Back to school...

After a looong holiday break, and a week of crazy snow days... we're officially back to school.

Back to reading around the clock, 7+ hour days of class, no energy left over to do anything for myself, and not enough minutes in the day to spend time relaxing with my hubbs.

Also back to no time for being a domestic wanna-be... our apartment during busy school/work weeks is usually a disaster (think: laundry spilling over the sides of 2 hampers, no clean spoons or knives, and a layer of mystery film on the stove/counters) and I have very little time - or motivation - to cook when I get home from school or work. This is where a few wonders have come into play for me this week:

1.) Wok

2.) Husband

3.) Slow Cooker

#1 and #2 should technically be combined for the purposes of this post. Andrew has been Husband of the Year this week. I have no idea where it came from, but I'm afraid to ask for fear that it might come to an abrupt halt! For example...

• Monday: he cooked an amazing chicken/beef/veggie stir fry dinner in our new Wok {thanks, Mom and Dad B!} and cleaned up every last dish and cooking utensil afterward. This is unheard of in our house - its usually an either/or. Either he cooks, or he cleans up. Never both. I'm talking... never.
• Tuesday: he packed his own lunch. Left over stir fry and other odds and ends. The mass amounts of stir fry that we can now make in our 5 qt. Wok seems to have just relieved me of sandwich-making duty and I am thrilled that hubbs has found a way to make a meal last the whole week!
• Somewhere between Monday and today (my days are blurred...): he emptied the dishwasher, did a few - as in more than 2 - loads of laundry, he PUT AWAY LAUNDRY ON THE DRYER! EVEN MINE! {again, can't remember this happening ever}, and as I sit here and type this I hear the dishwasher running again.

He is really a great hubby all the time, but it was just the little things this week that made my life so much more pleasant. I have thanked him for every.single.thing. just so he knows that his random acts of domestic-ness have not gone unnoticed. Its amazing how much sharing the household chores can free up my evenings... not to mention reduce some stress/bitchiness ;)

And #3 - my slow cooker - has been so great as we get back into the busy school/work routine because I can toss in ingredients on my way out the door, and I walk back in hours later to a house that smells delish, and a meal that feels like it was prepared for me by a little fairy while I was off learning or working. Its fun :) Here are a few of my fave slow cooker recipes these days:

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Slow Cooker Chili

So they're not exactly gourmet dinners, but who cares? They're pretty healthy, easy, and we like 'em - that's all that matters! And if Andrew keeps up this miraculous cooking/cleaning/laundry-doing business, I just might have time to do some real cooking for him this semester! It's a win-win.