Healthy Meal Ideas

I am truly blessed with a husband who will eat pretty much anything.  He is not a picky eater.  Same thing with my kids, for the most part they will eat just about anything.  There are a few items that they don't like, but that is to be expected with anyone.

We do however get extremely bored in our family eating the same thing week after week. I realized some time ago that I could easily get in a rut recycling the same meals over and over again. I would sometimes venture out and check out some stuff on Food Network, but some of that stuff can be a little bit more high brow than what I want to make for a weekly meal (with the exception of Rachel Ray...I do a lot of her meals since they are mostly quick and easy and Paula Deen is wonderful but I think every one of her recipes has a ginormous amount of butter in it...SIGH wonderful, wonderful, butter).

Another issue is that we have been trying to eat healthier/low cal/low fat meals.  This threw me for a loop at first because I'd been cooking a certain way for YEARS, and to completely change my eating habits and the way I cooked wasn't going to be easy (insert whining here). After a couple years of TRYING to eat healthy I think I've finally gotten it down, especially over the past year.

So, within the past year SparkRecipies has become my go to place for a good, healthy meal. I've tried out a TON of stuff on there and some has worked, some has not. It's a gamble, but sometimes it turns out to be totally worth it.

I also stumbled across a blog called Our Best Bites.  I have fallen in LOVE with these meals.  Not all of them are low cal/low fat, but some are.  

There are several of my friends out there who are trying to find healthy meals that actually taste good,  or some friends that just need some new ideas, so I decided to share what has worked for me recently over the past several weeks. 

Peanut and Sesame Noodles (SparkRecipies)
This was a HUGE gamble.  It was kinda a wacky out there recipe.   I added some steamed frozen broccoli to the recipe because it just needed something different.  My kids totally loved this.  It is a bit "heavy" tasting, but it's still only a little above 200 calories per serving.  This turned out to be good enough to make again!

New England Clam Chowder (SparkRecipies)I was also concerned about a "low fat" version of clam chowder.  Also when I purchased the clam juice in the store I thought it looked like the grossest thing I'd ever seen. (It was a running joke in our house that if you did something wrong, you'd have to drink the clam juice). I kept pushing this meal off until finally it was one of the last things in the cupboard.  This was YUM.  Only 153 calories per serving!  Even the kids loved it!

Alfredo Pesto Chicken (SparkRecipies)
This was pretty good.  231 calories per serving BEFORE the whole wheat pasta.  Not bad, and it was really easy.  Nothing to write home about, but still not bad.  It was easy and that's what made it so good I think.

Slow Cooker Beef and Mushrooms (Spark Recipies)
This was a HUGE hit at our house.  HUGE.  I added a bit of low fat sour creme at the end and served over whole wheat egg noodles to make it a healthy alternative to stroganoff.  My whole family LOVED it.  I don't care for mushrooms, but the chunks were big enough that I was able to pick them out.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (SparkRecipies)
I'd never made my own pizza dough before and this turned out really good, AND it's healthy to boot!  I topped it with low fat cheese and veggies (zucchini) and grilled chicken.  The kids loved it (even our friends kids who were over for the evening that I was babysitting).  They looked at it and said "we don't like that kind of pizza."  That was about ten minutes before they cleared their plates and kept coming back for more. 

Chicken Mushroom Quesadillas (Food Network)
I stumbled upon this about a year ago and fell in love with it.  I've made it a handful of times since then.  The mushrooms are really hard to pick out, so if you don't like them, omit them.  This is really good with some pico or guac on the side.  Guac is high fat, but it's a good fat.


Baked Sweet Potato Fries (Our Best Bites)
I was extremely leery of these.  I had tried them once before (a different recipe) and failed miserably at making them.  My family HATED them the first time.  I kept running into them though on different websites and everyone just raved at how yummy they were.  I thought I'd give it a try one last time.  I came across this recipe and realized that I just didn't cook mine long enough and that made them really soggy the first time.  These turned out perfect.  They were crispy on the outside and yummy on the inside.  I didn't make their dip because I had honey mustard dip in the fridge and that was easier.

Smoky Honey Mustard Pork Chops (Our Best Bites)
My husband made these last night while I made the sweet potato fries.  OMG they were delicious.  I have always had trouble with pork chops.  The ones that I usually liked were the high fat bad for you chops, and the other chops I would get (boneless) were the breakfast chops which had zero flavor.  I can't believe this is the first time I bought sirloin pork chops.  They were low fat, tender and full of flavor after cooking them on the grill.  They were great!

I have a lot of neat meal ideas on the menu for this week (Southwest stuffed bell peppers, Greek style pita sandwiches, zucchini fries with corn flake nuggets, & Manicotti)  Can't wait to try out all these new recipes!

Decrapification - The Girls Room/Closet

Every spring and fall it's the same thing. As I look forward to the changing season there is also a fear and a dread that comes over me. It's this nagging thing that I push and push off until I MUST do it.

Organize the girls seasonal clothes and clean out their closet.

Dum, dum dum dum dum!

I've gotten pretty handy at organizing other areas of my home. The medicine cabinet wasn't bad, and neither was the laundry closet, but I go into my girls room, look in the closet, shake my head and just usually end up walking out totally defeated. There is just SO much stuff I never know where to begin. I usually end up just pulling out everything and end up cramming it back in the closet in a slightly more organized mess than I began with.

I can't live like this anymore. It's driving me insane.

So, before I began this time, I decided to wrap my mind around the project and break it down into simpler steps. I went and took a look in their room and closet. I looked at what items needed to be organized, and what inventory of organizational supplies I had on hand, then I was able to compile a list of what I'd need, and where everything would go.

I made a spreadsheet so when my husband and I budgeted we could look at it and see what fits in the budget this week so we stay on track with our finances, and then I have a reference to look back upon.  I know it may be a bit overkill and nerdy, but it really helps me not to DREAD this project.  Knowing that I have a space to put everything.

So, now I had a list complied of what I needed to organize the girls closet, where I would relocate certain items to better utilize the storage I had and a list of new items I needed to buy.  I was really happy with how much relocating certain items would free up space and use the storage I have in a more efficient manner, so my buy list was pretty small.

Shoe Rack
Two 15 gal bins
One shoebox size bin
4 drawer organizers

A NICE to have would be some wood for Jamin to build a dress up bin, but we are going to try and do that out of scraps. Until then I will use the current bin that I have. It's not great, but it will work to save us on the budget. The drawer organizers and shoebox size bin I was able to find at the dollar store. The shoe rack and two 15 gallon bins I got at Target. Total I spent $27.00 on all the items I needed. I went out and got these FIRST before I even entered their room. That way I was ready to relocate items.

Here are my before photos of the room and the closet. It's a giant overwhelming mess.

 

Here is the room, it normally looks pretty bad, and that is expected because the girls play in it.  I can't expect it to be immaculate all the time.

 

Drawers just stuffed with clothes.  I guarantee you not one item of clothing in there is folded properly.

 

This is really just to show off our kitchen set again and to show you the CUTEST banners my husband's sister Ginger made my kids.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE them.

 

My nemesis.  The closet.

 

See all those bags and bags of clothing just stuffed on the top shelf?  That is what I eventually need to get to.  I have to get through the closet mess first though.

 

This bin is SUPPOSED to be for kitchen items, but it's always overflowing with miscellaneous junk too.

 

These bins are the worst waste of space ever.  I realized I needed to better utilize the storage that I did have.  I can never find shoes because they are just piled on top of the dresser in the closet.

I started just putting stuff in bins and rearranging.  It was easy because I'd all ready planned out where everything would go.  Well it was as easy as it can be with little ones running under your feet.  Even with an entire room full of toys to play with, whatever mommy was doing in the closet was MUCH more interesting to get into.

I finished up day ONE with getting the room clean and the closet clean.  Next was time to tackle the clothing.  I started by yanking EVERYTHING out of their drawers and going through that first.  I then move items that are no longer needed into file boxes in the attic marked as to what size and season they are for.

 

Here is a photo of my piles of clothes and bags to go through.  This is not even CLOSE to all of them that I need to go through.

I then started pulling out clothes in their size and put them into a pile.  Then I started separating the clothes that needed folded from dresses that would hang, and then winter from summer clothes.  (because of Oklahoma's wacky weather I need to keep warmer clothes on hand in case they are needed).  I put the summer shorts and shirts into the dresser in the bedroom, and winter and warmer clothes go into the "reserve" dresser in their closet.  This makes fall sorting easier and I have stuff on hand for chillier spring days.

Sorting the clothes was definitely almost a full days work.  It took me about six hours to do it all.  I know that sounds like a crazy amount of time, but I am REALLY blessed with neighbors and family that gives me hand me downs.  I don't have to buy one single item for my girls this summer except for some sandals for Lucy and a swimsuit for Evie.  They almost have more clothes than they can wear!

I got a little nutty and started labeling bins, which may have been overkill, but I just like the way it looks. Also if the older kids help clean the room, they know where everything goes. So, after two days of hard work, here it is for me to show off!

 

Bins better used to hold play food, play bake-ware and play dishes! It also gives the girls some "counter" space.

 

Pajama and sock drawer.  Everything folded neatly and socks in their little organizers from the dollar store!

 

The room is clean (for at least five minutes)

 

Books in a nice little basket.

 

Lego's and wooden blocks & Lucy's dresses.

 

Clean, organized, beautiful closet!

 

I can actually find the shoes now!  (That is our door that leads to the upstairs attic)

 

My nerdy labels.  

BEFORE

AFTER

All in all I'm totally proud of how it turned out.  Room by room I'm getting this house organized a little at a time, and each time I do it I'm getting a little better at it!

Money Saving Tip #1 - cooking a whole chicken

I'm not big on New Years resolutions, but my husband and I decided that this year we are going to really focus on trying to get completely out of debt. We are taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at our church to help us get motivated. We KNOW the principles, but we really think that the class we help keep us accountable. Not just accountable to ourselves, but to a group as well. At the same time we hope to meet other couples that are going through the same thing we are.

So, I took most of November and December off of couponing, and just let it slack, but I'm back in full swing. I took all day Monday and clipped about six weeks worth of coupons and re-organized my big binder.

I thought along the way of me trying to save a penny here and there that I would share some of my successes. Here is my money saving tip #1.

I take a whole chicken (about $3-$4 at Aldi) and cook it. I usually get 3 meals out of it and the best chicken stock you will ever have.

So here goes.

I take the chicken after it's thawed, rinse it and put it in a large stock pot with onion, celery, carrots, salt, pepper and garlic. I don't bother peeling the onion or garlic because I drain that out at the end and it adds flavor. Cover it with water and boil it until the chicken is falling off the bone.

After it is done, I pull out the chicken and drain the broth into a big pot, using a strainer to remove all the vegetables, so I'm just left with the broth.  I separate the broth into containers and place it in the fridge.  It needs to cool so the fat can come to the top.  Once the fat is floating on the top you just skim it off and can freeze it for use later to make some of the best chicken soup you will ever have.

While my broth is cooling I cut up my chicken and pull it from the bone.  Make sure not to get any bones in your meat.  It should be coming off the bone pretty easily.

I chop up my chicken and freeze it in labeled bags.  I usually freeze about two cups of chicken at a time because I have a large family and usually double my recipes for chicken pot pie and chicken and dumplings etc...if you have a smaller family you could freeze it in one cup portions and your meals will stretch farther.

I was able to get three meals worth of chicken and some awesome broth for about $4.  It costs some time and patience now, but in the long run it will save me time and money on dinners to be able to just thaw out the cooked chicken and throw it in a easy meal.

Decrapification - The Medicine Cabinet

I'm stealing the word "decrapification" from my new-found hero Thrifty Decor Chick.  I just love that word...decrapification.  Anyways decrapifification of my home has begun.  I do not want to appear on an episode of "Horders, Buried Alive," and if I continue on in the chaos I've been living in that's where I'll end up. 

I decided to start with my bathroom medicine cabinet.  It has been pretty much a total mess ever since we moved in.  I think I've cleaned it maybe once in the past two years.  Stuff just gets thrown up there and never really sorted through.  So I decided to dedicate this afternoon to organizing my medicine cabinet.

If you think I suck at decorating stuff, I REALLY suck at organization, but with all the couponing I've been doing it's been nagging at me that I was gonna need to eventually do something to control the chaos.  I start organizing and get into a total tizzy on how to organize stuff.  Like, do I go by ailment or do I organize by kids medicine vs. adult medicine, or both?  For GOD sakes it makes my head spin.  If you don't believe me check out my post on organizing my kids clothing.  It's enough to make me insane.

So, I actually GOOGLED "how to organize your medicine cabinet."  I'm not kidding people.  The consensus is to organize by ailment like "cold and flu" and "pain relief", etc...so I started on the daunting task of going through all my meds.

So, for those of you who are organizationally challenged like me, here is what I did.  Maybe it will help you, or maybe you can give me ANY advice for the future ;)

Here is my before shot.  It's NOT pretty.  It's downright embarrassing.  It's a total pain in the rear to try and find anything in there at all.

I cleaned it all out, and wiped down the cupboards.

Then I organized categories of meds into piles.  It about threw me into a tizzy when one medicine would fit more than one category.  For example:  Hydro-cortisone.  It could go into anti-itch or it could go into first aid.  I think I debated this one for twenty minutes.  Have I ever talked about my inability to make a simple decision?

  I then took out all expired medications, and put them all into baskets according to their category.

Then after about 30 minutes of cursing and screaming trying to get a label maker to work, I just decided to write the labels by hand with a Sharpee.  I put all the labels on and put them up in the cabinet, and finally I was done!  I wish my shelves were adjustable so I wasn't wasting space, but this is much better than where I started.  I'm pretty proud of my progress!

I learned some things I learned while doing this:

• I have enough feminine hygiene products to get me through the apocalypse.
• I have purchased Benadryl probably EVERY time I felt allergy symptoms. 
• I've purchased sunscreen every time I've gone swimming.
• I've bought aloe practically every time I've gotten a sunburn.
• Sunscreen actually DOES expire.  I never knew that.
• I had items in my cabinet that expired in 2007.  That's before I MOVED.  That means I MOVED this crap.
• I had BREAK FLUID in my medicine cabinet.  Not sure why, but that's a bit scary.
• As technically savvy I think I am for the life of me I can't figure out how to use a label maker.
• When left to their own devices, a three year old will try and mix water and Play-Doh to make a cake.

Tomorrow it's the linen closet.  Yikes.

Underwear Parade

Holy cow two posts in one day!

This is a short one, but cute.

My middle daughter Evie comes into the room with only her underwear on, dancing past me in a line back and forth, hands on her hips, shaking her little booty and humming. After about three laps in front of me...

"What are you doing silly?" I ask.

"I'm having a parade!"

Of course.

Happy Birthday Myah

May 3, 1999 there was a tornado going on in Oklahoma, but I was far away in Arizona giving birth to my oldest child.  I was young, only twenty one and I was scared to death.  I didn't know what to expect, and I sure as heck had no clue about how to be a mother, but nevertheless it was happening.

I was scheduled to be induced into labor that night at 9pm.  The previous night I started having contractions around 11pm.  They lasted off and on all night but never became regular.  I went into the hospital around noon the next day, but they sent me home saying I wasn't in active labor.  I went back to my mother in law's house and waited there.  Contractions got stronger and stronger, and by around 7pm they were getting closer and closer.  Finally we went into the hospital when my contractions were two minutes apart.  They admitted me and my first baby was born at 11:57pm that night.

She was so beautiful I just held her and cried.  She was simply amazing.

Today she is still just as beautiful and more amazing then I ever could of imagined.  God has given this child such a tender heart and sweet spirit.  She loves to help others, and when she loves, she loves deeply.  She wears her heart on her sleeve.

She is funny and smart and has a great sense of humor.  She loves clothes and make up and doing her nails, but she still loves to climb trees and go fishing with daddy.  She is so talented.  She loves to sing and she loves art.  She can write too.  She has written some of the most amazing stories for her age.  I can't believe how creative she is.

She loves converse shoes and skinny jeans. She knows how to sew more than mommy and she is a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen.  She recently just perfected her own recipe for home made brownies.

She loves Taylor Swift, but she still is so cool that she knows and loves the classics.  She can name ANY one of The Beatles songs.

She loves soccer and volleyball and said she wouldn't mind being a stunt woman when she grows up.  She is so totally cool it blows my mind.

She loves her family and is always willing to lend a hand a help.  She is a giver in the truest sense of the word.  She constantly makes me little gifts, cards and drawings and gives them to me just to brighten my day.  I love that God gave her the spirit of a giver.

God has granted me with an amazing relationship with my oldest daughter, and I love watching her become a woman.  As the teenage years are quickly approaching I'm still a lot like that twenty one year old woman, a bit naive  and a bit frightened.  I still don't know what to expect, but I do know one thing.  If the past eleven years have been any indication on how things will be, I look forward hopeful at what the upcoming years hold for her, and for me as her mother.  She is a joy to have and raise and I am truly blessed to be her mother.

Happy Birthday Evie

Wasn't it just yesterday I was packing your bag for the hospital, holding those little white and purple booties in my hand?  I sat there lovingly packing your bags, stroking my belly and feeling you move inside me and my eyes welled up with tears with just how much I all ready loved you.  I knew you then, and I hadn't even seen your face yet.

You came out of my tummy and they put you on my chest.  You didn't cry at all.  You just lay there, content staring up at me happy to finally be in my arms.  I will never forget that moment.

Ever since that moment you have brought so much laughter, and joy into this home.  You are a bright light in what can sometimes be a dark world.  This world NEEDED you, and God knew that.  Your name fits you "Bringer of good news"(Evangeline) and "life"(Zoey).

I love the way the sunlight bounces off your white blonde hair, and your big blue eyes sparkle with laughter and joy.  You are so smart, and kind.  You make me laugh like no other.

You love to be outside just like your daddy.  You have the biggest imagination that I've ever seen.  You love food, especially fruit.  When given the choice between candy and cantaloupe, you will choose the cantaloupe.

You love your brother and sisters.  You have a strong sense of family even though you are very young.  That is something that God instilled in you.  You also have this knack for being sensitive to peoples feelings and emotions, something you must have inherited from your Grandmother.

You love tea parties and want to be a doctor when you grow up.  You tell everyone, "When I grow up I'm gonna be a doctor.  A happy doctor."

You have the cutest little sing song voice.  You talk to me like you are an adult and it is really funny, even though some may consider it being precocious...I love it.  It's just further proof of just how smart you really are.

You love Max and Ruby, fruit snacks and your favorite color is pink.  You can't sleep without your purple blanket, and that's ok.   You love princesses but you have yet to sit through an entire princess movie.

You can sometimes be a bit high maintenance, but that is ok.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  You are my Evie and I love you so very much.  I can't believe that you are three today.  I am so privileged to be your mother, and thank God for letting me raise you.  I pray that you grow in His grace and beauty and above all learn to love Him.

Girls Weekend

I started writing this post several weeks ago and never got around to finishing it, however I feel that it deserves to be finished so here goes...

So my son and my hubby took off this weekend on a boys backpacking trip in the Ouachita Mountains, so it's just me and my girls this weekend.  I've been sick for the past three days and so are the two youngest, so we've pretty much just been laying in bed watching girlie movies and eating junk food.  Pretty much doing the same thing we'd be doing if we were not sick!

I really have some great kids, I mean REALLY they are truly the best, but right now I just want to talk about my oldest.  I know I spend a LOT of time on here going on and on about all the silly and cute things my kids do, but I don't spend enough time on here talking about just how wonderful they are, and my oldest truly is wonderful.  She constantly helps me with the little girls and the housework.  She loves to cook and help me out in the kitchen.  She loves girly movies and shows about fashion (she's the only one who actually enjoys watching "What Not To Wear" and "Say Yes To The Dress" with me).

She is turning into quite the young lady.  I love to do her  hair, her nails, her make up.  I love to be able to teach her all the fun things about becoming a lady.  I love watching girly movies with her.

I love her freckles, and how her face lights up when she smiles (and not the I'm smiling for a photo smile, but the REAL smile).  She has always had such a sweet loving spirit about her.  She is a giver.

The other day my memory flashed back to when she was around 5-6 years old.  She is on a video coming up to me giving me flowers she picked.  She says in her sweet baby voice "mommy I picked these for you."  I started bawling.  She is NOT a baby any more, she is a young lady, and she is gorgeous, and I am so very proud of her.  I'm so fortunate to be her mother, and I'm so fortunate to have a good relationship with her.  I pray it stays that way over the upcoming "teen" years.  I pray also that I can be a nurturing Godly mother to her, and give her everything she needs, but not everything she wants.

I love my kids with all my heart and everything that is in me (all four of them).  When I had my first and got pregnant with my second I wondered how I could possibly love another as much as I love the first, but your heart grows and makes double the space for that second one, and you love them just as much as the first, and so on and so on.  I thank the Lord for each one of my children, my son and my three beautiful girls.

Overwhelmed

I woke up this morning and laid in bed with everything I needed to accomplish today swirling around in my head.  I immediately became overwhelmed.

See, I feel like I should be this super mom, who cleans, cooks, takes care of the kids, and keeps her house in perfect order.

My life is SO not like that.  I have laundry in the basket from two days ago that still needs folded.  I have at least four loads in my closet that need washed.  When I'm done cleaning the kitchen I walk into the living room to see that the dog has chewed up ANOTHER diaper (don't know where he finds these things...) and I have ANOTHER mess to clean up.  While I'm cleaning that mess, I walk in the den to realize that Evie has COLORED ON THE BIG SCREEN with crayon.  In the meantime, Lucy is crying and needs fed, and the dogs are fighting with each other.  I have homework that needs completed, I haven't even showered yet this morning.

I want to just go crawl back in bed, pull the covers over my head, and not come out until June.

Then I HATE myself for feeling angry and overwhelmed.  I begin to feel like a bad mother and housewife for having these emotions.  After all, I decided to stay at home to take care of these things, but I constantly feel that I fall short of "the standard".  I look at other women, and they seem to have it all together, and I constantly feel disheveled and like a complete and total wreck.

When I do give "proper" attention to one area, everything else falls apart.  I have issues with time management.

Is it just me? Am I totally alone here?  I strive to be the "wife of noble character" that is talked about in Proverbs 31, but that standard is so high, how can I possibly ever live up to that?

You'd think they grew on trees or something...

My two year old LOVES apples.  She usually eats at least one a day.

Tonight her daddy grabbed the last apple that we had.  She was NOT happy about it.  Daddy also doesn't like to share food.  In fact, he has stolen the quote from friends where Joey screams "JOEY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD," and changed it to "DADDY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD!"

I wish I was kidding, but I'm not.

But I digress...

Daddy had the apple.  Evie wanted it.

She comes over to me and gives me the sad face "I want an apple mommeeee."

"I'm sorry sweetie," I reply, "you have to ask your daddy."

"Daddy said NO."  (big pouty face)

"I'm sorry sweetie." I then turned my head and continued watching Idol.

Two seconds later I have a hand forcefully pushing my head in the direction of her father.

"YOU ASK HIM!" she yells.

Hide and Seek

Today I was playing "hide and seek" with my two year old.

I said "go hide and I'll count."  She runs VERY loudly into my closet.  I am in the same room as her.

I pretend to look for her in a few other spots then go to the closet and act surprised to see her there.

I decided to try it again.  I said "do you want to hide again or do you want to count?"

"I hide."  She said, but stopped and turned around, before she ran to go and hide she holds out her hand (in a "stop" motion) "ok mom, I go hide and you count.  I hide in the closet and you come and find me."

I don't think she understands the point of hide and seek.

My Latest Project

So, I know for many of the moms that I'm friends with this is nothing new to them, but to me it is pretty fun and exhilarating.  I've decided to make my own baby food for Lucy.  With all three of my others I just bought the jar food, but this can get pretty costly, and with a family our size and with me being the stay at home mom, part of my job is to learn where we can save money and cut costs.

So, let me nerd out on you a bit and go into some detail.  Baby food stage one comes in a two pack.  This two pack costs 88 cents.  Lucy goes through 4 a day, two for lunch and two for dinner (breakfast and bedtime she has cereal).  This roughly comes to $52.80 per month.  That is a pretty hefty chunk of change for a one income family.  So, this is why I took on this endeavor.  I'd love to say it was for the health benefits, but that just ended up being a secondary perk...

So, I decided to puree my baby food.  I did peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, butternut squash, bananas and pears.  I used the magic bullet and food processor.  I found that the magic bullet worked better than the large food processor because I could work in smaller portions and add more water or add more food as needed, whereas with the big processor if I messed up I would have lost the whole batch, and it also made a MUCH bigger mess to clean.

There is a shot of the sweet potatoes.  They look pretty gross, but I actually tasted them and I couldn't believe how yummy they were.  They were NOTHING like the jarred kind.  Once I tasted how good these meals for Lucy were and once I realized how much fun I was having making them I was hooked.  I wish I would have done this with all my others.

After I pureed the food I froze it into ice cube trays.  Two cubes equal about one jar of food.  So, after I was done with all the veggies, I counted how many meals I had and how much it cost me.  The total cost of the veggies came to $5.48, which if I would have purchased equal amounts of Gerber jar food it would have cost me $24.64, so it was a total savings of $19.16!  Score!

After the cubes of food were frozen, I popped them out of the ice trays and sealed and labeled them in ziplock baggies, to pull out for easy servings.  Lucy LOVES the food.  The cool thing about this is I can also puree leftovers of my own meals as she gets older and she will all ready be used to the flavor of our cooking!  I even pureed some leftover chicken noodle soup the other day and froze them into cubes (she is not quite ready for that yet, but I will have it when she is ready for the next stage!)

This project was so much fun, I thought it was going to be a huge chore and not worth all the work.  It is a bit time consuming, but it was actually fun and relaxing, and I loved knowing how much money I was saving and exactly what was going into Lucy's meals.  I'm totally converted and will never buy another ounce of jar food again!

Sigh

Ok.  Take a deep breath.  Count to ten.

(From my daughters room) "I want to watch Max and RUBEEEEE!"

Stop crying.  Stop crying.  Stop crying.

She stopped!

Nope.  She's at it again.  I guess she was just taking a breath.

I believe she has gotten louder.

Can you tell it's been one of those days?  I know, I spend quite a bit of time on here venting.  Most people must take me for an angry person, and I guess I am to some degree.  It's not that I'm angry as much as I have a VERY short fuse.

I ventured to the dreaded Wal-Mart today to try and fix that pesky overcharge that I was speaking of in my previous blog.  I stood in line for 20 minutes at customer service, then it took them another 10 to try and figure out how to give me the return.  I finally get my $14 back (which I'm beginning to think was NOT worth the hassle) and get my items.  I then go to the "express" lane.  This takes 30 minutes, because the cashier at the register was handed a gift card that was worth $15.  The cashier thought the guy said to PUT $15 on it.  He did not say that.  I heard him loud and clear.  So then it takes another 40 employees to come over and figure out how to fix this faux pas.

I swear, one day I'm gonna snap and burn that place down.

So, I get home at 2:45 and my two year old has not had a nap.  She is in thermo-nuclear meltdown right now.  I just realized that I have to go pick up my kids from school in an hour (I normally don't pick them up, they ride the bus but I have to pick up cinnamon rolls for my daughters fundraiser).  So trying to get my two year old to nap is almost futile since I have to leave in less than 45 minutes.

I love my kids, and I do love Christmas, but I've had just about enough Holiday "cheer" this season.  I'm turing into the Grinch, and I'm ready for it to be over.  There are only so many lines, so many pine needles on my floor, only so much pushing, shoving, rudeness, and bad customer service that a human being can handle.

This is SO NOT what Christmas is about, and frankly, I'm tired of it.

Old Lady

I realized tonight that I'm quickly am turning into an old lady.  I realized this as I was taking my CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT.

Here are some of the other reasons that hit me...

I'm starting to see the merit of supporting undergarments (Spanx, control top pantyhose, the 24 hour bra...)
I now use Oil of Olay
I wear age defying foundation
I enjoy eating at Luby's
I not only enjoy eating at Luby's I want to make it there before the "evening rush"
I LOVE to play Bingo, so much in fact I would go to a Bingo night if invited
I honestly think I may need two pairs of glasses or bi-focals
I don't like to drive at night, because I have poor night vision
I need a good daily dose of fiber to keep me, um, well, you know..."regular"
I have Icy Hot and Ben Gay in my medicine cabinet

and, like I said before, I'm taking Calcium supplements to avoid loosing bone loss because nursing (according to my OB) givess you "pre-menopausal" symptoms.  At least now I know why I have all these dang hot flashes.

Oh, and the icing on the cake that made me feel about a hundred years old.  My daughter and I were shopping the other day, and she was starting to act strange while I was pointing out clothes to her and she whispered "mom, stop." and rolled her eyes.  I said "WHAT?"  She replied with "mom you are embarrassing me, talking all loud and also your bra is showing."

Wonderful, and so it begins.

Cute Things

My friend Carolyn has the cutest blog called The Daily Lily.  It was basically her way of documenting all the funny things that her daughter says so she won't forget them.  Great idea, that I may steal from her someday, but for now since I all ready have a blog, I thought that I would write some of the things down that Evie is doing that I don't want to forget.  They are so precious at this age, I just don't want to forget a moment of it.

The other day we were at Hobby Lobby looking at fabric.  Evie was wearing her cute little green sun-dress with her pink cowboy boots (which everyone kept commenting on how much they LOVED her boots).  Evie recognized the same material that Grandma used to make her diaper bag.  She picked it up and said "OOOH!  Evie's bag!" she then hugged the material and said "Oh I LOVE it."

Last week I was scolding her and I shouted her full name "EVANGELINE NO!".  She turned around and gave me a dirty scowl and said "I EVIE, not EBANGEL.  I EVIE!".  She was SO mad at me it was just adorable.

When you ask her a question she does not reply "yes".  She said "uh huh".  I can't even explain HOW she says it but it is hilarious to hear.

The way she says "Grandma" sounds like g-maw.  It is so cute.

Her latest thing is "I scared".  If she doesn't want to do something she says "I scared."  For example:

Me:  Evie it's time for a nap
Her:  I scarrrred....

It is the middle of the day with the blinds half open.  Dear God help me....

Also she has a new thing with food.  If she doesn't want to eat it it is too spicy (sp-eye-ceeeee).  I gave her a cookie the other day.  "It too spiceee" she says.

Yesterday she told me "I ate bubbles."  This was right after breakfast.  I said "you ate bubbles?  Do you mean you ate breakfast?"  She said "yes, breakfast," as if I didn't catch it the first time.

She is so sweet, so funny, and SUCH a two year old.  One minute she has me giggling and the next she has me ready to pull my hair out.  She has all ready begun to terrorize her little sister, pinching, poking, biting etc...but then she will melt my heart when she says "HI DUCY!  Awww...Ducy so cute!" and give her kisses.  Ah, the roller coaster ride it is.  I wouldn't trade it for anything though.

Lucy's Birth

Lucy was born on Monday August 24th at 5:51pm.

Many have commented to me that they wanted to know how everything went, others I'm sure don't want all the gory details, so go ahead, feel free and turn away now.

We arrived at the hospital at 7:15am, my induction was scheduled for 7:30 but I was eager to get there. They immediately got me to my room and all set up. She checked me and my cervix was at 2cm. About 8:30 they started my pitocin drip. We sat there and just waited for the contractions to begin.

We told my nurse that I usually go fast (Myah - my first - was a 8 hour labor, Brett was 5 hours and Evie was 7) but all came within thirty minutes to an hour of my water breaking, so once I go I REALLY go. So about thirty minutes later the delivery team came in and set everything up early just so we were ready to go.

Mom and Ashley arrived at the hospital sometime that morning. The next time the nurse Amy (she was AWESOME by the way) checked me I was at a good 3-4cm. This was around 11:00am. She asked me about the epidural and I went ahead and said yes. The pain was not unbearable, but considering I went from 4cm to 10 with Evie in a matter of about 45 minutes, I didn't want to gamble going through pushing without an epidural.

They came in and gave me my epidural, then doc came in and broke my water. This was around noon.

We waited.

And waited...

And waited....

2pm I was STILL at 4cm, and contractions were all over the place. Nurse Amy helped me get things going by switching the position I was sitting in. We all start to take bets on the time she will be born and the weight of the baby. The nurse even gets her bet in.

About and hour later I was between 5-6cm. This lasted for a while. They upped the pitocin. During this time Aaron arrives at the hospital and we discuss them going to meet the kids at the house when they get off the bus. My cousin Treasure has Evie, so we don't need to worry about her for a while. A&A leave to go get the kids. The school calls Brett had missed the bus. So now we call A&A and have them go to the school and pick up Brett.

Myah calls a few minutes later from home (she has a house key) in a frantic panic that her brother got left at school. Daddy calms her down and lets her know we have it all under control.

During this time my contractions became regular and STRONGER. By stronger I mean pretty unbearable. I thought I had an epidural to avoid this? I found out later these are called "breakthrough" contractions meaning the pain is so intense they break through the epidural. Nice. Didn't know these existed.

The anesthesiologist comes in and gives me more epidural. By now I'm at a good 8cm. The kids get there and I get to give them hugs and kisses before I deliver Lucy. The doctor comes in and we send the kids out in the hall with Aunt Ashley and Uncle Aaron. Now I'm ready to push. I hit my epidural button one more time just to make sure I won't feel anything (I find out later this was QUITE unnecessary I was numb for HOURS into the night).

Lucy comes out without a hitch, two pushes later. She is gorgeous and totally healthy! Doc exclaims "she has more hair than her daddy!"

My ten hour labor. The longest of them all. Who would have guessed that? All things considered it went well, but it was definitely harder than any other one I had experienced. I am so glad though to have my little girl here with us. She is a total sweetie.

Oh, one last thing I forgot to mention. Jamin comes home to get the kids ready for bed that night and the dog (the suicidal one) is all bloody and scratched up again. Just couldn't be a Miser birth without a kid missing the bus and a doggie suicide attempt...

I need an organization intervention.

I'm on day four, yes FOUR of sorting through bags and boxes of children's clothing. I know, I can feel your eyes rolling and all the sighs coming from my friends who are sitting in a cubicle right now, but seriously I think at this moment I would trade places with ANY of you.

I'm TERRIBLE at organization. Positively terrible.

Side note:Now, don't get me wrong, I'm totally and completely thankful for my friends, neighbors and family who have given us clothing. Thanks to all of you, are needs are totally met and we have to buy practically nothing. That being said, read on.

My previous method of organization was to just throw it all into a plastic sack, label it with a sharpie and toss it into the garage/attic. This method was not working well for several factors, pets, and kids both would rip open the bags that had not yet made it into the attic, and the clothes would get filthy, also thus by being in a not so accessible bag in the attic, I'd forget about them.

The other day I ripped open a bag FULL of adorable 24 month and 2T dresses from my cousin Treasure. I didn't even KNOW I had these. I was sure I had gone through everything that she had given me but obviously not. Now I'm frantically washing clothes hoping to get Evie into these dresses before summer ends. I think literally there are enough dresses that she could wear one a day for the next month and never repeat. It's so sad I will never get through all these adorable clothes.

Another issue I have is not all clothes are the same size. They may SAY 3T on them, but as any mother knows not all 3T's are the same. So then it is my job to evaluate these sizes and determine if she will indeed wear them this winter or not. Do I keep them down for winter so I don't forget about them, or put them in a box? If I put them in a box I will surely forget about them, but if I leave them out I'm creating clutter. I'm supposed to "judge" how much she will grow between now and fall/winter? Then do I sort by size only or by size and by season? The problem with that is we have bi-polar weather in Oklahoma that can be warm until November, with a few cold days mixed in. Oh, and don't even get me started on March weather here...so if I pack all the winter clothes up I could be shooting myself in the foot.

It's enough to make a normal woman go insane, for me, it's putting me in a state of helplessness. You remember, I'm the girl who can't even decide on what size macaroni to get, much less figure this crap out. Here I am, sitting on the floor pregnant and pitiful with piles and piles of clothes around me, unable to make a decision at all as to how to organize these.

So, finally I came up with a plan and created a "staging area". I now have two dressers in the girls room. One in the actual room for clothes they wear now, and one in the walk in closet that is "staging" for winter/fall and the next size up. That way they are accessible, but yet put away somewhat. Everything else is going in labeled boxes, NOT plastic sacks. (this was my husband's doing).

So I just went through my last bag of clothes from my cousin and I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Then I realized I have about six, yes SIX boxes of clothes in my garage from our friends who just moved to Nebraska. SIX BOXES.

Dear God, I'm going to be in the looney bin when this is all over.

I have a two year old in denial

My youngest (soon to be not the youngest), has been in a state of denial recently.

It started when my belly began to expand. I would tell her constantly that there is a baby in mommy's tummy and that she was going to be a big sissy. She would shake her head and say "no" and cover up my belly.

I kept on telling her this because somehow I wanted her to understand that she would no longer be the youngest. You see, she has been our baby, and we have babied her so much I'm worried about the transition period and jealousy of the baby. I want her to be prepared, well, as much as a two year old can be. So I continued to show her my belly and she continued to say "No!" and cover it up.

Two days ago she came up, pulled up my shirt, kissed my belly and said "LUCY!". I was pretty amazed. She has finally started to make some type of association with this.

So, she now knows that her old crib is Lucy's bed. Today I cleared out most of Myah's room except the big furniture, we plan to paint that this evening and move the little ones into that room. She saw everything missing from Myahs room and got very excited. She ran into her room and started pushing on the crib and saying "Lucy's bed! Lucy's bed" and trying to move it. She then ran around to her brothers room "Bubby's room?" asking if he was moving, I told her no. I then went to the door, and said "Evie's room" (touching the door) on her new room and "Myah's room" on her old room a couple times, to explain we are switching rooms.

She looked at me, smacked her door (her current door) and said ,"NO! Evie's room".

And the fun begins AGAIN.

A Day in the Life of a Stay at Home Mom

A day in the life as a stay at home mom...

6:00am grunts and groans thru the baby monitor...please pleeease go back to sleep...grunts become screams and cries, mom is up baby attached to her boob

6:30am baby is back in bed, cool Mom can go get some more rest

7:00 alarm goes off...damn damn damn have to take husband to work this morning because your car is broken down.

7:10am Maybe you can not take him in, you don't need a car today, you can just stay at home all day. Crap you realize you MUST go to store and run errands today, moan, groan, get out of bed, shower etc...

7:30 Out of the shower, your oldest is still in bed. You tell her for the second time to get out of bed and get dressed.

7:45 Your oldest is still not out of bed yet, time to send Dad into the room to wake her up. Baby is now awake and needs changed, Dad can handle that one for now.

8:00am In the car and ready to go...grab some gas and coffee from 7-11 and get hubby to work

8:30am Drop husband off at work. Realize it is really quiet with your middle child (son) at Grandma's house. Glad to no longer be listening to talk radio.

9:00am Arrive at city office to try and change date for permit on garage sale, due to death in family last week that we could not have. Why this stupid city requires a permit for a yard sale is beyond me. Dang it I forgot the permit, go back home and get it to come back later.

9:30am Arrive at home again, baby is attached to boob again. Good thing mom is on tap.

9:45am Call the school to find out information on enrollment. Decide to go to Wal-Mart to get school supplies, and print out some photos to mail them to family. Do some laundry before you leave the house.

10:45am Arrive at Wal-Mart with school supply list in hand. Your daughter puts things in the cart that are not even on the list. Sift thru cart and remove all items that are un neccicary. Geesh, can't she see there is a method to your madness?

11:45am Go and pick up printed photos. They are all pixelated. The ladys at the photo department swear that it must be my resolution on my camera. Not wanting to make any waves I walk away. There is only one register open. This is normal for Wal Mart in the mornings and I hate it. I curse under my breath...I hate Wal-Mart, hate it, hate it, hate it, but darn it their prices are so low. My rage rises as I get to the counter why should I pay for these photographs when they are crap. After checkout I return to the photo counter where I finally decide that I'm not paying for them. I return the photos.

12:30pm Finally arrive home, I'm starving, but come into the computer to IM the hubby and let him know I'm home. He has been researching insurance all morning. He is making a spreadsheet for us to go over the data later..fun stuff.

12:45pm Time to feed the baby again. Yes, I am a milk bar.

1:00pm Your mother in law calls, she is bringing home your son, thought he was staying with her until tomorrow, but that is no problem because you were starting to miss the total chaos in your house.

1:15pm Finally mom can eat lunch, oh crap, must feed child. Throw some corn dogs in the microwave..healthy no, quick yes. Make yourself a pastrami sandwich, sit down to eat, realize that you forgot the corn dogs, get up, feed the kid, then eat some more.

1:30pm Mother in law arrives with son. He is chattering about what he did at grandmas. We talk about our church and apple pie. We then eat some apple pie.

2:00pm Do some more laundry. Great fun. Go in to check the IM again. The Hyundai dealership called, now the price of the car is up to $800, what the F*&^! How did that happen. You can feel your ears getting hot with rage...you are ready to go and just lay into these people. Your husband tells you he is getting off work early to stop by the dealership. Baby is crying, she is poopy. You take her to change her diaper. She tries to grab her poo. This is something she has not done before...interesting.

2:30pm Try and pick up the house a little...you feel as if you have been so busy all day yet got absolutely nothing accomplished. You are still VERY angry about the car. You play about 10 minutes of Tony Hawk on the XBOX to blow off some steam.

2:50 You start feeding the baby again. Your husband calls, the electricity is off on the whole block at his work, he may get off work even earlier.

3:00pm The dog is going nuts, running in the back yard barking at something, but you have a baby attached to your boob, so you can't go check. 3 minutes later there is a knock at your door which makes the dog go nuts again. You have no shirt on so you yell thru the door "who is it?." It is your husband's cousin coming to pick up their air matress. Luckily I was at home...had no clue he was coming by. Quickly put on a shirt and put down baby. You pass off the air matress and cousin is gone and now you are back to feeding baby again.

3:15pm Baby is finally done eating. She just played around for a while. You begin to get things ready to leave the house.

3:25pm After a frantic search through the house for a missing flip flop you leave the house to go pick up your husband from work.

4:00pm You arrive at your husband's work to pick him up, then head for the dealership to sort out the car problem.

4:30pm Arrive at the dealership (after your husband was on the phone to Hyundai consumer affairs all the way there - which by the way did absolutely no good). You talk to the greasy mechanic, and realize there was a mis-understanding and the price was not what he thought it was, you sort it out realize that you can bring in some parts to the dealership from Auto Zone to cut costs

4:45pm Begin driving all over to Auto Zone, Napa and Pep Boys looking for imported Hyundai parts, find some and return to the dealership. Sit in the car with kids while husbby runs in the store. Listen to kids giggle and baby cry because car is not moving. Your son tells you that he lost 18 pounds today. Interesting. You are regreting letting them have a soda.

5:30pm Arrive home, change into work out clothes then feed baby once again. Think of several excuses not to work out but realize that you need to...

5:50pm Arrive at gym, dang it I forgot my IPOD. Login to fitlinx to see how many points I have. 460! Whoo hoo I'm beating Jamin nanny nanny nanny! Spend first ten minutes on treadmill wishing I was dead, spend last 20 minutes on treadmill, thinking this isn't that bad...

6:30pm Cool down, drink water, try not to pass out from exhaustion. Login to fitlinx. Only 170 calories burned and 150 points...dang it dang it dang it...tomorrow I'm doing aerobics again, screw the treadmil.

6:45pm Arrive home eat dinner chicken burritos your hubby made while you were at the gym. Spend 30 minutes trying to get a DVD to play on three different DVD players...none of them worked...darn Netflix CD all scratched up. Oh well, I didn't want to see that movie anyway so it worked out.

7:15pm Grandma and Uncle Aaron were here to watch the movie, but it didn't work. Baby is acting hungry again, even after grandma fed her a bottle, time to pop out the boobie again. Watch recorded TV show.

8:30pm Come in bedroom to blog for a while and have a moment alone. After 10 minutes your husband is sending in the kids to tickle and bug you saying things like we have 12 elephants in our backyard...never a moments peace...

9:00pm Play around the house with the kids, singing silly songs and stuff...that was fun. Your son sang "dog breath" and "baby got back"...we are horrible horrible people...

10:00pm Think about the mounds of laundry and everything you SHOULD have got done today, but are too tired to care now. Try to wake up the baby to feed her but she just plays around and falls asleep...you know she will be up at 3am in the morning. Put kids to bed, wash face, brush teeth, crawl into bed and watch tome you tube with your hubby.

11:00pm Thinking you should go to sleep, however with the kids in bed the house is so peaceful...you lay on the bed with hubby and listen to some music on ITunes for about 5 minutes, then turn on the TV.

11:35pm Seinfield comes on. It is the BO episode where they can't get rid of the stench...funny stuff.

12:05pm lights out go to sleep and begin it all again tomorrow.