Buerger Bits: November 2010

Sweet, sweet Abney. I hate to tell you now, but you are WAY too smart for someone your age. While Mommy is proud of you and admires your intelligence, there just isn't much you can get away with now that we know just how smart you are...

Over the past few weeks you've really started to take a notice of your dogs. You LOVE your boys!!! They make you giggle so loud and you love to chase them around, and for them to chase you around. Most recently you discovered that if you have food in your hand, they will take it from you. Oh what a giggle to have puppy tongue on your little fingers.

You're also big on cleaning up. This is one of my favorite habits you've developed, and I'm doing everything I can to encourage it. Whether you are cleaning up your playroom, or dog food kernels, we think it is sweet and definitely a good habit.

So I say all this to prep the following two videos, as they combine your love of the dogs, feeding the dogs, and cleaning up...OH, and a little something I like to call "testing the waters." Enjoy.

Video 1: "Please, I just want to slam my hands up and down like this!"

Video 2: "Hmm, she doesn't seem to be able to pull me away with that thing in her hands..."

So after this we went upstairs and SPLISHED AND SPLASHED in the bath tub. That seemed to make up for no play in the water bowl. :)

If you know me at all, you know that meal planning is not one of my strengths. Cooking, fine if I have a recipe and all the ingredients, but the planning part is the problem. I'll walk into the grocery store and spend hours wandering the aisles and hundreds of dollars only to find us later on that week saying we "have nothing to eat." I've tried websites that help me create lists or create savings, but nothing really seemed to work for an entire week in a row and not cost an arm and leg. Until now, with the simplest idea but has proven flawless.
It was one morning on the way to work listening to The Bert Show that they gifted me this fabulous idea. Apparently Lady Gaga was fed up with being served the same food over and over again as she switched venues. Everyone thought pizza or subs was an easy meal, but after a while you get tired and fat having pizza and subs night after night. So she implemented a somewhat diva nightly menu requirement that made sure each venue had to adhere to their night of the week.
Yes, it sounds a bit much when you hear stars making demands, but it actually makes sense. Listeners started calling to tell their own tale of how they use this plan to do their own shopping and meals. Everyone knows what is for dinner and whoever gets home first pitches in to make it happen. BRILLIANT!!!
For the next week I pondered over what type of plan would work at our house. One that has parameters but a bit of flexibility so you are not eating the exact same 7 meals 52 times a year. Here it is (drum roll please) the Buerger Family Meal Plan:
Make it in the Crock Monday (Pronounced "mock" for flair): This is typically BBQ either pulled, on a sandwich, and variety of vegetable or starch. Sometimes it is corn and mashed taters, or just a sweet potato like this week. As long as it is something we can Make in the Crock, it is on the menu.
Taco Tuesday: We all know how much the Buergers love Mexican. This can be chicken or beef or turkey or whatever, and however we feel like fixing. But Taco Tuesday guarantees at least one Mex night a week.
Wasabi and Wine Down Wednesday: This is the night dedicated to seafood or Asian cuisine. Ben loves Curry and Thai food, so this is a good night for that or to plan for take out if we are feeling saucy.
Throw it on the Grill Thursday: Now this will be a bit complicated in the winter months, but there is nothing I love more than marinating a steak on Sunday and having Ben fire it up on Thursday. It is practically perfect! However, this is a good night too for burgers or any of the like that is a meat and potato type night.
Fauxtalian Friday: PASTA NIGHT! Ben and I are going to be training together starting next week (details to follow) and will be waking up early every Saturday to put in miles. Nothing better than a load of carbs before a hard training day, so we are putting Friday nights down for Italian.
Savory Saturday on the Town: While any night can be taken out, we are doing our best to spend our time and money at home during the week. Saturdays are the night to plan to spend on the town with friends and to be savored.
Family Home Evening: Just as you need to plan at least one night that is free for others, another night needs to be planned just for the family. Where we know the Buergers will be at the Buerger house and we can play games and eat something we all agree on. This can be any flavor, any style, but it must be at home. :) And when I say family, we all know the Buergers love to include LOTS of people in our family night.

So there you have it, the plan that has saved my sanity. I can get out of the grocery store in under an hour and depending on the week under $50. Yes, I live in Atlanta, Georgia and can buy most of my week's food for three people in $50-$100. Leftovers to be used for lunches (ladies only as Ben is too good for my leftovers), and we are saving lots of money and sanity. Plus, it seems like we are able to eat as a family much more which gives us the opportunity to communicate with one another. And now I rarely hear the words that make my skin crawl and can easily send me into a fury, "What do you want to eat?" I hate making that decision and now...it has already been made for me.