A New Month: November

We primed & painted the room this weekend. The mural is done! Little Bit's room has been transformed & after our trip to IKEA next weekend + Daddy setting the hutch up... it will be all done! :)

If I can get Blogger to cooperate, I will post pictures! It worked, here goes!




Otherwise, I have been hanging out with other mamas in the area walking between 2-4 miles on several mornings each week! So nice... If only I could kick the cherry coke addiction...

We continue to purge the extra junk in the house & have sold three items in the last few days on Craigslist. Which is thrilling! We are getting more space in our house AND adding money to our Christmas Jar. Double whammy!

Our church participates in Samaritan's Purse Operation: Christmas Child shoeboxes. We purged some baby stuff & used the money to fund the mural cost & then had plenty left over for shoeboxes! It can be exhilarating! I asked Hubby if we could provide even more shoeboxes & he obliged happily! So, we have even more shoeboxes headed to sweet little toddler boys & girls. Pretty awesome.

Oh, we also have a girl's craft day. I didn't have too much planned, but brought a huge tub of stuff to play with. I started with painting letters & frames, then moved onto learning how to roll fabric rosettes, & making felt flowers. Was so much fun & refreshing to just hang out & be a bit creative for a while. We are hoping to do it once a month from now on. Here's a shot of the rosettes & flower I made for a baby girl's headband.


Cute, right?! :) I thought so.

Another picture to end the post. Our church had a Family Fun Day to celebrate 15 years. Little Bit loved jumping in the bouncy house. Here's the clearest & best picture I could snap of him:

Ooops!

Missed posting regularly... Sorry!

I have been good, though, about meal planning. In fact, we haven't gone out to eat for an unplanned meal since then! And we seem to have plenty of leftovers, too. I have several new recipes I want to try & even froze a couple of meals in advance for future meals! Alright, huh? I'd love to do the Once A Month Cooking, but my sweet friend Melissa encouraged me to just make a meal or two at a time to start with. So, I made a double batch of chicken enchiladas; we ate one then froze the other. Yesterday, I chopped chicken, onion, carrots, broccoli, & sweet potatoes then I added Italian dressing, threw it all in a freezer bag, & into the freezer it went!

Little Bit's room will be painted this weekend in preparation for the mural my amazing friend Anna will be creating next week. Tuesday & Wednesday are the special days! Then, we will add some ledges for books, a framed baby picture, a cubby shelf for toys/books, & the hutch on top of his dresser. I'm pretty excited about getting his room all set up. Then, we can move onto his bathroom & our bedroom! Seems like it is all starting to be real! :)

A Meal Plan... Hopefully

With Christmas coming up & past medical bills coming out of our short term savings account, I'm feeling the pressure to save more money. As much as we can. And since I know meal planning can help & have had it on my to do list for, well, months... I'm determined to do it.

Here's some considerations for MY family. Hope this helps encourage you or give you some ideas!

1.) We only buy greenwise or organic meats when we shop. (For some reason, we still eat the non-organic meats from the restaurant?) To reduce cost & receive a greater variation, we are purchasing 1/8th of a cow from a local, organic farmer. This means approximately 50-55lbs of beef will be coming our way tomorrow. Which leads to the second point, as I need more freezer space...

2.) Nick's company gave us a turkey last holiday season. I am going out on a limb here & guessing it'll still be okay as it's been frozen. I moved it to the fridge Monday afternoon to begin the thawing process. This is a 13+lb bird, so we have way more than we'll eat in one meal. So, I've researched a couple of freezer recipes & also some of my favorites (pot pie, for example) for leftovers. Nick also loves turkey sammiches, so his lunch next week is taken care of there.

3.) I get great deals on cereal, but for some reason Nick doesn't want to eat cereal every day for, umm, three years. (And ends up grabbing something from Publix or McD or Burger King which can be more expensive!) And my child likes to eat breakfast, too. Usually little one gets fruit, granola or cereal, & almond milk for breakfast. I'm becoming daring & stepping out. I decided I can either wake up & prepare breakfast for Nick before he heads to work or I can prepare something for the fridge or freezer that he can grab & go. I get stressed thinking that money is coming out of the bank account every other day, so this will help. (I think I am also going to add $20 into the budget every two weeks or so for Nick to have quick grab money just in case.)

4.) We have a teensy stockpile of pasta, sauces, dried/canned beans, & pasta. I'm using as much as I can from our pantry to plan the future meals in accordance with sale prices.

I've found some ideas for breakfast casseroles & egg muffins (like mini-quiches or mini-frittatas) that will freeze well. I can also make Nick some with peppers & mushrooms, others with spinach & cheese for all of us, or mix it up each week. This will provide a hot, non-cereal, breakfast for Nick on the go.

I am using the turkey for at least two meals made with leftover pieces of turkey PLUS Nick's lunches next week. I am using the pasta + spaghetti sauce for macaroni + meat sauce for little one. He will eat this three times a day if I let him. I plan to add in diced/sauteed zucchini with the beef for the pasta. (This means we'll use less beef & get more veggies in our diet. Also, zucchini even not on sale costs less per pound that beef!)

I also plan to make doubles of meals I create in the next week. It's not huge as far as "Once A Month Cooking" goes, but an extra two or three meals will go a long way when I am not feeling up to cooking. It will be less tempting to go out to eat, too! And eat more calories & spend more (unbudgeted) money.

Did I mention I want to lose approximately 25lbs, too? Yeah, so lots of water glasses to consumee everyday. Cutting out the soda to save money & calories.

Here goes...

October 5: dinner at church, $8 for all three of us
October 6: dinner- roast turkey, mashed taters, veggies
October 7: dinner- leftovers (don't wanna through out any food)
October 8: dinner- grilled steak, corn on the cob, salad, & mac&chz
October 9: dinner- turkey chili (crockpot), extra for freezer
October 10: dinner- turkey pot pie + salad, extra for freezer
October 11: dinner- chicken enchiladas w/ chips, extra for freezer
October 12: dinner at church, $8 for all three of us
October 13: dinner- pot roast (crock pot) w/ rice + veggies
October 14: dinner- triple cheese veggie pizza

Breakfast will consist of cereals, granola, fruit, or egg muffins.
Lunches will be leftovers from the previous nights!
I am hoping we will not be throwing ANY food away & use it up before it spoils.

My brother also gave us several pounds of home grown jalapenos & sweet potatoes, so I'm hoping to find some freezer meals to use them up. If not, we'll dice & freeze them for later use anyways! :)

I will update tomorrow with how much I'll have to spend to prepare these after my trip to Publix! Wish me luck! Any excess over our food cash envelope will go in our Christmas jar!

Been A While, Ehhh?

Well, I have thought of all these posts in my head... but they have never made it to "paper". ;)

Since the end of June, we've experienced some of the roughest moments of our lives, but also some very rewarding & inspiring moments. God has been good to us.

I mentioned impending fertility treatments in the last post. We were thrilled to find out we were expecting our second child only to be crushed two weeks later when we found our little baby had stopped developing. We are still mourning this amazing miracle, but hold tight to the other awesome blessings God has given us.

The miscarriage has brought a myriad of emotions to the surface.

I felt embarrassed to have prayed for these little babies God gave us. The night before, I begged for God to have given us both of the little embryos He provided to us. I asked that He might somehow allow us to meet both of those children.

I feel so hopeless & angry even as to why it has to be so stinkin' hard. I am aware some women can skip over a miscarriage & some are saddened, but I still feel crushed. To go through so much to GET pregnant, then lose that baby? I just feel like I'm not going to "get over it" anytime soon. I am hesitant to endure another cycle of treatments to go through this again.

I am almost ready to accept we will be blessed with only child. I feel so much of my life has been consumed with whether or not we'll get pregnant. It's so hard & frustrating & I'm ready to end the our journery through infertility. I guess if we do one more cycle (mostly covered by insurance), I feel I will have closure either way.

I feel like so many areas of my life have been neglected. I plan to take at least the next three months to change that. Staying busy helps keep my thoughts from getting bad. Since losing the baby, I have completely cleared out the room that will be known as the Health & Vitality Room (AKA workout room) but looked more like the Junk Room. The floor was completely covered in unpacked boxes, books, crafting products, everything!! It is now cleared out... only a table we are selling & some items that need to be returned to their rightful owners! I have gone in that room several times in the last week when I need to decompress a bit. That room was so overwhelming; I felt like even though I'd spend hours in there, I wasn't make a dent! But, it's done!

In addition to the house, I feel many parts of my life are disorganized. I love to coupon & they end up all over the place hiding from me. And I have extra, unnecessary, items in the kitchen/pantry/laundry closet/bedroom/HOUSE! ;) So, I've begun clearing out the junk. Parting with many items to clear out the space to "breathe" in my home. Just getting sick of the "One day I will..." mentality & just doing it. Grocery & meal planning instead of ending up at the restuarant every other night!

My weight has slowing crept up prior to pregnancy & just hasn't gone completely down to baseline since! So, we have begun a DVD workout series (Insanity, yikes!) & I'm committed to losing the weight. My goal by the end of the year is 20lbs. Hopefully more!

Well, there's a decent intro on the future posts I'll be sharing soon. Clearing the Clutter, Scheduling My Chores, Getting Healthy, & Budgeting! ;) Maybe a picture or two will make it onto the blog posts, too!

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Quick Catch-Up!

Since the last blog post, I have become a full time stay at home Momma... only. No more night shifts at the hospital. I miss my coworkers and I miss our extra income and I miss my job as a Labor & Delivery nurse... but I missed so much more of Elias... I feel like a new person since making the decision to only be a Momma.

Since then, we have been doing lots of fun stuff. For two of the three weeks I have stopped working at the hospital, our nieces stayed with us. I didn't get much done at all in the way of cleaning, organizing, or unpacking. But we have had lots of water playtime & E and I have had lots of snuggle time.

I have a wiggle worm in my lap right now, so I will just resort to bullet points...

** At nearly 22 months old, the little one is weaned. We weren't able to self-wean as I'd hoped due to impending fertility treatments. But, we have been able to snuggle a lot to make up for it & he is loving his almond milk.

** I had a "minor" surgery to remove a uterine polyp prior to moving on with IVF. That was not fun.

** I have made small accomplishments in the playroom. Hope to do more in the next weekends.

** Our first home had become a rental property when we purchased our current home. The tenants broke their 12mth lease & we are sort of scrambling to find new tenants. We have lots of yard work to do there to prepare for new tenants, but praying we can get someone in by July 1. Yes, we know it's only 4 days away...

** Our IVF #2 start date is July 19th. Two days after our anniversary. By my calculations, we should know by mid August if we are pregnant or not.

** E has become enamored with trucks and matchbox cars. He lines them all up. Real life tractors, golfcarts, tires, anything to do with outside stuff. He loves to wear his Daddy's work gloves. He loves to give kisses & goofy smiles.

** E still signs for us. Mostly: please, drink, water, bath, sleep. He SAYS: Momma, please, dog, Sydney, Dadda, bath, one-two-three, cookie, fish, turtle, & more that I can't think of...

** He loves cheddar cheese, almond milk, goldfish, peanuts, strawberries, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce/salad, hummus, ranch dressing, PB&Js, cookies, spaghetti, Mexican beans & rice. And the junk food his Momma might have... ;)

** We are back to cloth diapers & lots of diaper free time. We have little potty-s on both levels of the house & he frequently sits on them. We are still working on USING the potty! No pressure, just introduction.

Well, I think it is nap time for my little buddy, so we will head upstairs. I have plenty of towels to fold & another load of laundry to start! Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

I Have Dreams

Of finally feeling "caught up".

Of seeing another "+" sign on a pregnancy test.

Of enjoying my sweet son for the rest of my life.

Of becoming who God wants me to be.

Of loving the amazing husband I have been blessed.

Of encouraging & supporting my friends.

Of providing hope to anyone I can.

Of feeling like my house is in order.

Of having my house set up how I want it.

Of making a home-cooked meal every night.

Whew. I feel that at this exact moment I am just barely staying afloat. I have several things in the works to alleviate this pressure as much as I possibly can. In less than two weeks, it will be better.

It will be better.

I will begin working on all those dreams & hope to continue sharing them through blog-land because I love looking back at old posts. Through nursing school & pregnancy... I never would have those memories set without my blogs!

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday. I will be resting in preparation for working Monday night!! And doing some housework. Start working on those dreams early!! :)

14/365: Hmm...

Did I say I'd post every day? Maybe I meant like a post for each day that may be posted AFTER the fact...

;)

Working nights has kind of hindered the posting thing, but it is still on my mind!!

Working night shifts hasn't been as hard as I was worried about. Squishy has been awesome with allowing me to nap at least 5 hours (between several catnaps & one afternoon nap); even 7hrs yesterday! He has handled sleeping with Momma very well, too. No fussing or anything... just lays down & goes right to sleep! Such a contrast to how it is when I am home!! He fusses & cries & screams until I lay down with him & snuggle & nurse!

Today, we stayed in town & napped @ my brother & sister-in-law's house so that we could hang out with my Mom this afternoon. I slept through my alarm & the lunch date we had planned, but met later @ the mall. Got some awesome clearance deals @ Sears (my Mom, that is) & Old Navy (finally got my skinny jeans & some cute stuff for Squishy, too). A great dinner @ the Mexican restaurant & then we came home!

Have some chores planned for tomorrow through the afternoon & then we are heading into town to hang out with some friends from church. Looking forward to it!!

Wish I had a picture to share tonight, but glad to have some stuff to update about.

PS: In case you are wondering... I am nearing the end of my 13wk orientation period. I have learned a lot but still have SO MUCH to learn. My preceptors have been awesome & very encouraging. I know that once I am on my own, I will have support from the other nurses to help me through. There are nights I wonder if I should have returned to work & there are nights that I am proud to be a working nurse AND stay at home Momma. I will have to figure out the correct schedule of shifts, but once that happens I think it will be easier. So far, I have worked 3days/nights in a row most weeks, but will be trying to work 2nights in a row, then a weekend night. We will see how it works out! :)

OH, here's a picture... this little tube sure helps me get through the night w/out soda or coffee...


It really helps!

Tomorrow, I will post more about the signs Squishy has been using! He has made up a couple of his own & learned many from us! So nice to have a bit of insight as to what he wants!! :)

6/365: Missing Me Some Soda...

I haven't had Cherry Coke for over a week... no soda of any kind since last Saturday. Yes, I'm addicted. I have been good with water & my vitamin/energy drink, but I'm seriously craving one of these...


Not too much more to say about today. Squishy allowed me to sleep well this morning, we played a lot, & then he told his Daddy all about it when he got home from work. We met my parent for a quick dinner of yummy black bean soup & biscuits, then came home! I am working a bit on budgeting for this month & then going to bed. Both boys are already asleep.

Finished out my first week of nights. Not too bad, but definitely will take some getting used to. There is a self-scheduling set up for the floor... it's not guaranteed that you will get the schedule you request, but I set mine for 2 nights in a row, then 1 night on the weekends. I figured this will allow me more time to see the boys during the week nights & not have such exhaustion with staying at home with the baby during the days. On the weekend, I can prepare with a short nap & recoup with a short nap after church on Sunday mornings! Since it's scheduling 6+ weeks in advance, I won't know how this schedule will work for me until then, but I will learn what works for us in time. I am also still pretty overwhelmed with all the details that entail the job, but have great teachers so I'm trusting it will slowly come more naturally to me.

That said, finishing up my budget... then to sleep! Have a wonderful Friday! I look forward to spending some time with a great friend that I haven't hung out with since October! I miss her! :) We will partake of queso, chips, & Cherry coke!

5/365: Bright Smiles!

I have to say these smiles sure do brighten my days. Even when I only get 5 hours of sleep between two 12 hour shifts... somehow, I've made it. I have also been drinking an energy drink that's full of vitamins to help. Looking forward to having the weekend off & doing some couponing & housework! Amazing that I am looking forward to that, huh?! :)

3/365: A Doctor's Tears

Tonight, I saw a doctor shedding tears for her patient.

Tonight, I shed tears for my patient.

It is so hard to care for patients on both ends of the spectrum...

One is looking forward to an exciting beginning

The other mourning the ending.

Words can't quite express the emotions I am feeling, but they do make me hug a bit tighter, nurse a bit longer, and love a bit deeper. And they are nothing compared to the anguish many mothers go through everyday with empty arms and a memory full of moments.

If you have a child in your life, always remember what a blessing you have. And if you know someone who has lost their's, acknowledge their blessing, too. They NEED us to remember their baby, too.

2/365: A Day in Town

Well, since today was a Sunday and we live so far away from church... we spend most of the day "in town" between morning & evening services.

So, Sundays tend to be rough in that Squishy pretty much gets ZERO naps, we don't accomplish anything at home, & we come home exhausted. That sounds like such a downer post, but it is what it is.

We did get some grocery shopping done & a bit of Christmas clearance shopping done. And we got to play with Squishy a lot, too.

Because our Sunday evening services are also a fellowship service, we all bring food. At the grocery store close to the church property, we stopped & grabbed some snacks. And a snack for Elias. These funky little things...


Here's a quick shot of Squishy after he squirted some of the apple/strawberry on his cheek & shoulder. Crazy boy. So cute!!


Sorry this isn't a very exciting post, but it's how the day went! We did snatch plenty of good produce for Squishy to snack on... cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, tangerines, bananas, & avocados. I also made sure to have plenty for me to pack for "lunch" this week at work. I have gotten in the nasty habit of heading to the cafeteria for lunches payroll-deducted. On a positive note, I have bought salads & soup, but I have yet to leave that cafeteria without a full cup of Wild Cherry Pepsi in my hand. I am stocked with a vitamin-energy drink that is called ZipFizz & has about 100mg of caffeine. I hope this will help me stay awake & alert during the night shifts.

Heading to beddy-boo in a minute & hoping for a wonderful day in preparation for the night shift tomorrow. Hope you all had a wonderful New Years weekend & a wonderful Monday back to work! :)

1/365: A New Year

A Blogger I follow is nearing the end of her 365-in-a-row blog posts and it has motivated me to do the same for this new year. We have many goals and dreams for this year and it will be nice to have a running diary of sorts. I hope to post a photo every day, too, but that may or may not happen.

Here are some changes our little family experienced this past (2010) year...
** Nick received a promotion in the very beginning of the year. Much more responsibility as a plant and quality control manager.
** Elias turned a year old and has just amazingly developed into a curious, adventurous toddler. So amazing to compare pictures, memories, and journal entries. It is hard to imagine it being the same little person.
** I passed the state board of nursing exam in March, worked as a shift supervisor from June through October at a somewhat local nursing home, then accepted a full time position with a local hospital in the labor and delivery unit in November.
** We bought a house on more land in October. Our mobile home/land is being cared for by renters. There isn't much work in the way of structural repair, only a couple of larger projects and the decorating/organizing/personalizing that comes with any home!
** We lost a dear dog, Irving. He was our shelter rescue and we feel happy to have given him an extra 6.5 years of life to enjoy.

Some goals we have set as a family and I have set as an individual...
** Replacing the flooring upstairs. This will be "Big Project #2" after the A/C unit is paid for. We plan to replace the current carpet with some sort of hardwood flooring. Probably bamboo.
** Finish painting the walls on both levels of the house, set up each area, & declutter-declutter-DECLUTTER! Ensure the house is functional.
** Drink soda only once/week. I would love to cut it out altogether, but realistically... that probably won't happen.
** Get pregnant! We hope to not have to pursue treatment, but will if that is where we are led.
** Restart our contributions for Hubby-Bub's IRA, Squishy's educational fund, & open an IRA account for myself.
** Begin a savings fund for the fencing for the property.
** Planning & some execution of landscaping for the front of the property.

As you can see, most of our goals are related to the house & financial planning! :) As long as I continue to work, my paychecks will go toward house & savings. This way, we continue to live off of one income in case we need to return to a single income family.

We are very excited for the year ahead, but I must admit to being a bit anxious, also. I begin my night shifts this week & am wondering how it will all work out with watching Squishy during the day & being away from him three nights/week. I will definitely be updating throughout... although maybe not as wordy on those days following working all night! :)

Have a wonderful New Year!