First day of Preschool

So, I am pretty sure no one reads this blog anymore since I haven't posted anything since January :)


Have you ever been asked to stop what you are doing and move across country to your sis-in-laws home to help with you mother in law who is deathly ill with one day notice for an indefinite amount of time with two small children? I have. That was 6.5 weeks ago. This chapter of my life has been the hardest and most challenging of my life but it has also taught me a great deal. I have also been able to experience things that most people don't and for that I am grateful. In order to establish some normalcy and routine for my children and because I am uncertain what the future holds, I started preschool with Mia in August while we have been staying in NJ. We are now in our second week but here is our first week and I "hope" to keep this blog updated to hold me accountable.

Our Awesome treasure map is courtesy of Aunt Pammy

God's Little Explorers Week One: 'X' marks the spot

Mia loved the treasure hunt and has since been on several more and now points out every X she finds when out and about

Practicing writing the letter 'X'

We also made an X-ray, learned about rectangles, GOD's word is our treasure and about days of the week.

So far she is loving it and I am loving teaching her and watching her little mind work and learn. So Fun! We are pretty much following the outline on God's Little Explorer's Pre-K curriculum with a few added activities and crafts. SO far we LOVE it. Next week is G, so get ready for some exciting fun in the Garden

Menu plan, budget, and resolution update

Here is the next two weeks Menu:

Monday: Southwest Chopped Salad (thanks to my friend Jen for the dressing recipe)

Tuesday: Baked Chicken and Rice (mom's recipe) with green beans

Wednesday: crockpot breakfast casserole

Thursday: Tacos

Friday: Homemade stromboli

Saturday: Stuffed Peppers

Sunday: Spaghetti with Salad and garlic bread

Monday: BLT sandwiches with veggies/dip and chips

Tuesday: Chicken Tetrazini

Wednesday: Max and Erma's Chicken Tortilla Soup (my sis-in-laws recipe-its delicious!)

Thursday: Leftover/grilled cheese and soup

Friday-out (Mia/mommy date)

My menu is two weeks because I am only trying to go to the grocery store once per pay period in order to stay within my budget of $100 every 2 weeks. For the first two weeks I came in at around $85 and we mostly stuck to the menu aside from when we fell sick and didn't eat much of anything. I am also planning to sell our freezer before we move so that means using up what is in there, which is also helping me stay on budget :) A few weeks ago I made a list of everything we have in both freezers and each time I use something I mark it off, that way I know what I have and what I need to buy. I also found out the movers won't move canned goods so I am trying to use up my stock pile there too so I don't have to waste as much. This week, after encouragement from two of my sister in laws I gave Aldi's a try. My previous experience was awful and have held it against the store ever since, but boy was I missing out! Aside from the ground turkey, baking powder/soda, 409, and yogurt I still need to buy I was able to buy everything else on my list at Aldi's for a whopping $33.40!!! WHOOHOOO! I was so excited I called my husband who thankfully was able to answer since he had some down time today to listen to my amazing story! So I will keep you posted on how we are doing with this and sticking to this budget. Just a side note, my kids go to daycare where lunch and snack are provided so those are meals I don't have to plan for and I try and eat leftovers or salad for my lunch which also cuts down on costs. As I start to use my freezer stock it will be interesting how I can manage to stay within my budget. If any one has inexpensive, fairly easily to assemble recipes I am always willing to try something new.

For my resolution update; for the most part I have been able to stick with my progress towards my goals aside from this past week where I pretty much took a hiatus from everything. But fear not, I have a plan to get back on track. My goal is to lose 18 lbs for March 25 when Patrick graduates. My reward for this goal is two-fold 1)get a hair cut (I have been dying to cut my hair short but refuse until I reach this goal) and 2)host a party of some sort (thirty-one, tastefully simple, jewlery party etc) to celebrate with my friends! I have also started reading a chapter a week (on Wednesdays) from Power of a praying parent and making that my focus pray of each week.

So in order to stay on track with my goals, here is my plan for this week:
Monday: Jililan Micheals 30 day shred 20 min workout video, 50 squats, Bible study
Tuesday: 30 day shred, 125 squats, run 2-2.5 miles on treadmill after work before picking up the kiddos
Wednesday: breakfast fast read ch.2 of Power praying parent and mediate/pray, 30 day shred, 50 squats, 30 min elipitical, AWANA
Thursday: 30 day shred, 2.5 miles on treadmill
Friday: 30 day shred, 145 squats, 30 min on elliptical if time after work before picking up the kids
I also plan to avoid snacking between meals as this is where I pick up alot of my extra calories!
Saturday: 3 mile run outside weather permiting, 80 squats
Sunday: yoga/stretch, 40 squats, church, small group

Hoping I can stick with this and using my husband suffering as motivation! I hope you all have a blessed and healthy week!

Week 1 in review

So my darling husband has been gone one week today. Whew, that was a LONG week, I am sure it was probably triple the length for him. Holding down the home front here in Ohio has proved to be a challenge this week. We started off Monday with Declan having a fever, going to the doctor, and coming with ATBs for an ear infection and three teeth popped through. Tuesday I awoke with a knot in my chest fully expecting a cold to follow and a clogged toilet for which I quickly learned how to use a plunger! By Wednesday, Declan and I were both coughing, snotty noses etc and neither one of us was sleeping very well and Declan was still having a fever off and on. He also decided eating was for the birds. Thursday, my health quickly deteriorated and by the end of the work day I felt like death and was running a fever by bedtime. By Friday we all had fevers, doctors appts and were found to have the flu, despite our vaccination efforts. My first week as a single mom can be seen as both a failure and a success. No housekeeping, cooking, or exercising was completed but we survived, all slept in the same room and watched lots of movies and are now coming through on the other side as we close out this weekend.
This week has taught me a few things: 1)I am stronger then I realize especially when I have the flu while taking care of two kids who have the flu 2)I really struggle with accepting help from others (why is this so hard?) 3) I have the greatest friends in the world who send their husband over with soup and all sorts of goodies that make moms and kiddos happy (ie tissues, cookies, crackers, and gatorade)
Here is to week number 2! May it be less memorable then the first :)

Happy New Year!!

Well 2013 was great, 2014 holds the potential to be even greater but is laden with lots of new changes, new places and lot of goodbyes! And as though changes are right around the corner, my hubby leaves a week from Sunday, I plan to use this blog as a way to keep my sanity and update family/friends as we embark on this new journey. With that being said, I have set some goals for this upcoming year and since I seem to hold myself more accountable when I write them down/post for the world to see, here it goes:

Sprirtual

1) fast and pray specifically for my children and their well being every Wednesday morning (I know personally the benefits of having a loved one pray continually for you throughout your life and the impact/implications it has had for me and I desire the same for my children-particularly for their spiritual well-being)

2) spend time daily praying and reading God's word (I am able to handle life's stresses when this is a major focus in my life)

Physical

1) train for and RUN a half marathon (I already signed up for one on May 3 so I am committed!)

2) return to pre-pregnancy weight

3)complete 30 day squat challenge (already 5 days completed!)

Financial

1) make a budget and stick to it (budget had been established)

2) pay off all credit cards before moving to Texas
3) live within our means in order to become a stay at home mom

MISC
1) be more organized
2) spend more deliberate focused time with my kids

And one of my main priorities this year: My family

Declan's birth story

For those who are interested here is Declan's birth story:

I went in to see the Dr on May 30 (since Mia was early she decided to do all test, measurements etc early just to be sure) and she did the strep B test and checked my cervix at 35 weeks. I was 4 cm dilated and 60% effaced. I went back to work on Thursday and than again on Friday. Friday night and Saturday I was having mild contractions, which given my history made me nervous. Saturday Pat and I spent at my brother DJ's house helping him get it ready to move into. I pretty much lounged around and wasn't much help but needed to be near Pat so he could drive me to the hospital on short notice if need be. The contractions continued off and on so we went into the hospital on Saturday, stayed for about an hour than they sent us home. On Sunday, our small group threw us a 'sprinkle' baby shower. My water broke towards the end of the evening about 8:20 pm as we were leaving the party. We quickly left, stopped at home to drop Mia off with my mom and headed to the hospital. I was still 4 cm and not having painful contractions, so they started me on Pitocin. Pat and I hung out talking and he was telling me jokes until I couldn't stand the pain any longer. I got an epidural around 12 midnight and around 1:10 I pushed maybe 3 times and my little peanut was born at 1:15 am on Monday June 3rd. I delivered at Grant Medical Center and the experience I had here was stellar. I had the best L&D nurse and my doc was on call for the hospital that weekend so she was ready and available to deliver my baby.  Since Declan was premature they had the NICU nurses in L&D and had prepared me that he would probably need oxygen and would probably have to go straight to the NICU once he was born. Thankfully, he came out screaming and never had to leave the room! We did end up staying the hospital an extra day because he was jaundice, premature, was tongue-tied and was losing weight but we had great care and support while we were there. This experience was vastly different from our first, we were able to sit back and relax a bit, take in the experience a little more since Declan's arrival was a little more controlled than Mia's

Here are Declan's newborn pictures taken at 4 days old

Mommy and baby meet!

Our little peanut has doubled his birth weight since birth and is fitting in well into our little family. We love him!

Christmas and Lots of Snow!

We spent Christmas 2012 at home this year. We Skype'd with family and lazed around most of the day. It was great. Here are some of my favorite pics:

 Merry Christmas 2012

SO excited!

Lego Castle

This Monkey hat is now her favorite hat to wear!

The aftermath round one

We also got quite a bit of snow which delayed my MIL's flight giving us a few more days to play in the snow! This was the first year Mia really cared about playing in the snow and she loved it!

Nashville

We have had quite a lot happen in the last few months, and since I find myself in a rare position: Mia is asleep before 9pm. I find myself with a little me time :) This is a miracle since she normally doesn't fall asleep until 11:00pm or later! So, I thought now would be an excellent time to sit down and update my blog (since paying bills didn't sound quite as fun!) and it has been since November since I have blogged about anything!
Thanksgiving and Christmas were a whirlwind. Mostly d/t finding that the projected plan for my mom's cancer treatment took a turn toward a more extensive surgery, we had to make many adjustments including bumping up our celebration of my mom's 50th birthday in February! She had never been to Nashville so we loaded up the car and headed to the Country Music Capitol and the Opryland hotel!. But here are a few of my favorite pics:

 Decorating  a Gingerbread family

Mia got her first Cowboy hat and a 'Patar" aka guitar for Christmas

We got to hear a live band and see the Rockettes at the Grand Ole Opry

And to top it all off this kid was SO excited to go for a 'horsie' ride!

Happy early 50th Birthdays MOM!