Greek Chicken Bowls

We tried something new for dinner last week - Greek Chicken Bowls!

I told you that we had greek food at a dinner recently and we both really enjoyed it.

I cut and prepped everything separate and then assembled a dinner buffet.  Everyone got to build their own bowls.  We really enjoyed this meal with a side of seasoned french fries.

You'll need:

Quinoa

Couscous

red onion

feta cheese

green onoin

cucumbers

tomatoes

tzatziki sauce - I purchased premade dip.

Greek Chicken - I marinated 6 thin chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces in fresh lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, white wine vinegar, Italian Seasoning and olive oil.

Naan Bread dippers

fruit and fries

My bowl had every single topping.

The kids stuck with chicken, grains, cucumbers, green onion and naan dippers.  And fries!

This was so yummy and left us leftover bowls for lunch.

Would your family enjoy these Greek Chicken bowls??

Watermelon Fries

Do you want your kids to eat more fruits and veggies?

Ask them to help you prep them!

My kids had been asking to make watermelon fries all Summer.  We finally got around to doing it this month and they quickly inhaled two watermelons.  I helped cut the big chunks of watermelon for them and then they used my 20 year old Pampered Chef crinkle cutter to make fries.  It was so fun and so easy.  I think this is our new favorite way to eat watermelon.

We stored the watermelon in containers with lids in the fridge.  Then we added watermelon fries to lunch boxes, snacks and dinners all week.

We love to use the crinkle cutter on cucumbers, carrots and any melons.

If I was replacing my crinkle cutter, I'd buy one of these:

HIC Kitchen Crinkle Cut Blade - very similar to mine.

Joie Crinkle Cutter - perfect size for kids!

ZYLISS Crinkle Cut Knife - with almost 12k reviews

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, Friends!  I hope you've had a wonderful week.

Did you catch my blog posts this week?

6 Working Mom Dinners

Welcome to the Family, Mr. Mittens

My favorite moments of the week were:

1. Mr. Mittens - he's the sweetest.  Before work snuggles :)

2. A Sams date with Fletcher.  There's nothing he loves more than one on one time and delicious food.  He drove my cart for me, navigated the store to hit all the sample stands, loved giving me his food reviews for each sample and stocking up on our favorite foods for the week.

3. Leo has been drawing people and they are my very favorite thing.  Aren't they so fun!?  He's adding hair and faces and has a name for each one.  He'll sit and draw these m&m people all day long.

4. We've been working on having less screen time and the kids are building the neatest things.  They made Mr. Mittens a castle to live in and he very much enjoyed busting out of the castle.

5. Okra!  Our okra crop is thriving - thanks to Kevin still watering our garden every night.  We have a good freezer stash of okra and are hoping to keep harvesting for a few more weeks.  Our tomatoes are doing great along with our jalapenos.  Everything else has burned up in the Summer heat.

6. School lunches are back in session!  The kids tell me often that they look forward to their lunches so much.  I added some Z Bars which they love and Brach's pumpkins.  I have to stay on top of grocery shopping and meal planning to make sure that we are well stocked to pack yummy lunches all week long.

7. Going to chapel with my class and seeing this cutie sitting with his class.  A major perk of teaching at the same school where Leo goes is seeing him at school from time to time.  I love knowing his teachers well, learning the same Bible stories and it makes me so happy to see him learning so much every day.  He's doing awesome in PreK!

8. A friend gifted us some crafts and games that her kids have outgrown.  The kids loved playing with some new toys in the middle of the week.

9. Seeing Penny & Mr. Mittens bond is my favorite.  I'm hopeful that they will be besties in no time.

Have the best weekend!  I'll see you back here on Monday.

Linking up with Momfessionals

6 Working Mom Dinners

I'm trying hard to figure out the best way to work all day and still cook dinner for my family.  That means grocery shopping and menu planning on the weekends.  Kevin grabbing take out a time or two each week.  Paper plates instead of real plates.  Saying yes to help and planning ahead.  I just wrapped up my first month of work and feel like I have found a routine that works.

I need meals that come together quickly and clean up quickly.

I try to thaw my protein during the day or prep it on the weekends to heat up quickly at dinner time.  Something easy like tacos - cook the meat ahead of time and then just reheat and add the seasoning for dinner.  It saves a ton of time when dinner time rolls around.

1. Pot Roast, fresh sweet corn, loaded roasted potatoes and fruit.

This Beef Roast is so good!  It's a little pricey, but it's so much cheaper than going out to eat.  I buy two pacakges for us for dinner.  That leaves me with leftovers for lunch.

2. Keilbasa sausage, green beans and onions, breadsticks and fruit.  I try to always keep these things in my freezer ready to thaw and eat - thin green beans, keilbasa sausages (2 for my family) and frozen breadsticks.  I know my family will always love this meal.

3. I made these Hot Hawaiian Roll Italian Sandwiches again and they were so good!  The recipe comes together so quickly on a busy night.  And they reheat really well leftover.  Just keep the lettuce mixture on the side and add as you eat them.  I served them with chips and fruit and made PBJs for the boys since they didn't love them.

4. Greek food!    We brought home leftovers from our Greek meal I told you about last week.  It was all delicious so I jumped at the chance to bring home leftovers.

5. Tacos or Spaghetti

Brown the meat ahead of time and then tacos or spaghetti comes together really quickly on a week night.  We've been using up tomatoes and jalapenos from our garden.

6. And if anyone offers to make you dinner, bring you dinner or Door Dash a meal for you - say YES!  My sweet MIL has been bringing us dinner once a week.  It's a feast and it is such a treat to know that a delicious dinner is being delivered at the end of a long day.

What are some quick and easy dinners at your house?

Welcome to the Family, Mr. Mittens!

Welcome to the family, Mr. Mittens!

The kids have been begging for a kitten forever.  They showed me kittens non-stop and were always trying to find us the perfect kitten.  I love cats, but wasn't sure the beginning of this school year was the best time for a new family member.  They pleaded their case assuring me they'd help with the housework and kitty care.  I turned down lots of cats.  Then we found Mr. Mittens and couldn't resist on Sunday, August 18th.

Mr. Mittens is 3 months old.  He was born in Kentucky.  He is very playful and sweet.  The hissing has mostly stopped from his kitty siblings.  They are sleeping on the same surfaces, but not touching.  He's eager to snuggle so I'm guessing he'll win over Penny first.  They have very similar outgoing and friendly personalities.  Pearl pretends he doesn't exist like she does with most people outside of our family.  And Topher was the most welcoming of the bunch.  Sweet old man has seen his share of kittens and kids added to the family.  3 kittens and 3 kids don't bother him much.

We bought him the kitten food he was used to eating and just made him his own spot in the laundry room.  All the cats seemed to appreciate the new toys.  Everyone shares a litter box and they all snack on each other's food.  He's been an easy addition to the family.  The very best kind.

We are all working hard to be his favorite person.  So far I think Olive is in the lead.

Petsmart partners with a local animal shelter and they have some weird pet rules - you cannot hold or play with kittens before you adopt them, you cannot take their very favorite toy in their cage with them and you have to pay cash.  We could tell that he was very social, very playful and he seemed to be showing off all of his tricks for us.  Combine that with the fact that he was cute with unique markings and I was sold.

We all held him on the way home.

Determined to be his favorite human.

Leo's been really gentle with him.

He seemed so happy to be home right away.  He's claimed favorite napping spots already which conveniently were not already taken but another family member.

He keeps us on our toes!

Is such a handsome tuxedo cat!  His curiousity keeps him busy.

We talked through lots of names, but Mr. Mittens was the one that stuck.  

We love you, Mr. Mittens!

God's Plan for Me to Return to the Classroom

I have a good story for you today.  One of God's faithfulness to my family.  It's full of surprising twists and turns and has turned out better than I could have hoped.

Let's rewind back to the Spring of 2024.  Kevin and I were started to talk about what it would look like for me to return to teaching.  I had every intention of going back to work when Leo went to kindergarten in the Fall of 2025.  We'd both go back to school together.  Great plan.  Right?  I had him signed up for PreK 3 days a week at our church, plans of attending Bible studies, story times and playdates with friends. It sounded like a great year to me, but God had a better plan.

Kevin thought it would be a good idea to get the ball rolling - work on my resume, update my teaching license, etc. ASAP so that I could start seeing what kinds of jobs were available and what kinds of schools were hiring.  He also wanted to make sure that I landed at a really great school and didn't just have to take any job that I could find when I went looking.  I reluctantly agreed because my original plan sounded pretty good to me.  Haha.  I applied to a public school position and was notified pretty promptly that the position was filled.  No problem.  I kept doing some behind the scenes work to get the ball rolling.

We saw a variety of job positings at a variety of public and private schools, but not many that piqued my interest enough to apply.  

Kevin spotted a job opening at Evansville Christian School.  The school had been on our radar for some time for a variety of reasons.  The job description was vague so I wasn't even sure I wanted to apply.  At the last second I got the lengthly application pulled together.  This involved a lot - meeting with my pastor, contacting some of my favorite women coworkers from Utah, women from organizations I volunteered with to quickly write me letters of recommendation and making sure I was ready for an interview if one was offered.  It's a great school and I didn't know if I even had a chance at getting an interview.  

Remember that post about seeing 8 rainbows in one day?  This was about the exact same time that I was needing a sign from God that this timing was right for our family.  He sent me 8 rainbows in one day to confirm that I was heading in the right direction with applying for this job.  Wow!  

The principal quickly reached out to say there actually wasn't a teaching position open in April of 2024.  They loved my application and wondered if I'd be interested in a full time assistant position.  The job wasn't a good fit for me so I asked them to keep in touch if anything did come up.  Door closed.

Mid May I got a phone call asking if I would consider interviewing for a kindergarten teacher position?  I listed 1st-5th on my application, but said that I would love to interview for the job.

I figured it would be good practice to interview since I hadn't interviewed for a job in almost 20 years.  But I was skeptial about kindergarten.  That was never a grade I had imagined teaching.  I loved 2nd/3rd grade and figured I'd try to go back to that.  I knew that despite being licensed to teach K-8 that my heart was with the younger kids.  Kindergarten was always a favorite grade for my big kids so maybe God was nudging me to the perfect grade to make my teaching comeback.

The in person interview was set on Olive's birthday.  I was told to come with questions so I did resesarch ahead of time.  I came with a list of questions which they seemed to appreciate.  The interview went so well.  I knew all the right answers and really felt like God gave me confidence to tell them that I was now even more qualified to be a great teacher because I spent 9 years in the classroom and 11 years as a full time mom.  Now I understood what it was like to be the parent doing homework at home with the kids, wanting clear and open communication with taechers, I know how to better relate to kids after having my own kids and I was confident that I would be a better teacher for all of that combined experience.  They seemed to love my answers.  I felt like I aced the interview and then they said they had a weeks worth of interviews to do (yikes!) and would keep me posted.  I felt less confident after hearing that because I knew I had a lot of catching up to do after being away from teaching for a while. I  figured anyone with a current license, kindergarten background or more early ed experience would get it.

A week or more of no news.  I didn't stress.  I just prayed that God would open doors for us when it was time for me to return to the classroom.

The principal reached out to schedule a phone meeting.  Of course as a mom of 3 kids home for the Summer, I had the meeting in my quiet van.  I assumed it was to tell me the position had been filled or that I could reapply down the road.  BUT she had a few questions for me and we had a really good conversation.  She told me that they were impressed with me, that I had all the intangibles of a really great teacher, they saw qualities in me that you can't teach people, they loved my experience and my desire to build community in the classroom and with parents. They also said that they got so many letters of recommendation for me.  ALL of the friends I've made along the way from teaching to community work came through to write me the nicest letters.  Then she told me to watch my email for a formal job offer later that day!!

I was shocked.  God was giving me the green light.  All of my experiences and connections along the way as a stay at home mom helped prepare me for this job.  Every hurdle I encountered was met with a quick solution - PreK for Leo, details for the older kids, schedules, routines, etc.  We were excited.  And could hardly believe our ears.

We prayed about it.  I panicked about things.  Made a million lists.  I asked lots more questions.  I got my licensing ducks in a row.  And I accepted the position about a week later.  We waited a bit to tell the kids and a bit longer to tell family and friends.  Kevin rearranged Summer travel plans so that I could attend new teacher trainings and our Summer was busier than every trying to make plans for me to return to the classroom.  The kids ate too much Chick-Fil-A and we traveled more than we would have if we had known I was going back to work.  But we did it!  We had a wonderful Summer together.

I signed my contract on Kevin's birthday to make the job official.

I felt nervous and excited to return to a job that I loved.  I knew loud and clear that this was God's plan for our family so that gave me confidence when I felt uncertain.  My kindergarten team is wonderful and God has put many people around me to help make this a smooth transition.  Some teaching things came back to me right away and I've had to learn lots of new things about teaching a new grade.  It's been an adventure of highs and lows and I'm thankful for the opportunity for my family.  My kids have new school options going forward and that feels so good.

A little photo timeline of my journey to return to teaching:

Interview with my pastor went great.

Late night prepping for my interview.

In person interview at the school.

God sent some rainbow encouragement to us on our Summer vacation.

My first day back to work.  Teacher training day.  I felt very official!

Hours of work in my classroom and work in general brought me to the first day of school!

God really did take care of all the details - a wonderful, welcoming K team, an experienced assistant, a new opportunity to experience private education and much more!  This all came together about a year before I expected it to and I am trusting that God's plan is better than my plan today and always.

Free Toy Egg Carton

Moms of littles, I have a tip for you!

Save your egg cartons for some free entertainment.

Let me explain.

My 4 year old loves playing with egg cartons.  We have found so many fun uses for them.

1. Smash in the egg cartons

2. Fill each egg slot with a tiny toy (cars here)

3. Go outside and pick a clover flower or dandelion for each spot.

4. Collect ladybugs for each spot.

5. Pick a clover for each spot or a cherry tomato for each spot.

6. Fill an empty egg carton with a bite size lunch for your toddler.

7. Put paint in each spot and let your toddler paint.

8. Put a little snack in each spot for a fun snack tray.

Leo plays with them all the time and loves filling each spot.

Let me know if your toddler has fun with an egg carton!

August Coffee Chat

I hope you had a nice weekend.  Ours was a good mix of busy, productive and restful.  I'm ready for the week and am really excited for the upcoming long weekend.

Grab your favorite coffee and let's chat!

1. Some mornings Fletcher wakes up before me and surprises me by being my barista.  He's figured out the perfect mix of iced coffee + mocha creamer.  He'll mix the liquids and then proudly tell me to just add ice when I wake up.  He's the sweetest, most thoughtful guy.  He also wakes up extra early on school days to make sure he gets to be up with me as long as possible before I head to work.

2. We're trying to figure out a new grocery shopping routine since I'm back to work.  I tried doing grocery pick up after work and that was terrible.  I wasn't in the mood to wait for groceries, it took forever and then I had to unload and put away groceries at dinner time.  The past week or so we have been doing Saturday morning grocery pick up or Sams shopping.  That's been much better.  The kids LOVE to stroll through Sams and eat samples while picking out food for the week.  We're going through tons of food with all the lunches, snacks and dinners we're making so it seems like grocery shopping every Saturday might just be our new thing.

3. I have loved shopping for teacher clothes again!  It's been my favorite to find cute things to wear that work for a day in the classroom of sitting, standing, recess duty, at my desk, on the floor and everywhere in between.  Stay turned for some fun outfit posts coming up.  I leave before 7am so I'm still working on figuring out the best time to grab outfit pictures.

4. We went to a dinner party on Saturday night and the menu was Greek food.  I was not excited about it and I ended up loving the meal so much.  I promptly came home and pinned lots of Greek recipes.  Do you cook Greek food very often??  It was so healthy and fresh!  I hope my kids enjoy the Greek bowls I'm dreaming of making for dinner.

5. This life long night owl is struggling with the 5:30am alarms I have to set on work days.  I am working on earlier bedtimes, but there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day.  I am also trying to delegate at work and at home to make sure I'm taking care of myself.

6. Are you excited about football season??  Notre Dame's first game is this weekend and we are so excited.  My kids can't wait for the first chili of the season, have big hopes of football appetizers on Saturdays and I'm ready for cooler Fall weather.

7. We got a new patio door installed recently after years of fighting with our builder about it.  We're hoping and praying our pretty new door doesn't leak like our last one did.  New build tip - document everything and every issue.  Take pictures.  Write down dates.  And fight, fight, fight if something isn't right.  Whew.  We're tired of talking about our door and I'm so thankful that Kevin stayed on top of that repair project.  I'm also thankful that my dad could supervise the door install because it's hard to take care of every single thing when both parents are working.  

8. I have a challenge for you - write a thank you note/text/email to someone this week!  I have received some sweet emails from parents since school started and they have made my days.  It feels so good to hear what my students are loving about school and what parents appreciate about our classroom.  It's free to say a big thank you to your favorite teacher, a friend or family memeber who has done something sweet for you lately.

Thanks for listening!  Let's chat in the comments.

Friday Favorites

 Happy Friday, Friends!  I hope you've had as good week.  We are finding our groove over here and yet still taking life one day at a time. 

Did you catch my blog posts this week?

End of an Era - you know it's a good one when your hubby tells you it tugged at his heart strings!

Pink Glasses

Adjusting to PreK

The best parts of our week were:

1. Mr. Mittens joined our family this week!  He's 3 months old and is settling in nicely to our crazy crew.  More details about him to come.

2. The big kids picked out Jordan backpacks this year and Leo had to have a matching one.  They're such cute backpacks.  Everyone found their own color that they loved.  I love all the pockets and I'm hoping they last for a long time.

3. Dig N Roll.  We squeezed in one last trip to Dig N Roll before school started.  The boys would spend all day in the car wash station.

4. Chick-Fil-A macaroni and cheese is AMAZING.  Have you had it??  It tastes like homemade.  Perfectly creamy and so cheesey.  It's my favorite side dish ever.

5. My parents got to stop by my classroom when it was under construction.  It feels good to have it all put together now.  Classroom tour to come.

6. Toffee Truffles.  The Sams samples got us.  I've been going to Sams on the weekends with the kids and it's the highlight of their weekend.  They love trying all the new things.  We got to sample these and they were amazing.  They are great for lunch boxes and treats for my desk. 

7. Leo is really into building towers.  He loves to build them, get compliments on them and then knock them down.

8. Teacher shoes.  I've been collecting comfy and cute teacher shoes.  It feels good to find shoes that are comfy to wear for 8+ hours of standing on hard floors.  These pink Adidas shoes are my favorite!

9. Kevin's Mom (AKA Nanny) took the kids on a little mall date right before school started.  We grabbed lunch at Chick-Fil-A, the kids each got to pick out one new clothing item for school and then we stopped in Build A Bear.  What a treat!

10. Kevin's dad retired recently and Kevin took the kids to his retirement luncheon.  He was a cardiologist for almost 40 years and his patients love him.  It'll be fun to see if any of the kids grow up wanting to be doctors like their grandpa or their dad.

11. I couldn't resist these Queso On the Border chips when I was doing grocery pick up.  They're a tiny bit spicy (my favorite kind of spicy) and have such a good flavor.  I'd buy them again!  They were a fun twist on a regular tortilla chip.

12. Third grade is going so wellf or Fletcher.  He's got a really great teacher who has already sent home the nicest notes about Fletch.  

13. Leo with his giant backpack is one of my favorite things.  He insisted on a big kid backpack and it's adorable.

Have the best weekend!  See you back here next week.

Linking up with Momfessionals