What's for Dinner: May 19 - May 25

Looking for dinner inspiration? Here's what I've planned for dinner at our house this week!

* image

Every job has a busy season, right? I'm in the throes of one of our busy periods at work now. Sometimes I come home and think I'm being productive... When, really, I'm just sitting on the couch contemplating whether it's okay to go to sleep. I'm wiped out by the end of the day, and it takes every ounce of willpower I have left to make it through our evening routine.

This week has been especially tough. I found myself being short with the kids yesterday. Partly because neither one of them was listening to me. Partly because I needed more sleep.

Needless to say, we exchanged a lot of "I'm sorry" hugs and made lots of promises to try harder and be better today. With that in mind, I'm pushing myself to get back to sharing our menu plans. The week off last week was nice, but it's time to get back to it.

So, without further ado, here's what I've planned for dinner at our house this week.

40 Before 40

* image

There was a time when I put a lot of effort into the months and weeks before my birthday. Usually, because I wasn't just counting down to the day I'd turn one year older... But because I was also counting down to my annual trip to Boston to celebrate my birthday in my favorite city.

Unfortunately, those springtime trips to Boston ended after our sweet girl was born. And my birthdays turned into low-key affairs.

Today I turn 39 and I've already begun mentally preparing myself to welcome 40 in a year. I'm finally feeling settled in my career. We've started making our house feel like a home... So I've decided I can focus on myself a little bit more and concentrate on my personal well-being and growth. Because I still have so much more I want to do and I don't want the only thing I achieve in the next year to be turning 40.

Keeping that in mind, I've come up with my 40 Before 40 list -- 40 things I want to do before my next birthday. Using this list as my inspiration, I kept the items on my list to things I thought I had a reasonable chance of doing.

What's for Dinner: May 5 - May 11

Looking for dinner inspiration? Here's what I've planned for dinner at our house this week!

* image

The proverbial April showers have overstayed their welcome. The rainy weather has persisted. We've had mist in the mornings and torrential downpours in the afternoon... and everything in between. So you can imagine how happy we all were yesterday when the sky cleared up and the sun came out.

The kids spent a chunk of time playing outside... and I finally put together the tricycle C got for her birthday (that we immediately passed on to J). We were hoping he'd try pedaling around on it while she cruised down the driveway on her balance bike, but he's not that coordinated yet.

Now we're looking at a big week ahead. My birthday is on Saturday! We won't be in Boston for a game at Fenway as we have been in years past... But I'm looking forward to having friends over for Pizza Night for an early celebration.

Then, of course, Mother's Day is a week from today. Let's see if one of the gifts on my Mother's Day Gift Guide arrives at our house in the next few days... While I watch for UPS, why don't you check out what I've planned for dinner at our house this week? ;-)

Last-Minute Mother's Day Gift Guide

Looking for some last-minute Mother's Day gift ideas? Don't worry... I've got you covered.

I celebrated my first Mother's Day as a mom years ago, but this is the first time I'm actually looking forward to it. That sounds horrible, right? But, the truth is, celebrating Mother's Day has been hard ever since my mother passed away. And we're only now reaching the point where the kids can be more involved in planning the day.

C is horrible at keeping secrets, so she let it slide she's been working on a special surprise for me at school. (Please don't let it involve glitter.) Plus, I'm super excited about attending the school's Mother's Day tea.

While I'm curious about the adorable handmade keepsakes that'll be coming my way on May 12... I wouldn't mind receiving any of these items on my Mother's Day Gift Guide this year!