The Bird's Nest

Oops, posting late. I had this written up last week. Mastitis slowed this momma down!

Sunday: Buffalo Chicken Rolls (lunchables for the kids)

Monday: Leftover pulled pork sandwiches and cream of broccoli soup

Tuesday: Zucchini Pancakes, fruit & yogurt
Wednesday: Italian Sausage and Potato Roast
Thursday: tbd
Friday: Vegetable Quesadillas
Saturday: Homemade Cheese & Bacon Pizza

Cillian is now in his own room.
He has been for about 3 weeks.

It's bittersweet for me.
Our babies were always in our room with us, mostly out of necessity due to lack of space.
In that, though, I came to appreciate it. It's easier with nursing, but I also learned that I (most of the time) like my babies close to me. I actually sleep better at times when they're in bed with me, nestled all snug.
Aidan was a fabulous co-sleeper. He'd snuggle in and stay put.
Brennan was only for a month or so, and then he needed his space.
Cillian is depending on the day. ;)

Unfortunately he reached a point of waking nearly every 2 hours. It coincided always with us coming to bed, so he seems sensitive to any noise. Once awake, he'd want to nurse, then after that we'd have to leave the room to let him cry, come back in once he stopped, he'd wake, and the cycle continued.
It was "musical sleeping": starting in our room, moving to the living room, back to our room, even the boys' room. I just needed SLEEP!

So we said we'd do a trial run, and it was much much better. This week not so much, as 2 more teeth are coming in.
All in all, Cillian seems happy with his own room & space.
I do still bring him to our bed from time to time, but I admit it is nice to be able to move more freely in our room. Kid #3 is what it took to have an actual "nursery" in our home! :)
The playroom has been transformed:

I was sad to give up the only "playroom" we've ever had, but sleep is more important.
For now.

Last Sunday we headed 2 hours south to Dayton.
What's in Dayton, you might ask?
Well, a very dear friend is stationed there (USAF).
We've known Steve for going on 14 years (14?! That makes me feel old!). He & I were in Austria the same semester, he & Pat lived off campus together senior year, he was in our wedding, etc.

Steve has also spent a good amount of time overseas serving our country. We are thrilled to have this hero-friend of ours not only in the states, but in the same state as us!
He's made several trips to our area, so we loaded up the kids and drove to him.
He made us a most delicious German dinner.

See? YUM.

Following that we had a personal tour of his "classroom", as he called it:




So cool! Lucky kids.

Next we went to the Air Force museum, (Wright-Patterson):











A gigantic place, amazing things to see...I hope to take the boys back there when they are older and can appreciate it more.

Thanks to Steve for hosting us and making it such an awesome day!

Sunday: Finally made the Apple Glazed Pork Roast 
Monday: Cheesy Chicken Shells
Tuesday: Easy Fried Rice
Wednesday: frozen night (i.e., pizza rolls for the boys, Lean Cuisine for me, Pat at Auto Show)
Thursday: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
Friday: Tortellini Soup

Have a great week! Thanks for stopping by. :)

My sweet little lovable man turned 11 MONTHS OLD on the 18th.
11 M-O-N-T-H-S!
How can that be already?

It's snuck up on me, and it did in fact make me a tad sad he's crossing into toddlerhood soon.
It gave me some extra patience to nurse him in the night...several times a night lately.
To hold him tight, let him make a mess feeding himself, and pull my hair.
Because he's that cute doing it all.

Cillian loves to eat, everything.

His current favorite is Ritz crackers. :) (anyone else think of Harrison Ford in the movie Regarding Henry?)
He gets super excited to see his brothers, loves jumping in his crib, likes having his own room (sniff), enjoys Yo Gabba Gabba, and is so darned desperate to walk. He's getting close....so close.

What's the beauty of menu planning before grocery shopping? You have what you need for those planned meals, and some flexibility to change up the menu. :)

That's what I did last week.
I menu plan 10 meals at a time, based on our pay periods. I then make my grocery list based off those 10 meals, file them in my blog, and post weekly. Last week I swapped out a meal from this week, so it's changed. I love shopping for a meal plan, because I should still have all I need for this week's menu.

Last week we never made the Southwestern Pie or the Mexican Pasta Skillet. Instead I made the Teriyaki Sticky Chicken, and we also had an extra day from our beef roast from last week. Both delicious.
This week's tentative menu:

Monday: Leftovers from the weekend

Monday: Beef Roast with potatoes, carrots, green beans
Tuesday: Beef Barley Soup with fresh bread
Wednesday: Fried Egg Sandwiches, fruit
Thursday: Healthified Mexican Pasta Skillet
Friday: Impossibly Easy Southwestern Pie