Meal Planning

I started meal planning for several reasons, the three biggest being money, health and food waste.  Went we went from two incomes to one there were some big changes, as expected, but food was one of the biggest. It helped that we moved to the middle of no where that didn't have any good restaurants to go to.  But we definitely weren't planning appropriately, but I had the time so I needed to start! Then I got pregnant and that added a whole other layer of complications, but over the last three years I have gotten pretty good at planning our meals and budgeting for groceries.  When I go back to work in the fall I know it will be even more important for me to stay on track with planning.  The thing is I really love cooking, and I enjoy grocery shopping, and I have taught myself to like finding the deal and putting together a plan to get the most bang for my buck and making the week worry free.

I typically start planning on Wednesday for a Friday shopping trip.  Thursday is trash day so Wednesday is the perfect opportunity to get rid of anything from the fridge that is past its prime.  Also I like to give myself plenty of time so that i'm not stressed and annoyed, plus it take twice as long to do anything with a toddler around.

I like to start with planning dinners for the week because I feel like that takes the most brain power. Shop at home first! Check your freezer and panty for what you already have and see what meals you can come up with! I decide on proteins first, so what ever you have or whatever your family likes to eat.  We have chicken at least twice a week, so I always stock up on the family packs of breasts and thighs when they are on sale.  We have pasta once a week, and I have 4 or 5 recipes for ground turkey that we rotate regularly.  I buy the 2lb pack of ground turkey so that I can get two dinners with one item eg: turkey burgers and turkey tacos.  Then we buy bags of frozen fish at Costco and will have fish once a week/every two weeks.  Mahi Mahi and Salmon are our favorites and a bag of each will last us about 3-4 months.  Then I fill in with pork/steak/ground beef/specialty meals.
So a week of proteins/main dishes may be: Chicken breasts, turkey burgers, pasta, tacos, chicken, fish, pork

Once I've decided on a protein or main dish I add in sides which typically is a carb/starch and a vegetable for us.  Again, I shop my pantry for potatoes, rice, stuffing, and pasta and see what I can match up.  Then I decide on whatever veggies I want but leave wiggle room to see what looks good or is on sale at the store.  I also always keep a bag of frozen broccoli or green beans on hand because #momlife.

Then I organize the meals so they make the most sense for the week.  Making sure i'm using up the proteins at the right time and not having to defrost or freeze too many things.  I also consider left overs for lunches during the week and items I can make extra of and then have again with dinner a day or two later.  For example; I hate making mashed potatoes but they are Mark's favorite so we have them at least 1-2 times a week, so I make a double batch and then schedule the meals accordingly so that I don't have to make them twice.  Also think about what you have going on each day, when you have time to cook bigger meals and when you need an easy night.  All of this planning makes for so much less food waste!

Lastly I do a check of all our regular items, coffee, creamer, eggs, milk, etc. and I fill in for breakfasts or lunches, but that is usually covered by our staples and leftovers.

Once your list and menu are done, make sure you write it down and post it somewhere! I use a template I printed and stuck in a picture frame on my "command center" wall so I can use a dry erase marker to make changes easily.  I can look ahead at the week and plan my days accordingly, its a huge help when I need to make sure to defrost something when I can see it ahead of time so I don't forget to put it in the fridge the day before.  And when I'm having a crazy day its nice to know I don't have to think about dinner because its already planned out!  Having several tried and true recipes for each protein or type of dinner makes it so much easier to plan the week, so that you aren't reinventing the wheel but just rotating out recipes.  Then you can give yourself one or two days a week to try something new if you want!  I will be posting more of our favorite recipes on the blog soon and below are some of my go to links for planning, saving money, etc. And i've included one of my meal plans as an example :)

Free printable grocery list HERE
Ibotta referral link HERE
Printable coupons HERE

You can follow me on Pinterest for some great recipes HERE or check out the recipes I have posted (more to come soon!)
These are a few of my favorites
Vegetarian Recipe
Chicken Thigh Recipe
Pork Recipe
Ground Turkey Recipe

Weekly Menu 1
Friday: Steak, mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus
Saturday: Lemon chicken with rice pilaf and green beans
Sunday: Turkey Burgers and salad
Monday: Pork with apples and onions, mashed potatoes and broccoli
Tuesday: Turkey stuffed pepper casserole
Wednesday: Salmon with sesame noodles and bok choy
Thursday: Grilled chicken with roasted potatoes and asparagus

Weekly Menu 2
Friday: Sausage and pepper sandwiches
Saturday: Sheet pan chicken with sweet potatoes, broccoli, red onion, mushrooms and peppers
Sunday: Baked ziti with ground turkey and sausage
Monday: Spicy panko crusted pork with mashed potatoes and sautéed kale with mushrooms and onions
Tuesday: Turkey tacos
Wednesday: Balsamic grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts
Thursday: Individual Naan pizzas

I hope you find this helpful! And i'd love to hear any tips that keep you on track!

Adventures with Annie!

This is Annie.  

We bought a pop-up camper! We may be crazy or brilliant and I haven't quite decided yet but so far its been an adventure, which is exactly what we wanted.  I'm not really sure when or why we started looking for a pop-up, but suddenly we had all these reasons it made sense to do it and a crazy desire to make it happen.  One of my resolutions was for us to spend more time outside together as a family,  and on a camping trip there is an abundance of both of those things.  With our transition back to civilian life, this is the perfect way to travel back home! And also, with a young child and parents that are transitioning between school and careers, this is the perfect easy (and cheap) way to go on family vacations for years to come.  Mark's family had a pop-up when he was young and some of his favorite childhood memories are of camping trips.  How cool would it be to be able to give some of those amazing memories to our son?  To instill a love of the outdoors, a sense of adventure, and a solid foundation of a strong family.  So we started to look at some campers, and as soon as we saw this one, it felt right!  She's a 2007 Coleman Santa Fe, and is in pretty great condition, we got her from a super nice guy in Anaheim, hence the name Annie ;)  There will definitely be projects in the future, the floors, counters, painting the cabinets, replacing the cushions, so that we can really make it ours.  But I love that its still ready to go right now and we are squeezing in as many trips as possible! Heres a little tour of the inside when we first got it and on our first trip.

Its the perfect size for us and it was so much easier to camp with a toddler then I ever thought it would be. The quiet, technology-free weekend was just what we needed, (Mark's smart watch told him he slept better that weekend then he had in months).   We've got two more trips planned for May and June and tentative plans for two more this summer! Then Mark and his dad will road trip her back to the east coast and i'm already making lists of places to visit next year.  

If you had asked me 5 years ago what sort of adventures I hoped to be going on at this point in my life, I probably would have told you somewhere in Europe or the Mediterranean or fancy resorts in the Caribbean, and maybe someday those things will happen.  But I honestly could not be happier to get to explore a little closer to home with my boys in our sweet little pop-up. 

Resolutions: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

For the first time, maybe ever, I set some specific resolutions at the beginning of the year, and I was determined to see them through.  One of my first goals for the year was to reduce my plastic use. There are several reasons why I wanted to do this and I think it deserves an explanation.

It started last year around the time of the election.  And without getting too political or declaring sides, I'll say that much of the country was showing its uglier side and I was feeling small and semi-helpless.  I was feeling that there were no good options for me to really make a difference, and while I've never been the person that needed to make grand gestures, I felt like I wanted to do something to make this place a little better.  And so I started thinking, what is something that I could do on a daily basis, that might not change the world tomorrow, but could make a difference and make me feel like I was doing my part?  You see, becoming a mother has given me this need to show my son that the world is mostly good, and to raise him to be a good human, and to leave him with a planet that will still support life, and to make sure he has the chance to see how beautiful people and places can be.  But I am not a scientist or an activist or a politician, and so most days I can not make life altering decisions for this country, but I can use less plastic.  So thats where my resolution started.

The first thing we did, even before the new year, was buy reusable shopping bags.  This has been a huge help because 1. the commissary baggers like to put approximately 3 items in each bag so you can leave with a small landfill and 2. the rest of the stores in California now charge $.10 per bag and this momma does not need to pay to carry the crap home she just bought.  (We have the Grab Bags from Amazon, pretty awesome) Step two was replacing our tupperware and water bottles.  I have been so incredibly happy with this decision.  Plastic tupperware gets gross when you wash it or microwave it, it can leak chemicals into your food and it cracks.  Also our tupperware cabinet was seriously anxiety inducing.  I threw it all away, with the exception of one or two containers that were still in great condition that were in a size I would not be replacing with glass.  We now have about 10 glass storage containers that are perfectly clean and in tact, stack nicely into the cabinet and will outlast any piece of plastic we have ever owned. I have yet to use all of these containers at the same time so the wanna-be minimalist in me is feeling slightly guilty for having so many.  But thats a separate resolution...and blog post. We also bought nice new Hydroflask water bottles, which come in fun colors and keep things cold, and have made a commitment not to buy cases of water.  Then I bought a few reusable sandwich and snack bags! They are awesome and I love them so much! We have Bumkins and Planet Wise brand bags (which have the cutest patterns!) and I use them daily.  They are easy to wash and I feel like I have used so many less disposable bags.  I do still have some ziplocks because things seem to disappear when they go to work with my husband.

Lastly we started actually recycling all of our cans and bottles on a regular basis.  At the beginning of the year the base sent out a recycling guide, which made it super easy and I feel like our bags of trash have decreased so much because of this.  All these small changes make me feel like my little family is making a difference, and there have been very few changes or inconveniences in our everyday life. I hope you'll check out some of the products I mentioned because we could all stand to be a little nicer to the planet.

Two Year Old Jackson

One of the big reasons I love this blog is being able to look back and read what Jackson was doing at different ages.  And there are definitely things I want to remember about this age.

At two years and 4 months, my little guy is a feisty one!  He talks in full sentences and has started trying to use such grown up words.  He listens and repeats everything and is constantly asking "why?" or what's this?" or "what are you doing?" We talk a lot throughout the day, and occasionally I long for those days when his vocabulary wasn't quite so good ;)  But I am so proud of him, he is incredibly smart and intuitive.  He describes things as being beautiful, delicious

or amazing, he thinks every time we go somewhere its an "adbenture" which he always has to shout.  He says things like "no thanks, i'm cool" and tells me i'm his best friend.  He repeats the not so good stuff too, which is like having a giant parenting mirror in my face.  Last week he was playing by himself and started sternly asking his toys "do you hear me?!" When asked a question he likes to think about it, "ummm nope" and sometimes he drops everything and says "oh, I gotta go get something real quick" and then runs into the other room, pumping just one arm with a smug look on his face.  It makes me laugh every time.  And he can say the Pledge of Allegiance! Hearing a two year old try to say indivisible is probably the cutest thing ever.

He's afraid of a lot of things right now, which we are working on.  Loud noises startle him and he usually comes running to me telling me something is scary.  When I tell him that something isn't scary, just loud, he laughs and says "Oh yeah! Not scary! Thats just loud!" He also doesn't really like big slides at the moment.  He loves Harley, but tries to drag him around and take him for 'walks' around the house.  He always wants to play fetch with him but usually just ends up yelling at Harley to go get the ball and then he goes and gets it himself.  He adores his daddy, wants to follow him everywhere and do everything just like he does.  He pretends to mow the lawn and fix the car almost daily.  He says no, a lot. Its one of the biggest things I am working on right now, trying not to say it to him as much, and trying not to get so annoyed when he says it to me.  I have tried really hard to talk to Jackson like he's a whole person for most of his life, which I like to think has helped with his verbal skills and independence.  But man is that independence hard at times, and it can feel like I created my own little monster.

He is definitely not lacking for personality and right now he is doing everything he can to find himself and test his boundaries.  He's completely exhausting and frustrating, but wonderful and hilarious.

(Forcing me to hold onto his foot)

Back and a little better than before

Over the last year I have worked a ton on myself, and I feel like i'm at a place where i'm ready to start sharing about it.  The first year of Jackson's life was all about him, and after a year I finally decided to claim a little of myself back.  I was in new mom survival mode that first year, where I was just trying to get from one day to the next.  I was setting unrealistic parenting expectations for myself because I didn't know any better, and so much of my identity was wrapped up in being his mom.  I would still define myself first as being "Jackson's Mom" but i'm working on adding some other labels back to the mix and it is doing wonderful things for my well-being.

Last year was all about positivity for me.  There is so much negativity in the world, on the grand scale and in small everyday encounters.  One of my first changes was to focus all my energy on being positive and surrounding myself with positivity.  I started with the people I surrounded myself with, the activities I partake in, and just my general out look on life.  I made conscious efforts to think differently about people and situations and really choose which environments I wanted to be in.  This led me to some really great people, and without trying I formed deep meaningful friendships that I haven't had in years.  I also became more involved with a running group on base and really committed to it and improving my physical health.  This was so crucial in giving me a purpose outside of the mommy role, and giving me a sense of belonging.  And then I just chose to be happy.  I chose not to let so many things bother me, to not talk badly about other people or things,  to accept situations and make the best of them.  I am for sure not perfect about any of that, of course I have days where everything is awful, but there are so many less awful days.  

So if last years word was positivity then this years word is goals.  It started slowly last summer, I created a "command center" for our family.  I wanted a calendar for us to stay organized and keep track of activities, I had also started meal planning and budgeting a ton.  So to pinterest I went and now our wall is covered in things that keep our family going, a calendar, a menu, our keys, but also a few quotes and our family goals.  I love having a place to look at everyday to remind me what i'm working towards, what the day to day will actually lead to and why each one is important.  Then a friend of mine started telling me about minimalism and how her family has slowly been working on living with less.  I had been trying to declutter the house but didn't have a whole lot of focus or knowledge about how to actually do it successfully, so hearing about a movement I could research and find support for was great.  Then the new year came and while i'm usually not a resolution person, this year I was all about getting some goals on paper and really working towards something.  Some of my goals included: reducing plastic use, spending more time outside as a family, and doing more yoga.  I also made a bunch of small goals in different areas, I have minimalist goals and relationship goals, moving goals, and financial goals.  All of these things will probably show up in other posts because a lot of them I am still working on! But I have made significant progress in a lot of areas, and it feels amazing.  

So here I am ready to talk about all sorts of things, adventures, food, parenting, marriage, goals and more.  And I appreciate you being along for the ride.

Kickoff to 2016

I fell off the face of the blog earth for a while because we've had a wile few months. November was filled with family visits, celebrating Mark's 30th, the Marine Corps Ball, Thanksgiving, sickness and getting reading to move.  Then December was moving, more sickness, our baby turning one and a big trip home to see our families for the holidays!  Which brings us to January and 2016! And we're all sick again already, I blame 14 hours of travel across the country and a one year old who has no concept of personal space and likes to put things in his mouth.  Anyway, here we are, settled in our new home that I will dedicate a post to soon with pictures, and now we are trying to get back into some sort of routine.

But the real topic I wanted to write about was my son's new found toddler ways, my epic parenting win, and a serious ego check.

So Monday night I made some scrabbled egg cups to prepare for the week.  We hadn't been eating great over the holidays and I wanted to get back into some better habits. Also Jackson is starting to wean himself but isn't taking to cow or almond milk so I want to make sure he's getting everything he needs from his food. So I make these egg cups, that Jackson has loved in the past and they are packed with good stuff (eggs, turkey sausage, spinach, green onion, cheese) great easy way to get the kid to eat a good breakfast.  So Tuesday morning he eats a whole egg cup and a bunch of grapes!  Look at me! My kid is eating so well! I am super-mom! He does ok with his food for the rest of the day, cheese, a whole pear, avocado, a pouch with spinach and kale in it, yogurt, and a few bites of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Fast forward to this morning, I cut up some more avocado and another egg cup, while thinking smugly to myself that he will love this and have such an awesome balanced diet.  Well Jackson basically said a big old yeah right mom! He ate 1/4 of an avocado and 6 bites of toast with butter. He wouldn't touch the freaking egg! I'm a failure, and my kid is going to starve! Feeding toddlers is impossible! Thankfully about an hour later he ate most of a banana, two mini pancakes and half a box of raisins.  So maybe he'll live another day after all.

We have officially entered the world of toddlerhood, and I can tell its going to be a wild ride.  I will also do an update soon on all the perfect and wonderful things my genius child can do. But actually most days I feel like i'm living with a tiny Tasmanian devil who runs around throwing things, pooping and yelling in Chinese.

Promotions, Anniversaries, and first steps!

It seems as though I've been very busy with a whole lot of nothing the last few months, summer has a way of sweeping you up into a time warp.  Now that fall is here (the season, not the weather) I'm becoming busy with actual things but its making me much more focused and organized.  We've got some great stuff to look forward to in the next few months.  And we had a great thing happen last month, Mark was selected for promotion! So sometime next year, he will become a staff sergeant (E-6) which is so exciting! In part, this promotion means we get to move into a nice three bedroom house on base so Jackson and I can be closer to our friends and activities.  Mark really loves his job here, has worked exceptionally hard and has been given the opportunity to really thrive in his various roles.  I am so proud of how well he is doing and that he earned this promotion.

Next week, we will celebrate four years of marriage! I cannot believe how fast the time since our wedding has flown by. Adding Jack to our family this year has been a test and a testament to our relationship and i'm happy to say we still like each other most days.  Instead of gifts we like to try and go on a trip together to celebrate our anniversary.  This year we are heading to the Grand Canyon! I haven't been since I was little and Mark has never been, so it will be exciting to experience a beautiful new place together.  Our mini traveller will be coming along of course and I'm a little nervous about the 5+ hour car ride, but I'm trying to stay positive :) Stay tuned for lots of pictures!

And probably the biggest deal in our house lately; Jackson is mobile! In the last few weeks he has started crawling like crazy and walking along everything.  He also has taken his first few unassisted steps going between mommy and daddy!  Child proofing has happened and still I spend my entire day following him around pulling him away from things and saying "no".  It is beyond amazing to see him making these huge developmental leaps.  He also has started "talking" so much more! He has added consonants like B, P, and something that sounds like K or G or T, of course we've been failing miserably at getting him to say mama or dada.

So life is busy in a normal, happy kind of way. And i'm looking forward to that continuing in the next months.  After our anniversary, its Jackson's first Halloween then my parents will be back to visit the first week in November. Then its Marks [30th!] birthday and his mom will be here to visit, the Marine Corps Ball and Thanksgiving round out November.  Then somehow it will be December already and my baby will be one!  We've got plans to spend a bunch of time home with our families for Christmas and New Years and then hopefully moving on base when we get back!  I love Fall and the holidays that are around the corner, the weather is even starting to cooperate here in the desert! So happy fall y'all, hope its filled with happy things :)