Striving for peace as a stay at home mom

Snow And Ice Cream

2012-02-05T23:24:00.000Z

We woke up to snow today. I know this isn't very exciting for a lot of people but for us this is amazing. We lived in Tucson, Arizona for 10 years prior to moving here and there was almost no snow there. The first year there was some snow a couple of times and we enjoyed it, but last year I think we might have gotten a light dusting of flakes about 2 times. The first thing the kids wanted to do was go outside and play. I told them we had to have breakfast first. While I was mixing up ingredients for waffles and homemade syrup, I had The Man go out and collect some clean snow before the dog or kids could contaminate it all. We turned it into snow ice cream. This was the first time any of us had experienced this and yes, I was a bad mom and let the kids have some snow ice cream while their breakfast was cooking. I figure that we do not feed them like that regularly so it is OK to have a super special treat sometimes. Over the course of the day we ended up making three flavors. It is much cheaper than the $5 half gallons at the store and we already had all the ingredients on hand.

Vanilla Snow Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cups sugar
CLEAN Snow

Preparation:

Go outside and get 4 - 5 cups of fresh, clean snow. Don't pack the snow! Bring it in the house and set it in the freezer until you need it. Mix together the milk, vanilla, and the sugar. Stir this mixture until the sugar is dissolved. Slowly add the snow to your mixture, stirring constantly, until it is as thick as ice cream! Eat up!

Our other versions were Mint Chocolate Chip and Chocolate. For the Mint Chocolate Chip we exchanged mint extract for the vanilla, added a couple drops of green food color, and added a few mini chocolate chips. For the Chocolate we omitted the vanilla and replaced it with 1 Tablespoon of cocoa powder. This was fun and who knows when we will have snow again. Have you ever had ice cream made from snow? Do you have some different variations?

My Little Boys

2012-01-30T09:31:00.002Z

My little boys are a bundle of energy from the moment they wake up in the morning til they finally pass out at night. I do not know where they get all their energy from and I am even more lost as to where to direct all that energy when it is cold, windy, or rainy outside. Being in the house seems to bring out their natural craziness even more. I am constantly trying to prevent them from jumping on my couch or their bed. They want to run in circles and spin til they drop on the ground. It is quite funny and exciting to watch but it makes me crazy. I of course have to protect Miss H because she is just a baby and cannot move fast enough if one of them were to fall, so somedays that feels like all I get accomplished. As I type this, I am chasing them off the furniture so that hopefully this furniture might last a few years. I love that they love to play and use their wild imaginations but I really wish there were times that they would just sit and play quietly. Oh well there are much worse things going on in the world. :)

Glasses Online

2012-01-25T22:56:00.000Z

*this is the pair of glasses I ordered from Coastal

Today I had my first eye exam since high school. Yes that was a long time ago since I am going to turn 32 in February. I walked in thinking it was going to be an easy exam. It took me almost 2 hours to go through all sorts of tests and now I have to go back for a peripheral vision test and a scan of my head. I did walk out with a prescription for glasses. They are supposed to help me see things up close better. I priced glasses at the on base optical shop and it would cost me $300 for the pair of glasses that I liked. They charge separately for frames and lenses. It is a lot of money. If I end up buying them I will have to buy them out of our tax return as I don't usually have that much free money to spend. I did some research online and there are several online places to buy glasses. I decided to try out a could of them. I ordered a free pair from Coastal.com, a free pair from Firmoo.com, and a $6.95 pair from Zennioptical.com. I am a bit nervous trying online places especially ones who send free glasses with just the cost of shipping. These places include the cost of basic lenses in the cost of their frames. You would pay a extra for coatings or better lenses. I figured since my first prescription isn't very high I would be able to get away with the basic lenses.

Have you ever ordered glasses online? Did you like them?

If you order a pair from this link at Coastal I can get some referral credit to help fund a future pair. I would be so thankful if you would check it out or recommend this post to your friends to check out the links. The free glasses opportunities are for new customers only.

Cleaning

2012-01-23T13:25:00.000Z

I hate cleaning house. I only do it because I have to and I generally try get The Man and the kids involved because I do not want to clean up every body's mess all by myself. The Man is usually really good about helping on the weekends but he is so tired and worn out from his work schedule and lack of sleep during the week that he doesn't do much during the week.

The oldest boy is supposed to do a chore every day but rarely gets one accomplished between school, homework, dinner, and practicing his instruments. I am quite lax on him about the chores because I think that the school work and practicing the instruments is more important. I never had the opportunity to learn to play an instrument when I was a child so I am thankful he gets the chance to learn two. He also has a bad attitude when I ask him to do anything and when he does do something he puts very little effort into it and it usually isn't much better than it was before. How do you get an 11 year old boy to understand that helping out in the house is important?

The little two boys don't quite get what chores are. I try to get them involved with helping but if I am not right there helping them they make more mess than the help is worth. I can hand them wet washcloths to help wash fingerprints off walls and if I walk away they are smacking each other with the rags. I will help them start cleaning the toys off their floor in their room but if I leave the room for any reason they start playing and pull out more toys. I have taken toys away for them being left out and it doesn't seem to affect them. What are some easy chores for little kids (5&3) that they really cannot make too much mess with?

The baby of course cannot do much at this point. It would help if she would play peacefully in her playpen for a little and not cry when I walk out of her sight so I could get a whole lot more accomplished.

I struggle on how to implement the family's help so that I am not the only one who is stressed out about it all the time. I read a few blogs about large families (much larger than mine) and they seem to have figured out how to limit the "stuff" their kids have and they home school so there are more helping hours. I don't home school mostly for my lack of strict structure and my oldest son's attitude. I would love to be that great mom who was able to home school her children and get everything done around the house as well, but I am not.

While I know my house isn't a pigsty or a disaster it is cluttered and always looks too lived in for my liking. I do not know how to combat this. I can figure out how to get rid of "stuff" but new stuff seems to just come in to replace it. I am really hoping that as my children age that the house wont look so messy to me all the time.

Do you have children who are great helpers around the house? How did you get them to be involved without the attitude? Do you have some suggestions on how to get everyone involved without too much arguing and complaining?

Schooling - Part 3

2012-01-20T22:56:00.000Z

My financial aid portion was approved. I am now waiting on the 1st of February to be enrolled and then my books to arrive. I am so excited and scared. I know I will be able to do it but I know I will have to make an effort for time for myself so I can study. I am also excited to show S (the oldest boy) how Mom can still study and get good grades. I think this is going to be important for him because he has decided he doesn't like school and doesn't want to put forth an effort.

If you know a military spouse of an E1 - E5 or O1- O2 let them know there is money for school out there for them. Free money. Tell them to contact Military One Source and ask about the MyCAA.

Schooling - part 2

2012-01-18T12:06:00.000Z

My school goal was approved and now I am waiting on the financial aid portion to be approved. I could start my online class as early as February 1. I am super excited and nervous. I want so badly to be able to get a really great grade in the class so that I can get my certificate and possibly take another class come October/November.

Schooling

2012-01-12T13:22:00.000Z

I was/am a licensed cosmetologist. I went to beauty school right out of high school. I then worked in a salon for 6.5 years. I really enjoyed being a hairstylist but it is really hard on the body and I am a bit over weight, which doesn't help. I have been a stay at home mom now since 2006 when I was put on bed rest while pregnant with T. I really miss being a hairstylist but I am afraid that being out of the business too long I will need to update my knowledge just a bit before going back into the hair business. I cannot really do that while I am here so I have decided to strengthen my knowledge by taking an online class in a different subject. I will worry about updating my cosmetology skills once I am back stateside. I know most of the basics are not out of date but there have been up and coming things like threading and new hair straightening techniques that I would hope to learn.

I found out that the government has some money set aside to help military spouses go to school for what they deem "portable" careers. This is free money to go toward and associates or a certificate in these "portable" careers. The program is called Military Spouse Career Advancement Account. I have signed up and am waiting for the approval to take an online course for a certificate in medical billing and coding. There are lots of schools to choose from and I am going to be taking mine through a stateside university continuing education program. Once you sign up for MyCAA then you choose the education path you want to do and submit it to the program for approval. Once it is approved then your financial aid portion is submitted and approved. I am hoping that I should be able to start my classes in February. I am a bit scared because I have not been to any kind of schooling since leaving beauty school back in 1999. I am excited because I will get to learn something new and hopefully something I could put toward job finding when we get back to the states.

If you would like to find out more about the MyCAA program visit www.militaryonesource.com.

I Am Stressed

2012-01-08T00:47:00.001Z

I am stressed. Not just stressed but, STRESSED. I like for my life to be pretty boring and for everything to run just the way I need it to. It does not always do that for me and I end up stressed. It appears to me that every time I get to a place where I feel comfortable in my life once again something has to come along and ruin it for me.

I have been married almost 7 years now. I married The Man in April 2005. The beginning of our marriage was quite rough as he was deployed more than half of our first 3 years of marriage. It is rough sitting home hoping and praying for an email to let you know that your loved one was OK. We found out that in 2009 we would be moving to England for 4 years. This sounded great to us because we would get to travel a bit and see another country that we might not otherwise get to see. He has also informed me that he would not be deploying as much since which was exciting to me. I wanted him to be able to see his kids grow up a little bit. Since we have been here the house prices have dropped where we came from to a level that we could have bought a house had we not been sent over here. This stresses me out. I want to buy a house. I want to know that I will have a roof over my head always. This year they (whatever great source pays the military people) have also decided that our COLA (cost of living allowance) is too much so over the course of this year they are going to take $190.00 a month away from us. This hurts me. The food prices here are amazingly high compared to where we came from. There are also no double coupons and things do not go on great sales. The higher costs mean that we do not get to travel like we thought we would. So much for being in such a beautiful country.

Just recently I was delivered another blow. The Man has been in the military for 14 years this month. Great feat if you do ask me, as this life is not easy for sure. The plan has been to make it to 20 years and retire so that we would be OK on medical insurance and some sort of pay check while we were able to get settled and find new jobs. Well, thanks to the need to cut military troops there is a very real possibility that my husband could be kicked out of the military in 2013. He must make his next rank this year or next or he is done and will not be allowed to continue to retirement. The problem with this theory is that while my husband is awesome at his hands on work he has a much harder time taking written tests. They do not just give out rank because you are great at your job, you have to pass a written test. This might not be so terrible to some people but I have been a stay at home mom now for 5.5 years so we have no second income to fall back on. We are living overseas where I cannot just buy a house or try to get settled. We are, at minimum, 9-11 hours airplane ride away from our families. We are not due to go back to the states til only a few months prior to this new "rule" taking effect. I cannot get prepared quick enough for this.

I am scared out of my mind. I have never considered the possibility that my husband might not have his job. I cannot sleep. I am nauseous. I have to try to pay off any sort of debts between now and then, just in case. We just financed a vehicle that will not be paid off before this could happen. I have tried to explain my stress to The Man but I don't think he understands. I am the planner and the one who takes care of all the finances. He is very laid back and figures everything will just fall into place. I am very scared of the unknown. I need to know where life is heading.

If you have some time would you please pray, hope, think positive thoughts that my husband will be able to pass his test this year and that June will bring us great news. I would love to be able to feel the comfort again of knowing that we will be able to provide for our children. I do not like this feeling of uncertainty at all.

I am sorry if this isn't very well put together and sounds a bit jumbled. It is the middle of the night and I have so many scary thoughts running through my head I don't know how to sort them at the moment.

Weigh In Wednesday - Late Again

2011-12-15T10:58:00.004Z

Today I weighed in at 196.8 lbs. Not too bad considering the amount of Nutella I ate over the past few days. I normally do not buy much of it because I love it but my mom sent 4 huge jars to my house and so the temptation is huge. I am weak. I do not do well with temptation.

Because I am bad on a diet and love to be an enabler- Head on over to http://www.nutellausa.com/giveaway.htm (US residents only)
And enter for your chance to win a CASE of this yummy stuff.

Photo Credit

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-12-14T21:24:00.000Z

To be honest, I forgot today was Wednesday and we were super busy. I will weigh in tomorrow morning if I remember it. I am betting I have not lost and probably gained instead. Darn Nutella.

I hope everyone has a fabulous day!

Cheap Christmas Stocking

2011-12-12T13:02:00.000Z

I realized when we pulled out our Christmas stuff yesterday that H does not have a stocking yet. I should have known this but it totally slipped my mind. I was too busy trying to get through birthdays and buy Christmas gifts. I figured maybe I would try to make one for her instead of going out and buying an overpriced, cheaply made, stocking that I would not like. I used one of our other stockings and cut around it with a roller cutter. The pink and red part is a wool sweater that I paid $1.50 at a yard sale a while ago to make a diaper cover that I had not gotten around to yet. I used the middle of the sweater so I still have the arms of the sweater to use to make pants that can be used as a diaper cover. The white part is the hem of a skirt that I had picked up for free. I loved the fabric of the skirt but it was way too small. I love this stocking and am going to keep my eye out for some more wool sweaters to do this with as well. I would love for all of my kids to have a special stocking that I made for them.

Have you made your own stocking or some other Christmas craft? Please link in the comments so I can check out your homemade goodies too.

Christmas Party Update

2011-12-10T22:13:00.000Z

*sorry for the horrible phone pic

This is the outfit I wore last night. I felt great. I got this dress on clearance at the store for less than $10. I paid 1 pound for the red belt at a local thrift store as well. It was very cold out so I wore a black jacket that matched the dress perfectly that I also paid less than $10 for.

They had a buffet meal and I did fabulous about my food choices. I only ate salad, turkey, carrots, green beans, and had a tiny spoon of cranberry sauce, and a half of a roll. I passed over the stuffing and mashed potatoes. I will say as nice as it was to go out for a night with The Man, our home cooked food tastes much better.

The kids did fabulously. S managed to help the babysitters by holding H at the beginning and helping her to be comfortable with one of the ladies. We were able to stay at the party until almost 10 p.m. and they didn't have to call us because she did so well. The little boys were great too. We got compliments on our children's behavior. This makes me proud. I love compliments on my children when they are being good. It makes me feel like I am not completely failing as a parent.

Date Night - Christmas Party

2011-12-09T13:34:00.000Z

I am a bit nervous for tonight. It is The Man's work Christmas party and we are going. We do not get to go out as just adults hardly ever since we live where we have no family and friends to help with the kids. I also do not know how to go about finding someone to babysit because I would feel guilty asking someone else to give up their evening to watch my kids so I can go out and have fun. We are going to this party tonight and they have arranged babysitting for all of the kids of the people who are going to this party. I am a little nervous about how my children will act, especially the baby, but that is what cell phones are for, right? The Man says he knows the people who are watching the kids and feels comfortable with it so I am trying my best to try to not freak out about it. I am concerned that the baby will cry and not be able to be consoled. I know it is probably all in my own head but it is stressing me out. I will try to convince my oldest, S, to help keep an eye on his sister a little bit too since he will be a normal thing in her life and her little brothers are too young to hold her or cuddle her if need be.

I am also nervous about looking decent and making a good impression on these people that The Man works with. Unfortunately the one I am most concerned with is one of his bosses. This particular boss has had to come out and deal with my wrath when someone cannot do their job right and I got mad. (totally legitimate reasons but I am embarrassed anyway) Most of the rest of the people that The Man socializes with at work are several years younger than ourselves and most do not have children. Why does this make me nervous? Well, because I will feel old and fat compared to the other ladies around. Sure when I was 19 and had no kids I was skinny and young too, but now I am in my 30s and have had 4 kids which have not been too nice to my body. I am overweight and am afraid that whatever I wear will not look great on me. The Man thinks that I am totally crazy for caring what anybody thinks. He just doesn't get it.

Anyway wish me luck that the kids behave and that I can attempt to get over my insecurities enough to have a good night.

Weigh In Wednesday and Christmas

2011-12-07T09:26:00.000Z

Today I weighed in at 196.6 pounds. It sucks, but it is what it is. It is my fault for not watching my portion sizes and eating after the kids go to bed. I had hoped to do better this week since we have a Christmas party to go to on Friday and I had hoped I could lose a couple of pounds to look a little better in my dress. Oh well. The dress will still fit and we will go and hopefully have fun. ( I am a little nervous about leaving the kids with babysitters)

On to the topic of Christmas:

Last year I was so organized with Christmas. I had my Christmas account money and did well with not going over the total for the kids. This year I have not done so well. I have spent too much on presents that I know my kids will love but I wish I had done a lot better about staying in the budget. They will only be getting one large gift from us and then they will get their stockings filled by Santa. I am going to try much harder next year to stay in the budget because this really stresses me out. I did not have this stress last year when I stayed in the budget so I really think choosing to spend more money than I had planned for is causing this issue for me.

Anyway, the kids will have a nice Christmas and the stress will be over soon. I will love the smiles and cheers when they open their gift.

Weigh In Wednesday - Really Late :)

2011-12-02T12:57:00.000Z

On Wednesday morning I did weigh myself with intentions of blogging but got side tracked. The man has been working 12 hour shifts which end up being like 14 or so hours with the drive and when they actually let him loose for the day. I have been crazy busy with the kids. Anyway, I weighed in at 195.0 lbs. Not much but it was still a loss which makes me happy.

Thanksgiving Cranberries

2011-11-23T23:41:00.002Z

I am so glad that The Man loves to cook and bake and will help me out in my endeavours in the kitchen. I bought 3 containers of cranberries to make cranberry sauce because I do not eat the canned stuff anymore since it has HFCS in it. We started making jellied cranberry sauce and ended up with 3 half pints. We canned it in the half pint jars because we are the only ones who will eat it. The kids like to turn their nose up at it. They surely do not know what they are missing. The man took some of the pulp and mixed it with some sugar and put it in the left over pie crust to make a tart type thing. We shared this as a snack after we were done cooking. It turned out good. I had too many cranberries left over so some got turned into cranberry nut bread and some got turned into a cranberry sauce type syrup and made into cranberry cream cheese. We still have a little bit of the pulp leftover and we are going to use that to make cranberry scones tomorrow to have with tea. I cannot believe that 3 containers of cranberries can stretch so far but to me that is amazing and I love the fact that we are going to be able to use all of them with no waste. How is that for thrifty?

Pie is out of the oven and it is after midnight - I think I am past ready for bed now. I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-11-23T09:15:00.000Z

Today I weighed in at 196.0 lbs. Not the great loss I was hoping for but weight wont come off without some help and I wasn't very good about helping it. LOL. My biggest challenge over this next week will be Thanksgiving and all the leftovers. My goal will to at least stay the same for next week's weigh in.

Back To Basics

2011-11-22T11:08:00.001Z

I love to cook and so does The Man. It is no wonder we are overweight. :) I have started to notice that every time we wanted a new recipe we would head on to the internet to look for a recipe while my beautiful cookbooks just sat on the shelf. I wondered if the types of recipes we were looking for were in the cookbooks or not so I have decided to try to look in the cookbooks first and if I cannot find the recipe I need then I will head on over to food.com. I have been getting pretty lucky that a lot of the recipes in the cookbooks are made from staples we keep regularly in our house.

I was looking for a recipe for a pumpkin pie to make homemade for Thanksgiving and of course it is in there. Homemade pie crust and filling. I am super excited to try this.

We decided to try spaghetti squash for the first time but had no idea how to cook it and there is a recipe for that. We will be trying it for dinner tonight so I hope it turns out yummy.

I have pumpkin bread in the oven right now and that recipe came from the cook book.

The book I have been using most is a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that my mom bought for me several years back. It is similar to the book below but I am not sure that mine is this most current one.

Do you use cookbooks any more or do you find your recipes online?

Groupon- Vitacost.com $15 for $30 purchase

2011-11-20T22:32:00.001Z

I love Vitacost.com because I can order organic spices in larger quantities and have them delivered to me. I cannot figure out where to buy bulk organic spices at a reasonable amount locally, so online shopping is the way to go for me. I love that the ship to my APO address as well and can get free shipping if I spend more than $49. Today on Groupon.com you can pay $15 for a $30 groupon to Vitacost.com. Hurry on over and get this deal here.

*p.s. If you would like a referral to Vitacost we can each get $10 after your first purchase. Just send me a message.

Happy Birthday

2011-11-19T01:12:00.000Z

Happy Birthday to K, my sweet, cuddly, 3 year old. We took him out today to pick out his gift from his Nana since she was unable to get a gift in the mail to him in time. We let him walk around the store and look at all the toys and he stuck true to his love of trains and picked out another train. He is going to be super excited tomorrow when we have his party that he is getting more train things. We also got lunch and ice cream while we were out. He thought it was so cool that we let him have ice cream before his food but he still managed to finish his food off before his ice cream was gone. We don't usually let the kids have ice cream out and about, nor do we let them eat ice cream before eating something with a bit of nutrition but it is a special thing that my mom did with me as a teen for special occasions so I have decided to carry it on with my kids. I hope that the little things like this will make many happy memories for them.

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-11-16T11:14:00.000Z

Today I weighed in at 196.8 lbs. This makes me very happy. I am going to try really hard over the next few weeks to lose a few more pounds because we have a Chirstmas party coming up at The Man's work and I would love to feel like I look good. I know me though and no matter how much I lose or how good I feel when I leave here I will feel ugly when I get there probably. I am jealous (I know it is horrible) of how skinny and pretty a lot of the younger and even some of the older wives are. I have been 175lbs + since I had S 11 years ago. Before I got pregnant with him I was 135-140 lbs and although looking back now I think I looked great, I still thought I was not skinny enough or pretty enough. I think a lot of it has to do with the super large chest I have always had. Even when I could wear a size 6 or 8 on the bottom, I always had to wear an XL shirt which never fit great because it fit the chest but never accentuated the waist. My ultimate goal is to lose enough weight to be able to get a breast reduction and tummy tuck. I know this will not make me "perfect" but I will not have the back and neck aches and my clothes, whatever size that might be, will fit my body better.

Bill Paying Day

2011-11-15T12:59:00.000Z

I do not work outside of the home and The Man is in the military so we get a paycheck twice a month. I am the one responsible for making sure everything to do with the finances is taken care of. On paydays I feel like a chicken with my head cut off. I have to do my normal household and motherly duties and then during nap time get all the online bills paid so that I can wake The Man up and leave to go to the bank, check the mail, fill the cars up with gas, and go grocery shopping. I know that I could stretch this out over several days but keeping it to the actual day of payday doesn't let me get a chance to slip up and forget something. It also doesn't interrupt The Man's sleep that much. While I do feel like a crazy person on paydays, I do love that The Man trusts that I do a good job at keeping the household bills paid on time and food in the house.

Today, I am thankful for a steady paycheck and the means to pay our bills. I am also thankful for The Man who willingly gets up and takes care of all of the kids while I do the payday errands so I do not have to drag all of the kids with me. (Although today K gets to go shopping with me so he can pick out his birthday cake mix and frosting for his birthday this weekend.) I love my family!

Burt's Bees Sensitive

2011-11-13T22:12:00.001Z

I am a BzzAgent and received a free sample to try and review. I received a box with a full size facial cleanser and a moisturizer. I dread trying new facial products because most of the time they burn or itch and turn my face more red than it already is. This new line is specifically made for sensitive skin like mine. I have used it twice now and I may have found a new product line. I have used other Burt's Bees products in the past and I like these better so far.

The cleanser is nice and smooth and doesn't have a smell which is great because I do not like strong smelling facial products. The cleanser is a bit more heavy than the one I have been using in the past. I feel like I could just use this one all by itself without a moisturizer because it left my skin very soft and moisturized.

I also have tried the moisturizer twice. This is a very light weight moisturizer. It also does not have a scent. I love having a super light moisturizer for morning so I do not start out my day feeling like a grease monkey. This worked well for my morning routine after my shower before my makeup.

Not only are these products great feeling on my face, they don't stink and they are made mostly of natural ingredients. Right now there is a coupon that you can print to use in your local store or a code to use online for the sensitive skin line. If you have sensitive skin and love natural products, you should try this.

Weigh In Wednesday - On Thursday AGAIN

2011-11-10T22:46:00.001Z

198.2 lbs today. I only worked out 1 day this past week and have not been very good on watching the food intake.

Tonka XT Ricochet Tricksters R/C

2011-11-07T20:53:00.001Z

I am a BzzAgent and have been provided with a Tonka XT Ricochet Tricksters R/C for free to try out and review. Upon opening the box I was concerned with how it was packaged because one side of the box is open to be able to touch the car. I quickly got over that when I started unpacking it. It was very secure in the packaging. There were cords wrapped around each of the tires holding it in very securely. The remote was in a separate compartment so that it could not move around either.

I have put the batteries in it and am waiting the 30 minutes for it to charge. I will say I am not impressed with how many batteries it takes (5AA). For my house it would have been better to use less batteries and have a wall A/C adaptor to recharge the car. We have 3 boys who are going to fight over this and we will probably go through tons of batteries with it.

TBC tomorrow after we have all gotten to try it out...

We have now tried this R/C out. It is fun and made us all laugh and smile. It goes forwards and backwards. It also goes in circles and has a trick button so that it will do tricks on its own. It can also flip over and keep going. The kids have been fighting over playing with it all day.

We love this car! The only downside is the amount of batteries used and the length of charge before having to recharge the car. The remote takes 5AA batteries and the car has its own rechargeable battery. It charges for 20-30 minutes and you can get 5-15 minutes of play time before having to recharge it. Overall we love this and will probably have to buy at least one more. I would recommend this for a great birthday or Christmas gift.

Weigh In Wednesday - On a Thursday

2011-11-03T12:19:00.000Z

Today I have very bad news. I have eated too many cake in a cups and Halloween candy. The scale was up this morning to 199.0 pounds. While this is not terrible, I was doing so well til the candy and cake. I also haven't been working out due to the craziness of the house recently.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T14:46:00.000Z

Happy Halloween!

What are you or your kids dressing up as tonight. The Man and I are not dressing up but the kids will. We will have a big vampire, two little Buzz Lightyears, and a pretty little lady bug.

Have a safe night.

Gluten Free Cake In A Cup

2011-10-30T10:16:00.000Z

I have decided to try switching T's diet to gluten free to see if it will help his bowel issues. I had come across a quick cake in a cup recipe a little while ago that was a hit in our house. Unfortunately it was made with regular flour. I decided to try switching it up with gluten free flour to see if it would work and it came out just as yummy as the original.

4 Tbsp gluten free flour
4 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
dash of salt

1 Egg
3 Tbsp milk
3 Tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp mini chocolate chips

In a large coffee cup mix together dry ingredients. Stir in wet ingredients. Mix well. Add chocolate chips. Put the cup in the microwave for 3 minutes high power. Let sit for a minute or two to cool just a bit and enjoy.

We enjoyed this plain but you could always put a gluten free frosting or powdered sugar on the top.

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-10-26T07:00:00.000+01:00

Today the scale said 197.2. WOOHOO!!!! I only managed any exercise 3 days this past week but it obviously helped. According to the program I have on my Ipod the date to when I should reach my 175 lb goal is getting closer to when I want to actually reach it. I was way out but it is now saying that I should reach my goal by March. I am still aiming for February 28, 2012.

I Love My Husband

2011-10-23T14:59:00.000+01:00

I love my husband, I really do but I cannot get it through his head that the best thing to buy me as a gift is some kind of sweet treat. I swear I lose a pound and he goes and buys me a cake. How is this fair? He knows I have NO willpower against sweet goodies. I even teased him and told him flowers wouldn't make me fat and his joking remark was that flowers are overrated. I swear one of these days I will get it through his head that you do not buy the fat girl who is trying to lose weight a cake as a prize. DO you have any suggestions on how to get him to stop buying me sweet treats?

*disclaimer- this post comes after he bought me a cake to celebrate me losing weight LOL

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-10-19T07:28:00.000+01:00

Today I weighed in at 199.4 lbs. WOOHOO! I have finally seen under 200 lbs. This is super exciting to me. I didn't do as well on my exercising this past week because I have been feeling a bit sick the past few days. I have also found that homemade kettle corn seems to be my dream snack. It is sweet and salty and quite filling. It also makes enough to share with The Man and The Kids.

Wednesday, October 12 - Walked 31 minutes

Thursday, October 13 - Walked 31 minutes

Saturday, October 15 - Walked 31 minutes

I didn't do running because I haven't been able to go til after dinner and my stomach can only handle so much exercise after eating. I am hoping to get 4-5 days of exercise this week. I have noticed that by doing the walking I have been physically feeling a bit better. My body isn't hurting the next day and my legs are not painful while I am walking. I think I am going to try to lose a few more pounds and try the running thing again. I dream of running but I am not sure I am cut out for it. I am also going to bed at a more reasonable time in the evening. I haven't taken a nap during the day in weeks now. I am still hoping to get to 175lbs by February 28, 2012. My weight tracker on my Ipod says I will not hit it til April at this point but maybe I can prove it wrong.

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-10-12T13:50:00.000+01:00

Wow! Where has the past week gone. I feel like it has just flown by and I don't feel like I got much accomplished. Today I weighed in at 201.8 lbs. Small victory, but at least it is something. I am not sure at this rate if I am going to hit my goal of 175 lbs by February 28, 2012 at the rate I am going. I feel like if I could get under 200 lbs I might have more umph. I have been doing good exercising for the past 2 weeks. I have started the Couch 2 5K program. I am still stuck on day one (because I refuse to move on til I complete it properly). You are supposed to be able to complete the program in 9 weeks but based on the fact it is taking me 2 weeks just to complete day 1 properly I am going to set my goal as being February 28, 2012. I am afraid that it might take even longer than that but I need to do it so I can register to do one of the 5k fun runs the base has to be able to say I have done it.

Saturday, October 1- finished 3.5 of the 9 runs from day 1 but quit and failed to finish the 31 minutes

Monday, October 3- I finished 3.5 of the 9 runs from day 1 but continued to walk and try to do some parts of the runs for the rest of the 31 minutes

Wednesday, October 5- I finished 6 of the 9 runs from day 1 but continued to walk the rest of the 31 minutes

Friday, October 7- went roller skating with S

Monday, October 10-finished 7.5 of the 9 runs from day 1 but continued to walk the rest of the 31 minutes

I am hoping to possibly make it through all 9 of the runs by Friday. I find that I have shin splints and so have been upping the banana consumption. I also hurt in my shoulders and back from the running so I have had to try to do some stretching as well as take a few ibuprofen and use the heating pad. I am actually looking forward to my run time tonight. I will also eventually have to add in some strength training but for me I find that one change at a time works better.

Now if only chicken, fruits, and vegetables would be as cheap as bread or pasta and taste like cookies or candies my journey would be super easy. LOL

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-10-05T18:57:00.000+01:00

Today I weighed in at 202.6 lbs.

I have admitted in the past that I am a total fat girl because of my own bad habits and past pregnancies. I love to eat all kinds of food especially anything containing chocolate and I like to be lazy when I can. I was 135 lbs when I graduated high school and about that until I got pregnant with S, 11 years ago. I gained a lot of weight while pregnant with him and have had a hard time getting the weight off since. I have not been able to get under 175 lbs since then. In the three pregnancies since I managed to have normal weight gains and was back at my prepregnancy weight after delivery. Some how each time while nursing I gained weight and have crept up to the weight I am now. I am currently nursing my last baby and I have set a goal so that I can get a prize. My goal is to be able to hit 175 lbs by February 28, 2012. My prize is going to be getting to talk to the doctors about getting my breast reduction done. I need to be done nursing and wont be until at least March so I figured my birthday was a good date to set as a goal. I was a 36E (american size) when I was 135 lbs and am currently a 38JJ (UK size). I have always had a large chest and I have wanted a breast reduction since I was a teen. Since this is the last baby now is my time to work towards getting it done. My back causes me pain and I hate trying to find a bra that fits and doesnt cause me more pain. The reason I want to be at 175 lbs before talking to the doctors about it is I do not want them to try to argue with me that if I lost weight the chest would disappear. They wont because I have never been that lucky.

Applesauce

2011-09-25T21:25:00.000+01:00

The commissary has bags of apples on sale for $1 a bag right now. This is an amazing price because they are normally over $3 per bag. I bought 6 bags today and have already turned 3 bags into 3 quarts of applesauce. I have been trying my hand at canning with a water bath canner. I have made some jams, preserves, syrups, and now applesauce. Some day I hope to move up with a pressure canner but I am loving finding new recipes that can help from having to buy items in the grocery store that have unnecessary ingredients.

I Just Cashed In My Swagbucks

2011-09-24T21:20:00.000+01:00

I just cashed in my Swagbucks for another $5 Amazon.com gift card. I love Swagbucks because it is easy and I do not have to do anything that I do not normally do to earn points. I have it set up as my search bar. I randomly earn Swagbucks for the searches. They also put out codes in their blog, Facebook, or Twitter. If I am on then I can get those bucks too. I do not usually catch them and manage to earn about one $5 Amazon.com gift card per month. It is not much but it is free and I LOVE free.

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-09-21T11:05:00.000+01:00

I weighed in at 202.2 pounds this morning. A small loss for me. I think a large portion of this loss is due to the amount of exercise taking the motorcycle riding course was. I know it had nothing to do with the homemade carrot cake cupcakes we made for our Mothers' birthdays this past weekend.

Motorcycle Class

2011-09-17T17:56:00.000+01:00

I spent 7:30 A.M. til 4:30 P.M. on Thursday and Friday taking the beginner motorcycle rider course. Learning to ride a motorcycle was a lot more challenging than I could have ever imagined. I used more muscles in two days than I have in the last 10 years, I think. I was so sore after the days were over and am still sore today. It was slow starting for me being brand new at it but I eventually managed to get through it. I did pass both of my tests and am now working on getting the motorcycle endorsement on my license. It takes a bit of extra work since we are overseas with the military and I cannot just run to my local DMV. Overall I am proud of myself and would like to keep riding in the future.

Weigh In Wednesday and More

2011-09-14T21:56:00.001+01:00

I weighed in at 205.8 today. A horrible gain. I have not been watching my food intake and exercising. I have also had a few too many no bake cookies and cinnamon rolls. Have I told you how much I love home made sweets.

I am taking a two day motorcycle riders course starting tomorrow. If you have a few extra wishes or prayers please send them this way. I am nervous to take the class as I have never been in control of a motorcycle before. The Man got a perfect score on his class and test so I have a lot to live up to. Also, The Man is going to have to keep The Princess and The Little Boys happy while I am gone. The Little Boys will be fine. I am a little nervous about The Princess. She has not been without me since birth and will have to take a bottle while I am gone. I am sure they will do fine but it is nerve wracking being gone the first time for me.

I Miss Me

2011-09-10T18:56:00.000+01:00

While I love being able to stay home to be with my children when they are small I miss working. I miss the daily interaction with people who are not my family members. I miss the opportunity to be told what a great job I do every day. I miss getting dressed, doing my hair, and feeling confident. I have lost all of this by staying home. I am not one who likes to have to try to find play groups or what not because I always feel judged in those situations. I am afraid one of my kids will be to rough or make too big a mess. Because of this I stay home and don't take them out and about to meet people. This makes for a really lonely life. The other thing that drives me crazy is not being able to depend on The Man's work schedule. I knew marrying him life wouldn't be easy because of the military but I really never knew it would be as difficult as it is. It seems that every time I plan something he has to work or cannot take leave. I am just venting because I had made plans for myself and for the family this weekend and once again his work schedule messed it all up. I am stuck here sitting at home fuming with a ruined weekend on my hands. I miss the time when I was an employee and had more time for myself.

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-09-07T07:17:00.000+01:00

Today I am at 201.8 pounds. That is a gain of .4 pound. I am not too concerned with that because that tiny bit could be from anything. Staying at the same weight isn't a huge deal although I would have loved to see a bit of a loss. I am going to guess it is due to the ice cream I had last night a bit too late. 'Til next week - Have a great week.

I have a headache, I am tired, and my feet hurt....

2011-09-04T20:51:00.000+01:00

I have a headache, I am tired, and my feet hurt. Why? Because I spent a good while today deep cleaning parts of the house and shampooing some carpets and rearranging the living room furniture. I also started on a Halloween craft and rode my bike to the store and around the base with S. I feel like I got a lot accomplished today but I still have more I need to do. I have a ton of laundry to do tomorrow. I am hoping to make a huge dent in it so that the rest of the week will run a lot more smoothly.

Weigh In Wednesday - New Scale

2011-08-31T06:41:00.000+01:00

I weighed in this morning at 201.4 lbs. I am not going to count this as a loss because I got a new scale. This is a new fancy digital scale so hopefully it will be more accurate and it is most definitely easier to read. This will be my base weigh in for the future. I am hoping to be down to 175 lbs by the end of February. It is going to take a lot of work because the weight doesn't just seem to fall off like I think it should.

School

2011-08-28T21:24:00.000+01:00

The new school year starts tomorrow. S is going to be going to middle school this year. It is going to be a big change for him. He is going from one teacher to 7 different teachers. He is going to have to ride a bus this year because the school is further away from home. I just can't believe the time has passed so fast. I am looking forward to being back on a schedule but I do not like having to wake up so early every day.

Do You Like It?

2011-08-23T13:35:00.000+01:00

I changed the background of my blog from a green template to a newer pink one. I love it! It brings out a little bit of the girly side of me. I know pink is not for everyone but a little dose of pink in every body's day wont hurt them. Do you like pink?

Life

2011-08-21T22:29:00.000+01:00

Life has just gotten away from me recently. I have lost track of time. The Man had surgery on his wrist so he has been home for over a week and we have just been enjoying having him around. Due to his work schedule he is usually sleeping and grumpy during the normal daytime waking hours. He has gone back to work but hopefully he will be able to take some vacation time soon so that we can get a few projects around the house done. I mainly want him to help me sand and paint some furniture. I have fallen in love with shabby chic, shabby cottage, vintage, and antique styling. My goal is to start with my bedroom and make it pretty and frilly and girly. I have lived with the boy colors for far too long and The Man agreed that making our bedroom a sanctuary for me would be great. I am so excited.

I have been half hearted attempting to lose weight. Of course it is much easier when The Man is not home creating gourmet yumminess. I swear he loves me fat. LOL! He does love me fat. He loves me just the way I am but I swear I mention losing weight and he starts baking. I am sure I have gained a few pounds back. Hopefully after the next couple of weeks when school is back in and The Man has gone back to a normal work schedule things will be easier for me to work on.

I am super excited to let you know that I am going to take the motorcycle riding class and get my motorcycle license. I have always wanted to learn but I am now getting the opportunity to do so soon. I am nervous and really wish I had done this when I was a bit younger but I will do it anyway. I have never been in control of a motorcycle so I am hoping the instructor can teach me without me feeling like a complete idiot. I shall update how that goes after I take the class.

Thanks for reading I hope you have a fabulous day!

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-08-03T08:01:00.000+01:00

Even though I had a bad weekend as far as food is concerned the scale said 206lbs this morning. That is 1 more pound lost. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

The Not So Good Very Bad Day

2011-08-02T23:39:00.000+01:00

I had a really rough day yesterday. I was trying to get my house cleaned in between feeding the kids and trying to detour the fights between them. For some reason K decided that he was going to be rotten. I would be in the kitchen trying to get lunch and he was in the bathroom trying to flood it. I was trying to feed H and he was getting into the diaper cream, painting himself as well as the house. I turned my back and he had removed his clothes and thrown his diaper across the room. He would not even take a nap. I normally have nap/quiet time in this house after lunch and I just could not get any of my kids to settle down to be quiet or read or nap. The kids not behaving on top of the stress about trying to get H's passport stuff taken care of when someone seems to have lost The Man's passport had me in tears before 3pm. After The Man got home from work and dinner was served and all the kids were in their jammies, I went to the commissary. Everything there went fine but I was off in la la land driving home. I was driving 25 mph in what I thought to be a 25 mph zone only to get pulled over and ticketed for the first time in my life (it was a 20 mph zone). I was devastated and humiliated. It was horrible. Not only did I get a ticket for the first time, I got a ticket on base which means that The Man had to go to his boss and tell him that I had messed up. I spent a good hour bawling my eyes out last night. I ended up going to bed early with a headache just to end the day and start a new better day.

Today was a better day!

I am quite nervous about tomorrow's weigh in. I did really good during the week but this past weekend was hard on the diet. We did go out and do some active things as a family but we ate out twice.

Weigh In Wednesday.... a bit late

2011-07-28T22:46:00.001+01:00

I weighed in this morning at 207 pounds. That is a 3 pound loss. WOOHOO!!! I am going to keep up doing this calorie counting program and hopefully I will be able to lose more. My hope is that I can be under 200 pounds very soon.

Calorie Counting

2011-07-26T18:41:00.000+01:00

I have downloaded a food log to help count calories. Lets see if this will help me in my hope to lose some weight. I have done it for 3 days now so I won't have much to show this week but hopefully by next week I will have something to brag about even 1 pound will make me happy.

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-07-20T12:00:00.000+01:00

I am still sitting at 210lbs. I, like many other people, just wish there was a miracle thin pill or that the weight would just fall off. The Man is still working his night shifts which puts a damper on lots of things I would like to do. I'm going to have to figure out how to do some exercises at home in my small spaces or I will never get this weight under control. I am not sure where to start with exercising at home. I have no DVDs or any clue what kinds of exercises will work. Do you have any suggestions for a cheap DVD or a website that might have some valuable information for me?

I Need Sleep

2011-07-14T07:35:00.000+01:00

I have been having a real hard time, recently, falling asleep. I haven't been taking a nap during the day or anything so I am not sure why when bed time comes I just cannot wind down and fall asleep. It feels like my arms and legs are still trying to keep moving. Last night I fell asleep after 1 a.m. but by 345 a.m. K woke up screaming. He had a bad dream. I put him in bed with me thinking that would be the quickest way for me to calm him and get him back to sleep so I could go back to sleep. Boy was I wrong. He just fidgeted and rolled around and moved and did not go back to sleep fully. Then when the alarm went off this morning for S's dental appointment all ideas of sleeping were out the window. I will say that I need my sleep. I have always needed my sleep and I am not sure today is going to be a very good day. I am sore, have a headache, and am super sleepy. I am going to hope and pray that the little boys will take a nap today (HAHA) so that I can try to get a bit more sleep.

Scentsy

2011-07-11T23:01:00.000+01:00

My friend Heather just started selling Scentsy products so I decided to try some since I love to burn candles in my house. I spent $35 plus shipping for a mid-size system. This came with a mid-size warmer and 3 scents of my choice. I was pleased to find out that they would send directly to my APO address and it took only 11 days total from order placed til it was in my hands. I started using the Orange Dreamsicle today and my house smells amazing. These warmers plug into the wall and use a light bulb to melt the wax so there is no candle burning. I love this because I can keep the fragrance going and not worry about one of my kids blowing out my candles. They have lots of great fragrances and many warmers to chose from. Please take a few minutes to stop by her site and check it out. I am hooked and will be placing more orders in the future.

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-07-06T07:32:00.000+01:00

So, I am officially a FAT ASS! I am now at 210. I hate being fat! I am only 5 foot 2 inches. I am not supposed to weigh this much. I cant seem to lose weight while breastfeeding like I should be able to. I know that the majority of my problem is ME. I eat too much. I eat too much of the wrong stuff. I am not proud of myself for doing this to myself. I keep trying to control the diets in this house so that my children do not end up like me but I cant seem to have my own self control. I generally eat good food. I just eat way too much (obviously). I love food but my food issues are going to kill me if I keep this up.

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-06-29T09:48:00.000+01:00

I am still at 205 lbs. I have not been working out or watching my food intake like I should. I am not going to beat myself up. It was a lot easier to make time for myself when The Man was working the day shift. Right now he is on the night shift and it makes for some tough days. I believe he is supposed to go back on days sometime in July so I will once again make some time for myself.

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-06-08T12:54:00.000+01:00

Today I weighed in at 205 lbs. 1 pound up from last week. Yes it is all my fault because I did not do a great job choosing my food and only made time for exercise once. Hope to have better news next week.

Market and Canning

2011-06-03T08:25:00.001+01:00

Summer is almost here and the price of produce is going down. I love many fruits but have been trying to figure out more ways to eat them rater than just eating them plain. I have a harder time with vegetables as I like a few and have not tasted many. The Man and I have decided that we are going to try some new things this summer as we see them at the market or the store. This week's mystery food is fennel. It is still in the fridge because we have not figured out what to do with it yet. Need to get this taken care of soon.

We went to the Bury St. Edmunds market Saturday and bought tons of fruit and a few vegetables. The Man and I took on the challenge of cleaning a good portion of our fruit and turning it into some interesting canned items to eat later. We made monkey butter, rhubarb grapefruit preserves (mine doesn't look as pretty as hers but tastes really good), maple walnut syrup, strawberry syrup, and plum cherry vanilla jam. It took about 3-4 hours to can all of that but it was fun and so nice to see the good food that we preserved ourselves. Nice thing is that none of this food has HFCS in it.

It has been almost a week since we went to the market. I think we will just pick up a few random fruit and vegetables at the local store this week and plan to make another market trip the following weekend. I love how much we can get for the money. I will also be happy when our garden starts producing and reducing our food budget even more.

Weigh In Wednesday.... on Thursday

2011-06-02T08:52:00.000+01:00

So apparently with a long weekend and not feeling well I lost track of my days. I thought yesterday was Tuesday all day until about 7p.m. So naturally I forgot to do my weigh in. I weighed in this morning at 204. I feel good about this as I only made it to the gym twice in the past week. I started with an ear infection and now I am either having allergy issues or a head cold. Whichever it is my head feels like it is ready to explode. I am hoping to feel better soon because I would love to make it to the gym a bit more often.

My Struggles

2011-05-31T13:48:00.000+01:00

While I love being able to be at home for my kids while they need me the most I really struggle with things sometimes. I miss working and the interaction with other adults. I LOVE to talk and it is hard to hold a logical conversation with children 4 and under. Heck it is even hard to hold a reasonable conversation with a 10 year old most of the time. I try to talk to him and I get many "I don't knows" and it irritates me. I would like to know what is going on in his young world. At least when I was working I had many different types of people to talk to so I was not ever bored.

I also am frustrated living in England. It is supposed to be pretty easy to make friends with other military wives but I am not sure how to do this. I have become pretty antisocial since being at home. I would not have any clue how to meet new people at this point in my life. I am too afraid of being judged. Are my children behaving well? Probably not as well as I would like but they are kids. Is my house clean enough? Who knows? I have too many kids or not enough. I have dogs. I breastfeed. I want to go out once in a while without kids or husband. I just want to go somewhere and do something with other people who are not always in my immediate family sometimes. I had met a few people when we first moved here and that was great. We took turns going to each other's houses and going places like the beach but that ended way too quickly. I have not had any friends near me for the past year and it really sucks. Two of the girls I was friends with went away because I couldn't deal with the abusive type relationship one of them had and so when I quit hanging out with her the other quit hanging out with me. The third girl quit talking to me conveniently around the time I got pregnant with H. I never really figured out why she got mad at me and quit talking to me. She said I hung up the phone on her and I didn't so I have not a clue what really happened. It makes me sad! There are a couple of women that I can chit chat with once in a while and they really seem like great women but they have no kids and I seem to be bogged down with mine all the time. I think if either they had kids or I didn't have kids we would hang out and have fun but then again maybe not. Maybe I am just not the type of person who deserves to have good moral people with healthy relationships in my life. I seem to attract all the needy ones who have zero desire to better themselves.

I am also stressed about where we might have to live when we go back stateside. There are three states that The Man and I have either family or friends in. None of them seem to be the perfect place for us. California, where The Man is from and all of his family still live is beautiful but too much money for us to live a comfortable life. Arizona, I have family and 1 set of friends there. Neither of us love the heat but the prices are decent and we would be able to do well on our income. Washington, I have family that I do not really have much to do with and I have friends there. I love Washington weather. It is similar to the weather here in England. I would be able to grow a garden easily and we would be only a couple hours to the beach. It would also be only a 2-4 day drive to either my family or The Man's family. This would be my choice but once again I think it may be a bit too pricey. I keep watching house prices all over and it is killing me to see how much they have dropped in the 2 years we have been here. To be quite honest, if I had some friends or family and could afford to stay I would love to stay here in England. There is so much to do here. The only thing I do not like about being here is the no friends and family. Of course the biggest thing about where we will live when we go back is where The Man's job sends us. Of course we are hoping for somewhere we might like to retire as it would be nice to try to get established before he can retire in a few years but that is not always what happens.

I know that my struggles are mostly due to my own insecurities and lack of trying but I really never thought I would feel so alone when I have a husband and 4 children. It is difficult to feel so alone all the time. Of course The Man doesn't understand because he is just fine having no other people around him. He would be happy to live with just his man toys and his cable and Internet. I am not though. And to top off my struggles I am getting sick. I already have an ear infection. Now I have a sore throat and headache too.

Thanks for letting me grump and hopefully I will start feeling better soon.

Wednesday Weigh In

2011-05-25T20:46:00.000+01:00

Today I weighed in at 207 lbs. It is kind of disappointing as it is a 1 lb gain, but I have been not feeling well for the past week and I haven't been feeling well because of the ear infection. I haven't been to the gym since last Wednesday as well. I did go today and managed to do 15 minutes on the elliptical. I am hoping for a bit of loss next week.

Headache And Ear Infection

2011-05-24T08:33:00.000+01:00

I have dealt with ear infections for most of my life but I think they get worse the older I get. I have been lucky and have not had one for a few years but now I have one. I also have a couple lumps in my neck/head area and have had a headache for almost a week now. I went to the doctor and got some medication but it doesn't seem to be helping. I am hoping for some relief from the headache soon. The kids and dogs are too loud to be having a headache all the time.

Weigh In Wednesday

2011-05-18T19:19:00.000+01:00

I will be the first to admit that I am overweight and need to do something about it so starting this past Monday I am. I am going to weigh myself weekly and try to exercise more. My goal is to go to the gym 2-3 days per week. I will also be attempting to watch my portion sizes. I will not starve myself or try to avoid certain foods as that seems to be a huge pitfall for me. Today I weighed 206 lbs.

No More Children For Us

2011-05-18T08:28:00.000+01:00

The Man had a vasectomy on Friday and I am still working through my feelings on the matter. I knew he was getting it done and supported him through it even though I still sometimes have doubt. We have 4 wonderful children but I am sad that I will never be pregnant again. I am not a great pregnant lady but I love feeling the kicks and hiccups inside me. I love the speculating on whether the baby will be a boy or a girl. Will the baby look more like The Man or me? I am sad that I will never have a tiny little newborn to snuggle and nurse again. I know H is only 10 weeks old but it seems like she has grown a ton already. While these things make me sad there is an up side as well. Not too long from now there will be no more diapers or spit up. Some day they will all be old enough to hold actual conversations with us and not try to run out into the road. We will be able to take family vacations and they will all remember and we wont have to drag a playpen, diaper bag, or stroller with us. Until then I am going to enjoy all the snuggles I can with my beautiful baby and try not to think about the fact she is going to be our last as long as his surgery worked.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T14:34:00.000+01:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!!!!

I am feeling a bit down for myself. I didn't expect much today other than a simple hug and a "Happy Mother's Day" from any body in my house but it is now 2:30 pm and not one person in my household has acknowledged today is Mother's Day. I am quite sad about it to be honest. I do not expect to get any gifts or anything of the like but it would have been nice for someone to acknowledge me today.

Grocery Update 5/1-5/14

2011-05-05T21:40:00.001+01:00

I did my grocery shopping today and I am over by a little bit but I am doing pretty good so far this pay period. The three littles and I went to Sainsburys and I spent 24.17 pounds. The boys were good so I spent the rest of the pounds along with some change from the change cup in the car to treat them to McDonald's. I spent 9.20 pounds there. I also went and cashed in WIC and picked up a few random groceries at the commissary. I spent $0.50 extra on WIC fruit and $46.08 on random groceries. The reason I spent so little and got such random things is that The Man was gone and I spent money on Burger King (ewww).

Burger King - $22.56
Burger King - $18.16
Ikea sauce from mom - $13.13
WIC overage - $0.50
Commissary (tip included) - $46.08

Budgeted - $100 and 30 pounds
Spent - $ 100.43 and 33.37 pounds

What I got-
Sainsburys:
4 pks diapers
4 organic butter
2 organic whole wheat flour
1 organic cane sugar
1 baking powder
1 ltr organic sunflower oil

WIC:
3 gallons milk
2 boxes cereal
1 lb mozzarella cheese
2 frozen orange juice
1 doz eggs
6 pouches salmon
1 bag granny smith apples
5 containers blackberries (jam time)
1 container strawberries

Commissary:
1 dried apples
1 can organic diced tomatoes
1 pk pectin
1 6 pk toilet paper
4 semi sweet chocolate chips
1 frozen blackberries
1 frozen mixed veg
1 frozen broccoli
1 frozen carrots
1 large beef piece (will be cut into a roast and some steaks)
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground chuck (reduced)
2 lbs ground beef
1 boneless pork ham

All together I think I have done pretty good but would have done a lot better if I had not given into my laziness and taken the kids to get Burger King. I tend to not give into the eating out as much when The Man is home. He is home now and hopefully wont be leaving again soon so I wont fall into that crazy trap of myself.

Children And Chores- I Need Suggestions

2011-05-04T11:09:00.000+01:00

As a child I did not have chores and so I struggled quite badly to learn to keep a house clean and still struggle to this day. My house is not horrible but it is not nearly how I feel it should be. I would love to have a house that is presentable at any time to visitors. As it is right now I would need about 30 minutes warning so that I could tidy up and make me comfortable enough to have people over. I know that I should not expect a perfect house as there are 6 people living here and 4 of them are under the age of 10.

I have struggled with how to teach my children to help keep house as well. I don't want my children to be little slaves but I feel they should help out in the house. I struggle most with my 10 year old. He acts lazy. I know he isn't lazy because when it is something he wants to do he will do a good job and put effort into it. It shows in school as well as home. He loves math so he puts effort into his math and does well at it. He doesn't like reading so he chooses not to put much effort into his reading by picking books that are at the very lowest level acceptable to his teacher. He likes to watch TV or play video games and so he does well at vegging out and doing that. He doesn't like to help in the house so when I ask him to do dishes he puts the 10 largest items in and says he is done. I ask him to pick up the toy room and instead of putting things in their proper place he just puts them where ever they fit. He knows this is unacceptable to me and I make him redo these things. My struggle is how to get him to do things properly the first time. How do I get him to show pride in doing things right when they are not things he likes? I have already tried doing a chore chart, allowance, and taking privileges away. None of those worked with him. I have tried explaining to him that he needs to do something to help every day because he is a part of this family and unless I bug him to do it he will not do anything. Do you have any suggestions on how to get him to want to help out and show pride in the things he does even when he doesn't enjoy them?

Tea, Scones, And Jam

2011-04-29T23:42:00.000+01:00

Tonight I made scones at home to go with my tea. I used this recipe. The only change I made was to omit the salt since I used salted butter. They turned out great and if I had cut them into circles or added sultanas they would have been very much like the ones we had when we went to a tea house. The jam I used I had made and canned about 2 weeks ago. It is strawberry kiwi jam and it is oh so delicious.

Grocery Challenge Update

2011-04-29T08:24:00.000+01:00

I went over on the dollars amount this last pay period but managed to have a few pounds left over.

Budgeted - $66.16 and 80 pounds

Spent - $113.96 and 74.91 pounds

For this pay period (May 1-14) I am going to budget $100 and 30 pounds. All of our visitors have come and gone now so we should be able to stick to this budget a lot more easily. I don't plan to go grocery shopping at the store this first week unless we absolutely need something but will probably place a drugstore.com order for a few things.

Budgeted - $100 and 30 pounds

Dear Military Medical Facility

2011-04-28T17:32:00.000+01:00

Dear Military Medical Facility,
     When I call to schedule an appointment and specifically tell you that the date you want me to come in is not going to work because The Man is going to be TDY and I would have to bring in all 4 of my children please don't schedule me that day and tell me there is no other option. When you do schedule me that appointment and I come on time with my 4 children in tow, like you said would be OK, it would be nice if you were running on time as well. My time is just as valuable as yours. It would also be nice if I could be informed that the doctors are running late prior to me sitting waiting for an hour with restless children and only being told when I walk up to try to reschedule my appointment. When I have reached the limit that I am ready to leave and reschedule my appointment please do not try to convince me to stay just a little bit longer. Did you not see my children being busy bodies and loud? I try to be polite but after sitting and waiting for an hour with children who are not on their best behavior I am sorry but I will not sit and wait longer. Please take a little time to think about informing people when you are running late as you expect the same courtesy from them. Also next time when a parent specifically asks to not be scheduled when they must drag all of their children along it would benefit you and the parent to not schedule them that day.
                                                                                               Thanks,
                                                                                               The Disgruntled Mom
                                                                                               (who now has a headache thanks to you)

Tea For 3

2011-04-26T10:26:00.000+01:00

I had my friends from Tucson visiting for the past few weeks. It was lovely to see J and D as I had not seen any of my stateside friends since we moved to England almost 2 years ago. It was great. They stayed here over the weekends and during the week they travelled around the country to see the sights. One of things I have seen and J told me about was having tea. When we go out and about there are tea and coffee houses all over and they always seem to be busy. Of course with small children I was hesitant to try one out. J had told me about going to the tea houses while she was out travelling and said it was great. I asked about how it worked since I knew they served the tea with milk and sugar and I have never tried milk in my tea. She said the milk and sugar helped to cut down on the sharpness of the tea and that the scones with jam and clotted cream were amazing.

Last Saturday I took J, D, and the little princess to Cambridge to wander around. The Man kept the boys at home so they wouldn't be bored wandering around. The little princess had to come with us so she could nurse while we were out. We parked at the park and ride and rode the bus into town. We found the tea shop that we had looked up online and I had my first tea and scones since coming to England. The tea shop was named Auntie's Tea Shop. We had to wait til a table cleared outside so that we could sit down and order. I ordered a cream tea and it came with 2 scones and a egg and cress sandwich. It was a lot of food. It easily could have been shared by two people. Luckily J and D helped me out by eating some of it as well. I found that hot tea with sugar and milk is absolutely delicious. I have been making me hot tea at home the same way. I have a tea kettle already but would love to find a gorgeous tea set with a teapot, sugar bowl, creamer, and cup with saucer. I will be looking around to see if I can find one that will give me that elegant spoiled feeling without costing a ton of money. The Man and I will then make our own scones and tea and have mini dates at our house.

The Good and The Not So Good

2011-04-21T10:51:00.001+01:00

I did my shopping this past week on base and off base. I am still on track with my pounds spending but I over spent on the dollars shopping trip. I spent about $88 and it wasn't all good food that I would normally buy. It was easy things that would be quick to prepare while our friends are here. Combine this total with the money I spent on drugstore.com and I am way over in the dollars amount.

I spent 30.56 pounds on the off base shop. This one I was better about sticking to my budget and bought better foods for the house. I bought diapers, organic sugar, organic flours, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, and Coke. I will go shopping again off base next week since Sunday is Easter and if I do good about the budget maybe I will have a couple pounds to carry over to next pay period.

I also made a quick WIC trip to get milk, cheese, eggs, juice, bread, strawberries, and a big bag of salad greens.

Budgeted - $66.16 and 80 pounds

Spent - $113.96 and 47.36 pounds

The extra dollars money got pulled out of savings for the overage.

Today's Spending

2011-04-15T20:16:00.001+01:00

I placed an order at Drugstore.com in the amount of 25.96. They had sent me an email for free shipping on any order over $25 so I could get the few things I needed to order instead of having to place an order for $49. I love websites that will not only ship to my APO address but also offer free shipping.

For $25.96 I got:

1 Little Twig Gift Bag - 1 set $.00

1 Puristics Baby Daily Diapering Cream - .1 fl oz $.00
1 Puristics Pure Protection 100% Organic Cotton Feminine Care Sample, Tampon & Pad - 1 ea $.00
1 Avent Soothie Pacifier, 0-6 months, Pink/Purple - 2 ea $3.99
1 biokleen Oxygen Bleach Plus with GSE - 32 oz $3.89
1 biokleen All Temperature Laundry Liquid with Grapefruit Seed and Orange Peel Extract - 64 fl oz $8.09
1 Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Training Pants, 3T-4T, 26 ea

I also made a quick trip to Sainsburys to get diapers and some produce.

I spent 16.80 pounds on:

2 pks diapers
2 6pks fancy yogurts (these have the separate mix ins)
2 4 pks Asian pears
2 8 count kiwi
9 bananas
1 container strawberries
1 loaf whole wheat seed bread

Budgeted - $66.16 and 80 pounds
Spent - $25.96 and 16.80 pounds

I really need to get in the swing of using my cloth diapers again it would save a bunch of money. I have had a hard time keeping up using the cloth since having two in diapers when my 2 year old was born. It seems to be a huge challenge. Between trying to keep them washed and keep up on my normal family laundry and moving to England where I am having a harder time figuring out a good wash routine so the diapers don't have stink or stains. Now we have thrush going on with the baby and me so I am not even going to touch the cloth til we manage to get rid of it. I just feel like a ton of excuses about it but the paper diapers have been so much easier and less stressful on me and the family.

Grocery Challenge....Take 2

2011-04-15T12:31:00.000+01:00

So I failed miserably on the last grocery challenge and went over by quite a bit. I think that my biggest failure was not being prepared for extras when guests were here. I have bumped my budget up a little bit this pay period (15-30 April). I am putting my dollars grocery money into a separate account so if I don't end up using it all then I can roll it into the next pay period. I had $16.16 in that account already so I am going to add $50 and have a dollars budget of $66.16. I am also going to have 80 pounds to spend off base. For this I have my grocery pounds separated into a Ziploc bag in my purse. I also keep the off base coupons and store cards in that bag as well so that I can find everything easily. I still have guests at my house this weekend and next weekend so that is why I put the budget up a little higher. In dollars this makes our budget for the pay period a total of $200.56 plus any WIC foods that we are allowed. I am really hoping that I can stick to this budget a little better and go back to the $150 budget when we are not going to have guests.

Way Over On The Grocery Challenge

2011-04-12T08:05:00.001+01:00

I'm quite busy today but as of now I have gone way over on my budget for groceries. I probably shouldn't have started to try a tighter grocery budget when we had friends visiting but oh well. Friday is a new pay period so I can try again.

Total budgeted- $50 and 60 pounds
Total spent- $52.28 and 96.41 pounds (ouch!!)

ETA: I had to go off base and get a couple more items and managed to lose my receipt. I am guessing I probably spent another 20 pounds on top of what I accurately have accounted for. I am hoping to do much better next pay period.

Grocery Update and Food Plan 4/6-4/10

2011-04-07T18:46:00.001+01:00

I have not spent any more money on groceries. I did go today and pick up a little more of my WIC food because they are threatening to close the commissary if the U.S. budget doesn't pass and WIC checks cannot be used off base here. I luckily know how to deal with grocery shopping off base and have a bit of a stockpile of food so we would be able to eat if they choose to hold our pay for a bit. I have money pulled out to make a grocery trip on Sunday off base anyway so that will help with fresh foods if they do close the commissary.

On WIC today I got:
-2 gallons milk
-1lb mozzarella cheese
-1 container frozen grape juice
-2 boxes cereal
-1doz eggs
-1 loaf whole wheat bread
-1 pineapple
-8 bananas

Dinner plans:
4/6- We had chicken nuggets, corn and macaroni and cheese. This is not a normal meal for us but once in a while it will not hurt anything.

4/7- The Man made bourbon chicken and rice. This was the first time we made this recipe and it is a definite keeper.

4/8- We will be having our turkey legs. They are currently marinating in a brine. I have not figured out the side items but we will probably have mashed potatoes and some kind of vegetable.

4/9 & 4/10- Our friends will be visiting and we will be having lasagna with homemade bread one night and homemade whole wheat pizzas the other night. The Man will for sure be cooking pizzas because he loves to make pizza and might possibly be making the lasagna if we choose to have it on Saturday.

Total budgeted- $50 and 60 pounds

Total spent- $52.28 and 35.99 pounds

Spices

2011-04-06T07:44:00.000+01:00

Ok so I am no good at trying to stick to a budget. I had bought two turkey legs when I went shopping the other day but have no idea how to cook them. I looked up recipes online and rather than attempting to grill them (I dont use the grill that is The Man's job) I found a recipe for a brining marinade so I could cook them in the oven. The sad part is that I needed a couple more spices. So off to Sainsburys I went once again. I spent 7.11 pounds. I found 6 of those pounds in the change in the van so it is going to make me go over in budget but I didnt have to pull more money out of the bank so that is good. The Man also requested a beer to drink and a beer to make the jalepeno beer bread mix that my parents brought over when they came.

For 7.11 pounds I got:
-2 organic ales
-3 cloves organic garlic
-cayenne pepper
-dried thyme
-ground allspice

Total budgeted- $50 and 60 pounds
Total spent- $52.28 and 35.99 pounds

What's For Dinner 4/1-4/5

2011-04-05T10:43:00.000+01:00

Friday 4/1

We had chiken, rice and broccoli bake. For this I make it all in one 9x13 pan in the oven. I mix up my uncooked rice, water and cream soup in the bottom of the pan. Then I put my chopped chicken, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in. I top all of this with cheddar cheese and cook in the over for about 45-60 minutes.

Saturday 4/2

We had a beef soup/stew that The Man made and a loaf of home cooked organic bread. He used 1/2 of a beef roast that we had in the freezer, carrots, potatoes, onion, leek, and this white radish type vegetable that we had gotten in our stew bag. The stew bag and the potatoes were bought at a side of the road stand that had fruit, vegetables, preserves, and pickles for sale. This was delicious.

Sunday 4/3

We had teryaki made from the other half of the beef roast, rice and broccoli. This teryaki beef is a recipe that my mom made when I was younger and I like the flavor a lot.

Monday 4/4

We had Cream Cheese Potato Soup, whole wheat bread and butter. This soup is amazing! We top ours with a bit of cheddar cheese and bacon bits.

Tuesday 4/5

Tonight we will be having whole wheat spaghetti with organic jarred sauce that I will add beef, onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms to. If i can manage to get a few free moments I will also make a loaf of whole wheat french bread for garlic bread or dipping.

I am still trying to figure out my dinner to use up the turkey legs I bought. I found a brine recipe but will need a couple of spices to make it. I think I may take a couple pounds and get the spices and start marinating those legs tonight.

Week One Of Off Base Shopping

2011-04-03T19:49:00.000+01:00

This was the first weekly shop on my $150 + WIC challenge at the off base store. I decided to do a weekly shop at Sainsburys since they had sent me a group 6 off 30 pound purchase coupons that could be used weekly. It is also quite close to my house and has a decent amount of whole or organic options. I think I did pretty good as I am still learning the store and what things cost with the exchange rate. I had pulled out 60 pounds for my 2 weekly shopping trips to the off base store. I figured I would have about 30 pounds per trip. I came in under today with my total being 28.88 pounds. I am quite proud of my trip although I hope to buy a few more organic items next time since I will still have meat in the freezer.

for my 28.88 pounds I got:
-3 1.5l cokes
-1 bag of smoked salmon fillets (frozen)
-1 bag frozen bell pepper pieces
-1 bag frozen diced onions
-1 bag organic whole wheat bread flour
-1 pk newborn diapers
-2 bags salad greens
-2 bags braeburn apples
-3 onions
-1 organic butter
-2 turkey legs
-2 4pks yogurt
-1 pk ground beef (almost 2 lbs)
-2 2pks of smoked back bacon (different than U.S. bacon)
-2 pks organic mushrooms
-1 organic bread mix

Budgeted: $50 and 60 pounds
Spent: $52.28 and 28.88 pounds

Already Over :(

2011-04-02T16:12:00.000+01:00

I went to the commissary today to pick up the few things I needed to buy at the commissary and a few extras that I had coupons for and were a good deal. I had another $22.10 to spend from my dollars budget but ended up spending $24.38 and giving up $5 of my fun money for the tip for the bagger. The surcharge was $1.59. When I figured in my head the things I would need to buy I totally forgot to budget for the surcharge and the bagger at the commissary. Oh well live and learn I guess. I also cashed in some WIC checks today as well. As of today I am over $2.28 on the budget.

I got this stuff on WIC:
-2.5 gallons of milk
-2 jars of peanut butter
-2 loaves of whole wheat bread
-2 frozen orange juice

I bought this with the $24.38:
-1 gallon of 100% orange juice
-2 lbs of natural sausage
-2 12oz string cheese
-1 dill pickle relish
-1 white cooking wine
-1 5lbs King Arthur all purpose flour
-1 6ct mega rolls toilet paper
-1 20lbs dog food

The Man also wanted soda and didn't want to wait til tomorrow when I could go off base and use the pounds so he bought a 24 pk of natural sierra mist for $5.XX of his fun money.

Budgeted: $50 and 60 pounds
Spent: $52.28 and 0 pounds

I am not counting the fun money spent in this as that is money for anything we want to buy.

My Drugstore.com Order

2011-04-01T18:26:00.001+01:00

My Drugstore.com order total was $27.90. I was able to use the 10% off Facebook discount and I had earned some drugstore.com dollars to put towards this order.

-1 Little Twig Gift Bag - 1 set (free with 7th gen pullups)
-1 Puristics Pure Protection 100% Organic Cotton Feminine Care Sample, Tampon & Pad - 1 ea (free sample)
-1 Puristics Baby Daily Diapering Cream - .1 fl oz (free sample)
-1 Almay Travel Size Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover Pads - 15 ea (small filler for free shipping)
-1 The First Years GumDrop Newborn Pacifier, Ages 0 months+, Girl - 2 ea
-1 Act Kids Alcohol Free Anticavity Fluoride Rinse for Kids, Bubble Gum - 18 fl oz
-1 Band-Aid Clear Perfect Blend Clear Bandages, One Size - 30 ea
-1 Huggies Overnites Diapers, Big Pack, Size 6, 35 lbs+ - 48 ea
-1 Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Training Pants, 3T-4T - 26 ea

I have $22.10 and 60 pounds left for this pay period.

My $150 + WIC Grocery Challenge

2011-04-01T12:54:00.002+01:00

I have to admit that I have a huge problem with shopping. Not just shopping but grocery shopping in general. There were a few years when I had no money and lived on $.99 hamburger helper with no meat added because that is all I could afford and I had no cooking skills or any idea about how to use coupons. I now know how to use coupons to my advantage but since trying to adopt a healthier eating lifestyle I find this is more challenging. I still do find some coupons for whole or organic foods and use them when at all possible. I found a good resource of coupons at this website for organic foods. I also keep watch on Swagbucks or Mypoints for other printable coupons as well. My hamburger helper life has made it so I feel the need to keep my pantry stocked with at least several weeks of food at all times. I also love the feeling of getting a good deal which in reality I know that a good deal is only a good deal if I need it but I still love feeling like I have scored an amazing bargain. I have more food that I really need in the house.

I try to find the good deals and coupons to stock my pantry but I have noticed that my grocery budget had crept up to over $400 a month plus WIC foods. I do have a nicely stocked pantry so I figured I need to learn how to cut my budget even more and get some things down to a reasonable level. I am challenging myself to stick to $150 plus WIC foods for the pay period (April 1-15). I am going to change some of this into pounds to use at off base stores and then use the rest on base at the Commissary and on my Drugstore.com order. The positives going for me are that I do have a decently stocked pantry and I have 2 coupons for the off base store (one for each week). The negatives are that I still need to keep my pantry going and not clean it completely out and we have some friends coming to visit from the states. This budget also has to include dog food and any paper/household items we may need. I am quite nervous about doing this since I am the one who loves to grocery shop and find a bargain. My other challenge is going to be that The Man will not be able to go to the market since not only does it cost for the fruit/veg but the one he LOVES going to costs money to park and is about 30 minutes away. The gas money and parking just makes the savings on the vegetables and fruit not worth it.

I know that getting WIC may offend some people but I decided that for the time being this is something that my family will use. I was used to paying less than $2 per gallon of milk when we lived in the states and when we moved here a gallon of milk costs about $3.40 or more. That cost difference alone made it worth it to us. We only plan to use this while we live here as the children will be a bit older and drinking less milk and the grocery options will be greater offering a larger variety of pricing once we get back to the states. This program helps me to keep my grocery budget a bit lower and give my children healthier foods since the costs of food here is so much different than Tucson.

At this point I plan to spend about $50 and 60 Pounds and use the remaining WIC checks. I will update once I do my shopping to see how I am keeping to this challenge.

My Commissary Shopping Trip 3/23/11

2011-03-23T20:19:00.000Z

sorry for the bad phone pic

Since moving here I really miss my cheap shopping trips from the states where I could get grocery/household items for pennies. Today I was able to do decent at the commissary. For $26.81 I was able to get all of this stuff pictured.

1 Swiffer sweeper starter
1 Swiffer duster starter
2 Swiffer 12 ct wet cloths
4 Newman's Own organic marinara
2 Ortega taco seasoning packets
8 Reach toothbrushes
6 Reach dental floss
1 10ct Brillo pad
2 80ct Bounce dryer sheets
2 10ct Ziploc freezer bags

Welcome Little Miss H!!!!

2011-03-21T13:56:00.001Z

Me at the hospital 3/8

On March 8th, we welcomed into this world a beautiful little girl. Little Miss H is the only female child and most likely our last child. The big boys all adore her and have taken every chance they get at holding, hugging, or kissing her sweet forehead.

I had prayed through this pregnancy, as I did with my last two, that if I were supposed to have a vaginal delivery that I would go into labor prior to the scheduled c section date. I never did, although I had tons of contractions. The contractions never dilated my cervix. Once again I was up way too early showering and getting ready to head off for a trip to the hospital. I was nervous and sick to my stomach while getting ready. I had a bunch of "what ifs" running through my head. Even though I had not eaten or drank anything since midnight I got sick to my stomach before leaving the house. This delivery made me more nervous than the boys' deliveries as all 3 of them were born at the same civilian hospital. This time I delivered at a military hospital and some of the care had been lacking at times.

The Man and I arrived at the hospital at 6am for their preparations. They put the monitors on the baby and she sounded amazing. They asked if I knew what I was having to which my reply was "they said it was supposed to be a girl this time". I was a little hesitant to believe the ultrasound tech because we already had 3 boys and I just didn't believe that we were capable of creating a girl. They came in and started an IV and explained all the anesthesia procedures. The lady doing the IV couldn't get a good IV easily and it hurt. I had asked them to redo it but they wouldn't. I ended up with quite a bruise thanks to her.

At about 7am they had me and The Man walk back to the surgery room. They made The Man wait outside while I was situated on a surgery table and they got my spinal/epidural in place. They gave me the first dose of medicine via a spinal because it is supposedly the better way but they also placed an epidural with no medicine just in case they were to need more time for the surgery "since this was my 4th c section". Once they laid me on my back and started cleaning my stomach and draping the blue sheets around they allowed The Man to come in and sit by my head. They then ran a prickly thing over my stomach to see if I was numb and I guess it was good enough because I couldn't feel it til they got close to my chest. Since I was numb enough they started cutting. This took forever it seemed and made me very worried. The doctors and nurses were quiet and so I started to panic. I asked what was wrong to The Man and of course he couldn't tell either. The anesthesiologist said that I had a bunch of scar tissue that they had to get through. I just laid there behind the blue curtain in suspense of that beautiful little cry. I started to get upset because I was worried something was wrong with my baby since it took so long to get her out. Finally I heard a suction and the most beautiful little cry. I immediately started crying. They had lowered the blue sheet a little so The Man could see her. I asked him if she was bald and he said no that she had hair. I asked if it was really a girl and he smiled really proud and said yes. They held her up over the blue sheet for jsut a second so I could see her before they moved her to the warming table.

They moved her over to the warming table where they wiped her off and let The Man cut her cord shorter. I could hear her crying a lot and it made me sad that I couldn't just get up and help her. They wrapped her up in a blanket and put a hat on her then I got to see her again and give her a kiss before they took her out of the surgery room. I had him go with her when they took her out of the room and I was there for quite some time while they stitched me back up. I couldn't wait to get to see her. When they were done they wheeled me back to my room where I was greeted by The Man and this tiny baby. She was 7lbs 10oz which was not my smallest or my biggest.

We started nursing immediately and she nurses like a champ. I managed to be up and moving the first day which I was told was not normal. I just wanted my baby and to go home. The second day I was in a bit more pain but I still would have rather been at home where I was comfortable. They made me stay 48 hours and then we got to come home. She so far has been easier than K as she tends to sleep about 3 hours at a time at night where he was up every 2 for over a year. She really only cries when she is hungry or has gas in her tummy.

My Birthday

2011-03-01T09:46:00.000Z

My birthday was yesterday. It was a pretty typical day in our house. Nothing overly exciting happened but that was nice. I was glad to not go into labor. I did cheat on my gestational diabetes diet for dinner and dessert last night though. I picked for The Man to make homemade pizza for dinner because that is the boys' favorite meal. It turned out really good. I also wanted a cake. I normally have a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting but this year I asked him to use one of the cake mixes we already had so it ended up being a yellow cake. I also requested The Man to make a peanut butter frosting. It turned out absolutely amazing! After I had my pizza and cake I made him take the extras to work and share because I know I should not be eating that kind of thing on my diet. While it was nice to cheat and have something special for my birthday I did have to own up to my responsibilities and send it off. The guys at The Man's work were quite happy to finish it off to help out.

My Biggest Money Fail

2011-02-24T08:52:00.001Z

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.

I Feel Better

2011-02-12T15:05:00.000Z

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.

35 weeks

2011-02-09T10:20:00.000Z

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.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

2011-02-02T08:52:00.004Z

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

2011-02-02T06:37:00.000Z

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?

Yummy Homemade Yogurt Granola Bread

2011-01-31T09:24:00.001Z

I was reading through some blogs/websites yesterday and came across Chickens In The Road. They have tons of recipes for homemade foods. I, of course, being one who loves food went through pages and pages of recipes drooling. I eventually landed on her Yogurt and Granola bread recipe. I had some homemade granola and homemade yogurt already on hand that needed to be used up so this was the perfect recipe. I did change a couple things in the recipe though.

3 cups all-purpose flour ( I used 1.5 cups whole wheat flour and 1.5 cups all purpose flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 2/3 cups plain yogurt (I used my homemade version)
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/4 cup of organic coconut oil)
1 cup granola (I used 1.5 cups of my homemade granola)
1 cup chopped dried fruit (optional) (I did not put any dried fruit in mine and my granola didn't have any either)

This bread is so good The Man is already asking me to make another loaf. I have to make some more granola first. My loaf did take more than the hour the original poster suggested so next time I think I will separate mine into two loaf pans to cut down on size and baking time a little.

5 Weeks

2011-01-29T09:54:00.000Z

If 5 weeks my parents will be here to visit and see their newest grandchild be born. I think I am more nervous about this baby than I was with my other 3. I am going to be having another c-section but this one will be at a completely new hospital. My boys were all born at the same hospital. We are also supposed to have visitors all throughout March and April. I am afraid of becoming very overwhelmed. I like visitors but I also like my own space and as always I like to be able to do things my own way with a new baby. Please if you are a praying person put in a prayer for peace and sanity through the next few months. Thanks

Enter To Win Large Family Logistics

2011-01-26T08:51:00.000Z

Head on over to Raising Olives today and enter for your chance to win the Large Family Logistics book. The giveaway ends January 27, 2011. I have entered as this is a book that I had put on my Amazon.com Wish List. Being a family of almost 6 now I think we are verging on being a large family. The reviews of this book are great and I would love to be able to read some suggestions on running my household a little more smoothly. So please head on over to Raising Olives and enter to win and while you are there take some time to read her Not Me posts are they are quite funny. Please let her know that Andrea from Striving For Peace send you.

Tax Return

2011-01-25T10:11:00.000Z

Yay!!! We filed our taxes and found out that we will be getting a nice sum of money back. We are going to spend it on three things.

1. van tires- Our vans tires are getting a little lower on the tread that I would like so we are replacing them before they get a chance to go bad. This is our family vehicle that carries us all regularly and that we can drive longer distances to travel. With the weather here I find that I am a little more cautious with the tires and brakes on our vehicles.

2. bank loan- We have a loan that we took out to buy our minis. This will pay this loan off and the money used to pay the payments can go towards paying off something else. They are our fun cars and great on gas for small errands especially in the towns where the streets and parking are much narrower. If we don't have to go out as a whole family these work great. The Man's mini also makes a great commuter car for him to drive back and forth to work. It is very cheap on gas costing us only about $20 every other week.

3. My mini repairs- Older cars seem to have to have work done every so often. My mini is in the shop because The Man tried to do something under the hood and knocked out all of my brake lights and signals. The shop is going to have to replace the wiring that goes to the lights. While they are in there I have also asked for them to double check that my car has been converted to unleaded gas vs. petrol. This will make life much easier when we bring these cars back to the states as I don't think I have ever seen leaded fuel and so I would have to put an additive in my gas tank every time I filled it up. They are also going to double check and make sure there are no other major engine/hose/seal problems for me. We are putting this money aside to pay the bill when it comes time and that it wont hurt our normal monthly expenses.

If there is any left after these 3 things then we will have a little fun money to spend on non necessary items. We find that getting this money in a lump sum is nice so we don't have to save it ourselves and then we can pay for larger things at one time. In the past we have used the money to pay off a car, ship our dog to England, pay off credit cards, or purchase large home furnishings. What do you do with your tax returns if you get them?

My New Gift Card

2011-01-18T15:55:00.000Z

Today I received my free $25 gift card for cashing in Mypoints credits. I earned most of my credits by clicking the links in emails for 5 points each. These are actual gift cards sent and not just ecards. This makes it nice because they can be used by you or you can use them as a free gift for someone else. I am going to hang onto mine until Bath & Body Works has a free shipping deal.

Chili - Our Ulitmate Thrifty Meal

2011-01-14T12:02:00.000Z

We make chili regularly in our house. It is pretty simple and lasts for a few meals for our family of 5. It is versatile and can be adapted to suit the tastes in your house.

Our basic recipe:
1 lb ground beef browned
2 large cans diced tomatoes
4 cans of beans undrained (I usually use 2 kidney, 1 black* and 1 white or navy beans)
onion
garlic
chili powder
cumin
seasoned salt
pepper

I do not measure my spices I just kinda wing it by taste. I also have been known to add other spices such as cayenne pepper or chili flakes or add extra veggies like shredded carrots, corn or diced bell peppers. I find this is a very easy way to sneak vegetables into my children's diets. You can also use dried beans instead of canned beans. I am just not a very good planner and seldom have my dried beans ready for this. You can also make chili with ground turkey or chicken as well.

On our first meal of chili we always eat it with rice or cornbread. After that there are several meals we use to finish up the rest of the chili.

leftover chili and rice/cornbread
chili dogs
nachos
chili cheese burritos

If we get tired of eating chili before it is all gone this also freezes and thaws very well. For us this is a no waste meal. I make a pot about twice a month now that I have found out how easy it is for us.

*I do drain my black beans and rinse them when I use them because I do not like the juices in the can. If the chili isn't wet enough for you, you can always add a little water to the chili to moisten it.

Free Stuff, Cash Back, Gift Cards

2011-01-12T09:52:00.000Z

Who doesn't like to get a bit of extra money for doing things that they would normally do? These are some of the ways that we get a bit of extra money for doing the things that we would normally do.

Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a search toolbar similar to others. This one once downloaded though gives you points for your searching that you can redeem for prizes and gift cards. They also have a referral system so you can earn extra points when others sign up under you and win points. I earn enough points on average to earn myself a $5 Amazon.com gift card. It isn't much but it helps a bit when I would be searching and shopping anyway.

Mypoints
Mypoints is a deal website that allows you to earn points from shopping online or getting emails about their deals. I would sign up for this one with an email that you don't mind lots of emails going to. Several of their emails have a click here and earn 5 points just for clicking, no purchase necessary. You can also get points for printing grocery coupons and redeeming them. The points can be redeemed for gift cards. They also have a referral system to help earn extra points (if you would like a referral you can send me a message with your email and I will send you a referral). I earn about 1 $25-$50 gift card per year.

ShopAtHome
ShopAtHome is a newer one to me. This one you can get a $5 sign up bonus when you sign up and place an order within 60 days. This site gives a percent of your online purchases in cash back. They also have some coupon codes available for a good portion of their affiliates. Just go on to their site and put in whatever online retailer you are planning to shop through and they will tell you if they have any coupon codes and what percent of your purchase you will get back. This one takes $20 in cash back to get your first check so I have not cashed out yet (I am about half way there now).

Ebates
This is another shop online and earn cash back site. They also have coupon codes for their affiliates. You would sign up and search for whichever retailer you are planning to shop through and it will give you their cash back percent. The cash out point for ebates is only $5 so it is easier to get paid quicker on this one. They also give you an option to get your cash back via paypal.

Usborne Books and More
I found these great books and signed up to sell them. They are an awesome quality and they have books for all of my children. I signed up and got their starter kit which included a great variety of books. I did have to sell a small amount of books to keep the discount of the starter kit but I ordered that amount in books for my own house. I now am set up and can get a discount on any of the books I want to order for my children. It does cost extra if you want to keep your website up and running after the initial starter period. I have received one outside order and the commission I earned paid for my website to stay active. If nothing else check out my website and enter the free monthly drawing for a chance to win free books.

Vocalpoint
This website doesn't earn you cash back but you can sign up and they send samples and coupons in the mail. The samples I get usually has a single size sample then a higher value coupon for myself and a few lower value coupons to share with your friends. They also have a message board and surveys that you can take to shape future programs.

Do you know of any other discount or freebie sites to help with the budget?

Laundry.... Again

2011-01-11T11:11:00.000Z

I posted a month ago that I had finally caught up with laundry and had planned to keep up on it from that point forward. Well I am sad to update that due to illnesses running through my house I am backed up again. 4 out of the 5 of us caught some kind of tummy bug that ran a nasty course through our house. I had to wash tons of extra blankets, sheets, clothes, towels, and throws due to the illness and so now I am behind again. Now that we are all feeling better I am going to try to get caught up again but it will probably take me a week or two to get totally caught up again. It is amazing how many clothes and household linens 5 people can go through. I would love to be able to own 2 washers and dryers but since we do not have a home of our own right now that is not an option. I hope to try for this when we actually buy our own home if there is enough space to safely do so.

The Many Faces Of Mom

2011-01-08T10:12:00.002Z

I read in one of my friends Facebook status how she felt like a bad housewife because she wasn't perfect at it. It made me sad. I am a stay at home mom and housewife as well and know that I am not perfect nor should my husband, children, or anybody else think that I am. It made me think of some the things I do for my household. It will probably have to be edited as I think of more but I am going to start a list so when I have one of those days I can look back and feel good about the things I do for my family. Maybe, just maybe it will help another mom or housewife who is having a bad day see that she also probably does tons of things for her family.

I AM:
-wife
-mom
-chef
-housekeeper
-nurse
-accountant
-entertainment planner
-coupon clipper/sale finder
-referee
-hairstylist
-tutor
-chauffeur
-cheerleader
-calendar

I will come back and add more as I think of more as I am tired and drawing a blank right now but this list is not complete. I am the one who keeps this house running as smoothly and organized as it does. I know that The Man could do it without me but I like to think things run just a tad bit more smoothly with me taking care of certain important aspects of the house.

My Pregnancy Week 30

2011-01-06T10:52:00.000Z

I am now 30 weeks into this pregnancy and very glad to be nearing the end. This pregnancy has been rougher than any of my other three. It started with the ~~morning~~ all day sickness that subsided about 20 weeks or so. And now I have gestational diabetes and am having to watch my blood pressure due to it being elevated a week ago.

The gestational diabetes is frustrating. I didn't have it with any of my 3 boys so this is a new experience for me. I took a 3 hour glucose test at 27 weeks and it came back as a big fat fail. Since then I have had to poke my finger 4 times a day and test my blood sugars. I have been doing pretty well controlling it with my diet so I hopefully wont have to go on any medications to control it. I have found that portion sizes along with variety of type of food helps me the most. I have also been losing weight since doing this. Since I am overweight to begin with they are not worried.

My blood pressure a week ago was 141/71, which is too high and could point to signs of preeclampsia. I guess that any number over 140/90 is considered too high in pregnancy. I think it was elevated because I was super stressed going in to the doctor's office that day. I was afraid they were going to put me on diabetes medications. Today it was better so they aren't as worried and I will not have to go back in for 2 more weeks.

On other news everything else is going good. Baby is growing on target. Heartbeat is great. We also found out at an ultrasound around 18 weeks that our final baby is supposed to be a girl. The idea of a girl is exciting and scary. This will be the first granddaughter on both sides of the family so they are not too happy that we are here in England. I am sorta glad that we are here because then they cannot try to show the favoritism. If they try I can stop it because anything they would send has to be sent via mail and I get to control what comes into the house that way.

Cloth Gift Bags

2010-12-28T09:28:00.002Z

I had a bright idea a few years back when wrapping a bunch of gifts for Christmas that wasting all that paper to wrap gifts was horrible for the environment and my wallet. I talked to my mom and asked her if she would be willing to make me some gift bags as a gift for Christmas. She did over the past couple years. I now have bags for Christmas in holiday/winter prints and birthday bags with birthday/party prints. I love them. They almost completely eliminate the waste of wrapping paper and tape. It helps keep our garbage can free for other household waste and I love all the different prints. The design is pretty simple. It is basically a pillow case with a drawstring. A little tip for keeping your bags though is to either make a special bag for the receiving person to keep or let them know before handing over their gift that you will need your bag to be able to reuse. I have found that adults are OK giving the bags back but children like to have a bag they can keep. Depending on the size the drawstring can be removed and used as a pillow case or the drawstring can be left in and the bag used for kids carrying around their prized possessions.

These are also a great money saver. If you buy your fabrics after the holidays when the prints go on sale or use a coupon you can get the fabrics for just a couple dollars a yard at most fabric stores. A yard of fabric can make a few different sized bags. Also watch for different types of yarn, ribbon, or cording to go on sale and pair it with your fabric. Right now is the perfect time to look for clearance holiday fabric to start on bags for next year.

I store all my bags in a Rubbermaid type container in the storage closet. This keeps them all together and makes for easy access. I haven't sorted mind into size differences yet but you could always do that inside your box as well.

If you do not have a sewing machine or would just rather buy bags they sell these WrapSacks online for ease. You could also buy reusable shopping bags or tote bags to use as cute gift bags.

Frugal and Fun Holiday Ideas

2010-12-16T11:43:00.005Z

I have noticed as an adult Christmas is different for me than it was when I was a child. I LOVE buying my children gifts and seeing their smiles when they open them. It just seems that some of the things I did as a child just are not the same for me. We are living far away from all of our family and we will not see any of them for the holidays so I have decided that we just have to create our own memories. Here are a few of the ideas that we have come up with so far to keep the children entertained and decorate our home for the holidays.

- Paper crafts. They are simple cheap and easy. We used cookie cutters to trace holiday shapes on construction paper, cut them out, and the kids colored them. I preserved them by laminating them and put them on our tree so they could see their work displayed. These will last for years and I can give them to them when they are adults if they want them.

- Popcorn or noodle garland. I do not like the metallic garland for the tree as it seems to get all over the place even when it is supposed to be on its own strand. Last year we had popcorn garland and this year we have dyed noodle garland. The noodles were much more child friendly as it was just noodles and yarn. We dyed the noodles red, blue and green and strung them on yarn. it was simple, fun and more decoration for our tree. This is safe for the children and the pets if it were to get on my floor on accident.

- Sugar cookies and frosting. This one is a bit messy but a fun way to spend a few hours. It also is a delicious treat at the end of a fun project. We are planning to do these this weekend as our fun holiday craft. We will make the sugar cookie dough and have the kids help cut the shapes out with our holiday cutters. After we bake them and they cool we will make several colors of frosting and let them help us decorate the cookies. We did this last year as well and the kids were so excited about getting to eat their own special treats.

- Glitter pine cones. We went outside and collected some pine cones. Ours were a bit wet so we put them in the oven at 200 degrees for a little while to dry them out. Then we painted them with cheap glitter glue. When they dried we strung them up in groups of 3-4 and hung them around the house.

What other fun, frugal holiday ideas do you have that are kid friendly?