Menu Planning Monday

The weather has been getting cooler (and then warmer and then cooler and then warmer...thanks, Kentucky weirdo fall), but mainly cooler so I am loving making more soups and warm comfort food. 
    I have been cooking through a lot of the recipes from my new Skinny Taste cookbook. Most of those recipes are not online so I won't be able to link to them. I highly recommend the cookbook though. Everything we have tried from it so far has been delicious. You can go to the Skinny Taste blog to learn more about it and find out where to buy. 

Monday: Tonight we are eating leftovers of Pioneer Woman's Italian Meatball soup, which I made last night. I can easily feed us two times so it's a great meal to have twice in a row. It's also awesome because it has lots of vegetables in it and both boys will eat it happily. Once again, I bought pre-made meatballs at the grocery store to make preparing this a bit quicker. I served it with crunchy French bread to soak up the broth. Yum!

Tuesday: Pasta with pesto cream sauce. I made this recipe for the first time recently and really liked it. I used store-bought pesto to make things easier and also added in chicken for some protein. It was a super easy and quick dinner. I used bowtie-shaped pasta instead of whatever curly noodles are pictured. Owen called them "butterflies" and scarfed it up. And whatever Owen meal will eat quickly is a win in my book. With a simple side salad (which Owen calls "leaves" and also eats really well, surprisingly), you've got a complete meal. 

Wednesday: Aztec chicken, quinoa, and avocado soup. This soup is from the Skinny Taste cookbook. The recipe is not on her website, so I can't link you to it. There is a similar recipe though called Chicken and Avocado soup if you want to try it. It's a little bit different though and doesn't look as yummy. This soup is also surprisingly one that both my boys like to eat. I think it is warm and delicious and I am obsessed with avocado. If you had told me 10 years ago that I would love avocado this much, I would have thought you were crazy. I guess that's what happens when you become an adult. Anyway, the moral of the story is get the cookbook and make this soup. Here is a photo of the "not as good" soup.

Thursday: French bread pizza supreme. This is another Skinny Taste cookbook recipe, so no link or photos. Sorry folks. This recipe looks super easy and yummy which is imperative for the end of the week when I am just about worn out from the boys and Tim still has another day (or two, sometimes) of work. I already have some homemade marinara sauce in the freezer so I just need to thaw that out and we'll top the bread with whatever ingredients look good and have a salad for a side. 

Friday: Chicken pot pie. I have been in the mood for a nice warm chicken pot pie so that's what we'll be having to kick off the weekend. Pioneer Woman makes my favorite version. It's also great with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. And we will most likely have leftovers for lunches over the weekend. 

Saturday: Chicken rollatini with roasted vegetables and Skinny Taste house salad. This is one of the few recipes from the Skinny Taste cookbook that is on the blog as well. I really love that there is a reason to buy the cookbook because the recipes aren't on the blog. I have a Pioneer Woman cookbook and found it strange that pretty much every recipe is on the blog. Why waste the money buying the book, then? Anyhow, this recipe is really good. I will use any leftover marinara sauce we have on top and serve it with two great side dishes from the Skinny Taste cookbook (not on the blog, fyi). 

Sunday: Rustic Italian gnocchi soup. This is another recipe from the Skinny Taste cookbook (surprise!). It is not on the blog so I can't link you to the recipe. The soup includes chicken sausage, onion, celery, carrots, roasted red peppers, spinach, and basil. This will be our first time trying this recipe and I can't wait! It sounds so stinking good. 

Anyway, that's it for this week! I am searching for some new crock pot meals to make life easier, especially with Tim working so late every night. So hopefully I will have some of those next time. What are you eating this week? 

What's in my oils bag

 So after getting started with oils earlier this year, I quickly learned that I would need something special to be able to take them on the go. I have a basket that store my oils in at home in our bedroom, but I didn't have anything to put them in for when we're traveling, running errands, or out and about doing whatever. 
     I wanted something that would hold various sized bottles and fit easily in my diaper bag. I found the perfect bag on Etsy (where else?) from a shop called OurHHH, short for Our Healthy Happy Home. The best thing about her bags is that you get to choose what you want the interior to look like. You can combine several different configurations to hold sample bottles, 5 and 10 ml bottles, roll-ons, spray bottles and more. 

I chose one side to hold spray bottles and dropper bottles and the other to hold 5 ml and 10 ml bottles of oil. The little elastic pockets hold each bottle fairly well, though some have loosened since I got the bag. Either way, my bag can hold up to 12 bottles of oil, plus three spray bottles. This is perfect for holding my most commonly used and favorite oils for when we're out of the house. 

The bag is nicely cushioned and everything stays separate so that my bottles seem secure and safe from breaking or rolling all around in there. I also love the cheery turquoise color of the inside. 

In addition to my oils, i also carry a The Primary Usage Guide for essential oils that lists suggestions for what oils to use for different issues. It's easier to carry than my huge desk reference in case I need to look something up while we're out of the house. I also have a small baggie of vegetable capsules if I want to ingest any of my oils. And lastly, a pouch of Ningxia Nitro if I need an energy kick. 

 I always take Thieves hand sanitizer and Thieves spray when I go out. Thieves hand sanitizer is great for sanitizing our hands and the kids' hands if we use a public restroom or go out to eat. Thieves spray is great for sanitizing grocery carts, restaurant high chairs and more. My two homemade sprays are bug spray (using Thieves, peppermint, and Purification oils) and a Boo-boo spray (containing tea tree oil, lavender and cypress oils). 

 These are the oils that I take with me when we leave the house:

• A blue glass dropper bottle of fractionated coconut for on-the-go diluting of oils.
• Lavender: The most versatile of oils, lavender can be used for burns, various skin conditions, insomnia, nervous tension and more. It's fragrance is calming and relaxing.
• Valor: Valor is one of my favorite blends from Young Living. I typically have it set up as a roll-on so I can apply it right away, but I gave my roll-on to Tim because he wanted to have one at work. Valor contains spruce, rosewood, blue tansy, and frankincense oils. The blend was formulated to balance energies and instill feelings of courage, confidence and self-esteem. It also helps the body correct balance and alignment. It is known as the "chiropractor of oils." I think it smells amazing and I love to apply it when I am feeling anxious.
• PanAway: PanAway is a blend of wintergreen, helichrysum, clove, and peppermint oils and is used for pain of all sorts. I use mine for headaches as well.
• Allergy Roll-on: This is a blend that I made myself. It includes fractionated coconut oil, lavender, peppermint, and lemon. Lavender is a natural antihistamine, peppermint is helpful for congestion, and lemon aids with detoxing and drainage. We use this all the time in the spring and summer. 

•  Deep Relief: This is one of my favorite blends. It contains peppermint, fractionated coconut oil, lemon, idaho balsam fir, clove, copaiba, wintergreen, helichrysum, vetiver, and palo santo. Most of those oils are known for their anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving characteristics. It relieves muscle soreness and tension, sore joints and ligaments, reduce inflammation, and can also be used for headaches. The roll-on makes it super easy to apply because it's already diluted and ready to go. 
• Stress Away: This is a must-have oil for any mom of little ones. The blend contains copaiba, lime, cedarwood, vanilla, ocotea, and lavender. It is meant to bring a feeling of peace and tranquility to both children and adults and helps relieve daily stress and nervous tension. It's fitted with a rollerball so I can just roll it onto my wrists and the back of my neck when I am feeling stressed.
• TummyGize: This blend is part of the KidScents Oil Collection and contains spearmint, peppermint, tangerine, fennel, anise, ginger, and cardamom. It works so amazingly well for any sort of stomach issue and is easy to apply because it has a roller ball on it. It is blended especially for children, but works great on adults too. 
• AromaEase: This blend is brand new. It is a blend of peppermint, spearmint, fennel, ginger and cardamom. It is helpful for nausea and stomach stuff as well. Definitely a good oil to have in the car if you or your kids get carsick.
• Owie: This is another blend from the KidScents Collection. It contains Idaho balsam fir, tea tree oil, helichrysum, elemi, cistus, hinoki, and clove. It works so well for little bumps and bruises. Most recently, we used it while camping when Graham fell and bonked his head on a rock. His brow bone bruised and swelled and he looked like he'd gotten into a fight. After a few applications, the next morning he woke up and you couldn't even tell that he had fallen.
• Bite Buster: This is another blend from the KidScents Collection (can you tell that I am obsessed with that kit?). It contains Idaho tansy, citronella, and palo santo. I use it on bug bites. 

So there you have it. My favorite oils to have on hand for the most common issues we might have when we're out of the house. Most are ready to use right away so I can take care of everything from headaches to upset stomachs with all natural solutions. 

Robin Hood and a pumpkin walk into a bar...

 I don't have an ending for that joke title. I was just trying to come up with a clever name for this post and I'm tired and my brain isn't on point right now. So here is our Halloween recap for this year. The boys both had a great Halloween. We didn't get to go trick-or-treating because the weather was really bad, but they did enjoy dressing up and we had a fun Halloween play-date and my inlaws came to visit over the Halloween weekend. 

 I have had an obsession with baby pumpkins for forever. I just think there is nothing cuter than a baby dressed like a fat pumpkin. I am not entirely sure why I didn't dress Owen as a pumpkin as a baby, but I figured this was my last shot at a baby pumpkin for a while. We found this costume at TJ Maxx for $15 so it was a cheap option too! 

 Owen has been a big fan of the old Disney animated Robin Hood movie for the last several months so he decided he wanted to be Robin Hood for Halloween. I looked online for a costume, but wasn't able to find anything. In the end, a friend's mother in law sewed this costume for Owen and I am so happy with how it turned out. It fits him perfectly and is so cute! 

 Owen refused to take his costume off the day we got it in the mail. And he asks to wear it almost every day. He loves his hat and enjoys putting all sorts of things like rocks and cars in his quiver. 

 This face is what happened when I asked him to smile. It seems as if we're getting into the "weird smile" stage that every kid seems to go through. 

 Graham started running in the last week and it has become his only speed. Getting an un-blurred photo is nearly impossible because he won't stay still for long. 

 I may be biased, but I believe this is the cutest Robin Hood that ever was! 

 This pumpkin is pretty adorable too. Graham loves playing in the leaves. It's hilarious because he will crawl straight through them and roll all around in them. It's so cute! 

 This kid cracks me up. His grandparents bought him the bow so he has been practicing trying to shoot it a lot. When that fails, he likes to hit his brother with it. 

 We had a Halloween playdate with friends last week as well. The kids played out in the leaves, decorated cookies, and did a craft project. It was a lot of fun and the adult conversation was pretty awesome too! 

Graham snagged a cookie while the big boys were decorating theirs. He's sneaky. 

After making a fall wreath with leaves and acorns, the boys decorating some Halloween sugar cookies. Owen is a big fan of the sprinkles. 

 Graham tried to keep up with the big boys and playing with all the toys and eating nonstop. 

 Check out these little cuties. They get into some serious craziness together. 

 Trying to get a photo with all three boys looking at the camera was impossible. This is the best we got! 

Apple orchard fun!

Since we had a newborn last fall, we didn't take advantage of the season as well as we should so this year we I have been determined to get us out of the house on Saturdays this fall and explore some of the cool places around where we live. The weekend before last, we went to an apple orchard in Georgetown called Evan's Orchard and Cider Mill. 

The best part about the orchard was that they had a huge kids area and you only had to pay for kids 3 and up and adults and babies were free. They had so much fun stuff for Owen and Graham to do and they had a great time even though it was super cold and windy that day.  

This huge slide was one of Owen's favorite parts. I was so surprised that he readily climbed up to it and went down by himself. He's normally pretty cautious. 

They also had a petting zoo, which was fun. Here Graham is staring down a llama. 

This sandbox (for lack of a better word) of corn was also a fun place for the babe. Luckily he didn't try to eat it. 

Then we buried him in the corn. Because we're good parents like that. 

A Day in the Life of Homeschool Preschool

I started homeschooling Owen for preschool this fall and we've really been enjoying it. He is obsessed with his "school books" and is constantly taking them down off the shelf and looking through them. We are using the Sonlight program 4/5 curriculum. He's younger than they recommend, but I felt that he was advanced enough for it and really since it's basically a lot of reading and any additional activities are up to me, I'm glad I made that choice. 

On this particular day, we read through our required books based on the lesson plans that come with the curriculum. We read a few nursery rhymes, a poem or two, his favorite book - the science and nature book, and Things People Do (pictured). Each week, he learns about a different job. This week, it was a baker. So in honor of that, we baked raspberry oatmeal muffins. 

I have been trying to do more arts and crafts projects with Owen lately. I really need to help him more with his manual dexterity and doing some coloring helps. He's also always proud of his art project and gets really excited to share it off to Tim when he gets home from work. On this day, we did a craft I found on Pinterest. We collected leaves from the yard and did some leaf rubbings.

The second part of the project was to make "caterpillars" using the boys' toes (Graham got in on the action too). Owen thinks its hilarious when I use his body parts to paint different things. After they dried, we added google-y eyes, legs, and antennae and glued them to the leaves. They are the cutest. 

The caterpillars turned out really cute and we made sure to make enough to send to the grandparents. 

Next we practiced counting. I tore off the lid to an egg carton, numbered each spot, and then we practiced putting the correct number of beads in each spot. It's a super easy to put together activity and Owen really had fun doing it. 

He basically has 1-6 down, but he gets impatient with the higher numbers and tries to add several at a time. He'll get it.

Lastly, we made some muffins to go along with our lesson about bakers. This recipe is from Skinny Taste. You can find the original recipe HERE. It calls for blueberries, but we had raspberries on hand so I used those instead. They were really yummy, but Owen has issues with blueberries and raspberries so he picked them out. Sigh. Either way, he still loves to help me in the kitchen and it was a great day of homeschooling. We don't always do this many things in one day, but I try to have one or two art projects a week and a few other activities. And lots of playdates and playing outside when it's nice out.