Friday Things
1. I took all three of the kids to the grocery store last Friday for the first time sinceโฆ gosh, last summer??! That last time Isabelle screamed her head off THE ENTIRE TIMEโฆ no joke. I was so mortified. Now that she has long wake times between naps and itโs finally not freezing out, Iโm excited to get her out and about with her brothers. They all had so much fun together! She only briefly melted down twice when I stopped to get something and was out of her sight for a second, ha!
2. The start of our weekend took a detour last Saturday when Joseph started crying of a stomach ache around breakfast time and refused to eat. It got to the point where he said he couldnโt bend over or walk, and wanted us to carry him. Off to the ER we went, and after many, many hours of x-rays, labs, one failed IV placement, then a successful one, and much waitingโฆ everything came back fine, and he eventually said he felt better and was really hungry. Based on the x-ray, the doctor suspected that it was constipation, and sure enough, he went to the bathroom as soon as he got home and ate and has been perfectly fine since. So scary though!!!
3. Dominic has been hopping in at the end of Josephโs skating lessons each week (and getting a couple of lessons all to himself when Joseph was sick) and he LOVES it. He still hasnโt mastered the marching/strides to get going, but their instructor is so awesome with him and just makes sure he has fun. He came off of the ice yesterday and said, โMommy! I was CRUISING out there!โ
4. Big news! WE CUT THE CORD THIS WEEK. Weโve been mulling this decision for at least a year now and finally did it. We were paying so much for regular TV with hundreds of channels, and we literally watch almost everything on Amazon Prime or Netflix, local/national news, and sports. There was no reason for all of those channels (and the high bill that came with them!)โฆ right now weโre using PlayStation Vue. Itโs only been a couple of days, so Iโll keep you posted on how we like it!
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5. We have gotten so much rain this week that we may need to start construction on an ark. I think today is going to be relatively nice, then more rain and storms over the weekend. Insanity! At least we havenโt lost power during any of the storms (Iโm sure I just jinxed that!).
6. Christmas is still months away, but my homemade Danish butter cookies have been trending like mad this week. No need to wait for snow to put them on your baking list!
7. My new favorite salad dressing >> Primal Kitchen Green Goddess. My grocery store carries it, but itโs less expensive through Thrive Market (which I am looooooooving, by the way)!
8. Quick survey question! What are your biggest issues or problems in the kitchen? Whether itโs cooking, baking, organization, or something else. Iโd love to hear how I could help you in the future!
9. Currently craving a pot of chili and Frito scoops to go along with it, which is basically insane since weโre on the cusp of summer, right?!
10. TGIF! Duke is wishing you a very happy weekend!
Congrats on cutting the cord!! We did it three year ago and donโt miss it at all. Weโve even cut out Netflix so we only have Hulu and Amazon Prime. We usually stock up on Blu Ray movies and TV shows on Black Friday so we can always watch our favorites.
P.s. so enjoy reading otherโs comments. I get ideas on things to try, and I really think you have some awesome readers of your blog. Just a nice group with great stories. Congrats on cutting cable. Itโs a goal of mine. How liberating..no cable bill. Kitchen challenge healthy quick weeknight meals for me that I can prepare ahead on the weekend and just do light prep or reheating during week after work n gym. Plus need healthy make ahead meal ideas for my Dad, I help w his meals..transport them to their houseโฆhe wont eat chicken so finding โlighterโ recipes can be a challenge.
I would love ideas for easy make-ahead and/or freezer meals that arenโt casseroles
Duke is smilingโฆlove it. Youโre such a lady, a beautiful example to love on the babies..love on the family including doggies.
Thank you so much for the sweet comment, xo
Quick, kid-friendly weeknight meals. My kids are so picky. I would just love to make more than Spaghetti, mac&cheese, and cereal for them to like/eat. We donโt have a lot of time with sports and clubs, but I would love for them to eat at home. Thank you for any help!
Julie
Iโd like to know if the Danish butter cookies would work with the slice and bake technique. Grocery stores can be very challenging!
Yes, I think they would!
Thanks for the pictures-I went through multiple hospital stays at 4,5,6 yrs old so I get it. Tell your trooper โGood for you!โ. Re quick survey, Iโm sure most people would agree with me-โIf I need help Iโll be sure to ask. (NOW GET OUT OF HERE YOUโRE IN THE WAY!!!)โ. Especially when chopping, frying or anything quick and/or hot. The last thing I want is you apologizing for ruining dinner because you made me drop something or sent one of us to the emergency room. Donโt distract the cook-save your now-what-are-you-doing-can-I-have-the-recipe for later.
We switched from Direct TV to Direct TV Now and have been pretty happy with it. I think it is a third of the cost. We view it thru Apple TV device in one room and Roku device in another room. Both play nice with Hulu, Prime, Netflix and network apps. There seems to be plenty of sports channels on Direct TV Now. What I havenโt figured out yet is the easiest way to search for a show or movie on all services at once! :P
My biggest issue in the kitchen is using up what I have and not over-stuffing the frig and freezerโฆyou probly canโt help me with that thoโฆ
P.S. My obsession for the last few months has been Trader Joes Green Goddess Dressing! It is super low in calories and sooooo tasty on all kinds of dishesโฆnot just salad!!!!
OMG we have playstation vue and LOVE it! We almost never watched the TV when we had a regular cable box, like you we only watched hulu or Netflix, now we watch different channels all the time. Itโs awesome! My only complaint is it sometimes glitches a bit with recorded or ondemand shows, but itโs nothing too crazy ๐.
I have Netflix and Amazon Prime, but primarily watch broadcast TV. ย I didnโt get to see Game of Thrones, but I wasnโt interested in watching.. ย
Primal Kitchen is my go-to dressing if I donโt make my own. Iโve tried all varieties, but would pass on the โlemon turmericโ ~ canโt hold a candle to the others.
Taking 3 kids to the grocery would be a field trip for them, not a real shopping assignment for me! lol. I guess the ER trip scared the poop out of Joseph, poor kid. And poor Mom, better safe than sorry.
I could use a dishwasher, hehe come on over!!
We switched from Directv to YouTube TV and love it! ย My husband is still trying to find a replacement for the Sunday Ticket though. Any suggestions? ย Thanks!
We didnโt get Sunday Ticket last year and probably wonโt try to find a replacement this year, so we havenโt looked into this!
I donโt know if my comment will apply to your Joseph, but maybe it will be of value. One of my boys repeatedly had bad stomaches, constipation. Turned out he was too embarrassed to poop at school so was holding it on a regular basis. The longer he held it, the harder it got.
Michelle,
First off, what a brave woman shopping with 3 kiddos!! Secondly, I had a great laugh after reading about Dominicโs stomach scare because the exact same scenario happened to our friend and neighbor when her son was little. After spending time in the hospital and going through all sorts of tests, they told the parents, โyour son is literally full of s..tโ.
I wonder how many times doctors see this? And thank goodness it isnโt worst. Be well.
My biggest problem in the kitchen is keeping my recipes organized. Any comments on this would be great.
Michelle, the very same thing that happened to your Joseph happened to my Jake when he was about Josephโs age! Our pediatrician gave me a word of advice โ if the pain is coming from the left side, it is almost always constipation. That prevented future trips to the ER!ย
As a fellow Pittsburgher, the only thing thatโs been keeping us from cutting the cord is having access to AT&T sports for Pens and Pirates games. Is there an option for that on Playstation Vue?
Molly, we get an MLB.tv subscription every year, which gives us access to every regular season MLB game. Ourโs is through Roku, but I think you can get it on Playstation and Amazon, too. I think there is a similar subscription for basketball and hockey, but Iโm not sure.
We cut the cord six years ago and have never looked back. There are too many options to make DirecTV or cable worth it. And now British TV has jumped on the bandwagon with AcornTV and BritBox. Just take my moneyโฆ.
Please send rain. We havenโt had any in Florida for weeks.
MLB and NHL packages!
My 3 yo great-niece loves her doctor & faked stomach pains twice just so her mom could rush her in. I suggested that a talk about wasting the Drโs time & money might be in order. We too have had SO MUCH rain in KC that I still have tomato plants in my garage. Iโm going to try to get them in the ground today since this is the 2nd day with sun (more rain tomorrow). And the tornadoes โ they were a couple of miles from me this week & an extended family member lost his farmhouse & barn. Supposedly the 13 days of tornadoes are over. Hope so.
Sing with me โ โRain, rain go awayโฆโ
My biggest problem in the kitchen is finding different things to cook on weeknights that are healthy-ish, truly fast & truly kid-friendly. Happy Friday! I enjoy your blog so much! :)
How are you getting sports? Iโm in Pittsburgh, too. Root Sports is always the hang up to cutting the cord at my house.
Hi Kate, Weโre using a VPN and the MLB and NHL packages.
So sorry to hear about the scare with Joseph! The pic of him in the hospital shows what a champ he was in handling it all!
I would love batch cooking tips for work lunches at an office with very short breaks and access to refrigeration. (Physician snacking in between patient care). Thanks!