Menu Plan - Week of March 28

It's Holy Week! The week we remember and celebrate the incredible sacrifice made by - and through - our Savior. I have been eagerly anticipating this week. Little man is on Spring Break, my mom is retiring this week, DH gets a 3 day weekend to celebrate Good Friday, and we have a fun trip planned to visit friends. There are so many wonderful things happening in my life this week and reasons to celebrate. The absolute best thing about the coming week though will be the Easter celebration - not the bunnies, Peeps, or plastic colored eggs. Our Easter celebration will focus on our risen Savior and how we can serve Him. I can't wait! Yes, we will eat this week too ...

Weeknight Dinners:

• Grilled chicken salad - I cooked up 3 lb of honey Dijon marinated chicken and have a huge salad in the 'fridge. Put them together an call it dinner!
• Grilled pork chops with pineapple salsa, asparagus, and Buttery Bread Sticks
• * Pork Carnitas with lettuce, salsa, cheese, etc.
• I would like to make White Chicken Enchiladas on Friday, but I highly suspect we'll end up at mom and dad's grilling out. Maybe I'll just bookmark the recipe for another night.

Breakfast, Baking, Freezer:

• I have about 8 lb split chicken in the freezer - I plan to thaw it, cook it in the slow cooker, shred it, and plunk it back in the freezer for future use. I got it when it was on sale and was too lazy to prep it properly. Hence, it's still in the freezer.
• Strawberries and Cream Bread (I may enough berries for 2 loaves)
• Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
• Cinnamon Rolls (over the weekend)
  

Menu Plan - Week of March 21

I have been really bad about sticking to a menu plan the past few weeks and we must get back on schedule around here. It's really be a little out of control - the 6:00 dinner rush, rooting through laundry baskets for clean socks, stacks and stacks of papers accumulating, and I really couldn't tell you the last time I cleaned toilets. There - all the skeletons are out of the closet. Now, to start dealing with them!

Weeknight Dinners:

• Bourbon Chicken, broccoli, rice
• * Chicken Parmesan, spaghetti noodles, green salad (carryover from last week)
• Salmon patties, fries, coleslaw (carryover from last week)
• Pizza and green salad
  

Lunch:

• Pizza Pasta Salad
  
• Green salad with grilled pork or leftover Bourbon chicken
• Leftovers for DH
• Little man eats a rotation of chicken nuggets, PB&J sandwiches, grilled cheese, spaghetti, sometimes leftovers

Breakfast, Snacks, and Freezer:

• Whole Wheat Graham Crackers
• Smoothies
• Homemade Ice Pops
  

Self Control - or lack thereof ...

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22-23

Several weeks ago I attended a womens conference and listened to Priscilla Shirer speak. She briefly mentioned her battles with food and referenced the verse above from Galatians as one that helped her break the bondage to food. For her, it was all about self control. Food itself is not bad, liking food is not bad; the problem comes when we have no self control and we overindulge.

God has been working on my heart over the past few weeks. I have read those verses over and over and over again and I am also being "smacked in the face" with my sheer lack of self control. Every decision I make throughout the day speaks of what I value and how much I trust God to fulfill His promises. When I make impulsive, over-indulgent, unwise, foolish, or plain old bad decisions, it reflects on me and the God I serve. I am also realizing that God has big plans for my life, my husband, our family and our little man. He could use all of us much more fully if I would display more self control. Practical examples? How I speak to people and the words I choose, how I choose to spend time, how many things I commit to doing, how I choose to spend resources, and many more things each day give me the opportunity to exhibit Biblical self control in my life.

I often try to convince myself that I have an area of sin under control - that I have overcome it. Self control was one of those area for a while. Until I realized that I had begun to control only the worst - or most obvious - things that caused me to exhibit a lack of self control. God continues to peel back layers and expose more opportunities for me to think differently and act differently. I am so thankful He's not done with me yet!

"...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:6b

Is Your Personality Different From Your Child's?

Somewhere along the way through schooling and the adventures into adulthood, most of us have taken a personality assessment. The widely used Myers Briggs test can be found everywhere from college dorms to workplaces to - yes! - even churches. I just had to go take this again - the short, free online version - because I had long since forgotten my type. I firmly believe my personality has changed over the years. I am now an ISTJ although I am sure I used to be an EN something something. So ... back to the original question. Is your personality style inherently at odds with your child's personality?

Mine is and I am praying every day that God gives me the grace to nurture our sweet little man and that He gives me just enough discomfort to know that He is the only way I am succeeding. How is my personality different from our son's? Let me count the ways ...

• Little man is a complete and total extrovert. He is happy as a lark when around many other children in a loud place. I, on the other hand, am generally pretty anti-social. I enjoy the company of a few close friends and family, but am just as content with a book and the quiet of the back porch.
• Little man requires little - if any - time to decompress and "chill out" during the day. We are working VERY hard on a consistent schedule that includes quiet time. Both for his sanity and mine :)
• Little man is an avid talker! I do know, thanks to my sweet mom, that I was exactly the same as a child. So, I can't be too upset about this one. But, DH and I have decided on our new favorite game - who can be the quietest for the longest time. Little man never wins!

What about you? Are you finding yourself pushed, challenged, extended, and learning new and different things due to your child's personality?

Menu Plan - Week of March 14

Remember last week when said I thought Spring might be here? Well, the green film on the driveway and cars proves it - Spring is here! And so is the warehouse club pack of generic Zyrtec. DH got a new grill last weekend and we have been putting it through a vigorous initiation period - we've grilled 3 times this week, so far! I hoped to continue the trend on into next week, but we are due for rain most days.

Weeknight Dinners:

• * Chicken Parmesan with green salad
• Salmon patties, pan fried potatoes, coleslaw
• * Ribs, baked potatoes, corn
• Chicken taco casserole with Mexican style rice

* Indicates a Slow Cooker recipe

Baking, Breakfast, and Freezer:

• Homemade Egg McMuffins - make these first and then assemble
• Chewy Granola Bars
• I'll be cooking up chicken and ground beef this week to restock the freezer - it makes weeknight meals come together so much quicker to have the meat already cooked.

Go visit I'm An Organizing Junkie for over 300 menu plans each week!

Menu Plan - Week of March 7

I don't want to jinx us here in the mid-South, but it appears that Spring has sprung!! Hooray!!! The 7 day forecast calls for at least 60 degrees every day the next week. DH is a deacon at our local church and we are having a revival this week. He'll be at church at least 3 nights early in the week, so dinners will be pretty simple.

Sunday:
B: Oatmeal
L: An assortment of leftovers and pantry items
D: Grilled salmon and roasted asparagus

Weeknight Dinners:

• Steak burritos (using leftover steak from Saturday) with salsa, cheese, lettuce, and sour cream
• Chicken gravy over rice (chicken is already precooked in the freezer), green beans
  
• Spaghetti, Italian Cheese Bread, salad
  
• Pizza and salad
• Chinese take out (DH gets paid and this is such a fun treat for us ... under $10 and we can be stuffed!)

Baking, Breakfast, Freezer:

• Banana Bread (2 loaves - one to share)
• Sour Gummies - little man LOVES the ones from the store; not sure these are any more nutritious, but they'll be fun to make
• Apple Chips

Have a wonderful week in your home. Go check out the hundreds of amazing bloggers at Laura's each Monday - most of the recipes I link to have been found there.

March Menu Plan

Here's the rough plan for the month of March in our home. I will post additional plans each week which will include baking. I hope you gain some inspiration from this post!

Dinner with mom and dad - 4 times
Dinner at church - once for the whole family, 4 nights for DH
Creamy Ranch Pork Chops with rice and broccoli
Grilled cheese sandwiches with butternut squash soup
Chicken gravy over rice with sweet corn
Oatmeal with cinnamon, brown sugar, and raisins (DH will be at church - little man and I can indulge!)
Spaghetti with Italian Cheese Bread - 2 times
Pizza and green salad - 2 times
Taco Casserole with lettuce and tomatoes
Baked Lemon Chicken with rice and roasted asparagus
Salmon patties, pan fried potatoes, coleslaw
* Cranberry and Red Wine Glazed Pot Roast with mashed potatoes and roasted carrots
* Black Bean Salsa Chicken with homemade tortilla chips
* Chicken Parmesan with green salad

* Indicates a slow cooker recipe.