MPM--September Mourn

The school year started off well, and soccer season is in full swing. But our family lost our patriarch last week, and it's really a bigger blow than I thought it would be. His 89th birthday would have been this month, and once he got past 80, it just seemed he'd live forever. But that's not really how life works, and so we go on. Add that to the tenth anniversary of 9/11, which coincidentally coincides with my mother's death, and I'm really in a funk. I'll move on. But this week, like many others, I'm pausing to reflect, remember, and wrap myself in good thoughts.

This week:

Monday: yay veggies! Crazy Jane's Chicken and whatever's in the box.

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday.

Wednesday: pulled pork sandwiches, roasted potatoes, something from the CSA box (it's back-to-school night for one child, so my sister- and brother-in-law are coming to babysit, yay, so big dinner for all)

Thursday: leftovers, if any, and if not, freezer dinner.

Friday: salmon with bok choy, rice. Kids might starve.

I'm obsessed with the White Beans & Cabbage. It's way better with butter. But I'll eat it either way.

I'm also obsessed with the Amazon grocery service with big discounts for scheduled deliveries. After seeing how fast we go through some of the pre-packed things with two kids with lunches, I'm scouting for the cheapest way. Thanks to a tip from a friend who works with Campbell's, I checked out Amazon, whom she told me is trying very hard to grow their grocery business. They have a thing going, Subscribe and Save, where you find the foods your family eats lots of, and sign up to have it delivered at intervals you choose, and you get a better price on it. I just joined our local big-box discount store (BJ's) and they have better prices on some things, but Amazon does on others, and the convenience of them showing up at my house when I need them...? Awesome. (Note: I am not an affiliate, alas, I just think this is very cool, even if it is iffy on the carbon footprint.)

I tried the Moroccan Shrimp recipe from Dinner: A Love Story but I think something was wrong with the shrimp, and I didn't have the cumin. I was the only one in the family who would eat it, and I wasn't letting $12 in shrimp go to waste. But it was not a big winner, alas. And otherwise, we didn't really try anything new. I shredded my zucchini and put it in the fridge, and it melted in to a big puddle of itself before I could make anything. Boo to me.

The Lunch Box Challenge, as predicted, wasn't very challenging, per se, but has been interesting. I have been trying to pack their lunches pretty much as they walk in the house. I also have adjusted what I'm sending; the sandwiches keep coming back home because my son is grossed out by them by the time he has lunch, so it's more full of little things (five yogurt pretzels, 6 cut up strawberries, a small container of goldfish or some other crunchy thing, a yogurt, a veggie or fruit item) than a traditional lunch. And they both get milk at school, which I love. They get chocolate milk, which is fine by me, because then we don't have it at home and it is Just Never Questioned. I love it when stuff like that works. And I'm willing to do it because it is hard to pack a drink for them that doesn't spill one way or the other; the chocolate milk tastes better than the white milk; and the school recycles the containers.

So, lots of transitions, lots of figuring out what we're doing, and I appreciate your patience as we get there. Sorry to be a bore but I'm really distracted by the rest of life and getting it on the computer is a stretch right now. BUT, if I don't, I'll be staring at 8 bags of nuts and butter shaped like a turkey in my freezer, wondering what to have for dinner, so the discipline is good for me.

For more inspiration posts, try I'm An Organizing Junkie!