Menu Plan - week of Dec.3rd

A little bit late...


Monday
Chili
Salad

Tuesday - the hubby is out, so breakfast for dinner!
banana buttermilk pancakes
fruit

Wednesday
Tilapia with sundried tomato and artichokes
rice with carrots and celery
asparagus

Thursday
pecan chicken
roasted sweet potatoes
salad

Friday - tonight we have my son's Christmas concert for nursery school, so we need something quick and easy!
pasta with grilled chicken and artichoke pesto

Saturday
Tex-Mex Gooey casserole
salad

Menu Plan - week of Nov.26th

Monday
leftover pasta and sauce...yummy!

Tuesday
chicken-curry-in-a-hurry

Wednesday


Thursday

Friday

Saturday
Beef braised roast with mashed potatoes

Sunday
-going to a birthday party

like nothing was wrong

So, when my husband went to his mom's house he rang the doorbell and no one answered. He opened the door and called for him mom, but still no answer. He assumed that she went out and he decided to go in and start loading up his stuff. He said he was there for about 30 minutes going through his boxes in the basement before she appeared. She has been sleeping upstairs and didn't hear him come in, was her excuse. She acted like nothing had ever happened. No mention of the email, nothing.

When my husband was getting ready to leave she finally said "can I have a hug or are you still mad at me?"

My husband said "you can have a hug, but yes, I'm still mad."

She didn't understand why?

So, he said "mom, did you keep a copy of that email you sent to us?"

She said she had. He said "well, that is why."

She went on to explain that he had to understand why she wrote that email. My husband said to her that he didn't think even she understood why she would write something like that to us. And, that a tiny fraction of truth existed in some of her comments so that if you didn't know the actual history you would find her story quite believable.

She didn't have too much to say about that.

In the end he got into the loaded mini-van and said to her "the sad part about all of this is that my wife was the one that kept me communicating to you all of this time" and he drove off without looking back.

I know he feels sad about the whole situation because he can be a very sensitive person who also has quite a guilty conscience. He has taken so much emotional abuse from her over the years but feels like he can not take his mother treating his wife so terribly.


I really do hope she gets some help.

Here we go again...

Tomorrow, my hubby is going to visit my MIL to go and pick up the stuff in her basement. She has already asked for pictures of the kids in one of her responses back to my husband confirming the time he will be going.

I can ONLY imagine the kind of guilt-trip and other nonsense that she will inflict on him when he goes to pick up his stuff tomorrow. I have told him that he can take the kids for a brief visit to see her on his own if he wants to. I will have no part in it until she apologizes for being so mean and hurtful.

My husband is going alone tomorrow, so we'll see what happens!

Menu Plan - week of Nov.19th

Monday
The hubby is at a meeting, so we are having pancakes!

Tuesday
Tex-Mex Gooey casserole
salad

Wednesday
chicken stew with dumplings

Thursday
pecan chicken
roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes
asparagus

Friday
left overs

Saturday
oven braised beef with beer
mashed potato
salad

Sunday - Grey Cup
My FIL and step-MIL are coming over for dinner and bringing yummy homemade spaghetti sauce. So, we'll make the pasta, a salad, garlic bread and dessert!

Menu Plan - week of Nov.12

We are finally in to our new home and mostly have our kitchen set up now. I have the essentials unpacked and am able to cook again. We are just waiting for our counter tops and a few other odds and ends for the builder to install.

I also got a new dishwasher and over-the-range microwave convection oven which are great. I am excited to use the convection oven since I have never had one before!


Monday
chicken and dumplings
asparagus

Tuesday
Chicken meatloaf with red pepper sauce
cauliflower au gratin
mashed potatoes (I made a double batch to use in Wednesday's meal too)

Wednesday
Sheppard's pie
salad

Thursday
tuna casserole - my hubby's grandmother's recipe - I have never made a tuna casserole before, so we'll see how it goes!
salad

Friday
Tilapia with artichoke and sundried tomatoes
salad
rice

Saturday & Sunday - TBD

Interesting email

So, when I got up today, my hubby said he received and interesting email and asked me to guess who it was from. My first guess was our builder. Wrong. I thought about it for a minute and then said "your mom?". Correct!

Apparently, after not speaking with us for months due to the nastiest, meanest most hurtful email I have ever received, she decided to send my hubby another email. She said that she is trying to organize her house and needs him to come and get some of his old memorabilia out of the basement. She has talked to him about this in the past (when we were talking) and he has gone before, looked through the basement, and the majority of the stuff was his brother's or his dad's. Both of them have nothing to do with her either, but the way.

I digress. The email went something like this....You must be enjoying your new home by now. I am organizing and need you to come get your stuff out of the basement. If I don't hear from you by the end of November then I will assume you don't want the stuff and will throw it out.

So he replied that we would like to come get the stuff but is busy for the next 2 weeks and asked when he could come.

She said anytime is fine but give her a call first to make sure she is home.

The kids and I are NOT going. He is just going to go, pick up the stuff and leave. Until she acknowledges her behaviour and apologizes I will not be seeing her. I doubt that will happen since she hasn't apologized properly to her other daughter--in-law for over 10 years now...hence why they don't talk.

I feel like this email giving my hubby an ultimatum to get his stuff is typical of her usual passive-aggressive nature. She wants to get him there so she can make him feel bad about not speaking...even though it was her fault.

It will be interesting to see what happens in 2 weeks when he goes to get the stuff!

Menu Plan - week of November 5th

Well, this week should be interesting. I don't think I am going to plan too much since we are moving in to our new house on Thursday. Finally! We will probably get take-out a few times since I'm not sure when we will get the kitchen unpacked and our appliances ready to use.

Monday
homemade chicken burgers and a salad

Tuesday - we get the house

Wednesday - TBD

Thursday - MOVING DAY

Friday - TBD

Saturday - TBD

Sunday - TBD

Review: Yummy Meatloaf!

Last week I tried a recipe for Meatloaf and it was so yummy! It called for ground turkey but I substituted ground chicken. It was so easy to make. And, the red pepper sauce was a really nice alternative to the usual tomato or ketchup that a lot of meatloaves call for. I will definitely make this one again.

On the other hand, the buttermilk mashed potatoes were nothing special.

Food review

I thought I should probably follow up with a review of new recipes that I have tried. Last week I tried two new recipes:

Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs (November issue of Canadian Living)
- really liked this recipe. It was a bit time-consuming so it might be a good idea to do the "make-ahead" parts the day before (when the kids are in bed) and then just heat it up before dinner time. My hubby liked it but thought I should put in a lot less carrot next time.

Baked 10 Grain cereal (November issue of Canadian Living)
-I really like this recipe too. It came out of the oven looking nice. All of the apple bits were browned on top. I took a picture and will upload once I have access to my computer again. The rest of the family liked it too, except for my hubby. He thought it was like eating horse-feed due to all of the grains.

Menu Plan - week of October 29th

Again, I am only going to do a 5 day menu plan. Right now, the weekends are a bit hard to plan for. It depends on whether my hubby is working and what the rest of my family is up to. I will start doing 7 day plans once we are in our own house.

Monday
every man for himself!!!! The kids were hard to deal with this afternoon

Tuesday
Dijon chicken with carrots
rice cooked in chicken broth

Wednesday - Hallowe'en
I am going to make it easy for everyone to just grab something
Turkey Meatloaf with Red Pepper Sauce
Fluffy Buttermilk mashed potatoes
cauliflower & broccoli (Maybe with cheese sauce)

Thursday
pasta with artichoke pesto and grilled chicken
green salad

Friday
oven braised beef with beer
mashed potatoes
green salad

Saturday & Sunday - TBD

Our builder - part 3

continued....

I told our builder rep "according to the Tarion New Home Warranty program, we are entited to $100/day if we were not given proper notice."

She said "that is only if we delayed you more than 120 days past your original closing date."

I said "no, you were suppose to give us notice IN WRITING 35 days in advance of the delay if it is going to be more than 5 days."

She replied "that is neither here nor there."

Um, it is VERY here or there to me and my family!!!!!!

We then had a conversation where she said that they could move us in with a working kitchen sink and toilet without the rest of the house being completely finished. She also wanted to know why we couldn't stay in our existing house.

I explained that our house was sold and closing on Oct.3rd, that we had 2 small children under the age of 2.5 years old, that moving them twice was extremely disruptive to our lives and that having everything we own in storage was expensive and an inconvenience. She explained how they COULD move us in without the kitchen, but we wouldn't want that.

GAME ON!!!!!!!!

I felt like she was threatening us and decided to call her bluff. I told her that we weren't completly adverse to moving in 5 days later than our closing date and she should communicate to our lawyers. It turns out that they were trying to sneak the paperwork by us saying that we mutually agreed upon Nov,6th. If we signed the paper, we wouldn't receive any compensation.

Since then we have been going back and forth with our lawyers. We went by the house and they did put in temporary cabinets (one set) in the kitchen, just enough to hold a sink with a a piece of wood for a counter top. We talked to the construction supervisor (who is quite nice) and he said that for some reason someone at head office seems to have it out for us. He was told to make it "livable" for us so they could force us in. He hated the idea of that because it would then take 6 months to finish the house as they would always have to book appointments to do anything.

After much back and forth we told our lawyer that we would settle for our actual costs incurred as a result of the delay and would not seek the $100/day if they could move us in, house complete, by November 6th.

On Friday we heard that now the kitchen cabinets look like they are delayed again, so now we have no idea what is going to happen. Our lawyer is away this week, so hopefully we will have some answers next week.

Menu Plan - week of October 19th

Monday
homemade mac and cheese
salad

Tuesday
pecan chicken ( I swear this is my little guy's favourite! He eats a whole chicken breast)
roasted sweet potatoes
fresh steamed green beans

Wednesday
chili
buns


Thursday
rice pilaf
something on the BBQ - I'll see what looks good! Maybe marinated chicken breasts.
spinach salad


Friday
Baked rigatoni and meatballs (November issue of Canadian Living magazine)
salad

Saturday
I'm not sure what we will do for dinner _ I have to see what the whole family is up to.
I am going to make the "apple raisin baked 10-grain cereal" for breakfast (from November Canadian Living magazine)

Sunday
Same as Saturday - have to see what is happening with everyone first!

Menu Plan - week of October 15th

This week should be a fairly simple one because I won't be cooking either Friday or Saturday. I'm going away for the weekend with the kids.

Monday
Stew that my mom made on the weekend

Tuesday
Dijon chicken with carrots ***I didn't get a chance to make this recipe last week***
Long grain rice (cooked in chicken broth)
Asparagus

Wednesday
Roasted pork tenderloin and roasted vegetable medley
Israeli couscous

Thursday
Sausage paella
green salad


Friday
-no cooking ---in the States

Saturday
-no cooking - - - in the States

Our builder - part 2

When he finally reached the person we were suppose to be talking to, she didn't really have a good answer. She basically said that they just found out that very day that we were going to be delayed (which wasn't true). My husband asked her about compensation due to them not giving us proper notice in writing and she told us we needed to contact Tarion (the new home warranty program). She also mentioned that we were now looking at a November closing, but couldn't give us a proper date.

Since we didn't hear back from her, we decided to call and leave her messages every day for several days until she finally returned our call. I don't usually like being a pest, but we needed to schedule things with the movers, the bank, utilities, etc.! She finally left us the date of November 6th. We called back and left a message indicating that we would like it in writing. She said that due to the fact that it was so close to our old closing date, she would need it drafted by their lawyers and have it sent to our lawyers. Whatever, just do it!

A few days later our lawyer received the letter/fax. He was concerned that the wording saying that we "mutually agreed upon the new date" would prevent us from receiving compensation if we signed it. We called everyone including the buidler, Tarion, a friend who is a real estate agent, etc looking to see if this was true.

The first person to call us back was the rep from the builder. I answered the phone. She mentioned that my husband had left a message expressing some concern over the fax that they had sent to our lawyer with the new date. I said to her "yes, we are concerned that if we sign it that we will not get any compensation for the delay."

She said "What compensation do you think you are entitled to exactly?!" As soon as I heard those words out of her mouth, I knew we were in for some problems!

to be cont...

Menu Plan - week of October 8th

Right now we are staying at my mom's house with limited fridge space, so meal planning will be more of a 5 day routine.

Monday
Leftover turkey, potatoes and veggies....yum!

Tuesday
Chili, green salad and garlic bread

Wednesday
Homemade mac & cheese
spinach salad with homemade honey-mustard dressing, toasted pecans and apple slices

Thursday
Dijon chicken with carrots (new recipe from this month's Canadian Living magazine)
long grain white rice cooked in chicken broth

Friday
Fettucine Verona (fresh noodles with chicken, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes and cheese)

Saturday
Going to my FIL and step-MIL's for dinner.

Sunday
My b-day, so no cooking for me!

Our builder - part 1

Honestly, I am really having bad feelings towards our builder. I expected delays and a few issues here and there, I think that is just "par for the course" with a new home. What I didn't expect were the lies, lack of communication and threats that we have been dealing with.

Our original move in date was set for August 1st. Through the Tarion New Home Warranty Program the builder needs to give you notice in writing 60 days in advance if they are going to delay you more than 35 days. We received notice in writing exactly the amount of days they needed to. Fine, whatever. We had an offer on our old house and the potential owners were agreeable to that closing date.

Our new move in date was set to October 3rd. And, guess what, we're not in our new house. And, we aren't exactly sure when it is going to happen.

About a month ago we went to our new house, as we usually do, to poke around and see the status. While in there we noticed that at couple of upgrades we had paid for weren't done. We found the construction supervisor and told him about them. While talking to him he said "so you heard you guys are delayed again?" Um.....no! He said he told the head office a month prior that our kitchen was going to be delayed from the supplier. No one told us! We got all of the upgrade issues straightened out and my husband called the head office to ask about our latest delay and why no one notified us (they have to give you 35 days notice in writing if they are going to delay you more than 15 days).

To be continued.........

menu planning

I actually did a menu plan last week that centred around using as much as I could from our cupboards, freezer and fridge. It worked fairly well, but we did end up trashing it a couple of days when things just got too busy.

I am going to wait until next week to start again. We jus need to get settled in my mom's house this week, plus it is Thanksgiving and we have a couple of dinners to go to.

bad blogger

I have been so bad at blogging lately. Usually I find blogging
somewhat therapeutic, however, I've just been too busy lately to be
able to sit down and write. Also, I feel a little guilty spending
time on the computer when there has been so much to do!

I am sitting here relaxing tonight even though we are moving on
Wednesday and we haven't finished packing yet! But, there is not much
I can do. The kids and I have moved into my mom's house (as of
yesterday) and there are in their beds. My mom and step-dad aren't
home yet, so I am here with the kids. My hubby is home so he can get
some sleep for work and to watch the house. Not a wise idea to leave
a packed house unattended...makes it to early for burglars.

I am going to do a couple of posts tonight to try and catch up a little!

No news is good news

Well, we still haven't heard from my MIL, which is good. I think she may be out of the country right now. If I remember correctly, she was going to visit her sister this month. Since we will be moving out of our current house in 2 weeks and our home phone number will be disconnected for a month or so, it should be interesting to see if she tries to contact us at all.

I told my husband that I am viewing this situation as a type of break. I would feel too guilty never speaking to her again, however, I don't intend to talk to her again soon. I deserve a break from the abuse for a little while (at least). My husband isn't so sure he wants to talk to her again anytime soon. So, we'll see what happens.

The reality is that I hardly think about her or the situation right now at all. We are getting ready to move and are having the kids christened next weekend. So, those things, plus everyday activities are keeping me busy.

Menu Plan - 7

Thursday
Dinner at my mom's house.

Friday
BBQ sausages & salad

Saturday
Chili, baguette and salad....it is suppose to be cold out, so it felt like a comfort food kind-of-day.

Sunday
Fettuccine Verona

Monday
Pork Chops with raspberries, roasted sweet potatoes, green beans

Tuesday
Pan seared Tilapia with Almond Browned Butter, rice pilaf, asparagus

Wednesday
Gnocchi and meat sauce, salad

Dream Girls

The hubby rented this movie the other night for me. Lately, we have been watching more guy movies, which I like, but I kind of wanted something a bit different. I thought the movie was good, but not great. Certainly not worthy of all of the hype it received. In particular, I wasn't too keen on the fact that it turned into a musical sometime around the middle of the film. I know that it was a music-driven movie, but I was kind of surprised when it changed format and all of a sudden everyone was singing about their feelings. I like musicals, but it wasn't really what I was looking for!

Menu Plan - week 6

Wednesday
spaghetti....I know, boring.


Thursday
store bought roasted chicken and potatoes

Friday
BBQ steak, roasted sweet potatoes and salad

Saturday
peameal bacon, eggs, homefries and fruit (what can I say...I love breakfast for dinner!)

Sunday
roasted tilapia with artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes, rice

Monday
Pork loin roast, asparagus, rice pilaf

Tuesday
Chicken shnitzel, Israeli couscous, green beans

Wednesday
curry-in-a-hurry, steamed rice

bedtime

I didn't have a horrible day or anything, but I was so glad when the kids went to bed tonight. There are some days when I am really looking forward to it (by dinner time) and today was one of those days. I started my day at 6:20 and didn't have ANY time to myself all day. The kids didn't nap at the same time at all. Plus I am so busy trying to get things done for our upcoming move.

The funny thing is, whenever I am glad to see them go to bed, I am equally happy to see them again in the morning. It is just that I need (and deserve) a little me time/down time before I go to bed!

Menu Plan - week 5

Sunday
My hubby is making me dinner...steaks, I think.

Monday

fresh gnocchi and meat sauce (bought from a place that makes yummy pasta)

Tuesday
Leftover steak and chicken
Roasted sweet potatoes
corn


Wednesday
East Indian curry-in-a-hurry
basmati rice
Naan bread

Thursday
Pecan chicken
asparagus
Rice pilaf

Friday
Italian sausages on a bun
corn on the cob
spinach salad with raspberry vinaigrette

Saturday
TBD - we might be going out

Sunday
Pork Loin Roast
Sweet Potatoes (not sure how yet)
Peas

Monday
Pasta with artichoke walnut pesto and grilled chicken breasts

Clothes

Here is an excerpt from her email as some background. This is the end of her email. It was actually almost 3 pages long...filled with nastiness and lies.

I have often bought what I thought were lovely clothes for both your son and daughter , never had a chance to see them on them, never heard if you liked them and certainly never was sent pictures of them wearing what I bought for them. That is negligent and rude and thoughtless. Have either of you ever thought how your behaviour must make me feel, even more importantly do you even care? I'm sure you both pride yourselves on how civilly and graciously you treat even perfect strangers, yet you give no thought to how you treat me. Your behaviour should make you both feel very ashamed.

I would like to clear up what she says about the clothes. She has bought my son a few outfits. She has seen him in them and I have sent her pictures of him a couple of the outfits through email (and I actually still have a copy of the email!!!!) I think she has maybe bought him one pair of pants in the last year. She has only ever bought my daughter 3 sleepers and a picture frame since the day she was born...almost 8 months ago. So, I'm not sure what "outfits" she is talking about!

Here is what I would like to say back to her (from my what I would like to send but won't document)...

I loved how you talked about how "generous" you are in the email. You did help us out financially with the wedding, for which I am grateful. However, you really do not even remotely understand the concept of gift giving. Let me explain it to you. When you choose to give someone a gift, it is because you want to do something nice for someone and you generally do not expect anything in return, expect a simple thank you. You, on the other hand, only give gifts to obtain recognition or to force your taste/opinion on someone. I have never seem someone make such a big production out of giving the smallest of items. My mother probably buys outfits for the kids on a weekly basis and I always thank her. She never makes me feel bad or demands "pictures" of the kids in the outfits. She is truly a generous and giving person though, unlike yourself.

No update

Since we received the lovely email from my MIL we have had no contact with her...thank goodness. In order to relieve some of the anger I was feeling, I wrote a response. It has everything that I have been feeling contained in it. I decided not to send it to her though. I think it will be more irritating to her if we just don't respond to her at all. Even though I didn't send the email, I feel vindicated.

I have entitled the document "What I would like to send, but won't………"

re-usable bags

I just have to say how much I love the new reusable grocery bags that most of the grocery stores are selling now. We have bought 5 of them from the Superstore and I love them. Usually when I go grocery shopping I have about 12 plastic bags to cart in. Today we only had the 5 reusable ones and one plastic bag that was only half full. It makes loading and unloading them from the car so much better. And, it is better for the environment, of course!

The Fallout

My MIL has really outdone herself this time! After the incident a week ago she phoned us on Friday and asked why she hadn't heard from us and wondered when we were going to visit her. My husband said that she acted like an insane, crazy person on Monday. She hung up on him.



This morning I checked my email and there was one from her to my husband and I. It was one of the most mean-spirited, hurtful emails I have ever read. She is usually this way with my husband but is more passive-aggressive with me. This time she wrote so many mean and hurtful lies that I was stunned. I am usually a pretty calm person, however, I was FURIOUS! I could not believe all of the twisted versions of events she came up with. She dragged me through the mud and back. My husband said he has never seen me this mad. Later on, after I calmed down, I started to cry.


Last year when my husband and his mom had a falling out, I was the one who kept up the relationship and talked with her, emailed her and had her over to see our son when my hubby was at work. This went on for 4 months until my daughter was born. I didn't want her to not have a relationship with our children, her grandchildren because I felt bad that she already has never met her other grandchildren who are 3 and 5. As I mentioned in my last post, my hubby's brother hasn't talked to her in over 10 years.

I feel bad saying this, but I have decided that I no longer want her around my family. She is emotionally abusive and toxic. I don't want her negative, mean-spirited attitude around my children.

When I originally started this blog, it was because I needed a place where I could just blog freely about whatever was going on in my life. I know that she reads my other blog, where I talk mostly about the kids, although she has never admitted to it. I have decided to make that blog permission-only too. I will still keep it light-hearted, as it was intended. Especially in the off-chance that we reconcile.

I have also decided to gradually add some background material to this story on this blog as I get a chance. It will help me vent and make it easier for others to understand the complete picture.

Menu Plan - week 4

Sunday
fresh gnocchi and meat sauce (bought from a place that makes yummy pasta)

Monday
Sheppard's Pie

Tuesday
shrimp curry-in-a-hurry
steamed basmati rice

Wednesday
Tilapia with Lemon Vinaigrette
Israeli couscous
Green salad

Thursday
Pecan Chicken
Roasted sweet potatoes
asparagus



Friday
Pork Loin Roast with Rice and Peas

Saturday
Going to my Mom's for dinner....yeh!

Dog Bite

Yesterday, my FIL came over and brought his dog. She is a good dog, however, she is getting old and hasn't been herself for about a year now. I was in the kitchen getting ready to go out and my hubby was upstairs getting changed. So, my FIL, son and the dog were in the family room together. All of a sudden my son started crying. It was a hurt cry, not a terrible 2 cry. Both my husband and I went running to him. We asked what happened and my FIL wasn't sure. We picked him up and noticed that he had marks on his face. The dog bit him on the forehead! He was bruised and it broke the skin, although nothing serious.

I think we handled it quite well and didn't get overly-upset. It was just so sudden. There was no bark or growl, just a bite. We think my son might have put his face up to hers and the dog felt that it was an aggressive gesture.

We might have to keep the dog away from the kids now. My son will hopefully know better next time, but it will be hard once my daughter starts crawling (at 7 months), which could be any day now.

MIL

Mine is crazy. I know everyone has their stories, but seriously, I really think mine takes the cake. My MIL and hubby have a volatile relationship. His brother hasn't talked to their mom for over 10 years and she is now divorced from her husband. It sort of speaks volumes, right? She thinks it is always everyone else and doesn't see that she is the common denominator in the scenarios.

We haven't seen much of her this summer because she is very particular on when she wants to come over because she has a paranoia about being caught in traffic (even though she doesn't work, volunteer, or anything). So she generally only wants to come on Tuesday to Thursday between the hours of 10am-2pm. It makes it a little difficult to schedule sometimes because of other commitments and my hubby's shift work.

Back to the story...

My hubby talked to her last week and said we would get back to her with some dates. We decided afterwards that we would give her a call and go over there this week (she lives about 50 min away). We also thought we would bring dinner and cook for her since her knee has been hurting lately.

On Monday I just put the kids down for a nap when I heard the doorbell ring. I never answer the door unless I am expecting someone, so I ignored it. A few minutes later it rang again. I went to see who it was because I didn't want them to wake the kids up. I looked out the peephole and saw a bunch of stuff on the front step. It looked like toys. I opened the door and said "hello?" Then I saw my MIL carrying a box up to the front step. She said "hi" and proceeded back to her car. I was shocked. I said "hi, would you like to come in for a while?" She said "no, I wasn't invited." Then she got in her car and drove away!

I shut the door stunned. Finally, I regained composure and took the toys inside. They were from my hubby's aunt. My MIL called a few minutes later from her cell. I didn't answer. She basically just said that the toys were from the aunt and she dropped them off because her house cleaner was coming on Wednesday.

Seriously, she is the most passive aggressive person I have ever met! My husband would have stopped talking to her long ago if I didn't push for him to retain the relationship.

When I am done breastfeeding

I have given up milk products for the last 5 1/2 months due to my baby girl's intolerance to cow's milk protein. I try a little bit of milk every once in a while, but we find that it still affects her. I love breastfeeding and feel like it is important to do, so I don't mind giving up things for the benefit of my child/children...just like you do when you are pregnant. The last 3 years I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding and I dream of the days when I am done and can eat and drink whatever I like. For now I am just thinking about being able to drink milk again and eat cheese again!

1) grilled cheese sandwich
2) brie with a baguette

Menu Plan - week 3

Sunday
dinner at my mom's house

Monday
Chicken with Wild Mushroom and Balsamic Cream Sauce **new recipe I'm trying**
salad

Tuesday
Buttermilk pancakes
fruit
peameal bacon

Wednesday
Chicken stew
Cornmeal buttermilk biscuits

Thursday
Penne with artichoke pesto and grilled chicken **new recipe I am trying**


Friday
Turkey burgers (homemade)
salad
corn on the cob

Saturday
dinner with my brother-in-law and his family

Menu Plan - week 2

Since my last menu plan ended on Wednesday and it is now Saturday, here is a run-down of how we handled dinner:

Thursday - fresh gnocchi and meat sauce (bought from a place that makes yummy pasta)
Friday - lasagna and salad at my Mom's house


MENU PLAN:

Saturday
green salad with tomatoes, avocado, toasted almonds & white balsamic vinaigrette
marinated pork tenderloin on the BBQ
rice with carrots & celery
sesame asparagus with mushrooms

Sunday
Steak on the BBQ
baked potato with onions
corn-on-the-cob

Monday
chili
homemade cornmeal buttermilk biscuits
spinach salad

Tuesday
linguine with pesto and grilled chicken breast

Wednesday
Greek chicken
roasted potatoes
green beans

Thursday
Pecan crusted chicken
roasted sweet potato
asparagus or corn

Friday & Saturday
TBD

Menu Plan - week 1

I have actually been doing menu planning for about a month or so after getting the idea from a friend, and fellow blogger. I don't always start my menu plan on the same day of the week because it really centres around my husband's shifts.

This week it actually started on Saturday because we went grocery shopping and my husband is off for a week. It only goes until Wednesday and then we will plan our weekend and do another one.

I will not be posting any recipes today, but will add a section for recipes as I get a chance.

MENU PLAN

Saturday
sausage, spinach & feta
pasta noodles

Sunday
steak on the BBQ
President's Choice Mushroom risotto (one of the only pre-packaged food items I like)
sesame asparagus (with mushrooms)

Monday
Pecan chicken breasts
green beans
roasted sweet potato

Tuesday
shrimp curry-in-a-hurry
steamed basmati rice

Wednesday
burgers
spinach salad (with strawberries, toasted almonds and homemade raspberry vinaigrette)

This blog

I decided to start this blog as a place for me to just write about whatever I want. I don't want to feel censored and have no real agenda. It is just about me and my life, particularly about being a stay-at-home mom.



I do have another blog where I mostly blog about my family and kids, but I hope this blog will be different. I don't plan on linking the two at all (right now) and will only refer to my kids in nicknames.