Hello Monday!!

Hi friends!! Happy Monday! Happy MARCH!!

How was your weekend??

Are you happy to be starting a new month?

In my last few blog posts, I have mentioned that I have definitely been feeling a little funky...and I am MORE than excited to be welcoming a new month, which includes Daylight Savings Time! Bring on the longer days, more sunshine and hopefully WARMER temperatures! 

If you're a goal setter...how do you feel about starting the THIRD month of the year?

Are you feeling good about the goals you set for yourself...or have things fallen to the wayside? 

Are you maybe just ready for a RESTART?

At the beginning of the year, I shared that I would be doing quarterly goals, working on a few specific things every few months. You can check out that post HERE!

I had hoped to share a little more bit regularly about my health and wellness/fitness goals...and yeah...haven't done that at all. HA! It's not that I haven't been working on them- I just haven't taken the time to get organized and be more consistent about my progress! 

So- I will be doing that NEXT week!

As far as my other goals: FAITH, FRIENDSHIP and MARRIAGE- I am maintaining my commitment to the growth I set for myself in those areas!

In the area of FAITH: Aaron and I have been using this prayer journal to help us pray for our kiddos daily and we LOVE it. It has been very good for us to have the journal to help guide us in our prayers and it's really opened up a lot of conversations and we've found it to be a wonderful addition to our morning prayer time!

In regard to FRIENDSHIP: I have been making effort to meet a friends for coffee, set up play dates and regularly attend a small group that I have formed with a few other woman. I will be completely honest with you and tell you this has been an area where I have felt a lot of resistance. Personally, we've been going through some pretty tough stuff in our immediate family and I honestly just haven't felt super motivated to go hang out with friends. My life feels VERY full taking care of my family as it is- so I have really had to prioritize the importance of cultivating friendships and pushing past my comfort zone of wanting to snuggle up on my couch with Aaron and watch HGTV. HA!

I am thankful for the growth I have experienced in this area and will continue to pursue growing friendships!

In the area of MARRIAGE: Aaron and I have had been doing our monthly date nights- I set them up 3 months at a time so they are on the calendar! Also- we got to have a 24 hour getaway to celebrate Aaron's birthday and that was incredibly life giving. We are hoping to do one more 24 hour getaway this year...it's hard to ask for help with the kids (because we hate to inconvenience by brother and his wife)- but we have found it to be SO SO good for our marriage!

So...I am feeling good about where I am, heading into March! I have definitely have some things I am working on and have had to adjust the past couple of months..but I have really enjoyed having a few attainable goals set for the first quarter of the year and look forward to establishing a new set of goals at the end of April!

I stumbled across this blog post that outlines some important questions to ask yourself at the end of each month. I thought it was very helpful in helping me reflect on what went well, what didn't go well or as planned and how I want things to change. You can check out it HERE!

And guess what. If you haven't done anything you had hoped so far this year....that is OKAY.

Every day is a new, fresh day. You don't need a Monday or a new month or a new year to start over.
Heck- you could start fresh at 3:30 pm on a Wednesday! HA! It's not about when you START- it's that you decide to start, take the first step and just keep doing the next right thing. Consistency is literally KEY is achieving goals and making TRUE lasting change!

Okay. 
Real quick- because I have to figure some of you may not know exactly what you are making for dinner this week- I am going to share what's on the menu at our house for dinner this week!

MONDAY: Baked chicken, oven roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli

TUESDAY: Salsa verde chicken/ground beef tacos

WEDNESDAY: grilled sausage, buttered parmesan noodles and roasted broccoli (green beans for kiddos)

THURSDAY: Semi-homemade chicken parmesan

FRIDAY: Grilled cheese and homemade potato corn chowder 
(we take a break from pizza during Lent!)

SATURDAY: grilled chicken and veggie skewers and cauliflower rice (for grown-ups)
hot dogs and mac 'n' cheese for the kids

SUNDAY: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and steamed green beans

I have fallen into a routine of planning one "fun" meal for Aaron and I...and then planning an easy "kid" meal for that night so everyone is happy. It's helped me not get super bored with meal planning and it gives Aaron and I an opportunity to have a "grown up" meal that we really look forward to!

I wanted to share real quick how I plan on doing my semi-homemade version of chicken parmesan!
I picked up all these ingredients from Aldi:

These parmesan encrusted chicken tenders from Aldi are delicious! I am going to bake them and then had a slice or two of provolone to the top of each of them and melt the cheese!
I will make egg noodles and add some marinara sauce to the top of the noodles and then place a couple cheesy parmesan chicken tenders on top of the noodles. I'll serve a side salad with it and dinner is DONE!

SO good and SO easy. Aaron is a huge fan of chicken parmesan and is SUPER excited about this dinner! :)

Are you making any fun dinners this week??

Okay- off to get this Monday started!!

Hope you have the BEST day!! 
Here's to an amazing start to our week!!

Linking up with Heather, Johannah, Tanya and Lindsay!