Today I am thankful I have the time, freedom and budget to try new things in the kitchen. I am thankful my husband will at least taste my cooking and that my daughter loves all of it.

1. 44-clove garlic soup – Smitten Kitchen (you’ll smell like garlic for a week)
2. Barbecued Salmon With Corn Relish – Better Homes & Gardens (one of my favorites)
3. Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Pies – Give Me Flour (Really, really good. Caroline agreed.)
4. Butternut Squash & Mushroom Chicken Pot Pie – Bitchin Camero (actually a really beautiful food blog)

1. Shrimp Pil-Pil – Everyday with Rachael Ray (LOVE this recipe, especially served with a fresh loaf of artisan bread)
2. Chicken & Feta Orzo – PreventionGuide 30-Minute Chicken Dinners (meh)
3. Tilapia with Roasted Vegetables and Olives – Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook, link is similar but not identical (It was really good, even without the olives because E hates them. I added lots of other zero point veggies.)
4. Butternut Squash Risotto – Live Love Pasta (I’d never made risotto before but it was amazing)

This is a little bit of a cheater What’s For Dinner post because these meals were spread out over the past 2 months. Since E is gone so much I’ve been eating a lot of salad and popcorn instead of making a real meal (and making a real mess). We aren’t hosting any of the holidays this year either, so I’m expecting we’ll be eating a lot of homemade pizza and sandwiches in between stuffing ourselves with turkey.

This week was…not so good. Obviously. My low point was Thursday, when I fought with the kids nonstop all day, the house was a total wreck, and I was up more than 2 pounds at my weigh in. Looking back at my pictures I can see how out of it I felt that day, but the rest of the week wasn’t too terrible.

Sunday:

Potty training = pantsless toddler

These are most delicious fake-meat product ever

Ready for an emergency

Monday:

My doll house furniture is so vintage, it includes a record player

Damn you Christmas Tree Shops and your stupid siren song of the choochoo trains

I decided this is the right way to do puzzles. Because Little Evan says so.

Tuesday:

Suspicious of the baby in the mirror

He insisted he needed a bag for his Dora balloon

Caroline is making her Christmas list

Wednesday:

I almost lost my toddler in the fog at Stroller Strides

This is my thankful thing: I am thankful my kids are best friends.

She's annoyed I put the pillow there, because the game is SUPPOSED to be "fall on my face".

Thursday:

They put in new glass railings at the mall and they kind of freak me out. Also, there's a dog on that escalator. They bring them to the mall for bomb sniffing training.

Teething cranky baby demands more boob

I let Evan rip my purse apart so I could listen at my Weight Watchers meeting.

Friday:

Caroline is excited about Christmas decorations even though I'm ashamed I put them up at all.

11:11 on 11/11/11

They did this for 20 minutes. Best Friends!

Saturday:

Disaster Area

When Daddy dresses her, she ends up looking like a bottle of Pepto

I wasted a FOUR HOUR NAPTIME on a stupid craft that was supposed to take 10 minutes. Tutorial coming soon!

We don’t have any plans for this weekend besides catching up on all the chores I totally neglected all week…although I have a killer sore throat and laryngitis and I sort of feel like I’m getting sick (Which I am NOT because I REFUSE to be sick when I have another week of single parenting ahead of me). I’m just a little overwhelmed by life at the moment and the holidays are coming up SO FAST (as is Caroline’s first birthday but I also refuse to think about that because my baby is not allowed to be more than one year old) and I haven’t gotten a full night’s sleep in more than a year and…yeah. All that. But today I am thankful for sleeping in, new recipes that turn out amazing and kids who love each other.

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun!

Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about tips for baby feeding magic. What if you let baby choose what’s for dinner? Check out their cute “Quest for Yum!” video and see what happens!

The first time around I made all of my kid’s baby food. Well, technically. I took a class on how to steam and puree veggies (here’s a tip: you steam them, then you puree them. It doesn’t matter how. That’ll be $50) and I bought my weight in sweet potatoes and avocados.  I spent a whole weekend making, portioning and freezing a dozen different kinds and flavors. I was Supermom, provider of healthy organic meals! (more…)

This week was fueled by left-over party food, lots of Stroller Strides to balance out the party food and plenty of begging my children to behave themselves so I didn’t have to drag them home and entertain them myself all afternoon. But even on the days when I resorted to bribery, tears, screaming and more screaming we had tons and tons of good moments. Today I am thankful my iPhone gives me an easy way to capture those moments, so once a week when I review them for this post I pretty much forget all the bad stuff. It is extremely good for my sanity.

Sunday:

Nursery floor pillows are probably never going back up to the nursery. SO COMFY. (Sidenote: not my kid)

After finally sorting all the baby clothes, Caroline's room looks like a real playroom

Mmmmm...dirty, soap filled water is the BEST.

Monday:

Oh no! I'm being attacked by the tiniest most adorable dragon ever!

The button on that bench at Old Navy didn't do anything. Best toddler toy ever.

My I got new boots boots! (They're miraculously large enough for my huge calves and were only $25 at Old Navy)

Tuesday:

My kid might be the only person on the planet who gets one of those "part of a complete breakfast" cereal commercial breakfasts...and then doesn't eat any of it.

This buckle? Is NOT OK. It totally doesn't match my outfit.

I'm kind of obsessed with taking sleeping pictures of Caroline, since Little Evan was such a picky sleeper I never got to take any.

Wednesday:

SO EXCITED. And it's not even on.

Sinking her teeth into a little vampire fiction (IT'S TWO JOKES IN ONE!)

Cut up food. Throw it in a freezer bag. Add mustard and rosemary. Freeze. Voila, easy peasy dinners.

Thursday:

Overdramatic toddler is overdramatic. NO MAMA, NO WALK DOWNSTAIRS. FOOT HURT. (He has a hangnail.)

It made my house smell like CHRISTMAS.

Four children. Two shopping carts. WHO WILL BE THE FIRST TO FALL ON THEIR HEAD?

Friday:

I take your picture take my picture, mama!

Using the ball winder at the yarn store is oddly thrilling.

"Evan, what are you doing?" "Fire truck! Weeeoooooh!" "Uh, ok."

Saturday:

Clyde's. Pretty much the best place ever on a Saturday in November.

This is what 1 dozen apple cider donuts look like after I've shoved half of them in my face.

I just don't even know.

Now we’re going to go cram a week’s worth of family time in less than 48 hours. There will be forts, dancing, messes and pizza with our weird, wonderful kids. I am thankful for ALL of those things.

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun! (linky up on Sunday!)

Wheeeeeee! It turn out inviting every single person I saw for three weeks didn’t mean any of them wanted to drive out in a snowstorm to attend my Halloween party, so I didn’t end up with the huge crowd I was worried about anticipating. It also turns out all it takes to wear out my kids is running in circles for three hours (at least an hour of which was LITERAL running in circles – our first floor makes loop). Good to know, hard to replicate on a daily basis.

Most of the food was inspired by Pinterest, so check out my Halloween board here for details. I also used the free printables found here for some of the decoration and labels. I also FINALLY used the cookbook I got at The Creative Connection that had all the cute “gross” food in it. The rest of the stuff is a mish-mash of craft store decor and Target purchases that are probably not really worth listing. I’m going to force myself to limit the photos on this post to a reasonable semi-reasonable almost reasonable number, but check out the blog Facebook album for ALL the rest (probably only something you want to do if you were actually here and want pics of your kid.) They’re all kind of terrible, because the light in my house is terrible without sunshine – and we don’t get much sunshine during freak snow storms – but I can’t stop myself from putting them up anyways. It’s a sickness, really.

Pumpkin decorating station

The kids loved it, but next time maybe I won't set out so much glitter.

Spooky mantle decor

Little Evan's best friends are adorable

Hot dog mummies, dead fingers, ghost lollipops, zombie pizza (which was way cuter before it was cooked)

Clementine "pumpkin" pyramid

Sparkling cider & V-8 Fruit Fusion as spooky drinks, chocolate coverd rice crispie treats, mini donut eyeballs, ghost pretzel sticks

Sea monster veggie dip

Trifle with Death trifle

Penant banner & pumpkin lights

I don't think E was very happy I made him wear a costume

Too-dark photobooth was still a hit

Thanks for coming! Have a great night! Dinosaur rawr!!!

Thanks so much to everyone who came, and also HUGE apologies to anyone local who I didn’t invite in time. I passed them out at Stroller Strides a few different days but kept forgetting who had gotten them, so I promise you were SUPPOSED to be invited and I just suck. Next time I’ll just put a general party announcement on my Facebook and hope no creepy strangers show up. But YOU’RE not a creepy stranger, you’re a blog friend, so next time you’re invited too.

Whew. Now I’m going to spend a week cleaning my house and hiding from the thought that Caroline’s 1st birthday is in less than 7 weeks. Poor second child’s probably getting a store bought cake and a balloon.