Anna is… get this… hungry! Finally! I’ve been waiting for this for months. She’s starting to eat a pretty good variety of things and eat pretty well. I think her recent encounter with barbecue clued her in to the fact that there’s some really tasty food out there to be had.

I’m realizing I’m going to have to change the way I plan our meals. Up until now, I’ve fixed Anna a bowl of yogurt/cereal for dinner, then just offered her a few bites of whatever we’re having, knowing she probably wouldn’t have much to do with it. But now she’s eating our dinner! I’ll have to shift my thinking a bit and actually prepare enough for her too. No more cooking a casserole that serves six and eating it for three nights; it will probably only last two now, with a little leftover.

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Mmmm… last week’s brisket was delicious! Turns out Anna likes it too, which makes her daddy awfully proud!

Monday: Leftover homemade pizza, salad

Tuesday: Sautéed chicken breasts, leftover potato casserole, carrots

Wednesday: Chicken rice casserole, green beans, carrots

Thursday: same

Friday: Chicken tacos, fresh fruit

Saturday: same

Sunday: Breakfast casserole, sautéed apples, some kind of quick bread/muffins

Check out Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday for more ideas.

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Wow, Anna’s having a big weekend of outdoor activity! Today we went to the Soaring Wings Ranch appreciation day. They had lunch, tours of the campus, and stuff for the kids like pony rides and one of those big bouncy things. We took Anna over so she could watch the ponies and pat one, and the owner offered to let me ride on one with her! She liked it!

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We took Anna to Laurel Park this afternoon to play. She’s been there before, but she was too little to do anything but sit in her stroller. This time was the first time we took her just for her, so she could play and have fun. And she did! She was all smiles the whole time! First we put her in the swing, then we let her climb around on the equipment and go down the slides with us, then back to the swing, then all the after-school kids showed up and Anna just watched everybody for a few minutes, then we headed home for a nap.

Every stage of this kid thing is fun—I loved the baby stage and I’ll miss it, but we’re going to have a blast playing at the park and doing all the new fun things she’s old enough to do now!

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Did you know my husband is a smoker? The good kind, that is—the kind that’s going to smoke a brisket on Wednesday! We’ll get several dinners and lunches out of that, and probably freeze some for later. Last week’s mac & cheese meal got postponed a day, so we still have one day’s worth of leftovers for that. Visit the original Menu Plan Monday for lots more menus.

Monday: Homemade macaroni & cheese, green beans (see recipe below), carrots

Tuesday: (guests for dinner) Parmesan crusted chicken, green beans, salad, focaccia

Wednesday: Smoked brisket, hashbrown potato casserole, cole slaw, biscuits

Thursday: same

Friday: same

Saturday: Homemade pizza, salad

Sunday: same

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Recipe: Sautéed Green Beans w/ Garlic and Herbs (Cook’s Illustrated) (more…)

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I registered today for the Toad Suck Daze 5K! No turning back now!

I’ve been jogging off and on for a while, and this is a goal I’ve been toying with, and I think I’m up to it. I’m not a serious runner—I only jog twice a week to give my joints and shins a chance to recover, then do aerobics on some of the in-between days. A 5K is 3.1 miles, which is about 31 minutes for me. I think jogging for 31 minutes is a good workout and indicates a good fitness level, so I’m happy with that. I mapped out a 3.1 mile route around my neighborhood and jogged it today, walking for about 2 minutes sometime in the middle but jogging the rest of the way. So I can do this!

I’ll let y’all know how it turns out. It’s on May 2 at 8AM… anyone want to come cheer me on? :)

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I know most of you don’t know this child, but this is my niece singing and playing the guitar mandolin with her daddy and it is sooooo precious and I just had to share. :)

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We baked a ham yesterday since they were on sale for Easter, so we’re having a bunch of ham this week. Visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday for more dinner ideas!

Monday: Ham, orange-glazed sweet potatoes, sugar snap peas, biscuits

Tuesday: same

Wednesday: Ham & cheese omelettes, home fries, fresh fruit

Thursday: Grilled ham & cheese sandwiches, potato wedges, fresh fruit

Friday: Homemade macaroni & cheese, green beans, carrots

Saturday: same

Sunday: same

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Happy Easter from the Felios! Unfortunately it was not a day to take pictures outside, but we still got some cute ones I think. The dress is cousin Addie’s, as are the shoes, and sweater… I think at least the socks are ours…

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My mom called me this afternoon and told me to find page 11A of the Democrat-Gazette. I figured she wanted to point out an article about the Mena tornado damage, since both my parents are from Mena and we have some family there (all of whom are ok and without property damage). I pulled it out of the recycle bin, and glanced at the top picture:

It’s a house torn apart by the tornado. But upon closer inspection, I gasped and said, “Is that what I think it is? … Are you sure?” Yep—that house is, or rather was, my grandparents’ house, the house my mom grew up in almost all of her childhood, the house I grew up in for countless weekends, Christmases, Easters, Mother’s Days, summer days, whatever days. (more…)

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