Tag Archives: mommy run fast

Weekend Meal Planning

Howdy! It’s Sunday again and that means we’re meal planning here in the O’Keefe household. However, after shopping today, I’m really beginning to wonder why we torture ourselves on Sundays. It was SO busy!!

Weekend Meal Planning - Baby Doodah!

Before I get into my meal plan, I wanted to tell you about my weekend – It was GREAT! I’m really not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving with my side of the family. Thanksgiving day is always spent with Seamus’ parents and usually my mom will have her dinner the Saturday or Sunday afterward, but since I have some busy siblings, we had to adjust. This actually worked out, because now when we get back from CNY next week, we won’t need to travel to my parent’s the next day. Thanks busy siblings! 😛

Anyhoo – I got up early and headed to Panera to do some of my virtual assistant work, I always seem to think better there. After working for about 3 hrs, I came home to the cuddliest of boys. Emmett just wanted to be held, cuddled or nuzzled by me and who am I to say no. So, while daddy got ready to go we hung out on the couch wrapped in each others arms. I just love that little boy!!

Eventually we hit the road, and made it to grandma’s in plenty of time! We were a little worried because of all of the snow that had fallen between where we live and my parents (in case you haven’t heard or seen the images, here’s a good synopsis), but there was no need for worry. We got there quickly and easily!!

Emmett was so excited to see my mom, sister and brother. He’s not positive who everyone is yet (because he doesn’t see everyone all the time), but he sure does love being around people who shower him with attention. That’s pretty much all you need to do in order for him to like you. LOL There were 3 dogs there, which is weird for Emmett because he’s not used to any, but by the end of the night he was lightly petting and playing with the dogs. Yay!! Once we eventually move, I’m sure Seamus and I will want to get a dog, so I’m glad E adjusted easily.

Dinner was delicious, my brother made some amazing mashed potatoes (yes, seriously!) and then for the rest of the evening we just visited, joking and chatting with one another. It’s times like those that I treasure most! I really wish we all got together more frequently, when we do we have such a good time.

Today has been a bit of a whirlwind. I was up early, worked and then made us all a yummy breakfast, I’ve done some laundry, cleaned out the fridge (YUCK!!) and we’ve gone grocery shopping. Emmett is quietly napping now, Seamus is playing his video game and I am blogging away. THIS is what Sundays were meant for.

Our Meal Plan

It will be a pretty easy week because we have Thanksgiving on Thursday and then will be traveling home on Friday, so we’ll just grab something on the way. LOVE easy weeks!

Sunday: Homemade Pizza (carry over)

Monday: Rotisserie Chicken & Potatoes

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday (with Seamus famous guacamole)

Wednesday: Fettuccine Alfredo Spaghetti Squash

Thursday: Thanksgiving!!

Friday: On the road

Saturday: Scrounge

Quick and easy!! We don’t host Thanksgiving, maybe one day when we get a house, but for now I am lucky enough to enjoy the cooking of my mom and Seamus’ mom. Yummy in my tummy!!

I’m joining and linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com.

Your turn!

Do you host Thanksgiving, or do you just bring a dish to pass? 

Anything fun on your emal plan this week? Share in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!

signature

Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

Let’s Talk – Some Changes & a Meal Plan

Life is full of changes, and I don’t always cope so well with them – but if I want to become a successful solopreneur certain things need to evolve.

Changes in How I Do Business with my Blog.

I have always enjoyed blogging, I’ve had 3 or 4 different blogs in my lifetime, and I’ve enjoyed writing for each one, but I always seemed to run out of post ideas. I never looked at the full picture, or the different angles that a topic can come from. Even with Baby Doodah! I haven’t fully grasped how many readers I could reach if I just buckle down and really look at this like a business. Yes, it is a hobby and I enjoy every single minute that I get to be at the keyboard, writing (90% of the time), but I do want to gain audience members, too.

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of reading, learning and personal development. I’ve been reading blog upon blog about how important it is to have a business plan for your blog. That is literally something I NEVER considered for my blog, in fact – even right now – I have NO Idea how to go about doing that. I have an idea, but I am one of those people who needs specific instructions before I can move forward.

I’ve managed to find a couple of fantastic resources (here are a few for your viewing pleasure, How to Build a Blog Business Plan and How to Create a Successful Business Plan for Your Blog) that will help guide me in the right direction, and I can’t wait to get started. It’s essentially grown-up homework for something that I really enjoy doing, that can only lead to success. Right!?

Things around the blog won’t be TOO different from the outside. I’m thinking I will change the days that I regularly post, right now I aim for Sun-M-W-F, and then my weekend link-up post. I am thinking it will be a good idea to switch to Sun-Tues-Thurs and my weekend link-up. I will be posting less, but my content will be more in-depth, I won’t feel rushed to pump out a blog post so that I can meet my own expectations and those of my readers. I’ll be able to spend time gathering information, thinking through and actually writing multiple drafts of posts. It all sounds really exciting to me! I can be such a nerd. HA HA

Anyway, I wanted to come clean to you, my loyal and valued readers. I love keeping you up to date on everything I have planned, because it is you that I write for. I really hope you stick around!!

Kind of random to put these two together, but that’s how I roll…

My Meal Plan

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs & bacon

Lunch: salad with ham and sliced chicken, sunflower seeds, bleu cheese, purple cabbage and honey mustard & baby carrots

Saturday: (we’ve started meal planning and shopping on Saturday evenings) Spaghetti Squash Fettuccine Alfredo

Sunday: Pork Fried Rice (we’ll be having cauliflower rice)

Monday: Rotisserie Chicken & Baked Potatoes

Tuesday: Homemade Steak Sandwiches

Wednesday: Greek Meatballs & Spinach

Thursday: Scrounge Night

Friday: Homemade Pizza

There you have it!! My confession on changes coming and my yummy weekly menu. We do have a lot of repeats this week, but why mess with what’s broken, right!?

I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com. And, also linking up with the Motivate Me link-up hosted by Janice from Fitness Cheerleader and Rachel from RunningRachel.com.

Your turn!

How do changes of any kind make you feel?

If you are making a meal plan this week, what’s on it?

signatureLooking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

Flint Lockwood and a Meal Plan

Making our meal plan was pretty easy this week, but before I get to that, I want to share Emmett’s costume – he was Flint Lockwood from the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies.

A few weeks ago, Seamus was at Kohl’s shopping and came across a t-shirt that had the tuxedo print on it. He obviously bought it, because what’s cuter than a 2 year old wearing a tuxedo shirt. HEHE At this point we still were unsure what Emmett would be for Halloween, he had mentioned being Daniel Tiger from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, but it has a head piece and Emmett isn’t fond of putting things on his head. So, we kept thinking…

One Saturday morning when Emmett decided to sleep in, Seamus and I were just laying in bed brainstorming ideas and he had the brilliant idea for Emmett to be Flint Lockwood. With his tuxedo shirt, and a pair of jeans, all we would need is a lab coat! Did you know you can get them in child-size lab coat and at an affordable cost?? This is the lab coat (affiliate link) we purchased for Emmett and it fit him perfectly.

Flint Lockwood and a Meal Plan - Baby Doodah7

This worked out perfectly, because to Emmett it felt as though he was just wearing regular clothes not a costume so there was no fighting to get dressed. Plus, he loved that his labcoat had pockets and he could hide his many necessities (ie: his hot wheels, binkie, Percy from Thomas and Friends). It was really the cutest thing!!

We made it about 6 houses down the street before we decided to call it a night. I wasn’t expecting to get far, it was chilly and drizzling, but I thought we’d at least make it down the street, oh well. At the first house, while we were waiting for Emmett to grab his candy, the family dog ran out to sniff Emmett. Very sweet dog, Emmett was not in danger, but because Emmett doesn’t have a lot of experiences with dogs, he was freaked out. So, every house going forward we had to coax him to come up, that they didn’t have a dog, that it would be okay – it got to the point where he was just crying. Poor guy! I kept asking if he wanted to go home and he’d tell me no, I asked again and he said yes. So home we went. I’m glad we got out and got to experience everything – next year will be even MORE fun. 🙂

Flint Lockwood and a Meal Plan - Baby Doodah6Now our Meal Plan

Breakfast: 2 Scrambled Eggs & bacon

Lunch: Salad with ham and chicken, blue cheese crumbles, sunflower seeds and honey mustard dressing

Sunday: Pot Roast

Monday: Breakfast for Dinner

Tuesday: Tacos and Guacamole

Wednesday: Homemade Steak Subs

Thursday: Scrounge day

Friday: Rotisserie Chicken & Baked Potatoes

Saturday: Balsamic Pork & Asparagus (Seamus found this recipe, I need to get it from him so I can share it)

It’s a pretty easy week, but one that will be super yummy!! Have you seen my post with tips to make your meal planning easier? You should check it out, these are my TRIED and true tips – they really work.

Join me and link-up with Laura from Mommy, run fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com.

Your turn!

What were you or your children for Halloween? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

signature

Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

The Long Lost Meal Plan

5 Tips to Make Meal Planning Easier - Baby Doodah

Though, I’ve been absent, making our meal plan is STILL just as important!

So, even though I haven’t been around all that much the last few weeks, Seamus and I have continued to meal plan. For us, it is a necessity. When we don’t, chaos ensues, which leads to us eating out WAY too much – which is never good for the wallet or the waistline.

Meal planning has never been one of our favorite activities, because we will tend to go back and forth on what to eat. I’ll suggest something, then Seamus will and the other one won’t want that meal. We would go back and forth and tend to just get overwhelmed with the process. We’d dread Saturday nights!

After WAY too many annoyances when making our meal plan, we decided to change some things up.

  1. We started making the list earlier on Saturday, instead of after Emmett was in bed. This allowed us to avoid the times when we both like to do our own personal work. This is probably the #1 reason why meal planning isn’t such a chore any longer.
  2. We both want “our” meals to be the ones made. However, that sometimes just isn’t feasible – now, instead of pushing for our meal to be the one chosen, we both take it in stride if it isn’t, and we decide to make it the next go round. Because of this we now have more meals in our “master list” and it makes next week’s planning easier because we already have one meal queued up.
  3. We focus our attention on making the list. Previously, we would sit at our desk with our computers open and would BOTH be distracted. It would take ages to the get the meal plan done and we’d just get annoyed. Now, we do it either at the table or on the couch, while Emmett is watching some of his TV. Don’t get me wrong, we do occasionally still have our computers or phones around to look for recipes, but we aren’t doing other things during this time.
  4. We aim to have an arsenal of different recipes or food ideas ready, before sitting down to make our list. It doesn’t always work, and can backfire, if all of the meals you have in mind are turned down by the other person, but this has helped at times.
  5. Institute one scrounge day a week! This is so important, in my opinion, it is one less meal you need to plan for. It leads to savings at the grocery store and savings of your sanity. 😉
  6. And finally, easing up and not taking the whole experience so seriously. There are people who LOVE to meal plan and I am sure that is because they view it as a very relaxing activity. So far, with this new method, things are going A LOT better, and while I cannot say I enjoy making a shopping list, it isn’t quite so unbearable.

Now, on to this week’s meal plan

Sunday: Rotisserie Chicken & Asparagus

Monday: Pork Tacos

Tuesday: Cornell Chicken (Seamus has shared this recipe with me in the past and it is OUT OF THIS WORLD!)

Wednesday: This is our 3 year wedding anniversary, so we’ll be going out for a family meal, since it is a work night. Not sure where we’re going yet

Thursday: Homemade Pizza

Friday: Scrounge Day

Saturday: Fetticini Alfredo Spaghetti Squash (recipe to come)


Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs & 2 slices bacon

Lunch for me: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (recipe to come)

If you’re looking for more meal plan tips & tricks you can check-out My Recipes, Week Night Dinner Arsenal or Cooking Light’s Meal Planner (this one is awesome, you drag and drop your meal choices).

I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, run fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com – you should join us, there are even MORE meal ideas over there!

Your turn!

Do you enjoy meal planning? What are your tips, if you do? Share in the comments below!

A Meal Plan & A Confession

Sunday Meal Plan and a Confession

[photo source & license]

Confession Time

Hi guys! I have a confession to make – I’ve been super lazy with my posting lately, I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy posting or that I don’t want to post, just that I’ve been lazy. Lately, every time I’ve sat down to type, I’ve gotten distracted by one thing or another, time passes, and nothing has been written. For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to keep my head in the game.

Last month, I thought the reason was because I hadn’t made my usual monthly editorial planner. When that happens I tend to get overwhelmed with ideas (not a problem for some), and when I get overwhelmed and have no plan, I end up essentially throwing in the towel and wandering Facebook (feel free to like me on my Baby Doodah! FB page) or going through my email. Both pretty easy tasks, but nothing that helps get me closer to accomplishing my goals.

So,if you’ve been wondering why you haven’t seen a lot of new, fresh content, this is why. I’m sorry about that! I haven’t been absent, I login to Baby Doodah! several times a day, adjusting things behind the scenes, just haven’t been as great about sharing new posts. I’m hoping that by coming here, confessing to all of you, that I will get my head on straight and WORK.

I hope you’ll all be coming along for the ride!! I have some new and fresh ideas brewing and I want to get more professional and focused with my writing. It feels really good to come clean to all of you! Thanks for listening (reading)!

Now for that Meal Plan

We’re traveling out to Syracuse on Friday to go see The Tenderloins (yay! CANNOT wait! We love their show, Impractical Jokers and are stoked to see them live) and spending the night. We likely won’t return until late Saturday, so we won’t need meals for those two days. Hopefully, this will lend itself to a cheaper grocery week.

Sunday: Chicken Shawarma (this is a carry-over)

Monday: Mexican Beef Bowl (crock-pot meal)

Tuesday: Burgers on Romaine & Corn on the Cobb

Wednesday: Spaghetti Squash Bake

Thursday: Chicken Spanakopita Meatballs (this is a new one, and we’re so excited to try it)

Friday: Traveling

Saturday: Traveling

If you struggle to make a meal plan, you should check out my post from last week, with my tips to making a meal plan.

Alrighty, so that right there is my confession and my meal plan. 🙂 As usual, I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com. Join us and link it up!

Your turn!

Do you have any confessions you’d like to make, or get off your chest? Share in the comments below!

What’s on your menu for the week?

Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!

Tips on Making a Meal Plan

Tips on Making a Meal Plan - Baby DoodahLet’s talk Meal Planning

It’s been a couple weeks since I join in with the Sunday Meal Plan Link-up, but I’ve decided to join back-up. Really, the only reason I hadn’t posted my meal plan in the last few weeks was laziness. Seamus and I always make a meal plan! It’s our way of attempting to save money and not worry about what we’ll eat each night of the week.

On Making a Meal Plan

As I flip through other blogs and even other bigger sites around the web, I am noticing what a hot topic meal planning is right now. It’s something that Seamus and I have been doing since we started shopping together 6 or so years ago, so it’s really nothing new to me. We haven’t always written it down, but, as with all things, time progresses and improvements are made. Our system works really well for us, and the bickering that used to occur when we’d meal plan, has pretty much ceased to exist.

It’s because of that, that I decided to share our method with you, in hopes that it will help someone else who is struggling to meal plan, or just doesn’t know quite how to get started.

Our Step by Step Meal Planning Process

  1. Make the Meal Plan when You are not in a Hurry – This might seem like a given, or maybe it doesn’t, but my biggest most important piece of advice is to NOT meal plan when you are in any kind of a hurry. That just leads to frustration and irritation when one or both of you can’t come up with ideas or are slightly distracted. Seamus and I do our meal planning Saturday evenings (we shop on Sundays), once Emmett is in bed. We’re not in any hurry and there are few distractions
  2. Choose a Meal Plan Template – There are SO many options out there for meal planners. Heck, if you just use google images, and search Meal Plan templates, thousands will come up. Flip through them, choose your favorite, but as your meal planning evolves, so might your template. So, don’t feel stressed if what you originally chose doesn’t continue to work. This is the link to the one we use, I am a fan of having the days of the week at the top and the meals on the side.
  3. Have a Few Standby Meals – Almost every week, we have one or two meals that we make. These are meals that are quick to throw together, and help to easily fill in the gaps on your empty menu.
  4. Try Out a Few New Recipes – Not every week, but almost every week, we try to find a new recipe to make. Sometimes these are wins, but sometimes they’re EPIC fails!! Either way, it helps to make meal planning go quicker.
  5. Plan For at Least 6 Meals – We always plan for 7 meals, but I recommend doing at least 6. This will allow you enough options to rotate, in case you don’t feel like eating something, or just don’t have the time.
  6. Don’t Assign a Specific Meal to a Specific Day – Our meal plan is very open – we have 7 meals chosen, but none of those are tied to a specific day, unless it’s a more complicated meal, and then it gets saved for weekends. We love having the flexibility to make whatever we want on whatever day we want.
  7. Make a Grocery List – Once you’ve made meal plan, the next step is putting all of the items that are needed in a list. I prefer using apps because then Seamus and I can sync them up. That way we can both add to the list, or delete as needed. Wunderlist is our current favorite for making all of our shopping lists!
  8. Be Consistent! I’m sure you won’t enjoy every moment of meal planning (though, some people do), but do it anyway. You are bound to save money, eat healthier and lose weight by default. And if one way doesn’t work, switch it up and try another. I promise you that after about 6 weeks of meal planning, it will be old hat and you will just do it.

Good Luck!

Here’s our Meal Plan for this week!!

Monday: Steak, Chick Pea & Tomato Salad

Tuesday: Burgers in Romaine Lettuce & Cauliflower “Potato” Mash

Wednesday: Polish Sausage & Asparagus

Thursday: Fish Tacos

Friday: White Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Saturday: Chicken Shawarma

Sunday: Marinated Chicken and Corn on the Cobb

It’s a week full of tasty eats, that I cannot wait for!!

Your turn!

Have you ever meal planned? If you have, do you like it or loathe it?

What’s on your menu this week?

I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com.

Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

Sunday Meal Plan – Week #26

Happy Sunday, readers!!

Another great weekend is nearly in the books. We have had an astounding weekend. Saturday we went to Dunkirk to celebrate my dad’s birthday. His actual day was this past Wednesday the 13th, but weekends are always easier to celebrate on. We had a mini-BBQ, lots of hot dogs, hamburgers and pasta salad. I didn’t eat the greatest but it was really delicious!

One of the best parts of Saturday was that Emmett got to meet one of his idols, Rolley. 😉 He seriously loves Bob the Builder and was so excited when we took a walk by my mom’s house and they had this cement roller there. I wish I had video’d the whole thing, his excitement was ADORABLE!

Sunday-Meal-Plan-81714

And then today has been super productive!! I woke up at 5:30 this morning, thinking I’d get some time to get work done, but Emmett had other ideas. He wanted to wake up at 5:45 and spend some time cuddling on the couch watching Bob the Builder. I can’t say I blame him, I am pretty awesome, but it cut into my work time. haha

Ah well!! In the end it worked out. I pulled my laptop out while he watched TV, I got a few odds and ends done, and then eventually I made him breakfast. After breakfast, we woke Seamus up, mainly so I could get to our hamper and start our laundry. I’ve gotten 4 loads of laundry done, grocery shopping, food prep and some Beachbody stuff all complete and it’s only just 3 pm. Feels good to be so productive!!

Our Weekly Meal Plan

This weeks’ meal plan has some new recipes on it, ones that I am REALLY excited to try!!

Sunday: Chili & corn bread (carry-over from last week)

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: White Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Wednesday: Chicken Shawarma

Thursday: Steak, Chick Pea & Tomato Salad

Friday: Marinated Chicken with Sauteed Corn with Bacon and Leeks

Saturday: BBQ Bacon Hot Dogs and Baked Fries

The BBQ Bacon Hot Dog is going to be a Seamus creation. He went to a food truck that sold that type of hot dog, but didn’t get the chance to try it, so now he wants to make it at home. We’re saving it for the weekend, since we like to be less indulgent during the week. I’ll be sure to report back on how delicious (or not) it ends up being. 🙂

Like I said, we’re trying a few new things this week and I am very excited about that! We needed to spice up our Sunday meal plan.

I’m linking up with Laura from Mommy, Run Fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com

Your turn!

How was your weekend?

Have you tried any new recipes recently?

signature

Looking for a quick, easy and FREE way to get your news? Check-out theSkimm and sign-up for your daily email box delivery of the world’s news, plus if you share your birthday, you get it listed at the bottom of the newsletter on your day. It’s like celebrating with thousands of people!!!!

Copyright © 2013 Baby Doodah // Designed By Bumble + Buzz Design