Menu Monday May 4 (and it's actually MONDAY!)

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snack
Monday	Cereal with berries	Noodles with butter and parmesan cheese, broccoli	Whole chicken in the slow cooker, roasted vegetables (sweet potatoes, cipollini onions)	Watermelon, trail mix
Tuesday	Yogurt with berries	Broccoli, cheddar, bacon frittata *I add a little lemon zest, too	Tacos (with leftover chicken)	Popcorn, celery with cream cheese *I pop the popcorn in the microwave in a brown lunch bag
Wednesday	Eggs and bacon	Peanut butter and jelly/cream cheese sandwiches	Pasta primavera, rolls, salad *I use Rhodes frozen dinner rolls (not super healthy, but SO yummy)	Banana smoothie, trail mix *Smoothie=blend 1 frozen banana, splash of whole milk, drop of vanilla, a couple berries if I have them
Thursday	Cereal with bananas	Peanut butter and banana on crackers	Veggie jambalaya	Celery with cream cheese, popcorn
Friday	Yogurt with strawberries	Grilled cheese with bacon and tomato	Homemade pizza, salad	Watermelon, cucumbers
Saturday	Pancakes	Birthday party	Spicy Thai Curry Noodle Soup	Banana smoothie, cheese and crackers
Sunday	Omelets (to use up leftover veggies)	Family meal	Leftovers	Whatever is left!

 

I am on a grocery budget kick again J Sometimes I swing way over to the side of letting health and trends dictate my menu, while other times it is pretty strictly money that has me planning one thing over another. This week it’s money. I’m using the app Favado to compare prices for different stores in my area and I am really liking it! It also lets you know if there is a coupon available for an item and links to the coupon if it is printable.

The trail mix is just a reusable baggie filled with whole grain cereal, whatever nut I happen to have around (this week it is almonds), and some organic chocolate chunks from Trader Joe’s. Alice likes to eat the almonds with the chocolate chunks and Ethan likes the cereal. I eat whatever they don’t finish. Come to think of it, at least 60% of what I eat during the day is leftovers from the kids….hmmmmm.

I can’t wait to try the Spicy Thai Curry Noodle soup. I found the link on this blog and when she said it was so spicy it brought tears to her eyes, I knew Sergio and I had to try it. I’m going to make some without all the spice for the kids.

Happy menu Monday! How do you stay on budget with your groceries while making sure that your family has healthy food? I am forever looking for tips J

Ethan's Montessori Inspired Bedroom

 

 

Welcome to Ethan's sunny little corner of the world!
When I say this room is "Montessori inspired", what I mean is that I used my very limited understanding of Montessori concepts to get this room started. The extent of my knowledge in this area comes from Alice attending a Montessori school (she started in the toddler room and is now completing her second year in the 3-6 class). A few months ago, I heard mention of a Montessori bedroom, did a quick Pinterest search, and grabbed an "as-is" matrress from Ikea. We had the Expidit bookcase from when this room was the "office". That's pretty much where my inspiration started! Honestly, this is the first room in our house that I have intentionally put together. So far, I love spending time in here! Let's take a little tour, shall we?

Here is the view from the door. Obviously, we need some window coverings :) Yes, that is Che on the wall. It's one of my treasures: a painting done by a 16 year old boy in Nicaragua. It is painted on old jeans. 

Here is Ethan's bed. He was having a really hard time in a crib (for the 2 weeks we had one...) because Ethan likes to roll around in order to get comfy and fall asleep. For now, he starts out here on his mattress. We still end up co-sleeping sometime after midnight, but we are getting there. At 19 months, Alice was pretty much sleeping through through the night in her crib, but apparently no two kids are alike (right mom?). I have a very strong mommy sense that Ethan is not ready to stop nighttime nursing or co-sleeping. I plan to reevaluate when he's closer to two. At this age, three months is like a lifetime!
When he does wake, the interesting thing is that he doesn't get off his mattress. He could, as the room is set up with the intention of being safe for him to explore. But, he doesn't. During the day, though, he is very interested in exploring his space!

Here is Ethan's play space. It's just a black Expidit shelf organized with one thing per nook. It is set back in what I guess is supposed to be the closet, but there are no doors and it's just a very strange alcove for now. Above the shelf is actually a leaded glass window that is currently covered with some plywood painted white. Again, it's a work in progress!

Here is the top of Ethan's shelf. It has a stuffed llama, a picture album with family photos, a little bear toy with velcro and pockets, and the book Global Babies/Bebes del Mundo which we read many times a day.

This is the bottom of the shelf. Each little nook has either a basket or a toy/puzzle. This makes it very easy for Ethan to see where to put back whatever he is working on. It also simplifies his choices by not overwhelming him.
The big toys are a shape sorter house (Ikea) and one of those wire maze toys with beads (also Ikea). Then there are two wooden peg puzzles handed down from Alice. One is farm animals and the other is emergency vehicles.
The baskets make pretty good hats, too!

This basket has a ball. Yep, that's it.

The second basket is for his cars. Ethan really loves cars, and usually there are a few more in here. He was playing with them while I took the pictures :)

 The third basket holds his nesting cups. Lots of work to do with these!

 

 The last basket holds his musical instruments.

 

 

 

Here are the two elements of the room that I don't love. The dresser is handed down from Alice's room. In the little green bin are the cloth diapers and wipes. Top drawer holds all clothes (onesies, shirts, pants, and socks). Bottom drawer is for jammies, nighttime diapers, and blankies. I would like to figure out a better system so that E can start helping to choose his own clothes.
In the corner is our glider/nursing chair. It's a little plain, no? Oh well, it does the job.

On my list for the room are a HUGE piece of art over the mattress. I'm thinking a drawing of a train, spread out over three separate frames. Also, window coverings, because Ethan will not go to sleep until the sun goes down. That's getting later and later these days! Finally, a mirror over the little table for some self-care (combing his hair, wiping his nose, etc).

I am loving the feeling of this space. It is sunny and neat feeling. Plus, it takes about 2 seconds to help Ethan pick up. Certainly fulfulling our goals of peace, joy, and simplicity!

 

Thanks for visiting!