Meal Planning Monday

Inspired by Mrs M, I have decided that Monday will be meal-planning day. I have found that I stick to both my diet and my budget much better if I plan the week's meals in advance. Plus, there are days when I just can't be bothered to make a decision over what we are going to eat, and the Husband's ever-helpful response to this is usually 'you choose' so, believe me, meal planning is a positive thing for us. This week's menu is not the most exciting menu plan in the world, but it is hopefully something I can stick to.

Monday - Moroccan fish tagine with lemon and garlic couscous
Tuesday - Chilli and ginger chicken stir-fry with noodles
Wednesday - Tuna pasta bake topped with crisps (this is one of the childrens' favourites and a regular family meal in our house)
Thursday - Salmon with pesto and green beans, served with new potatoes
Friday - Chicken fajitas with all the trimmings - a Friday night treat!
Saturday - TBC, I am off to the FA Cup Final so I'm guessing it will be a trip to the chippy on the way home or something equally 'healthy'
Sunday - Roast dinner, meat to be decided but whatever it is will be accompanied by roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and a variety of veg

Once I have got myself back into the meal planning habit I am also intending to go through my huge array of cookery books and attempt a new recipe every week.

A Tale of Rainy School Runs

This week has been one of the wettest weeks I can remember. Obviously living in England we are used to rain, but it has been incessant this week - bit ironic really considering this is supposed to be a drought. And the constant rain presents its own special challenges - notably the school run. Jedi Boy's school is nearly two miles away. We usually walk the first mile to the bus stop near the station and then catch a bus up the hill. On a non-working day, the Little Princess sits in the buggy and shouts at me that she wants to get out and walk, while Jedi Boy runs down the road fighting invisible battle droids with his imaginery lightsabre or clutching his wrist and 'transforming' into one of Ben 10's aliens. Believe me, I get a lot of funny looks as he charges off shouting 'Ultimate Spider Monkey' at the top of his voice.

With the rain pouring down, and no way of carrying an umbrella while pushing the buggy and trying to get Jedi Boy to suspend his boundless imagination for a few seconds to concentrate on the mundane act of crossing the road, I have spent much of this week with water dripping off my fringe and soaking wet jeans. By Wednesday I had resorted to spotty wellies and a mac with a hood (sometimes you just have to compromise on style), and by Friday I had invested in a new umbrella for the days I don't have to take the buggy. Somehow, though, Jedi Boy seems oblivious to the rain - he is quite happy to stop and study a puddle to determine whether or not it looks like a spaceship or some discarded alien slime, or balance precariously on a mud-splattered wall, and that just means I end up getting even wetter.

It is all worth it though - even if there are days where the school run just feels like too much effort - most of the time I love spending that time with my little boy... hearing the stories that he tells about life in Reception, listening to his lengthy explanations of what he dreamed about the night before, laughing when he gets so distracted by his games that he runs into a tree - just being together is what makes it all worthwhile.