Much To Do....

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It's down to the count.....

And I've got so much to do!! I started on a nice list of things that I felt needed to be done before the baby comes and I'm well on my way to getting it done. I didn't think I had so much to do, though. And some of it is on my 'honey please' list. We don't do, honey do lists around here. Honey please works so much better. Andrew doesn't want me doing certain things until he can do his part, that's cool, I understand.
Some of my list pertains to meals for after the baby is here. I have been freezing portions of meals that we eat now, because, well I make enough to feed us more than once, so I thought why not freeze it. I've also made a list of meals to make that are easy to make and easy to reheat. I thought about listing that here, along with my list of things to do, for whatever reason. If you want any of the recipes, please let me know and I'll post them here.

My to do list:

• clean out kitchen fridge
• clean out garage fridge
• organize all freezers (kitchen, deep freeze and garage fridge freezer)
• make and freeze meals
• baby's room furniture
• Andrew's vest
• lace on bathroom curtain
• basement curtains
• clean car
• dig flower bed
• transplant bulbs
• organize basement
• find pre pregnancy clothes
• sam's club list and order, tires
• Co-op order

And my meals are as follows:

• Double batch of pizza dough, makes 4 pizza crusts
• Thick Minestrone Soup - 2 meals
• Enchilito's - 1 meal
• Moneterey Beans and Cheese - 4 meals
• Crusty Mexican Bean Bake - 2 meals
• Cottage Cheese Casserole - 2 meals
• Tangy Tuna Mac - 1 meal
• Layered Zucchini - 2 meals
• Beef Tamale Bake - 2 meals

I have a 5# bag of black beans which is the higest iron count of beans, so in all the bean recipes I will replace a part if not all for the black beans. I also bought disposable square cake pans for the casseroles. Most casseroles make for a 9x13, so if I just make a bit more, not much, I can split it between two cake pans and have two meals. Most of the time that's how it works out anyway. Most of these meals are altered, such as the noodles are partially cooked, or no cheese on top till I reheat or whatever. I did hire a mother's helper, so I am putting the reheating instructions on top, for either hubby, helper or mother in law (praise God for this woman! She is such a blessing, she is going to come watch Nadia while I am in labor and I don't really care if she's there. She is then going to stay a week to help out. Nadia loves her and I trust her implicitliy with my daughter.) can reheat it without much trouble. With those meals I've made or will make I'll have 20 meals. I already have a stash of soups, casseroles, and the like in the freezer. I need to count to find out just how much. I probably have 12 loaves of bread made. And I am going to make more, because when we need a loaf right now, we just pull it out. I am putting up all my green beans, or as much as I can for sides. I just ordered Mrs. Wages tomato sauces mixes and am going to make spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, salsa, ketchup, tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes. That will take care of that. Some of these recipes are served over rice and instead of making a whole thing of rice and freezing it all together, my mother in law said that a regular muffin cup is about 1/2 cup serving. So if I freeze the rice in there and then pop the 'rice' muffins out to store in a big bag, that will work out easier. That way I can just pull out what I need instead of thawing and refreezing the rice too many times. I've made a few zucchini breads for desserts, and my mother in law is bringing Tasty Kakes up. I have a list of what I need to buy to make these meals and am watching the sales to stock up. I am also stocking up on spaghetti noodles, you know, for really quick meals. And I'll keep a supply of peanut butter and jelly on hand for lunches. And I have a list of meals that can be thrown in the crock pot during a nap time in the AM. So, I am thinking I am well on my way to having things better prepared than when I had Nadia. The church provided meals then, and while I was appreciative, it was all beef! We don't do much beef, so when we do eat it, we don't feel so good. I don't know what meals we'll get this time, although I am sure we'll get some, but I don't want to plan on it and not have anything prepared.

The garden is coming in well. Our tomatoes are sharing with us daily, just a few here and there, but enough to eat fresh. Our jalapeno's are coming in nicely and our corn is just starting to tassle. I'm going to be digging the potatoes in a few days and our carrots can come out anytime. I just pulled the onions, so they are curing. My garlic is going to wait a little bit. That's about it. That's enough!

I hope you have a good evening!