Another Week, Another Meal Plan

I know the weekend is only half over, but so far it's been fantastic! Yesterday my mom and I went to the Mother of the Year Luncheon for my Mother's of Multiples Club. I'd never been before, last year was a little too hectic for me to attend. I really didn't know what to expect, but one of the long time members told me that it was her favorite event of the year, so I knew it must be pretty special. And boy was she right! They obviously spent a lot of time planning, because they really thought of everything. There were beautiful handmade centerpieces, handmade programs at each setting with hand stamped shamrocks, there was a Theme "A Time to Shine", these ladies are Organized! One thing that I really appreciate about this group is that I feel like I'm surrounded by women who have been through the ups and downs of twin parenthood. Some of the ladies in the group have been members since it's inception in the 1950's, and a lot of them have twins older than me. It's a very multi-generational multi-cultural group. Which I think is absolutely wonderful! In fact, very few members have not been Mother of the Year before, when we counted I think there were just 4 of us. lol

What are the perks of being the MOY? Well, they get to wear a very pretty and sparkly tiara during each monthly meeting. Plus the club gives them little gifts throughout the year, a new one each month. And most of all, they are recognized by the club as being an important part of the group AND for being a fantastic Mom. It's really quite an honor.

This year the MOY was completely surprised that she had been awarded! And they also surprised her by bringing her children out once it was revealed, and her boyfriend called her on the phone from South Carolina right at the appropriate moment! It was very cool!

Then after the luncheon, my parents offered to watch the girls while Hubs and I went out for a date. It was very impromptu, so we didn't have plans or anything. And extreme rarity for us since Hubs is such a planner. So we went to our favorite Thai place, I can't even remember when the last time was that we went there and actually sat down to eat rather than taking our little boxes home to eat. I wasn't very hungry because I had just eaten a couple hours ago at the luncheon, and let me say, the food the other ladies brought was GOOD! (Including authentic baklava made by an amazing Greek lady! Yeah... we were spoiled.) So I tried to make a good effort on my Thai food, but I ended up taking most of it home. Hubs and I got to daydreaming about future business ideas, in the hopes that we can gain some other form of income and make his job at the Port less of a necessity. So after dinner we wandered around town looking at various vacant spaces available for lease. And then doing searches online to find out how much it would cost to get started, etc. Some couples talk about vacations and their kids while on dates. Us? We talk about trying to get Hubs out of that job.

Oh yeah! I was supposed to share this week's Meal Plan!

I think I got a little distracted...

Shiny objects often have that effect on me.

Again, I haven't assigned meals to days, that would really hamper my style.

Heavenly Pork Roast w/ green beans & baked potatoes ~ Again, from my new crock pot book, you should really get one.

Ham & Bean Soup w/ Irish Soda Bread & celery sticks w/ pimento cheese ~ This is super easy since I have the soup in my freezer. Only thing I have to actually make is the bread.

Homemade Mac & Cheese with Chipotle Lime Chicken & asparagus ~ Chicken is pre-marinated in my freezer, so I only have to whip up the Mac & cheese.

Chicken Burritos ~ I'm just sort of wingin' this one. I'm thinking about pre-wrapping them and tossing them in the oven just to make it a little different than my usual.

Burgers w/ potato salad & carrot sticks ~ Just wingin' this. I bought pre-made potato salad at the store. Yup, I'm takin' it easy this week.

Tater Tot Casserole & coleslaw ~ I promise you, I don't usually watch 17 Kids & Counting, but I happened to catch an episode this past week where Ma Dugger made this with her younger boys. And I thought to myself, Huh, that looks like something the girls might like. And since she so kindly posted the recipe on their website I've decided to give it a shot. Hey, we can't be gourmet all the time right?

And you'll notice, there are 6 recipes up there, not my usual 5. We'll see if we get through all 6 this week, we may end up making one of these recipes next week instead. I went grocery shopping on Friday rather than Saturday, so we sort of had an extra day to account for. Plus the girls are eating more, so we have less leftovers, and I'm really hoping to cut back on our eating out. Gotta save up for that dreamy new business idea right? lol

PS: If you were really hoping to get a recipe from last week's menu that I failed to share with you this week, please drop me a line. I'd be happy to share it with you, I just can't always be bothered to blog about every meal we make. I'm sure you understand. :)