Labor Day = Day of Labor

Well, not completely - but pretty much! No fun events so far to speak of this weekend, but I'm really not complaining. We needed a weeked of work and I'm just SO grateful that I have one more day to go before having to head back to the office. Now that I'm working in the office again, I'm really struggling to get done all of the things that I was previously able to do...like cooking decent dinners, for example. Whereas I used to be able to just run downstairs on my lunch break and throw something in the crockpot, or get the meat marinating, etc., I obviously don't have that flexibility anymore. Add to that the fact that we're adjusting to a new schedule, getting Maddie out the door every day in addition to myself, etc., and life has been a little hectic - and more than a little disorganized.

So today, amidst the ever present task of unpacking, I decided to spend the day in the kitchen, prepping up some food for the upcoming week. We went to the big farmer's market in Fayetteville yesterday, where I picked up fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini radishes, green beans, a butternut squash (mmm...fall is coming!!), and even a new melon to try (Valencia) that the kids loved. In the interest of using things up while they're fresh, I planned out a few meals and went to work. Chef Sienna helped me make zucchini bread and mini muffins. Chef Maddie helped me make crockpot meatballs with zucchini tomato sauce. Mini chef Lyla helped me taste test and perfect mashed sweet potatoes. And after Madelyn begged me to make chicken noodle soup for her favorite new back to school supply - her Ni Hao Kai Lan Thermos - I whipped up a big pot of chicken bow tie stew. The kids were too cute, wanting to taste everything...so we ended up having a pretty mish-mosh dinner of little plates of everything, followed by movie night with popcorn. It was a lot of work in the kitchen, but honestly? I love it. I wish I could cook and bake like that everyday! And I have to say that my kids are pretty good incentive to keep cooking, because they're generally so appreciative of the things I make. Even if it's not their favorite, they give it a try and they think mom is a good cook! (I brainwash them at night, but that's another story...)

It wasn't all work and no play today, though. We went on a nice walk/bike ride with the kids, and also had the neighbors over for a swim in the pool. The girls spent a lot of time this morning playing with Eli across the street, who has some pretty fancy outdoor toys that are much cooler than our Little Tykes ride-ons! (Picture a battery powered Cadillac Escalade with a real AM/FM radio that Maddie rode around on for an hour, and you'll get the idea!) So all in all, a good, fulfilling day of labor. We'll see what tomorrow brings!