Baked Apple & Cheddar Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Baked Apple & Cheddar Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Door to Door Organics

Sweeten up your grilled cheese! I made these today for lunch and they were sweet and delicious. I didn't have cheddar cheese and I used Colby Jack instead. Cheddar would make it better, but they were still good.

Ingredients
Apple - peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
Apricot preserve (optional)
Cheddar cheese
Butter
Bread

Directions
Bake apples @ 400 degrees to soften. About 5-8 minutes. Then thinly spread apricot spread on one side of a piece of bread and butter on the other. I would recommend only using apricot spread on one piece of bread. It was a bit too sweet on both. Compile sandwich and grill  on stove over medium heat.

We get a bitty box of organic produce (fruit and vegetables) delivered every week from Door-to-Door Organics during the fall and winter months. I love the service and it really widens our variety of fruits and vegetables. Plus, it is great for having a ton of organic options for baby food. 

Hello, Sun. How are you?

Today's gratefulness is a no-brainer. I am absolutely grateful for the warm weather and sunshine. I think without it I might have gone insane this week, but I am happy to say that I am happy and joyful instead. 

It is no secret that last week (and the 2 weeks before) have been pretty stressful and hard. With the kids sick, us stuck inside, and Bob working a ton, I was ready to pull my hair out. But then the sun came out. All my worries and stresses washed away. 

I have been in the best mood this week. I have had a ton of fun with my kids. We have soaked in the sun. 

It is amazing what a little sunshine and warm weather can do for the soul. I truly believe that winter only makes me appreciate nice weather even more. Even though we had an extremely mild winter, it was still dreary, and sick kids, no matter the weather, are instant energy zappers. 

I needed a break. And even with Bob still working a ton, the sun gave me the break I so desperately needed.

This week, we played in our backyard, went to story time, ate out, enjoyed lunch at a park with friends, and played and played and played. Have I mentioned how grateful I am?

And while the sun is not shining now, and yesterday there were tornadoes in Michigan, I am so grateful that the weather is starting to change and more sunshine is on its way. 

Long overdue 7 month / 20 month update

Well, this month is almost over, and Calan will be 21 months in 9 days, but I still haven't shared everything that has been going on for my 7- and 20-month-old. So here it is:

Sleeping

• I would love to say that Calan's rocking is done, but it is still going strong. I feel like a little bit of a broken record about it, but I just wish it would stop. We have tried intervening and we have tried ignoring; nothing seems to help. Though I have found that during nap time, if we get to him right as he starts, he will stay asleep his full nap. So, that is a little victory. His naps were hit or miss this month with some only an hour and a half and others a nice 3-hour nap. But his night sleep (besides rocking) has been good.
• Maisie is still sleeping upstairs. I thought I would try letting them nap together, but I found that one of them would ultimately wake up the other one too soon, so that was short lived. Just the other week, we tried night sleeping together, but unfortunately they got sick, so that was short lived. Maisie is great about missing a nap and making it up later. Calan was never like this. Most kid activities are during her morning nap, so if we are out and about, she usually doesn't nap. However, she takes a great 2.5- to 3-hour-nap in the afternoon and if needed, she will take a catnap from 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. My girl is a great sleeper other than ending up in bed with us each night around 4 a.m. till 7 a.m.

Eating

• Again, I sound like a broken record with Calan on eating. He loves his carbs and fruit, but meat and veggies are hit or miss. I try to hide them and he just eats around them. He would eat 20 bananas a day if I let him. There really haven't been any new foods; just trying to get him to eat vegetables. He has started to eat with a fork and spoon. He makes a mess, but he will eat more veggies if they are on a fork or spoon.
• Maisie is doing a lot better at eating solids. Though she still won't eat plain cereal. I usually just mix it with whatever veggies or fruit she is having with it. She has had bananas, pears, sweet potatoes, and peas. I have tried giving her Cheerios, but she does not seem interested in self-feeding yet. She still makes a bit of a mess with the solids, but at least they are being eaten.

Activities

• Well, TV watching is still more than I would like, but with the weather changing, I think this problem will fix itself. However, we have been doing more out of the house. We joined the Royal Oak Mom's Club and between that and other friends and outings, we have kept ourselves pretty busy. We have gone to a few indoor play centers and he really loves going down slides. He is such a social little guy. He loves to play chase with other kids. Some little 3- or 4-year-old usually matches up with him and let's him chase them around. He grins and laughs the whole time.
• Maisie is doing her thing. She is starting to move. She pushes herself around in a circle and scotches backward. She loves to be on the ground, and actually holding her is quite difficult because she twists and turns to be put down. She loves to be talked to and smiles and grins and kicks about when you just look at her. Cracks me up.

Schedule

• 7/7:30 a.m. – Maisie and Calan wake up. Maisie eats and gets dressed. Calan slowly rises and either plays with some toys or watches TV and drinks milk
• 8 a.m. – Family eats breakfast (even Maisie eats with us at the table).
• 8:30 a.m. – Bob leaves for work. I do a few chores and make some coffee and we play for a bit in our family room.
• 9 a.m.- Maisie naps and Calan plays in his pack-and-play. I either shower or do chores or just enjoy some me time.
• 10:00 a.m. – Calan and I play. I usually try to do some activity with him, but he usually does what ever he wants.
• 10:30 a.m. – Maisie wakes up.
• 11 a.m. – Maisie drinks a bottle.
• 11:30 a.m.- We have lunch (all of us).
• 12 p.m. – Calan and Maisie have blanket time. This means Maisie is usually on her play mat.
• 12:30 p.m. – Calan and Maisie naps. I do whatever needs to be done (me time, shower, blog, chores, etc.)
• 3 p.m. – Calan wakes up
• 3:30 p.m. – Maisie wakes up and has a bottle and Calan has a snack.
• 4 p.m. – We play or do some errands.
• 5 p.m. – I start cooking dinner, so either Calan continues playing well or if he is cranky, he has been playing in his pack-and-play again.
• 5:45 p.m. – Dinner for everyone.
• 6:15 p.m. – Bath time
• 6:45 p.m. – Maisie has her bottle
• 7 p.m. – Maisie and Calan bedtime
• 11 p.m. - Maisie has a small bottle
• 4 a.m. - Maisie tends to wake up and moves into bed with us (a HORRIBLE habit that we are going to try and break this weekend)

Overall

• Calan still is the happiest kid I know. Every time we are out and about, strangers comment on how smiley he is and ask if he is always that way. And besides when he is a bit cranky, he really is ALWAYS that smiley. If you just start laughing, he starts laughing. Cracks me up. He has become a great big brother and really has been amazing with Maisie, but I have noticed a little jealousy. For example if I am holding her in my lap, he tends to move on to my lap as well. He is learning to share a little. He knows the word, but says it as he takes whatever he wants or if we try to take back something, he holds tight saying, "share, share." Better than nothing I guess.
• Maisie is really on the move. She is inching her way to mobility. Not sure what I am going to do when I have 2 mobile children, but many mothers before me have done it, so I am sure I will be just fine. She isn't very vocal and hasn't started saying and sounds yet. She does giggle and coo, but no "ba, ba, ba" or "da, da, da" yet. She is really observing so many things. She has really started to study the world around her. Love her smile and her two little teeth that show when she grins. She melts my heart.
• As a mom of two little guys, I would say that since 6 months life has gotten increasingly more difficult. I feel a bit stretched. It probably hasn't helped that Bob is working a ton, so I am doing a lot by myself. However, I am starting to get use to my new routine and as the weather keeps getting better, life seems to be getting better. Can't wait for more.

Calan and Maisie at 6 months. 

P.S. This is my 200th blog!

Wordless Wednesday: Let the sun shine!

Trouble!

But pretty cute.

1 ... 2 ... 3 ... Go!

Yeah!

Toddler Tuesday: Travel road map

A travel road map made from felt and glue. 

The large house is a pocket that you
can park a small car in. 

Next Monday, I am taking part in another Busy Bag Swap. I figure with two kids, I can't have too many go to activities. For this swap, I decided to make a travel road map for toy cars. Calan is really into cars and trucks and isn't so into matching and sorting games, so I figured at least this activity he would use right now.

The idea was an easy one, but making 10 of them has been a little time consuming. It has been worth it though. I am super happy with how they turned out. Each one is decorated with trees, a lake, 2 small houses, 2 stores, and one large house that acts as a pocket to park a small car. I also found bulletin board road signs that I added felt to to make more durable. 

The back of the map includes a blue pocket for
extra cars a spot for the road signs.  I used extra felt
to hold the two sides together. 

The map folds up easily into thirds to fit into
any diaper bag or purse. 

The road maps fold easily into thirds for storage and have a pocket on the outside to store the road signs and extra cars. 

So how did I do it?

It was super simple. I used this template from Serving Pink Lemonade for the road and small houses. I cut the template apart to fit as many pieces onto each black piece of felt as I could. I cutout templates for the other accessories and went to town cutting out a ton of felt. If you want templates for those, let me know I will post them, but they were really easy to figure out. 

I cutout all the pieces for the houses, stores, and trees and glued them together with a felt craft glue. 

After getting all my pieces together, I hot-glued everything onto my green pieces of felt. 

I took a small piece of black felt and hot-glued it to the back to keep the two pieces together, and I added the pocket for storage. 

Calan has already been playing with his and he loves the extra road signs. So, glad that I added felt to the back of them because he has already tried to crush them and chew on them. Not sure how long they will last, but for now they are holding up.  

Post linked to a few bog hops here and here. 

Updated weekly menu

Monday: Chicken Fried Rice

Tuesday: Spaghetti (Mom Time Saving Tip: Each time you make spaghetti make a full thing of spaghetti sauce and freeze the extras, so that when you need a quick meal and no time, which is why we are have spaghetti tonight. I already have the sauce ready to go.)

Wednesday: Italian sausage and sauteed peppers

Thursday: Chicken pot pie

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Salmon and broccoli

Sunday: TBD

Another Monday

Who did not enjoy yesterday's AMAZING weather? Our kids are still getting over their colds, but we still played outside and soaked in the sun. After a rough week last week, I needed the sun and vitamin D.

This week is going to be a lot of the same for us with Bob working late and me home with the kids. I am praying that by Wednesday their noses have stopped running and we will be able to leave the house. Fingers crossed. I am so tired of snot!

I'll be honest. I am kind of winging it this week. Because of weekend plans and some laziness, I have not had a chance to plan out our week and dinner menu. I have a few things frozen in the freezer, so I'll probably use up those leftovers today and go grocery shopping tomorrow.

It is amazing how easy it is to get off routine and how difficult it is to get back on.

So right now, I am just enjoying my cup of coffee pretending that everything on my to-do list is already done.

I am also praying that our new double stroller gets here before the weekend and we are able to get out for a walk before the nice weather ends (though it's raining today). For those interested, I decided on the Zooper Tango double stroller. It was the original stroller that I wanted back when I was pregnant with Maisie. It is a bit heavier than our other double stroller that I lost (literally lost), but it has some great features that I want in a double stroller. It will be a little larger in the back of our car, but it should fit on an angle.

(I'll post my menu later today or tomorrow when I get it done.)

Wordless Wednesday: Nothing but sick kids here

Monday Game Plan: Sick Bug

Well, this weekend, Maisie picked up my horrible cough and hers seems to be worse. Luckily, I think she is already getting better. We went to the peditrician this morning and she was given a breathing treatment to help clear her up, which we will continue doing at home till the cough is gone. But with a sick Bug, all plans are tentative till she is sounding better.

So, I think it will be a lot of time at home this week. Hopefully, Calan and I don't go too stir crazy and his "Dive, Olly, Dive" addiction is kept to a minimum.

Despite keeping events to a minimum, here is our meal plan for the week:

Sunday

• Breakfast: Waffles & banana
• Lunch: PB&J, strawberries, and animal crackers
• Dinner: Chicken Salad (Delicious! Totally recommend this recipe and I am sure you could replace the mayo with plain yogurt for a healthier option.)

Monday

• Breakfast: Oatmeal & Banana
• Lunch: Out to eat with Bob (while I took Maisie to the doctor)
• Dinner: Parmesean encrusted chicken and seasame broccoli (the chicken was OK. Not sure why, but I stink at pan frying. Most of the parmesean stuck to the pan instead of the chicken. However, the broccoli was delicious.)

Tuesday

• Breakfast: Scrambled eggs & English muffins
• Lunch: leftover chicken salad
• Dinner: Pineapple hamburgers & carrots and broccoli

Wednesday

• Breakfast: Yogurt with granola and mango
• Lunch: Leftovers
• Dinner: Taco chicken, corn, and rice (Love this baked chicken and it is great as leftovers on salad or as a chicken sandwich)

Thursday

• Breakfast: Oatmeal & banana
• Lunch: Grilled cheese & sweet potato fries
• Dinner: Leftovers & salad

Friday

• Breakfast: Pear Bread & mango (This bread is AMAZING!)
• Lunch: Pb& J and apples
• Dinner: TBD (possibly pizza night)

Saturday

• Breakfast: Eggs in a nest
• Lunch: Leftovers
• Dinner: TBD

Calan is sick now too, so we are just laying low and trying to get better.

Roommates?

When we were planning for Maisie's wonderful arrival, we (I) decided that it would be best for them to share a room. This kept one room open for a spare bedroom and office and it kept all the baby stuff in one room. In my mind, it was a great idea. In my mind, I figured by at latest 6 months they would be sharing a room. 

Well, great plans are always foiled by reality. Maisie's crib has basically stayed untouched the past 7 months. She sleeps in our room in a pack-and-play. For the most part it has worked. I have actually been pretty attached to my little bug and have been a little resistant to letting her sleep in the nursery. 

But, I am beginning to think that it might just have to be like a ripping off a Band-Aid; I just have to do it. I have to accept that there will be a little bit of a transition and they won't sleep perfectly, but to be honest they don't sleep perfectly now, so what would be the worst that could happen?

Today, they are napping in the same room. This is the second time I have tried it. The first time, Calan woke halfway through and Maisie started to cry, so I moved her to her pack-and-play and settled Calan back down, so he would sleep longer, which he did. She, however, was up, but luckily took an evening nap to make up for her short afternoon nap. 

Today, they both went down pretty easily and have been asleep for about 20 minutes. Their afternoon nap is actually pretty close to the same amount of time. They go down at 12:30 and usually sleep till about 3. I realized if they were sleeping the exact same time, they should be sleeping in the same room together during their nap, so I could do things like actually make my bed and clean up my room during nap time. 

I figure if they both can fall asleep with each other in the room, then it is probably time that they be actually sharing a bedroom. In my mind, I feel like it is time, but in my heart, I am not so ready. I don't know what my big hang up is about it. I am pretty sure that they will do fine together. I just need to try. 

I guess it is time for Calan and Maisie to finally be roommates.