Menu Plan

Sickness hit us again this weekend when I came down with a nasty virus of some sort. Sore throat, all over body aches, exhaustion, etc. So, I ended up spending most of Sunday and today sleeping and  recovering in bed. I'm pretty sure I'm on my way to feeling better now, though. I think both the kids also have it, but it doesn't seem to have affected them too badly yet. I'm pretty thankful for having some freezer meals on hand for times like this when I have no energy to cook.

Here's the meal plan for this week:

Monday: Hamburger Vegetable Soup from the freezer
              : Picked up fast food for supper since I was still feeling pretty crummy

Tuesday: Lasagna (from freezer) & Caesar Salad

Wednesday:  Leftovers

Thursday: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Mennonite Style.  (This should hopefully boost our immune systems a bit. So tired of all this sickness in our house.)

Friday:  Pizza Hut Copycat Pizza, Veggies & Dip, Salad

Saturday:  Leftovers

Sunday:  Simple Sunday...sandwiches & soup

Menu Plan and Today's Plan

After Elianna came down with a  sore throat and fever (again!) last Friday (and at a birthday party with a bunch of kids, too ), I think we are finally all fever-free and relatively healthy, at least for this morning. HA.

Yep, it was 3 weeks straight of illness for our family. Glad we're getting a break from sickness at the moment. Immediately after realizing she was sick again on Friday, I booked her a doctor's appointment for today, just in case it was strep or something nasty setting in after her nasty 2 week virus. Thankfully, it seems to be just a minor cold or something, so no doctor's visit necessary today:-).

For Sunday School this past Sunday, my hubby was asked to share his testimony of what God has been doing in our family's life lately, especially with regards to him leaving his job in the health care field. It was a bit nerve-wracking as there were A LOT of people in Sunday School this past week, many of whom were guests. We were covering an extremely touchy & controversial subject, so it was a bit difficult. It has only been very recently that we have been ready & willing to go into the entire "why" of him leaving his job, so it was a bit stretching for us as well.

Tuesday's Plan:
*Finish laundry for the week (and put it away!!)  - Kids' laundry & Towels/Bedding
*Do some school with Elianna (this is a review week of A, B, C, & D). This year I'm doing an eclectic mix of a bit from Heart of Dakota's Little Hands to Heaven Book (We did half the book last year, so I'm skipping parts here and there), Easy Peasy Getting Ready 1 (free online curriculum that works well with HOD), and Rod & Staff Preschool Workbooks.
*Make a lasagna to put in the freezer
* Tidy up the  basement (it's disastrous, at the moment)
*Tidy up master bedroom (it's also disastrous and in desperate need of some organizing/purging/cleaning. THIS is my main project for the week...some serious work needed in here. Who am I kidding? My entire house is disastrously unorganized and in need of serious work). I had hopes of one room per day this week, but that's far too lofty of a goal. SO, I'm aiming for 1 room per week now.)
*Find 5 things to either sell or donate
*Spend at least 20 minutes outside playing with the kids
*30 minutes of exercise after kids are in bed
*Go to bed with the house more or less picked up
*Be in bed by 11 pm tonight. Take some time to relax, read my Bible, & read from another book

This week's menu plan is going to be very, very simple. I am hoping to get a few projects accomplished during the week, so I don't want to be spending too much time in the kitchen. Otherwise, it's guaranteed I won't get any of my little projects done.

Here's what we'll be eating this week:

Monday:     Lunch: Hamburger Vegetable Soup (I made a giant pot, so we can eat lots of leftovers this week and freeze some)
                    Supper: Homemade Pizza (Seriously, I cannot get enough pizza this pregnancy. One night at 11 pm I was craving pizza SO badly, but I managed to resist the craving.).

Tuesday:     Lunch:  Leftover Hamburger Vegetable Soup
                   Supper: Asian Salad with Salmon Cakes

Wednesday: Lunch: Greek Salad
                    Supper: Hamburger Vegetable Soup (again!)

Thursday:  Lunch: Omelets & Fruit
                 Supper: Simple Stir Fry Veggies & Rice

Friday:     Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwiches
                Supper: Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Saturday: Lunch: Mac N' Cheese with Tomatoes
                 Supper: TBD

Sunday: TBD (possibly Potato Soup or picking up some fast food)

Weekly Menu Plan

Monday: Easy Chicken & Rice Tacos

Tuesday: Lazy Cabbage Roll Casserole & Steamed Carrots

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Crockpot Steak & Mushrooms, Mashed Potatoes, Salad

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Homemade Pizza

Sunday: Hamburger Vegetable Soup

Update

After a trip to the ER on Tuesday when Elianna's fever reached 104.7 and she was in lots of pain, we were told she had a bacterial infection, possibly bladder or kidney, though the doctor wasn't sure. On Wednesday, she was still very sick and in lots of pain with a high fever. We took her to her pediatrician on Wednesday evening to follow-up, and he looked at her blood test results and examined her. He disagreed with what the ER doctor told us and thought the blood work pointed to a nasty virus with the small possibility of a bacterial infection (such as strep) just beginning. He advised that we wait until Thursday evening before starting antibiotics, and if she hadn't improved by then, then we would start antibiotics. Turns out that Thursday morning, she woke up with no fever! Today she is still doing well and seems to be over it. Unfortunately, Nathanael's fever started last night and he is now sick :-(. It's been a long 2 weeks of sickness in our house. I'm really hoping and praying that I do not catch this nasty virus as high fevers can be dangerous in pregnancy, and there isn't much you can take in pregnancy. I'm starting to feel nasty again and hoping it's just from being worn out taking care of sick kiddos for the past 2 weeks and not the start of this virus going around here.

Sick Little Girl

Please pray for Elianna. I wasn't planning on taking her to the doctor until today, but yesterday she worsened significantly and spiked a fever of 104.7 F and was in a lot of pain. So, we ended up taking her in yesterday and going through blood tests and things. The doctor couldn't find any visible signs of infection (no throat, ear, chest infection), but her blood tests showed there is definitely a bacterial infection somewhere in her body, along with a few other abnormalities in her blood. There's a small possibility of bladder or kidney infection, but they really don't know for sure. I'm plain old exhausted from the past 10 days of sickness in our household and have been up in the night with my poor sweetie every night. I am also very stressed. Seeing your kids in pain and being very sick is hard. Not having an answer yet and going on day 10 of fevers on and off and day 4 of constant high fevers is fairly concerning. My husband and I are both going on very, very little sleep these days. This evening she will see her pediatrician who will hopefully figure out what's going on with her and where the infection is. This morning, she didn't want to even walk, her legs were hurting so badly. She also is complaining of stomach pain.
Thanks for praying,

Menu Plan Monday

I thought the kids were over this crazy flu virus a few days ago, but then Elianna suddenly spiked a fever again Saturday night and coughed so hard she threw up twice :-(.  I felt very miserable last week but am definitely feeling much better today, thankfully. We debated whether or not to take Elianna to the doctor yesterday but decided to wait it out a few more days. I have a suspicion that she may have developed an ear infection or a secondary infection as she was healthy for a few days and then suddenly spiked a fever again. Today she still had a fever for part of the day, though she didn't really seem very sick other than complaining about her ear hurting and her legs hurting. I did book her an appointment with her pediatrician for later this week in case she isn't better in the next day or two. She has been sick on an off for over a week now. Having sick kiddos is always so hard to deal with, and I can't help but have the worst case scenario in the back of my mind any time Elianna is having fevers that come and go for over a week and is complaining about having pain. I'm so grateful for her doctor whom I trust and also knows her medical history.

I spent a good part of the weekend developing  my menu plan for October, planning my grocery list, and going through the flyers in order to price match when I go grocery shopping. I was hoping to go tonight, but it just didn't work out. I'll get there in the next day or two, though. The once a month shopping thing is working fairly well, but I HAVE to go grocery shopping alone now without the kids along. There is just no way I can do a whole month's worth of shopping and fit 2 kids in the cart. Besides that, it's a 2 hour or more ordeal and completely tires me out by the end. I can't imagine how impatient and tired the kids would be after 2++ hours of grocery shopping :-).

On a side note, I actually exercised for the first time in a very, very long time today. It was only 30 minutes of brisk walking, but it's a start. I'd like to aim for 60 minutes a day of walking. I'm so very discouraged by the amount of weight I've already put on this pregnancy. I'm only 21 weeks along and I'm already at the weight I had hoped to be at when I will be 40 weeks. If things don't change, I will definitely be looking at 60-80 pounds to lose post-baby. No guarantee the exercise and attempt at eating better will help, but I will give it my best shot.

We have a busy weekend coming up with tons of extended family coming this way for a reunion / birthday celebration for my Grandpa's 80th birthday. I haven't seen many of my aunt, uncles, cousins for years, so it should be a busy, fun weekend. The kids will have lot of cousins to play with. I am really hoping we will all be completely over this flu bug by then.

Here's the plan for this week:

Monday: Crockpot Beef & Broccoli over Brown Jasmine Rice

Tuesday: Spaghetti & Meat Sauce, Caesar Salad

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Hamburger Vegetable Soup & Biscuits

Friday: Eating with family

Saturday: Eating with family

Sunday: Egg Salad Sandwiches

Menu Plan for This Week

I'm a little late menu planning for this week. Better late than never :-). Like I predicted yesterday, our house has been hit with a cold/flu bug. Both kids were feeling pretty miserable in the night last night and are having a relaxing "movie" day today. Elianna is drinking plenty of honey lemon tea (her favourite!), and Nathanael had a 3 HOUR nap this afternoon (that is unheard of for him...poor guy must be worn out. Glad he's getting lots of rest, though!). I'm actually feeling pretty good today. Last night my throat was sore, but I drank a huge mug of tea and am feeling fine today. My latest pregnancy craving is FLAVOUR ...haha....no bland foods for me over here. I also have had a thing for rice this entire pregnancy.

Monday: Crockpot Chicken Tikka Masala over Rice (a family fave, though this batch was pretty spicy, so I fed the kids some leftover beef we had in the fridge with rice and veggies). 

Tuesday: Greek Salad with Creamy Feta Dressing for Me
               Leftover Pizza from Lunch for Hubby (I packed him supper to take along this evening since he went to help with harvest after work before it rains tonight). (Kids are feeling miserable and don't have much of an appetite, so I kinda let them munch on snacks  and drink tea for the day. Elianna had cucumbers and dip for supper.)

Wednesday: Leftover Chicken Tikka Masala & Rice

Thursday: Potato & Ham Chowder in Bread Bowls

Friday: Homemade Pizza Night & Caesar Salad

Saturday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Veggies

Sunday: Leftovers