Turkey Meatloaf. You can’t go wrong with this recipe from Skinny Taste. I always make two batches… one regular and one with a tablespoon of cayenne thrown in because that spice makes everything so much better.  We paired ours with a big heaping of mashed cauliflower. Yum, yum.

Blackened Salmon and Rice. One morning as I was browsing Pinterest, I repinned this because it just sounded good (and easy!), so I made it that evening. Mine came out a little redder than the picture because I think I tripled the cayenne for the filets Ben and I were going to eat. The girls can take some spice, but not as spicy as we eat it. Hopefully one day they’ll make their way up to our spice levels. The recipe was really good and I will definitely be making this again. I also roasted some Brussels sprouts to go along with it and you really can’t ever go wrong with roasted vegetables.

Week 11/4 – 11/8
Monday: Sopes
Tuesday: Crab Cakes with Kale
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Black Bean Soup
Friday: Pizza/sushi night

Last week, I was so exhausted that I didn’t spend too much time in the kitchen. I even picked up fast food one evening because I just needed something easy. It was just one of those weeks. What have you been cooking lately?

Believe it or not, this Halloween was the first time we’ve ever carved a pumpkin together. Every year we mean to do it, but we don’t. True drew the face and then Ben and the two big girls carved it together. They were so proud to have their first Jack O’ Lantern and this mama was happy to finally do it as a family after all these years!

Our Halloween evening turned out great, even if the day was a little stressful for me due to some mishaps over here. We went out with some neighbor friends and met even more neighbor friends, so we’re excited to get to know these new friends who live in the area. We’ve lived here for almost 6 years and haven’t been too social, but we’re working on it.

The weekend is here and Ben has the day off on Monday, so we’re hoping to cross off some major things off our house to-do list. Wish us luck! What’s on your weekend agenda?

Happy Halloween!!! What are you and your kids dressing up as?

Have a look back at some of our past Halloween stories…
2012: The Adventures of Spider-Girl & She-ra
2011: Barbershop Quartet
2010: The Three Little Piggies
2009: Hannah and Gretel
2008: The Untold Story of Oz
2007: Little Red Riding Hood

I’m kind of out of words for today. Just wanted to share these tidbits of our home that make my heart happy and thankful.

xoxo

They love to draw and this book is so great to springboard off of for our art lessons. True and Brave are a little over a year apart, but you can still tell how that slight bit of time affects their perception, spatial understanding, and certain developmental abilities. It probably isn’t so obvious just by looking at these pictures, but I totally see it in their drawings that they often leave all over the house.

I love all their drawings, but they do so many, so often, that I frequently end up putting some in the recycle box. I try my best to not be a hoarder, so I always feel bad when I toss something they drew. I do keep some (a lot actually) and put it in a memory box, but it’s so hard to pick sometimes what to pick to save and what to toss.

Our “memory box” is in a coat closet and I put the things I want to save into that box. I try to encourage them to do a lot of their drawing into their designated sketchbooks to make things easier to save since it’s all in one place, but those girls love to get printer paper to draw on and I find those drawings everywhere! What are some of your tips for keeping your children’s artwork?

So much of the behavior I see my girls exhibit are things that Ben and I both do, good and bad. It’s so scary how much they mimic us. It really is an excellent reminder of how we need to purposefully lead and teach them. We’re doing the best we know how, just as our parents did with us, but I know everyday there is definitely room for improvement. I’ve said this before, but I definitely am such a crazy mama. There’s always so much to do and time moves fast that I feel like I’m always stressed.

Everyday I’m learning how to trust God, be present in the moments, and give more smiles and hugs. Honestly though, some days smiles and hugs are in short supply and I always feel really badly later thinking I didn’t seize the moment with them. I let the stupid things that stress me out get me and make me cranky. I totally know it’s dumb. Tomorrow is never promised to any of us, so I really want to remember to be intentional daily.

Here’s to working on smiling through those refining moments and to have a generous amount of hugs and kisses every single day! I need to lead by example after all, so I better make sure to give them something good to follow.

P.S. The three big girls are wearing classic dresses from City Kid Style. I love the ease and playfulness of the dresses!