FAMILY MEALS: WEEK FOUR

We have got four weeks of meal planning under our belts. Well, I only really cook two meals a week and the rest are leftovers from those meals or something really easy that I already know how to do, so that helps take off some pressure. We kinda of just wing weekend meals and Friday nights are usually for pizza. There was still a lot of recuperating from the wedding last weekend, so I only tried one new recipe this week.

Tuesday, I made Oven Baked Taquitos and Fresh Guacamole...

There are only a hand full of things that I know how to make well and from my own memory and oven baked taquitos is one them. Ben and the girls love it! I use chicken breast, which I boil until half cooked, then I shred and saute in a pan with taco seasoning. I warm up some tortillas, place some chicken in the middle, roll them up and lay them on a pan side by side. Once I roll them all up, I lightly spray them with oil and cook it in the oven at about 400°F for about 20 minutes and they get nice and crispy. A good healthy substitute to the normally fried taquitos.

Wednesday was for Citrus Soy Squid on Angel Hair Pasta....

I have never cooked squid and it isn't so bad. They cook really fast! The recipe said to cut in 1'' pieces and grill, but if we were to grill it, our pieces would have fallen through. Thus, I put half the batch in the oven and sauteed the rest in a pan. I like how the ones in the pan turned out better. I served it with lemon wedges and Mexican green onions like the recipe suggested. We needed some starch and I originally wanted buckwheat noodles, but we didn't have any, so angel hair pasta was the next best thing.

Brave devoured her entire plate, squid and all, but True just ate the pasta. She seem to like the sauce though. The flavors were a bit mild for us though all the pieces went well together, so Ben and I just added chili oil to our plates. We like our food with kick! It was such a light meal that we got hungry real quick after.

Week of 2/13 - 2/17:
Monday: Rice and Black Bean Pilaf
Tuesday: May just pick up some sushi for Valentine's Day!
Wednesday: Chicken Piccata (since Ben loved this so much)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Pizza or something super easy

I want to try cooking a dish with tofu. Anyone have any good tofu recipes to share? Preferably something spicy!

DIY: A LOVE DAY BAG

The girls and I will be making more of these little bags together, so each one will have their own. Then, it is Ben and my job to fill it with treats. I am kind of excited for some Love Day celebrating next Tuesday! We aren't exactly sure what our plans are just yet, but I love any excuse to celebrate. Don't you?!!

p.s. our meal schedule was a bit thrown off this week, so family meal recap will be posted tomorrow night.

OUT TO SCHOOL: WEEK TWENTY

{where from again? tunic & pants: misha lulu; cardigan: american apparel; shoes: toms gifted from grandparents}

I have got my own set of glittery toms thanks to the BFF. It gives a nice bit of pizzaz and I like feeling kinda fancy! Us Bratcher girls think pizzazz and fancy make a winning combination. Would you ever wear some glitter toms?

p.s. happy birthday hanna!

LOVE THIS GUY

I still have all sorts of emotions from this past weekend and am still feeling pretty tired. All I want to do is stay in bed all day long, but that really isn't quite possible with four little ones. Once my mom asked, "Is Ben still that Prince Charming you thought he was when you were dating?" My answer, "Yes, he is."

Definitely still in love with (and choosing to love) this guy almost seven years later, even if we occasionally get annoyed and snippy with each other like we did on the way to wedding on Saturday.

Be back to regular blogging tomorrow. In the meantime, baby sister wrote her own letter to middle sister (don't mind my glasses!). And maybe I can get Ben to find some time to help me finish writing that love story of ours. Love day is coming up after all...

SHE'S MARRIED

My sister looked absolutely beautiful and it was fun dancing all night long! They had some pretty great music lined up for the night, which included a live jazz band, Me. & Mr. Cassidy made a guest appearance, and Avasa & Matty Love who are pretty amazing. Then, a dj who pumped some fun tunes. My legs are pretty tired now.

I didn't really get any pictures past being in the hotel room getting ready, but Max Wanger was their photographer, so I am sure they will be much more amazing than anything I would have taken. My girls had a blast dancing and running around. Also, probably cause they ate churros and s'mores galore. What kid wouldn't have a blast doing that?!!

Baby sister and I cried while seeing our sister walk down the aisle with our dad and I couldn't help think about the day when I will be watching Ben doing that with our four girls. I hope that day doesn't come too fast, but I know it probably will. So for now, I will enjoy these sisters staying little and together for as long as possible cause one day they will be grown and posing in picture just like the one of me and my sisters above.

DEAR SISTER

Dear sister,

Today, you are getting married. Enjoy it. Don't worry about that extra fluff that makes weddings look pretty. That is what it really is, just fluff. Those things don't make a marriage. I have seen God's grace and goodness in your life as I think about where God has brought you. You are here not because of anything you have done, but only because of what God has done. Don't find your joy in finally being married because if you do, you will be greatly disappointed. Don't find your joy in Christian, because if you do, you will also be greatly disappointed. Marriage is fun, but it is also hard. Be prepared to work. Don't rely on feelings because feelings will fluctuate and you won't always feel like loving your husband. Love God. Above all else, always love God. Trust God. Enjoy God. Your life won't be better now because you are married. Your life will only be better if you love God more each day. Loving God will make marriage even more wonderful. God is the key.

I love you sister. Happy wedding day!

Love,

Your big sister

AT THE FLOWER MART

The past two days have been filled with lots of flowers. We went to the L.A. flower mart to pick up a whole bunch for my sister's wedding and I spent most of today putting things together with my mama by my side. I remember when I used to come more frequently to the flower mart to do florals for weddings. I really enjoyed it back then and my mom and I used to work wee into the night preparing. Those were good times with my mom. She is such a trooper.

I worked at a flower shop all through high school and a bit during college, as well as an arranging course, so working with my flowers is one of my favorite things. I still know the names to most of the flowers and I really miss it, but I do think doing weddings are much more stressful now with four kids. It would be so lovely to be able to do things like Chelsea of Frolic. She makes the loveliest arrangements. I so would love to be her assistant!

All I have left to do for my sister's wedding is bake a strawberry shortcake, make her bouquet and hair wreath, and write my MOH toast. Can't believe it, but we have one day left! Saturday will be here before you know it.

What I'm wearing... shirt, vintage via gisela & zoe vintage. belt, thrifted. pants, f21. shoes c/o modcloth. bag, hansel from basel (gifted from baby sis).

FAMILY MEALS: WEEK THREE

This week was pretty good as far as meal planning because we didn't have to buy anything extra for the recipes. It was all stuff we were already stocked with, so it made everything much more perfect!

Monday we indulged in Chicken Piccata...

It is a healthy recipe, but it did not lack in flavor at all! In fact, Ben loved it so much he was licking the spoon that was in the pan, since the sauce went by fast. I paired ours with whole wheat spaghetti and it really made a nice dish. Ben said this was his favorite by far. I didn't know what chicken scaloppini was so I just used our chicken breast and cut them in half, so they would be thinner pieces. Ben comes home and informs me that scaloppini was chicken pounded thin. I will be sure to try that next time.

Tuesday was for Apple-Honey Chicken...

I used some drumsticks for the girls, but used mostly chicken breasts. If you like sweet and sour type foods, you will like this recipe. It definitely has tang and zing! The frustrating part, which thankfully one of you warned me about, was that the sauce never really went syrupy. I had to add about 2 tbsp of flour to about a 1/4 cup of apple juice and then mixed that in the sauce while it was simmering and that helped a lot. It took me about 30 minutes to get the sauce to thicken. I liked this dish, but it won't go on the must-make-again-soon list.

Meals have taken about 30-40 minutes to cook and I cook enough to have leftovers on Wednesdays and Thursdays. We haven't been able to plan for our vegetable dishes that well, but we do have canned beets, canned artichokes, and other canned veggies on hand to eat along our meals. We try to make sure our meals include some veggies. When the craziness of my sister's wedding is done, we will get better at including planned veggie dishes. I noticed that the girls have been really enjoying the meals. They pretty much devour their food on the plate. I am glad they are really liking the meals too!

Next week we will be recuperating from my sister's wedding and will have family in town, so not sure what our dinners will look like as we will likely be meeting up with family. We will go super simple on our meals and I am just going to try out one new dish and cook one of the new recipes we just tried.

Week of 2/5 - 2/9:
Monday: Spaghetti and Meatballs (though, we likely won't be eating at home)
Tuesday: One of our Trader Joe's dinners

Wednesday: Citrus Soy Squid on Buckwheat Noodles (Ben bought some frozen squid on sale, so I thought this might be a good time to try it.)
Thursday: Chicken Piccata (since Ben loved this so much)
Friday: Pizza or something super easy

If you are joining along, how is your meal planning going? Also, please share with me your favorite recipes. I would love to possibly try them!

OUT TO SCHOOL: WEEK NINETEEN

{where from again? dress, vintage and gifted from Rachel. blazer, vintage. leggings, gifted. boots, thrifted}

She started a new semester and has the same classes, but her schedule is now flipped. Theatre used to be the first class of the day during the whole first semester, so she didn't really participate because she said she felt shy. She told me as the day wore on, she would get less shy.

Theatre is now at the end of the day and I was hoping this would help her, and after just one week, it indeed has. Her teacher told me that she actually participated in the activity instead of just watching from the sidelines. Next goal, to get her to talk in theatre.

I know she loves theatre and listens because she comes home drawing and acting out everything they did, well, everything her classmates did. Hopefully, with this flipped schedule she will get more comfortable by the end of the day to let loose a bit in theatre. Despite what you may think of True based on pictures, this little one is super shy. Super doesn't even describe how shy she really is. It can be maddening sometimes because it can come across rude when meeting new people, but hopefully she grows out of it as she gets older. At least that is what I am praying for.

Any of you super shy as a kid or have a super shy kid now?

THE BIG THREE

One dream I had as a little girl was to have a big sister. That wasn't possible because I am the big sister. I remember sitting on the floor watching television and seeing the Barbie commercials and dreaming that Barbie would come out of the screen, become real, and be my big sister. I wished that with She-ra too. Silly, I know. I am glad that we have a whole lot of sisters living under our roof.

What was a silly dream you had as a child?

CARRYING GLOW

I am most definitely a babywearer. It helps free up the hands and to be honest, I think it is really cute too! I love seeing mamas wearing their babies. I bought this particular sling before True was even born, and Ben has his own in black (the ring sling in this post is another type I like to wear). Glow sits nice and comfy inside. Her legs are crossed and kind of forward. She is cozy inside just like she was when she was in my womb.

With toting around four girls out and about, I am almost always wearing Glow. It is just much easier that way. Plus, I love having her close and cuddly next to me and hearing all her cute little coos. It always put a smile on my face.

If you are a mama, do you have a favorite type of carrier to wear baby?

What I'm wearing... shirt, thrifted. skirt, vintage. necklace, homako. sling, mama's milk. cinnamon shoe-gar wedge c/o modcloth (my wedge is out of stock, but this isn't and is adorably cute and the same brand!).

FAMILY MEALS: WEEK TWO

Week two almost done. Whew! I about threw in the towel with this meal planning thing because Ben and I had some miscommunication issues on what we needed for the meals. Totally still learning how to work with getting groceries ahead of time for the meals planned and so our planned meals started later this week. Though, I did cook an oven baked chicken on Monday, but didn't use a recipe and just went off what I learned from my mom once. Tuesday was for finishing Monday's leftovers.

Alas, Wednesday was Pork Chops with Apples and Garlic Mashed Potatoes...

Cooking pork chops can be tricky because it can dry out quickly. I really like how simple the whole process for this meal was. All was done within 40 minutes and that sage rub on the pork chop really gave it a nice flavor. I was going to substitute the mashed potatoes for mashed cauliflower, but I didn't communicate to Ben to get cauliflower, so we made do with potatoes. The recipe came out yummy indeed, though Ben did pick out the onions because there was a whole lot!

Thursday was for eating Cheddar BLT Burgers with Tarragon Russian Dressing and Sweet Potato Fries....

Oh yummy! That sauce was really good! That mix of tarragon, parsley, and onions along with the other ingredients made this burger so delicious. The patty was plain and was just salted and peppered with sharp cheddar cheese on top, but it is the sauce that made this burger. Also, we didn't use the meat the recipe called for, but but use lean ground turkey instead and turkey bacon. Will definitely make that sauce again to accompany other burgers. For veggies, we had our trusty sweet potato fries. We coat them in extra virgin olive oil, season them with taco seasoning, stick them in the oven, and they always come out good.

Next week will be slightly tricky since it is the week leading up to the wedding and I have a feeling I may not be home as often, but I will still have my plan in placed just in case. Our freezer is fully stocked with chicken breast we bought on sale, so chicken will be the main attraction for the week.

Week of 1/30-2/3:
Monday: Chicken Piccata
Tuesday: Apple-Honey Drumsticks (and we will use chicken breast also)
Wednesday: Monday's leftovers
Thursday: Leftovers if we have any or Spaghetti (or something else really easy)
Friday: Rehearsal dinner (my sister gets married the next day! eeks!)

Anyone try out any of the recipes that I did this week? I try to get my family meal posts up on Thursday (a little later this week though), so if you want to join along, you have the weekend to make sure your kitchen is stocked with the right goods! Happy planning!!!