Making it Monday: Growing Things

Thanks to everyone for the supportive response last week. I sometimes wonder why I write here, and then I remember: I think the blogging makes me feel more normal.

This week, our family is preparing for what will need to be a quick out of state trip for a funeral, when the time comes. I'm running around like one of the unwise virgins, trying for the life of me to find oil in time. That's me trying to make being up to my eyeballs in laundry and housework sound more poetic than it is. My posts this week will have to be kept short, to keep me on track.

That said, I'm excited to share that I'm going to be making dinner, a crust-less quiche, with our first spinach harvest of the season, and it looked so pretty in my overcast kitchen lighting that I had to share. Spinach has been the easiest thing to grow, hands down. I think it would probably do pretty well in a pot, if you were doing container gardening, too.

Now, if anyone has any suggestions for getting rid of garden gnats, we would appreciate them. Our vinegar/sugar/water jug has only taken care of about half of the problem.

Sunday Inspiration: Sigh.

"A good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy, or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do. Life is not calm for most women, and each day seems to require the accomplishment of a million things, most of which are important. A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence. But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently."

Julie Beck

There's this road that's paved with good intentions, but I can't remember where it's going...

I had planned to get more sleep.
I had planned to cut myself and Stinky some slack.
I had planned a belated earth day activity, lots of stories, and some crafting time.
I had planned all of this before Stinky woke up before I fell asleep.

From 11:30 to 4:30 AM, it was a late-night party for Stinky and me. I tried to get him to fall asleep in my bed, but he was determined to go downstairs. So determined, that after I had dozed off at one point, he woke me by whispering in my ear "I peed on your bed."

Shocked and angry, I sent him back to his bedroom, where he cried for a while, then stopped. Soon, I heard the unmistakeable sound of a quiet kid and grunting attempts to move furniture. Wouldn't you know it? He was trying to move the large playhouse that blocks the second-story window of his bedroom. My child was plotting his escape. We ended the evening on the pull-out couch downstairs, where we watched his favorite shows On Demand for three hours, until we both fell asleep, sometime around 4:30. He woke again at nine.

I plan to get more sleep.
I plan to cut myself and Stinky some slack.
I plan to do a belated earth day activity, lots of stories, and some crafting time.
I plan to do all of this at a later date.
I plan to turn on Oprah and lay down on the couch while my child watches a movie in the playroom.
Again.

Funk

my new favorite picture in the whole world, taken last Saturday.

I must admit, I've disappeared this last week because I've been in a bit of a funk, and really, who wants to read about that? By the way, you should leave if you don't, because I am going to write about it. Hormones are obviously the largest of all contributors, as is the fatigue and the still-present nausea and something that can't decide if it's a cold or springtime allergies. I can't control those, though.

Let me interrupt this blog post to tell you that my son just brought me a plastic medal and said "This is for the best mom I ever saw and because I love you." Let me now pause to wipe tears from my eyes. Okay, back to blogging.

As I was saying, I can't control any of those things, so I've been looking at what I can control.
I can help the fatigue by going to bed at a decent hour.
I can remind myself that hormones significantly shorten my fuse and that I should cut everyone (Stinky, other drivers, cranky women at church, and myself, to name a few) some slack.
I can take the time for things that make me happy like crafting and writing here, both of which have been woefully neglected.
I can stop procrastinating dealing with things that are ugly because they're never as bad as I think.
I can ask for help when I need it, instead of absorbing everything until I lose it at the slightest provocation.

So, with that, I'm back to writing, and hopefully to crafting soon. There's no lack of projects (or deadlines that I'm, yes, procrastinating).

April Challenge- Feed Our Family on 40-50

I set a challenge for myself to feed our family on $40-50 a week, plus what we had in our pantry. The first week went well-ish, but went off-track for a few reasons.

First, I'll confess that we ate out once for lunch, because some crazy pregnant chick got a craving at the mall. Yeah, I know. When we totalled our food together, we realized that in one meal, we spent nearly half of what had been spent at the grocery store ($42.09, plus $3 for soda midweek, for anyone who's curious) on that one meal. Now, that was just embarassing, but it was a lesson learned.

The second reason is that a stomach bug hit our house early in the week, and we spent a few days on a bland and minimal diet, also prompting the soda purchase. We ate a lot of rice those days. Finally, we were treated to meals at other homes a few times as well, which always helps the food budget.

Turning what made last week's attempt a bit of a bust into something positive, I can stretch most of what was purchased on the first week's budget into this week's budget. So, with that said, a $16.37 trip to Costco for milk, produce and other staples this weekend has me back on track. I hope that will somehow make up for our mall food indiscretion.

Here's some of what we ate since beginning the experiment last Friday:

Breakfast:
Applesauce Muffins (double your applesauce and eliminate the oil- they're crazy moist that way)
Bagels with cream cheese and fruit
Cereal (we decided to get one bag of cereal during the first weeks' trip)

Lunch:
Quesadillas from leftover burrito ingredients
Bagel Pizzas
Macaroni and cheese (again, budgeting for one box on the first weeks' trip, Stinky's choice)
Rice
Good ol' PB& J's

Dinner:
Chicken, Rice, and Vegetable Bake
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Fettucini Alfredo
Easter Dinner Leftovers (thanks to the R and T families!)
Black Bean, Chicken and Rice Burritos

(almost all of these meals had fruits/veggies on the side, but I didn't record just what we had with them)

I'm looking forward to getting back to it this week. Do you have any budget meal suggestions?

We Made It Monday: Blue Edition

We learned last Tuesday that, with a profile nearly identical to Stinky's, and the same willingness to wiggle their tiny buttcheeks and private parts at the ultrasound technician, the baby due to join our family is most definitely named Colin, and not Anna. "Oh yeah," said the technician, "He's not shy about those at all!"

I was shocked at first because I'd been sure that we were having a girl. Then the word "brothers" came to my mind, and my eyes welled up. We're thrilled.

Colin, I'm sorry I've thought you were a girl for the last few months. Thank you and your Y chromosome for saving us some money on baby clothes. Your big brother can't wait to play with you, even if he is accidentally calling you Gollum at the moment. That's our fault for introducing the Lord of the Rings movies at the same time we told him who you were. We can't wait to meet you, kid. We're going to have a blast.

Sunday Inspiration

I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?”As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day.As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew.

Henry B. Eyring

Making It Monday:

Making it acurately describes how I feel about this weekend. Breathing a sigh of relief, I feel like I can breathe and say "We made it!" It was a beautiful Easter weekend, which began with an Easter egg hunt with kids from church. By the end, we ended up with a sick boy from an out-of-nowhere stomach virus, enjoyed a really inspiring Conference Broadcast and too much ham, and now we find ourseves about to crash and wondering where the weekend went.

I feel lame that my 300th post has come and gone with no giveaway- I have the pieces cut, but the job of 'primary puke catcher' doesn't allow much time off. It's coming soon. I've also challenged myself to feed the family on what's in the pantry and $40-50 a week this month, so I'll be updating that, with recipes, weekly. WBH is home for spring break and we're hoping the week is filled with adventure, and I'm working on a post about cooking with kiddo, which is becoming a pretty regular thing at our house.

I hope everyone's Easter was beautiful and that you found something inspiring this weekend.

Sunday Inspiration:

"He has entrusted to your care His eternal children. As parents we partner, even join with God, in bringing to pass His work and glory among His children. It is our sacred duty to do our very best."

L. Tom Perry