A Not All Fun Four Day Weekend

Well, the kids and I had four days off!! The bad part? Sick kids. We had to change up our plans Saturday morning to accommodate for the sickness, which means we cancelled our weekend trip to the Grotto. I was very disappointed but as usual, we rolled with it and will instead have a jammed packed fun time next weekend.

Friday was Matt's 32nd Birthday. We did it up with allergy testing for Max in the morning, shopping
and lunch out at Jordan Creek, pizza and cake with family, putting the kids to bed, and then a night out for us adults! We did a mini tour of the Beaverdale bars, tried new drinks, and had a great time. We rarely get to enjoy a night out together and it was a much needed break for both of us!


The kids woke up with tummy aches and just not feeling well at all Saturday morning. With Matt off to work, our Mommy, Max, Harrison, and Elizabeth Day was spent laying around, relaxing, and napping. I can't complain too much about taking naps! Harrison and Elizabeth were able to enjoy some outside time in the morning. This was the first time all week it was cool enough for them to go outside to play. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a very long winter here though, so I spent a good part of my day Pinteresting new winter time activities for all of the kids. Saturday night was definitely NOT as fun as Friday night. The theme for Saturday night was tummy aches, pukes, and poops. Serious yuckiness all around!

Sunday we woke up to a very messy backyard after an overnight storm moved through. The kid's trusty playhouse I bought on craigslist two and a half years ago was in pieces. RIP playhouse, you were all of the kids favorite outside toy. I needed a break from the sick minis and spent part of the afternoon hitting up Labor Day deals with my mom. Nothing fabulous, but a few cute new pieces of clothes for the kids. The rest of Sunday was pretty laid back trying to get the kids healthy for a busy week ahead.

Monday the kids still weren't feeling well, which lead us to have our 5th day in a row off on Tuesday. This was probably my least favorite weekend of the year. I was puked on, pooped on, and peed on more times than I can count. We're hoping tomorrow, after a visit to the doctor, the three minis will be on the mend and ready to go for a fun few days.

Here are some "highlights" (I suppose we can call them) from the weekend:

Max spent all of Saturday morning curled up on the couch with tummy aches.

Saturday night was rough for Lily girl, but then we go from this to....

THIS! She's suddenly feeling better and eating peas.

Max building letters with Legos

 A giant spider outside of our window! Harrison says "here spider, spider! I get you! Go away spider!"

Family Dinner Night

Easy-peasy family dinner: black bean tacos. Nutritious, easy on the grocery bill, easy to make, and yummy is about the only way I know how to cook for my family of five. After a relaxing, ok pretty much lazy, Saturday, I didn't feel like doing much for dinner. So I pulled together ingredients I almost always have on hand and cooked Black Bean Tacos. I've made these before as burritos, but I suck at folding the tortilla so they easily became tacos.

Ingredients are simple:

Shredded cheese
Tortillas
Salsa (I've made my own before, which makes it healthier, but tonight was all about ease)
1 Can Corn (I usually use cooked frozen corn, but again, ease)
1 Can Black Beans

Optional (I did not put these on this time, but I have in the past): red and green peppers, mild jalapenos, pinto beans, taco season for extra taste (doesn't really need it with flavorful salsa)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Lay tortillas on a cookie sheet. Spread desired about of cheese, spoonful of corn, black beans, and salsa.

Fold over and close with a tooth pick. You will notice two of the tacos have two tooth picks keeping them closed. Apparently I have tortillas folding issues.

Bake at 375 degrees for around 10 minutes. This seems to be the perfect amount of time to completely melt the cheese and crisp up the tacos.

I paired the black bean tacos with rice (grapes were dessert!). Even though I've made this several times before and it was a favorite with all three kids, the boys were hesitant to try the tacos (possibly because I usually made them as burritos), but once they gave them a try all three ate very well! I like when all of the proteins, carbs, fiber, and veggies are found in one item on their trays. Makes cooking easy on this mama!