Resolutions

I thought New Years resolutions were dumb until I read this post today from Mark's Daily Apple.  It says people who make resolutions are more successful at reaching goals, actually 10 times more.  So, I will write them down again.  And this makes a good place to go back and see.
Here we go, 2012!

• Better budgeting.  This was a goal last year, too.  But this year I want to do it every month instead of off and on.  We really want to do better at keeping track of spending and do a good job on saving (we really want to go to Hawaii before Taryn is two).

•  Improve my health.  I did amazing last year, after I had Taryn, at sticking to a really healthy paleo diet.   I'm figuring out more now what works for my body.  I've noticed that I have issues with dairy.  I noticed that having gluten gives me a terrible sinus headache.  Too much chocolate makes me have eye and muscle twitches.  I want to try and have more bone broth, eat less chocolate (some is ok) and keep avoiding foods that hurt me.  I'd also like to get back to pre-pregnancy weight (and maybe lower), that is less important than being healthy, but something I'd like to do.

• Read the daily Mass readings every morning along with this reflection and listen to my favorite Nun's podcast more regularly. I already do this most days but I want to keep doing it.

• Teach Luke The Angelus prayer.  This prayer is traditionally said at noon.  So I was thinking about setting an alarm on my phone to remind us to do it everyday. 

•   Do some more exercise.  FUN exercise.

That's about it.  Happy New Year!  (and Merry Christmas, too, all the way till the Baptism of the Lord)

Accounting for Taste

Welcome to the October Carnival of Natural Parenting: Money Matters
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared how finances affect their parenting choices. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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I've been working on our budget on and off for the last year.  It was in my New Years resolution post, then I talked about it again as I continued to work on it.  And, let me tell you, it's still a work in progress.

I used this estimator for our budget from Dave Ramsey.  He creates categories and tells what percentage of your income should go to each category.  We already had a basic idea of what we spend each month on certain things.  So we adjusted it to fit us.  Our sample budget is here.  It's really simple.  We just have our set category amounts, then we write in every transaction.  Then we have a really really simple thing that subtracts what you spend out of what you start with.  The hard part is remembering to fill it out.  The good thing is that you want to make fewer transactions so you can fill it out less :)

I think I finally have all of our categories worked out.  We were really struggling sometimes at being able to stick to certain categories in our budget.  Our biggest problem, the grocery category and the personal category.  We were always in a conundrum, how could we eat how we want and still be able to do fun things?

What we do

raw milk

We wanted to have good quality foods at home which equals a higher grocery budget.  I want my kids to know where food comes from and we eat paleo.  We started a CSA fruit and veggie share, and got meat, raw milk and eggs from a local farm.  But have you ever bought grassfed beef?  Or pastured eggs?  They are more expensive than your typical grocery store meat and eggs.  Then raw milk... wow, it's a lot.  But I really want our family to know what real food tastes like.   And I feel happy that our kids don't eat junk that could cause them other health problems.  I know that eating no grains and sugar have limited mood swings and tantrums from my two year old. We think that even if we don't have money for other things the best gift we can give our kids is a lifetime of health.  How could we do this without going broke?  What does it mean for the other parts of our budget?

It means not going out to eat.  It means having to plan fun stuff and consulting the budget instead of doing things spur of the moment.  It means not having cable tv for football season (to watch those OSU Beavers!!).  There are lots of things we want, but we decided we need to be healthy first. 

mmm ribeyes from the farm

When we budget we always ask ourselves, is this something we could or want to live without?  Does it mean we would rather skip our nice farm meat for other meat just to get cable tv?  Well, the answer is no.  Asking those questions makes it clear what your goals are... especially what's best for your kids.

Luke checking out our csa veggies

Asking ourselves what we wanted to spend our money on made all of our other budgeting easier.  We understood what we wanted to buy and it made it easy to hold off on non-essentials.  There's a lot that we are sad we can't do now but compared to good food we know it's just not as valuable.  I really recommend deciding on what is important to you as you go about making or tweaking a budget, it helps prioritize.


Here are some other tips for sticking with a budget that have really helped me.

- Don't spend money until you know how much is available in your spending category. example- don't buy a pair of 30 dollar shoes and come home to find out you only had 20 dollars left in your clothing budget.

- Ask yourself what you can live without.  example- we don't have cable because we'd rather use the extra amount on food.

-Save for what you really want. This seems obvious, but how often do you impulse buy and then you realize later you'd rather have saved up for something else?  example- we really want a couch in our play room, but we'd rather try to save for a trip to Hawaii. 

- Plan ahead.  At the beginning of the month we look ahead to see what we will need to have money for.  Birthday presents, trips, extra food for guests at our house.  We noticed we still have money for fun kid stuff and toys when we planned ahead and skipped spending money on things that were on our 'want to buy list'.

- Little things add up.  Sure it only costs 5 dollars to go to coffee.  But then there's the lunch out for another 10 dollars.  Then there were those couple random trips to the grocery store.  Those add up!


- Go easy on yourself.  We are fortunate to have saved up money, so if we go over a little on a category some months while we're getting the hang of things it's ok.  We aren't punishing ourselves but just remembering what we could do next month to avoid it.


The biggest thing is asking yourself, what is most important for my family?  It may not be food, it may be that you want to have the option of going out to eat more often.  It may be that you want to have a small house because you'd rather spend your money on something else.  You can't have it all, so what's important to you?



***
Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
(This list will be live and updated by afternoon October 11 with all the carnival links.)

• Money Matter$ — Jenny at I'm a full-time mummy shares her experiences on several ways to save money as a parent.
• A different kind of life... — Mrs Green from Little Green Blog shares her utopian life and how it differs from her current one!
• Show Me The Money! — Arpita of Up, Down & Natural shares her experience of planning for parenting costs while also balancing the financial aspect of infertility treatments.
• Material v Spiritual Wealth - Living a Very Frugal Life with Kids — Amy at Peace 4 Parents shares her family's realizations about the differences between material and spiritual wealth.
• If I Had a Money Tree — Sheila at A Gift Universe lists the things she would buy for her children if money were no object.
• Financial Sacrifices, Budgets, and the Single Income Family — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama looks at the importance of living within your means, the basics of crafting a budget, and the "real cost" of working outside of the home.
• Overcoming My Fear of All Things Financial — Christine at African Babies Don't Cry shares how she is currently overcoming her fear of money and trying to rectify her ignorance of all things financial.
• Confessions of a Cheapskate — Adrienne at Mommying My Way admits that her cheapskate tendencies that were present pre-motherhood only compounded post-baby.
• Money Matters — Witch Mom hates money; here's why.
• Money? What Money?! — Alicia C. at McCrenshaw's Newest Thoughts describes how decisions she's made have resulted in little income, yet a green lifestyle for her and her family.
• What matters. — Laura at Our Messy Messy Life wishes parenting through play was her only responsibility during the day.
• Making Ends Meet — Abbie at Farmer's Daughter shares about being a working mom and natural parent.
• Poor People, Wealthy Ways — Sylvia at MaMammalia discusses how existing on very little money allows her to set an example of how to live conscientiously and with love.
• The Green Stuff — Amyables at Toddler In Tow shares how natural parenting has bettered her budget - and her perspective on creating and mothering.
• Jemma's Money — Take a sneak peek at That Mama Gretchen's monthly budget and how Jemma fits into it.
• 5 Tips for How to Save Time and Money by Eating Healthier — Family meal prep can be expensive and time-consuming without a plan! Dionna at Code Name: Mama shares five easy tips for how to make your cooking life (and budget) easier.
• Belonging in the Countryside — Lack of money led Phoebe at Little Tinker Tales towards natural parenting, but it also hinders her from realizing her dream.
• Total Disclosure and Total Reform — Claire at The Adventures of Lactating Girl gets down to the nitty gritty of her money problems with hopes that you all can help her get her budget under control.
• Save Money by Using What You Have — Gaby at Tmuffin is only good with money because she's lazy, has trouble throwing things away, and is indecisive. Here are some money-saving tips that helped her manage to quit her job and save enough money to become a WAHM.
• Two Hippos & Ten Euros: A Lesson in Budgeting — MudpieMama shares all about how her boys managed a tight budget at a recent zoo outing.
• ABBA said it — Laura from A Pug in the Kitchen ponders where her family has come from, where they are now and her hopes for her children's financial future.
• Money vs. Time — Momma Jorje writes about cutting back on junk, bills, and then ultimately on income as well ~ to gain something of greater value: Time.
• An Unexpected Cost of Parenting — Moorea at MamaLady shares how medical crises changed how she feels about planning for parenthood.
• 5 Ways This Stay at Home Mom Saves Money — Charise at I Thought I Knew Mama shares 5 self-imposed guidelines that help her spend as little money as possible.
• Frugal Parenting — Lisa at My World Edenwild shares 8 ways she saves money and enriches her family's lives at the same time.
• Conscious Cash Conscious — Zoie at TouchstoneZ shares her 5 money-conscious considerations that balance her family’s joy with their eco-friendly ideals.
• Money, Sex and Having it All — Patti at Jazzy Mama explains how she's willing to give up one thing to get another. (And just for fun, she pretends to give advice on how to build capital in the bedroom.)
• Money could buy me ... a clone? — With no local family to help out, Jessica Claire at Crunchy-Chewy Mama wants childcare so she can take care of her health.
• Spending Intentionally — CatholicMommy loves to budget! Join her to learn what to buy, what not to buy, and, most importantly, where to buy.
• New lessons from an allowance — Lauren at Hobo Mama welcomes a follow-up guest post from Sam about the latest lessons their four-year-old's learned from having an allowance.
• How to Homeschool without Spending a Fortune — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares tips and links to many resources for saving money while homeschooling from preschool through high school.
• It's Not a Baby Crisis. It's Not Even a Professional Crisis. — Why paid maternity leave, you may ask? Rachael at The Variegated Life has some answers.
• "Making" Money — Do you like to do-it-yourself? Amy at Anktangle uses her crafty skills to save her family money and live a little greener.
• Money On My Mind — Luschka at Diary of a First Child has been thinking about money and her relationship with it, specifically how it impacts on her parenting, her parenting choices, and ultimately her lifestyle.
• Spending, Saving, and Finding a Balance — Melissa at The New Mommy Files discusses the various choices she and her family have made that affect their finances, and finds it all to be worth it in the end.
• Accounting for Taste — Cassie at There's a Pickle in My Life shares their budget and talks about how they decided food is the most important item to budget for.
• Money Matters... But Not Too Much — Mamapoekie at Authentic Parenting shares how her family approaches money without putting too much of a focus onto it.
• Parenting While Owning a Home Business — In a guest post at Natural Parents Network, Lauren at Hobo Mama lays out the pros and cons of balancing parenting with working from home.
• Crunchy Living is SO Expensive...Or Is It? — Kelly at Becoming Crunchy talks about her biggest objection to natural living - and her surprise at what she learned.
• Mo' Money, Mo' Problems — Sarah at Parenting God's Children shares how a financial accountability partner changed her family's finances.
• The Importance of Food Planning — Amanda at Let's Take the Metro discusses how food budgeting and planning has helped her, even if she doesn't always do it.
• Kids & Money: Starting an Allowance for Preschoolers — Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings discusses her family's approach and experiences with starting an allowance for preschoolers.

Baby Led Weaning

We did baby led weaning with our son Luke.  I love the idea of baby led weaning.  But there's some glitches that I have noticed.

eating grass fed butter

With Baby Led Weaning you feed your kids a variety and let them choose what they want.  I love that.  I really think that is the best way to let kids go about eating.
You start them off by trying chunks of your food, instead of purees, letting them get a feel for new texture.

It is wrong to force foods into your child's mouth.  As a baby that could lead to choking.  As a toddler, its forcing them to eat when they just aren't hungry.  And it's good to let them try what you are eating. 

The idea is that if you are eating quality, healthy foods, they should end up choosing healthful foods in the right amount.

frozen blueberries from a local farm

Then we started eating paleo, off and on for the last year.  (Off during parts of pregnancy and really back on now that I've had my baby.)  There are some things I've noticed.  If we don't eat any grains or sugar at home, like any, like none at all, I mean none, even including family nights eating out for lunch or dinner, then my son doesn't want them at all. The only thing we have around is dark chocolate- 72% cocoa or higher or very minimal raw honey.

Snack/Lunch- raw milk cheese, banana slices, grass fed ground beef with zucchini.

It is, in fact, very clear to me that the cravings and wants of sugar stem from grain foods, sugar foods, and processed foods. When we are strict paleo, my son doesn't care at all about sweets.  A few months ago, when we were not eating paleo at all while I was pregnant, he wanted bread, he wanted that pretzel or cake at his grandparents. 

When we just stopped having bread in the house, he asked for it every day.  He would ask, we'd say we didn't have it because we didn't think it was good for us.  Once that subsided after about a week, he stopped asking.

Now we have none of that in our house.  It's not even an option.  I don't worry when he eats something not typical for breakfast or nothing at all.  Granted we are still breastfeeding, but his body knows if he's hungry or not.  It's just like how I feel some days, hungry at some meals, not hungry at other meals.  I've noticed that he really only likes two meals, and one snack. 

strawberry from the garden

When we go out, which isn't very often now, we don't let him choose between all the foods.  We let him choose between foods that we think are good foods.  It really sets the stage for later on in life.  That way, when he does eat sugar, like the few bites of cake at his grandparents, he understands what makes his tummy hurt.  And we tell him, if you have the cake, it could upset your tummy.  But that comes after eating very strict for a few months.  I don't believe he would have noticed before.

I think baby led weaning is great, with the right foods.  I just don't think it worked very well when we ate grains and sugar.  My son's little body couldn't decipher between cravings and needs.  The same is true for me.  The less sugar and grains I eat, the less cravings I get.


My daughter will be starting solids in two months and I'm still planning on doing Baby led weaning with her.  The idea behind it is great.  But, I'm really going to make sure she's got the right choices in front of her.

Two Paleo Tales Told at a Farm

Today I went to our local farm to get some eggs, which I do every weekend.   We also buy our meat there.  The meat is fantastic and it is grass fed and pastured beef, chicken, pigs and goat.  I usually drop by, pick up the eggs, say hi and off I go. 

We got a half a pig there a while back, and I was going to ask him today if he usually gives the fat with all the meat and I also wanted to get some liver there to eat.  I have been wanting to render some lard to cook with and I noticed that we didn't get any with our half pig.  But he said he often times doesn't put it in because people usually just throw it away.  So he gave me some, the package that was missing.  The other guy told me that their family also uses the fat to render and we talked about how he does it.  All of us got to talking and I found out that they both eat paleo too!  Each with a separate story.

The farmer was a corporate worker down in San Francisco.  He was starting to have a few health issues that he had been noticing.  So his wife and him decided one weekend to purge all of the stuff in their pantry, everything processed, all grains, all conventional dairy.  The next Saturday they went to their local farmers market.  They bought grass fed pastured meat, fresh farm veggies, and all raw dairy.  They ate that way all weekend.  On Monday when he was walking to work he was thinking about how good he felt.  And it had only been the switch over the weekend.  He talked with his wife and said we have to start growing and raising our own food.  So here they are 8 years later, farming.  He said he feels healthier than ever.

The other guy was a husband and a dad of two children, 9 and 7.  They had been eating paleo for 2 years.  He said when they switched they did the same thing.  They purged all the food in their pantry and went paleo.  He said his son was dyslexic and having trouble reading.  He was also having emotional problems.  They had been taking his son to see a psychologist.  He said his daughter would always come in their room at 6:30-7 in the morning and instead of 'good morning' she would say 'I'm hungry'.  If they didn't feed her with in a half an hour, the whole day was ruined.  She would be moody all day. 

They started eating paleo.  All the problems, gone.  He said his son immediately started reading, feeling great, and they didn't need to take him to see a psychologist anymore.  His daughter no longer came in their room in the morning, she was satisfied and could read in her room till 9 with out needing to eat.  He also said how great he felt.  He said he'd never go back.  He told me how his kids never cheat because they know how bad it makes them feel to eat sugar or grains.  He told me that it was great we were starting with our kids so young, because they won't know the difference.  His kids had a few weeks when they switched that they were unhappy with the new choices.

I feel so inspired by the stories I heard today.  People say paleo isn't for everyone.  But I think it's worth a try.  It's worth the try to feel healthy and to get rid of life time health issues.

The farmer finished with a story.  He said, it's funny how when one of his animals is not feeling well, or when your pets aren't feeling well you immediately think 'I wonder what they ate'.  He said it's so weird how humans don't think that way, almost all problems are caused by diet.  But we just try the next fad of diets or take pills.  We don't even think about how every little issue could be changed by what we put in our body.

It is so true.  It was a good reminder to think about what you eat.  People say, 'it's fine in moderation'.  Is it?

 You could be living abundantly.  Or you could be eating yourself to death.

Lettuce Wraps

We've had a bunch of Lettuce from our CSA this first two weeks.  Here's another fabulous thing we've done with our lettuce!

Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce- you wanna use the big leafs
1lb of ground meat.  We've used ground pork and grass fed ground beef from our local farm.
2 carrots grated
1 zucchini grated
1 tomato chopped

1 Tablespoon of coconut oil or other fat to cook meat in
1 Tablespoon of Tamari
1 Tablespoon of sesame oil

pepper to taste
hot sauce for afterwards :)

Just cook up the ground meat in the coconut oil or other chosen fat.  Add zucchini, carrot and tomato half way through.  You could also choose any veggies to add the first time we did pepper instead of tomato.  Then when it's almost cooked add tamari, pepper and sesame oil and finish cooking.

Then you take your lettuce leafs and use them as wraps for the meat!  Then add your favorite hot sauce!

Lots of Lettuce Salad

We have an abundance of lettuce around here since we've started our CSA.

We have two shares so that means we've received 8, yes 8, HEADS of lettuce.  The first week we had lettuce wraps a couple times and LOTS of salad.  This week we got a recipe from the farmers.  I modified it a little.  It was wilted lettuce salad.  I used yams instead of potatoes.  But, before that recipe I didn't know you could wilt lettuce.  So today I tried something out.  This is my recipe called extra lettuce veggie salad.

2 Tablespoons of coconut oil
1/2-1 head of lettuce chopped up

1 large zucchini chopped up

1/2 head of cabbage chopped up

1 sweet onion diced

1 teaspoon (or so) of Paprika
1 teaspoon (or so) of garlic powder
salt
pepper
a few swirls of balsamic vinegar


heat pan on medium heat add coconut oil, zucchini, onion, and cabbage.  Then add spices while stirring.  After veggies have gotten soft add lettuce to wilt.  Once it's almost wilted add balsamic vinegar.  And that's it!  It's so yummy!

Primal Challenge

I have mostly been eating primal/paleo through out the last of my pregnancy until now but I really wanted to stop cheating.  I wanted to really stop eating sugar because it's toxic, read here and also grains because of the way they hinder digestion and cause loads of other problems, read here. But even more than that, I feel so good eating a clean diet.  So Ben and I decided that once I felt like it, we would do a '30 day primal challenge'.  
For us, it means...

• no cheating - no grains, no sugar, nothing but good old paleo foods.
• getting better at preparing food in advanced to eliminate the need to eat out.
• adapting more of the primal lifestyle, more below.

We started a month after Taryn was born, June 25.  It's been about two weeks and boy do I feel great.  I have WAY more energy than I did post-partum with Luke! 

But more than just the eating, I wanted to adapt more primal things into my life.  The ten primal blueprint laws from The Primal Blueprint are...


1. Eat lots of animals and plants.


We are really working on this 30 days because I don't want to push myself too hard with the working out thing because I don't want to hurt my milk supply. 

2. Move around at a slow pace.

We are trying to go on nightly walks.  Even if not too far, just getting out and taking a few loops around the neighborhood.  I also am trying to walk around a lot outside with Luke when we play.
Some nights this hasn't been easy for us.  It seems like by the time dinner and dishes are done we don't have time.  So making time and maximizing our time needs to be improved on.

3. Lift heavy things.

 Haven't really started this yet. Besides the two kids I tote around.

4. Run really fast every once and a while.

Started my first primal work out last week.  I haven't tried sprinting yet.

5. Get lots of sleep.

Trying hard at this one too.  It's a little more difficult with a baby.  But I'm really trying to make sure I take full advantage of nap time, and I started doing this when I was pregnant so it's pretty easy.

6. Play.

You would think this one is easy since I have kids.  But I have noticed that myself and a lot of other parents just watch their kids play.  Instead I am making an effort to actually play.  Do you sit on the mom bench at the park?  Why?  Maybe it's time we all get out and go climb the monkey bars.

7. Get some sunlight every day.

This one is easy in the summer.  But, I also have been trying to take my vitamin D every day.  

8. Avoid Trama.

Lower stress.  I have my moments but I'm really trying not to let stupid things bother me.

9. Avoid posionous things.

Grains.  Sugar.  Also, trying to eliminate things that don't help my religious life or my kids.  I have always tried to do that.  An example is that I don't watch Bachelorette on the TV anymore.  I don't think it's appropriate for Luke to see so I wait until nap time or when my husband is home and watch on the computer.

10. Use your mind.


I have been trying to learn new things and explore new ideas.  Also am trying to brainstorm ways to decorate our playroom when I get the opportunities - creative energy.

I hope I can keep improving on things.  I am enjoying challenging myself, especially eating.  I feel so healthy.

7 Quick Takes Friday...5

-1-

Wednesday night was a late one for us.  Luke didn't sleep till 12:30 or so.  I was groggy so I'm not sure exactly what time everything took place but all I know is that I woke up right before two, twenty minutes after my husband went to bed, and saw police lights flashing through our bedroom window.  The lights were coming from the back side of our house.  I woke my husband up.  We both looked out, at first we thought it was just someone getting pulled over.  But then after a few minutes they did that quick siren beep every couple of minutes.  That usually happens when they are chasing someone, on foot, to scare them into running.  My husband turned on his iPhone police scanner app (yeah I don't know why he has it) and we listened to try to figure out what they were doing.  It was actually pretty creepy at first because we did find out that they were trying to chase someone on foot that was less than half a mile to our house.  Then we were trying to figure out clues as to what they were doing.  This lasted until about 3:30 am then they finally caught the guy, laying down in someone's backyard, which we think was his girlfriend's yard.  And we think that the girlfriend called the police.  And then we think he was drunk driving because they talked about him hitting cars.  But other than that we still don't know all the details.  I was tired in the morning.... but it was kinda fun listening in on all the action with my husband.

 

-2-

 

I'm 40 weeks and 4 days pregnant now.  I'm actually ok with waiting now until after the weekend so that we can celebrate Luke's 2nd birthday, Monday the 23rd.  We're supposed to have a party for him Sunday if nothing happens before.

-3-

I've been enjoying listening to Mark Sisson and Dr Mercola talk about health in this 7 part series.  I haven't finished it yet, but so far it's really interesting.  I didn't know this before but Mark's Daily Apple is the #3 Health website on the Internet.  Crazy right??

-4-

 

We got a kids pool for our backyard this week.  It was one of the things I wanted to get before the baby came so that we'd have a few things to do in the backyard during the nice summer weather.  We had a couple of 70 degree weather days here this week so we gave it a try.  Luke really didn't go all the way in, mostly just his feet.  And the dog enjoyed drinking the water.

Have I mentioned I love our new house? 

 

-5-

 

We went to Spanish Mass last Sunday.  We woke up really unusually early so we thought we'd go to 8:30 but Luke had a melt down before we went so we decided just to stay at home until 10:30 Mass because then we could calm down before going.  But then Luke fell back asleep.  So we were left with Spanish Mass.  But I really enjoy it.  There are TONS of kids Luke's age so we don't feel so out of place when Luke talks loud or make a bunch of noise.  I think the 10:30 Mass we usually go to is a little more quiet.  And the music is awesome... Luke really likes the guitar player and his 'back pack' (shoulder strap). 

-6-

 

This is a new game at our house.  I don't like it when my husband isn't here... just in case he actually hurts himself.  And, of course, the morning after my husband and him were doing this game, while my husband was at work, Luke decided to head plant into the floor. 

 

-7-

 

Luke and I had a really great week together.  They'll be lots of changes when the baby comes, hopefully not too big, but I'm enjoying Mama and Luke time while I've got it :)

I love doing things like this because I can actually come up with things to talk about.  Then I also get to write down and remember my week.  See you next Friday!

Check out more at Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday...3

-1-

I had pizza tonight.  I don't know why, I had been craving it for a while.  We eat mostly primal but for some reason I just wanted bread.  My stomach hurt today and yesterday and I always feel like some kind of bread when it hurts.  Maybe to soak up acid.  Though, it always makes me feel worse.  Anyway, the pizza was sooo good.  But, oh boy will I probably pay for it.  Luke is obsessed with it so I'm glad we never have it.

-2-

I saw my midwife today.  She visits me at my house most of the time, unless she's busy Friday, then I have to go up to her office which is about 40 minutes away.  She was half hour early for the appointment today.  She pulled up to the house right as my husband got home from work.  He usually takes a work break for about a half hour before the appointment just to help me pick up everything and helps with Luke.  He texted me 'Midwife is here. I am not kidding.'  At the exact moment I heard the text and read it, I saw out the window that her car was here.  PANIC.  I just had my night gown on which is pretty revealing since it's a nursing night gown, and Luke had no pants on.  We were in the middle of cooking bacon.  I ran back to the bedroom to change and to get Luke ready and my husband had let her into the house and turned off the stove.  I guess it's not that big of deal since she'll see me give birth.  But I was totally not expecting her that early.  And I'm not sure who got the time wrong, I thought I had it written down right, but I also had the time wrong on another one a few weeks ago.  Oh well.

-3-

We got to talk to our priest friend yesterday.  We chatted with him for half hour.  I can't remember the last time we have talked to him on the phone/in person.  He was really excited to hear that we are about to have another baby.  He suggested to ask our priest for the Catholic Book of Blessings and to pray the blessing for a new baby and to consecrate her to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
He also asked us how our marriage was doing.  I was just telling Ben that day that I couldn't imagine being married and not having kids right away.  Having a child has been such a blessing to our marriage.  Even though we've had some tiring nights and long days, I just don't even know what we'd do together with no kids.  I suppose we would have found something...

-4-

 

 The dog and cat both slept in the bed one afternoon for nap time this week.  I couldn't believe it.

Pickle staring down Misu

Misu sleeping

Both together.  It's hard to see since I had to take the picture while Luke was sleeping on my arm.

Technically they weren't both on the same bed, since we cosleep and have two beds pushed together.  But that was a lot closer than its every been.

 

-5-

 

We got poop keychains as part of a gift from our friends, Luke's godparents.  We exchanged our Christmas presents just a few days ago (yeah I know really late).  

This is sort of an inside joke with some of my close friends... and I'm not really sure how it started... well, ok maybe I do.  But anyway, my husband proudly put his on his key chain.  I asked him, what are you going to do when someone asks what those are at work.  Wouldn't that be embarrassing?  I think so.  Anyway, I have to figure out which one I'm going to use.

You can purchase your own here.

-6-

Monday I had contractions.  When I was pregnant with Luke, I had Indian food the day before I went into labor.  Not that I think it worked, since I was 10 days late with him, I figured i'd be worth the shot of trying again.  So Tuesday evening we went to Indian food for dinner.  I'm still pregnant.  

Didn't hurt though, the food was good.

 

-7-

I'm thinking about calling my parents and in-laws at weird hours the next week just to let them think that I'm in labor... then when they answer I'll say HI!  And act surprised when they ask if I'm doing ok or what I'm doing calling so late/early.

Ok, maybe I won't do it to my inlaws since they are out of town.  But, maybe I should try with my dad.  I'm sure he'd enjoy the scare :)  ok, ok, Dad, I won't do it....

I love doing things like this because I can actually come up with things to talk about.  Then I also get to write down and remember my week.  See you next Friday!

Check out more at Conversion Diary!

A fun stay at home day

In case you missed (but really how could you), I'm pregnant... and sometimes  dont' really feel like going anywhere.  So yesterday we didn't.  But it was a really great day.

First we got up and I had lots of energy.  I don't know why.  I had been having some contractions the day before but yesterday, not so much.  Luke and I had a great breakfast of primal waffles and sausage.  About that time, Ben came home for lunch (yeah we get up late so sometimes they overlap). He normally comes home for lunch since he only works a mile and a half away.  But the last few days he's been busy with meetings at lunch, then Luke and I had been gone at lunch one day.  So it was fun to continue our family lunch time as usual.

flipping the sausage

pouring the batter on.  his favorite part.

there's almost not a meal that passes where Luke doesn't eat butter

Once Ben went back to work we hung our laundry outside.  It was the second official time we've been able to do that.  Finally some nice days.

 

Then it was nap time.  After nap I decided to ask Luke if he wanted a picnic.  He talks about picnics sometimes because his dog show that he watches has a scene when they do a picnic.  He was really excited about the picnic, he got right out of bed after the nap.  We made a few things and took them outside in the front yard (instead of the backyard so the dog wouldn't bother us).  We stayed out there for almost an hour eating and looking around.  We saw a bluebird land on our mail box, a few different bugs, and airplanes fly by in the sky.

picnic time

can you see the bluebird? 

Once we were done I asked Luke if he wanted to go to the park.  It was about 4 at this point and my husband doesn't get home until 6.  He was excited but once we got inside he decided he wanted to play with his blocks and toys in our 'playroom' living room.  We really need a couch or something comfortable to sit in that room so I wasn't too excited at first.  But, it turned out to be really fun.  We played pandora toddler tunes and played with toys.  I actually had a really fun time just playing.  I even built this cool block thing but then Luke promptly knocked it over, pic below.

my towers

destroyed!

After Ben got home we had dinner outside to take advantage of the warm weather.  Since we grilled dinner, clean up was easy!  Then we took a walk with the dog to the park and stayed there until it was dusk.

Luke playing 'chase Daddy' on the way to the park.

skinned knee :( one of the first.  thankfully he didn't really care about it.

still chasing Daddy and Misu

Doggy likes park too

my husband almost always climbs to the top of this thing when we go to the park.  he was kinda disappointed I didn't take the picture when he was at the top.  but just so you know, he can climb to the top :) lol

Sometimes I can't believe how fun it is just to relax at home and actually play.  Playing more often is something I think I need to do more of.  I mean I play all the time, but sometimes I don't play like a child... with blocks and toys and my imagination.

I wanted to type this day down before I forgot what a great day we had.

Round Steak Stir Fry Recipe

I don't normally do this, recipe posts that is.  But we have a whole beef in our freezer, well we've had beef since about December.  It's a small one so equivalent to half a beef.  Anyway, we've gone through a lot of cuts that we know what to do with... especially the steak, ribs, etc.  But I have all this round steak.  I knew it wasn't exactly steak, but I wasn't sure what to do.  My parents suggested using it for stir fry and my friend Holly suggested slow cooking it, shredding it and adding 'primal ketchup'.  Well we tried the stir fry tonight, and then the slow cooking is for tomorrow.

1lb of round steak, Grilled then sliced
1 package of frozen organic broccoli
1/2 package of frozen organic green beans
2 teaspoons of orange zest, or about half a zested orange (I didn't measure)
2 small oranges peeled and sliced
half a purple onion sliced
2 teaspoons or so of fresh grated ginger
1 heaping teaspoon of crushed garlic
some pepper to taste
olive oil


I just poured the olive oil in the pan and when it got hot I added the onion and garlic.  Once the started to get tender I poured in the frozen veggies.  Then the oranges, zest, ginger, pepper and grilled steak slices.  Then basically you just stir until it's all defrosted and hot.  It was really good.  I'm sure I'll make this again.

Oh, and I added Sriracha to mine of course :)

MDA

I've been reading The Primal Blueprint and the blog that the author of the book writes Mark's Daily Apple. I have been eating 'primal' (meats, eggs, real butter/whole dairy, veggies, fruits, nuts... no grains) more/less for about a month now.
(I'm a huge cheater so far, we've been having a lot of off days this week. I've had a huge sinus headache and it makes me feel sick, thus the change in diet.) I think another reason I've been off the diet this week is because I'm running out of ideas. I just ordered the Primal cookbook and it should be coming today. I'm excited to try new recipes. I think I get bored with the same old stuff all the time. If I have too many big hunks of chicken breast, I get tired of it and it grosses me out. I have to switch it up. I don't think I could get sick of my breakfast omelette though, it's so tasty.

But overall, not eating as many carbs, I feel great. It's not only that, but eating more protein has helped me feel more energetic. Also, I've been eating more veggies which has probably been a huge factor in feeling good. So far, I've been having a two egg omlette with broccholi and cheese for breakfast, salad with chicken (or left over meat from the night before) for lunch, then dinner is protein and veggies. I've also enjoyed snacks of whole greek yogurt, dried fruits, and nuts(including big spoonfuls of peanut butter).
They really recommend using butter to cook with. I'm used to Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I mean, I use butter for things like waffles and baking but I have always used EVOO in cooking pans and stuff. So using more butter now is a little different because it makes the food taste richer. Sometimes it's a little too rich for me but still delicious.
I have lost a few pounds too. I'm not trying to loose weight just for the record, but I was surprised to see that it wasn't really that hard. Living 'Primal' advocates lots of walking and some sprinting, which I have been doing some of but probably not enough walking. So I was surprised with couple pounds lost with out working out.
It should be interesting after we get the cookbook to see how it continues to go. I will keep you updated.