Halloween 2013 - Tigger & Pooh

Jack LOVED his costume! I asked him to bounce like Tigger, and he shook his head, but when I asked him to jump then he was all over it:

This is what Pooh really thinks about his outfit... :)

We went to our church's Trunk or Treat and had a blast!

Here is Pooh, a little more enthused. Ha!

Tigger, however, didn't need to be any more enthused! He had a lot of fun on the bouncy slide!! 

And a video:

And with his buddy, Bryan - aka the brave lion!

We had a lot of fun!!!

Halloween 2012 - Jack/Scooby Doo

Halloween 2011 - Jack/"Smokey Manning"

Baby Miller - Eight Months

Birth: 6lbs 8oz, 19 3/4 in long

1 Month: 8lbs 10oz, 21 in long

2 Months: 10lbs 12oz, 23 in long

3 Months: 11lbs 10oz, 23.75 in long

4 Months: 12lbs 7oz, 25 in long

5 Months: 13lbs 12oz, 25.5 in long

6 Months: 14lbs 14oz, 26 in long

7 Months: _____, ______

8 Months: _____, ______

(I know... I've been bad about keeping up with this! It's hard to take 2 kids 

to the doctor to get "officially" weighed and measured!)

CLOTHES & DIAPERS

• Miller is in mostly 9 month clothes now! And as it's getting a little cooler, he is able to wear more hand-me-downs from his big brother, since Jack was wearing 9 month clothes in Feb/March. 
• I FINALLY started using cloth diapers again on my boys!! Sheesh. I am such a big proponent of it, and I can't believe it took me this long to get back into it. I'm having a friend re-do the velcro on all my "hook & loop" diapers, so in the next week or so, they should all be working like new! 

EATING

• Miller has been on Nutramigen formula for about 4 months now, and I'm still not regretting this decision for our family. :)
• He's eats about every 4 hours, and takes about 6-7 ounces each time which ends up being somewhere between 24-30 ounces a day. 
• As of his 6 mo checkup, we have been adding a couple teaspoons of rice cereal to every bottle, and he's gotten pretty used to the consistency.
• As for "real food", I am still completely TERRIBLE in this department! I've just been inconsistent with feeding him big boy food. He is really good at being spoon fed, and has started picking up puffs too. He eats anything I feed him, but especially likes bananas and peas. 
• He's still getting Axid twice a day for reflux. 

SLEEPING

• (same as 7 mo) Miller typically goes to bed about 7:30/8pm, sleeps for 3-4 hours, wake to eat, and then typically sleep until 7:30am. We are pretty much down to 1 feeding at night, so I can't complain!! 
• The best thing in the ENTIRE world is this sweet boy's nap schedule. Mornings are kinda all over the place... He'll wake up around 7:30ish and then be ready for a nap around 9:30 or so. If we are home, this one is usually about 1.5 hr. Then BOTH of my boys go down for naps around 1:30/2pm and glory hallelujah - they sleep for 2+ hours!!! 

AND...

• He has been crawling for several weeks now!! Sometimes I forget that I can't just leave him in one spot and expect him to be there when I get back! Ha!
• He's doing a lot better sitting up by himself. 
• This week he has started getting up on his knees and holding on to the couch or the side of the pack-n-play! Miller is taking his 1st step towards pulling up!
• He definitely found his voice this month. SQUEALING monster!!! He seriously screamed and squealed for almost a week, and then he started making more deliberate sounds. Ba, ba, ba, and blah blah blah. 
• He still has no teeth (Jack's 1st tooth was at 7.5 months).
• Miller loves to laugh!! He has the sweetest personality and feels like he has been part of our family forever.

Here's a video of Miller for his eight month birthday (it's longer than normal, but watch it because it's so funny. Jack decided to start spinning him around in the chair, and Miller LOVED it!):

And here's a side by side of both my boys at eight months:

Big Brother Jack at Eight Months

Have you checked out the new page on the boys? 

Look at the side-by-side progression at the bottom!

Life SKilLs: Debra - Eating

Today's Life SKilLs answers come from my friend Debra! She is wife to Bryan and mama to John, and blogs at The Klein Adventures. Check out her answers below! 

Eating

What is your “food philosophy”? As in, do you cook just because people need to be fed, or do you enjoy/love to cook?

I enjoy cooking, but not when I'm in a hurry.  So, that means I have to plan ahead, or it's just another chore.

What do you typically have for breakfast? What about your kids?

I usually eat cereal or toast.  My favorite is raisin toast, but I'm out right now because I keep forgetting to go to the Little Debbie Outlet, and I'm too cheap to buy it at the grocery!  John gets milk for breakfast right now, although I'm sure it won't be long till he starts wanting some fruit or something.  (He's 6 months).

What do you typically have for lunch? Kids?

Lunch is hit or miss.  Lately, I've been enjoying a chicken salad kick.  Easy to make and keep in the fridge, so it's quick to pull out and make a sandwich.  If we're out running errands, it's whatever strikes me.  Again...John gets milk.

How often do you make/cook/fix dinner each week?

Probably only about 3-4 times.  I would love to cook more, but we are just a little busy lately and I haven't gotten back into a routine since the baby came.  We used to eat in 5 nights a week, leftovers one night, and date night one night.  I got into a really great routine and it was working well, but then....well, life happened!  By the way, I make John dinner every night.  It's automatic (he's nursing).

Do you meal plan?

Not right now - at least not consistently.  I would love to be better about it, and like I said earlier, I was better about it for a few months and it made life a lot easier.  Maybe I'll get back into it again.  When I did, I used a website - www.howdoesshedoit.com to help me get myself together.  It is a lot of work on the front end - putting in recipes that you use regularly so you can automatically populate a shopping list - but it was so handy when I got it up and running.  I had the iphone app too so that I couldn't forget my shopping list, which I'm known to do.  I do plan John's meals...milk, milk, milk...oh, and now, rice cereal!

How often do you eat out each week?

We eat out for dinner probably once or twice a week.  Right now we also bring dinner home at least once a week (sandwiches or pizza).  We also eat sunday lunch out.  I guess we eat out more than I'd care to admit!!

Don't worry Debra, we do too!! :)

Well, we have had 6 (including me) installments of Life SKilLs so far! I'm going to take a week or so break from these and then start back up with the Cleaning questions I asked everyone. I'd love to hear from YOU - leave a comment and I will send you the next set of questions. Even if I am interviewing someone with a similar "story" as you, YOUR story is different! And important! And someone will be thankful to read what you have to say.

Okay? Let me know!

Life SKilLs: Brianne - Eating

Today's Life SKilLs answers come from my childhood best friend, Brianne, who blogs at Truth Telling 101. She is a married workin' woman with a unique schedule (as in, not your typical 9-5). Check out her answers below! 

Eating

What is your “food philosophy”? As in, do you cook just because people need to be fed, or do you enjoy/love to cook?

I think I would have to say, I honestly love cooking. I love being creative and finding new ways to make your basic “meat and potatoes” kinda meals. I love seeing my husband’s (and/or family) face as they eat my (usually) successful meals. I have to be honest, it’s kinda fun to see the faces when it’s a failure too...usually by then I know it’s not gonna be fantastic, but it’s always so sweet when the hubs eats everything and still tells me it was delicious....even if he does make himself a snack an hour later. I just only wish I had more time to love it. Being on a different schedule every single day it makes it difficult sometimes to make dinner and have it ready for when Josh gets home from work. Usually those are the days I just don’t really like cooking, but I thoroughly enjoy knowing Josh will have a nice dinner at home, and won’t have to go to Taco Bell or Burger King.

What do you typically have for breakfast? What about your kids?

I can’t believe I’m about to admit this....but I’m VERY rarely up for breakfast. Even on my days off. It’s just soooo hard to get up before noon (eek) when I’m not usually getting home from work until after 3 in the morning. However, IF I do happen to get my lazy butt up I usually have a cup of coffee and either some toast or a bagel. I’ve also gotten into a pop tart kick. Josh never eats breakfast, at least that I’m aware of...he might grab something on his way to work or when he gets there...but we don’t have breakfast together. The kids (aka dogs) have a bowl of food each the little one 1/2 cup and the big one 2 cups.

What do you typically have for lunch? Kids?

It always varies. If Josh and I are home together we typically go out for some lunch, which usually means fast food. However, we have decided to try to cut back on that and eat lunch at home, sandwiches, left overs, etc. If I’m home by myself its usually a grilled cheese sandwich...or whatever we have in the fridge. The pups don’t get lunch.

How often do you make/cook/fix dinner each week?

I really try to have something put together 6 out of 7 days a week. But we all know life happens, and plans always get changed. It usually ends up I cook 4 to 5 days a week. There might be a day that Josh does something on the grill for himself and I grab what I can, but over all I would say 4 to 5 days...at home cookin’.

Do you meal plan?

YES!! One of our biggest arguments is what we will have/ do for dinner. Meal planning completely eliminates this. Plus, with my work schedule, I usually plan out more difficult meals when I’m home all done, and just those quick fixes for the days when I work. I also don’t have any type of budget to work with when going grocery shopping ( working for tips, it’s kinda hard to have a set budget for anything, but that’s a whole nother subject for another day) so having a meal plan to work with helps eliminate all those purchases that we tend to make when we don’t know what we are looking for...it’s kinda like going shopping when you are hungry, we all know it never ends well.

How often do you eat out each week?

Together usually once. If I don’t get to making dinner because of time constraints, we usually grab what can where we can. But we usually go out or order in once a week, some weeks it might be more, depending on how lazy we are or what plans we have going on.

Life SKilLs: Emily G. - Eating

Today we have my great friend, Emily who blogs at The Geyers in Chattanooga. She is a stay at home mama to 2 sweet boys: Crawford (19 mo) and Lawson (1 mo). Life is a bit crazy right now with a newborn, but she took the time to answer my questions!

Emily asked me to use this photo - this is REAL LIFE, people! :)

Check out her answers below:

Eating

What is your “food philosophy”? As in, do you cook just because people need to be fed, or do you enjoy/love to cook?

I definitely only cook because people need to be fed. I'm pretty much the opposite of a "foodie", in that I eat very plain, simple things, and really only to satisfy my hunger (which is currently an impossible task 3 weeks after having a baby, nursing that baby and chasing my 19mo old).

What do you typically have for breakfast? What about your kids?

Crawford is on a waffle kick. Sometimes we make them (then freeze a large batch), other times its an eggo. Or three. Lets be real. Other breakfast items include: yogurt, granola, bananas, biscuits, muffins (I make some combo of banana/blueberry/zucchini in large batches and freeze them) or smoothies.

I almost always have cereal. Except this morning I had Julie Darling donuts because my darling husband brought them home for me last night. I should say I almost always have cereal, unless I can have donuts.

What do you typically have for lunch? Kids?

Crawford usually has a grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly or leftovers and fruit. I usually have a grilled turkey sandwich or peanut butter and jelly or honey or leftovers (but I usually don't like leftovers, so it would have had to be a pretty special dinner).

How often do you make/cook/fix dinner each week?

Now is kind of a hard time to answer that... Lawson is 3 weeks old and people have brought us almost every dinner we've eaten since being home from the hospital (thank you, friends!!). Pre-Lawson lately we've really buckled down to eating at home (no take out) every week night and only allowing eating out on weekends or special occasions. So that usually means four nights of "cooking" (sometimes it is simple like a meal I made in advance and froze or David grilling) and one of leftovers.

Do you meal plan?

Yes! A couple months ago we made a list of 20 meals we all like and that are easy enough to actually get made. I had been in a "what do we have for dinner tonight?!" rut, and I found myself going to Pinterest and being overwhelmed by a million new meals that I COULD make. Then, I would make something new and it would be gross. Anyway, we worked our way through that list in about 5 weeks, and now we are starting over. We stared by going to the grocery and stocking up on all the non perishables to make all 20 meals, which cut down on our need for regular, large grocery runs. We usually plan that week's meals on Sunday, and David and I always do it together. I could eat a pb&h sandwich or a bowl of cereal for dinner and be fine with it (so could David sometimes), so it is helpful to me if we can meal plan together. We usually do it in the car on the way to church :).

How often do you eat out each week?

See above. Usually two times. We often get $1 tacos from Mojo on Saturdays before or after church, and usually one other time on the weekend. I almost never eat lunch out. Crawford is so not fun at a restaurant so that helps deter me from wanting to go out and spend money when I could easily eat at home.

Find things about you that are similar to Em? Let us know in the comments!

When Daydreaming Becomes Discontentment

Earlier this year, I started subscribing to the new HGTV magazine. With the flip of a few pages - I was hooked.

We don't have cable anymore, so I really miss watching HGTV (though it was a HUGE time waster for me, so I know I'm better off). Anyway, I love the magazine, and every time a new edition popped into my mailbox, I would look through it and dream. 

Dream about what color I could paint this piece of furniture, or how I could rearrange that shelf. I would earmark page after page and file ideas away for our future dream house. 

But after the arrival of the last 2 issues, I found myself putting off looking at them. The covers were just as beautiful as always, just as intriguing. I couldn't put my finger on why I didn't get the same giddy feeling. 

It's because I've been trying to be intentional about loving our "right now".

Sure, looking through it gave me great ideas, but what I found was that it was stealing my peace. My contentment with where we are and what our home looks like right now. The messy kitchen and the plethora of dust bunnies. Those shelves I just can't seem to keep organized and my "command center" covered in junk mail. 

I'm working on those areas, but slowly and steadily. And my house will probably never fill the pages of a magazine, but the thought of this place fills my heart. It's where my husband proposed. It's where we ripped up rooms and rooms of 70s carpet. It's where my 2 boys came home from the hospital. It's where my big guy spins around and around, and where my little guy crawls, amidst the dust and dirt. 

So I'm not renewing my subscription. Maybe if/when we actually get that dream house, I'll check it out again. But until then, I'm going to let my dreams live here. 

Life SKilLs: Rikki - Eating

It's time for another installment of Life SKilLs! Today we have answers from Rikki! She is a working woman with a hubby, a dog, 2 cats, and a bird! She blogs at cocktails & confetti. And she's hilarious.

Eating

What is your “food philosophy”? As in, do you cook just because people need to be fed, or do you enjoy/love to cook?

I am a terrible cook. Really. Fortunately, Austin can cook practically anything without even needing a recipe. So if it's me cooking, it's probably because Austin is not home and I'm trying to not starve. I am trying to be better about cooking, though. About once a month or so Austin and I will try a new food or recipe and Austin helps me avoid chopping off my own fingers. Now, baking-with a very specific exact recipe-I'm totally your girl.

What do you typically have for breakfast? What about your kids?

Cereal. Dry. Out of the box by the handful. I'll have this for about three months or so, then I'll pick something new. I go through phases where I eat the same thing every day. So ask me again in a few months and I'll probably be on to frozen french toast sticks or toast with jelly before I circle back around to cereal again.

What do you typically have for lunch? Kids?

Half a peanut butter sandwich and a pack of fruit snacks. I may not have any kids, but I sure do eat like one. This is what I pack every day for lunch at work. Rarely, I might pack some leftovers from dinner earlier in the week. For work though, I do home health, which means I'm driving around lots of the time and perishable foods + hot car = tummy ache. So I usually have to pack something that might not ever see a refrigerator. Lunch on the weekends is almost always leftovers from the week's dinners.

How often do you make/cook/fix dinner each week?

We cook together on most nights. If we have a recipe I can handle it. If it's something we're making without a recipe Austin takes over more. I've never been good with things like "season to taste" or add a "pinch" of this or a "dash" of that. This type A personality girl needs a pretty specific recipe and clear instructions. And a slap-chop so my digits stay in tact and not a side dish.

Do you meal plan?

Yes! We plan our meals before heading to the grocery store each week. Grocery shopping is literally my least favorite thing in the whole entire world. If it were up to me we would buy bread, peanut butter and cheese each week and call it a day. Maybe throw some cookies in the cart for good measure. So as far as I'm concerned we meal plan simply to make grocery shopping less miserable for me, because we have a plan so we can get it, get out, and pretend it never happened.

How often do you eat out each week?

We usually end up eating out once per week. We hardly ever eat fast food, mostly because I'm vegetarian and fast food doesn't really cater to that kind of diet. Austin would probably go out for lunch just about every day if I didn't strongly encourage him to pack his lunch. I would say we run out for a quick dessert relatively often though, maybe 3 times a month. I have a serious sweet tooth and after dinner, if we have no sweets in the house, I won't turn down a quick trip to DQ for a blizzard or Dub's for a peanut butter milkshake.

Are you enjoying this series? 

We have SEVERAL more friends lined up for the "Eating" questions and then... I'll share everyone's "Cleaning" answers! I hope that you will find a few ladies that you can relate to, and find a few new blogs to check out. :)

Miller Milestone: Crawling

Last Monday, October 8th, Miller OFFICIALLY started crawling!!!! He has been getting up on all fours for a few weeks, but finally took the plunge and started crawling. He is SO PROUD of himself and just GRINS when you notice. He is so sweet.

I feel so blessed that he has blossomed into this happy-go-lucky easy-going baby. I am constantly reminded of the peace God gave me after a tough summer (it's hard to even say that it was tough, in light of what some of my friends have dealt with in regards to their precious babies; but it is good for me to recognize that it truly WAS hard on me and on our family, and through Godly discernment, we made choices that have been so positive for our sweet Miller).

Okay, enough talking - let's see this little one in action:

WE LOVE YOU MILLER-MAN!!! You are such a joy!

Now, if you'll excuse me. I have to go baby-proof my house. 

Life SKilLs: Sarah W. - Eating

I am thrilled to introduce you to another Life SKilLs blogger, Sarah, who writes at The Newlywed Chronicles. Sarah is a work-at-home wife with a very cute siamese kitty.  :) She has offered up her answers below. Enjoy!!

Eating 

What is your “food philosophy”? As in, do you cook just because people need to be fed, or do you enjoy/love to cook?

99% of the time, my "food philosophy" is something along the lines of "we must eat, so I must cook." Luckily, our meals usually turn out well so the "this is really good, Sarah!" compliments go a long way towards making me forget that I dropped the garlic press while it was full/spilled half the onions on the way to the pan/forgot to preheat the oven/etc. On a rare (RARE) day, I actually enjoy the process but that happens less often than I would like to admit.

What do you typically have for breakfast? 

On a standard morning, breakfast is a frozen whole grain waffle with pumpkin butter, an over easy egg, a container of Greek yogurt, and an apple. Weekends are a little less regimented-- sometimes we make blueberry pancakes or omelettes. On Saturdays when Matt is at the fire hall, I'll eat a smaller version of my normal breakfast, go for a run, and then reward myself with Starbucks. Everyone needs motivation, right? :)

What do you typically have for lunch?

Lunch is the hardest meal for me. I'm picky about sandwiches (they just don't taste as good when you make them at home!), I've never been a "salad as a meal" person, I try hard to avoid fast food, and we don't have left-overs very often so I usually find myself skipping it. Bad, I know! Occasionally, I'll feed my Panera addiction or throw together some protein powder and chocolate flavored almond milk. On the weekends, lunch is just as erratic. I really need to do better at this!

How often do you make/cook/fix dinner each week?

I try to cook every night that Matt is home from the fire department but I usually leave one weekend night open for dinner with friends. When it's just me, I usually have enough stuff on hand to make a little something or, if I'm feeling especially unmotivated, I'll show up at my parents' house. :)

Do you meal plan?

I'm definitely a meal planner! Tuesdays are shopping days so I usually make a menu on Monday night, check the pantry and fridge for the ingredients I need, and then make a grocery list. I am obsessed with efficiency so I even arrange my list by aisle so I don't have to wander around or go back to pick up something I've forgotten. I'm normally in and out in under 30 minutes, even on big trips. Meal planning is the best!

How often do you eat out each week?

We usually eat out once a week but it can vary, especially when Matt is on his 5 day break from work or when he has both weekend days off. 

So yet another friend who is different from me in their "Eating" habits! I'm inspired to start meal planning again with Sarah and Alex both singing its praises! Thank you, Sarah for letting us in on your life!

What about you? Are you an avid meal planner? Agree with Sarah 

about homemade sandwiches? (I do!) Let me know in the comments! 

(Want to be featured? Leave a comment or email me at sarahklawhorn at gmail dot com)

Baby Miller - Seven Months

Birth: 6lbs 8oz, 19 3/4 in long

1 Month: 8lbs 10oz, 21 in long

2 Months: 10lbs 12oz, 23 in long

3 Months: 11lbs 10oz, 23.75 in long

4 Months: 12lbs 7oz, 25 in long

5 Months: 13lbs 12oz, 25.5 in long

6 Months: 14lbs 14oz, 26 in long

7 Months: _____, ______

 

CLOTHES & DIAPERS

• Miller is in mostly 9 month clothes now! And as it's getting a little cooler, he is able to wear more hand-me-downs from his big brother, since Jack was wearing 9 month clothes in Feb/March. 
• Still giving myself grace about not using cloth right now. I think I'm ready to start doing it, and then I... just don't. Lame excuse? Yes. Truth? Yes. (size 2 disposables)

EATING

• Miller has been on formula for about 3 months now, and I'm still not regretting this decision for our family. He is still on Nutramigen, but I'm going to ask if we can try another kind and see how he does soon. (The big container of our current formula is $36, and makes around 20 bottles, so if we could switch to a cheaper formula, that would be awesome.)
• He's eating about every 3-4 hours, and takes about 5-6 ounces each time which ends up being somewhere between 24-30 ounces a day. 
• As of his 6 mo checkup, we have been adding a couple teaspoons of rice cereal to every bottle. I don't know if it has helped with him "chunkin' up" but he's gotten pretty used to the consistency.
• As for "real food", I am TERRIBLE in this department! I couldn't wait to feed Jack real food, and I have just been very inconsistent with Miller. Now that he's 7.5 months, he is a champ at being spoon fed, and has started picking up puffs too. (They rarely make it into his mouth, but...) He eats anything I feed him, but especially likes bananas and peas. 
• He's still getting Axid twice a day for reflux. I should probably test and determine if he still needs to be on it, but I'm kinda of the camp that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

SLEEPING

• Miller typically goes to bed about 7:30/8pm, sleeps for 3-4 hours, wake to eat, and then typically sleep until 7:30am. We are pretty much down to 1 feeding at night, so I can't complain!! 
• The best thing in the ENTIRE world is this sweet boy's nap schedule. Mornings are kinda all over the place... He'll wake up around 7:30ish and then be ready for a nap around 9:30 or so. If we are home, this one is usually about 1.5 hr. Then BOTH of my boys go down for naps around 1:30/2pm and glory hallelujah - they sleep for 2+ hours!!! 

AND...

• He started officially crawling this month! As of Monday, October 8th, he used hands and knees to move around the living room rug.
• He's doing a lot better sitting up by himself, but still isn't ready to be 100% "unassisted" yet. 
• Miller loves to laugh!! He is a very sweet, happy natured baby.
• He still has no teeth (Jack's 1st tooth was at 7.5 months).
• Jack has been better about actually playing with him. He talks to him a lot "Yook at dis, brudder!" or notices things that Miller is doing "He's playing the music!" (on the exersaucer). I love watching them interact, because every time Jack notices him, Miller lights up. :)

Here's a video of Miller for his seven month mirthday:

And here's a side-by-side of my boys at seven months:

Big Brother Jack at Seven Months

Have you checked out the new page on the boys? 

Look at the side-by-side progression at the bottom!

Life SKilLs: Alex - Eating

Alright! Ready for another installment of Life SKilLs? Today we have answers from my dear friend Alex, who blogs at Learning to Let Go. She is wonderful and has a lot of wisdom to offer wives/mamas! She responded with this (below), and I just HAD to include it:

"EEK! This is about as fun as filling out those quizzes when we were in middle school except these questions actually serve a purpose! It's always so encouraging to me to hear from other moms that my life quirks, even if not exactly like theirs, are still normal because they're mine! And I'm glad the Lord made us different and still so similar. Here are my answers to your fun questions!"

Eating

What is your “food philosophy”? As in, do you cook just because people need to be fed, or do you enjoy/love to cook?

I'm a kitchen conundrum. Really. I love that our kitchen is the center of our home and I love taking care of my family in it, no matter what that involves. But I'm a middle ground cook. Sometimes I hate it (usually because I don't have time to make what I want to or because I despise doing dishes over and over), sometimes I am madly in love with it because I know I'm making something that WILL be successful. ;) So, to answer your question... BOTH. 

What do you typically have for breakfast? What about your kids?

Leighton (my newly two year old) wants her milk the MOMENT she wakes up, so we drink milk and cuddle for breakfast part one. :) And then she either has oatmeal with brown sugar or cereal for breakfast part two (elmo's on the front of the cereal box, thus she wants "elmo seesee" all the time). We also have a banana, raisins or blueberries every day. I say "we", but I don't usually eat a big breakfast. I'm a snacker. I will eat leftovers, fruit, granola, a cheese stick or sometimes make eggs. Sometimes I wait until a few hours before lunch to eat. (This morning I ate a big Hardees biscuit on my way to Costco. hehe!)

What do you typically have for lunch? Kids?

Lunch is mostly leftover dinner from the night before. I always make enough for my husband's lunch and hopefully ours the next day. But we also keep an arsenal of both L's and my favorite lunch-y things which take less than 5 minutes to prepare: hummus, homemade bread, steamed zucchini, nitrate-free deli turkey, cheese sticks and slices, yogurt, pasta/sauce, lots of fruits, etc. We make wraps a lot also. Lunch is easy and quick. We always drink water for this meal.

How often do you make/cook/fix dinner each week?

I try to plan for 6 nights a week. When I plan for those meals there's always enough stuff in the kitchen to make up a 7th if I were to need it. I probably fix dinner 5-6 nights a week. Maybe two of those meals are "serious cooking" meals, one is probably something frozen I made weeks earlier, and the rest are super easy (15 min prep max).

Do you meal plan?

Yes. I have no option. We have a set budget and I'm trying to still drop it another $50 over the next few months. I only shop twice a month. I have to meal plan though we are fortunate enough that we have a good pantry stock after having shopped at Costco for so many months, and thus I can almost always make something besides popcorn for dinner even if I don't have anything planned.

How often do you eat out each week?

The only time we don't eat dinner at home if one of our parents invites us over OR if we have a big gift card.  We don't have time to eat out during the week with my hubby's schedule and weekends we just like to be home together. And then of course there are those random weeks where we eat at someone's house 3 nights. Its a constant switch up. We tend to eat lunch out more than dinner- at least once a weekend.

So there you have it! Alex and I are wonderful friends, but as you can see, we operate our "Eating" habits in different ways! I hope you found something you could relate to, and something you could learn from in our featured guest's answers today. 

What about you? Do you resonate with Alex's answers? 

Let me know in the comments!

(Want to be featured? Leave a comment or email me at sarahklawhorn at gmail dot com)

Life SKilLS: Sarah - Eating

I'm starting a new series here on Sarah's got SKilLs called "Life SKilLs: Real Answers from Real Women." I've got a set of questions to ask my friends "in real life" and I will be sharing their answers here on the blog! 

To kick things off, I thought I would go ahead and share my personal answers to the first set of questions about "Eating". 

me with mister garbage disposal

Eating

What is your “food philosophy”? As in, do you cook just because people need to be fed, or do you enjoy/love to cook?

I would say that for the MOST part, I just cook because people need to be fed. However, I feel very proud when a dinner I took time to prepare turns out really great! And lately, Jason has been helping me a lot in the kitchen, which definitely makes it all more enjoyable. :)

What do you typically have for breakfast? What about your kids?

Right now, me and Jack are on a french toast kick. Well, french toast frittata, to be exact. Scramble 2 eggs, add a dash of milk, dash of vanilla, and as many shakes of cinnamon as Jack wants to put in. Then we tear 2½ pieces of bread into smaller pieces, mix it all up, and cook it like french toast. Surprisingly easy to make, and ingredients I almost always have on hand. We go on kicks of eating the same thing - cereal, oatmeal, or yogurt. Oh, and Jack eats like 6 bananas a day. Not really. But sometimes.

What do you typically have for lunch? Kids?

Honestly? Lately I have eaten Chick-fil-A almost every single day. What can I say – I love it. But when we’re home, it’s usually turkey, cheese, and fruit for Jack, and leftovers or a sandwich for me.

How often do you make/cook/fix dinner each week?

Probably 3-4 times a week. We either eat out or “make do” on the other nights.

Do you meal plan?

I need to get back to it!! I feel so much better when I’ve got a plan – grocery plan, dinner plan, etc.

How often do you eat out each week?

For dinner we eat out at least one weekend night, and probably 1 weeknight. On most Saturday mornings, you can find us at Lillie Mae’s, a local “hole-in-the-wall” type place with an inexpensive, hearty breakfast menu (We've been going pretty regularly since Jack was 4 weeks old). And we eat lunch with family almost every Sunday. So yeah, that’s like 4 “for sures” for eating out, and I personally eat out for lunch WAY too much… Yeesh. This gets worse, the more I keep talking. :-P

Haha! Ok, so not that you ever thought I WAS perfect, now you have proof that I'm not. None of us are! That is the beauty of real life. It's messy. :) But with God's help, we get through each and every day. We know that our role as the managers of our home are more than cooking, cleaning, and the like, but we still have to accomplish them in day-to-day life. I think it will be a lot of fun to see how similar and how different we all are!

What about you? Do you meal plan and cook dinner every night? 

Or are you a rabid Chick-fil-A fan like me? Let me know in the comments!

(Want to be featured? Leave a comment or email me at sarahklawhorn at gmail dot com)