A Plan for Art and Action - week 4

This week our plan fell apart. It was just a crazy week and we didn't get to do most of the activities we had intended. I'm not sure my planning is helping much, and these posts are becoming very repetitive (instead of sparking creative, new ideas).

What do you think? Should I start posting on the past week, what we actually accomplished? Or maybe start posting about individual activities?

While attending "My Gym" this week with my two kids, I noticed again how delayed my little boy is with his running skills. He "runs" (if it can even be called that) like a young toddler, even though he is three years old. This is because of weakness in his core muscles. We need to spend some more time on this in the coming months.


Gross motor development:

• Sand Box play - encourage pushing, pulling and lifting of sand filled trucks, buckets, etc.
  


• Balance on One Foot – I'm going to fill some empty bottles with colored water and have him place one foot on the bottle. It gives a little more balance, while providing a game-feel to the activity. We didn't get to this activity last week.


• Marching – to help with the coordination and strength necessary to run. “We Are The Dinosaurs” is a great song; and I'll be looking for a few others. The key to this exercise getting him to swing his arms correctly, with his limbs kept close to his body.
  

Fine motor development:

• Lacing Beads - my son was not interested in the beads last week, but I'm not ready to give up on them just yet.
  


• Cutting with scissors – cutting paper, play dough, anything with a fun texture.
  

I would love to hear what you think. As I asked above ... Should I start posting on the past week, what we actually accomplished? Or maybe start posting about individual activities?

Menu Plan Monday

I am taking a week off from menu planning this week. My husband is out of town all week and my kids don't appreciate (and rarely eat) anything I make for dinner anyway. I'll spend a week eating leftovers and peanut butter sandwiches, and making the kids whatever they will eat (pasta and veggies). The kids will still have their "new" foods to try, though.

For Meal Plan Monday this week, I'm going to finally publish a few my own original recipes that I have made in the last few weeks -- Chinese Chicken & Cabbage, Meatloaf, and Chicken Enchiladas (scroll down).

Last week, we were fairly successful with the broccoli, but my son still hated anything with bread. I'm going to try again next week with toast instead. Hopefully that will eliminate some the of "squishyness" that my son dislikes.

New "kid" foods:

• squash
  
• toast
  

Family Favorite Recipes:

Chinese Chicken & Cabbage
This is my variation of a family recipe from my aunt.

1 small head of cabbage, chopped in about 1 inch square pieces.
1 package Top Ramen noodles
3 chopped green onions
2 small chicken breasts
1 can crunchy rice noodles (or chow mein noodles)
2 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
1/3 c. olive oil
1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
1 packet seasoning from Top Ramen
Salt & pepper to taste

Slice and cook chicken. Set aside.
Boil Top Ramen in water for 3 minutes. Drain. Set aside.
Heat rice noodles in oven (follow directions on can).
Stir fry cabbage in some olive oil until lightly browned. Add small amount of water. Cover and cook to desired texture (I like to leave it slightly crunchy).
Mix olive oil, vinegar, seasoning packet.
Add chicken and noodles to the cabbage. Mix.
Pour olive oil & vinegar dressing over the cabbage. Stir until well distributed.
Top with green onions, rice noodles and sesame seeds.

~~

Meatloaf
I have been playing with this recipe for years (and am still experimenting).
This is the variation I made last week that my husband really liked.

1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 pound lean chicken sausage
1 can tomato paste
1 egg
1 package Stovetop stuffing
1 packet meatloaf seasonings

Heat oven to 350.
Mix raw meat together.
Add tomato paste and egg. Mix well.
Add stovetop stuffing mix and seasoning packet. Mix well.
Fill loaf pan. Cook in oven for 60 to 70 minutes.

To cut cooking time down to 35 to 45 minutes, you can make a ring on a cookie sheet instead. Or you can cook in muffin tins for 20 to 25 minutes.

~~

Chicken Enchiladas
This recipe was inspired by my college roommates from my senior year.
Prep time is normally about 45 minutes, but this is one of my husband's favorites, so it is worth it.

1 large chicken breast
1 box Spanish rice mix (Rice-a-Roni)
1 can petite diced tomatoes (used in Spanish rice)
1 cup cilantro, chopped
2 cans enchilada sauce
12 slices cheddar
12 slices mozzerella
6 burrito-size, soft tortillas

Make spanish rice according to package directions.
Boil chicken breast and shred. Lightly salt & pepper for taste.
Lightly grease cake pan.
Place 6 tortillas in pan, side by side in U-shape (like they would be shaped if they were crunchy taco shells).
Fill tortillas with ingredients. I use the following order:
- Spanish rice on the bottom (you will only use about half the rice)
- 2 cheddar cheese slices per tortilla
- Shredded chicken breast (evenly distribute between tortillas)
- Cilantro (use as much or little as you like)
- Pour 1 can of enchilada sauce over ingredients, distributing it evening over all the enchiladas.
Fold tortillas over, one at a time, and roll to the side to hold them closed.
Place 2 mozzarella slices on top of each enchilada.
Pour 1 can of enchilada sauce over the enchiladas.
Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is lightly browned on top.

~~

Check out other menu plan's at OrgJunkie.

Happy Monday!

Strength to Bring Down the House

Create in Me a Clean Heart - Week 12

"Then Samson called to the Lord, saying 'O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray...'"

Judges 16:28

I have been convicted this week of my negative attitude. I have not been very joyful lately. This needs to change!

I am called to walk in strength, not my strength (which is actually weakness), but HIS strength. What an amazing gift that God gives us joy and strength beyond ourselves and our circumstances!

Lord,
Remember me today and give me strength. I have faith that You will enable me to face the overwhelming tasks that I am facing. Give me strength, Lord - physically, to stay well and fit to finish my work - and emotionally, to keep healthy thoughts about it along the way. Help me to walk in your joy today, for "the joy of the Lord is my strength."
In Jesus Name,
Amen.

"Green Toys"

I just discovered a new toy manufacturer - Green Toys Inc - and it was love at first purchase. I bought a great Tea Set on sale, and now I'm hunting for other products by this great company.

• American-made - lower transportation costs and green-house gases
• Eco-friendly - made from recycled milk containers
• No BPA, phthalates or lead paint - the products pass a plethora of tests
• Great, quality toys - my kids love them

I have been looking at tea sets for weeks now, but couldn't find anything I liked. The little plastic sets felt too cheap and made me think of the landfill it would eventually occupy. The tin ones were cute, but all I could see was the possible rust (and lead-based paint) if my kids decided to use water in it. And the ceramic ones seemed a little to breakable for my youngsters. I had almost given up hope.

After picking up this set at Target on sale, I did a little more research before handing it over to the kids for play. This is an impressive company that makes a great product. Check it out.

Have you purchased from Green Toys? What do you think about them? Or about recycled toys in general?

Blitz-It Friday

Organized Everyday is hosting a new carnival called Blitz-it Friday.
If you have no idea what a blitz is, read here: the original one hour blitz and staying focused.

This week, I did not have a whole hour to blitz. Instead, I did two 30 minute sessions. I am very pleased with the amount of work I was able to accomplish, in spite of the distractions of kids.

Sorry, no pictures. I forgot about snapping a few shots until I was well into the cleaning.

First 30-minute blitz:

1. Changed the linens in the kids room
2. Sorted three loads of laundry and started one
3. Loaded the dishwasher
4. Hand-washed the pans
5. Cleaned the stove
6. Cleared off and wiped down the counters
7. Wiped down the cupboards
8. Changed the sheets in the master bedroom (the timer for the first half-hour beeped while I was finishing up the bed)

Second 30-minute blitz:

1. Cleaned the bathroom (including the toilet, sink, mirror, shower/tub, sweep & mop floor, changed linens, shake out rug)
2. Started another load of laundry
3. Swept and mopped kitchen and dining room floors (the timer beeped while I was finishing up the floors)

I had a few more things on my list to get done, but overall, this was a very successful cleaning session.

Have fun blitzing!

A Plan for Art and Action - week 3

We had so much fun last week. We ended up changing our kitchen time to activities more green for St. Patrick's Day - like green jello jigglers, green macaroni and cheese, etc.

Now that the weather is getting nicer outside, it is easier to get in some good gross motor exercise. We didn't do very well on the fine motor skills last week; my son gets very impatient with these activities because he can't do them very well yet.

My son is very excited about Brown Bear right now. For speech, we played different games around this book. I found a used Brown Bear Board Game; it is missing the instructions, so we don't know how to play the actual game but we used it to play Go-Fish and made up our own version of the game.

We also had fun with the Dinosaur song, but he had no interest in the Bear Hunt. I'm going to get a copy of the specific song they use at school; maybe that will be more familiar and more comfortable.


Gross motor development:

• Sand Box play - encourage pushing, pulling and lifting of sand filled trucks, buckets, etc.
  


• Balance on One Foot – I have a great idea for adding some variety to this. I'm going to fill some empty bottles with colored water and have him place one foot on the bottle. It gives a little more balance, while providing a game-feel to the activity.
  


• Jumping – we always love jumping.

Fine motor development:

• Lacing Beads
  


• Cutting with scissors – cutting paper, play dough, anything with a fun texture.
  

Speech development:

• "Going on a Bear Hunt" – We are going to try again using the song from school.
  


• Music and Dancing – As long as he is excited about these songs we'll keep using them. “We Are The Dinosaurs” and “The Airplane Song” from Whaddaya Think of That? by Laurie Berkner will be our primary songs. This activity is great for speech and gross motor skills.

Arts and Crafts:

• Easter Decorations - not sure exactly what we will do yet, but maybe something we can hang in the window.
  

Kitchen Fun:

• Blueberry Muffins - we are going to try these again; one of these days we will make muffins.

Enjoy your week of art and action.

Menu Plan Monday

We had a great week with our meal plan. We rearranged the order of the meals, but we actually made and ate everything on our menu.

I also really enjoyed having a plan for new foods to introduce to the kids. It worked very well. My daughter ate everything, but my son took more convincing.

As everyone may have expected, the brussel sprouts were the most challenging new food. We each took three to five bites at every meal (besides breakfast, I couldn't convince myself to eat them that early in the morning). By the end of the week, no one even questioned the full serving of brussel sprouts on their plate.

The new foods this week are going to focus more on new textures. My son has issues with textures in his food, and sandwiches are one of the things he will not eat because of the varying textures of bread and filling.

New "kid" foods:

• broccoli
• squash
  
• sandwiches
  

Menu for this week:

• Monday -- Beef & Broccoli.
  

• Tuesday -- Lasagna rolls, veggies, bread.
  

• Wednesday -- Meatloaf, roasted potatoes, veggies.

• Thursday -- Chicken & Broccoli Pesto Ravioli.
  

• Friday -- Chicken Enchiladas, veggies.
  

• Saturday -- Chinese Chicken Cabbage Stirfry.
  

• Sunday -- Leftovers.
  

Check out other menu plan's at OrgJunkie.

Happy Monday!