New leaves

So life is changing for us, in more ways than one.  We are adding to our family, I am officially a stay at home mom, and I am going to start cooking meals.  I am putting this in writing and hoping (praying) that this will keep me accountable.  I hate how often we eat from a can, or out of the freezer.  I don't want my kids growing up on boxed dinners. 

It all started when I stopped working outside the home, and started doing child care.  It became impossible to cook a meal that would have been done at a decent enough hour to eat.  It has frustrated me for far too long, and now that I am no longer doing child care, I am getting my house clean and organized, and I am going to start making home cooked meals again!  This excites me more than you know.  I love to plan meals and than have them turn out delicious and yummy.  Seeing my child regain his appetite would be a major plus too! 

I started my quest my browsing a few blogs and getting some ideas.  I found several that I have bookmarked, and several that just seemed to steal recipes off cooks.com or another similar website.  I found one that did seem to do her own recipe and I hope I have found a new favorite at our house- homemade pop tarts!  Sound great right? I will let you know tomorrow if they are a hit!  Now just getting up before everyone to make them before everyone else scarfs something down! 

We started the day making banana bread, instead of just throwing away the three last bananas that were becoming riper by the minute.  Preston thought it was great to mash up the bananas, he thought he was getting away with murder!  I wish I had taken pictures, but it was too risky that the bananas end up on the floor or in the wrong bowl, so maybe next time. 

Some of the recipes I came across sounded oh-so-good, but seemed too intimidating for me.  I thought maybe I will be ready for them by summer. I am going to stick with this, I feel I have to, for my kid's health, for my family's health.  I don't want my kids growing up on fast food, and boxed dinners.  I told Brandon a couple weeks ago that I wanted to join a CSA, and he responded quickly with "Next year."  I am going to remember that.  I love the idea of getting a week's worth of produce every week all year!  Imagine how diverse our meals could become! 

Dinner this evening was baked potatoes with chilli, cheese and sour cream and a salad.  Preston ate all his salad, and all but two bites of his potato, and all but one section of a mandarin!  He stuffed himself to the brim, it was truely a lot of food.  I would have loved to had more chilli, but this child growing in my belly had other plans that involved taking up as much space in my belly as possible, so I could hardly sit comfortably, let alone eat. 

I have plans for every night this week, plus some.  I look forward to feeding everyone home cooked meals that are satisfying.  We are turning a new leaf in this house, starting today.  No longer will I only cook meals on Christmas morning, and birthdays, if I even cooked on birthdays.  My kids will know that they can go out and play as long as they are back in time for supper.  My dream would be that they would want to be home for supper, but I know that is a dream because I am sure that they will rather eat with their friends! 

So wish me luck, and send me any ideas you have for our new dinners!