Keep Calm and Carry On!

I know that phrase wasn't coined by a parent at the end of a long school year, but it's so perfect for this end-of-season busyness. Between the boys in soccer and the end of their respective grades, and all the hustle-and-bustle that goes with it- celebrations, "graduation" ceremonies, buying teacher and coach gifts, rocket-launch day, end-of-soccer barbecues, final swimming lessons, fathers day, birthday parties, baking a couple dozen cupcakes for my older son's "unbirthday" at school, hosting family dinner, finishing my exam for my Diploma in Nutrition...I'm just swamped. Needless to say, something had to be left behind for a couple of weeks, and I'm sorry to say it was my blog posts.

I've been thinking about all of you, however!  How are you? What does your end-of-school-season look like? Are you as swamped as I am? How do you cope with keeping up with regular life plus all the extra stuff thrown in? I'm always looking for inspiration and suggestions, so feel free to help me out! {Seriously...please help me out!}

We've had some great thunderstorms already, something I'm very happy about. I have always loved a good storm. The down side to them, of course, is the cancellation of soccer games or practices, but in a sense there's an upside too- more time for my oldest to study for his exams over the last week. My kids aren't quite as infatuated as I am with thunderstorms- in fact, my youngest is terrified- but hopefully they inherited the cloud-watching and storm-loving gene and that it kicks in any day now. Back before digital photography, I used to drive my mom crazy  because I'd shoot a full film on nothing but clouds. Luckily, I now get instant gratification!

These were some of our soccer meals last week. I know I'm a week behind, at least. We made skewers with marinated pork and vegetables, with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. There's a ground turkey slider-sized burger with steamed cauliflower, dill mashed potatoes, and fresh veges. The last dish is a bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken breast and assorted fruit and vegetables. To stuff our chicken, we used up our leftover mashed potatoes and added in extra flavour and nutrition with stir-fried mushrooms, garlic, and onion. We also threw in a little thinly sliced cheddar. So very good! That recipe is definitely going in my new cookbook.

I received a passing grade "with distinction" on my  nutrition diploma- 94%! To which my first son said, "mom, what about that 6 percent?". Well, I'm still pretty happy with that grade. And my friends, my advanced diploma starts this week! I can't wait!

Today was my first "down" day in a long time, and the only one for this week. I celebrated by taking a nap. Exciting, right? I also tried to catch up on laundry, and watched some Chef at Home reruns. I'm feeling a bit burnt out from being so busy, but watching Chef Michael Smith cook in his kitchen reminds me how much I love cooking in my kitchen. I'll save you some suspense and just tell you what's on the table for dinner this week, and hopefully I'll post pictures! I will try, I promise.

Tonight we're having stir fried vegetables, pasta, and honey-garlic sausages. Tomorrow I plan on making a meatless casserole with lentils, beans, and vegetables. The day after is fish of some sort- I'm thinking tacos, but it could be chowder. Kind of depends on the weather. Thursday will be a Mexican-inspired ground turkey meatloaf, served with brown rice and steamed frozen corn. And Friday, our last day of school, I think we'll probably celebrate with a dinner out somewhere local. We have a great place in town called Downtown Diner, and they will be featured in an upcoming episode of "You Gotta Eat Here" on the Food Network.

In closing, here are a few more gratuitous cloud pictures. Enjoy your week, friends.
Stacy