Counting Down

We are counting down to Daddy being home tonight in time for bedtime stories. The last day of a business trip always goes by fast and slow at the same time. What can we say, we are one of those families who loves to be together, even if we are all doing our own thing, we are still together.

Monday afternoon the girls woke up from their naps out of sorts, not sick out of sorts just knowing that we were not counting down to Daddy being home for supper. To pass the afternoon we ran a quick errand to Bed Bath and Beyond, and then headed to Target to get milk and a couple other small things (yes, Target has the best price on milk around here right now!). While we were at Target we wandered through the toy section and Miss Pear and Baby happily looked at things and played with the samples that were out. I forgot how blessed I am to be able to do this until I heard children demanding toys, asking for everything in sight and then screaming when they did not get it. My girls were just happy to look at stuff and play with it and then move on. We finished up by going through the Christmas section, always a huge hit.

To reward good behavior we had Burger King for supper, a very rare treat, but one we usually have when it is just the girls (which is not often as Mr. Pear only travels for business about once a quarter).

Yesterday we did our school in the morning and made 8 loaves of bread to restock the freezer (we only got 4 made on Monday, not the 8 we had hoped for), and then went out for a playdate in the afternoon. The family we visited also has 2 girls, but their youngest is the same age as Miss Pear, and their oldest shares her love of dress up! All the girls had a great time and when it was time to leave were all asking when we would be doing this again...an excellent sign!

And the snack was SO delicious that we only had a light supper.

Today we are getting caught up on things after being out so much for the past 2 days. I think I mentioned that we had to get a new vacuum last week because our old one broke? Well, I am very grateful for our new one, after using it twice now it is clear to me that our old one was just not doing a good job anymore. And our new one did an excellent job on the stairs today, a huge bonus for a vacuum cleaner. It also passed the mommy test - can it pick up cheerios the first pass?

I am planning a special treat for supper tonight - rice pudding. In these parts you often see it on breakfast menus, and I am told that is because it is a big breakfast treat in Mexico. We are big fans of breakfast for dinner so we are having it tonight. If it is good I will likely put it in my lunch rotation which needs some sprucing up (it is usually as follows for the week: poached eggs and toast, grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit, granola oatmeal and fruit, tuna sandwiches and fruit, leftovers one day...definitely needs some variety that is also quick!)

What are your favorite lunch ideas? Please include links and recipes, I need some new ideas!