Thursday, February 24, 2011

My Biggest Money Fail

I am good at paying bills on time and making sure that everything is taken care of for everybody. I find that my weakness is when The Man or one of the kids wants something. I can go for a long time and not buy anything for myself but find myself trying to fit things in for The Man or the kids as soon as they ask. I wont buy myself a pair of tennis shoes that I don't NEED but yet when The Man asks for a video game or a "man toy" I manage to fit it in the budget as soon as possible. This gets me discouraged sometimes. I am trying to pay off the last of the credit card debt and these extra expenses don't help. I have been good about not adding more to the debt but the money buying these toys could be used to pay them off faster. I would feel bad telling him no on a request, unless of course it is something outrageous like a new car, because I feel he deserves to have these toys because he works hard and supports us. I am not sure how to say no without feeling guilty. Any suggestions?

ETA: Today I am feeling guilty for buying guitars for The Man and the boys but this should let them learn something new together.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

I Feel Better

When I was working, prior to my 4 year old, I was a hairstylist. I loved the job but couldn't stand my boss. When it came time and I was on bed rest The Man and I decided it would be better if I stayed at home til the kids were all in school. Besides missing the interaction with adults at work, I miss getting pampered. I would have my hair colored and cut at least monthly and I would get a pedicure once a month. I have been doing my own hair and pedicures since I quit working because I felt bad wanting to spend the money on myself. Well, I finally broke down and paid to have my hair cut and colored. I love it. I wont end up spending the money to do it regularly but right now I feel better. The Man wanted me to get a pedicure as well but since I am so close to being due and the lady who does them down the street is pretty busy I will have to wait some other time to do that.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

35 weeks

I am 35 weeks and 2 days along now. I feel huge, although I have only gained about 2 pounds since my 10 week weigh in. The doctors are not worried about my lack of weight gain since I was overweight to begin with. I believe that the weight control has stemmed from having to watch my diet to control the gestational diabetes. I have been very lucky and have not had to be on any medicine to control the diabetes since I have managed to keep my numbers good with just my diet. I must admit though that I miss having a sweet dessert every so often. I had an ultrasound today because I was measuring 5cm too big at my appointment last Thursday. They measured the baby at weighing 6 lbs 1 oz (+/- 15 oz) and 35 weeks 6 days. This is really good news because I was nervous they were going to tell me the baby weighed 8 pounds already. I have about 4 weeks left until my c-section and I have not gotten any of my baby stuff washed. I also haven't gotten a hospital bag together. I guess I feel like I am still doing okay on time because I didn't go into labor on my own with any of the boys prior to my c-sections.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I know it really isn't the time for pumpkin recipes but this is one I adapted to try today. My friend sent this to me way back around Halloween time and I just haven't had any pumpkin or the umph to make them. Well I got a good deal on pumpkin from Amazon* and wanted to try it out. I did adapt this recipe to include a bit more healthy ingredients for our liking. These turned out really tasty and even got rave reviews from my pickiest child.

3/4 c sugar
1/4 c coconut oil (originally veg oil)
2 eggs

1 c canned pumpkin
1/4 c water

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour (originally all purpose flour)
3/4 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
2 t pumpkin pie spice (originally 1 1/4 t cinnamon, 3/4 t ground cloves, 1/2 t nutmeg)
1/4 t salt

1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips since that is what I had on hand)





Preheat oven to 375. grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.

Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips. fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 minutes.



*Amazon doesn't send food products to APO addresses so when the pumpkin was on super sale I had it sent to my mom's house and she is sending it a few cans at a time in boxes that she is sending.

Sleep

I am not quite sure why but for 3 days now I have been up at 4 a.m. and unable to go back to sleep. It is getting frustrating because I need my sleep. I am 34 weeks pregnant and will soon have a little baby to keep me awake at night. I need all the sleep I can get right now. Any suggestions on how to put myself back to sleep for the 2-3 hours til the alarm goes off when I am stuck awake?