Memes and Menu Plan

Here's what my menu plan from last week looked like.  

Here is the recipe for Greek Chicken Bowls. I marinated boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the Primal Kitchen marinade and then we grilled them, instead of using a crockpot. And I made a pan of couscous, cooked in bone broth because I always need a carb/grain. I have made this recipe before and 3 of 4 will eat it happily. 

I wanted to try this sausage tortellini bake but I loathe tortellini. I cannot stand it. It's a texture thing I think. So I substituted gnocchi. It was okay. I think I would like an Italian chicken sausage better? And maybe more veggies than just the broccoli? 

And then I wanted to make this orzo soup because I've made it in the past and I have a ton of orzo for some reason right now stashed in the cupboard. But I already did sausage, so I use boneless skinless chicken thighs to make chicken orzo soup. It was really good, so I'll have to make it again and document. It's hard to take pictures of dinner this time of year. 

And then, I made a batch of my sugar cookies to practice some decorating. These are a great cookie because they are firm and don't break. The nutmeg adds a festive flavor too. I've been making them since 2010, and have never felt the need to try another recipe. 

This is how I feel about 2026, for real. 

I come from one of those families where shopping is an activity, especially this time of year. I can hear, smell, and feel this scene. 

Like, I see the tutorials. I just can't make it happen. 

I would take a 2015! 

Wells asked the other day when Stranger Things came out (yeah, he watched it with us, and I'll take comment cards with judgement later) and I was like "2016. We lived in Colorado. Dad was at war (Wells doesn't understand the word deployment so he always calls it war). I was watching ST." Man, what a different time. 

See: "Man what a different time" above. 

Friday (Dog) Recommendations, 12/5

The door we have is no longer available but there's a ton of options out there.

 1. A doggy door. 

I tell everyone to get a doggy door. Very few take me seriously because they think it's a safety risk or a hassle or just  something from the 1990s that people just don't do anymore. Well, you know what a hassle is? Letting your dog outside. And letting him back in. Multiply by more than one dog. Make one dog completely deaf so you can't even call him and just have to wait for him to wander back to the door. Have two separate doors the dog could use. Then you're guessing what floor the dog will be on, the upstairs deck or the bottom patio. Better yet, don't have a fence at all. So then you're standing outside with a dog multiple times a day just...waiting. 

I heard on a podcast about pet health once that the more decisions a dog gets to make, the more active his brain is, the healthier he'll be, and the longer he'll live. Something to think about! We make all the decisions for our pets. Letting them choose when to go outside is the least we can do for them. 

I was going to talk about this months ago but I'm reminded, with Mav being in a cone and not able to use a doggy door, just how advantageous they are. Poor Scout has suffered the consequences of not having a doggy door this week, but it's also been really cold so we took it out altogether this week. 

We had a doggy door in Colorado, toward the end of our time there, maybe last two years we lived there and it went into a fenced-in yard. We put a doggy door right into the side of the house in Missouri, it leads into an extra office area near the garage. A doggy door, I learned, means you don't need to worry about "being home to let the dogs out". Isn't that always the complaint about dogs? That they don't do their business in a box in the middle of your house (gag) like a cat? A dog can also, it follows, get as much or as little exercise as he feels like getting that day. 

So when we moved into this house, we immediately started wondering how we were going to solve this problem. Turns out, we have two sliding doors, one onto a deck, and then one from a walk-out basement. We don't *need* two sliding doors I guess, so we bought a temporary doggy door that installs in a sliding door. You measure, order, and lock it into place. Now, the door can be locked just the same as if it's were regularly sliding shut, because the kit comes with a locking mechanism, but then the door isn't functional unless you unlock it. So, this particular type of doggy door isn't for everyone! But we had double access to the backyard through two different doors so we could make it work here. 

2. Prozac. 

There's a lot of talk about how SSRIs just don't work. It's the placebo effect, they say. However, I know that they work because we put Scout the dog on Prozac and he turned into a different animal, for the better. Since about 2021 (age 8) he's had crazy anxiety. Started with storms and then with being left alone and, while I just kind of sucked it up and dealt with his destructive habits in Missouri, when we moved to Kansas, I could not deal with it. Trazodone is the go-to to calm down dogs but they also build a tolerance and you can't take it every day for that reason. We've also done CBD oil and pills in the past, so we have tried every natural route we could imagine over the years. He is not neutered for multiple reasons and vets said that was the only way to change his behavior but was not a guarantee. By the time we came to that recommendation, he was 10 and it's risky to do elective surgery on older dogs. 

I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but I finally asked the vet back in June if there was anything we could give him, because humans can take SSRIs, why can't dogs? And she was like "uh, yeah, of course he can". I have no idea why this is gate-kept from pet owners. He's 12 1/2 and there's no changing his habits now! 

So we started him on Prozac this past summer. He takes it every night and, the first few weeks, he slept like all day long but now his body has adjusted and he is the best dog. CANNOT RECOMMEND ENOUGH if you're struggling with an anxious or destructive pet. It's been about 5 months, so I wanted to get this recommendation out there to the masses because I didn't know it was an option. Otherwise, we would've done it years ago. It costs about $10 a month, depending on where you get the prescription filled....the vet, Chewy, etc. 

3. American cheese. 

A lot of dogs take medicine and a lot of pet owners buy pill pockets or have all kinds of creative ways to get the pills down. We've tried them all, trust me, over the last 13 years. 

This is foolproof and has worked on all 3 of our dogs. That's admittedly a small sample size but let me know if you try it. 

You use sliced American cheese. You take a small piece and you putty-it around the pill. The dog will gobble it up. Scout takes 5 pills a day and it works every time. 

It's kind of funny because with Maverick being sick the last two weeks, we were like wow, that Scout looks super spry and healthy! and then I'm like Let's not forget, that dog takes 5 pills a day to keep him that way (two heart medications and his SSRI). 

Anyway, those are my current favorite dog hacks...any to share???

Linking up!

Holiday Gift Guide: Kids 3-7

Aside from one baby in the family, every kid I buy Christmas presents for is between 3 and 7 years old. While I could make some strong guesses about what older kids would like or what we loved in the very young years, this is what we love right now and what I'm buying this year. 

(Amazon-related posts do have some affiliate links but there is nothing here I haven't bought recently or in the past :)

Leap Frog Globe -- We got this two years ago and they play with it a lot. It is also priceless when it comes to homeschooling. If I can give you one piece of advice: make sure your child knows what a map and a globe are before they go to school. Every kid needs a globe, in my opinion, and this interactive one is perfect for preschool age and up. 

Kinetic Sand/Play Doh -- I think kids fall into two categories. They are either into kinetic sand or they're into play doh. Wells was into sand. Sutton is into play doh. Play dough is a lot less messy and I don't flip out if the dog accidentally eats a piece. 

Lincoln Logs -- They love these. We have a few sets and there's a reason they are classics. 

Magnatiles/blocks -- Anything magnetic is a winner. Magnatiles are always popular for a reason. 

Fort building kit. My niece and nephew are about the same ages as Wells and Sutton and I could think of no better gift. I wage battle against whatever forts are being built every single day. There is always one around. 

Playdoh cake oven. Sutton likes Playdoh and it's less clean-up than kinetic sand. This is the set I chose for her. I've never, in this many years, bought anything "Playdoh" for Christmas, so we'll see how it goes. 

Soccerball. This ended up not being the exact one I ordered but you cannot go wrong with a colorful soccerball. Wells needed a size up and all the kids in the neighborhood play with them. 

Beyblade arena. Wells has wanted one of these for a year or more. He has loved Beyblades and needs a place to battle. I remember watching boys play with these years ago in school, so it's a gift that isn't super trendy and kids love it. 

Lego 3 in 1 Creator sets. Wells always gets some legos for Christmas and birthdays...and Easter and everything in between. I don't go all out on expensive sets anymore because they pieces do just end up everywhere and all mixed together. These are always under $15. 

Playdoh dentist set. I got this for our 3 year old nephew. Sutton is obsessed with dentist-related items and I figure the more you can desensitize a toddler to the idea of the dentist, the better. 

Disney Princess doll. Sutton is really into Belle right now so I got her this and then also a mini Elsa one. She had a regular-sized Elsa Barbie last year from a friend and that doll fell victim to puppy Maverick. 

Melissa and Doug stickers. I was introduced to the wonder of Melissa and Doug stickers at our co-op this fall. Every kid loves stickers, and these are incredibly high-quality and a great value. I appreciate the way Melissa and Doug always has a boy version and a girl version of their toys. 

Honorable mentions include a snake bite kit because Wells thinks it would be very useful to carry around with him "just in case" and the Ninja Turtles Hungry, Hungry Hippos that I have not pulled the trigger on yet. They're in the cart.

Memes and Missouri

 

I know so many crunchy Christian moms who refuse to do Santa but at the same time, also refuse to use conventional medicine because "oils work". 

I had 2+ glasses of wine the other night and Scott told me I'd be hungover and I was like no, that's not why. I wake up every day feeling hungover lol. 

It comes up quick. ^ Thought I had a few more years. 

 Mine was a wedding gift and I still use it multiple times a week. 

A few weeks ago, Scott took the kids to Missouri with him for the weekend and left me with the dogs. I RANSACKED bedrooms. Nothing was safe. I literally left them with VERY LITTLE. They are absolutely trashed again and I don't know how it's possible. 

^^ The ratio is what's important. 

We went to Missouri for the long weekend. 

Maybe you can help me: I'm trying to decide what's best for us as we move into next year. 

We're committed to Kansas until June 2026 and Scott will be working there until at least the next June.

I'm trying to decide what's best. Homeschool, public school, moving back to our house in Missouri? Private school? Trying to go back to work? 

I have a flow chart and I'm so incredibly conflicted on what to do next. It all depends on what the army tells us is next, obviously.

When it comes to maybe, possibly sending kids to school, I keep thinking that I'm doing my part to advance their education and provide them with experiences this year, so what they may learn or not learn in the next few years won't make a huge difference overall. 

My only non-negotiable is that, for the neighborhood we currently live in, we're not going to use that public school. My friend worked there and I know too much about it. I don't really want to stay in a rental in Kansas, especially if Scott will be traveling a lot for his job next year. While it's been exactly what Wells has needed, developmentally, it's not ideal for many reasons other than that. (Do I like being 5 minutes from Walmart? Ugh yes. Do I like having outlets and Target and the zoo and every other fun activity and friends within 30 minutes? *sob* Yes.)

I do really envy the people who just put their kid in a school and keep them there, always. 

I packed enough food and clothes and whatever for 4+ days because the grocery store is 20 minutes in the opposite direction. 

This is so incredibly similar to our 18 months split between Colorado and Wyoming. I remember MAKING Thanksgiving dinner in WY and driving it back to CO one year.

Flashback to May 2018: 

^^^Back in 2018, unloading baby stuff and very much trying to finish Wells' nursery in Wyoming while I was very much still living and working in Colorado Springs, 4 hours away. I was about 30 weeks pregnant. 

Friday recommendations, 11/28

1. All Her Fault. I'm late to the game because I don't like waiting week-to-week for episodes. But I watched this whole series in 2 nights, staying up til midnight both nights. It's 8 episodes I think? Anyway. Really good! Cannot recommend enough if you need something to binge this weekend. 

2. Black Friday or Cyber Monday? Scott asked me what day has the better deals? I don't know. I feel like the closer to Christmas, the more desperate every retailer becomes. 

Here is my own wishlist, as well as perfect gifts you might not know you wanted or maybe even needed (like, I really needed that cordless mixer). 

I'm all in on the Aerie-AE stuff right now simply because I kept thinking about it and I've been wearing their clothes for over 20 years, give or take a few years. They have never actually disappointed me. 

I've posted some "that's not actual a sale" Stories on Instagram. This WAS actually a sale so I snatched up some shirts the other night on the app. 

And yeah, that's 12:23 am because I was up watching All Her Fault. 

3. I downloaded this FREE Advent program from Awana, through the M is for Mama newsletter. It's very cute and looks do-able for a 3 and 7 year old. Now taking wagers on whether we will make it 3 days, 1 week or 3 weeks. Who can say...

4. I created this Rounding anchor chart for Teachers Pay Teachers. In the classroom, rounding was the hardest, most abstract concept to teach. Wells "gets" it well enough, but I remember I had to create my own place value chart too, back in the day. I just couldn't find resources that actually were efficient and useful in the best possible way. 

5. I went on a spree last night, commenting on way too many Instagram reels, disassociating in front of an episode of Stranger things that was Not That Great. So I noticed some patterns and I have a lot of hot takes lately. #1 on this list is "please let your kids just believe in Santa". I will follow up on this with an actual post because it's something I'm pretty passionate about during this phase of parenthood. Refer back to my Halloween post if you want a taste of how I just feel like kids should get to be kids, for goodness sake.

Linking up!