Category Archives: Nico

Feb 14

Half-way There

We are officially half-way  through our month of no take-out. So far we have stuck to it, and I have to say I really haven’t missed take-out meals at all. I’ve been a little more than burned-out on the local restaurants, so cooking everything at home has been super tasty. I have been keeping up with the extra dirty dishes fairly well too, so I haven’t been living in the kitchen 24-7. I have also really enjoyed trying out a lot of new tasty meals for the family too.

There are a few things that I have been tricky this month… The snow kept me from making an Aldi run, so I had to shop locally only, and that is a little pricey. Also I was in need of an ingredient to make some awesome fried chicken, and had to hit up three different local stores, and yep, none of them had what I was looking for. I hope to make a run to K.C. and stock up, or maybe one day just move up there already, and then I won’t complain about shopping as much.

The family has been pretty good about the no take-out month. James has been really happy with the menu, but his co-workers are making things a little tough. They have been bringing in take-out meals non-stop to his office, and I know that bugs him a bit. I’ve made a lot of his favorite dishes, and he has liked the new desserts too. So far his favorites have been the Panko Crusted Fried Chicken and the Mini-Blueberry Pies.

Dylan hasn’t had any complaints. He has been really good about trying the new dishes and likes a few of them too. He happily ate the Cheese Grits at breakfast for dinner night, and he put away the Chicken Couscous.  He is usually the pretty mellow one anyway, but I’ll count it as he is a happy camper and doesn’t mind the homemade-fare.

Thade, on the other hand, isn’t happy about the no take-out experiment at all. He keeps telling me that it is the worst month ever, and he hates February, and he wants Pizza Sandwiches. It cracks me up a bit, Pizza Sandwiches are a homemade dish, not take-out. I’m sure that by the end of the month, he will be a little less grumpy. I’ve been making a lot of his favorites too, and asking him for extra help in the kitchen. Helping out with the cooking seems to cheer him up a bit.  Thade loves Spaghetti night, and Hot Dogs, I’ve served those a couple of times to make the little guys happy.

So far so good, I hope to keep it up for the rest of the month.

Feb 12

Simple Saturday: The Morning Rush

As you know by now, I am not a morning person. Multiply me not being a morning person, by a lot of snow, and three kids to get ready and out the door, and I can be a bit of a grumpy camper before I’ve finished my morning coffee. So I try to keep the task organized, and get the kids involved too.

How I wish we had a mud room (add that on to the dream house wish list), but we don’t so I set up a little backpack and coats station right by the front door.

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When the kids come home from school there is a nice spot to hang backpacks, and a bin for all of their coats, gloves, and hats. The backpack-rack is at their height, so they can hang up their backpacks all by themselves. I think it is time to invest in new bins though, as they grow, we need a bit more room for coats.

Agnes has become the master of removing gloves and her hat, so I have to put her accessories on a few more times, but the boys are getting better about getting their items on, and us out the door. A little bit of organization helps those busy school mornings.

Feb 5

January Favorite Pics

Looking over another month of pictures, I had a few favorites to share. I lucked out and caught some pretty good light even though it is Winter and the sky can be a bit dreary.

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There was a snow storm moving in on New Year’s eve, and the sky was beautifully lit.

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I took this one of Agnes while we were waiting for Thade to get out of school.

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One day the weather was absolutely amazing, and warm, so Agnes and I headed to the park to take some photos.

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I loved this one of Thade, it was his birthday and he was a little excited about his presents.

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Dylan was also pretty excited to see Thade open birthday presents too.

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A snowy scene from downtown.

I’ll have more photos on the way this February.

Jan 24

Take-Out or No Take-Out

I had thought about posting my resolutions this year, but then changed my mind. I do have a plan to share  though, and I don’t know if my family is going to go along with it. I’m thinking that every season I will make one month a take-out free month. I’m giving it a trial run next month. I picked February to start, because it is the shortest month, and the weather is usually pretty wonky, so you don’t want to be out all that much anyway.  That also means I’ll be cooking my own birthday dinner, but that’s cool with me.

Last year we had a no take-out month, and the kiddos were pretty grumpy with me. I hope that this time around they will be a little bit better about it. I have a fun menu already planned, and I will have it up soon. I’ll pretty much be living in the kitchen cooking, and keeping up with the dishes around the clock. I also hope to share some shopping and saving tips as I go along with the experiment.

So what do you think about going take-out free? Would your family give it a thumbs up, or a big no way?

Jan 20

It’s Loud In Here

You probably guessed, yep it’s another snow day. Which is great, I’m really happy that school was canceled, the roads are a mess, but my goodness it is loud in here. The kids have been up and bouncing off the walls since 5:00 a.m.

I even took the boys out for a bit to play in the snow while I shoveled and cleaned off the cars. Still they are bouncing off the walls. It is going to be a long day, and it looks like there is even more snow heading our way. It had better be out of here by the weekend though, we have a road trip to get to.

Hope you are having a great day, and hopefully the weather is cooperating for you.