Scattered Sundays and Meal Plan for October 31st – November 6th

I think we have officially jumped the shark with this whole pumpkin business.

I mean, growing up, we had pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. That’s it. And it was good, and we looked forward to it every year. Now, pumpkin is just freaking everywhere. And I blame Starbucks. Do we really need pumpkin breakfast bars? Pumpkin ice cream? Pumpkin deodorant?

I may have made that last one up. But I’m sure it is now going to be a thing.

Yesterday, Troy and Bennett were each snoozing, and I got to spend a little one-on-one time with Jack. Jack is driving me bananas these days, and we’re running around so much that I haven’t gotten to spend a lot of solo time with him. Back when Troy was pursuing a fire fighting job, he was a part-time fire fighter on an island two hours from home, and worked full-time as an EMT 40 minutes away. He basically came home every threeish days. And that went on for years. For so long, it seemed like it was just Jack and me. Life was exhausting then, but we had our own little “we miss Troy” club going on. Jack loves me, I know this, but he has always preferred Troy. It started day one, and had I not possessed boobs to feed him, he would have had nothing to do with me at birth. And that is ok, because they have a special connection and it is so cute and sweet.

So, while the boys were sleeping, Jack helped me with prepping apples for the dehydrator. He loves to use the peeler/corer thingy we have, and I was happy to have the help. We rocked out to my new favorite playlist on Spotify – Indie Rock Road Trip – and basically just did our thing. There was some talking, a bit of dancing, and definitely a lot of apple eating going on. I have extra trays for our dehydrator, so it took us about 15 minutes to fill all nine. It wasn’t a particularly exciting activity, but it was just the two of us, and I really loved getting to chill with him for a bit.

I swear, my kitchen gets uglier and uglier in every photo.

I mentioned last week how my desk (you can see it in the background in the above photo. Along with homemade vanilla extract brewing for Christmas gifts) was a freaking trash heap, and had been for over a month. Jack and I finished up the apples, and the other boys were still asleep, so I tackled that beast.

Ahhh, much better.

Then B woke up and “helped” me finish some tidying up.

I try and walk almost every day with Bennett in the stroller. I have a little route I take, and it involves a ton of hills, some rougher roads, and a whole lot of puddles this time of year. Tennis shoes get grody quickly, and rain boots are too heavy for prolonged walking. I saw these in an email yesterday, and am trying to decide if I love them, or find them hideous.

I had my final day at my (old) job on Friday. I’ve been training my replacement occasionally, and while I still have seven more hours of a project I’m working on from home to wrap up for them, it is pretty much the end. It is amazingly liberating, and scary at the same time.

Meal plan time!

Monday:: Grilled cheese, salad, and veggies/hummus before trick or treating.

Tuesday:: My sister is bringing pizza after work, and I’ll provide salad.

Wednesday:: Burgers, organic tots, and roasted broccoli.

Thursday:: Pasta with browned butter and mizritha cheese. I’m going to top it with roasted broccoli, and pair it with a side salad. Man, I really dislike salad, but it’s there.

Friday:: Popcorn dinner!

Saturday:: We’re going out. I have no idea where, but it’s happening.

Sunday:: Family dinner

What are you having this week?