Meal plan Monday.

1. Baked ziti (from the freezer since I have to be out this evening)

2. Chicken soft tacos w/mexican rice and beans (leftover from last week since we didn't get to it)

3. Shake and Bake chicken w/mashed sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus

4. PW's Chicken spaghetti (half will go in the freezer for another night and using leftover chicken from the soft tacos)

5. PW's Penne a la Betsy (this is SO good and a splurge, but we have a GC to Whole Foods for the shrimp, plus I have some leftover wine from another dish)

6. Creamy white chicken chili

7. Fend for yourself/leftovers

Does anyone else HATE meal planning like I do? Seriously, I hate it. I don't mind cooking at all, it's the planning, list making, shopping, putting away food that I hate. When we hit it big, we are SO hiring a cook.

About those milestones ...

She must have read the blog and thought, "hey lady, I can do more than look at my hands" and so she rolled over. Rolled over like she's been doing it her whole life. Even did it for the video camera. 3 months and 1 day old. I put her on her belly in front of the mirror in Theo's room, thinking she might hate tummy time less if she could see herself. And, bloop, over she went. I yelled for Susan and when she came in, she did it again. And then one more time before she'd let us know she had enough.

We are so proud!

3 months.

This girl is 3 months old today! We have survived the fourth trimester. We had her three month old pictures taken on Tuesday and she even smiled for them. She smiles more now, but she also still cries a lot. She's not an easy baby, but we are hoping she will be an easy teenager since we've paid our dues now! She does get cuter by the day.

Eating:

She usually eats every 2-3 hours. Sometimes more, sometimes less. She does not starve in silence, that's for sure. On the two days I work, I leave 4 bottles with 4 ounces in each. Sometimes she has one leftover, sometimes Susan tells me to pull into the driveway on two wheels with my boob out and ready. Just depends. I pump twice a day at work and thanks to the Kindle, it's a lot less boring now. I'm really glad I only work two days a week because I HATE pumping. I also hate all the prep that goes into getting ready for a work day. Even with all the prep I do, it takes me 2.5 hours to get out the door in the morning. But, I digress. So yeah, all she eats is breastmilk. Still hasn't had a drop of formula. Yay, us.

Sleeping:

She was doing a wonderful job at night. The past few nights, she has switched things up. She still does really well for a 3 month old, but I kind of preferred the old schedule. She goes down between 7-7:30 and puts herself to sleep by watching the ceiling fan. She was sleeping until 2-3 and then eating and going back down until 5:30. This was great. Now she is waking around midnight and then anywhere from every 2-3 hours until I give up around 6. That sucks.

Milestones:

Uh, she found her hands. That's about it. Theo was already rolling over at this point, but LK really hates tummy time. And well, she hates life in general a lot of the time, so be damned if I am going to do something that will just make her scream. The ped isn't concerned about the lack of tummy time. She understands we are still in survival mode. I'm sure she'll roll over one day.

Likes (and these all depend on her mood):

- Theo

- her mobile

- her playmat

- being held

- the swing (I've gotten her to nap in here now, which is awesome)

- boobs

- the Miracle Blanket and Stella (her Angel Dear lovey - the giraffe)

- baths

- being on the changing table

Dislikes:

- life (not always, but a lot of the time)

- tummy time

- the fact that we can't read her mind

- transitions

She's growing a lot, but I don't know her weight. She's getting too long for some of her 0-3, but the 3-6 are still pretty roomy. I went ahead and washed them all, largely because I am tired of her 0-3 month clothes. I wish she had some hair for bows, but I know it will come in sooner or later. I can't wait! Her eyes are still blue, but greyer than Theo's were. I don't think they will stay blue, but her Gramma does.

In spite of her difficulties, we love her so much and are so happy to have her in our family!

Meal plan Monday.

1. Pizza (this Dominoes thing is getting out of hand!)

2. Creamy chicken and broccoli pasta (using chicken instead of shrimp)

3. Mexican lasagna (Jenny's recipe!)

4. Chicken soft tacos - crockpot

5. Chili - crockpot

6. Breakfast for dinner

7. Helpy-selfy

How about you?

Love.

He loves her so much. Well, in his own little two year old way. He pats her head really gently and he loves it when she is on the playmat because she's at his level. He always runs to lay down next to her while she kicks around and reminds us to turn on the lights on the playmat (likely because he likes it, but I like to think it's because he knows she likes it). When it's time to change her diaper, he runs in her room and turns on her mobile because it "play song for Loochi." He is also an excellent burp cloth fetcher, whether you need one or not. He brought me 3 today during one feeding. When she cries he says "Loochi sad?" During her first bath when she screamed her head off, he looked at us worriedly and said "up! up! all done!"

I was so worried about him not having a brother. I still really want him to have one. In the meantime, I guess he's teaching me that it's most important he gets to BE a brother. And Lucy gets what I always wanted - a big brother to look out for her. She is one lucky little girl. I am one lucky Mama.

Meal plan Monday.

What's on the menu this week at your house?

Pizza (Dominos has changed their pizza and it's SO good now!)

Turkey burgers w/waffle fries and broccoli

Baked ziti (I freeze half to have a ready made meal on a night we are tight for time)

Chipotle bean burritos

Turkey meatloaf w/crash hot potatoes and brussels

Shake and Bake chicken breasts w/broccoli au gratin rice and broccoli

Pot roast (Susan's crock pot meal)

And ... this week I WILL sign up for Weight Watchers. I am not one of those lucky breastfeeding moms who burn a zillion calories while nursing. Nope. So, I need to work for it. Now that the baby factory is closed up, I need to lose all this weight and get healthy. Right after these cookies Theo and I made are gone ....

Sometimes I feel like a rockstar.

And, sometimes I feel like the gum on the bottom of the seats at the arena. So far this morning, I've been both.

I decided to take both kids grocery shopping. I've done this one other time and it went really well. I put Theo in the cart and Lucy in the Moby where she generally sleeps while we shop. Theo is used to grocery shopping and as soon as he gets into the cart, he asks for his snack and cup. He knows the routine. So, today. I felt prepared. I got a parking place right next to the carts, which is key with two babies. Loaded Theo up and then was getting Lucy organized while he yells for his snack and the wind whips through all of us. Put the diaper bag in the cart and the sippy cup goes flying out and lands, yep, UNDER the van. Great. I somehow manage to get it without getting myself or Lucy injured and we start to walk inside Target. Realize I left Lucy's pacifier in her carseat. Back to the van.

Finally we get inside and I get coats off everyone and Theo his blasted snack. Now the cart is already half full with coats, hats and the diaper bag (have I mentioned I HATE winter??). We go off to one side of the store to get non-food, all the while Theo is kicking his feet backwards on the cart. I finally told him he was hurting Mama's brain and to STOP KICKING. I think I said this a million and one times. We get back over to the food section to start and he's eaten all his fish and is yelling "more fish! more fish!" I tell him I don't have any more and then he bursts into song and regales everyone in the store with Jingle Bells. I fly down the aisles trying to put myself and the other shoppers out of misery ASAP while he keeps kicking the cart and asking for a snack. We get to the checkout and he sees his snack food on the belt. "Snack! Snack! Bun Buns! Fish!" I'm ignoring him so he shouts something I don't understand but still ugly at the cashier. I stop ignoring, raise my voice and tell him in the best way I can manage: ENOUGH. He gets the point.

Get everything smooshed into the cart and begin stuffing hats and coats on everyone. Not that I need one, because I am sweating at this point and wondering what the hell I was thinking doing this. We get outside and I dump Theo in the van, but not in his seat because I have to take his stupid coat off to put him in the carseat (carseat safety is super fun in the winter, let me tell you). He bounces around while I wrestle Lucy into her carseat. She wakes up and starts screaming. I load all the groceries in the van, go to put the diaper bag in and the sippy cup flies out of the bag AGAIN and lands in the parking lot, narrowly missing being run over by the car beside me. I wish it had.

Return the cart and come around to get Theo in his seat. He's made himself at home on the bench seat on the way back of the van and has zero intention of listening to me about getting in his seat. This is pretty much when my brain exploded. I reached back and pulled him off the seat, took off his coat and buckled him while counting in my head, slowly and steadily. He then asked if we were going to see the "wa wa." No way, I told him. I explained that since he didn't listen to me we would not go see the wa wa. He didn't seem to care. Lucy screamed the whole way home.

We get home and I manage to get everyone and everything inside and as I am taking off his shoes Theo proclaims "good job Target." Uh, yeah. Me or you, kid?

Anyway. Not an outing that I felt like a rockstar. But, an hour after we got home and I had TWO fed and napping kids (with Lucy in the swing and not having to be held), I totally felt like I had rocked it out.

For now, anyway.

Meal plan Monday.

Er, Tuesday.

I don't assign days to things, I just sort of do whatever makes sense for that day, but I do plan out a week's worth of meals every week. Then whoever is feeling brave enough to take the kids out does the shopping. My friend Kelsi posts hers and I always appreciate when people do this because I run out of ideas doing this week after week. So, here's what's on tap at Chez Hill this week!

1. Breakfast

2. Italian chicken breasts (baked) w/roasted brussel sprouts

3. Chicken tortilla soup (thanks, Kelsi!)

4. Spaghetti (this is a once a weeker around here because Theo LOVES it and it's an easy way to get veggies in him)

5. Mexican surprise

6. Marinated flank steak, roasted asparagus and baked potatoes (my favorite meal!)

7. Fend for yourself, AKA - Melissa ain't cookin'.

Since I work two days a week, Susan has to make dinner on those nights. Only, I usually plan one or both of those nights as crock pot meals that I put together the night before. So this week, she has the chicken tortilla soup (crock pot, waiting in the fridge for her) and probably Mexican surprise which is easy. One of the many reasons she loves me. :)

So, there you have it. What's for dinner at your house?