Menu Plan Monday: 1st Time!

I've been planning out our dinners for the last month or so and am really enjoying the process. It helps me in several ways. I waste less time each day wondering what we should have for dinner. I save money because I know exactly what I need to buy at the grocery store and I also cut down the number of trips I need to take to pick up groceries.

This is the first time I've actually participated in Menu Plan Monday though. No, I didn't think of this idea on my own. Check out Laura's blog at I'm an Organizing Junkie for all the details and tons of other recipes for Menu Plan Monday.


So, here is what I have planned for this week. I'm trying to gradually increase the number of homemade meals we have, because in the past we ate mainly packaged meals or ate out at restaurants. I realize that we still do this, but we're taking babysteps toward healthy meals!

Monday: Fresh Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Tuesday: YOYO (You're on your own) because I have water aerobics class that evening.

Wednesday: Chicken with Gingered Brown Rice

Thursday: Bag Meal

Friday: Tuna Sandwiches- for me only as Ryan will be going out with friends

Saturday: Prime Rib Dinner at my Grandma Carol's house

Sunday: Leftovers or eating at my mom's

How do you plan out your meals each week? Do you go day-by-day or are you super organized and have them planned out far in advance? Leave a comment if you have an extra minute :)

Our New Family Room

We recently had our basement painted and carpeted so that we could use the space as a play room. The four of us (Frank included) have really been enjoying the time we have spent in our new space. Nolan has lots of space to play without fear of him hitting his head or teeth on the wood floor. Frank has more area to run and has been chasing stuffed animals all over the room. I have some workout equipment set up so that I can do workout videos a few times per weeks. We don't have a whole lot of furniture in here yet and there is more work to do to organize it and have it "looking" like a family room. In the mean time though, we sure do love it!


Today we also picked up a kid-sized table from a Craigslist add. It is the perfect height for Nolan and has edges all around for him to play with legos, trains, tractors, trucks, puzzles and whatever else he might use it for in the future.


Here are a couple of pictures of Nolie-Bear enjoying this space. Nevermind the mess in the background, just focus on the cute kid :)

This one was taken in the family room too. I especially love his chubby cheek and little golden curl.

Now that we had the stairs carpeted as well, Nolan loves to climb them!

Pumpkin!

Fall is here and Nolan is loving every minute of it so far! We went to the Apple Farm a few weekends back and Ryan picked out this pumpkin for future carving. I introduced it to Nolan thinking he might like looking at it because it was so bright. It was sitting on our kitchen table at first, but then we needed the space and I set it on the kitchen floor. Not too long afterward Nolan made his merry way over to the bright orange object...now he is fascinated by it! He pats it, uses it to stand, rolls it around and if you clap and make a beat for him, he will push off it and practice standing. He's gotten so that he balances for about 10 seconds before plopping down or lowering himself. If he gets bored, all we have to do is ask, "Nolan, where is the pumpkin?" Nolie-Bear then makes his way over to it and points it out. I never imagined it would be so entertaining, but he sure does love it!

Fun Pictures

I suppose I'm way past due to post some new pictures of the little man. We're just having too much fun with him these days to spend a whole lot of time on the computer!! Here are a couple of my faves:

I'm 10 Months Old!

Hanging out with Cousin Chayton

Ryan and Nolan at the Fair


First time at the playground

Hmm, I'm not sure I like the taste of this stick

Experience Life Magazine: Skimming the Truth

I know, I haven't blogged in a REALLY long time. Sorry! And this post is a little different from what I usually write. I just read this really interesting article in Experience Life magazine (which is put out by Lifetime Fitness). It's about dairy products and they refute the common assumption that skim milk and low or non-fat dairy is better for you. I had not heard this before, so let me know what you think!

Experience Life Magazine: Skimming the Truth

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Summer Vacation Moments

The month of July was all about family. We started the month at my Grandma Carol's (Grammi) lake house on Lake Emily in St. Peter. There we got to spend time with Grammi, Grandpa Dick, my mom and dad, Summer, Kirstin and Irene. Nolan swam for the first time and we had some fun times out in the boat fishing with Dad (G-papi). Then, my dad (Grandpa Garth) and girlfriend (aka spiritual practice partner) Hiromi came for a visit. That was also a wonderful week filled with family gatherings and laughs. Finally, to top it all off, we went with Ryan's parents and siblings to Hayward, Wisconsin to relax and enjoy each other's company on the Chippewa Flowage. Tonight Ryan told me that those 9 days on the Flowage were some of the best he's ever had. I agree, and I'll go so far as to say the whole month has been amazing. Thanks to all of our family for being so loving and so much fun!

Here's a list of some of my favorite moments from the month (in no particular order):

1. Yahtzee with the girls at Grammi's
2. Walking in the rain with Jayne and Kristen...fun conversations despite the LONG distance!
3. Reliving Dinkytown and U of M memories with Dad
4. Nolan...need I say more?!
5. Bocce ball at Grandma Sara and Grandpa Mario's
6. Summer burying Nolan on the beach and seeing how much fun he had playing in the sand
7. Talking around the campfire with all of Ryan's siblings...what a great group!
8. All of the great times spent fishing, even when we didn't catch anything.
9. Celebrating Diedrich and Grandma Sara's birthdays at the Spanish restaurant with the Flamenco dancer
10. The Anderson Olympics...Grand Champions two years running!
11. Walking with the bigger group for our 10 miler in Hayward (funny moment...washing Jake's hands off after that dog peed on them, heehee!)
12. Boating over to R&R Bayview for breakfast
13. All of the great food that Grammi and Grandpa made for us...cookies, blueberry pancakes, steak and banana pudding pecan rolls :)
14. Nolan, Ryan and I going to the drive-in movie theater to see Harry Potter. Nolan was such a cutie, looking all around and playing with the drinking straw.
15. Watching Nolan crawl for the first time. Oh yeah, I already said Nolan. But can you blame me?
16. Chasing after Chayton as he threw the football, tennis ball and bocce balls around the yard at the Landing...what a fun young boy he's turning out to be..."move back" and "No, Aunt Greta" and "put back nose!"
17. Going to the dog park with Dad, Nolie and Hiromi
18. Grandpa Ken putting Nolan in the hammock and watching his reaction

Ah, what a fun month to relive. What are your favorite moments of the summer? I'd love to read your top memories! Feel free to comment :)

Moving and Shaking

Does this face spell trouble??

Target: Football

On the move!

After a week in Hayward, Wisconsin and plenty of floor time, our little guy is now crawling! Watch out world, here comes Nolan :) He picked up a couple of other skills this week too...waving "hi" in response to other people, going from laying down to sitting up and shaking his head "no." Today he also pulled himself up to standing using the couch, the TV stand and the bookshelf. He then started pulling down anything within his reach. You can tell he's so proud of himself when he does these new things. He gets the biggest grin on his face and his eyes just light up.

Ryan and I have now started the baby-proofing process by covering our electrical outlets. We moved his crib down so that he won't fall out when he pulls himself to standing. We'll also have to rearrange our DVD player and Nintendo Wii so that he can't pull those off the TV stand. Although the basement and upstairs doors are usually closed, I'm now very aware of them and am pretty paranoid that I'll leave them open. I think this might mean a lot of extra door-checking in the next month or so!