A new week

Hi everyone. It's the beginning of another week so, as is my routine, I am spending a little bit of time planning out the details of our week. Although full, the week ahead is not quite as busy as the past several have been. We have a playgroup at the farm, swim lessons 2 days this week, and library songs to wrap up the week. Fun times.

In my meal planning, I have changed my method a little bit b/c of Michael's crazy schedule. Instead of assigning a meal for a particular day, I am just planning 5-7 options and will have to play it by ear what we have.
1) Brown Beans, Cornbread
2) Lemon Spaghetti, Vegetables
3) Taco Soup
4) Parmesan Chicken Tenders, Pasta, Vegetables
5) Tuna Casserole, Vegetables, Cottage Cheese
6) Italian Chicken, Rice, Vegetables
7) Herbed Pork Chops, Corn Casserole, Vegetables
A lot of these look familiar, b/c a lot of them are left over meals that I never got around to making. I am especially looking forward to the taco soup...easy and so good. Here is the recipe:

1-2 lbs. hamburger
1 large onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 (14 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
1 can light red kidney beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 jar salsa
1 can chicken broth
1 pkg. taco seasoning
Cook beef, onion, and garlic. Drain. Mix with everything else and bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
*We also add a pinch of ground red pepper sometimes.
Serve with sour cream, cheddar, and Frito chips. This is really good to freeze!

This is turning into the longest post ever, but the girls and I spent some time at my parent's house today...the girls planted tomato plants and played outside. Gracie started pumping her feet by herself for the first time today on the swings!! I got a little video of it on my camera so I will try to upload it later. She was so proud of herself. Here are some pictures of Gracie and Michaela...the Gardeners...with gloves and hats and everything!