This week

Kase wasn't feeling the best last night so we had a pretty chill morning around here.  I'm  hosting a baby shower here later this week so I saw no reason to spend any time cleaning because I'll do a mad-scramble cleaning before everyone comes on Sunday.

Since we had no place to go (I didn't feel like taking him out since he had been sick) and essentially nothing that had to be done, I did some of my favorite things.  First, I cooked. Then, I read.

I made Tomato Basil Soup with Cheese Tortellini soup for tonight (even though the kids are DYING to go to their school's fundraiser at Wendy's) and Chicken Tortilla soup for Thursday night.  I also browned a few pounds of hamburger and divided it up in some containers to put in the freezer so I can quickly make spaghetti, tacos or beefburgers in the coming sure-to-be-busy weeks before Christmas.  I made Popcorn Chicken (a family favorite) for the freezer and gathered ingredients to make Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken tomorrow night (Tuesdays are a notoriously busy night for us no matter which sports season we're in).

Later, Kase napped and I did a few things for the baby shower but then convinced myself I'd done enough for one morning and made a cup of coffee and read.  It was heavenly.  Here are a few of the books I'm reading and a few of my thoughts.

Earn it, Learn it: We don't do allowance in our house, but the older the kids get, the more I'm seeing a need for teaching them the value of money and hard work.

Happier At Home: This is, of course, not to suggest that I'm unhappy at home but a couple years ago I read The Happiness Project, by the same author, and loved it.  I'm only a couple of chapters in, but several of her ideas are so inspiring.

The Price of Privilege: The rest of the title of the book is "How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids".  Both Kent and I agree with the old saying "money can't buy happiness" but we live in a pretty affluent community where it's easy to see how kids feel entitled.  I can't say that our kids are disconnected or unhappy but I don't even want to think about going down that road...

So how about you? What are you eating and reading this week?