The Juggling Act of a Working Mom

It is amazing how simple life was before kids. I had a clean house. I wore makeup every day (okay, most days). I had a social life. I sent Christmas cards.

Today, I am wearing my hair down, straight ironed, and a skirt, and I'm thinking this is some big to do. LOL.

Having hubby at home with the boys is a huge help. He does dishes. And laundry. No dusting, sorting, straightening or throwing stuff away, though. :P He looks really panic stricken when I suggest that he could do that.

He's offered to help with cooking and shopping. If I write out a list, plan the meals, give him the recipes and tell him what to do. 1) I actually look forward to that part of my day, and 2) after all the prep work, I might as well do it myself. LOL

The best part of having him home is so he can parent. Take the boys to the pool. The Children's Museum. The playground. The boys have had a fun filled summer with their dad. So many wonderful memories. I might have some of it scrapbooked by Big K's graduation.

Today, I enjoy my good hair day. And blissfully ignore the fact that the house is a MESS. I'll do some cleaning instead of putting on makeup tomorrow :)

Okay, it's a day late, but it's a meal plan!

Better late than never, right? The garden is starting to pump out produce, although the tomatoes haven't really started yet (I did get 4 whole cherry tomatoes to use on last night's salad, does that count?) I am hauling a full bag of my larger cucumbers to work, and will get on my knees and beg people to take them if necessary :) The green beans are really starting to kick in, and I have a whole bunch of jalapenos that are ready, but I'm leaving them on to ripen to red, as we want to try our hand at smoking them for chipotle peppers this year. I left my camera upstairs yesterday when I was down in the garden, and was just too darn lazy to walk back upstairs, so I will take some photos for the garden update later this afternoon when I get home.

Here's the meal plan for the week. Clocks in right around my $35 average, and will no doubt produce plenty of leftovers.

Monday-
spaghetti w/ turkey meatballs $3.50
salad ( I used the very last of my provel cheese ropes, purchased when we went home to St. Louis week before last. No one even knows what they are here. SOB) $1.25
bread and butter .40
$5.15

Tuesday-
sloppy joes $3.00
fries .50
watermelon slices $1.00
$4.50

Wednesday-
combo fried rice $2.75
potstickers $1.75
fruit salad $1.00
$5.50

Thursday-
grilled pork chops $1.75
grilled veggie salad w/ balsamic ( not growing zucchini or summer squash, but found some beautiful locally grown organic veggies that will be awesome) $2.00
corn on the cob .80
$4.55

Friday-
Hubby and Big K will be home while Mommy and Ry hit the ballpark
Leaving hubby to bake frozen pizzas ( that I got on sale and w/ coupons for .49 each. ) $1
sliced nectarines .50
$1.50

Saturday-
skillet nachos $3.50
tomato and corn salad $1.00
$4.50

Sunday-
smoked ribs $8.00
beans $1.00
salad .75
$9.75

Update

Thank you Molly for kicking me in the rump so I can update everyone. Here, doing well, and getting ready to get back full swing into blogging.

What's been happening:

-just got back from taking the family to visit all the grandparents in Missouri.
-fortunately I got to be there for my Dad's surgery, where they removed a tumor the size of a peach from his bladder. Tests show it was not invasive and it is a very slow growing type of cancer. Best news we could have hoped for
-Mom is in remission with her lymphoma. She lost 33lbs. during chemo and radiation, has put 6 back on now that she is hungry again, and is just doing her best not to put any more on LOL. Got to see her with her own hair last week. Funny, because hairdresser won't let her color it yet, so it's the first time in my 39 years I've ever seen her real haircolor :)
-now hopefully one of them will be healthy enough to hit the job trail again. With Dad laid off since November, I am very worried about them.
- Big K turned 5 yesterday. My baby is 5. Starts kindergarten this fall. Makes me wanna cry. Almost as hard as I cried during Toy Story 3.
-Me? Seem to be feeling better over the past week. Think with all the stuff I've seen the rest of my family go through, mine pails in comparison. Plus, being on vacation, more proof that it's the stress.

God has a plan for each of us, and I am becoming more and more comfortable each day with the idea that I am NOT in control; He is. I have a friend that is always repeating that message and so positive. But after hearing about my Dad, I was the one that talked HER off the ledge. I even told her how amused I was that she was taking it all harder than I was.

I just sit confidently waiting for His Plan to work its way through as I know it will. He sure knows how to fix us control freaks.

Speaking of control, burgers and brats tonight. Tacos tomorrow. Full menu plan on Sunday.

Oh yeah...the photo above? Big K half way through a waffle cone that was originally bigger than his head. Stunning that he made it that far.

Have a great week. Looking forward to catching up with all of you.