A Bit More About the Meal Planning

One or two people have expressed curiosity about my monthly meal plan so tonight I figured out how to share it; click the image below and you should get to a Google doc that is big enough to actually read. You'll see that I made several little notes to myself, like a reminder that the Italian sausage I need for one dish is in the freezer (because we had extra when we cooked sausage for pizza). I try to be efficient with my ingredients and this month especially I tried to use up older freezer and pantry stuff when I could.

We are already a bit off what I planned; we have lots of leftover pasta sauce from our annual Tubaphonium Back to School party last night. So we'll eat pasta an extra night or two; might not eat soup from the freezer this next week. No big deal. It's been nice to look at the plan and know that 95% of the ingredients are in the house and I don't have to worry about when to fit in a trip to the store.

On the topic of efficiency/saving money like you were wondering about, Megan, I think the number one way I'll save money by planning and shopping monthly is that I did the big shopping trip at Aldi. So many staples are so much cheaper there but often in the past I haven't gone because I wanted to go one place and get everything I need. But now I know I can get most things at Aldi once a month, then the stuff Aldi doesn't have in our quick trips to the regular store for milk and produce.

If anybody out there wants to try this kind of shopping, I really recommend going to Raising Arrows and reading her posts about monthly shopping. I made my own master grocery list and despite its massive size, I found it easy to use and helpful for making sure I didn't miss anything at the store that we would need during the month.

Mommy Thoughts

It is the time of year that always fills me with a bit of sadness and a bit of anxiety: Zach's return to school. His summer is gloriously long and although he does quite a bit of work from home, there are so many hours for playing with the family that sometimes we almost forget that he has a job. But Indiana has filled up overnight with college students, our evenings are accompanied by the sounds of the IUP Marching Band...it definitely feels like school time again.

I know I have been unusually blessed to have had my husband home so much in the twins' early months and I have always known that that would come to an end, of course. The end of each summer with a new baby has been filled with thoughts of "how will we do without Daddy?" but naturally things seem a bit more extreme this time around. But as I was saying to a friend at church this morning, this is just the start of a "new normal." It may take us awhile to figure out exactly what the new normal should look like, but we'll make it somehow.

Practically speaking, lots of things have to be different in our new normal. For example, it is all but impossible to take four kids grocery shopping when two of the kids are four month old babies. I suppose if I was really desperate I could put one baby in my Baby Bjorn, the other in his car seat in the cart, and have Esther and Austin walk...sounds a little crazy to me. (I have visions of Austin and Esther gleefully chasing each other around the store while I stare at the shelves unable to remember what I want because I'm so distracted by my crazy kids.) So weekday shopping like I've always done will probably not be part of our routine anymore.

I found a blog called Raising Arrows a few weeks back that has been enormously helpful as I've been thinking through the practical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of our new season. Amy, the mom who writes it, has more children (and wisdom) than me and her blog is full of good advice for managing a large family and keeping Christ at the center of it all. One specific idea I've gleaned is monthly meal planning and shopping. I have a few friends who do this but it had never seemed like a good idea til now. I dislike after-bedtime and weekend shopping so the thought of always shopping at those times depressed me, but one big weekend trip per month...that I thought I could handle. So I spent part of a few evenings planning and yesterday was the big shopping day. Now my pantry and freezer are stuffed, the month's meals are posted on the fridge...we'll see how it goes! We'll still need to make some small trips for stuff like milk of course but I don't mind running out in the evening for that.

The other thing that's been on my mind is my cleaning routine, or rather lack of a routine. Last year I made a neat little schedule with tasks for each day and I was actually pretty good at sticking to it. That lasted a month or two, then I got pregnant with the twins and all semblance of a routine ended. I can now tell you definitively that nothing really bad happens if you go a long while without dusting. Or cleaning the bathroom. Or mopping the kitchen. :) But to be serious, I desire a clean home and I want to get back into a routine that will help us achieve a clean home. So I ordered a pocket chart and am making a chore chart that will include myself and the two big kids. I have felt for awhile that it is time to give Austin a few more responsibilities but I haven't felt good at coming up with age-appropriate tasks. However, I taught him how to Swiffer Vac the dining room and kitchen the other day and he loved it. Score one for me and the house! Esther's part will mostly be stuff like putting away her pajamas and brushing her teeth, but with the craziness of twins going on, some days I need a reminder to even take care of the basics like that.

Sigh. It is getting late and Zach and I are hoping/needing to get up earlier tomorrow. So off to bed I go and so begins the new normal!

Another Month Gone Already?

Goodness, I was doing so well at blogging for awhile and then what happened? Got on a roll, I guess, and then off it again!

So what have we been up to? Let's see...Zach took the big kids to the zoo. I stayed home with the babies because I would have spent about 50% of the trip nursing. Not worth it. But apparently it was a good trip.

Elephant in the background. I wonder what Esther is looking at.

The aquarium was the real highlight of the day.

 There have been several more attempts at group shots. This one is a little blurry but otherwise not bad.

In the last couple weeks I feel like I've started seeing differences in the twins' faces. When I pulled this picture up tonight, I guessed correctly who was who.

But in case you didn't, here's the cheat sheet.

Probably our most significant activity of the last month was a weekend trip to Virginia for a wedding, that of Zach's longtime friend James. We stayed in a nice Homewood Suites that had plenty of room for us and all four kids. (Napping twins in one room, playtime in the other--awesome!)  Zach was away with the other groomsmen for part of Friday so the kiddos and I were left to amuse ourselves. Good thing we had a hefty supply of stickers.

Here is how Esther plays with stickers. 1) put stickers on paper. 2) take them
off and put them on legs or feet. 3) take them off again and put them on the floor.

 Then Daddy came back and more hotel fun was had.

Soccer-bowling with duplo pins--it's the next big thing.

And finally the wedding. It was a beautiful, Christ-exalting ceremony and a fun, family-friendly reception. James and Kat, we are so happy for you!

The reception was getting started right around naptime so Esther found a
nice spot for a snooze.

Then it was back to Indiana with Zach's parents and grandfather, who had come out east for the wedding. Our visit was unfortunately marred by nearly all of the adults spending some time under the weather (and perhaps explaining why I have no pictures of Pops--he had it pretty bad), but the kids stayed healthy and loved every minute they could get with their grandparents.

Gran made hats for everyone! Esther especially loves them and sees them as
all-weather apparel.

So that, more or less, is what we've been up to this month. Zach goes back to work for real next week and I will be responsible for these four little people 8+ hours a day. Gulp.