Scattered Sundays and Meal Plan

You all rule. You know that right? I sure hope you do.

What’s funny is that I never debated whether or not to share my video earlier this week. It never crossed my mind not to. I figured most people would be supportive and kind, but you all blew my mind. I read through every Facebook and blog comment. It took me a few days to respond to everyone because honestly, I needed some time to process it. I’m so appreciative of your prayers, good wishes, and positive vibes you sent our way.

I hadn’t planned to be emotional during the video, but I filmed it right after I got my mom up for the day. It was the hardest and scariest morning we had so far, and I was just drained by the time I had a chance to make the video. Troy and I were both in tears by the end of it, and it kind of set the tone for the rest of our day. So to see that so many of you took action and called your Representatives and Senators, was pretty amazing and inspiring. So thank you. Thank you!

And to continue the digital pats on the back for you all, I wanted to let you know that we collectively raised $12o for the Liberty Bottleworks Kickstarter! That money includes what I matched. At the time this post was written, they were within $300 of meeting their goal, which is amazing.

Reminder, the Christmakkuah in July sale is still going on over on The Blind T-Rex. Get your holidays bags now before the rush, and take 12% off with coupon code christmakkuah2017. And help me make space in my micro sewing room.

What kind of underwear do I wear? I’m so glad you asked. Oh you didn’t? I could have sworn that you did. Well, we’re going there anyway. I recently bought some new undies and I like them! I searched for some made in the US, but unfortunately, they all look like part of a group-issued uniform for an end of days cult. If you have any recommendations for locally made knickers, please let me know! Anyhoo, this underwear is pretty close to no-show, so the VPL is minimal. And I’m not sure about you, but I seem to have a hungry butt most of the time, and it gobbles up underwear like nobody’s business. But guess what, it’s now your business. Isn’t sharing fun? This underwear stays put and is super comfy.

We got central air this week, and it has been nice. I’m such a sellout. The temps haven’t been too crazy, so it has been run minimally. This coming week the temps are supposed to be “Seattle hot” (read: in the 80’s), so we’re looking forward to staying cool. When they were installing the system, two giant boxes were emptied. Bennett pretty much launched himself out of my arms and yelled “booooooox”. The HVAC guy had two kids and was totally picking up what Bennett was throwing down. I selected the smaller box because the large one was so huge and the idea of breaking that down and recycling it in a few months was undesirable.

I tried a new recipe this week – zucchini tots – and they were delicious! One of you recommended them to me last summer. I took an existing recipe from Pinterest and added my own spin to it. I’m going to make them again this week and will share the recipe once I feel comfortable that it wasn’t a fluke.

Last week, Jack dropped a whole bag of apples at the farmer’s market. The vendor gave me another bag for free. Yesterday, I made some chocolate chip cookies (they’re whole wheat, but no one ever knows) and brought them to him. He then proceeded to deeply discount my purchase for the week. It looks like this may be something that will go back and forth weekly through October. And so the dance begins.

The boys “helped” me with a big closet clean out and redesign this week. Jack assisted by complaining it was boring (while doing nothing and laying on my bed). Bennett added value by spreading all the clothes around the room and out of the organized piles I had created.

I got rid of two big garbage bags of clothes, and it feels amazing. The clean out is part of an upcoming post, so stay tuned.

File this under “it never hurts to ask”, I scored this guy on Thursday:

Troy is obsessed with these slow down signs and has wanted one for our road for a while now. There is a house near us that has had one posted for years. I met the owners a few years ago when I traded a dozen eggs for a bag of mismatched silverware at their garage sale. Bennett loves this little slow down sign, and when we’re out walking, he insists we stop and talk to it.

The owners put their house up for sale, and it sold within a few days. As Jack and I were walking past it on Thursday, I noticed they had a little stand-up storage shed. Troy and I have been talking about getting one for our deck. We’re always shuttling folding chairs and tables up and down our stairs whenever we want to eat outside (#firstworldproblems). I knocked on their door to ask if they’d be willing to sell the shed. We walked over to look at it, and I saw their slow down sign guy. I asked why they never had it up anymore and shared that Bennett loved it. He said, “we’re moving and don’t need it anymore, take it”. Bennett freaking squealed when he saw me carrying it up the hill that afternoon. We’re still working on a name for it, as we have a weird habit of naming most random objects in our home. Any suggestions? I am taking the dude a dozen eggs in a few days as a thank you for making both Bennett and Troy so very happy.

Speaking of things that are making me happy, I am following this reader on Instagram and she has been sharing the best quotes this week. Like she is totally rocking it and everything she has been posting speaks to me. I didn’t get a chance to ask her if I could share this, and her account is private, so I cropped out her username. This was my favorite this week:

Friday, I went on my favorite shopping spree of the year. Each year, our church sponsors around 35 backpacks for the kids of women who are in prison. One day in August, the kids get to visit their moms and receive a brand new backpack filled with brand new school supplies. This one special day with their moms gives everyone an opportunity to feel a bit normal. So the cause is awesome, and it also allows me to buy school and office supplies, which pretty much owns my heart. We did this as a family for a few years, and it gets really expensive. We now split the cost with two other families at church, and it helps.

Not pictured: the backpack purchased at another store, and allllll the snacks we later added to fill the crap out of that backpack.

The week started out super rocky and was very emotional. Mom was in the worst place I had seen her and was so out of it. It was to the point where my mom’s hospice nurse asked her on Tuesday if she wanted a social worker and chaplain to come in that day. Gulp. After an assessment, the nurse determined she had a stomach bug that was causing her to be dehydrated. Pushing fluids has helped, but it has been a long week. We are scheduled to leave for Los Angeles on Friday for a friend’s wedding/visit with another friend/go to Legoland. Tuesday night, Troy and I had to have the discussion of me staying behind with Bennett. Mom seems to have improved enough for us to all go, but I do so with some stress and reluctance. And not just because my life was threatened the last time we attempted to visit a theme park. If you could send prayers and/or good thoughts for a smooth trip all around, it would be greatly appreciated.

Meal plan!

Monday: Kebabs again. They were so good last week, took 15 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to grill. Bennett devoured them, and my mom cleaned her plate (praise God). We used Aidell’s organic chicken sausage from Costco, peppers (barf), sweet onions, pineapple, and zucchini. Everything but the sausage and pineapple were tossed with a bit of olive oil and Montreal Steak seasoning before being put on the skewers. Pro tip: buy metal skewers. You skip the soaking process that wooden ones require, and it is one less thing to throw away. We’ll pair the kebabs with grilled corn and biscuits. I made a compound butter (fancy term for flavored butter) to put on corn last week and it was so tasty. It was flavored with lime, cilantro, smoked paprika, and garlic.

Tuesday:: Pasta, oven-fried zucchini, and leftover grilled corn.

Wednesday:: Grilled chicken gyros and zucchini tots!

Thursday:: Popcorn and movie night. I want to clean out everything in the fridge and have zero leftovers to deal with.

Friday-following Wednesday: Pretty much In-N-Out every night.

What are you having this week?