Sous Chef

Making dinner is not one of my strong points. I either forget to defrost something, try to cook during the "witching hour" when both kids are bordering on meltdown until Brian comes home, or I just plain forget about cooking until it's about time to eat and then I don't have enough time to make anything! The crock pot had been my saving grace, but lately we have been eating less meat and more veggies, so that wasn't really working anymore either. Then this past week I had a revelation. I can be my own sous chef! If I do all the chopping, prepping, and organizing while the kids are napping, then making dinner becomes a lot more doable at 5:30. Even if Brian isn't home yet, I can throw everything in the oven or the skillet and have dinner ready on time while still paying attention to my kids. Yesterday I peeled, chopped and roasted butternut squash and cooked some brown rice at 2:00. Then at 5:30 I chopped and onion and red pepper, threw everything in the skillet, and enjoyed some delicious butternut squash and black bean burritos. Success!

Return to Hotlanta

Brian took a week of vacation so we decided to take a trip up to Atlanta for a few days. It was so great to see old friends and spend time relaxing together. Our fabulous hosts, Beau and Amanda, even had a delicious dinner at their house Sunday evening for all of our friends. Thank you to everyone that made the effort to see us while we were there! We love you all, and you are welcome to come to the beach any time! Here are some pictures from our trip.

Everyone at dinner. Thanks iPhone self timer app!

So glad I got to see my cousin!

Matthew and Henry had an absolute blast playing together

Dinner out! From medical students' wives to doctors' wives in 10 short years ;o)

Food

February 26: I went to the grocery store today while Matthew was at school. When he got home that afternoon I was getting him a drink, and he looked in the fridge and said "Thanks for getting me more food Mommy." In other news, Caroline wore underwear today for the first time!

February 25: A few weeks ago we joined Annie's Buying Club which is an organic produce co-op. Every Monday I pick up a huge box of fresh fruits and vegetables that feeds our family for the week. It's made our diet healthier, our grocery bill smaller, and trips to the grocerry store less frequent. And I really feel like the food tastes better too!

Marco Polo

February 24: Every once in a while Brian will get free tickets to something through work. A few months ago we got tickets to a Gator game, and this week we got to see a polo match! We invited our friends the Tobiassens and we had a great time tailgating together. The kids play really well, and we did eventually get to watch some of the game when the sun tired them out!

Date Night Trifecta

February 23: Tonight was our third date night this week! We usually average about one date night a month, but due to surprise valentine gifts for each other and a youth for Christ banquet invitation, we had three just this week!

Ireland Training

February 22: It's so great having the Y right across the street. It makes triathlon training so convenient! This morning I enjoyed a swim in the heated pool and even had time to come home and shower before Brian went to work.

February 21: For Valentine's Day Brian got me tickets to see Celtic Crossroads. It made me even more excited for our trip to Ireland this summer! The music was amazing, and I loved their accents too. It was nice to snuggle up with my honey as well :o)

Future Dr. Foster

February 20: This morning I had a close encounter with the pavement during my bike ride (let me be clear, this is not the part of the story involving any type of love). When I got home I showed Matthew my cut up knee. He gave me a very concerned look and said "Mommy, you need a band-aid." He then proceeded to climb up on the stool and get his Cars band-aids out of the medicine cabinet and help me put them on.