Everyday Life and Menu Plan 6.12.16

The tragic nature of the news today, and let's face it - pretty much every day, has me heartsick at the moment. It's kind of been an unexpectedly emotional week for me, too. My youngest had her last half day of Kindergarten (she gets out earlier than her brother one day a week) where we have our bit of one-on-one time to eat together, watch movies, bake, paint our nails, etc. Not that we can't make that time for ourselves going forward, but it seemed like end of an era. We had her last swim lesson with our absolute favorite teacher who really encouraged her to enjoy swimming AND be good at it. We brought her gifts and a handmade card from my daughter (with adorable drawings and Kinder phonetic spelling) to thank her for spending every single week of the year with us and we all got verklempt. To top it off, she had her last day of pee wee soccer this weekend. 

Things are even emotional with my third grader, as his wonderful teacher is retiring after 40 years (!) of teaching in our district. She sent out her last parent letter and it had me and my son both fighting back tears. GAH!

Oh, and we FINALLY picked up The Thank You Book (and did some of the related activities I talked about a few weeks ago) today and it certainly warms the heart, but it seemed like the emotional cherry on the cake of quite a week. Again, END OF AN ERA.

Thank goodness for margaritas! That was a nice little highlight of my week, knowing that being on the PTA board will usually involve some sort of adult refreshment!

Here's hoping this week will be on a bit more of an even keel...

• Monday - Pizza
• Tuesday - Buffalo Chicken Burgers (a favorite from Will Cook for Smiles)
• Wednesday - Bowtie Skillet Lasagna (an old Pioneer Woman recipe)
• Thursday - Taco Salad with Avocado Ranch (trying this recipe from Five Heart Home)
• Friday - Broccoli Quinoa Bake with Grilled Chicken (great quinoa recipe from Eating Well and Living Thin)
• Saturday - Seven Flavor Beef (amazing recipe from our local Wild Ginger, provided by The Food Network)
• Sunday - Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup (from Real Mom Kitchen)

Programming note from last week: the Tortilla Pie was TASTY! Love the idea of mixing refried beans with the enchilada sauce to layer in the pie. I would, however, not bother making the bechamel sauce for the meat mixture. It's an added few steps that aren't necessary and I'll probably add diced tomatoes next time to give that layer some moisture.

As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie and Mommy Run Fast- be sure to check out all the great weekly menus!