Meal Plan and other things...

I'm getting around to it, finally.  Made this up on Saturday for grocery shopping, but we've had an interesting weekend... Aiden started coming down with a cold suddenly on Saturday, and be evening, he was feeling warm. He had a fever all night, threw up around midnight and then when he ate breakfast, and he was up all throughout the night sneezing. The throwing up was not a stomach bug but was due to all the mucous he was dealing with... Every time he sneezed, snot launched a couple feet. I kid you not. He ran a fever all day Sunday and was pretty pitiful. Still launching snot all day and throughout the night Sunday night. He's been fever-free since Sunday evening, but he still is sneezing, coughing, and just has a ton of mucous bothering him. Nobody is sleeping well b/c he's constantly waking from the coughing or sneezing, all of which seem to hurt him. Mama's sinuses haven't been feeling great ever since Sunday. Aiden and I haven't hardly slept for the last three nights (Ryan's been up a bit, too; just not quite as much as mama), so we're all pretty exhausted.

AND then there's Camden...Now, last week on Valentine's Day, Camden comes home with a hurt finger. He was picking up his books at school (at 11am), when someone happened to trip and fall on his finger in a funny way. When he got home at 3pm, it was still swollen twice its size, and he couldn't move it. A trip to the urgent care center showed no break but a really deep bruise, and he came home with his finger in a splint. This made things a bit more challenging for him b/c it was the hand he writes with...but turns out a finger in a splint wasn't so bad, after all. Fast forward to Sunday afternoon, and Camden comes in from playing soccer in the cul de sac. He was playing with some friends that he plays with all the time. They don't play rough, don't tackle, and it's rare anyone gets hurt at all. This time, some boys Camden normally doesn't play with joined in. He normally doesn't play with them b/c they're so rough. So, one of them side-tackled Camden and knocked him down. Trying to catch himself, Camden ends up putting out his arm and bends his elbow in the wrong direction, hyperextending it. Talk about being in pain - he was in *severe* pain. It was hard seeing him in so much pain. :( Back to the urgent care center for x-rays before they close... While it's hard to tell based on the x-ray, they're sure there is a fracture. They set his arm up in a semi-cast and sling with instructions to call an orthopedist in the morning. Got in to see the orthopedist, and they say the same thing...seems to be a fracture, but they can't say for sure yet. They put on another cast that has his arm at a better angle, and we'll return next week for more x-rays, by which point it should be easier to see if there is a crack, after it has had some time to heal and for swelling to go down. If there is a crack, he'll have a better cast put on.

This injury happened on the same arm as his finger injury. Poor kid. And doing things like homework, showering, eating, and all sorts of things have suddenly become more interesting, challenging...and call for parental participation a heck of a lot more! Ha.

So, needless to say, we've been spending a lot more time on some other things around here. And things that can get put off have gotten put off.

But if you're interested, here is what's on the menu this week.

Sunday
Dinner: Egg-free pancakes. Finally found a successful way to make them egg-free. These are really good! Fried potatoes (oh yum - I felt the need to fit these into our menu this week), and chicken/apple sausage. OJ to drink. The website that had the pancake recipe has a lot of allergy-friendly dishes...I'm eager to try some of her other recipes! Some look and sound really yummy.

Monday
Lunch: Sweet potato and apple casserole. Camden, who hates sweet potatoes, LOVES this dish. It smells like apple pie, and he says it tastes like it, too. I'm not sure I entirely agree because it does have sweet potatoes. But if anti-sweet potato Camden loves this dish, that's saying something... Aiden happens to be quite happy with just plain baked sweet potato and sliced apples. I'm happy with those on their own as well, but I also want Camden to find ways to like sweet potatoes, so I'm sure to make this dish for his lunches sometimes, too! :) We also had some hummus and pretzels.
Dinner: Beef & Lentils, green beans, bread, and apple slices. So, this is one of my most favorite dishes ever. Ever. This is the ultimate comfort food to me, for some reason. I should probably post the recipe soon...but think ground beef, lentils, a bit of rice, some seasonings including cumin (this is the dish to blame for my love for cumin - I smell that stuff and immediately think of beef and lentils, which is a good thing to me). My mom made this when I was younger, and I remember eating it with green beans and ketchup. I still eat it that way. I took the recipe my mom based hers on and made it into a crockpot dish. I was so proud when I finally got it just right, all on my own. ;)

Tuesday
Lunch: Well, we ate finger foods on the way to my afternoon (meaning right at naptime - had no other choice) doctor appt. Since the little guy has not been sleeping at night, he took his nap shortly after 10am, and I had to wake him to leave in time for the appt. He ate on the way and then snacked while there. Puffs, banana, apple, and an allergy-friendly snack bar (that he loves but is expensive, so we only pull them out on special occasions where we need him to be quiet...).
Dinner: Slow-cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes (thanks for passing this on, Katie!!). I thought this was really good, and it helped to have a crockpot dish, since we weren't sure what time we would be home from our dr appt. Ryan thought it was good, Camden didn't really care for it, and Aiden never even tried it (toddlers can be so much fun sometimes...). We also had pb sandwiches with the chili. Added sour cream, cheese, and then ate tortilla chips with the chili. I added some corn to the chili (trying to get the kids to like it more) and added a bit of sugar, too. I didn't quite have the right amount of chili powder, and Ryan thought the chili was too bland, so I should at least be sure to have the proper amount of seasonings next time, huh? ;)

Wednesday
Lunch: Sweet potato and apple casserole, avocado, and maybe some green smoothie
Dinner: Beef & lentils, some veggie yet to be determined, and some fruit. Maybe some rolls, too.

Thursday
Lunch: Tuna, apple, raisin salad
Dinner: Parm chicken with pasta, zucchini boats (new recipe a friend sent a while back and I've been wanting to try)

Friday
Lunch: Tuna, apple, raisin salad
Dinner: Chicken tortilla soup (trying it out)

Saturday
Leftovers!!

I'm starting to notice how many weelicious recipes I make every week, especially now that I'm linking to recipes that are online in these posts... Obviously we're a fan. ;)