Weekly Menu, 8/30-9/3/10

Monday
AM: organic strawberries, cheese cubes
Lunch: organic tomato basil soup, garlic bread, nitrite/nitrate free pepperoni
PM: Goldfish crackers, peanuts

Tuesday
AM: bananas, sunflower seeds
Lunch: bean and cheese quesadillas (local flour tortillas), organic spinach salad with homemade vinaigrette
PM: homemade guacamole, tortilla chips

Wednesday
AM: organic pears, organic dry cereal
Lunch: homemade charro beans (pintos), homemade bread with butter
PM: organic peanut butter and organic raisins on whole wheat bread

Thursday
AM: cantaloupe, cinnamon rice crackers
Lunch: tuna mac (tuna, brown rice pasta, organic green peas)
PM: organic whole milk yogurt with organic granola

Friday
AM: clementine oranges, cinnamon whole wheat toast
Lunch: Newman's Own margherita pizza (a break for the cook!), organic broccoli
PM: pretzels and organic hummus

Mornings with Iris

Iris is my "middle child". I've been warned about how hard this position is in a family. I'm not sure what Iris thinks about it, because aside from going through a developmental bump that makes her a little mischievous now and then, she is a most pleasant child. She didn't event resent the arrival of her baby brother. I mean, she was absolutely lovely about it.

I have my opinions...maybe it's because she is a Sagitarrian. Maybe it's because she was born during a very happy time in my motherhood when I could work part-time and maintain a cheery little house in Richmond, Virginia. Maybe it's just her apparent understanding, patient, generous role in our family.

As a plump little baby, Iris nursed every morning somewhere between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m. As she grew into a toddler, this is when she would plead for a bowl of cereal, which we would appease. And, now, most every night, Iris comes back to my bed. At 6 1/2, her long legs can be found in my face, or her toes are felt wiggling against my bottom. She crowds me out. Sometimes, I get up. Then, as she has for years, she finds me. (Iris is perceptive AND she has good hearing. You can't turn on a lamp or close a door without her knowing. She even knows if you hold your body still and open one eyelid...I've tested her repeatedly.)

Iris with coffee and toast she made for her dad, with his choice of jam or butter.

A friend told me to try to find 15 minutes with each one of my children each day, and the guilt of this often-missed task weighs heavily on me (when I remember it!). Finding fifteen minutes when you have three children can be hard, and Iris must know early morning is the best time to catch me...I've come to cherish all the quiet early morning moments I've had with her. Our "fifteen minutes" before everyone else in the house comes alive.

Iris, I love you, and I like the strong cups of coffee you brew for dad and I. You lived in a Cinderella dress for two years, you have knuckle dimples, your hands are always warm, and I am quite sure that some day, at 3:00 am, I will long for you to wake me up just as you do now.

Weekly Menu, 8/23-8/27/10

Monday
AM: organic oatmeal with applesauce, brown sugar, and cinnamon
Lunch: shepherd's pie (grass fed ground beef, organic vegetables, organic mashed potatoes)
PM: fruit smoothie (pineapple, bananas, organic orange juice, peaches), pretzels

Tuesday
AM: organic bananas
Lunch: pintos and brown rice, homemade guacamole
PM: organic celery with organic peanut butter and organic raisins (ants on a log)

Wednesday
AM: cantaloupe
Lunch: rice pasta w/organic marinara sauce and lentils, homemade bread with butter
PM: string cheese, tortilla chips

Thursday
AM: organic cereal with organic milk
Lunch: turkey tostadas with colby Jack cheese, salsa, organic corn and organic green beans
PM: organic cream cheese and organic strawberry jam on organic bread

Friday
AM: organic apples and string cheese
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwich (organic bread), baby carrots with homemade organic ranch dip
PM: Goldfish crackers

Weekly Menu, 8/16-8/20/10

Monday
AM: bananas
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwiches on organic bread, organic mixed vegetables (PreK), fruit salad (Toddlers and Transitional PreK)
PM: snack mix: organic raisins, sunflower seeds, Goldfish, organic animal crackers

Tuesday
AM: organic strawberries
Lunch: homemade enchilada casserole (pinto beans, homemade organic enchilada sauce, Colby-Jack cheese, corn tortillas) green salad with homemade vinaigrette
PM: organic carrots and cucumbers, homemade ranch dip, pretzels

Wednesday
AM: organic vanilla yogurt with organic granola
Lunch: roast turkey, organic broccoli, homemade bread and butter (organic flour)
PM: veggie chips, organic raisins

Thursday
AM: Tuscan cantaloupe
Lunch: tuna casserole (organic pasta, organic peas, organic cream sauce, Parmesan cheese)
PM: string cheese, rice cakes

Friday
AM: orange slices
Lunch: homemade turkey vegetable soup, organic crackers with organic cream cheese
PM: organic peanut butter and organic strawberry jam on organic bread

Weekly Menu, 8/9-8/13/10

Monday
AM: bananas
Lunch: organic pasta with organic broccoli, garlic, and parmesan cheese
PM: organic hummus with bagel chips

Tuesday
AM: organic strawberries and organic blueberries
Lunch: cheese nachos (organic tortilla chips) with salsa and homemade guacamole
PM: yogurt-covered pretzels and organic raisins

Wednesday
AM: honeydew melon and organic grapes
Lunch: grass fed beef meatloaf, organic green beans, homemade bread (organic flour)
PM: pretzels and cheese cubes

Thursday
AM: organic oatmeal w/ cinnamon and organic milk
Lunch: tuna salad with bagel chips, cucumber/tomato salad (pesticide free)
PM: Pirate's Booty, organic applesauce

Friday
AM: fruit smoothies, organic animal crackers
Lunch: organic peanut butter and organic jelly on flatbread (roll-ups), organic carrots and organic hummus
PM: fresh pineapple, organic tortilla chips

Weekly Menu, 8/2-8/6/10

Monday
AM: organic Zbars
Lunch: grass fed organic beef hotdog on bun, applesauce
PM: pretzels and veggie chips

Tuesday
AM: banana-peach smoothie
Lunch: egg salad (organic eggs), crackers, organic carrots
PM: Goldfish crackers, cheese sticks

Wednesday
AM: organic apple wedges
Lunch: homemade beef vegetable soup (organic veggies, grass fed beef), homemade bread (organic flour) with butter
PM: organic animal crackers, organic raisins

Thursday
AM: melon
Lunch: black bean taco salad (black beans, Colby Jack cheese, organic lettuce, tomatoes, corn tortilla chips)
PM: Amy's snack bags, bananas

Friday
AM: organic oatmeal with organic milk
Lunch: egg and potato fritata, whole grain toast
PM: organic Zbars or organic granola bars