass turned 2. Bubbie was just over 2 1/2 when we trained him and he picked it up so quickly. Sass isn't getting it quite as quick, but still doing great!

For the first week I put her in pull ups and sat her on the potty a lot. We didn't have very many successes but she was getting the concept. About a week or so later she started wearing panties at home and learning from our accidents. She still wore pull ups out and about but I would take her and she started to actually use public in potties (gross!!). After about another week we transitioned to full time panties. There have been lots of accidents but also lots of successes.

Here is where potty training stinks. I don't know if I'm the only mom that feels this way, but it is so personal to me. I feel so happy and proud of her successes and crushed when she has an accident. I end up putting my worth as a mom into how well she is doing.

Am I a better mom the days she has no accidents? Don't I deserve a gold star? A pat on the back? Am I not as good of a mom on the days she tinkles through three pairs of panties in a row? Am I not paying her enough attention? Am I too busy to catch her and help her learn? Should I just slap a diaper back on her?

Washing panties, wiping up tinkle... those are the easy parts. It's the stress I put on myself that makes potty training so hard.

The good news is as quickly as I get down on myself when she has an accident, I turn it around when she has a success. Each day is a new day and before I know it this will be another stage of her babyhood that is gone. Another step towards her being a big girl. So for today I'm going to enjoy her and her cute toddler self for what she is, tinkle on the floor and all.

name that photo - now edited!!

It's time to put on your creativity caps and name this photo! Leave me a comment with a great caption for this picture and I will post a winner on Friday night. You have until 8pm EST Friday night to come up with a great title for this picture. It's time to unlurk if you've been reading and not commenting! I'm not sure yet if there will be a prize to this or just a big congratulations. I have to wait and see what I can come up with, it may be something great though so name away!

yum

Tonight we opted to stay in. We cooked dinner here and let the kids swim a little extra before bed. Then the grown ups stayed up late playing domino's. To end our supper in I wanted to bake a little treat for the me.. umm.. I mean the kids, but obviously was limited in what I could produce not being in my own kitchen.

I ran to the grocery store earlier today and I found these yummy cookies from Immaculate Baking Co. These break and bake cookies are not only super easy and yummy but way better for you than the traditional break and bake cookies. They are made from organic ingredients and have no HFCS or trans fats in them. Super delicious and very convenient to keep on hand for when you are in a pinch. I baked a dozen tonight and still have a dozen to bake another day as they pack came with two dozen.

While I opted for triple chocolate chip cookies tonight, Immaculate Baking Co. has numerous delicious flavors. Super Dad love the oatmeal raisin and I would love to try out the Cranberry Oatmeal White Chocolate! Yum! If you can't find Immaculate Baking Co. Products in your local grocery yet don't fret! You can also order them online!

splish splash

Sass is having a blast!


We are actually all having a great time here at the beach. Bubbie has discovered boogie boarding and spends hours in the waves. Although this morning he declared that he will no longer be getting his hair wet while at the beach. When asked why, he very matter of factly told me " so I don't have to take any more showers here". Silly boy! Chlorine and salt water don't account for bathing.... well at least not on a daily basis.

Sass isn't so interested in getting into the "big" ocean, but she loves the little one... AKA a puddle that seems to form every night and is perfect for her to splash in. She also continues on being the master of disaster. She can hardly contain herself as you build a sandcastle because she so eagerly awaits smashing it into smithereens!

Last night we ate at this super yummy brick oven pizza place, then went for ice cream. It was also our maiden voyage in the Phil and Teds. Bubbie is truly too big for a stroller but wanted to ride anyway and Sass loved sitting underneath, not nearly though as much as she loved kicking the top seat where Bubbie was trying to relax and enjoy his ride.... good thing she doesn't get to stay down there too much longer! I loved the stroller though. Who knew I could push 70 lbs of kids around so easily with just one hand if need be!! I'm happy with my investment!

Well, the kiddos are headed to go see the dolphins. Guess I need to go throw on a suit!

swim diaper solution

We have had a swim diaper dilemma with Sass. She is so super tiny that we have had some embarassing swim diaper moments in the past. I started trying the traditional disposable swim diapers last summer and had a few blow outs in pools which is by far the most mortifying experience I have had ever as a mother. Especially when the blowouts where not the type that could easily be scooped out. I was really hoping that now she is a year older we would have outgrown this problem, but I quickly learned during our March Disney trip that we had not! YUCK! She isn't even leaking out the side which is what you would expect, yet the top because the waist bands just aren't tight enough.

I have spent the last few weeks reading and researching cloth swim diapers just not sure if any of them would work. I picked up an I Play swim diaper at Bab ies R Us to give a try. It was cheap and I didn't have to order it so I could have it in time for our trip. Well I am happy to say........ it works! It's much tighter than the disposable ones around her waist and theighs so it contains much better. I do feel bad that she has some marks from the elastic but they don't seem to bother her at all. Several online diaper stores sell these too, but I love that I can run to Target or Babies R Us to pick up some more.

Sass has been a little fish running between the pool and the ocean along with Bubbie who has discovered boogie boarding and loving it!