Smells Like Insanity

We Have moved!!

2011-06-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

Blogger keeps being finicky about pictures and signing in, so we have moved over to WordPress! Please update your bookmarks!
http://smellslikeinsanity.wordpress.com

Not Just Pins and Plastic Pants

2011-06-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

~I had not intended my kid update posts to post all on the same day, and had the Hope & Aubrey posts scheduled to post on two different days. After I did Luke's, though, I forgot to schedule his and couldn't get it off the main page no matter what I tried.Instead of deleting that one and starting all over again, I just posted them all on the same day. Hopefully I won't make that mistake again! Now, on with the new post!~

I mentioned in my post about Aubrey that we were using cloth diapers this time around. I had tried to use them with Hope, but we didn't last longer than a month. We're in our third month of cloth diapering now and I'm loving it this time around. After reading my post about cloth diapers I made with Hope, I realize now that I received really bad advice regarding washing them and that was the problem we were having and why it ended so badly (bleeding, horrible rashes from ammonia burn and really stinky diapers). I know better now than to wash solely in baking soda. This time around we were successfully using Tide, but they changed their formula and we started getting stinky nighttime diapers from soap build up (that stuff would still be sudsing after 4-5 hot rinses after washing--it was crazy). I've since switched to Ecos to wash and Ecover to help soften and we are having fantastic results from that. Glad I found a solution without too many problems!

I have enough diapers to last us for two days without washing. I could probably go a bit longer, but we would be pushin' it! I just finished selling off a good portion of our prefolds, as I was only using them at naptime and bedtime. 24 was way too many to have for only those times and they take up considerable storage space. So that cut our stash down quite a bit. Here is what we are using now:

Fluffy's One Size covers (from Fluffy's Diapers on Etsy) on the top, and Thirsties Duo size 1 on the bottom. The Thirsties are just for Luke, but we use the Fluffy's on both of them (except for the pink one lol), just on different size settings.

Our fitteds. These requrie a cover, but when we are at home, I let Aubrey run around without a cover and just change her when the outside gets a bit damp. Most of them are one size diapers, but they are still a bit bulky fitting on Luke, so we don't use these on him. A few of them are medium longs or larges. On the top we have Candyland OS Bagshot Row Bamboo (these require a Snappi--more on those later--or pins to close), Guess How Much I Love You OS Tinkle Tushies, a large Mickey Bubble Butt, a velour medium long Green Sprout Baby, premium Summer Fun Meg-A-Roos extended tab prefold (this one requires a Snappi or pins). On the bottom row, we have a Rainbow Brite OS Bagshot Row Bamboo (again, Snappi or pins needed), Mickey OS Snicklefritz (needs Snappi or pins), swirl dyed OS My Diaper Addiction, medium long D&G space Green Sprout Baby, and a borrowed floral OS Muttaqin. In this picture, I'm missing a Dr. Seuss print OS Cutzie Designs....I forgot to put it in the picture.

An example of an extended tab prefold, Snappi'd--to give you an idea of how they work. They have little teeth that snag the fabric to keep the diaper closed.

Since he is still pretty little, these are Luke's fitteds. They also require a cover. This time I'm going to go by columns. The left colum is Meg-A-Roo's infant extended tab prefolds (require Snappi or pins), second column are borrowed small bumGenius fitteds, third column from the top: small Dream-Eze, and two fitteds from Etsy, fourth column from the top: borrowed Ooga OS Muttaqin & a medium (it fits smaller, though) Squeezie Cheeks Scooby Doo.

Luke's pocket diapers. These are waterproof, with a pocket that you can stuff to make them absorbant. I use infant size prefolds, trifolded, to stuff them with. These are borrowed extra small Fuzzi Bunz.

Our pockets. They do not require a cover. Most of these pockets are one size. I can fit the one size diapers on Luke, too. Left to right: Fancy Nancy OS Ebber-Deeber, borrowed Pirate large Painted Patooshies, Cowpoke OS Ebber-Deeber, Mickey OS Ebber-Deeber.

These are our all-in-ones (AIOs) & all-in-twos (AI2s). They are waterproof with the absorbant part either sewn in or a snap in. They do not require a cover. Left to right: borrowed newborn Bagshot Row Bamboo (I don't think these are very waterproof and usually put a cover on them--the waterproof part is fleece, which is supposed to repel any wetness, but he's made them damp frequently.), large Nana's Bottoms, A Salt & Battery OS Pee in the Pod.

On the left are Sustainablebabyish "flats" (actually prefolds--not sure why they call them flats), with SBish doublers underneath. On the right are the top part of Thirsties stay dry inserts (I HATE microfiber--the bottom part--so I only use the cotton/hemp top layer) and Thirsties hemp doublers. I use the doublers when we need extra absorbancy like during naptimes, bedtime, or when we're out and about.

Prefolds, what people typically think of when they think cloth diapers. These can be trifolded and laid into a cover or stuffed into a pocket, or put on the child with a Snappi or pins. We have premium size on the left, green edge (newborn) in the middle, and yellow edge (infant? small?) on the right. I use the premiums on Aubrey and stuff pockets with the green and yellow edge ones.

(Mostly) borrowed longies, shorties, and soakers. The very bottom one is Aubrey's, I just forgot it in the picture of hers. The only one that is ours is the flag one, but he's outgrown it already. These work as covers. Just put on a prefold or fitted, then put the pants on. While our other covers are lined in PUL (polyurethane laminate), which, like disposables, doesn't breathe and might get hot, the wool/fleece/acrylic is surprisingly breathable, and much more comfortable for a kiddo.

Aubrey's (mostly borrowed) shorties, longies, and soakers. Most of these also have a shirt or dress that match.

Our cloth wipes, sprayer (to wet the wipes), diaper cream (we don't use this kind anymore-we now use CJ's BUTTer), Snappi's, and peepee teepes. I use cloth wipes because, really, who wants to carry poop covered disposable wipes to the trash can to be thrown away? Not me. Just wrap them in the diaper and throw it in the pail with everything else.

Our wet bags. I use these in the diaper bad for wet/dirty diapers.

Where I store all our diapers, and the kids that wear them. Hehe.

Hanging on the wall are the covers that we're using for the day. As long as they don't get any poop on them and they don't stink, I hang them up and we rotate them throughout the day. I can usually get away with two covers for each child. So far in the full two months, we've not had any poop blowouts like we did in disposables, and I've not gotten any poop on any covers.

To the left of the dresser is rolling drawers with a basket on top. In the basket are Aubrey's fitteds. In front of the basket are all our doublers. In the top drawer, our pockets, AIOs and AI2s. The middle drawer holds the premium prefolds.

On top of the dresser, to the right of the changing pad, in the basket, are Luke's fitteds. Then in front of the basket is a Huggies wipe container with the top removed. This holds our cloth wipes, diaper rash cream (CJ's BUTTer), spray bottle with water and peepee teepees. I usually put our Snappi's on top of the wipes until the wipes are needed.

The top dresser drawer holds Luke's fleece and wool soakers/longies/shorties.

The middle left holds our covers, wet bags, and the green/yellow edge prefolds.

The middle right drawer holds all of Aubrey's fleece and wool soakers/longies/shorties.

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Every other day, after putting the kids to bed, I take our pail bag downstairs with the dirty diapers, and run a load of diapers. I run a cold rinse w/ no detergent to help with any residual poop (Aubrey's dirty diapers get shaken out into the toilet and then put in the pail--Luke's wash out easily for now, so I don't worry about his). Then a hot wash with Ecos filled to the 1 line, then two capfuls of Ecover (the only fabric softener safe sor cloth diapers--all others cause repelling), cold rinse, cold rinse. Then a warm quick wash with warm rinse to make sure all the soap is rinsed out. Everything is dried on high, unless it has a stain. If it has a stain, I get it sopping wet and put it outside to sun out. You would be surprised the stains that a sun can get out. It really is amazing!

You would think the extra laundry would be annoying, but, really, (and this is going to sound weird but I don't care) it's the only laundry I LOVE doing. It is completely satisfying to see a laundry basket full of diapers folded and ready to go for the next day. No running out to the store because we're on our last diaper (or already have run out of diapers--had that happen way too many times in the past), and no poopy blow outs like with disposables. Ok, the cuteness factor doesn't hurt, either! Seriously, my kids have the cutest butts on the block.

Any questions? Feel free to leave them in the comment section and I'll address them in my next post. :-)

Luke David William

2011-06-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

Luke David William was born April 18. This is his birth story, as posted on a message board.

We went in for the induction and they checked me so they could decide how to induce. I was at a 2/3 and they decided to start pitocin. At 10:15 they got it started. After about an hour the contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and I was feeling them a lot in my pelvis and hips.

By 2, the nurse came in to turn up the pitocin with the comment that "if I felt I couldn't handle it, she could come back in and turn it down". 20 minutes later, the contractions were bringing me to tears and we called her back in, but she made the comment that the monitors weren't registering them, so she couldn't justify turning it down. I wanted to inform her that just because the stupid machine wasn't registering them I was quite positive my body was more accurate than any machine and it needed to be turned down but was beside myself and couldn't get the words out. She went and messed around with the pitocin machine (dropping her clipboard on my IV tubes in the process and leaving it there), but I don't think she turned it down to be honest. The doctor came in and checked me around 2 and I was at a 3, then she broke my water.

20 minutes later I asked for an epidural. By the time the anesthesiologist got there, I was ugly crying but was able to get myself under control to be still for him. He ended up having to try for it twice because the first attempt at putting in the medicine failed. The second time he tried, though, caused the epidural to react as a spinal and I went numb from the breasts down. The nurse told me to swing my legs around onto the bed and I told her I couldn't. I think she thought I was being difficult because she repeated herself and I told her "I don't think you understand, I can't." She finally realized I couldn't move my legs and they helped me roll over. The doctor came in and checked me and in the time it took the anesthesiologist to come, he came, and I went numb, I went from a 3 to a 10 and the doctor couldn't even get her fingers in. His head was so close she couldn't even get her finger in to the first knuckle. I couldn't feel anything to push and we had to wait for the spinal effect to go away (they were poking me with needles and I didn't feel a single thing).

While we were waiting, my blood pressure plummeted into the 60's/30's, then Luke's heart rate plummeted to 59. I couldn't see the monitor so I had no clue why the room filled with people and they started giving me vial after vial of medicine. After about 5 minutes, the anesthesiologist finally noticed that I was crying and asked what was wrong. I told him I knew something was happening, but nobody was telling me and it was scary and he explained it to me. They got it under control and by 3:15 I began to feel the intense pressure/pain in my pelvis again, so we tried pushing. 3 pushes and I almost had him out. Now, DH says that he was watching the monitor for contractions at the same time as the nurse and he thinks the last time I pushed, I actually didn't push with a contraction. He thinks the nurse saw the contraction monitor go up because I moved a little bit because it immediately started going down instead of starting to go up but she had already turned her back by then. So, chances are when I finally did push him out, it was without a contraction. Luke David William was born at 3:38 pm. He weighed 6 pounds 8.6 ounces and 19" long.

Finally! A Lost Tooth!

2011-04-13T14:22:00.001-07:00

Today Crafty pulled her first tooth out. She's so excited for her first visit from the tooth fairy!

Down to the Wire, it seems

2011-03-04T14:41:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have been informed it is the policy of the practice I am using that if you have had a late term loss, they will not "let" you go past 39 weeks. There is no sense in me arguing or fighting for anything past that. Golfer agrees with pretty much anything doctor's say, and I will not get support for anyone else on it. I'd be fighting that battle on my own, despite going to 41 weeks with Sassy. SO. With that said, that knocks off two entire weeks of my expected time left. While that's a little relieving in the fact I am so DONE being pregnant (weeks ago, in fact), it's a little disconcerting, as well, because...ummmmm....we haven't really done anything to prepare for his arrival!

He's got *some* clothes, but not a lot. The pack and play is still put away in my closet, his car seat is currently piled high with short sleeve shirts in Golfer's closet, the (admittedly pink but still useable) bouncy seat is still covered in plastic in the basement. I have ZERO meals frozen (Oh but I've got muffins lol), clothes are not washed, space has not really been made for him in Sassy's room, I don't have a diaper bag picked out. We do not have bottles. I do not have any of the supplies a newly post partum mama uses. I know there are other things that need to be done before he gets here. Things that are just not coming into my head at the moment. Things that will make this transition so much easier. My brain just simply isn't processing the fact there's a baby coming. That's a little scary.

That's not even counting the house stuff that needs to be done since my mom will be here the first week of May. I'll confess it's been months since I mopped my floors upstairs. It is excruciatingly painful to mop right now, so I just spot clean where I can and keep it vacuumed. The bottoms of our socks turn black just from walking around my house. Gross. I know...but, really, whoever it bothers the most is more than welcome to come mop my floors for me because the fact of the matter is, my house is otherwise pretty darn clean for a Mama in her third trimester whose pelvis feels like it's going to fall apart at any minute.

Menu Plan Monday....of sorts

2011-02-28T14:06:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I'm not "officially" participating in Menu Plan Monday, as I have obviously completely bombed on doing any and all memes I have tried to participate in. For some reason, though, I feel compelled to type up my menu for this week here on my blog. Y'know, the one that is sorely in need of attention. That has been updated only once in a blue moon? Yeah...go figure that one out. LOL I've pretty much given up assigning meals to specific days. Golfer frequently has last minute appointments to go to, leaving the girls and myself on our own for dinner, which means we usually do sandwiches or something and the "planned" meal for that evening gets moved to the next night (if I have meat already thawed) or the next week. Since Golfer is still doing his low carb diet (as far as I am aware, anyway, I do need to touch base with him on that--I'm sooooo tired of the same low carb meals and would LOVE to add back in some of our old favorites into my rotation), all of these meals except for one is a low carb recipe I have found here on the internet, or in one of my cookbooks. The only one that ISN'T is because Golfer has poker and won't be home for dinner that evening. Guess which meal that is? Haha.

Dinner choices for this week are:
Chicken Parmesan
Garlic Lover's Shrimp
Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
Make Your Own Pizza
Skillet BBQ Chicken
Roast
Chef Salad
Balsamic Turkey w/ Red Peppers

Sunday I discovered that my toaster oven had bit the dust. We got 4 good years out of it with almost daily use. I was sad when I threw it away this morning. I told Golfer that when we replace it, I do not want one as large. It was big enough to fit a 12" round pizza inside of it, so it took up TONS of counter space. My counter looks a lot less cluttered without it now. I mainly use it for small items, anyway, and can't remember ever putting anything large into it, so a large one is completely unnecessary. I've actually even contemplated doing away with a toaster OVEN completely and going with a regular toaster. We mainly used it for waffles, bagels, english muffins, etc anyway. I'll definitely have to think on this one and look around. It's been a long time since I've even bothered to look at what's available!

With that said, it's made planning breakfasts a little more difficult. Crafty has been on this toaster streudel kick, which requires a toaster. So, our breakfast choices this week, for before school, are:
Oatmeal
Eggs
Cereal

Although, I may go ahead and try out these Frozen Blueberry Muffins. Crafty LOVES blueberry muffins (ok, so do I lol) and I have several bags I froze last summer that need to be used before they get freezer burn. It looks like the recipe makes 2 dozen. If that truly is the case, I'll leave out a dozen for eating on this week at breakfast and freeze the other dozen for when The Duke gets here. Actually, that sounds like a good project tonight after the girls go to bed!

As far as lunch choices go? Meh, I'm at a loss. I'm currently searching on the internet to find some ideas. I'm soooo sick of mac and cheese, spaghetti, grilled cheese, and peanut butter & jelly. When I find something and come up with a plan, I'll edit this post.

Spring

2011-02-25T09:44:00.000-08:00

Today has me dreaming of spring. It's a wet, dreary, yucky, muddy, chilly day at my house. If nothing else, I'm ready to fling open my windows and let some fresh air in. This spring will be different from any other, simply because of The Duke's arrival. We will also be bringing spring in with ample time spent out of doors since Crafty is playing t-ball. I'm ready to be able to sit outside with Sassy and let her run around outside. Especially now that I have a playset for her to climb on. She could use the energy expender!

Ok, so maybe part of me is also ready for spring BECAUSE it means The Duke will be here. That's not so bad, is it?

Just a tease

2011-02-19T06:46:00.001-08:00

Things have been busy at our house, although, at the same time, it hasn't seemed busy at all. The days, when we're in them, seem to drag by, but when I take the time to look back, it seems like it's flown if that makes sense. Although we haven't been busy going places, we have made ourselves busy at home.

We've been coloring.....

And sledding....

Growing....(30 weeks, 3 days)

Playing on new toys....

And swiping Mommy's drink.....(she was so funny--she couldn't decide which was more important...taking as many sips as possible or saying "mmm" after every sip hehe)

Yesterday and the day before, we had a tease of spring weather. Yesterday it actually hit the 70s, but today it's back in the 40s. Yuck! It certainly made me ready for warm spring weather. I took Sassy outside to run around while I gathered trash that had been scattered in the yard by the wind about a week ago. Until yesterday, the weather was either too cold to be outside, or I would've had to walk through snow to get to it all.

We have about 9 weeks to go until we meet The Duke. I am anxious. I am done. I am ready, even though we don't have much for him yet. He has some clothes but we still need some basics, like long sleeve white onesies for layering. The end of April/beginning of May can still be a bit cool here, so constant short sleeves will be out of the question. We have decided not to build a master bedroom in the basement. For the first 4 months or so, he will room with us, then we will move him into the room with Sassy until we can save up enough money to add on to the house. Adding walls in the basement would really close it off and make it feel slightly claustrophobic. The littles sharing a room won't be that big of a deal until they are 4/5 or so, we don't think. Then, Sassy is our light sleeper, so that could be interesting in and of itself--especially if she keeps up her early morning rooster ways. This past week, the earliest she woke was 5:45, the latest was 6:45.

Crafty thoroughly enjoyed the snow but I think she is ready for spring. Yesterday's warm weather had her talking about the pool and warm weather activities. Poor thing. She misses playing outside with her friends all the time. Life inside the house with a little sister (who can be aggressive at times) and pregnant Mommy (who by noon is done and laying in bed with an achy, contracting belly) just isn't any fun!

Last Friday, Crafty's school had a family night so that parents could take their kids to the book fair. Instead of sending money with Crafty, we took her on family night instead and boy did she get spoiled by her daddy. As we were walking in, I told her to try and pick just 2 or 3 books. She ended up walking out of there with no less than 5, but definitely more than! When all was said and done, Golfer and Crafty had spent $75 at the book fair. Luckily several of the books are easy readers--which will be helpful. I'm so glad she loves to read!

Goodness the wind howled all night last night and is still just a goin' this morning. Wonder how long that's supposed to last?

Crafty and Sight Words

2011-02-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, I put 12 of Crafty's sight words on her easel chalkboard and gave her directions for her to show me that she knew the word. "Put an "x" on the word "have"." "Put a line through the word "am"." She got all the words right, including a few I wasn't sure if she knew (like the word jump). She loved it and wanted to play again. I told her perhaps we'd play something similar while I tried to make dinner tonight.

During the parent/teacher conference last semester, her teacher gave me a sheet with the sight words (or vocabulary words?) for 1st-4th grade. We went through those today. She knows most of the 1st grade ones, more than half of the 2nd grade ones, a handful of the 3rd grade ones, only one or two of the 4th grade ones. I highlighted the words she knew so we would know which ones she needs to work on.

It drives me absolutely bonkers that she's only in school for two hours and 45 minutes a day. I really wish I was a little more organized and motivated to create a pseudo curriculum to work with her in the afternoons after school, before her friends come home. I've searched around online and can't really find much of anything to go on without having to buy something. Knowing me though, I'd get it all planned and that would be it. I would never implement it, especially with The Duke coming.

I loathe that part of myself but I'm not sure how to go about changing it. It's not merely a case of "mind over matter". I've tried. Hence the reason why all the schedules and routines I've ever made have never gone through. Apparently I'm better at planning than implementing. Ugh.

My Favorite Pictures from 2010

2011-01-18T08:49:00.000-08:00

I saw this on someone else's blog and really enjoyed the post, so I thought I'd do the same here. It amazes me the difference between the beginning of the year and the end. WOW!
January- I knew Sassy wouldn't fit in some of her warm weather clothing, so we had a fashion show.

February- Crafty and Golfer during "Snowmaggedon"

March- Sassy and my Daddy playing during a trip to Texas.

April- I love the look of pure joy on her face in this picture. I had just shown her what her Easter bunny present did.

May- Took Crafty out for birthday pictures since we were doing her birthday early.

June- During my parents visit, we went to Hershey. Sassy got tired, so my mom carried her around. I love those little arms wrapped around her Grammy's neck.

July- Me and my big girl.

August- We don't get many pictures of just me and my mom, so of course this is in my favorites!

September- She had just figured out how to climb into the rocking chair, and we frequently found her just like this....when she wasn't standing up in it!

October- Sassy and her Momo.

November- Yes, it's my header, but this is just so, THEM.

December- Not the best picture ever, but this is the first time Crafty has let my brother, Uncle J, play with her without her insisting on beating him up or rough house with him.

It was hard to narrow it down to 12!

25 weeks, nearly 26

2011-01-17T09:12:00.001-08:00

Here's the belly at 25 weeks. I had several people at church stare at it in disbelief when I told them I wasn't due until around Easter. Silly people. I CAN get bigger, and it WILL. Ooooooh it will.

My Brain is All A-Jumble

2011-01-13T13:00:00.001-08:00

This (entire) blog could also be titled "Amy Never Knows Where to Start".

It seems every few months....ok, ok, WEEKS, I log on and blog about how this new schedule and routine I have come up with is going to work wonders for my family. Aaaaaand it never does. I'm not a routine/scheduled person. It does not come natural to me. Yet, I for some reason find it necessary to reinvent the wheel for some reason. What is it they say about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result? :rolleyes: Well, guess what? Yes, I'm redundant. Ridiculous. I have spent most of my day with pen in hand, laptop on my lap and notebook by my side writing, reworking, researching, and hammering out....you guessed it! A new schedule and routine. Just be prepared to say "I told you so" in a week or two. LOL.

As far as our "schedule" goes, it's actually one that I stuck to for a while when Crafty was about Sassy's age, maybe a little older. I find that we are relying too heavily on the television for both my girls. This is unacceptable in my book. Both have holy meltdown fits if we turn the TV off.....well, here's your sign, right? Right. So, Sassy will get two 30 minute video/tv/movie times a day (only because Crafty is in school in the mornings--on Saturdays she will get two sessions, as well) and Crafty will get one in the afternoon. I have made sure to include in the schedule structured playtime (where Mommy initiates the activity--more later), free play (roughly 2 hours of it, broken up into sessions), and reading time for both girls (or page turning in Sassy's case lol--she doesn't like to read the words of books, just look at the pictures for now). Interspersed amongst the playtimes are times for me to clean, which is where my routines come in. Something must be done. I have about 2 weeks worth of laundry piled up about the house, waiting to be done....but then the dishes are piling up, too, vacuuming is only when I notice the fur :blush:...well, you get the picture. I've never pretended I was the model housewife.

As far as structured playtime, part of getting rid of all day TV time will require me to play with the kiddos. Much easier to say with Crafty than with Sassy. As most moms know, an 18 month old's attention span is not a very lengthy thing...even worse so when they've been conditioned to spend the day watching TV (I know, I know, TRUST me, I've been beating myself up over this one for some time now). The first (and only, really) thing Crafty requested, after I asked her what she wanted on the routine was that she get "her time". This means playtime with Mommy without Sissy. Once The Duke comes, it'll be a little more difficult but I think she would even be happy with 10 minutes stolen here and there. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it but needless to say, I'm sure she'll come up with something for us to do. With Sassy it's a little more difficult. Here's what I've come up with so far:

stacking blocks (and knocking them down)
roll balls
hide and seek with Momo (we did this in the hotel during our trip and she thought it was hilarious)
roll cars (yes, my girl likes cars...you have a problem with that)
sing songs (a list to get me going: Wheels on the Bus, Little Teapot, Ring Around the Rosie)
Play doh (though this could be interesting)
putting stickers on paper (fine motor skill development)
dance to music
color

That's all I've got thus far, but it's a start. Structured playtime adds up to an hour all together, unless you count her reading time then it's an hour and 15 minutes.

I have outside playtime on my schedule, but during the winter, let's be honest. This probably won't happen much. This is probably a time that having an indoor slide would come in handy. I'm in the process of saving up for one now. Hopefully I'll be able to afford it BEFORE spring comes. LOL.

Anyway, but here's the schedule. While it has times, I'm not sticking big time to those. As long as we're "around" that time, even several minutes before or after, it's not that big of a deal. They're more like guidelines.
6:30-Mom up, begin morning routine
7-Crafty up & ready for school
7:45- Sassy up, dressed, breakfast
8- Bree free time, Mom clean/complete morning routine
8:30- Structured playtime
9- Reading time
9:15- Snack
9:30- Video time, Mom Weekly Plan
10- Free play
10:20- Pick up Crafty
10:45- Free play, finish weekly plan
11:15- Lunch
11:45- Naptime for Sassy, Afternoon routine for Mommy and Crafty
2- Outside playtime (or indoor large motor play)
2:45- Snack
3- Structured playtime
3:30-Free time
4:30- Video time, begin Evening routine
5-Free play
5:15- Start dinner
6- Dinner
6:30- Family time
7- Bath time/before bed routine
7:30- Sassy bed time/Crafty completes before bed routine
8- Crafty bed time
8:05- Complete evening routine
8:30 (or so)- Begin my before bed routine
10:30- Bedtime for me

I had planned on following FlyLady's zone plan but, really, it's just not feasible. Each room in my house needs to be tended to at least once a week. Period. It just can't be helped. I think the only thing I'll end up adopting from FlyLady is the "shiny" sink before going to bed (I say "shiny because mine isn't stainless steel lol) and visiting "hot spots" during my afternoon routine.

My weekly plan is as follows:
Monday- Kitchen/Dining Room/Entry/Front Porch
Tuesday- Grocery & Errands, vacuum
Wednesday- All 3 bedrooms
Thursday- Basement
Friday- Bathrooms
Saturday- Floors (Vacuum and mop), Linen laundry

For every routine that I have, so does Crafty. I am hoping this will help her remember the things she must do after getting up in the morning, after lunch, and before bed at night. It should be interesting getting these routines going. I know that it will probably take several weeks before we have the full routines in place. Hopefully we'll last that long! Hahaha.

This post has now taken me several days to compose, which is a little silly. I'm unsure what it is I've not covered yet. I'm pretty sure everything?

When Did That Happen?

2011-01-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

When I first started blogging, I basically was using it as a journal. I also didn't start out on Blogger, but on Xanga, instead. Actually, if I'm completely honest, my very, VERY first blog was over on LiveJournal. That was back in 2002. It was a short lived one, though...short enough that I actually have all the pages of that one printed out and stored in a folder in the basement (in a Rubbermaid, of course). That one is long gone. I'm sure they deleted it from their servers, because I certainly can't find it anymore.

Anyway, my point. I didn't start my blog as a way of getting readers, garnering comments, or making friends. While those are all wonderful things (validation can be a good thing, my friends), it's not why I started blogging. It's how it's ended, though. I got so wrapped up in trying get more readers, write interesting posts so I would get comments, and post often enough so that my followers would keep coming back, I got bogged down. I lost my steam. It became too much work. It was intended to be a place for me to document the happenings of my family, to help me remember.

In the end, the comments I receive, while nice, are not important to my family. The contents of the posts will be, though. Back in September of 2008, a message board friend passed away. She kept a blog and I am quite confident her children will cherish being able to read their mothers thoughts and memories as they get older (the message board collected money to have her blog printed in book form and sent to her family). That is what I want. Something that I can print and give my children when they get older, memories of their childhood, my thoughts about them, as well as pieces of myself that I'm sure will find their way in.

Does this mean I will be blogging more consistently? Probably not. I mean, let's be realistic. If history repeats itself, as soon as The Duke gets here, I'll probably be pretty scarce around here. My blog still hasn't fully recovered from Sassy's birth, after all. I'm OK with that....I think. The truth of the matter is, though, I have a horrible memory. Unless something was written down, I have a hard time remembering things from Crafty's toddler hood. I'm sure the same will apply to all of my children's childhood years down the road. It has been nice to be able to go back and read what we were up to when we were just a family of three. The same, I'm sure, will apply to us as a family of four, and again once we are a family of five. So, my new year's goal (not a resolution-sounds too official)? When I do blog, that I will blog with memories and family in mind instead of aiming to gain more comments or followers. My family's worth it. Besides, who doesn't like hearing stories of "back when"? I was reminded of this when my grandmother presented me a book over the holidays, of information and stories about my family, including her childhood, her courtship with my grandfather, etc. Many of these things I didn't know (she and my grandfather were engaged after TWO dates--when ya know, ya know, right) and it was wonderful to have them documented.

So....that's my goal. NOT a resolution....but a goal. No time lines, post count requirements, or pressure for comments. Just pure, unadulterated memories.

Sassy-isms

2011-01-06T06:28:00.000-08:00

It seemed while we were in Texas, Sassy had a bit of a language explosion. Some of them really had us laughing, but it was nice to hear something other than "mama" (used for milk, Momo, and Mickey) come from that little mouth. She now says "up", "dair go" (there you go), and "wan' go byebye". She also says "wan' dooooown". I swear it reminds me of the Plucky Duck cartoon where he's flushing the toilet repeatedly:

She holds "down" the way he holds "hole". It's too, too funny.

Mommy's Free Tuesdays

2011-01-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

So starting today, my mother in law will not be working on Tuesdays. She has offered to take my girls on this day so that I can have some time to myself. Last night, Sassy spent the night with her so I could have some one on one time with Crafty. We made a cake in her new Easy Bake Oven. It was surprisingly good, but I'm sure the home recipes I've found will taste better! LOL.

Today, MIL picked Crafty up at school, so after dropping her off at 7:30 this morning, I was on my own. I dropped Koda off at the groomer, finally returned some (very, very overdue--for shame) library books, went to Pier 1 (bought a knife, can opener and Valentine's Day garland with a gift card), Kohls (got 3 pairs of pants, a Halloween shirt and Halloween costume for Duke for $11.96-score-and a frame that I get for all my kiddos with--you guessed it--a gift card), Sonic, then to pick Koda up. We stopped by the store afterward so Golfer could see how handsome he looked all cleaned and bathed, then I brought him home and went grocery shopping.

Golfer has decided he wants to try out a low carb diet like my cousin, who has lost a considerable amount of weight. Unfortunately for me, I had already gotten my menu and grocery list completed when he told me this, so it was back to square one last night. I got it done, but all I have to say is he better stick to it, because it certainly makes menu planning more difficult than it already is!

Tonight we're eating at my in law's house. While we were gone to Texas, my brother in law proposed to his girlfriend. We have not told Crafty, who adores J--the fiance--as we wanted to leave the telling to them. So tonight she's going to their house and they're going to tell Crafty then we'll have dinner. I'm sure Crafty is going to be absolutely ecstatic.

Today I found myself wishing for a small group Bible study in the evenings. To be honest, I'm not sure why because I'm never very good to committing to them for the entire period. The two I have tried to attend I quit after about 3 weeks, which is sad. I am unsure if it is because, after nearly 7 years, I still do not feel the church we attend--Golfer's childhood church--is my church home. I have tried in a couple of ways to get involved but have failed to connect with anyone in the church thus far. I dunno how much of that is because of me and how much of it is not. All I know is I'm longing for fellowship and friendship within my church family, or even just in my area, but considering the fact I have yet to accomplish this...well....I'm beginning to think it's me.

Just catching up

2010-12-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

So this post will probably be more for me than anyone else. It's been over 3 months since I last posted, so even though I still have subscribers, well, they almost certainly do not check my feed anymore. LOL. I'm ok with that, though. I have been finding it very useful having my posts from when Crafty was Sassy's age. I do lots of referencing of the posts that were typed out at the same ages.

First, I suppose I should mentioned that baby #5 is another BOY! His big sister chose his first name, Golfer gave him his middle name and, well, I am insistent that he have my Pawpaw's middle name, as well. So the poor kid has three names, plus his last name. The way I see it, though, nobody has to know he has those three names unless he tells them. I went to high school with a kid who hated his middle name so much he didn't even let them use it at graduation. Still, to this day, am completely clueless as to what his middle name is....so, it's not that big of a deal I don't think. Anyway, Crafty was very happy to be getting a brother. She informed us the day before the ultrasound that if it was a boy, it would be "Happy Crafty and happy Daddy." but if it was a girl, it would be "Sad Crafty and sad Daddy." (and that she would also lock herself in her bedroom for the rest of her life if she got another sister). Sassy, of course, could care less. She's completely oblivious, but of course, she's only 17 months old. At the ultrasound, I was having a lot of Braxton Hicks, so they had a difficult time seeing where the placenta ended. There's a possibility it's close to the cervix, but they're not sure. I go back for another ultrasound at 28 weeks so they'll look at it again then. (I'll be 20 weeks tomorrow.) Anyway, all is going well, though. Now I just need to come up with a nickname for him to use on the blog! For now, I guess, he'll just be "L" until I know his personality.

Sassy. Oooooh Sassy. She keeps me on my toes. Right now she loves to take the bells off the Christmas tree. So glad I thought to put all the breakable ones up high where she can't reach them! Just waiting for her to discover the presents that already wrapped and under the tree. That should be an experience. She looooooves cheese. Yesterday, she was following me around the kitchen saying over and over again "Mmmmm, chzzzz". She wanted me to get her a slice of cheese. LOL. When she wants food, or another bite, she just says over and over again "mmmmm". I say she's getting her food motor going. Of course, if you're taking longer than she thinks you should be, the "mmmm"s get more insistent and deeper. The main things we can get her to eat, though, are cheese and bread. If either of those are at the table, she refuses anything else. She also is our little fish. She would stay in the bathtub all day if we would let her! She loves to be in the water. Her favorite thing, though, is still her big sister. Well, as long as Crafty doesn't get in her face. Don't worry, though, she definitely makes it known when she wants her to back off....with a nice shove. Ha. Something tells me the dynamic between her and her younger brother will be interesting, as well!

Crafty is doing so well at school. Before Thanksgiving, we had her parent/teacher conference and her teacher told me that she has already accomplished all the district wants kindergartners to accomplish before the end of the year. She gave me a list of first grader sight words to work on with her and said that she's working on a list of things she (the teacher) wants the more advanced students to accomplish before first grade. It's good to know that she is thinking of ways to keep those students engaged in the classroom. She lives for the times she gets to go outside and play with her friends, though her time right now is very limited due to the time change. When she can't play outside, she usually is coloring. There are some mornings I go in her room to wake her up for school and she's already up and coloring in her coloring books! She'll be so excited when she sees the easel my mom and dad got her for Christmas! Yesterday, I was in the kitchen and Hope asked me what it was she would get in her stocking if she was bad this year. I told her coal, but that when I was little, I used to say you would get lightbulbs and cornbread because I thought those were the two worst things to get as gifts. She was quiet for a moment then said "....but I like cornbread....and lightbulbs are useful. " Ha.

Anyway, so that's our update for now! I'll try not to make the next one go for three months. Too much happens to remember it all and I know I'm missing a lot...definitely need to keep my updates more frequent.

Chasing Away Bad Dreams

2010-08-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

Last night, Crafty came into the room around 3 in the morning, saying she had a bad dream, then mumbled something about a wolf. She doesn't have bad dreams often, but about once every few months, we have an issue like this that keeps her awake.

I've mentioned before that Crafty and I have very active imaginations. One night when she came to the room complaining she was scared, I told her to think of happy things to chase the scary stuff away. This has become somewhat of a ritual for us now, when she's scared of something or has had a bad dream.

First, I lead her back to her own bed. She kicks when sleeping, is a cover hog, and our queen size bed just isn't big enough for three of us. Anyway, I tuck her back in and hold her hands, then tell her to close her eyes. Then in a soothing voice (well, as soothing as I can summon at 3 in the morning lol), I tell her to close her eyes slowly, and begin. Each time, I know I say different things, but the effect is always the same:

"Think about...butterflies, flowers, kites flying in the air. Think about....sand castles, ocean waves. Think about....Grammy, Big Daddy, and Uncle J. Think about Tex. Think about....the park, slides, swings, playing with friends. Think about...crayons, singing, building with Legos. Think about....chocolate, ice cream, birthday cake. Think about....princesses, roller coasters, parades. Think about....blue, the zoo, and Scratchy."

So on, and so forth until I can't possibly think of anymore happy things. Most of the time, she's not gone back to sleep, but she is considerably calmed down and has a bit of a smile on her face.

What's your trick for calming your child's fears and bad dreams?

So many choices!!!!

2010-08-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

(From CEOWORLD.BIZ)

Tonight we are going to Logan's Roadhouse for Crafty's birthday. It was her choice. She actually choice Texas Roadhouse at first, but our table will have 12 people at it and if you have anymore than 4 people at our local Texas Roadhouse, they seat you at different tables...which is DUMB but whatever. Anyway, she decided Logan's was an acceptable alternative.

She's looking forward to "throwing peanuts on the floor". Golfer is looking forward to the rolls (ok, ok, so am I). I'm just giddy thinking about the different food choices! LOL. Which is surprising considering here lately, food has not been my choice of thoughts here lately. I want shrimp...no, filet....no, no, their baked potato soup....mozzarella sticks....a super yummy loaded baked potato....rice pilaf.....grilled zucchini....so many choices! My brain is going to explode! Hehe. How on earth will I decide?!

I'm just crossing my fingers at this point that I can actually eat once we get there!

Happy 6th Birthday Crafty!!!

2010-08-26T00:31:00.000-07:00

It is your 6th birthday, my sweet girl. From the instant you and that cute squishy face came into our lives, you have been a joy.

You have always been my little cuddlebug, from day one. First loving to curl up on a chest, then going on to just loving to hold a hand or sit thisclose to others.

You always have the funniest facial expressions. You started these early on and have added probably hundreds of facial expressions over the years.

You are always on the look out for something beautiful or cool. You are certainly my girly girl from your love of princesses, to clothes (even with your particular choices), to jewelry.

You have the most uncanny ability to focus on absolutely anything that catches your attention. It never ceases to amaze me how you can sit for puzzles, books, Legos, or crafts with such a focus that sometimes you don't even hear us when we call you!

Your love of dolls and babies certainly started early. You still love to push a baby doll around in the toy shopping cart we have and have also progressed into carrying your own live baby doll, your sister, around the basement. You are such a caring big sister!

I love to watch you learn about the world and experience new things. Your appetite for life is wonderful to see.

I will never tire of taking pictures of you, sweet girl. I love seeing how much you have grown year to year. You are still, and always will be, one of my most favorite subjects to photograph. Thank you for being such a willing model so many times!

I love your creativity. You are constantly drawing, coloring, cutting paper, and gluing. It's always fun to see what you will come up with next. Your imagination is not always limited to paper, though. You always have such fun stories to tell about imaginary creatures (like Hagwe, your imaginary alligator friend who has been with us for over 3 years now) and events (like your pine cone festival in the yard).

Sometimes your ideas of fashion and "beautiful" are a little over the top and zany, but they always bring a good laugh.

Your energy and spunk sometimes has me begging for mercy (and a nap), but I love that you are so eager to experience everything you can, make new friends along the way, and your love and sweet spirit for others. I love hearing your caring heart come out when you pray and hope that you will always find joy in praying for others.

I love how fearless you can be at times. Even when something makes you nervous, you still are usually willing to try. Sure there are times when it gets the best of you, but, like your first ride on the Comet, you are willing to try again!

Sometimes I am just blown away at how beautiful you are. I have loved watching you grow from a baby to this beautiful girl that you are today. I cannot wait to see all that God has in store for you!

Happy 6th birthday, Crafty! I love you.
Mom

Project 365: Week 8

2010-08-25T08:02:00.001-07:00

Admittedly, about 3 of these pictures are not from the actual days they belong, but the next day because I forgot to take pictures! Ack! Anyway, they're pretty hard to spot, though, so we'll just leave it at that. Haha.

Day 48, Tuesday, August 17, 2010: Alex likes our new mattress.

Day 49, Wednesday, August 18, 2010: Now Sassy has pink eye. Great! I like for her sister to share, but this is a bit too far. LOL.

Day 50, Thursday, August 19, 2010: My deals for the week. The pb&j I got for $5 (.63 per jar), 6 sticks of deodorant for Golfer for $4.50 (.75 each), and 4 boxes of Lance crackers for $4.

Day 51, Friday, August 20, 2010: This is how much of my day was spent. Sassy has now developed a snotty nose along with the pink eye and is just miserable, poor baby.

Day 52, Saturday, August 21, 2010: Again, how my day was spent. Sassy now has pink eye, a snotty nose, and a cough, accompanied by a mild fever. Koda, the dog, spent much of a day by my feet while Sassy and I watched TV (something she NEVER does, so I know she wasn't feeling well) and I perused the next week's sales paper.

Day 53, Sunday, August 22, 2010: Today, Crafty read most of Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss on her own! She has not shown any indication she wanted to learn to read until now and has refused to try and learn any sight words, so it was very shocking to me when she suddenly sat next to me and proceeded to read several pages before needing my help!

Day 54, Monday, August 23, 2010: Today was a cool day for most of the day and I had the windows opened. Sassy enjoyed standing at her window looking out. You can't see him, but her ever present friend, Monkey (sometimes Momo), is on the windowsill, looking out with her.

Day 55, Tuesday, August 24, 2010: Today we went to Crafty's school, she got to meet some of her classmates, see her classroom, and meet her substitute teacher. Her actual teacher just had a baby and will not be at school for the first two weeks. I had hoped she would at least be at the orientation so we could meet her, but I understand why she was not!

On Making God Laugh

2010-08-22T15:04:00.001-07:00

Have you ever made God laugh? I'm not talking a little snicker. I'm talking a huge guffaw that probably makes tears come out of his eyes and the whole earth shakes as he tries to contain himself.

I did that very recently. You see, when I was in Texas, my cousin's husband asked me (in the middle of a family gathering, no less) when the next baby was coming. I very loudly and enthusiastically announced that "this baby factory is closed" and that I didn't want any more children. I meant it, too. Oh, how God must have laughed.

Little did I know that I was already pregnant again. Yep. Sassy and this little one will be 22 months apart, give or take. 22 months apart. Ay yi yi. When I first took the test, I cried. Ok, so sobbed is the more appropriate word. I also told my husband I hated him....but he knew I didn't meant it. Hehe. For about 25 minutes I was just...panicked. When we were dating, we always said we wanted three children, but as the years have gone on, we've counted Glory Baby (who was stillborn at 33 weeks) as our third child.

It's been over a week and I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to tell. I needed people to know!!! Like, yesterday. Hehe. I've never been very good at keeping huge secrets like this, at least if they're mine to keep and not someone else's. Give me someone else's and I'll take it to my grave.

So I'm guessing I'm around 6 weeks now. April is about when I'm due, though I'm not going to guess around what date, as it's just an estimate. Crafty was born on her due date only because I was young, naive, and let them induce me the day before. I was induced with Sassy an entire week after her estimated due date. I'm sure Crafty would've been the same if I would've just had them let me go.

For now, we're just praying for a "sticky" baby. We covet the prayers of others during the rocky first trimester. Thank you for letting me share my excitement!

7 Weeks of Menus: Week 6

2010-08-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

For previous week's menus, as well as breakfast and lunch, please visit the 7 Weeks of Menus page.

Dessert: Strawberry Trifle
1 package frozen strawberries in light syrup, thawed
4 cups torn angel food cake
1.5 cups Cool Whip, thawed
Slightly mash strawberries in syrup.
Place 2 cups cake pieces in bottom of a glass bowl.
Top with half of strawberries. Spread 1 cup Cool Whip over strawberries in bowl.
Layer with remaining cake pieces, strawberries and Cool Whip.

Cheese and Sausage Calzones (Beyond Mac and Cheese, p. 205)
Steaks with Rub (basically any store bought rub will do, then grill--I also use my griddle for times I need to cook indoors.)
Jewish Baked Beans (Beyond Mac & Cheese p.209)
Chicken Tortilla Soup
3 cups fat free chicken broth
4 oz. chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup -1 cup Rotel tomatoes, undrained (to taste)
1/2 cup canned corn
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp. fajita seasoning mix
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
6 Tostitos, crushed
Optional toppings: cilantro, sour cream, cheddar cheese, rice, avocado
In a medium pot sprayed with cooking spray, cook onions, garlic, seasoning, and spices over medium heat until onions soften, 3-5 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Add the corn and Rotel and cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken and lime juice. Stir for 2-3 minutes to thoroughly blend flavors. Once ready to serve, top each with chips and your choice of toppings.

Chicken Pot Pie
1/2 pack refrigerated pie dough
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
cooking spray
Preheat oven to 450*. Unroll dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and roll into a 12 inch circle. Invert 4 serving dishes over dough, and trace along rim of dishes with a knife, cutting 4 circles out of dough. Discard any scraps. Cut 4 small slits in each pastry round; set aside. Combine chicken and next 5 ingredients in a large microwave safe bowl; microwave at high 2 minutes or until warm, stirring after 1 minute. Divide mixture amongst the bowls and cover with a pastry round, pressing dough firmly against the dish sides. Lightly coat tops of dough with cooking spray. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
***This night's menu is reserved for new recipes to try out***
Spring Veggie Carbonara
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
12 ounces asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
8 ounces uncooked cavatappi (corkscrew) pasta
1/2 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped, seeded red bell pepper
Cook peas and asparagus for 3 minutes or until asparagus is crisp tender. Drain. Plunge into ice cold water; drain. Cook pasta according to package, omitting salt. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Combine pasta and veggies. Combine cheese, salt, pepper, and eggs in a separate bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Gradually add hot cooking liquid to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon, reserve 1 tbsp drippings in pan. Add bacon to pasta. Cook bell pepper in drippings for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pasta mixture, cook 1 minute. Remove pan from heat, and stir in egg mixture. Return pan to low heat; cook for 2 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly, stirring constantly.

Grocery List

frozen strawberries in light syrup
angel food cake
Cool Whip
frozen peas (2)
asparagus
cavatappi pasta
salt
pepper
eggs
bacon
red bell pepper
linguine
extra virgin olive oil
Pecorino romano cheese
ricotta (15 oz)
mozzarella
parmesan
oregano
onion (3)
green bell pepper
garlic
Italian sausage
frozen bread dough (5 loaves)
butter
spaghetti sauce
ground sausage
Northern beans
butter beans
kidney beans
Kraft Honey BBQ sauce
mustard
brown sugar
chicken broth
chicken (2)
diced tomatoes
can corn
Rotel
lime juice
Fajita seasoning
cumin
chili powder
Tostitos
cilantro
sour cream
cheddar cheese
steaks
rosemary
sage
refrigerated pie dough
frozen mix veggies
cream of chicken soup
milk
Pam

7 Weeks of Menus: Week 5

2010-08-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

For previous week's menus, as well as breakfast and lunch, please visit the 7 Weeks of Menus page.

Dessert: Banana Pudding
2 cups milk
1 package fat free sugar free vanilla instant pudding mix
1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup block 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1 container frozen calorie whipped topping, thawed and divided
56 reduced fat vanilla wafers
4 cups sliced banana

Combine milk and pudding in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk 2 minutes.
In another bowl, combined condensed milk and cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until smooth.
Fold 1 cup whipped topping into cream cheese mixture.
Combine the pudding mixture and cream cheese mixture until blended.
Place half of vanilla wafers in the bottom of a rectangular baking dish, then place half of banana slices over wafers.
Spread half of pudding mixture over banana. Repeat until you are out of pudding mixture. Top remaining with whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate.

Shrimp w/ noodles
Aunt Fannie's dinner/cornbread
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup sifted flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
(Half recipe and add 1/4 cup sugar for sweeter cornbread)
Mix, beat until smooth. Bake 20-25 minutes at 425* in a greased oblong pan or iron skillet.

Turkey Patties (Beyond Mac & Cheese, p. 182)
Broccoli and Cheese Soup
1/4 cup butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 package frozen chopped broccoli
1 1/2 cans chicken broth
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic cloves
1 cup cheddar
1/2 loaf Velveeta (1 lb loaf), cubed
1 cup milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
In a stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Add bouillon cubes. Cook onion in butter until softened. Stir in broccoli and cover with chicken broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat, and stir in cheese cubes until melted. Mix in milk, garlic powder and pepper. In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into water until dissolved. Stir in soup; cook, stirring frequently, until thick. Add cheddar.

Skillet BBQ Chicken (this is the best stuff EVER)
4 chicken breasts
2 tsp olive oil
cooking spray
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup bottled BBQ sauce (I just use whatever is on sale to be honest)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese or pepper jack cheese
2 tbsp bacon
3 tbsp chopped green onions
Heat oil in a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat.
Sprinkle chicken evenly with pepper.
Add chicken to pan; cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until chicken is slightly browned and done. Brush 1 tbsp. BBQ sauce over each chicken breasts; top with tbsp cheese and 1.5 tsp bacon. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Sprinkle with green onions.

Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad
Whatever you can find, or eat out

Grocery List:

shrimp
butter
noodles
Old Bay
elbow macaroni
ground beef (2)
onion (2)
garlic powder
salt
pepper
tomato sauce
diced tomatoes
can corn
cornmeal
flour
baking powder
eggs
milk
oil
frozen broccoli
chicken broth
chicken bouillon
garlic
Velveeta
cheddar
cornstarch
spaghetti
spaghetti sauce
garlic bread
ground turkey
bread crumbs
egg
garlic salt
soy sauce
sugar
vinegar
white pepper
celery
green bell pepper (2)
red bell pepper
tomatoes
rice
chicken (2)
BBQ sauce
pepper jack cheese
bacon
green onions
fat free pudding, vanilla
condensed milk
cream cheese
Cool Whip Free
vanilla wafers
bananas (4)

7 Weeks of Menus: Week 4

2010-08-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

For previous week's menus, as well as breakfast and lunch, please visit the 7 Weeks of Menus page.

Onto the menus!

Dessert: Brownies (Hint: The boxed kind are easy to stockpile for very cheap!)
Fried Fish
1 lb. fish fillets, 1/2"-1" thick
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
dash pepper
Cooking oil for frying
(I always add Tony Chachere's or TexJoy for added taste.)
Rinse fish, pat dry. Cut into serving pieces. Combine egg and 2 tbsp. water in a shallow dish, then cornmeal salt, pepper, additional seasoning in another shallow dish.
Dip fish first in the egg mixture, then in the cornmeal mixture.
In a large skillet, heat 1/4" oil. Add half the fish in a single layer, frying until golden on one side.
Turn carefully and fry until second side is golden and fish flakes easily with a fork.
Drain on paper towels; keep warm in a 300* oven while frying remaining fish.

Beef Fajitas
1 lb. flank steak, trimmed
1/2 cup bottled chili sauce
1 tbsp Creole seasoning
Onion strips
Red bell pepper strips
Fat free flour tortillas

Cut steak diagonally into 1/4" thick slices.
Spray skillet and add steak, chili sauce & Creole seasoning. Cook 4 minutes or until meat is done.
Remove and set aside.
Add onion, red bell pepper and cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring often.
Heat tortillas according to package directions.
Serve wrapped in tortillas.

Beef Brisket with BBQ Sauce
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp beef bouillon granules
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2.5 lb fresh beef brisket
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter

In a bowl, combine water, Worcestershire, vinegar, beef bouillon granules, dry mustard, chili powder, red pepper & garlic. Reserve 1/2 cup liquid for sauce; place in fridge.
Trim meat.
Cut brisket to fit if needed (3 1/2- 4 quart crockery cooker).
Pour remaining liquid over brisket.
Cover and cook for 10-12 (on low) or 5-6 (on high).
In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup reserved liquid, ketchup, brown sugar, and butter.
Heat and pass sauce with meat.

If using 5-6 quart cooker: Double the liquid ingredients, reserving 1/2 cup for sauce. Leave the remaining ingredients the same.

Baked Potato Soup
4 baking potatoes
2/3 cup all purpose flour
6 cups reduced fat milk
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded & divided
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided
6 bacon slices, cooked & crumbled

Bake potatoes at 400*at 1 hour or until tender. Cool, peel potatoes; coarsely mash. (I usually cheat and use my microwave.)
In a Dutch oven, add flour, then milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
Add potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt and pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.
Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated but DO NOT BOIL. Ladle into bowls, sprinkling with cheese, onions, and bacon.

Ranch Chicken
3/4 cup crushed Cornflakes (I usually keep a box in my freezer since those boxes are so big.)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 envelope Original Ranch Dressing Mix
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Spray margarine

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine cornflakes, parmesan and dry dressing mix in a plastic baggie.
Spray chicken with margarine and shake chicken in the plastic bag until coated. Place in a greased pan. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

Baked Cavatelli
7 oz. wagon wheel macaroni
12 oz uncooked Italian sausage
3/4 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar pasta sauce
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/4 tsp pepper
Cook pasta, drain, set aside.
In a large skillet cook the sausage, onion and garlic until sausage is brown; remove from skillet. Drain.
In a large bowl stir together pasta sauce, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and the pepper. Add the cooked pasta and the sausage mixture. Stir gently to combine. Place mixture in a casserole dish.
Bake, covered at 375* for 25-30 minutes.
Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted.

Chicken Noodle Soup
4-5 pound stewing chicken, cut up
6 cups water
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
1.5 cups dry noodles
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 tbsp parsley

In a large pot, combine first 6 ingredients. Bring to boiling and reduce heat.
Simmer, covered for 2 hours or until chicken is tender.
Remove chicken from broth. When cool, remove meat and discard bones.
Cut meat into bite sized pieces; set aside. Discard bay leaf. Skim fat from broth.
Bring broth to boiling. Stir in noodles, carrots and celery. Simmer, covered until noodles are tender but still firm.
Stir in chicken and parsley; heat through.

Grocery List:

frozen fish
egg
cornmeal
salt
pepper
oil
Worcestershire sauce
vinegar
beef bouillon granules
dry mustard
chili powder
ground red pepper
garlic
beef brisket
ketchup
brown sugar
butter
wagon wheel pasta
Italian sausage
onion (3)
spaghetti sauce
mozzarella
stewing chicken (4-5 lbs)
bay leaf
egg noodles
carrots (2)
celery (2)
parsley
flank steak (1 lb)
Pam
chili sauce
Creole seasoning
red bell pepper (2)
tortillas
cornflakes
parmesan cheese
Ranch dressing mix
chicken
spray margarine
baking potatoes (4)
flour
milk
cheddar cheese
sour cream
green onions
bacon
brownie mix

How My Husband's Dreams Were Dashed

2010-08-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

It started off innocently enough. Months ago, my husband and Amigo 1 started putting together a golf benefit for the local SPCA. Amigo 1 and his wife are huge animal lovers and discovered this chapter was hurting for donations. Considering the boys' equal love for golf, it's pretty natural this be their avenue for a benefit. The Links in Gettysburg is a gorgeous course. This I can admit. It was pretty much assumed that the wives would be volunteering. Ok, sure, fine.

So the day started with me at the range. Watching guys hit ball after ball. Unfortunately the "Million Dollar Shoot Out" was not as big a hit as the guys thought it would be and I only had less then 10 golfers purchase balls for the chance to shoot for a million dollars.

Then it was time to head out to the hole I was manning for the day. Hole 12. As I said before, it's a beautiful course, and I certainly wasn't hurting for a bad view. I even got to witness a wedding under those white tents in the top right of the picture. Too bad my vision is awful for that distance. LOL. Anyway, there were 80 golfers at the benefit, 20 teams of 4. I was manning one of the holes for Par 3 Poker. At every par 3 hole, golfers who purchased a poker sheet picked a card, and recorded it on their sheet. At the end of the benefit, the golfer with the best hand won.

Most of my time was spent staring at golf butts, though. The poker part only took seconds and then I was mostly left alone. There were two holes with just one person at them. My hole was one of them. I hadn't brought a book, thinking I would have someone to talk to....and my phone died 20 minutes into it. I was there for 4 hours. Golfers tend to keep to themselves. My hole was particularly interesting, though, because the hole was beyond a body of water. Lots of balls were lost. The most interesting was one guy who hit his ball to hole 11 (to the right in the picture) instead of to hole 12 (which is to the left). He wasn't paying attention to where his buddies said the hole was and hit it towards the first flag he spotted. I couldn't help it, I had to laugh. Not out loud....that would be rude, but I'm sure my golf cart was shaking from me silently laughing. The picture above is my husband and Amigo 2 when they came around to my hole.

Mainly, my view looked like this though. There was only one place to park the cart, so my view was very limited. While golfers are amusing to watch at times, at least amateurs are, it does get old after a while, especially with no further diversion. Watching them rock from foot to foot, take four or five practice swings, and every once in a while, a few would wag their butt before teeing off. I had told my husband back in March that I was open to taking a golf lesson or two. Now, I am seriously second guessing that agreement. Golf is the most boring game on the planet. Sorry golfers. My poor husband. I think he had dreams of us golfing together every once in a while. I don't think he's going to get his wish, though. Golfing is not for me.

Project 365: Week 7

2010-08-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

Day 41, Tuesday, August 10, 2010: While in Texas, I made mention to my grandmother that I was going to start scouring flea markets for hobnail milk glass items. She surprised me with a set of her own salt and pepper shakers. These were the first things I unpacked and now proudly sit on my kitchen table so I can see them everyday.

Day 42, Wednesday, August 11, 2010: Today, Crafty made a fort while her sister was taking a nap. She suddenly has this obsession with forts and is constantly dragging her comforter from upstairs to the playroom to make one!

Day 43, Thursday, August 12, 2010: Today I taught Crafty how to peel carrots. She wanted to help me cook dinner. She LOVED it and asks every night now if I have carrots for her to peel.

Day 44, Friday, August 13, 2010: Today we had a phone line installed for the first time in probably 2 years.

Day 45, Saturday, August 14, 2010: I spent my day sitting in a golf cart, at hole 12, shuffling cards and fanning them out for golfers as part of Par 3 Poker during the SPCA golf benefit my husband and his best friend put together. At least it was a pretty view.

Day 46, Sunday, August 15, 2010: We had our new mattress delivered today! We were about 4 years overdue for a new one and I was excited!

Day 47, Monday, August 16, 2010: Ok, so the mattress was definitely firmer than we remembered, so I went out and got a foam pad for it--it helped, but the darn thing will not decompress!

Just Call Me Madam Freeze

2010-08-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

Crafty loves blueberries. She would eat gobs of them daily if I would let her. It never fails, though, that she she wants them the most when they're $4 for a little bitty container of them that lasts two snacks. Last week, I stocked up on a whim when I saw blueberries at $1.48 for a pint of them, which was even cheaper than the farmer's market price. I bought three containers, planning to freeze two of them. Now, with that said, I've NEVER frozen blueberries before. Not even thinking of searching the internet first, I jumped right in. Since then, I've found there are several that suggest NOT washing blueberries before freezing them. I did, but I know better for next time. ;-)

Anyway, so I washed them, then laid wax paper on a cookie sheet. I was afraid they would stick to the cookie sheet once frozen and figured the wax paper would prevent this. I then put another wax paper sheet on top of the blueberries to protect them from I don't know what but it seemed like a good idea at the time! LOL.

I placed them on my initial freeze shelf in my freezer. This is where I always place my not-yet-frozen items. I'm pretty sure it's the coldest part of my freezer. It's also the only completely empty shelf in there. Anyway, I left them to freeze over night. Four days later (hehe, ok so I forgot about them), I took them out to place in bags.

Since Crafty is the only one to eat blueberries, it doesn't make sense to put them all in the same bag. Now, I cannot take credit for this next idea, but I can't find where I found the idea on the 'net, so I can't give credit where credit is due. I do not have a Food Saver (it's on my Christmas list hehe), and I used to have one of those Ziploc HandiVac things, but it broke after about 3-4 uses, so I didn't bother buying another. I usually just squeeze as much air out as I can manually and hope for the best. This time, I inserted a straw into the bag, manually squeezed out air and zipped the bag closed to the straw. Then I sucked the air out with my mouth. Once I had gotten all the air out that I could, I kept sucking as I pulled the straw out and pressed closed the rest of the zipper.

Voila! More air out than I could possibly have squeezed out myself!! Now, I most definitely would not do this with raw meat, but until I can get a Food Saver, it'll work for fruits and veggies! If you've never tried freezing frequently eaten produce, I encourage you to give it a try. It was easier than I thought!

Do you freeze produce or meats for future use? What is your most stocked up item? Any secrets or tips for us newbies?

7 Weeks of Menus: Week 3

2010-08-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

For previous week's menus, as well as breakfast and lunch, please visit the 7 Weeks of Menus
page.
Dessert: Caramel Swirl Cream Puffs (Hungry Girl 123 p. 224)
Savory Rice and Sausage

1 lb. Italian sausage (sweet or hot), cut into bite pieces & casings removed
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup rice
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp rosemary
parmesan cheese and chopped parsley to garnish

Brown the sausage pieces, onion and garlic. Stir in the rice and toss with the sausage and vegetables. Add the broth and rosemary and cover. Cook on very low heat, covered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the rice you use (do not use Minute rice). Just before serving, sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and brown under the broiler. Add the chopped parsley and serve.

Soft tacos/cheese dip
Mexi-Tato (Hungry Girl p. 86)
Italian sausage, bean and vegetable soup

1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed, cut into bite pieces
1 large red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes with their juice
bunch spinach, washed, base stems removed and chopped (original recipe called for escarole)
2 cans beef broth
2 cans white beans
1 tbs oregano
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Saute the sausage, onion and garlic in olive oil. When the onion and garlic are soft, add the rest of the ingredients, except the cheese. Cover and simmer over very low heat for 30 minutes. Garnish with cheese and serve.

Lemon Pepper Chicken

chicken breasts
2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Sprinkle both sides of chicken with seasoning. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Coat chicken with cooking spray, add to skillet. Cook 6-7 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. Add broth and vinegar to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping pan to loosen browned bits. drizzle sauce over chicken.

Stuffed Shells

1/2 package jumbo pasta shells
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
1 cup Ricotta
6 oz. mzzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
2 tbs parsley
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
2 tbs basil
Pepper to taste

Cook shells two and a half minutes less than package directions. Place in cold water to stop cooking. Drain. Mix together cottage cheese, mozzarella, Ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, eggs, garlic pwder, basil and pepper. Rub the dried herbs in the palms of your hands and stir into the cheese mixture. Stuff mixture into shells using a Ziploc bag with a hole cut in one corner. Spread 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the pan. Place shells side up, and close together in a pan. Spread remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with parmesan and mozzarella. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes covered, then 20 minutes uncovered, or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Rockin' & Choppin' Taco Salad (Hungry Girl p. 30)

Grocery List:

Romaine lettuce
veggie chili
tomatoes
cheddar cheese
sour cream
black olives
tortilla chips
taco seasoning
Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheet
Cool Whip Free
vanilla instant pudding mix
Jello sugar free chocolate pudding snack
caramel
baking potatoes (3)
non-dairy liquid creamer
black beans
scallions
salt
pepper
tortillas
Velveeta
Rotel
jumbo pasta shells
cottage cheese
ricotta
mozzarella
parmesan
eggs
garlic powder
oregano
parsley
spaghetti sauce
basil
pepper
Italian sausage (2)
onion
garlic
rice
chicken broth
rosemary
red onion
olive oil
crushed tomatoes
spinach
beef broth
white beans
chicken
lemon pepper seasoning
balsamic vinegar

7 Weeks of Menus: Week 2

2010-08-13T00:30:00.000-07:00

For previous week's menus, as well as breakfast and lunch, please visit the 7 Weeks of Menus page.

Dessert: Philly Chocolate Cheesecake Nuggets (Hungry Girl, p. 170)
Marinated Baked Pork Chops, rice

1 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. ketchup
2 pork chops, trimmed

Preheat oven to 350*. In a small bowl, thoroughly blend first 6 ingredients. Place pork chops in a medium baking dish, and spread with 1/2 the sauce. Bake pork chops 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Turn, and spread with remaining sauce. Continue baking 30 minutes or until internal temp has reach 160*.

Sauce for the rice:
2 tbsp +2 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp +2 tsp ketchup
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp oil
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Worcestershire
1 tbsp +1 tsp soy sauce

Combine and heat slightly. Serve over rice.

Beef and Noodles (adapted from a Better Homes and Gardens recipe)

1 lb. stew beef
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cans beef broth
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz noodles
2 tbsp fresh parsley

Coat meat with flour. In a large saucepan brown half of the coated meat in the hot oil (do not cook through). Remove from the saucepan. Brown the remaining meat with the onion and garlic, adding more oil if necessary. Drain off fat. Return all meat to the saucepan.
Stir in 2 cans of the broth, basil and pepper. Bring to the boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender.
Stir noodles and one can of broth into the pan. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes or until noodles are tender. To serve, sprinkle with parsley.

Bean and Rice Burritos (instead of black beans, I usually use refried beans, to be honest)

Smoky Ham & Corn Chowder

1 1/2 cups milk
1 can cream style corn
1 cup cubed, cooked ham
1 can diced potatoes, drained
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup shredded, smoked cheddar (I usually use plain, as I cannot find smoked)

Stir milk into cream corn in a large saucepan. Add ham, potatoes and corn. Heat through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted.

Fajitas in a Foil Pack (Hungry Girl 123 p. 162)
Creamy Chicken on Linguine (Note: To make the chicken really stand out, I lightly season it with cajun seasoning (Tony Chacere's or TexJoy) and lemon pepper seasoning)
Barbe Cups (Beyond Macaroni and Cheese p. 207)

Grocery List

Cool Whip Free
fat free cream cheese
diet hot cocoa mix
sugar free chocolate syrup
Splenda
pork chops (2)
ketchup
brown sugar
soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
lemon juice
stew beef
egg noodles
flour
oil
onion
garlic
basil
black pepper
parsley, fresh
beef broth
tortillas
refried beans
rice
cooked ham
milk
cream style corn
can diced potatoes
can corn
cheddar cheese
chicken (2)
pasta
lime juice
cornstarch
garlic powder
onion powder
chili powder
salt
cumin
green bell pepper
small zucchini
olive oil
butter
linguine
chicken bouillon
heavy cream
parmesan cheese
basil
Cajun seasoning
Lemon pepper seasoning
ground beef
BBQ sauce
biscuits
cheddar cheese

7 Weeks of Menus: Week 1

2010-08-12T00:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we visited my breakfast and lunch menus. Today, we are on to week one. Each week includes one dessert that I usually do on a night we don't have much going on. I typically do not include side dishes with my menus. In the growing season, I use what was at the farmer's market. In the winter, I will use whatever frozen vegetable I picked up (with a coupon, of course).

Dessert: Apple pie
Turkey meatballs in BBQ sauce, pasta & salad

Stuffed Peppers (my mom's recipe)

3 large bell peppers
1 lb. of ground meat
2 tbs. chopped onion
1 tsp. salt (or a little less)
1/8 tsp. garlic salt
1 C cooked rice
1 small can no salt tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 350*. Cut thin slices from stem end of each pepper. Remove all seeds and membranes. Cook peppers in boiling water 10 minutes and drain. In a medium skillet, cook and stir ground beef and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in salt, garlic salt, rice, and tomato sauce. Heat thoroughly. Lightly stuff each pepper and stand upright in ungreased baking dish. Put extra rice mixture around peppers. Cover and bake for 45 minutes.

Homemade Pizza
Shrimp Gumbo (my Memaw's recipe)

1/2 cup oil
1 cup flour

Mix in 4 cup Pyrex bowl.
Microwave on high 6 minutes. Stir and cook at one minute intervals.
Stir between intervals until color desired (hint: you want it brown, but pay careful attention because it DOES burn easily).

1 cup onion, chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Put roux in pot, add veggies and 4 cups of water. Allow to boil, if too thick, add water. (I was surprised at how much water it took, so keep adding it!) Add seasoning-salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp Tony Chachere. Add cleaned, shelled shrimp. Cook until shrimp are pink. Add green onion tops and serve over rice. (I also like to add crushed saltines to my bowl.)

Slow Cookin' BBQ Chicken (Hungry Girl 123 p. 174)
Baked Mac and Cheese (Better Homes & Gardens)

Brown Sugar Ham

1 package presliced ham
brown sugar
1/4 cup water

Separate the ham slices and place them in a baking dish. Cover in brown sugar, remembering to put some in between the slices, too. Pour in water, cover in foil and bake according to package directions.

Grocery List

apple pie
turkey meatballs
pasta
ketchup
romaine
spinach
carrots
parmesan
green bell peppers (4)
ground beef
onion
garlic salt
rice
tomato sauce, no salt (2)
pizza crust (we use the powdered you make yourself)
pizza cheese
pizza sauce
shrimp
oil
celery
flour
chicken
ham
brown sugar
cider vinegar
elbow macaroni
butter
black pepper
milk
Cheddar cheese
American cheese

Thankful Thursday: Weeks 5 & 6

2010-08-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

Since I was in Texas last week, I decided to combine last weeks and this weeks.

28. I am thankful Crafty has such a great imagination and is so creative.

29. I am thankful Sassy is such a good sleeper.

30. I am thankful for a husband who is willing to sacrifice financially so I can visit my family.

31. I am thankful Sassy willingly went to my family.

32. I am thankful I figured out why Sassy was so cranky--two molars coming in!

33. I am thankful for uneventful flights with the girls.

34. I am thankful for generous parents.

35. I am thankful it is actually not possible to fry when it so hot outside. Heat stroke, maybe....but actually frying would not be fun.

36. I am thankful for air conditioning. Wonderful, glorious air conditioning.

37. I am thankful I figured out how to fix my hair. I'm less boy-ish looking.

38. I am thankful for Crafty's love of reading.

39. I am thankful my cousin and her family made it safely to their new town.

40. I am thankful my toe isn't hurting anymore.

41. I am thankful Crafty willingly repeated her memory verse this morning. A first! "Do everything without complaining or arguing." Philippians 2:14

7 Weeks of Menus

2010-08-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

Last month, I mentioned that I had created 7 weeks worth of menus. Each week had chicken, beef, vegetarian (in a loose sense of the word), pasta, soup, and "other" (things like pork) menus. I also created breakfast and lunch menus for every day. While I did list my menus, it was listed amidst a whole slew of other things and I definitely think it warrants a entire posting....or lots of them, actually. I know menu creating is often a thorn in the side of many moms. As is making a grocery list. We spend week after week re-inventing the wheel. Most of the time, bored eating the same things over and over again simply because we can't come up with anything new. While I did want more than 7 weeks worth of menus, I didn't have enough recipes to create anymore. I am currently in the process of replacing one menu a week with a new recipe so that I can add another 2-3 weeks worth of menus. So far, I have worked my way through weeks one through six. Knowing that week one is coming around again soon, I am not worried that we had it just weeks ago. It's been a long enough time that I am actually looking forward to having these meals again. No more groaning because we're having that yet again. For this post, here are my breakfast and lunch menus, which we have every week. We were already pretty much having peanut butter and jelly every single day. At least with this, we're having something different every day, despite having the same thing every week.

Breakfast (Fruit choices vary based on what's in season/on sale)
Monday: Scrambled eggs, fruit, toast
Tuesday: French toast, fruit, bacon
Wednesday: Omelets, toast, fruit
Thursday: Cereal, toast, fruit
Friday: Cinnamon toast, fruit, bacon
Saturday: Waffles with peanut butter or syrup, fruit
Sunday: Blueberry muffins or pancakes, fruit

Lunch (Fruit choices same as breakfast)
Monday: Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit
Tuesday: Leftovers (garbage goes out tonight, we do leftovers so we don't have to throw much away)
Wednesday: Homemade mac and cheese, fruit
Thursday: Pasta with Mrs. Dash
Friday: Quesadillas
Saturday: Chili Cheese Dog Nachos (adapted from a Hungry Girl recipe)

1 can turkey chili
4 franks, sliced
crushed tortilla chips to cover the bottom of a ramekin
1 slice of cheese per ramekin

Preheat broiler
Add chili and franks to a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray, until heated.
While heating, crush chips into the bottom of each ramekin.
Top chips with chili mixture, then the slice of cheese on top of the chili.
Place under broiler for 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Sunday (dinner): Sandwiches/whatever you can find (leftovers)

Grocery list for both:

eggs
fruit
bread
bacon
diced ham
cereal
frozen waffles
peanut butter
syrup
blueberry muffins
pancake mix
deli ham
cheese singles
macaroni or other pasta
tortellini
Mrs. Dash
tortillas
Mexican cheese mix
turkey chili
fat free franks
tortilla chips

Project 365: Week 6

2010-08-11T00:45:00.000-07:00

Day 35, August 4, 2010: Sassy and her Uncle J (my "little" brother).

Day 36, August 5, 2010: Crafty and Sassy with one of my best friend's little girl. Her Mama and I have been friends for 12 years (wow....hard to believe it's been that long). She and Sassy are 5 months apart. I wish we lived closer so they could grow up together!

Day 37, August 6, 2010: The girls and Grammy taking in the Shamu show. You can see Sassy's finger pointing. She would point towards the tanks every once in a while, though she didn't "ooooo" with her point like her sister did at 10 months old the first time she went.

Day 38, August 7, 2010: My city cowgirl in her Big Daddy's mowing hat.

Day 39, August 8, 2010: Trying to get a picture of my niece and my girls proved to be quite impossible. The older two were game. Sassy, however, was not.

Day 39, August 9, 2010: Our plane heading out of Houston (see the skyline in the background). Sad, sad day. Crafty cried the entire way through security, begging me for 2 more weeks. "Just 2 more weeks, Mom. I just want 2 more weeks with Grammy and Big Daddy." In the words of Uncle Jesse: Have. Mer.Cy.

Wordful Wednesday

2010-08-11T00:30:00.000-07:00

That very beautiful woman on my left? That's my Mama. We frequently hear how much we look alike. The real trick is seeing us with HER mom. Talk about strong genes. All I gotta say is if I look half as good as my Mom and Memaw at their respective ages, I'll be pretty darn happy.

Project 365: Week 5

2010-08-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

Day 28, July 28, 2010: Crafty spent the week at VBS. She had a great time.

Day 29, July 29, 2010: My first time with Sassy on my back. She was cranky, cranky. This didn't last very long, as she decided she was happier on the floor, but I got some practice in.

Day 30, July 30, 2010: Both girls watching the ground get closer as we landed in Houston.

Day 31, July 31, 2010: My Mom and Sassy watching Crafty from the swing. Luckily Sassy didn't care who was holding her-which is a blessing since we don't see my family enough!

Day 32, August 1, 2010: Crafty and Grammy watching Pete's Dragon. It's the only way my Mom could get her usual Sunday afternoon nap. Crafty wasn't too keen on the idea.

Day 33, August 2, 2010: We went shopping with Grammy and promised Crafty she could do the trampoline jumper thing. Last time she did it, she was nervous to do a flip. This time she did a DOUBLE flip.

Day 34, August 3, 2010: Sassy and my cousin's little girl. They are 8 months apart. I wish we could have gotten a picture of all the cousin's kids (unfortunately some live out of state or too far away that they didn't visit while we were there). There are 5 of 7 cousins married, with children, and all 5 of us had a baby in a year's time......all of them were girls. First baby was born in June, October, December, April (or May--can't remember which), and closing it out with Sassy in June.

10 Things I Believe In....

2010-08-02T00:15:00.000-07:00

Some of them are silly, but some of them, I feel deep down in my soul.

1. I believe in the healing power of chocolate. It stops tears, PMS-y fits of rage, and hunger. It is very rare that I find a predicament that cannot be cured/softened/demolished with chocolate. Even at the age of 1, Sassy agrees.

2. I believe in freedom for my girls. I know this is an odd way to put it, but I definitely don't believe that children NEED to be supervised at all times. Does that mean I'll put Sassy out in the yard and leave her there alone? No, but once she is old enough and has shown me she can be trusted with the yard boundary rules, I will. I didn't let Crafty play outside, alone, until just before she turned 5. Crafty plays much better when I'm not around. When I'm around, she insists on me coming up with things for her to do, hangs on me, and complains of being bored. If she plays outside with her friends, she is much more content to make her own fun. Yes, I still check on her from time to time, and sometimes I'm gripped with this ridiculous fear that someone is going to just snatch her right out of my yard. I am learning to let go and let God. It's not an easy lesson for a Mama to learn.

3. I believe in spontaneous fun. Planning every move my girls and I make causes life to become monotonous. Sometimes, it's freeing to throw the chores out the window for an afternoon of window shopping with friends, having ice cream BEFORE lunch, or an unplanned trip to the park. Not every excursion needs a reason or even an excuse.

4. I believe in deciding my own price for my groceries. The other day, Golfer and I were discussing my intentions to buy shave gel for the both of us (6 cans each), and a slew of Wet Ones canisters. He was a little miffed that I was buying items before they were needed, when he had 2 or 3 cans of shave gel for himself already. I had never put it to him this way before, but it made sense to him once I did. Why would I pay the price the grocery store told me I was going to pay? I would much rather decide what I want to pay, then wait patiently to pay it, stocking up when that price comes around. This means more money in my family's pocket for fun things....like ice cream cones before lunch.

5. I believe in scheduling my children less. Growing up, I tried many different activities--softball, ballet, gymnastics, piano, and ended up not liking any of them. Most of my time was spent outside playing with my friend Angie, reading, or doing things with my church. Life was busy enough without my shuttling my brother and me to a million different activities. I am glad that my parents didn't push me to be involved in this, that and the other. I know some of my classmates were not so lucky, and were stretched pretty thin with all of their activities. As the years have gone on, I think this problem has gotten worse for children, and parents alike. That is one of the reasons I cut back as drastically as I did with playgroup. We didn't need to constantly be going, going, going. My husband has problems with just "being". It drives him insane to have a day with nothing planned, and is constantly filled with the need to find something to do, usually outside of the house. I want my girls to learn the value of just being. Of being still, of reflecting silently, of observing what is around them, of listening to that still, small voice of God. This will not be possible if I fill their days with activities.

6. I believe in the power of an imagination. On the way home from VBS the other day, Crafty and I had a conversation about the power of our imaginations. We talked about how it is fun to pretend that fairies are real and that we have some living in our yard. I talked about how Mommy likes to read so much because when I read, I can see what the author wants me to see, even though their are no pictures in my book. I use my imagination to take the authors words and see them play in my head as though I were watching TV...only much, much better. I believe that a child's imagination needs to be encouraged and nurtured. While I don't want my girls to live in a dream world, where nothing bad happens and life is just peachy (we all know it isn't, and I'd be doing a disservice to them if I taught them that), I do want their imaginations to grow. Golfer is very cut and dry and while he can see things in his head, like the addition he's wanting to build to our home, he willingly admits to having no imagination. I want my girls to create a "Land of Really Not Not" (an imaginary world a friend of mine and I created in 5th or 6th grade, complete with drawings of the land, creatures, and castles) but to also be able to imagine all the things that God wants them to do in their life.

7. I believe I really can't do anything I put my mind to....and I'm ok with that. This topic recently came up on the MODsquad blog, about not leading our daughters to believe they can do or be anything they want to be (it's a good read and you should certainly check it out--I love the quote they have included in the post). While having big dreams in and of itself is not a bad thing, I do think we also need to teach them to be aware of their gifts and to focus on growing those. Not everyone is good at everything. They're just not. God didn't make us to be good at everything. Sure, I could want to be a nurse or a doctor, but the fact of the matter is, I faint at the sight of blood. That is most definitely something I can't do. I'm ok with that. I could want to be the type of mom that this friend or that lady at church, or even that woman whose blog I read, but even putting my mind to it, I can't be those women. I am who I am, with all my flaws and failures (and successes and high points, too). I'm ok with that.

8. I believe there is never such thing as too many books. I love to read. I have been considered the bookworm of my family for as long as I could remember. The other day, Golfer teased me because in one evening, I finished one book and promptly started another. You can never read too many books. I'll take books over the TV any day!

9. I believe it's ok to indulge. It's ok to have that ice cream sundae, slice of cake, or chocolate bar. It's ok to order a glass of wine or that yummy, greasy appetizer. I just don't believe in indulging too frequently. That makes indulging not as fun or meaningful when it does come around. I'm sure my waistline thanks me.

10. I believe in family. I can remember going to Memaw and Pawpaw's house every Friday evening, at least until high school, and then it was less frequent, I'm sorry to say. We would just sit and talk. A lot of the time, I would just lay on the floor, waiting anxiously for the time to leave, but now I am thankful for that time I had with my grandparents, of just being in their presence. Pawpaw is gone now, and while I don't have any specific memories of our Friday evening visits, I do have plenty of other memories revolving around my family. From climbing the ladder of the barn and exploring its contents with my cousins, to picking blackberries, and trips to go camping or to Disney World. Memories of sleeping in the big bed with my mom when my dad would go out of town (and grudgingly taking turns doing so with my brother), of that one special day in the summer when Memaw and her friend Billy would take Billy's granddaughter and me out for a special day--a day where we dressed like and had to act like ladies. Even though I'm a two day drive or a four hour plane trip from my family, they are still very important to me. Everything they stand for and everything they are. I only hope that I can pass on that importance to my girls.

So, those are just 10 of the things I believe in. What do you believe in? I'd love to hear about it.

Ode to My Digital Food Scale

2010-07-30T00:15:00.000-07:00

Digital food scale, oh how I love thee.

You make weighing food so easy and carefree.

You helped me lose weight, you help me save money.

I love you so much, it's just not even funny.

Digital food scale, I'd be lost without you.

The mere thought of it makes me oh, so blue.

Digital food scale, don't ever leave me.

How I lived without you is hard to conceive.

Digital food scale, you make me so happy.

Alright! I promise, I'll stop being sappy.

Digital food scale, just one more thing to say.

I'll continue to use you every single day.

Ok, clearly, I jest. Seriously, though, I don't know what I'd do without my food scale. When I was in the midst of my weight loss journey, it helped me learn what a 3 oz piece of meat looked like. It was a lot more than what I thought!

Now that I'm past that part of my life, I use my food scale frequently to help me divide bulk meat up into meal bags. This past Thursday, the local grocery store had sweet Italian sausage on sale, in a long rope. I have 3 or 4 recipes I use that require sweet Italian sausage, but each only uses about a pound and I had over 6.5 pounds of sausage. Using my food scale, I was able to divide the sausage into freezer bags, each weighing about a pound. In the end, I figured my total savings was a little over $5. Not much in the grand scheme of things, but every little bit helps, in the end.

Last year I never would have thought of doing something like that. My freezer is officially well on its way to being fully stocked, on the cheap. I have chicken thighs & legs (both bone in), chicken breasts (originally bone in, but deboned and skin removed by me), diced ham and now Italian sausage.

It's feels wonderful to know that I'm saving money on the things we use most.

What about you? How do you save money on groceries? Is there a tool you use frequently to help you in your money saving adventure?

Thankful Thursdays: Week 4

2010-07-29T01:00:00.000-07:00

21. I am thankful for the knowledge I have gained about saving money on groceries.

22. I am thankful for spontaneous outings with friends.

23. I am thankful for cheap school jeans for Crafty!

24. I am thankful for an evening to read, provided by a power outage.

25. I am thankful for Meme, who is picking Crafty up for VBS so I don't have to drive to the church twice.

26. I am thankful for a little time with Sassy, just the two of us.

27. I am thankful for comfortable shoes.

Scenes from Cape May (And Ocean City)

2010-07-29T00:15:00.000-07:00

Wordful Wednesday

2010-07-28T02:00:00.000-07:00

For the past several days, this beauty has graced us with its presence. I may not have a green thumb, but my butterfly bushes have flourished, nonetheless. I think, of all the fluttery visitors we have had, though, this one has been the prettiest.

Project 365: Week 4

2010-07-28T01:30:00.000-07:00

Day 20, July 20, 2010: Pap and the girls watch as the carriage horses are hosed down, fed, and given water.

Day 21, July 21, 2010: On our way home, we took the ferry and drove to Ocean City, where we walked the boardwalk for the afternoon.

Day 22, July 22, 2010: Today I cut up 6.5 pounds of Italian sausage for freezing. I typically pay $2.83 a pound and the local Giant had it on sale for $1.99, so I stocked up. I divided it all up into bags, with a pound in each bag, except for the last, which had half a pound in it.

Day 23, July 23, 2010: Sassy loves to read and today she pulled down several books and just flipped through the pages. She doesn't usually want to sit on your lap to actually read. Just likes turning the pages and looking at the pictures.

Day 24, July 24, 2010: I am having issues getting back into the groove of things. The dishes are slowly piling up and mocking me. I'm just overwhelmed and can't get it all done!

Day 25, July 25, 2010: I dunno what I was thinking. One of these days, I'll learn not to cut my hair on a whim. I look like a boy.

Day 26, July 26, 2010: Today I finished the book my mom brought up when she came in June. It was a very good book, but word of warning--the ending is a cliffhanger!

Day 27, July 27, 2010: Today we had to run an errand for Golfer. On our way from there to pick up Crafty from VBS, I stopped at a local park so that Sassy could swing.

Cape May - Wednesday

2010-07-28T00:15:00.000-07:00

This morning, we packed up everything and headed to the ferry, where we hit a bit of a snag. Golfer's truck wouldn't start...and the ferry had just pulled in. Luckily, they had a neat little contraption that can jump start a car without connecting it to the other car. I know the name of it, but that is currently escaping me right now. Thankfully, we didn't have problems with it the rest of the day.

The ferry ride was approximately 90 minutes long, so we were busy keeping the girls entertained. Pap walked Sassy around the ferry. I tell ya one thing, though. It's hard enough to learn how to walk without the floor moving beneath you! Crafty had fun looking for dolphins and was thankfully rewarded for her efforts about midway through the trip.

Eventually I took over for Pap and started walking Sassy around the ferry myself. She eventually tired of that, though, and we ended up getting the stroller out of the truck.

I ended up walking around the ferry more than 12 times, trying desperately to get her to go to sleep--which she eventually did....just before the ferry docked. Wouldn't it figure? She didn't sleep again until we had left Ocean City and were headed home. Even then, she only slept for less than half an hour.

Once in Ocean City, we ate at the Dough Roller and then walk along the boardwalk. I think we were all pretty tired by that point, though, as we didn't really get into it much. Golfer can never pass up a crane machine, so he tried a couple of times for a very large stuffed toy for Crafty (he was unsuccessful, which is rare for him).

Before we left, we stopped and let Crafty ride a couple of rides. There are plenty of rides to choose from in this little area and the tickets are cheap at just fifty cents a piece. Even Sassy got the chance to ride the carousel with Crafty and I. She loves carousels, more so for the music than the ride itself.

Although Ocean City is where Golfer and I got engaged, over the years it has definitely deteriorated and is more suited towards college kids than families. Lots of music unsuitable for children's ears blaring out of the shops, lots of tattooed, cursing people, and also lots of people standing around smoking. I definitely prefer Cape May to Ocean City!

In all, we had a wonderful vacation and everyone enjoyed themselves. It was great to be able to have Golfer with us during the day and I know that Crafty, at least, will have fond memories of our visit.

Scenes from Cape May

2010-07-27T00:15:00.000-07:00

Cape May - Tuesday

2010-07-26T00:15:00.000-07:00

Tuesday dawned with yet another planned changed. We had discussed going to the zoo in the area, but after much discussion, Crafty decided that, too, could wait until the next time we go to Cape May. Drew and Jenna were leaving that afternoon, so she couldn't do BOTH with Jenna. Swimming in the pool was deemed more desireable than going to the zoo. It took us a while, but we eventually made it. Crafty was nervous about trying to swim, and we were unable to get her to kick her legs and move her arms at the same time. She did eventually go underwater, which was a first. That's progress! Sassy had a blast in the pool, too. She especially loved it when Pap stood her up on the side of the pool and then helped her "jump" in.

Once Golfer made his way into the pool, we played a game of chicken against Drew and Jenna (at this point, we were the only ones in the pool). Crafty decided this looked like great fun and insisted on being able to play chicken against me. Wouldn't ya know it, Crafty won. Strong little stinker, she is. ;-)

After Drew and Jenna left, we got dressed and headed back over to Washington Street Mall. Crafty had gotten a glimpse at the horse carriages and was quite adamant that she wanted to go on one. Pap was only too happy to oblige. Unfortunately, Crafty lost interest after about 5 minutes (it's a 30 minute ride) and Sassy was a bit antsy, too. It was a very informative ride, though, and the adults enjoyed it despite the girls fidgetyness. Did you know that in Victorian times, the more paint colors (and the richer the colors), the higher your class status? Me neither.

Our horse's name was Ulysses. At the end of the ride, the driver asked if anyone had any questions. Crafty was dying to know what the horse ate. The driver rattled off a couple of things and then Crafty wanted to know if Ulysses ate chicken. Seems we need to have a lesson on herbivores and omnivores. Ha.

We made our way over to the Port House for dinner. Sassy was adventurous and consumed tons of sautéed calamari. How many one year olds do you know enjoy calamari? She ate heartily between the calamari, her hot dog, applesauce, fries, and bread. Goodness my little piggy.

During dinner, Crafty was very cranky, so Golfer and Pap brought the girls back to the hotel while Meme and I roamed the shops. Despite having money, I didn't buy anything. I saw several things I liked, but couldn't convince myself to buy them. Surprised? Yeah, I wasn't either.

Scenes from Cape May (And Atlantic City)

2010-07-25T00:15:00.000-07:00

Cape May - Monday

2010-07-24T00:15:00.000-07:00

This was the morning I woke up at 5:45 in the morning for no real reason. I never wake up that early, so it's not like it was out of habit! I decided to take the opportunity to wander out on my own with my camera while everyone else was still sleeping. It was so much fun getting to do that!

We were supposed to have driven over to Storybook Land, but Crafty decided she would much rather go to the beach instead of going to ride rides. She insisted we could go to Storybook Land the next time we went. Y'know....in the not to distant future, not to be confused with tomorrow.

For a while, Pap helped Sassy walk around on the shore until she was tired. She hadn't had a nap that morning before we left, so she was a bit cranky. Golfer, Drew and Jenna went out and did a little body surfing until they got tired of fighting the waves...well, until Drew and Jenna got tired of fighting the waves. Ha. I didn't joint them because I'm not a very strong swimmer--and I don't like water in my face, which was considerably impossible to avoid as Golfer quickly figured out.

Sassy eventually was taken back to the hotel by Drew and Jenna to take a nap. Not until she was changed out of her swimsuit into her little swimsuit cover and had a sippy or two while lounging underneath the little half tent thing that Meme and Pap brought.

While Sassy lounged, Drew and Jenna buried Crafty in the sand. Not so deep that she couldn't get out on her own, but she thought it was great fun and giggled the entire time they were covering her.

I took her out to the water to wash the sand off and she enjoyed jumping over the waves with my help. At one point she jumped high enough that she hit my chin with her head. We both were knocked back a couple of times by the waves, which is saying something since we weren't very deep.

Crafty would be hard pressed to pick her favorite beach activity. Wave jumping, or rolling around in the sand. It took me until Tuesday evening to get all the sand out of her hair!! She had it everywhere. Every time we'd take her out into the water to wash her off, she'd be back in the sand within minutes, rolling around and coating herself in sand once again.

After about 3 hours, we were all tired, hot, and the tide was quickly getting near our towels. We packed up and headed back to the hotel. The boys and Jenna played Phase 10 while Sassy napped and we all took turns taking showers. We eventually made our way down to a restaurant and had dinner, then the boys, Jenna and I left for Atlantic City for the evening. Despite the fact that we were in the same hotel room, we somehow managed to leave wearing the same color schemes. The boys were in black shirts and khaki shorts, the girls in green (Jenna in the green shirt pictured, I in a green dress in roughly the same shade).

The visit to the casino proved profitable to Jenna and Golfer. Not so much for Drew and myself. Luckily, considering all winnings, the group as a whole came out ahead...which is always a good thing. We still managed to make it back to Cape May before 11 pm. Which was good since I was completely exhausted from my before 6 am wake up call!

Scenes from Cape May

2010-07-23T00:15:00.000-07:00

Cape May - Sunday

2010-07-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

For once, our vacation started off without a hitch. Well...almost. We got halfway to Cape May and I realized I forgot swim diapers. And the stroller. Yeah, that last one was a bit problematic. During the drive over, Crafty rode with her Meme and Pap and Sassy rode with us. Uncle Drew & Jenna were in Jenna's car. Sassy was surprisingly pretty good during the trip over. She didn't really nap, but got pretty close a couple of times. Apparently she's not one to sleep in a car seat, no matter how tired she is!

Once there, we unloaded the cars. This proved to be quite interesting since there were no carts, we were on the third floor, and we had a LOT of stuff. Pack and play, beach items, tons of blankets to make Crafty a pallet on the floor to sleep on, clothes, well....you get the picture. Eight people make a lot of luggage.

Once we were settled, we took a walk to Washington Street Mall. Since we didn't have the stroller, Sassy got passed around from person to person. It was hot....and she gets heavy after a while. I can't speak for anyone else, but I thoroughly enjoyed the walk over and it's always fun to window shop!

Eventually we all got pretty hungry, so we ate at Jackson Mountain Cafe. They only had seats outside, but it did at least provide excellent people watching opportunities! My salad was a little eh. The steak on it was supposed to have been medium well, but most certainly was not. I don't really do very pink/red meat. I also am loathe to send meat back to be cooked more to make it closer to medium well. Anyway, despite the food, we enjoyed the company of each other.

Crafty was DYING to go to the beach, so on our walk back, we walked on the beach. Sassy LOVED the feel of the sand and the water on her bare toes. Pap walked her back and forth n the shore. Jenna and Crafty searched for shells and ended up filling a bag with them.

Eventually, Meme, Pap and Sassy made their way back down the sidewalk. Leaving me, Golfer, Drew, Jenna and Crafty to finish the walk on the beach. Golfer realized much too late that there was no wisdom in wearing tennis shoes to talk on the beach. It was a bit of a painful walk for him once we left the sand.

I had tons of fun throughout the day taking pictures of the scenery around me. If I tried to include those in this post, though, it would be a huge post! So that shall wait for another day.

Thankful Thursdays: Week 3

2010-07-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

15. I am thankful for my washing machine and dryer. I'd hate to face washing all this laundry by hand!

16. I am thankful for getting to have lunch with S, Pirate & Prissy today.

17. I am thankful Sassy did so well during the car drive to Cape May!

18. I am thankful for the opportunity to let Crafty experience the beach.

19. I am thankful for my camera and the ability to document the things that I see.

20. I am thankful to be home!!

Project 365: Week 3

2010-07-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

Day 14, July 14, 2010: Sassy has figured out that, when chasing one of us around the recliner, if she stops and waits, we'll eventually come around the other side. Much squealing and laughing follows.

Day 15, July 15, 2010: I picked up some paint chips for the kitchen. Dunno which one I'm going to go with yet, so for now, they're taped to my wall. I've taken one down so far, as I've decided it's too light. Only 5 more to go.

Day 16, July 16, 2010: The only thing in my garden I haven't killed yet are my butterfly bushes. We are constantly graced with the presence of beautiful butterflies. It's so fun to watch them from the window!

Day 17, July 17, 2010: Packing for the beach. We are SO ready to go!

Day 18, July 18, 2010: Shopping at the Washington Commons in Cape May, New Jersey during our vacation.

Day 19, July 19, 2010: Golfer and I on the beach. It's rare to get a picture of the both of us--especially without the girls!

Losing Weight...By Eating More

2010-07-19T00:15:00.000-07:00

I mentioned several weeks ago that I had lost a fair amount of weight. The left picture above is me in September of 2007. This was about 7 months after I gave birth to our son (who was stillborn), but between then and February of this year (when I began losing weight), I maintained at this postpartum weight, ranging from 128-132 pounds. I realize there are many women who would LOVE to be this size, but you must understand. I am 5'1", so this was not a particularly healthy weight for me. If you put any stock in BMI, I was less than two "points" away from being overweight. This was just way too close for my comfort once I realized it. To be perfectly honest, until I saw this picture a few weeks ago, I hadn't realized just HOW big I had gotten.

In February, in the midst of "Snowmaggedon" , I got it into my head that I was going to lose this weight. End of story. I started a contest between some friends on Facebook and thus began my journey. I started out at Spark People to help decide how much weight to lose, how many calories I should be consuming, etc. I had already decided on using the treadmill as my exercise, as well as using Slim in 6 and Yoga Booty Ballet. The latter were eventually dropped in favor of running, but I did stick with those for about 3 weeks.

The first couple of days of tracking my food intake, I was absolutely struggling to even meet my minimum of 1200 calories. It turns out I was hardly eating 700 calories a day! No wonder I had gained that weight! My body was in "starvation mode". Since I wasn't anywhere near my minimum recommended calories, my body was holding on to every calorie that it could. To top it all off, the 700 calories I WAS eating was all junk. The quickest stuff I could get my hands on in the midst of caring for my girls.

Each day I had to make a conscious decision to eat three meals a day, as well as at least two snacks. Even then I was still struggling to make my minimum. It was certainly an uphill battle! It was also a struggle to meet fat, protein, and carb requirements as well. After a few weeks, I got into the groove of things, of course, but it is something you have to make a conscious decision to do, at least for a little while. Now I know when I can indulge, when I can't, and how much I can. I've had to completely change the way I think about food, but it has been totally worth it.

In three months, I lost 22 pounds, 2.5" around my hips, and 5.75" around my waist. When I started, I was very firmly in a size 10 bottoms, and some of them were getting a bit snug at that. I'm now down to a size 2 or a 5 in juniors (though I try to stay out of the juniors section as much as possible lol). I like the way my body looks in my clothing and swimsuit shopping was certainly not as painful as it had been in previous years. Needless to say, I'm very proud of myself.

In May, I posted as many weight loss tips that I could possibly think of, so I won't post those again. I did want to encourage those of you currently trying to lose weight. It can be done. It's hard work. I'm not gonna lie, but it is SO worth it in the end. I feel empowered knowing that I lost the weight (and surpassed my goal on top of it) and have kept it off for two months thus far. If you're on your own weight loss journey, stick to it, I'm proud of you for starting it in the first place. Good luck and you can do it!

Ten Places I Have Been

2010-07-18T00:30:00.000-07:00

In honor of our travelling to Cape May today, I thought I'd post about the places I have been in my lifetime.

(From tmonews.com)

1. New Orleans

My church's youth group did a mission trip here. It's been almost 10 years, since then, I'd imagine.

(From negative-g.com)

2. Branson, Missouri

My family and I visited Branson for a family vacation. I don't remember much except for the hills (which made me sick to my stomach), and Silver Dollar City--of course, I WOULD remember the amusement park. Hehe.

(From generationswithvision.com)

3. Glorieta, New Mexico- This trip was with my childhood church. We went to a camp geared towards students entering college. A senior week of sorts. This was my first time ever seeing shooting stars. We hiked--well, not really up a mountain, it wasn't that big--but a "mountain" at night and you could see millions of stars in the sky. It was positively gorgeous and something I've never forgotten.

(From dupontregistry.com)

4.Las Vegas- In 2007, Golfer had a business trip he had to attend with the company his franchise is through. I joined him and we had a wonderful time together. We saw a Penn & Teller show, and had so much fun walking through all of the hotels. That alone was enough fun by itself--and it didn't cost anything!!

(From Members.Virtualtourist.com)

5. Niagara Falls, Canada- Golfer and I went on a delayed honeymoon. Our room had the most spectacular view of the falls. It was a very cold trip, as we went in March, but enjoyable nonetheless.

(From billboardmama.com)

6. Disney World- No list of places I've visited would be complete without mentioning Disney World. I have been 3 times. Twice with my parents and extended family, and once with Golfer & Crafty & my in-laws. My family always went in the summer, and this last time, we went in January. While it was rather chilly, I do think January was a great time to go--the lines weren't quite as long, that way!

(From usamls.net)

7. Clarksville, Virginia- Amigo 1's grandparents own a lake house here and we have gone to stay there three times now with Amigo 1 & 2, with their respective wives (though, at the time, girlfriends). Once with Crafty and once without. It's just a time to be in the water and relax, to do nothing.

(From neverwriteitdown.wordpress.com)

8. Ocean City, Maryland- This is where Golfer and I got engaged. A couple of weeks ago, I visited again, with the girls, Gig and Meme, though it was only a day trip. The first time I went, when we got engaged, we spent a little less than a week there. Lots of time on the beach, a visit to Assateague Island, and lots of time spent on the Boardwalk.

(From treesflowersbirds.wordspress.com)

9. Washington D.C.- The summer before my freshman year in high school, my mom and I joined a local school on a trip to Washington D.C. She was childhood friends with the guy leading the group, so she had an "in". At the time, I'll admit I was incredibly bored with a lot of the stuff, and I wish I had paid more interest in the things that I saw. Though, now I live a couple hours drive from there and could easily visit, it'll be a slightly different visit. Golfer and I also briefly visited after we got married, but it was just a day trip to the Smithsonian. My friend Kelli and I went again, to the Women of Faith conference, but we didn't do any sightseeing to speak of.

(From ballslist.com)

10. New York City- I have been here twice now. Once with Golfer and Amigo 1 before Golfer and I were married (it was January--and too stinking cold to be touring NYC) and then again with Golfer, Crafty, and my brother on his spring break. Again, it was way too cold to be touring NYC, as we visited in March.

What about you? What places have you been? (If you do a post about it, be sure and link back, I'd love to hear about your trips!)

Leavin' Leavin'

2010-07-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

(Picture from capemay-newjersey.com)
but I'll be back soon! The next day and a half will be filled with laundry, cleaning, and PACKING! I'm so very excited about our trip to Cape May. We leave on Sunday and will be coming back on Wednesday. Yay! During that time, I know we'll be making a visit to Storybook Land, Atlantic City (this trip will be just me, the hubby, my brother in law, and his girlfriend), and Ocean City on the way home.

This trip is going to be such a fantastic time with my family. We haven't been on a family vacation since January of 2008. Last summer it just wasn't possible due to the time of Sassy's birth. Crafty is excited about getting to play at the beach, I'm excited about getting to play with my camera a bit while I'm there. Sassy, obviously, is oblivious (hehe). Golfer is, not excited, but looking forward to our little side trip to Atlantic City.

Yesterday, I went grocery shopping and bought sandwich stuff for lunch at the beach, plus some snacks, water bottles, Diet Dr. Pepper for Golfer, and Diet Coke for me. I also got Crafty some Lunchables (she was quite excited about this "special" treat).

The last time I went to Cape May was 2001 and it was absolutely miserable. When I was younger (7? 8?), my friend Jen's dad got transferred to Pennsylvania through his company. We kept in touch with each other through letters first, then e-mails. She visited me first, then when she graduated from high school, I flew up for her graduation ceremony and party (she was homeschooled). Afterwards, we made a trip, just the two of us, to Cape May. Before leaving, Mrs. L had to take me to their doctor for was thought to be a UTI. They gave me medication for it and sent me on my way. Jen and I arrived in Cape May and had time enough to ride a ferris wheel and lay out on the beach for a few hours, then we started browsing the shopping village area. While there, I felt terribly faint and had to sit down. Turns out the medication I was on requires you to stay out of the sun. Oops. A short while later, my back started hurting and I was just in horrible, horrible pain. Jen and I decided to head back to her house. Only problem was her mom's direction told us to turn right instead of left (or left instead of right---don't quite remember which lol)....and we ended up in a particularly seedy looking part of Atlantic City. At night. We were a bit scared but gradually made our way back the way we were supposed to, stopping from time to time at every Wawa we came across. At one, we happened across a police officer and asked him how to get to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. His response, after taking in our slight sunburns was "Where are you guys coming from?" "..........Cape May." "How on earth did you end up way over here?!" Yeah, we were way off the path. LOL. Once getting back to her house, her mom decided to bring me to the hospital I was in so much pain. As it turns out, I had kidney stones!!! Not exactly a fun experience. My flight was not scheduled to leave until a few more days, so I spent the rest of my visit puking and in pain. I flew home with a puke bucket (oh so fun) and went straight to my hometown hospital (well, as straight as a two hour drive can be). I ended up having to have surgery to remove them. So, that is MY memory of Cape May. Not a very pleasant one, so I'm looking forward to visiting again....hopefully it will be not quite as eventful-in a negative way anyway.

Thankful Thursdays: Week 2

2010-07-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

8. I am thankful to have my dishwasher back. After handwashing dishes for nearly a week because I ran out of dishwasher detergent, I finally was able to buy some. Yay for not having to spend most of my day at the sink!

9. I am thankful for a night out without the kids. I had such a fun time with Golfer tonight!

10. I am thankful for fresh peaches. So juicy and yummy!

11. I am thankful for coupons and the fact that they let me buy things for cheaper.

12. I am thankful for the library and the ability to read books for free.

13. I am thankful for friends, both for the girls to play with, and for me to talk to.

14. I am thankful that Crafty loves to go to church on Thursdays.

Project 365: Week 2

2010-07-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

This week, there are only 6 pictures. Next week, I will include today through next Tuesday in my post. That way I'm not coming up with a silly picture on Wednesdays just to get my P365 post up. Hopefully this will help alleviate the rushed feeling I felt last week.

Day 8, July 8, 2010: Just a picture of Sassy and me. I don't get near enough pictures of myself with the girls, so I thought since today she wanted to be held (a lot), I'd capture that.

Day 9, July 9, 2010: We went out for Amigo 2's birthday. Dinner at a hibachi restaurant. Yum. A night with Golfer without the kids? Even better!

Day 10, July 10, 2010: Sassy's newest thing here lately is completely unloading my purse if I happen to have left it on the floor. Her absolute favorite thing to do, if at all possible, is to empty out my wallet. Today she found her birthday money and proceeded to throw it all over the floor. She'd pick up a bill, lift it as high as she could over her head, then drop it and watch it float down. There was much squealing during all of this. It is, apparently, great fun to throw money in the air.

Day 11, July 11, 2010: At church today, they had an artist paint this during worship time. It was interesting to watch it come together. Today was also the day we did Communion. We had already done the "body" portion of Communion and instead of immediately going into the "blood" portion of it, Pastor stepped back with the artist, who then dipped his hand in red paint and proceeded to sling it in a few places on the painting. I am unsure why this was such an emotionally charged action for him to do, but it broke me to watch the red appear on the painting.

Day 12, July 12, 2010: A particularly trying day. I capped it off with a glass of wine, a soak in the tub, and a bit of reading. Yes, all at the same time. You'll get over it. LOL.

Day 13, July 13, 2010: Today we went and played at a friend's house. Crafty had a great time playing and we were thankful to get out of the house. P & M's parents prefer their pictures not be posted on the internet, so I have done my best to keep the photo particularly anonymous aside from my little munchkin. Unless you know who they are, I don't think you can tell much of their features. (If I am wrong, J, just send me off a message and I'll remove the picture.)

Wordful Wednesday

2010-07-14T10:14:00.001-07:00

Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day. Crafty and I sat outside on the back porch bench after breakfast. I was reminded just how big she's gotten. We were able to sit and have an actual conversation, and she graciously gave me a little glimpse into her world, even if it was for just a few minutes. It was nice to have her snuggled up against me with the breeze blowing on us. If only they could stay little forever.

We're Just Not Fancy Enough

2010-07-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

The other day, while browsing blog posts about tablescapes, I remembered that I had bought some fine china several years back (in the pattern shown above). It had been clearanced because 2 of the tea saucers had broken at some point. It was a 20 piece service for 4. So all the dinner plates, salad plates, soup bowls and tea cups are in perfect shape. It was just the 2 saucers that had broken. That was at LEAST 4 years ago. It's all still sitting in the box and up until this morning, the box was buried underneath other boxes underneath our basement stairs. I pulled it all out and everything is still in perfect condition. I've looked online and can get replacement pieces despite its having been discontinued (for about $20). According to replacements.com, it was manufactured between 1999 and 2008. I am surprised I got it for as cheap as I did since only two pieces were broken. It was still being made then, after all.

I'm not sure I want to do that, though. After placing everything back in the box, I am unsure of when I would ever even use it. I'm questioning why exactly I ever even bought it in the first place. It was a good deal, to be sure, but it's certainly not enough to entertain guests and to supplement what this box is lacking would be quite expensive. Just a dinner plate is $23.99 at replacements.com (and most places are right around that price, as well). I enjoy pretty things, just like the next female, but nearly $100 just for 4 dinner plates is a little too fancy for me, I think.

Which begs the question--what on earth to do with all this china?! Fancy Nancy would be disappointed in me.

We Be Classy

2010-07-10T07:16:00.000-07:00

Last night, I went out without the kids.

Last night, I dolled myself up and wore makeup (yes, Mom, makeup).

Last night, I wore my gonnamakeyacrylaterbutohsohotnow heels.

Last night, I stuffed myself silly.

Don't worry, though, it was all for a good reason. It was Amigo 2's birthday. No, I didn't eat sushi (I mean, really, are you crazy or somethin')....that was Golfer's. My heels didn't exactly make me cry this morning, either. My feet actually felt alright. You get what I was saying though, right? And yes, I wore makeup for the first time in weeks. I don't usually do makeup. My husband was excited.

We had hibachi, then went back to Amigo 2's house to chat. Had little mini fire (that picture above with the 3 Amigos--yeah, I swear I thought they were going to burst out in the Home Improvely-esque grunt at any moment), played "Beer" Pong. Only, there wasn't much drinking going on to be honest. We were just enjoying the game itself...minus the drunkenness. I must say, for someone who has only ever played it once before....3 years ago....I wasn't too shabby.

The cake looked like a hamburger. I couldn't get past the look of it--and the fact that it had sesame seeds on top of it--to enjoy it as a cake, though...and that's saying a lot since I was eating in the dark and could hardly see what I was eating. The company, as always, was fantastic. S'Mores were a perfect cap to the evening. The wine was marvelous. The combo of wine and cheese curls, though...oh yeah, we be classy.

Uniting Tastes

2010-07-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

So, last night, as I stated in my post previous, I sat down and showed Golfer the pages I had dogeared in the magazine I bought. I thought he was going to throw up on the page. He gave me a loud and emphatic NO, then he turned on a movie and proceeded to shush me. Repeatedly. It actually really upset me that I wasn't given the opportunity to explain WHAT I liked in the picture.

Later, we had a bit of a heated/playful argument. You know the kind. One is ready to battle to the death (ok, yes, I'm a pms'y, what's it to ya), the other trying to diffuse the conversation with physical playfulness and cheerful bantering. All of which succeeded in annoying the crud out of me and make me want to draw blood. Hey, I never said I wasn't overdramatic at times. Golfer made it quite clear what he wanted. Brown. Glass. Black. "3-D" art (wrought iron type wall sculptures, mirrors and the like). Very modern. Neutral. B-O-R-I-N-G.

Me? I found a picture incorporating yellow with accents of red and green....without it being too Christmas-y. Our dining room is green and I'd like to do pops of yellow and red. I had known I wanted to do pops of yellow....but the thought had never occured to me to bring in the red that I have in the kitchen (little though it may be). Then in the kitchen do maybe the yellow with pops of red and green. That will require re-painting the kitchen, but we never really wanted white walls in there anyway....ok, ok, *I* never really wanted white walls in there, but it was an extra $500 to add different colors in the house. Oh, did I mention that was $500 per per paint color?
Yes, I know, ludicrous. Anyway, Golfer has reluctantly agreed but when I teasingly asked him to put it in writing, well, he definitely wasn't favorable to that. His requirements? You can't make it look like we're 80! When I pointed out that the picture I had show him didn't look like we were 80, he quipped "No, just 72!" My husband has very definite and formed opinions about his taste. They're just all....well, boring.

I tried pointing out that should anyone ever come into our home that didn't know us (but were invited) the only thing they would be able to tell about us is that we have children. He argued that yes, they would be able to tell about us. Exasperated reply from me? "Yes, BORING!!!"
He, "Exactly. It says everything about my tastes." Where am I in that picture? I dunno. Somewhere amongst the laundry, the dishes, dinner and the childcare, I suppose. He tried to be funny with the line of "Ok, fine you can decorate.....once your next paycheck comes in." That comment drew claws, despite its intention of being funny.

I am still struggling to find my place here. This is his hometown, we go to his childhood church, he is amongst his childhood friends, we are near his family. It's been 6 years and still I am just part of the woodwork. How much of it is me holding myself back and how much of it is the surroundings? How much of it is me not really know myself and how much of it is the fact I feel like I'm trying to fit me into his world instead of us trying to fit his world into ours? I think that is the primary reason I feel such a drive to get my home decorated. To put my stamp on it. To make it mine.

Hm. There's a thought. Guess I'll let it marinate a little bit.

Maybe I do know what I like...

2010-07-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

1. Not available, 2. CST806869 - Hyacinth Finials, 3. ...my shelf..., 4. Not available, 5. shell jars, 6. IMG_8409, 7. IMG_7854-1, 8. ~Vintage Cabinet Door Panel~, 9. yellow tulips

1. I love the greens! Though a subtle yellow to replace the blue walls (though the blue is nice, too...just not what I want).

2. Love these. They are very pretty.

3. Love the look of the frame w/ older flea market-ish items. Along with the vases (though I'd want them in yellow and red).

4. These caught my eye while browsing Etsy.

5. These apothecary jars, but without the nautical/sea fillings. Not too keen on the nautical theme.

6. Love, love, love the pops of red and the fact they don't take over.

7. Milk glass. Need I say more?

8. Love the design of this. Very pretty.

9. Teapot as a vase. Novel idea.

Not sure what this "style" would be considered. I consider it perfect though. ;-)

I love Thursdays

2010-07-08T11:46:00.001-07:00

Thursdays are almost as good as Saturdays in my book. You see, Saturdays I take the day "off". I know, moms rarely get a true day off, but I take the day off from housekeeping. I only do the most basic of cleaning (dishes, making beds) but I do NOT do laundry, vacuum, dust, or any other form of cleaning. Now, Thursdays are not quite as laid back. I don't do any laundry, I still do my basic stuff, but we do all of our errands. Grocery shopping, post office, every other week, the library. After we're home and the groceries are put away, though, I take it easy. Errand running with two kiddos takes a lot out a Mama. I am no exception.

Today, I bought myself two magazines. After my post about my lack of decorating sense, I decided it would be prudent to decide what exactly it is that I like before I started out willy nilly looking for items to fill my home. I don't want a cluttered look, but a put together homey feel of things that say something about our family...or things that put someone at ease, not that make them afraid they'll knock something over! I purchased Cottages and Cabins (the cover picture spoke to me, as did several pictures inside). I never thought I could consider myself "country" in regards to my decorating. Funny how things turn out, mm? I've already dog eared 6 or 7 pages to show Golfer when he gets home.

The other magazine I bought is life:beautiful. This isn't a home decor magazine, but it caught my eye, nonetheless. While there are things in there pertaining to the home, it's so much more than that. Contributors to this magazine are Max Lucado (a favorite amongst my family members back home), Dr. James Dobson, Joyce Meyer (ok, I admit, she's not typically my cuppa tea, but I can take her in small doses), Dr. Gary Smalley, and Janet Parshall. I am very excited about diving into this magazine. Besides, if all else fails, it's got gorgeous pictures for me to cut out and paste into my Homemakers Journal that I write in.

Later today, I will be back with this coming week's menu, plus my shopping list for the week. Hopefully it will help anyone interested in putting together their own 7 weeks (or 8 or 9...however many recipes you have) worth of menus. As I said before, I didn't quite have enough to make eight weeks' worth, so seven it was. Anyway, hopefully doing this will help anyone else get a running start to see how it's put together.

Thankful Thursday: Week 1

2010-07-08T01:00:00.000-07:00

In an effort to create a spirit of thankfulness, I am striving to come up with at least one thing I am thankful for everyday. Each Thursday, I will come back and post my 7 things I am thankful for. A running list will be kept on my Thankful Thursday 365 page.

1. I am thankful to be home full time with my girls again and to be able to spend evenings with my family.2. I am thankful that Crafty loves to read.3. I am thankful for family time.4. I am thankful for not having to make lunch...or dinner today!5. I am thankful for gift certificates that allow me to go see a movie at no cost to me.6. I am thankful for the pool in the middle of a heat wave.7. I am thankful for free ice cream on a hot day.

Project 365: Week 1

2010-07-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

Well, week one has come and gone and I successfully got 7 pictures. LOL. Considering the fact I only made it to day 15 when I tried this back in February...well, we'll see how it goes the next two weeks!

Day 1, July 1, 2010: Today we said bye bye to bottles. Yep, that's right. Sassy is using sippy cups now. Such a big girl!

Day 2, July 2, 2010: Today we went to the library for summer story time. The book was The Rainbow Fish.

Day 3, July 3, 2010: Fishing with Pop Pop during our visit.

Day 4, July 4, 2010: Today, Crafty and I played board games while Sassy napped and Daddy golfed.

Day 5, July 5. 2010: Swimming at Meme and Pap's after dinner.

Day 6, July 6, 2010: Best way to cool off during the middle of a heat wave is to head to the public pool with friends!

Day 7, July 7, 2010: Having dessert before lunch. Sure, Crafty and I hardly ended up eating lunch, but that ice cream sure was good (and it was free--yay for "free" coupons)!

Wordful Wednesday

2010-07-07T07:07:00.000-07:00

Warning: Ravenous baby on the loose. Will eat anything in sight. Including half the omelet you are quite happily enjoying eating yourself. Be advised, if subject does not get the food that she wants NOW, she will emit a very high pitched, dinosaur like sound. Resistance is futile. Just hand over the food, and no one's eardrums will be burst. Subject is not as innocent as sweet as she may appear. Do not be deceived. Hide your food while you still can! ........Don't say I didn't warn you.

Even "blue blazes" don't get this hot

2010-07-06T13:22:00.001-07:00

Okay, so some of you didn't get that. "It's hot as blue blazes" is the phrase...but I don't even think blue blazes get as hot as it is outside today. My friend S called me last night and rescheduled our pool outing with our kiddos. Last week, her youngest, "Prissy", got sick so we had to cancel. Prissy is about two months older than Sassy. When we were pregnant with the girls, and Crafty wanted to name her sister Sassy, we joked that S's daughter could be Prissy. S is VERY girly and, true to form, Prissy always has on bracelets, big bows and frou frou outfits on. Prissy has an older brother, whom we will call Pirate (it's been a while since we've hung out with them, but when we did before, he always wanted to be Captain Jack Sparrow and tried to make Crafty Elizabeth Swan lol). Pirate is 5 months older than Crafty that Crafty loooooooves to play with (she frequently tells me, when we've been hanging out with them, that she's gonna marry Pirate one day).

I digress...so we met at the local pool at 11 this morning. By then, the temperature was roastin' us alive just waiting in line to get in. They renovated the pool over the winter. Tore out the kiddie pool, replaced it with a splash area and then put two big slides into the larger pool (which they also renovated, but I couldn't tell you precisely what they did besides replace the floor of it). Anyway, we had a great time. By 2:15, Sassy was getting cranky so we all changed clothes and I loaded the girls up for home. I had applied 50 SPF to all three of us before leaving around 10:45, but by 12:30 when we ate, I decided to go ahead and reapply. Hopefully none of us have sunburns. I'm pretty sure I got us pretty covered, but ya never know. My back is a little sting-y/itchy but I'm not precisely sure why. I'll get a good look at it later. For now I'm not going to worry about it. I had my little point and shoot camera in a ziploc bag so that I could take pictures and not worry about potentially dropping it in the pool. It worked quite well, but left my pictures a bit hazy. Ah well, at least I got something. Crafty was too busy playing, so I didn't get any pictures of her. Luckily Sassy's too young to protest. Ha.

Both girls have been little fishies the past two days. Yesterday we went over to Meme and Pap's for dinner and they always have the little pool set up on the deck for them when it's hot. So we ate then I took them out for a little swim.

Crafty had fun dipping her face into the pool with her goggles. Though, they didn't really do her very good because she refuses to let us tighten them, so water gets in. We've tried telling her, but she just ain't havin' it. Ah well.

Sassy tried to give me repeated heart attacks. (I know, she looks innocent, but don't let that face fool you. She's schemin' behind those sweet little eyes.)

Out of the water, she will not let go of whatever it is she's holding on to to help her stand alone. In the pool, apparently, all inhibitions go out the door and it's suddenly a GRAND idea to let go and try to stand alone. Needless to say, she was constantly losing her balance and usually fell forward instead of backward. Sure enough, after about 20 minutes or so, she flipped right over the edge of the pool (right in front of me, no less) and landed on her forehead then flipped over. She's got a little bit of a goose egg and scrape on her forehead, but babies are resilient. After a game or two of peekaboo, she was a happy camper again. Nut.

The next few days, we don't have any plans here at our house. I need to go to Wal-Mart so that I can write down my lowest price points. I'm well aware that I can typically get things cheaper there for the most part, so I want to write those prices down so I'll know the prices I'm looking for when viewing the circulars for other stores. I have SOME things written down, but it is actually a need to be able to tell Golfer how much I need each week for groceries. He gives me cash every week, so it's best he knows what to give me than to just guess. The lowest price point will help me in that, too. I can total it up BEFORE going to the store so that I can give him a better ball park. For example, this week at Shur Fine, they're doing dollar doublers. Basically you give them a coupon that was wrapped around this week's circular and they will double coupons that are for a $1 off. So I'll get $2 off instead of just $1. My lowest price point for frozen waffles is $1.25. I can get Great Value ones for this price at Wal-Mart. We have waffles every week on Saturdays. They are 3/$5 at Shur Fine and I have multiple coupons for $1/2. With the dollar doubler, it'll make each box cost only $1. Sure, 25 cents savings ain't gonna break the bank, but I won't have to buy waffles for quite some time, which will lower my grocery bill. Which we can all agree is always good. Now I'm not as good as some of these coupon ladies. I don't get my groceries for less than $5 every week, or even $20, but I've made enough of an effort that my grocery bill is less than $75 a week for my family of four. I say less than because some weeks it's $50, some weeks it's more, but rarely over $75. Considering our groceries had been costing us about $120 every week (and that's NOT counting formula--which was $22.50, or diapers--about $5 with a coupon), it's definitely made a difference to save $1 here and $1 there!

I seriously looking forward to dinner tonight. Marinated baked pork chops, rice, and asparagus. Thinking of cutting up a peach for us to share, as well. Yuuuuum.

Where Was I

2010-07-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

when the decorating gene was passed out? Seriously. We moved into this house in July of 2007. My walls are still nearly completely empty. Our home is filled with brown. Lots. And lots. Of brown. I like colors. Pops of color. My husband is a neutral. Booooo on neutrals. His favorites are browns, creams, and black. Our walls upstairs are green, and Sassy's room is purple, but the rest of the walls? White. The basement is tan. The carpet in the basement is tan. Gag me with a spoon. LOL. I am unsure whether my lack of decorative flair stems from the fact that I went from unmarried college student (with my poster collages made out of magazine clippings) to newly married living in my in-laws basement (thankful though I was), to getting our own home and barely two months later welcoming Crafty into our family, therefore having no time to really develop my sense of style (and not just doing what everybody else liked) or whether I'm just missing it entirely. Yeah, that house didn't have much on the walls either. I was just struggling to keep the house clean. Yes, I am a "Messy", but that's a whole 'nother post for another day.

The thing I'm on today is that my home is bare. Now that we've decluttered a fair amount of our home and sold it all in a yard sale (very successfully I might add), and moved some rooms around, my house looks rather sparse. The only room in the house that really has much to it is the living room...and that's only because my husband "surprised" me one night when I got home from work. Apparently, he was sick of the blank walls, too, and took matters into his own hands. His decor of choice? You guessed it. Black. Oh, and gold, can't forget gold. About 2 weeks before that I had decorated a wall with several frames. In silver. Mmmmm, yeah, they don't really go together. I didn't have the heart to tell him, though, because he was so proud he had decorated all by himself. The lamp he bought doesn't work because the little twisty switch to turn it on broke off in his attempt to put it together. So it's just sitting there. Mocking me. He tried, though, bless his heart.

I can't say much, though...I don't particularly have the knack for it, myself. I look at my familys' homes (mom, aunt (both of them), grandmother, cousin) and envy their ability to put together a room and make it shine. So, again, I ask, where was I when that gene was passed out?

What would a post like this be without pictures? These are in no particular order. Basically how they ended up being uploaded is how they are. LOL.
Sassy's room. This one I did make somewhat of an attempt to decorate. Note the paper flowers I made with my Cricut...those are pretty sparse, too, though at the time I though they covered the wall nicely. I also made a canvas with her name on it that's an 8x10, but it doesn't cover much wall, so there's one entire wall with absolutely nothing on it. Ok, two if you count the wall with a window on it.

Even the outdoor parts of my house are pretty blah. A bench, an empty plant stand, a kiddie pool, and a grill. Pa.The.Tic.

I have another confession to make. I do not have a green thumb. The only reason my butterfly bushes survived is that I lucked into planting them in just the right place. I don't water them. God does that for me (though not recently--we need rain badly). He also waters the weeds, too, but I won't complain about that. Beggars can't be choosers. Doesn't it look pathetic? It's just screaming "Help me!"

The one thing I like about my front porch? The chair. I :heart: this chair. It's chipped and cracked and one part of it is nailed back together. I paid probably $3 for it at an antique mall, intending for it to be an outdoor photo prop. Until then it looks quite nice here, I think. The rest? Not very welcoming and inviting, I don't think.

The dining room is probably the most sparse room of them all (followed closely by the master bedroom), but it's only been a dining room for two months. Before that it was a living room and quite filled with furniture, including a behemouth of an entertainment center. I want to add yellow accents to this room, I think. Starting with that table by the front door. It needs a tablecloth. A pretty one. Until I find one I like, it sits there in its raw glory. The glass covering the top for no apparent reason. The frames still bearing their "5x7" paper they had in the store. You can't tell by the pictures but this table is WAY too small for this room. Then, this room wasn't intended to be a dining room, after all. When we can afford it, we'll buy a bigger table, with more chairs. I would like a buffet table, too, but it's not very realistic...a girl can dream, right?

The girls' bathroom needs to be repainted (it's got black marks on one wall from candles). Since I changed the shower curtain and such, there's nothing on the walls.

The master bathroom merely has two small little wall hangings and a shower curtain. All leftover from the townhouse. Not really my style anymore, but haven't really found anything else that I liked. I know that I want it to be a calming place to go. It is senseless to have "for decoration only" towels in my home, as Golfer would use them to wipe up things--that is what towels are for, after all. Frou frou items in my home get ruined very, very quickly. Such as my comforter....but more on that in a bit.

The master bedroom. White walls, white accents, ugly wires hanging from the television. a TV stand covered in mounds of movies. A wall hanging I made that doesn't even match anything else, an unpainted shadow box. Oh, and a frame with messages written on it by various people, most of whom I no longer speak to, along with 2 or 3 I still to this day am unsure of who they are. Oh yes, and my bed is merely covered by sheets and a blanket. Over a month ago, I get home from work to find the bed completely stripped. Golfer had bought me one of the Vera Wang bedding sets I had had my eye on at Kohls for quite some time. It was ridiculously expensive but he insisted it's what he wanted to get me. He spilled tea on it. I'll give him kudos for not leaving it sit on the bed for me to take care of when I got home. However, he put the comforter in the washing machine. It was dry clean only. There was a huge hole burned into one part of it and huge tufts of cotton were escaping. I had to throw it away. I thought I was going to cry. These walls need to be painted to, as they were scraped by boxes when we moved in, as well as suitcases from our various travels.

Crafty's walls are covered in posters. And one frame that I repainted hot pink--and not very well, I might add. I ran out of paint, but she still wanted it on her wall. You can still see some of the original color peeking through. Ah well. She's happy with it and it's her room.

The hallway isn't so bad, since I added the wall of frames. At least I'm on the ball in that respect!

My kitchen accent color is red. The kitchen at the townhouse was not very big, so the items I had from there didn't cover much space in this kitchen (and before we moved the table, it was a dine in kitchen, so it feels ginormous now that the table is gone). The tops of the cabinets have one vase on them. I suppose even that looks rather odd considering there is nothing else up there!

The stairway down to the basement. The ceiling of this is super tall. I've contemplated putting something at the bottom of the stairs, where the ceiling goes down to meet the basement ceiling, but I'm not sure what. Shelving for items? Simply a painting of some kind? Decisions, decisions.

This section of our basement is a little bit of a thorn in my side. The bookshelf houses my leftover craft stuff (that had once been in the scrapbooking room that I no longer have--I sold all my scrap supples). I still need to organize it so that it's not so cluttered looking (really the only cluttered space that is visible--the closets we're not talking about lol). Golfer's keyboard really has no where else to go, and he plays it at least 4-5 times a week, so it does need to stay out at least. The wall that it's against is one side of the wall of what will at some point be another bathroom. A large bathroom at that. No telling when that will be built, but I'm in no hurry. I'm having problems decorating the bathrooms we already do have!

The sitting room/laundry area/computer nook. The curtains were not my ideal of closure for the laundry area. Somehow my father in law, who is typically meticulous about "measure twice" measured the frame incorrectly and the doors we bought for it do not fit. They need to be cut down so that will go into the slide rails (which are also not up). So, until that happens (whenever that is), there the curtains are. The computer nook, I haven't quite figured out why, is white. For some strange reason it didn't get painted tan like the rest of the basement. It's just this large, white cubicle. White walls. White ceiling. White. White. White.

The rest of the sitting room. It used to be my scrapbooking room (hence the hanging lights, above where my table used to be, and my "Don't Mess With Texas Women" sign). This is the furniture that used to be upstairs in the room that is now the dining room. It is by far THE MOST uncomfortable furniture you will ever sit in. If I had my way, it would've been sold in the garage sale, as well. Alas, I did not get my way, so there it sits. Collecting dust. Nobody ever sits in the sitting room, as the tv is on the other side of the basement. One day we'll have a party...with lots of people....and we'll need the sitting room. I feel sorry for those poor future souls that will be sitting on that couch and on the two chairs. I'm sorry future people! I digress, as with the rest of the house....empty walls. The other wall with the two chairs against it is just as empty as this one....only it doesn't have a "Don't Mess With Texas Women" sign on it.

The girls' playroom. Doesn't look very fun, does it? I had grand plans for this room. Disney themed. We love Disney at my house. I've even got a running wish list of things that I want for this room. The girls will probably grow out of needing a playroom before I ever get around to decorating it.

Ok, now I know what some of you are thinking. I'm crazy for feeling this way about my house. I have a beautiful house. Yes, I do. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying it's lacking a certain "something". It's spartan. Boring. Has absolutely no character whatsoever. If someone were to visit my home, without me being there, my home says nothing about me or my family...except perhaps, that there are young children living here. Other than that....no clues as to the personality and interests of those living therein. Aye, there's the rub. As someone who loves to document my life through pictures and through this blog, it's a bit of a nuisance knowing that my home has not yet been stamped with "me-ness" in the 3 years that we have lived here. Until we have the money, I will keep a "wish folder" of rooms and decor I find on the internet that strikes my fancy. Maybe one day. Until then, I'll fill this home with love in hopes that it overcomes the spartan surroundings. Besides, it's those things my children will remember most and not how the walls were decorated. Hm. Yes, there's always that.

Got My Bag On My Arm

2010-07-03T07:05:00.000-07:00

Most Saturday mornings, I head out the door, my reuseable bag on my arm and a pocketful of cash. My destination: the farmer's market. My first ever visit was the summer of 2009. I kept promising myself that "one day" I was going to go. That promise to myself first came in 2006 or 2007. I don't specifically remember which, but regardless, it was a long time comin'. My first farmer's market venture, I had the kids in tow. Sassy was barely a month old, and it was near lunch (they close around noon), so a lot of the good stuff was picked over. I've since learned my lesson. If you want the freshest and the best, you get up at the crack o' dawn and go shortly after 6 a.m. I don't typically drive past the local lake, but this morning I decided to go that way (which turned out to be quicker anyway) and was greeted with the calming view of steam rising off the water. I had to stop and take a picture (though, regrettably, all I had was my little point and shoot-so the picture is not exactly what I had in mind anyway). There were several boats out, men casting their lines in, calmly waiting for their next catch. An older woman was walking her dog, who promptly jumped, with much gusto, into the water. It was just one of those moments where you can just stand, breathe, and realize that not all of life must be hustle and bustle.

My serene morning moment had to end-I was on a mission. I drove to the square, found a parking space and once again made my way into the building, my bag on my arm. There's nothing like the experience of going to the farmer's market. Smells of the vendors cooking breakfast food, the steady hum of people talking to each other, and just all the colors you are bombarded with. Fruits, vegetables, meats, crafts, loose tea stacked side by side in jars, wine bottles, pastries, flowers, and plenty more items that I've probably missed during my visits.

Each Saturday, I walk down the aisles, looking to see what's offered and trying to decide who to purchase from, though, I always purchase from the same booth. I'm unsure if I'm just relishing being alone, looking for the best deal, or simply enjoy looking at all that has been grown by people in my area. It's probably a little bit of all three. I always start at one end of this booth (pictured above), then make my way around its perimeter, handing the teenagers my choices for them to bag. Though I usually try to keep my total going as I choose, typically by the third or fourth item, I've lost count and am always surprised when they tell me how much I owe. Not because it's expensive (I believe it to be very reasonably priced), it just adds up quick, like any other place you shop at. Thankfully, I've only had to have them put an item or two back once because I've gone over my budget. Although I am quite aware there are some Saturdays I probably spend a little more than I would at the grocery store, I know that I am supporting local farmers, getting fresher produce, and there's always more than what I would've gotten at the store in each bunch, pack, or bundle.

My total this week was $16.50. The bunch of flowers were $3, the peaches were $3 (for 6 of them), the romaine was around $1.50, the peas, blueberries and asparagus I do not remember the exact amount, but they were good deals, as well. There were a lot of stalks in the asparagus bunch, enough for two meals. The peaches, I think, were a steal. I just weighed them on my food scale and it's 2.28 lbs of peaches. Even at $1.99 (last week's price at Giant), I would have paid a little over $4.50 for that much. The romain I will take apart and wash, then place in a plastic baggie to be used in salads and as sandwich toppers. The peas are also enough for two meal side dishes. Crafty is the only one who eats the blueberries, and while I do know they were cheaper this week at Giant, I looked through all of the containers and none of them looked very good, so local it was!

The flowers I seperated into three different vases. Ok, so two of them actually came from the candle section at the Dollar Tree, but they work wonderfully as mini vases. I felt very domestic snipping away at the stems of the flowers and foliage (I discovered, as I was snipping that she had included a fair amount of "filler") and placing them in their vases. Hopefully our resident flower eater, Marbles (the cat) will leave these alone long enough for me to enjoy them at least through the weekend!

This evening we are driving to Baltimore to see Pap's (my FIL) biological father (Pop Pop). He has never met Sassy (didn't even meet Crafty until she was 3). Crafty is very excited about going to see Pop Pop and Ann. She has already packed her activity bag and gotten herself dressed. She chose a little denim skirt because she "wanted to look nice for our visit". Heavens she is so girly. I'd put money on the probability that before we leave, she will ask for lip gloss. I'm not quite sure what we're doing while we're there, as we will be visiting around dinner time, but I'm sure a good time will be had by all.

3 minutes and 36 seconds...35, 34, ...no, wait! 27?!

2010-07-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

My "me time" is almost up. I've been on here for an hour and I'm just now getting around to posting?! Lame. To be honest, I've been once again on the search for memes to join. I never have stuck to them in the past. What on earth makes me think I'll stick to them now?! Yeah, I dunno either. I have bloggy commitment issues. LOL.

After her bath today, I took a little gel to Sassy's otherwise unruly hair. The problem we really have is the fact that, even though I fix it in the mornings, she's a hair twirler....and the piece of hair she's chosen to twirl is right at the top of that cute little head of hers. The gel really brought out the curls that she does have. Although my hair is straight now, my mom said it was curly until my first haircut (no clue when that was, though). Sassy's is typically only curly on the sides. The back, not so much-though I am unsure if that's because she lays on it or leans on it in the car seat, or if that's just how her hair is. Regardless, the gel only helped it for so long, but as soon as that little hand buried itself in her hair, all bets were off and it was an unruly mess again. So, if you see me around-really, her hair was fixed. She just likes the unkempt look!

Today has, thus far, been a pretty low key day. This morning was storytime at the public library, so I took the girls. Today's book was The Rainbow Fish. Sassy could have cared less, as long as she was allowed to sit in Mama's lap and drink her sippy cup of milk. Crafty, on the other hand, was more worried about the "book" she had made for the librarians to really be interested in the story. Before leaving for the library, she grabbed some paper and drew pictures, then had me write up the story. It was about three kids who went to the library. The little boy dropped his in the water (after being hit by a butterfly) and they went back to the library to say sorry, then got more books. She wanted to know if they would put it on the shelves for other little kids to take home. The answer, obviously, was no. As the librarian said, after all, if all the kids brought it home, it might get torn up and we couldn't possibly have that happen! ;-) Good answer Madam Librarian. We checked out books as we left and most of the books we brought home, as has been the last 2-3 times we've gone, were dinosaur books. Oh, and one knock-knock joke book, so that should be fun. Crafty's idea of a joke at the moment go along the lines of "Why did the chicken cross the road? To lay its monkey egg!" Then she cracks up laughing as if it is the funniest joke on the planet. I usually just emit an amused "OH!" and that satisfies her.

Do your little ones have a little habit such as hair twirling, thumb sucking, or something a little more unique? What are they? Do they create minor Mommy annoyance, like Sassy's unruly hair?

Are you participating in a summer activity with the kids, like at your local public library? How have the activities been so far?

Hesitantly Optimistic

2010-07-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

For the past week, I have been trying out my new home routine. Since I am home all day again, something needed to be done. My house was in complete disarray from the 8 months that I worked in the evenings. I never could seem to catch up! I know myself very well and if I don't have a plan, a goal of things to get done throughout the day, all bets are off. I don't get ANYTHING done. I wander around aimlessly trying to figure out what to do next. This past week has been wonderful. Things have gotten done, and, most of all, my house has been clean for a week. I know, most of you going "Yeah, my house is clean all the time, what's your point?!" The point, my dear friends, is that I am a Messie. I am not a Cleanie. By any stretch of the imagination. It does not help that my husband is an even bigger "Messie" than I am! I was surfing the web about two weeks ago and stumbled across pictures of a Home Management Binder someone had put together. I fell in love. It was so much more put together than others I had seen, it was simple, to the point, and best of all-she had pictures! LOL. Pictures always help. So, I set about putting mine together. It is not completely filled yet, but it's getting there, and I am not expecting it to be put together in a day, or a week even. This is a project in the making. The binder has several different tabs in it and I will be describing each tab in just a minute. On the inside of the front cover, I've taped a notepad (with packaging tape, that sucker isn't going anywhere until I want it to lol) for times I need to jot something down quickly. Then at the front of the rings of the binder, I have two zipper pouches. The first one holes my hole punch, some pens, Post It notes, coupons I need to file, and the little sticker rings that you put around paper if the hole has torn. In the second zipper pouch, I have all of our bills, in the order that they're due. After the pouches are 3 blank calendars. As bills come in the mail, I jot down on the calendar when they're due, plus how much is owed. That way we can see, at a glance, which bills are due when. Currently I have July, August, and September. After the calendars, I have notebook paper, for when my notes are longer than the notepad permits.

My first tab is "Inspiration". I don't have anything underneath it yet, but since it's not my most important tab, I'm content to leave it empty for the time being.

The second tab is "Schedules". I only have one schedule in there now, but once Crafty starts school, I will include her school calendar, and perhaps a schedule for her. We'll see when the time comes. I am very, very loosely following the schedule for now. Although, schedule really is the wrong word to use. Routine is more like it, especially since Sassy's naptimes are so unpredictable still! On the routine, I have me getting up at 6 am...which will be good during the school year, but I'll confess I'm lucky to get up by 7:30 or 8 right now! Why get up early when I don't really need to AND things are getting done just fine with this wake up time! I am learning that lowering my expectations of myself helps keep things less stressful! Before I was getting really discouraged because I wasn't living up to what I thought I should be doing---which was usually modeled off of what others were doing. I am not those other people, so why should my household run like theirs (I'm lookin' at you, Flylady)! While my schedule does resemble the Home Management Binder I found, I have tweaked it to complement my family--but, really, I loved the loose feel of it. So, whether I get up at 6 or 8, our routine has looked like this:
Get dressed and ready for the day
Start laundry
Kids get up and I start Crafty on her chores (making bed, etc)
Make breakfast
Breakfast and Crafty's devotional
Table chores (Crafty wipes table, I do the dishes)
Make beds
Brush teeth
10:45: Clean up, tidy house (Swiffer, empty the dishwasher/put dishes away, general tidy about the house)
Make lunch
12:00/12:30: Lunch
Table chores (Crafty wipes table, I do the dishes)
Sassy nap/Mom quiet time or rest for 45-60 minute (love this in theory, but Sassy's naps rarely follow directly after lunch, so I nab my quiet time whenever she takes her nap)
Play time (outside time for Crafty, if she'd like)
Cleaning chores (Whatever is on the agenda for that day, more on this in a bit)
Put away laundry (although, throughout the day before this, I have switched laundry, as needed then folded but have left it in the baskets until now)
Make dinner
6:15/6:45 (or whenever Golfer gets home): Dinner
Table chores (Crafty wipes the table, I do the dishes and sweep under the table)
Family Fun Time (though, this is rarely structured, mainly it ends up us all at least being in the same room with each other)
Kids bath/shower time
Tuck in kids-jammies, teeth, reading time, prayers
My exercise time (on days that I do exercise...this is not a daily occurence)
Shower (on days that I do exercise, otherwise I shower the next morning)
Time with Golfer
Get ready for bed
15 minute tidy around house
Read Bible Study, prayer, journaling time
10:15/10:30: Go to bed! (Though, the past two nights, I've been in bed by 9:30!)

The third tab is "Cleaning", and it houses my cleaning and laundry schedules. If/when I find any cleaning tips for specialty items, or things that are just nice to know, I will type those up and include those, as well. I realize that this looks particularly sparse, but this past week, I have found that after I do these specifics, I am left with ample time for projects I see need to be done. yesterday, after cleaning the bathrooms, I straighted and cleaned out Matthew's closet before putting laundry away. Daily (my "basics"), I also keep the dishes cleaned and put away, wipe down counters and the table, Swiffer (with 3 cats, a dog, and a family of four, this is a necessity), and a 15 minute tidy each evening. Realistically, I know there will be days that these things do not get done. My goal is to at least get my daily basics (as previously mentioned) completed.
Cleaning schedule:
Monday- Weekend Recovery (General tidy up, vacuum, put the house to rights after the weekend)
Tuesday- Clean out van, purse, diaper bag, fridge & pantry, take garbage out to roadside
Wednesday- Bathroom clean
Thursday- All errands
Friday- Weekend clean (General tidy, vacuum, mop, dusting, windows)

Laundry schedule:
Monday- Linens
Tuesday- Girls clothes
Wednesday- My laundry
Friday-Matthew's laundry

The fourth tab is "Food". The hardest part, for me, was putting together my goal of 8 weeks worth of menus. In all honesty, it became 7 weeks of menus instead of 8. I just didn't have that many recipes! I tried really hard to make them healthy recipes. I had several different "categories" I wanted to fill for each day of the week. Chicken, beef, vegetarian (though I use this term loosely), pasta, soups, and "other" (for recipes using Italian sausage, pork, shrimp, etc). Yes, there are only 6 categories. I used one category twice in each week. It has certainly made it easier to make my grocery lists the past two weeks! At the very beginning of this tab, I have my master grocery list. I am a big fan of stockpiling and the master grocery list makes it easier for me to see, at a glance, the items needed for all 7 weeks worth of menus. I have marked the items that I can stockpile and am gradually adding my lowest price point next to items that I can stockpile on. Admittedly, I'm making the non-stockpile items, as well, just in case they go on sale the week I need it or even the week before if the item permits. After this I have my breakfast and lunch menus. These are the same each week but are varied enough that I don't think we'll get bored anytime soon. We had been pretty much eating peanut butter and jelly or leftovers every single day for lunch....so this is an upgrade lol. After each menu, I have listed the grocery list for those meals so that each week I know at a glance what I need exactly.
Breakfast (When I have fruit, it is whatever is in season or sale that week--last week the choices were blueberries, apples, bananas, or peaches. This week the choices are apples, bananas, or whatever it is I find at the farmer's market on Saturday lol.):
Monday- Scrambled eggs, fruit, toast
Tuesday- French toast, fruit, bacon
Wednesday- Omlets, toast, fruit
Thursday- Cereal, toast, fruit
Friday- Cinnamon toast, fruit, bacon
Saturday- Waffles with peanut butter or syrup, fruit
Sunday- Pancakes or blueberry muffins...whichever strikes our fancy that morning

Lunch (fruit choices are the same as breakfast):
Monday-Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit, carrots w/ dip
Tuesday- Any leftovers
Wednesday- Homemade mac and cheese (Truthfully, in my binder, Tuesday and Wednesday are the opposite, but it makes more sense this way because garbage goes out Wednesday mornings.)
Thursday- Pasta with Mrs. Dash (Tomato Basil) & olive oil, fruit
Friday- Quesadillas
Saturday- Chili Cheese Dog Nachos
Sunday- Sandwiches/whatever you can find (though, this will be dinner instead of lunch since Golfer is home Sundays)

After this are 7 different tabs labelled by week (week 1, week 2, etc). Under each week is the menu, the grocery list for that week, and then each recipe. You will notice I did not include side dishes in most cases. This will be subject to what is available at the Farmer's Market or that I can get on sale.
Week 1: Dessert-Apple pie & ice cream (Golfer's request)
Turkey meatballs
Stuffed Peppers
Homemade pizza
Shrimp gumbo
Slow Cookin' BBQ Chicken
Baked Mac & Cheese
Brown sugar ham

Week 2: Dessert- Philly Chocolate Cheesecake Nuggets
Marinated Baked Pork Chops
Beef & Noodles
Bean & Rice Burritos
Smoky Ham & Corn Chowder
Fajitas in a Foil Pack
Creamy Chicken on Linguine
Barbe Cups

Week 3: Dessert- Caramel Swirl Cream Puffs
Savory Rice & Sausage
Soft Tacos/Cheese Dip
Mexi-Tato
Sausage Tortellini Soup
Lemon Pepper Chicken
Stuffed Shells
Rockin' & Choppin' Taco Salad

Week 4: Dessert- Brownies
Fried Fish
Beef Fajitas
Brisket w/ BBQ sauce
Baked Potato Soup
Ranch Chicken
Baked Cavatelli
Chicken Noodle Soup

Week 5: Dessert - Banana Pudding
Shrimp with Noodles
Aunt Fannie's Dinner/Cornbread
Turkey Patties
Broccoli & Cheese Soup
Skillet BBQ Chicken
Spaghetti
Fajitas in a Foil Pack (yes, it's on there twice...I didn't realize I did it until I printed it all out...and I don't feel like changing it lol)

Week 6: Dessert- Strawberry Trifle
Cheese & Sausage Calzones
Steaks w/ Rub
Jewish Baked Beans
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Pot Pie
Spring Linguine w/ Basil
Spring Veggie Carbonara

Week 7: Dessert- Dirt Pudding
Chicken & Dumplings
Hobo Burgers
Corn Chowder
Spicy Chicken & Rice Bake
Roast, Rice & Gravy
Prosciutto, Spinach, Pasta Casserole
Baked Ziti

I realize some of these look most decidedly unhealthy, but a lot of the recipes came from Hungry Girl books (I have 3 of them), Weight Watchers magazines, and a Weight Watchers book that I have. So, really, actually very healthy for you!

The fifth tab (I'm not counting the food weeks), is "other". Under this one I have my wish list (I am always stumped, come Christmas time and my birthday, what to tell my parents and Golfer what I want...this way I can keep a running list) and anytime I find an interesting article in a magazine, instead of keeping the entire thing, I'll rip it out and put it in a page protector. I will also probably keep gift ideas for the girls and Golfer for birthdays, Christmas, and anniversary.

The sixth tab is "People". In here will be all of the phone numbers from my cell phone (heaven forbid I lose them...some of them I am unsure how I will get them back!), as well as a list of birthdays/ anniversaries. That's all for now, but I'm sure I'll come up with something else for this one!

Then I have another zipper pouch for recipts, to be kept for 1 month. This is to help me keep track of my spending, as I will not only be keeping grocery receipts but fast food, haircuts, EVERYTHING. It will hold me accountable, but also will serve as proof when Golfer asks me what I have done with the money he gave me. I can never be very specific for him ("Well, the girls needed clothes, we needed diapers or formula or xyz.") and I think he sometimes thinks I just spend it on frivolous stuff or on fast food, things like that.

The seventh, and last, tab is Financial. Eventually I would like to put a budget under this one, but for now, it will serve as a way for me to tabulate receipts so I can keep track of my monthly spending by category. Which is why reciepts are only kept for a month. Once a month, I'll go through them and write/type what has been spent where.

So, that's my Home Management Binder. It's not pretty. I don't have any pictures printed out (we only have black ink in the printer currently---and what fun is that), so it's just a plain white binder....but it has so far proved useful and I frequently flip through it to write things down, look something up, etc. While I have lowered my expectations for myself so that I don't get frustrated with trying to keep up with it all, they're not so low that they are almost non existent! So, here's hoping this is one I can keep up. It's worked well so far. I suppose one thing it has going for it is that it lasted a week. Most of my tries do not even last two days!

My, How Time Does Fly

2010-06-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

Today is my sweet Sassy's first birthday. I can't believe she's one already!! It seems like only yesterday she held on until 41 weeks (I still think she was waiting for fireworks for her birthday). She's such a fun little one. She:

still is a thumb sucker and hair twirler. She ditched the pacifier several months ago and you can frequently find her with her right thumb in her mouth and her left hand in her hair.
isn't walking yet, but will walk if holding onto someone's hands. She's a professional crawler, though!
still sometimes takes three naps a day. Unless it's days like today when she NEEDS three naps but refuses to take even just one. AH!
went from refusing any baby foods or solid foods to, within a few days' time, eating three meals a day, plus at least one snack. Oh, and you better shovel it in fast or she'll scream at you the whole meal. Feeding herself with her fingers is not considered fast enough. The food WILL end up on the floor if you try that.
loves her big sister. She lives for the times that Crafty will play with her. If Crafty goes outside, Sassy stands at the door calling her name over and over again.
is definitely a cuddle baby. She still loves to just sit in your lap and cuddle, even if she's not anywhere near tired. I frequently find myself toting her around on my hip because she doesn't want to have anything to do with being on the floor playing.

We thank God every day for bringing you into our lives, Sassy. You are such a blessing and we love you very much! Happy first birthday, baby girl!

Daddy Date

2010-06-25T18:32:00.000-07:00

Tonight Golfer took Crafty out on a "Daddy Date". It is a special time for just the two of them (who could not possibly be more like each other) to go out and spend time together. It all started in 2008. He took her out while I scrapbooked with friends. Now it has become an event that happens once every few months. Tonight they decided to go out to eat and mini golfing. She has been asking for months to go on one, but with my former work schedule it was difficult for them to go. It is 9:30 and they still are not home. I am unsure where they have gone out to eat, but, knowing Crafty, I'm willing to bet it was Chili's, her favorite restaurant. I received a picture on my cell phone a few hours ago and she was grinning away, holding her putter. I am thankful for a husband who is willing to spend one on one time with his daughter. I know it will be something Sassy will look forward to doing once she is old enough. This afternoon, in the midst of grocery shopping, Crafty told me that she wished that Sassy was old enough to go on the Daddy Date with her and Daddy. Consider me thankful that my oldest loves the youngest so much...now I shall pray that will last!

Sassy was not up long after Golfer and Crafty left. We shared a late dinner and she began showing signs of being tired, so I whisked her off to bed. She didn't even fight me about it. She has made astounding progress when it comes to eating over the past week. She went from practically refusing everything (including baby food, which she practically skipped over) to insisting on eating EVERYTHING. Oh, and if you don't shovel it in fast enough, she shrieks at you. Chicken pot pie, cheesy scrambled eggs, mexican rice, black beans, applesauce, apples (did I mention she can take a bite, scrape the apple off the peel and then spit the peel out clean as a whistle) a ham and cheese "sandwich" (all pieces of the sandwich torn into pieces and then just placed on her tray)....I'm sure I'm forgetting something but two weeks ago, she refused anything but a bottle--and now she's eating three meals a day and one snack on top of that!!

The past several days, I have been devotedly creating (and implementing) my own Household Management Binder. If you know me personally or have been following my blog for any length of time, you know that I have been through many routines, cleaning schedules and the like and have never been very good at being consistent with them. Each time I am thoroughly convinced that this will finally be the solution! Of course, until the next bright idea rolls around. This time, though I have taken into consideration several different HMB around the blogosphere, I have certainly endeavored to make it my very own, with ideas from others thrown in. The most tedious section, by far, has been the food section, where have placed 8 weeks worth of menus, plus their grocery lists and recipes. I will have to take pictures tomorrow. Tomorrow is something I have not included before in previous routines. A day off. I know. Blasphemy, right? Yes, tomorrow the only things I will do with my day are the very basics. Dishes, Swiffer (with three cats and a baby who crawls in the house--well, it has to be done), and a 15 minute tidy before bed. Other than that, the day is mine to play with my girls, read more of Beezus and Ramona to Crafty, and do whatever my little heart desires. Ok, so not whatever, but you know what I mean!

Today was grocery day. Well, it's actually supposed to be Thursdays now, but my last paycheck wasn't coming in until today, so today it was! I am back to couponing, which will drastically help grocery shopping on one paycheck again. I am hoping with a revolving 8 week menu, it will be easier to stockpile. I made a master shopping list so that I can refer to it when the sales circulars come out, so that I know what my non-perishables are that I will need throughout the 8 weeks. This week, my stockpile purchases consisted of:
Skippy Peanut Butter (3 creamy and 3 crunchy--and this came not a moment too soon, we are on our last jar of crunchy peanut butter...a travesty in Crafty's mind)- $7
PopTarts (6 boxes--.99 cents a box + $1/2 coupon....yes, really, and I checked at my local WAl-Mart, they're typically $2 a box there!) -$2.94 for all 6!
Hunts Ketchup (5) - $3.90
Chicken drumsticks and thighs (at .79 cents a pound--bought 4 packages equaling 10 freezer bags, or ten meals)
Bisquick Shake & Pour (5)
Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta (2) - FREE
I was thankful while looking over my receipts this afternoon, knowing that next time "Week 1" menu comes around, there will be several items I will not have to purchase. Cider vinegar, garlic powder, etc. Things that will be used frequently but that last quite some time. I am interested to see how the grocery shopping goes for the first cycle of my menus, and then compare it to the second cycle. This week's total was about $139. However, I am stocked up on chicken after this week and last week's purchases of drumsticks, thighs, and breasts. Last week bone in, skin on chicken breasts were on sale for .99 cents a pound. I bought 6 packages, then removed the skin and deboned them myself. It was slightly time consuming, and certainly interesting with two little ones (it actually took me two days to complete) but in the end, completely worth it. I got the value packs seperated into 15 freezer bags, with one meal's portion for 3 (and a half lol) in each bag. I thought that was pretty darn good for $21 and some change! Now I just need ham and bacon to go on sale so I can stock up on that. Oh and Italian Sausage. Then I will be one happy camper. This week's menu? (Aside from the fruit and vegetable specifics, as I have not yet been to the Farmer's Market....*sigh* Make that weekly total a little higher. Bleh.
Saturday: Breakfast- Waffles w/ peanut butter or syrup with fruit, Lunch- Chili Cheese Dog Nachos (thank you Hungry Girl), Dinner- Grandma and Grandpa T's, so I don't have to cook! Yay!
Sunday: Breakfast- Pancakes w/ fruit, Lunch- Sandwiches/Whatever You Can Find, Dinner: Slow Cookin' BBQ Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Sugar Peas, Apple Pie
Monday: Breakfast- Scrambled Eggs, Toast, Fruit, Lunch- Grilled ham & cheese, fruit, Dinner- Memaw's Shrimp Gumbo (first try making it, but it's my grandmother's recipe so I'm excited)
Tuesday: Breakfast-French toast, fruit, bacon, Lunch- Homemade Mac & Cheese, Dinner: Brown sugar ham, salad, vegetable of some sort
Wednesday: Breakfast- Omelets, Toast, Fruit, Lunch- Leftovers, Dinner- Homemade pizza (Golfer is at golf league, so it's just me & the girls)
The breakfast and lunch menus are the same week in and week out (with the exception of Sunday's breakfast, which will also have the occasional blueberry muffins thrown in instead of pancakes). It was my great surprise, while making my master shopping list, that there were many, many stockpileable (is that a word) items on my list that were repeated. This will certainly make it easier on me in the end!

(Oh, and for the record, Golfer and Crafty went to a local place referred to as "The Hot Dog Shop". This is not its actual name, though that's pretty much what everyone around here calls it. I find it a particularly repulsive place, having eaten there twice and being thoroughly sick to my stomach both times, but the locals adore this place for some strange reason. Alas, my daughter, through no fault of her own and despite my trying to make her otherwise, is a Yankee and adores this place as well. Bless her heart.)

Pinball Machine

2010-06-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had the experience that your brain was a pinball machine? Various thoughts throughout the day "pinging" around, sometimes hitting another synapse and making it light up, causing a chain reaction of new or perhaps revisited thoughts?

"I need to remember to get milk. Wonder if we have enough to make eggs. Hm. Eggs. Didn't that baked ziti recipe need one egg in it? I know I typed up that recipe, but I still have two more to go for my Home Management Binder. What else is left? I need to type up my cell phone contacts, the cleaning schedule, the laundry schedule. Wait, laundry. Did I ever switch over Golfer's? Wonder how his day is going. Can't forget I promised Crafty we'd go to the pool next week with S & her crew. Need to call Crafty in to clean her room."

And so on and so on. Sometimes I don't think it'll ever stop. Then again, I suppose that's part of being a mom. Or a woman. I'm not sure which.

Today I went to the church to help the mother in law put together the church newsletters. Her fellow secretary is out sick (and has been, apparently) and it was something she had to get done. I loaded up the girls and off we went. It was interesting to say the least. While I did get a good bit done, and hopefully was a help to MIL, Sassy just did not want to play on the floor....but she didn't want to be held, either. Up and down, up and down she went, MIL and I taking turns being the one to pick her up. Crafty occupied herself for the most part but towards the end you could tell she was getting impatient, as she kept asking help for things she could have easily done on her own. I eventually gave up so that I could get Sassy home for a nap. It took her an hour in the bed awake to settle herself down (though she didn't cry, just talked to herself), then she finally went to sleep. It should be interesting to see what time she wakes up.

I am still unsure of Sassy's natural cycle as far as sleeping and the like. While it is predictable that an hour after waking up in the morning she's ready to go back to sleep (though not immediately after finishing a bottle--that makes her mad), it is always hit or miss when she'll want to go back to bed for a nap. Or two. Some days three. So we're playing it by ear and doing a bit of "child led" scheduling....which certainly makes outings interesting, as well as planning anything at all ahead.

The next week or so is going to be quite interesting, as Crafty's neighbor friends L & B are going to be out of town on vacation. I've heard 9 days but I've also heard as many as 12. There is no telling precisely how many days they will be gone, so we will have to wait and see. In the meantime, I need to come up with some things that will keep Crafty busy. I don't want her playing the Wii and whining that she's bored for the next week.

Yesterday I took Crafty to get her haircut. She has been fighting me for quite some time now about getting her hair brushed in the mornings. I finally got tired of it and told her she would have to get her hair cut. Surprisingly enough, she was ok with it--excited about it, even. So, after a trip to Wal-Mart, off to Great Clips we went. She got an inverted bob and heavens did it "age" her about two years. She certainly isn't my baby anymore (not that the haircut made it so, it just amplified it, I think). I cannot believe she will be 6 at the end of August!

Speaking of birthdays.....Sassy will be 1 next Wednesday. 1. I swear it doesn't seem like we should be that close to her birthday. It's been so long since Crafty was this age that I don't quite even remember what it's like having an (almost) toddler in the house. Sassy still isn't standing on her own, but she does love to walk holding on to someone (or something). She's been crawling for a while now, so while the ability to get from point A to point B easily is "old hat", the thought having her walking is slightly terrifying yet freeing all at the same time. Currently she does not go outside often. We do not have a swing set (and therefore no baby swing) and she positively loathes grass. I have tried a couple of times to set a blanket up outside, but she bores quickly staying within the confines of the blanket. I am looking forward to her being able to walk so that we can go outside and she can run around in the yard...and go to the park for that matter!

In a few weeks, we will be going to Cape May with my in-laws for a few days. I am looking forward to this trip. First, because Golfer will be joining us. We haven't been on a real family vacation since we went to DisneyWorld in January of 2008. Last year it just wasn't possible considering when Sassy was born. Before her birth, I couldn't exactly travel too far away and after, the logistics of vacationing with a newborn---well, any other mother, I'm sure would understand my views on that one. Ha.

Yeah, a pinball machine. I do believe I just might be one.

Comp'ny, and Parties, and Books! Oh my!

2010-06-17T10:10:00.001-07:00

These past three weeks have just been a complete whirlwind. It all started with Golfer asking me to put in my two weeks notice in at Kohls on June 1st. My last day is today. That was a complete surprise, as he hadn't even told me he was thinking about asking me to do so. Then, knowing Golfer, HE probably didn't even know until he had made the decision! I will admit to crying when I told my manager (talk about embarassing--where did that come from). It is slightly bittersweet, partly because they had just started putting me on the schedule as POS Supervisor and then I put in my two weeks. I felt really, really bad about that, but my paycheck was not our primary income, so whatareyagonnado, y'know? The sweet part is, of course, I get to spend more time with my girls. First with Crafty before she starts kindergarten in the fall (how did that happen) and also more with Sassy, who it feels I've hardly gotten to know as well as I knew Crafty since the latter had me home all the time whereas the former, only for the first three months of her life. It's a little daunting to think of, especially with the knowledge that Golfer will (hopefully) making appointments in the evenings, leaving the girls and myself to our own devices for well over 10 hours depending on when the appointments are made. No worries, though, I've got plenty planned for us to do!

Just before Golfer had me put in my two week notice, I sent out an e-mail to my playgroup members announcing my resignation as playgroup organizer. This was such a difficult decision for me to make. I have spent the last two years of my life getting this group started, off the ground, and flourishing. It was time, though. While at the time, I was accounting my work schedule, I still had the chance to take back my resignation after putting in my two week notice, but decided it was still for the best. The best for my family and for the group. My scheduling of the events was getting stale and uninspired, and RSVP's/attendance was reflecting that. Hopefully a new organizer will breathe new life into it. I decided to remove myself entirely from the group, however. First, so that I can resign myself to the fact I am no longer "in charge" of the group and organizing. Secondly, because it had gotten to where Crafty was the oldest child there all the time and frequently was left to her own devices because of it. Perhaps I will join again once she is in school full time and Sassy is old enough to join in on the fun. Until then, well, we'll just have to come up with things on our own.

With so many changes going on in my life, I have felt myself retreating further and further into myself. I am unsure how much of this is simply the change and how much of it is attributed to hormones. I have been convinced for years now that I suffered mild postpartum depression with Crafty, but was shrugged of by my doctor, primarily because Crafty was nearly a year old before my symptoms manifested themselves. Extreme fatigue, empty feelings, difficulty making decisions, and feelings of worthlessness are here again, and I am unsure what to do about them. Which, I'm sure, contributed to my decision to withdraw from playgroup and also has had to do with my feelings of not having any TRUE friends here. While I know I have friends, I particularly feel as though they are "work" friends, "playgroup" friends, "church" friends. You know the kind you see only in the descriptive venue, but rarely, if ever, see outside of where you met them at. While this is, admittedly, partly true, it is also not completely true. Ugh, who would have thought after 6 years of being somewhere I'd still be in this "making friends" mode? Makes me wonder if something is wrong with me. I am going to give it some time and see what happens. While it did take me a while to come out of it with Crafty, I am hoping the same will not be the case this time around.

The beginning of June was a busy time trying to get the house ready for my parents' visit, as well as things together for the girls' birthday party. It was decided that we would do a rainbow/Wizard of Oz theme, and while we didn't have WOZ specific decorations or party paraphenalia, we made do with what we had. My friend C came over and helped me make and frost over 50 cupcakes. They came out spectacularly if I do say so myself! I definitely couldn't have gotten them all done if it hadn't been for C, so for that, I am thankful! The cupcakes were a hit at the party (or so my mom said, I was too busy running around like a crazy person running the party to hear any of the commentary on the cupcakes), and were very yummy, indeed!

We allowed Crafty to invite 6 friends and 3 of them came, plus 2 sons of family friends, so there were plenty of children for her to play with. We did sand art (because they are rainbows) and played a Wizard of Oz scavenger hunt, which also involved "stealing" the witch's broom and sweeping a ball down to the yellow brick (road).

Sassy had a great time being passed from family member to family member. She enjoyed eating a chicken leg (though at one point, she bit off more than she could handle), and she certainly enjoyed her cupcake we gave her!

Both girls were spoiled beyond reason present wise, but we are thankful for all the family and friends that came to celebrate with us. Especially Grammy, Big Daddy, and Auntie Gig!

While my parents and Gig, my sister in law were here, we held Sassy's dedication. Gig was not here when she was born, and once she finally did make it down, my parents had already left, so we were unable to do one until now. It was a quick service, led by Pastor G. Sassy wasn't very happy that she had to be held during the entire thing, and wiggled for much of the service, but Pastor G just went right on and pretended she wasn't making a peep.

The day before my parents left, they treated the girls and myself to a trip to Hershey Park. None of us had ever been, so we certainly had a great time! There was plenty for Crafty to ride both alone and with one of us, so there was never a dull moment. Sassy just sat back and took it all in. When Crafty would get on a ride, if Sassy could find her, she'd grin really big until her sister passed her. Then she'd eagerly look again, saying "O! O!" over and over again until she'd come back around. Sassy got to ride the carousel, which she immensely enjoyed (though, admittedly, she enjoyed the music more than the ride itself). Crafty rode everything from the Scrambler to the Whip, Hopping Frogs to the Comet (a wooden rollercoaster). The first time she rode the Comet, she SAID she didn't like it, but we caught her grinning to herself after riding it. I think it scared her but at the same time she liked it and didn't want to admit it. As we were leaving the park, she announced that she wanted to try and ride it "just one more time". This time she did much better with it, though she still didn't like the first big drop very much. By the end of the ride she was grinning and squealing with delight, so I do believe that was a success.

We had such a great time visiting with my mom and dad. The morning that they left, though, Crafty and I laid in her bed and just cried together. They were only here for three days, so it was hard for us to say good bye to them (I teared up just typing that). We are hoping to get to see them again this summer before Crafty starts school since once that starts, it will be harder for us to go down and see them. It was easier when she was in preschool and it didn't matter much if we took her out for a week. It won't be the same starting this year!

The same day my parents left, we went with Mother In Law and Gig, my sister in law, to Ocean City, MD. Gig is currently in med school in Iowa, where, obviously, there is no ocean. She was dying to get to the ocean, so we made a "quick" day trip there. It was cold and windy, but thankfully it didn't rain on us! I had hoped we would get to sit on the beach and let Crafty play in the water and sand, but that just wasn't the case. We had fun despite this. Crafty did get to dig in the sand for a bit, but not nearly enough for her liking. We walked the Boardwalk, let her ride some rides and did some shopping. We also walked to the end of a pier to get out closer to the water. The wind was whipping like crazy there, but thankfully no one got blown away! Haha. Sassy was fine as long as we let her out of the stroller from time to time to "walk" while holding someone's hands. She's getting so big!

Speaking of "so big", Sassy now plays the so big game, stretching her little arms up as high as she can when you ask "How big is Sassy?".....though, she will only do it when she feels like it. LOL.

Today the girls and I went to the library and I signed Crafty up for the summer reading program. They have TONS of activities planned every week, the first of which being tomorrow, so that will be yet another fun thing that we can do this summer for free. I am interested to see how many minutes of reading we can log this summer. Next week L & B (the neighbor kids) will be going on vacation for 9 days, so I'm sure we'll log tons of reading time then since Crafty will be tempted to use the dreaded "b" word--bored. They also handed us a booklet for the "GO" program, designed to get kids outdoors and moving. There are tons of state parks in our area and they have set out "lost" buoys with designs on them to rub when you find them. There are directions to each buoy in the booklet to help you find them. I am hoping that we can do one or two of them this summer. Since many of them are a bit of a drive from us, I am doubtful that we will be able to do the 10 required for a prize. That and combined with Sassy, it would be mildly difficult to walk over a mile in the woods to find the things, but we will try for a few of them, at least! Perhaps on Wednesdays when Golfer is golfing and there isn't much else to do! Of course, should we do this, pictures to come. We all know how much I love pictures! LOL.

Summer Days, Lazy Days...or not.

2010-05-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

The other day I decided this was going to be a very long summer, indeed, if I didn't come up with fun things to do to break up the week. The past two summers we've had playgroup, Gymboree summer camp (two years ago), and, quite honestly, the financial means to do lots of fun stuff. This summer is different. With my resignation as playgroup organizer, we won't have that option to fill our days. Money's tight so we won't be "blowin' and goin'", and any day camps are out of the question. So the other day I got to searching for either free or cheap things to do with Hope and, if the idea is free/cheap, sometimes the neighbor kids. I am still unsure if they go to a sitter during the day over the summer, but whether they do or not, I guarantee as soon as they get home, the kids'll be playing. While I fully expect them to be capable of entertaining themselves for the most part, I also fully expect, at some point to hear the dreaded "B" word. Bored. In last month's Thriving Family magazine, they had a pullout of a summer calendar with siritual actities to do with your children. I will be doing the Alphabet Creation Scrapbook with Hope, as suggested on the calendar, but wanted other fun things planned, too. A good portion of my activities are, admittedly, crafts. Crafty loves to create so I know she will be delighted doing those activities. Since we will have family in starting June 4th, I won't be starting any activities planned until June 9th. I know Moms everywhere are wondering just what they're going to do with the kiddos over the summer that will keep everyone happy, active and, well, not bored. Here is my plan.
June 9th (Wednesday)- Make paper plate tambourines.
June 11th (Friday)- Buy suplies for the Creation Scrapbook and trip to the park
June 14th (Monday)- Letter A in scrapbook
June 17th (Thursday)- Letter Z in scrapbook
June 19th (Saturday)- Trip the the park
June 21st (Monday)- Trip to the park
June 22nd (Tuesday)- Letters B and Y in scrapbook
June 25th (Friday)- Make paer tube bird feeders (spread PB or Crisco on a toilet paper tube, the cover in bird seed.
June 26th (Saturday)- Letters C and W in scrapbook
June 30th (Wednesday)- Sassy's birthday, so I'm sure we'll do something special
July 1st (Thursday)- Mural Mania: Hanging a long, wide sheet of paper on one of our outside walls to let the kids color to their heart's content
July 3rd (Saturday)- Make 4th of July decorations
July 5th (Monday)- Letters E and U in scrapbook
July 7th (Wednesday)- Letter X in scrapbook
July 9th (Friday)- Make snow cones or ice cream sundaes
July 12th (Monday)- Play with water balloons
July 13th (Tuesday)- Letters G and S in scrapbook
July 16th (Friday)- Make cover for scrapbook
July 21st (Wednesday)- Letters I and P in scrapbook
July 22nd (Thursday)- Create and outdoor obstacle course
July 24th (Saturday)- Letters J and O in scrapbook
August 2nd (Monday)- Letters F and T in scrapbok
August 4th (Wednesday)- Set up the sprinkler
August 6th (Friday)- Letters K and N in scrapbook
August 10th (Tuesday)- Letter Q in scrapbook
August 12th (Thursday)- Make silly shape retzels with refrigerated breadstick dough
August 16th (Monday)- Teach the kids the shark game (rules to come-I don't have them with me at the moment)
August 20th (Friday)- Have a backyard picnic
August 25th (Wednesday)- Go pick flowers at a local farm
August 26th (Thursday)- Crafty's birthday, so we'll do something special

Crafty starts school the 31st of August and I am unsure if I want to do an end of summer thing and invite friends for a potluck type fest. We shall see. I also fully expect this schedule to not go as planned. I am sure the days will sometimes be rearranged, and I'm ok with that but until that occurs, I enjoy knowing I have ideas at the ready to make this an enjoyable summer!

Babies and Blackberries don't mix

2010-05-22T11:09:00.001-07:00

and I'm not referring to the food. Sassy loves playing with my phone. Ok, playing sounds so innocent....she loves to chew on my phone. Which places massive amounts of drool into the little nooks and crannies. Yesterday it was brought to my attention that this is a bad thing. A very bad thing. A "your buttons on your phone will no longer work" type of bad thing. Yep. So I am currently phoneless. We don't have a land line, so I'm just outta luck. We visited the Verizon store last night to see what we could do. No insurance (we swear we thought we purchased it), and the warranty ran out in March (wouldn't that figure). I am not due for an upgrade until December. Fantastic! So we picked out a phone, went to pay for it....and I needed my driver's license. Which was at home. We already held the poor guy up 10 minutes past closing so, to home we went. This morning I got up and got ready to go to the mall to see the technician they have. Got in my car and lo and behold my phone worked. Apparently it was not completely better, though, because within an hour it started acting up, buttons doing things they weren't supposed to (the hang up button has become "36"), etc etc. So I went ahead and took it to the Verizon store anyway and basically she said the only thing she could think of to tell me was to stick it in rice for a long time (like 10 hours) and hopefully that would dry it out to work. So, my phone is sitting in rice right now, which seems silly but hopefully it'll work!

While I was at the mall, I was childless (Crafty and Sassy spent the night at Meme and Pap's last night), so I looked around at JCP (found nothing), American Eagle (again, nothing), and Aeropostale. I finally found myself a top for $4.50 at Aeropostale. They had their shorts BOGO free, but I wasn't about to pay $39.50 for even two pairs of shorts. That would just be stupid. I get home and in my e-mail is a coupon for $10 off $50 purchase. Now I'm contemplating going back, getting two pairs of shorts and a $12 shirt that I had my eye on and then using the coupon, but in the end, I'll probably talk myself out of that, too. 'Cause that still makes the shorts pretty darn pricey.....though it does make the shirt just $2. LOL. No, no. Despite the fact they were bermuda shorts....and khaki....still not worth that much. I dunno if they would even fit considering the fact I didn't try any on. This is one caveat of losing all the weight I have lost. I don't know what looks good on me anymore. On the other hand, I didn't really know what looked good on me before I lost weight, I just wanted to be covered up and have my lumpy parts hidden. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, I had minimal luck clothes shopping with what is remaining from my paycheck, but....something's better than nothing, right?

I finally got around to taking "after" pictures of myself. I set the camera up on a timer, which is why the front shot of myself is a little blurry. Not sure how I managed a clear shot on the side view. Anyway, first a picture of myself "before". This was taken pretty much the day I found out I was pregnant with Aubrey. I wanted a comparison picture so that in the beginning I could tell when exactly my belly started growing. So, this picture? Yeah, it's all me. I wasn't even 6 weeks pregnant yet.

Go on, you can say it with me. Ew. Size 10, but even that was pushin' it. Now, don't get me wrong, size 10 is not a bad size. There are plenty of women size 10 (and bigger) that are drop dead gorgeous and carry their weight well. I am short (I swear I'm 5'2" but Golfer disagrees and says 5'1"), so weight on me really has no where to go. So anyway, here are my afters.

I feel good about my body. I mean, really, 3 full term pregnancies and I'm almost the same size that I was whenever I met Golfer (7 1/2 years ago---wow has it really been that long?). I got pregnant with Crafty at 19, so instead of the "freshman 15"...well, I gained the preggo 25. After that, it just never left. Until now. Still won't wear a bikini (even now, nobody needs to see that lol), but I'll certainly be rockin' a tankini this year. Take that baby fat!

Well hello again

2010-05-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

Wow. 7 months since an ACTUAL post. Not fluff. About things actually going on in my life. What happened? Ok, so we all know, life happened. Had a baby, got job, it's all over. I've been burning the candle at both ends with barely time to catch my breath.
(Ok, seriously, this was started at 4:20....I am now typing again at 7:30...see what I mean?)
It seems that really, so little, but so much has happened over these past 7 months. I mean, really, it can all be summed up with "I eat, I sleep, I mother, I work....then do it all over again, but not particularly in that order".
Well, let's see, back in October I had just started my job. What a ride that's been. Working the holidays in retail is exhausting. That's the best way to describe it. Really. People are crazy, cranky, and in a hurry. I certainly do not miss working until midnight several times a week. Not one bit. Anyone who knows me knows that I do not do late nights. I need my sleep. I love my sleep. Don't mess with my sleep. LOL. I have been scheduled a few times back at curstomer service since I first took the job, but for the most part, I'm at the registers. I've been working about 20+ hours a week since starting, so much of my day is spent trying to clean the house and get things ready for when Golfer comes home to watch the girls and I leave to go to work.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a yard sale with our neighbors in our yard and it was a huge success (we made over $500, the other family I think a little over $200). Glad to have all that junk out of my house--though I'm still trying to figure out where it all came from lol.
During the yard sale I sold off my scrapbooking stash. Oh yeah, ALL of it. I still have a couple of bags of things, but I'm bringing them up to the church on Sunday for their scrapbooking thing they're having. I've pretty much decided to just donate it. I just want it gone. It's not that I don't enjoy it anymore....I just haven't really scrapped since October of 2008. That's a long time to go without touching anything. My table was majorly collecting dust, along with my supplies. If I waited too much longer, my supplies would be severely out of date. Then I would definitely have a difficult time getting rid of it.
The newest development in....shall we say my reinvention is that I sent out an e-mail announcing my resignation as playgroup organizer. It was time. I was forgetting events, slow to respond to e-mails, and just felt a general disconnect between the group itself. Part of it was time, part of it...well, I'm unsure what the other part of it was. I no longer felt the drive to create the calendars and come up with new events. Participation from the members has drastically declined, as well. With a group of 37 members, we were struggling to get 6 or 7 to any given event. Lots of events were cancelled due to weather, but many were cancelled due to too few members RSVP'ing to events. Polls were created to try and pinpoint why exactly this was occuring. I adjusted the calendar accordingly but nothing changed. I am hoping perhaps a change in leadership will give the group the boost it needs. I was no longer able to commit to the group as I thought I should. Then again, when I first started the group, I was the mother of one and stayed home full time. It served its purpose for the season in my life that I needed it. It is my hope that it helped other parents (I say parents since we had dad(s) in the group), as well.
Let's see...what else?
Oh, how about we do a bit of a catch up on the "she" entry? It truly was a fantastic idea, was it not?
She:

will be registering for kindergarten on June 1. She is ecstatic. I am preparing myself for the fact that she is 99% likely to get half day kindergarten. Did I mention "day" really consists of less than 3 hours? LOL. She's ready for so much more than that, but it as our decision to hold her back, so one more year of her only being at school minimally it is!
is obsessed with Super Mario Brothers for the Wii. OBSESSED. I do not use that term lightly.
frequently sings the Phineas and Ferb "Gitchi Gitchi Goo" song. Always makes me to smile to hear her do that.
wants a "keeney" this year for a swimsuit 'cause she wants her "belly to show". Heaven help me.

She:

says "bye bye" and waves. "Bye bye" comes out "buh buh". She never does it until the person she's saying it to has already left the room.
is our little mischief maker--always into something!
will stare at her sister's car seat after dropping Crafty off at school and on our way to pick her up. She gets really excited and grins when Crafty finally gets into the van.
still isn't much interested in solids--unless it's cake and ice cream. Oh dear!
looks eerily like her Daddy. No lie.

In other news, the girls' combined birthday party is coming up very, very quickly. We will be doing their party June 6th since Auntie Gig (Golfer's sister) and my parents are coming in at the same time. Gig had to plan her vacation a year in advance and at the time, we didn't know when Sassy was going to be born, so she just picked a date. We figured Crafty would be quite upset if Gig, Grammy & Big Daddy were all at her sisters' birthday but not hers. Therefore the combined party was born. We started with a "Pinkalicious" and "Purplicious" theme but when I asked Crafty if she wanted to be pink or purple, she would always tell me blue. So I came up with the idea for a rainbow party. That has somehow morphed into a Wizard of Oz party. So I'm only ordering a couple of WoO themed items, but mostly it's just going to be a rainbow of items. There are 12 picnic tables in the pavilion I reserved at a park. I figure I'll do tablecloths in the ROYGBIV, two tables for each color. Large plates one color, cake plates another, same for napkins, plasticware, cups.....I think you get the idea. For a craft, the kids are going to do sand art (you know, where you layer sand in a little plastic or glass containers). So far I have 6, but since I can get them at Kohls, I'll wait until I get some RSVPs to buy anymore since I am unsure how many kiddos will be there. We allowed Crafty to invite 5 friends, but since I am unsure how many will come, I don't want to buy too many (though I could obviously buy some then return them if needed). We'll be playing two games. The first, I'm going to cover two shoe boxes (or two bricks--not sure yet), with yellow paper (or if the bricks, yellow spray paint). The kids will divide up into teams (or if I get the feeling that feelings will be hurt if someone doesn't win, they'll just do it one by one) and using a broom push the ball down to the yellow brick and back again. For the other game, they'll do a scavenger hunt for the ruby red slippers. Then they can just play over at the playground. For food, we'll have the main food of crabs and fried chicken (like every other birthday party we've ever held lol), pb&j on rainbow bread for the kids, rainbow goldfish crackers, rainbow fruit salad (strawberries, mandarin oranges, pineapple, kiwi, grapes) with a fruit dip, then of course our rainbow cupcakes or cake...again, not sure which one I'm going to do yet. I think that's more than enough. Not sure what happened to my simple birthday party, but 'tis what 'tis. My last count was 49 people. Egads! I have concluded that this time around I will not resolve to blog frequently. Once a week. This is me hoping for once a week. I read a good part of my blogs from back when Crafty was Sassy's age and I enjoyed reading about what life was like then. It brought back some memories. As an aside, it also helped me see where my current ridiculous exhaustion is coming from. I swear it's a 10 month hormone crash from having a baby. I commented in my blog around this time with Crafty that was I ridiculously exhausted and couldn't figure out why. Guess that explains it. I'll be glad when it goes away again! It's the pits!

~*~*~EDIT~*~*~

Oh my, I was so wrapped up in updating about the girls that I didn't even mention my recent weight loss! Back in February, during "Snowmaggedon", I got fed up with the weight I was at (126 lbs, the heaviest I ever was, and a few BMI points from being overweight for my height), and resolved to lose weight. I started a weight loss challenge (though by week 10, I'm pretty sure it was just me lol) with some friends on Facebook and got to work. By May 3rd and the end of the challenge, I was less than a pound away from my goal of 110 pounds. I didn't start out with that goal. I actually started out with a goal of 114, but once I got going, I decided to change it. Now, 13 weeks later, I'm down 17 pounds. This morning, I'm below even that, but I don't count it until Mondays since "they" say to only weigh yourself once a week.....yeah, I don't have the self control for that. Besides, it helps me stay on track to weigh myself every morning. I just don't count the weight loss as official until Monday morning. When I first started, my waist measurement was 37" and my hip measurement was 39". As of Monday, my waist was down to 30.5" and my hips to 36.5". I'm hoping to have Golfer take pictures of myself soon. We shall see.

Weight Loss Tips

2010-05-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

I have almost lost a total of 17 pounds since February and have been asked by several for my "tips" or "secrets". Really, everything I've learned, I've learned from Spark People. However, since I've been asked, here are my findings. Hope they help you and feel free to ask me questions if you have any!

Spark People is a free web based tool for tracking calories, fitness, weight loss, and other goals (such as drinking more water, watching less tv, anything you can think of, really). They offer customizable meal plans (don't like beans? simply click on that menu option and they will give you other options that will help you meet your daily nutritional goals), but you don't have to use the meal plans if you would rather plan your own meals.
You don't have to start out big exercise wise. Just try to move more than usual. If all that means is parking father away from the entrance of Wal-Mart, then so be it. More movement than usual is better than still sitting on your rear watching T.V. I started walking 30 minutes on the treadmill, gradually adding running into the mix until I finally stepped off the treadmill and started "pounding pavement". Then I started adding more mileage to those outside runs. It took me from February until April to get to the point I wanted to even TRY a 5K. When I was deep in it, I was running 5 times a week, about 40 minutes a day. Now I've backed off majorly, but only because my body is making me and won't wake up to run!
I try my best to drink nothing but water. Water is the best thing to drink. Period. Anyone who knows me well knows I can't stand to drink flat water all the time....but I've gotten used to it and have even gotten to where I crave it. When I absolutely MUST have a soda (which, admittedly is still at least once a day), I have a Diet Coke instead of regular Coke. Before February, I was drinking upwards for 5 or 6 cans of Coke a day.
You hear it all the time, but it's true. Always, ALWAYS eat breakfast. There have been one or two days that I haven't and by lunch time I'm starving, which causes me to choose foods that are not healthy for me. Make your breakfast filling, it is recommended around 400 calories, but I rarely eat that many calories for breakfast. My current favorite is either a cup of Special K cereal, several strawberries, sliced, and a quarter cup of fat free milk or a multigrain, low fat waffle, a tbs of peanut butter, and half of a banana sliced on top. If you're in a hurry, try cutting an apple in half and adding a tbs of peanut butter in each side, or grab a Nutrigrain bar. Something's better than nothing!
Meal plan. Don't go to the grocery store blind. You will end up with things in your cart that are not good for you. This includes planning your snacks. Also, plan one night a week to make dessert for yourself and your family. Hungry Girl cookbooks have delicious, low calorie, low fat desserts that will rock your world. It makes you feel like you're cheating, and, if you have children, is a great way to teach them about indulging sensibly.
Invest in a food scale. Wal-Mart has a digital one for less than $20 that does both ounces and grams. 3 ounces of meat is different than you think, I promise. It certainly was for me.
Measure and weigh everything. Take a month or two getting familiar with what your most commonly consumed foods look like when measured out. If you need to, buy multiple cheap measuring spoons and cups so you're not washing them all day long. Be sure once you start "eyeballing" it that you revisit the measurements every few weeks to make sure you're making the right measurements and not over or underestimating it.
Mix your food choices up. If you eat the same thing day in and day out, week in and week out, you will get bored, therefore making bad choices. I am constantly trying out new recipes for every meal. I have tried lots of things that I would not have otherwise tried.
Don't be afraid to "cheat". This is not permission to go whole hog at a restaurant and order every fattening thing on the menu simply because you're cheating that night. LOL. Do your research before you go. If your cheat is your entree, when it gets to the table, IMMEDIATELY ask for a to go box, divide it in half and take the rest home. Voila! Now you get to cheat two meals. LOL. If your splurge is an appetizer or dessert, figure out what the healthiest entree choice (hint: it's not always the salad--so always check the online menus and nutrition facts), then eat only SOME of the appetizer or dessert. Do not, under any circumstances, eat all of it. Share with a friend, pack up half to go (like with the entree), or eat some of it then have the server remove it from the table completely. For example, Matthew loves to order calamari when we eat at Olive Garden, and it's one of my favorites, too. Last time we went, he of course ordered some, I allowed myself about 5 pieces, all eaten slowly by cutting them into pieces, then had them put on the other side of the table and I heavily involved myself in the conversation.
Be realistic. Most of us these days cannot cut fast food out of our diets completley. Know what the healthiest choices are from all of your favorite fast food places. If they offer fruit or salad instead of fries, take that option. Carry your own salad dressing if you have to (you'll feel silly at first, but you'll be glad you did, I promise--Kraft makes little to go packs of their Italian dressing if you don't want to carry around a whole bottle.)
Got a sweet tooth? Buy a bag of Dark Chocolate Hershey Kisses. They are only 25 calories in a single kiss. Here's the kicker though, take one and suck on it instead of chewing it. It will make it last longer, therefore more satisfying for your sweet tooth. If you don't think you'll have the self control to only eat one, grab one as you're walking out the door so that you're not tempted to grab another one.

This is all I can think of for now. I have to get Crafty together for school, but if you have a questions, please feel free to comment (you don't need an account to leave a comment), and I will answer it to the best of my ability.

Over or Under? (Cottonelle)

2010-01-14T16:00:00.000-08:00

Click the button above to vote for team under or team over. How do you position your new toilet paper rolls? I usually just put it over, since that just feels natural to me. By leaving a comment on this post, you will be entered to win 1 of 10 Cottonelle gift baskets random chosen on January 29, 2010 from all entries.

I am entering a contest for a month's worth of Cottenelle toilet paper with this post, as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.

Maximizing Your Grocery Budget with Coupons and Circulars

2009-10-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks, I've saved over $20 at the grocery store (this past week was my major save at $55.49 savings--$172.73 worth of groceries for $117.24). A girlfriend of mine asked me for a how-to and at first I thought she was joking. I was wrong. LOL. She was serious. So tonight I sat down and typed this up for her and thought I would share it here.

First you'll need to gather the coupons from Sunday's paper, your grocery store sales paper, scissors, paper and a pen. First, keep in mind that you CANNOT be a brand snob if you *really* want to save money. I buy whatever is on sale, OR if I really need something & it is not on sale, whatever item is the cheapest (for example, this past week, I needed canned green chilis and none were on sale, so I bought the cheapest they had for $1.19). Also, expect to spend at least half an hour a week, if not more, cutting coupons, going through the sales papers and comparing prices/pairing sales prices with coupons you have.

A few tips:If your chosen grocery store has a card member program SIGN UP FOR IT. This is the best way to get the best prices you can!
Also, keep a calculator in your purse. Yes, you will feel stupid punching in every item, BUT it will keep you from spending too much AND help you make sure you are getting the best deal! Do NOT use your cell phone calculator. If someone calls you while you're shopping, you'll lose your total--trust me. I know. LOL.
We've all heard it, but it bears repeating: don't go to the store hungry. You will buy everything in sight and kill your budget. Know your budget. My budget varies depending on the hours I get at work since we use my paycheck to pay for groceries. So last week it was ok that I spent $120 on groceries, but this coming week my paycheck for the 9 hours they gave me last week will give me less than $100 to work with, so we'll be relying on some of the items I bought in previous weeks. My budget includes food (for breakfast, lunch & dinner 7 days a week), cleaning supplies, and once we have gone through our diaper storage, diapers as well.

Cut out any and all coupons you THINK you would possibly use. If there are no allergy restrictions (from fragrances, etc) or anything, this includes laundry detergent you wouldn't usually buy (for example, I use whatever and last week, All was on sale AND I had a coupon for $1.50 off, so that's what I bought). A few weeks ago, they had Skippy peanut butter on sale (not my usual purchase) 3 for a certain price (can't remember what it was--I want to say $5, so $1.66/jar) plus I had a coupon for we'll say another 40 cents off 2 jars. I figured it up and to do it this way, I got those three jars of pb (a necessity in our house since Hope is a pb&j monster hehe) for cheaper than I would have getting the Giant brand peanut butter. Now go through your chosen store's circular and circle the items you have a coupon for, that are on sale that you can buy to start a little bit of storage, or put in your freezer for later. Now go through and plan your menus around what is on sale this week (I give an example of this later on). Create your grocery list based on the sales and the ingredients needed to carry out your menu.

One way that I have been saving is we buy meat in bulk. We just went in with 5 other families and bought a cow for slaughter (hated the thought WE were sending it slaughter instead of a big company....weird, but it felt dirtier that way for some reason but I digress). Our portion was 50 lbs of ground beef, plus other a few other cuts, including steaks and roasts (I can't remember off the top of my head what). So I do not include that in my weekly buy price since it was paid up front. HOWEVER if you pay attention to the sales papers for your store, plan your menus around what cuts of meat are on sale (again, I give an example further down). If you have a freezer, make use of it, buy freezer bags and freeze bulk meat in individual serving sizes. I say individual serving sizes b/c if there are times your spouse is not home, you can still make yourself dinner without thawing an entire package of meat (Hope and I always share a large chicken breast, so this definitely works for us for now...at least until Aubrey starts eating big people food). Yes, it takes planning and a little extra work, but it's worth it!

Ok, to break it down for you. Last week , I had a gift card from my inlaws for $25. Giant was having a sale that if you bought $25 worth of items from a particular page in the circular, you received a $10 coupon to use on your next "order" (this I set aside for my coming week of a small grocery budget to help stretch my money a little farther). So I decided to use it for that. I was able to get:
Two bags of Ore Ida crispy crinkle fries- $4.78
Freezer waffles (Aunt Jemima brand) 4 boxes - ($6)
2 Turkey Hill Ice Creams - $2.50 each
Hot Pockets 6 boxes - $10 total
Uncrustables - $2.29 plus a coupon for .75 extra off
Then I decided I would give myself $30 extra from cash I had on hand to stock up on other items.
Musselman's 4 packs of applesauce were 10 for $10.
Lipton Noodles & Sauce (a favorite at our house) 10 for $10
Pillsbury Cake & Brownie mixes 10 for $10 (oh look, that takes care of several birthdays for a while--especially if I make my own frosting with ingredients I always have on hand).

For this shopping trip, according to the receipt, I had the following coupons
$1 off, .75 off, .75 cents off (not sure what for on the $1 and one .75 off).

My total before savings was $85.21, total savings was $29.64 and my total after was $55.57. So all I paid after the gift card was $30.57.

I know what you're thinking. I can't make any meals out of that stuff! LOL. Nope. I can't. However, Crafty eats waffles like there's no tomorrow (she's already gone through one of the boxes in a week), so they won't last us long. The Uncrustables were a rare treat. After the coupon, I couldn't even MAKE 4 pb&j's for that price, so I went for it. The applesauce was no sugar/no high fructose corn syrup added, so it is a healthy option for this winter when I cannot get apples very cheaply--they are good until well into 2010, so we'll be in no hurry to eat them all. The rest just were treats (hot pockets, ice cream and fries), but they were worth every penny because they will last us a while).

Want to see what the circulars/sales/coupons look like paired with a menu plan? Ok. This coming week's menu:
Beef & Noodles (needs no sides)
Chili Pasta Skillet (needs no sides)
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, can corn (got potatoes ? lb. bag BOGO free, corn during a sale two weeks ago)
Beef w/ parmesan potatoes
Ranch Chicken & canned green beans (green beans bought on sale two weeks ago)
Sandwiches and chips (deli meat bought last week and the pack has not been opened yet, so it's still fresh)
Leftovers

My grocery list:
Pumpkin pops (to donate to the church for Light the Night) - 2/$4
Kraft Mac & Cheese 5 pack (2)- 2/$5
Cheez It (2) - 2/$5
Natural Cheetos Puffs - $3.99
Teddy Grahams individual baggies (to donate to the school)- $2.58
Quaker Chewy Granola Bars - $2.50 each (I had a coupon for these)
Clorox Bleach - 2/$3.38 (I had a coupon for these, as well)
Can green chilis- $1.19
16.9 oz. Cokes (6 packs)- 4/$10 (so I can bring a drink to work and not get them from the vending machine at $1 a bottle)
Finish dishwashing detergent - 2/$6.98 (had a coupon)
Gatorade 32 oz. bottles - 10 for $10
Sunbeam bread Ranch size (4 loaves)- Buy 1 Get 1 Free 2/$2.89 (these will go in the freezer, we go through bread fast)
Wisk laundry detergent- $3.99
Capri Sun (5 boxes)- 5/$10
Giant beef broth (2)- 2/$1
Kidney beans - .89
Travel size baby wipe - $1.49 (these were an unplanned purchase. I used the last of my wipes in the diaper bag while at the grocery store lol)
Giant brand corn flakes - $2.05 (for the Ranch chicken--I will freeze what I don't use for this recipe)
Julienne sundried tomatoes- $3.99
Sweet Italian Sausage (4) - Buy 1 Get 1 Free so 2/$3.99
Boneless Skinless Chicken - $7.30 (reg. $14.64)
Country Crock stick butter - $1.29
International Delight creamer - 2/$3
Milk - $1.68
Shredded cheese (2 mozzarella, 1 parmesan) - 3/$5
heavy cream - $1.09
Cheedar Cheese bars (3) - 3/$5
Tylenol Cold - $5.59 (None of us are sick, but I also had a coupon for this and it made it cheaper than even at Wal-Mart, so I bought it just in case since it was such a good price.)

I had the following coupon totals:
$1.50
$1.50
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00

Total number of items bought: 62

Total Before Savings: $172.73
Total Savings: $55.49
Total After Savings:$117. 24

Also, keep in mind, I get my produce from the farmer's market. During the winter months ahead, I will use store brand frozen veggies & canned veggies, whenever they are on sale, I will stock up. I missed that sale last week of .99/bag frozen veggies, but I think I can get Wal-Mart brand for about that price regularly, so I'm not worried about it. At least that's what i"m doing this winter. Next year when the market opens, I hope to buy extra and freeze what I can for the colder months. I DID do a price check at Wal-Mart of many of these items I bought and they WERE cheaper than Wal-Mart prices, so the total savings is truly a savings and not just a savings for Giant only.

Ok, so you're saying you don't have a Giant in your area. Let's go with Kroger then. I'll still be going by what *I* would buy, only using a different store's sales paper with the coupons I have on hand right now to show that it can be done other places. (I will be keeping a running total in parenthesis)Looking at this week's ad for Kroger at Kroger.com in the 77630 zip code:
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish 10/$10 ($10)
Pantene Pro-V Shampoo & Conditioner - $2.97 each w/ $1 coupon ($14.94)
Kroger Long Grain Rice - 10/$10 ($24.94)
Ball Park Franks - 2/$5 ($29.94)
King Russet Potatoes 8 lb. bag - $2.99 ($32.93)
Tyson Cornish Hens twin pack - $4.99 ($37.92)
Heritage Farm Ham (we'll assume 2 lb ham since they look smaller) - $3.99/lb ($45.90)Rotesserie chicken - $4.99 ($50.89)
Private selection deli ham (1 lb) - $6.99/lb ($57.88)
Nature's Own White Wheat bread (2 loaves sandwich bread, 1 loaf hot dog buns) - 3/$5 ($62.88)

Now, I don't know what the original prices are, or what the prices of the other items I would buy would be (milk, various snacks etc) but assume I spent $37.12 more for a total of $100, give or take depending on tax, but with those items above, the menu would be:
Ham, mashed potatoes & green beans (canned that I have on hand)
Cornish hens, rice, & frozen corn
Rotesserie chicken (on the day I do my shopping), oven baked seasoned potatoes (from potatoes I have on hand), frozen broccoli
Hot dogs
Leftovers (particularly the rotesserie chicken, since we always have leftovers with those--the leftovers could also be shredded, then tossed with BBQ sauce to make chicken BBQ sandwiches)Meatloaf (with the ground beef from the cow we bought)
Sandwiches and chips (chips bought during grocery trip for whatever price--though I still would buy a bag that is on sale or store brand plain potato chips)

For lunches, I would eat leftovers from the night before, a sandwich, or pasta tossed with olive oil & tomato basil Mrs. Dash (I bought pasta 10 boxes for $10 a few weeks ago).

For breakfast, we would have the options of yogurt (bought a few weeks ago on sale with a coupon--they are good for another week and a half), toast, waffles (from the waffles bought last week) or oatmeal (from our stash).

Once you get in the store, you will see other items that they have on sale that they couldn't fit in the weekly circular. This is why you have your calculator (other than keeping your total as you put items in the cart). Sometimes it is a good price. Sometimes it's not. Use your calculator to figure out the per unit price (like with my Skippy peanut butter example at the very beginning). Just know what your family will and will not eat and how FAST they will eat it, keeping the product's perishable rate in mind. For example, Kroger had their brand of shredded and block cheese 10 for $10. This is a GREAT deal, however, cheese does not freeze well and my family, though we are big cheese heads, would not eat it that quickly, even if we had some every night of the week. So it would not be a good deal for us. However, this might work well for a larger family.

Now with this week's circular, I have set aside coupons for:
$1.50 off entire order (received from Giant two weeks ago, expires this week)
$10 off entire order (to be able to use both of these, I will need to make two trips to the store since they cannot be used together, but I'll just make a quick stop after dropping Hope off at school one afternoon this week, doesn't expire soon, but this is a low budget week, so I want to use it to stretch my $$)
$.40 off any 4 Campbell's Condensed Tomato or Chicken Noodle soups (these are also on sale 5/$3 bringing the total to $2.60 for 5)
$1 off one package Perdue Sauce & Toss chicken (on sale as well for $7.99 for a total of $6.99, I would like to try them but don't want to pay full price just in case we don't like them, these will be a dinner one night in the future)
$1 off two packages of Beggin' Strips (also on sale for $2.69, bringing the total to $2.19 each--.50 off each)
$1.50 Wanchai Ferry Frozen Entree (also on sale for $5.99, bringing the total to $4.49 --Golfer liked these, so this will be a nice treat for us)

Any questions? Post it at the bottom just in case someone else has the same question and I will answer it to the best of my ability. I hope that I was clean in my explanation and that it helped you some.

Infestation

2009-10-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

There is an infestation in my house, but luckily I have the tools to fight back that I did not once have. Fruit flies. I hate them. They are annoying and the little buggers are so stinking difficult to get rid of. Finally though, they're getting what's coming to them. Vinegar and dish soap in a cup. Oh yeah. Take that, fruit flies. Now, granted, my pantry & next to my sink smell like vinegar but they are slowly but surely drowning themselves. THANK HEAVEN. I'm tired of those stupid things buzzing around my head and flying suddenly out of my sink when I turn the water on. Not cool. You aren't welcome, fruit flies. Get out of my house!

Photostory Friday

2009-10-09T07:10:00.001-07:00

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Me & my girls yesterday. Crafty with her Wizard of Oz Dorothy hair (hmmm you can't really see it in the picture lol), Sassy with her first little piggies (or antennae hehe). We don't get many pictures of me and the girls since I'm behind the camera all the time.

Tackle It Tuesday

2009-10-06T04:47:00.001-07:00

I FINALLY tackled my entire house. LOL. Took me long enough, right? Ridiculous, I say! It took me an entire Sunday afternoon and evening, but I got it done!

Today I'm tackling some errands that need to be run. I need to go to the library to return a book I was unable to renew because someone has it on hold. It was due yesterday but I didn't see it was on hold until I had gotten home from work around 9:45, so it was too late to drive back out to the library and put it in the box. Ah well. I also need to go to the store for hairspray, deodorant (I'm sure everyone will appreciate that one rofl), and milk. Finally, I need to go to Kohl's to get some clothes for work. Ok, ok, so I just need clothes in general, but mainly I will be getting clothes for work. We have to dress business casual and...well, I don't HAVE business casual. Ok, I don't have many clothes period.That includes REAL pajamas (not an oversized, stained t-shirt and holey pants), bras & panties, among other items. LOL. My list of clothing wants is as follows (in the order of need):
khakis
4 nice tops or blouses
2 bras
camisoles for layering (mine are all ratty b/c they are at least 3 years old--I need black & white ones)
casual tops for when I'm not working
panties
dress socks

Ok, ok and my list of items I don't particularly need but it would be nice to have:
dress shoes in a pretty color....but are comfortable
small pieces of jewelry to accessorize

Obviously this is a really long list of things and I won't be getting it all today. I'll start at the top of my list and work my way down, buying a little bit at a time. Hopefully I'll find some things that will work (ok, so I probably will--as I was walking back to orientation, I saw several tops that I like lol). Either way, I'll take pictures (perhaps even with me actually in the items---well except bras & undies b/c um....ew) once that part of my day of errands is done!

Now, I'm off to try and figure what on earth that smell in the basement is. It's driving me insane and I can smell it everytime I pass the basement door...but apparently I'm the only one that smells it!