Slow Updates 2

My out-laws will be arriving today and there's lots to do this weekend. This past week was ridiculous will all the phone calls and running around I needed to get done. I've been too busy to maintain my cathartic blog which is to say, I've just been too busy. But life waits for no one and one of these days I'll be dead. I'm hoping the afterlife won't be nearly as hectic as this...

Today I am taking Avalon to Miriam's baby shower being throw by my CRHP sisters. They are so kind to want to throw me a shower. They are evn getting me a gluten free chocolate cake! So thoughtful!

I spend all day Thursday and Friday getting the nursery painted and organized just to realize that Miriam Rose probably will be just like my other two children and want to sleep in our room until they are 5! I'm thinking we are going to bite the bullet and buy a bassinet this weekend. There is a huge consignment resale event that benefits the Make-a-wish  foundation on Sunday, so after church we're going straight over. I'm hoping to get some summer clothes for the older two as well. Part of my conviction to be "green"  has me wanted to buy the kids clothing at resale since cotton is such a difficult plant to grow, it need like 500,000 gallons of water per plant to produce, and most all of it's bleached in China under little to know health regulations....the reason's go on.

Avalon is doing really well at school. She finished 2 book reports already and is completing her third on this weekend. She officially has listed her best friend as Alyssa whom she loves so much she has decided that she wants their family to live with us. I'm actually thrilled about this because Alyssa is a sweet kid and Avalon tends to really, really love the kids who aren't very nice to her which is difficult to watch as a parent.

Kieran is doing well too. I'm convinced that he is never going to speak full sentences in English, which has taken a lot of pressure off the both of us. He's a head banger (hit's his head against things when he's mad) and the latest thing is for him to throw a fit outside of Avi's class room when I drop her off each morning. It's good to know that I'm that parent the other ones are looking at like "Oh my gosh , and she's set to pop with her third? Heaven help them!" I can take it. I'm still the youngest mom there and I have a few more years before I need to have self completely put together, pearls on and delightful at 7:40 in the morning.

I read some ones blog the other day that was going on and on about home stay home mothers need to make sure the are still getting dressed to the nine's and fashionable so that their daughters will know that stay at home mothering isn't a drag or something like that. I don't know the blogger so in her defense I'm sure there is a reason she feels so strongly about this. And not that I disagree with a daily shower, dressing up for church or anything like that, but I'm under the persasion that if your kids are under the impression that the life of a SHM is glamorous you have missed a valuable teaching opportunity. Not to mention that you've got some mixed up priorities. I'm down to 6 hours of sleep a night with at least one time awake with the kids so I think I have hit the limit of things I can accomplish in a day with out giving up sleep all together and fashion and getting dressed to the nines is not on the list. Loving and playing with my children is on the list though and they are happy with the time I give just to them.

Fr. Corapi (I think) says that Christian's should be the hardest working people on the face of the planet. Not because were doing it for ourselves but because everything we do is for the greater Glory of our Lord. I like that and I think it's going to get posted on the refrigerator, laundry room in the car, etc. so I remember that when I get all whingy.

For my birthday I got the complete Navarre Bible from my dad and husband. I'm so excited and I feel a little spoiled at the same time! I was content buying them second hand but the bought them for me hard bound and brand new. I need to learn Latin now so I can read every word of the volumes!

I wish I had time to right more but for now I'm off! I still have to plan the meals for this week and clean the house before breakfast and showers and all that glamorous SHM stuff. Life is still very, very good :)

Week of Meals 1: Some Fresh some Frozen

Making this list of recipes will feed my family dinner for a week. Leftovers for lunchboxes are included in this as well as breakfast. We usually have one off night where we all just take a look in the fridge and grab what looks good or make a quick spaghetti dish. I hate letting things like Zucchini go bad because I didn't use all of what I bought so that is why you will see it here a few times. GF= gluten free and all of these can be substituted with regular all purpose flour. 

Zucchini Patties

Ingredients for 4

• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup GF flour
• ¼ cup GF cracker/bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. Lightly salt and let shredded zucchini drain in colander for 10 minutes. Then Pat with paper towel.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, eggs, onion, flour, crumbs, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and seasoning. Stir well enough to distribute ingredients evenly.
3. Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop zucchini mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls, and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden. Good by themselves or slap it together in a sandwich. Double for leftovers and lunchbox meals.

Shredded BBQ sandwiches

Ingredients for 12 or dinner and freezing for 6

• 2 (4 pound) whole chickens, cut up
• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 3/4 cup prepared mustard
• 5 tablespoons brown sugar
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup steak/bbq sauce
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring
• salt and pepper to taste
• 12 hamburger buns

Directions

1. Place chicken in a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until chicken comes off the bone easily, about 3 hours. Make sauce while the chicken cooks.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together the ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, garlic, honey, steak sauce, lemon juice, and liquid smoke. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Set aside to allow flavors to mingle.
3. When the chicken is done, remove all meat from the bones, and chop or shred into small pieces. Place in a pan with the sauce, and cook for about 15 minutes to let the flavor of the sauce soak into the chicken. Spoon barbecued chicken onto buns, and top with coleslaw if you like.

*Shawn can’t eat this alone so this is a meal to invite my dad over too. Split the full recipes into 2 dishes; serve one and let the other cool before putting it into a Ziploc bag for freezing.

Black bean and rice enchiladas

Ingredients

• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) Rotel
• 1/4 cup picante sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 8 (6 inch) tortillas, warmed
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro

Directions

1. In a large nonstick skillet, sauté the green pepper, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the beans, tomatoes, picante sauce, chili powder, cumin and red pepper flakes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until heated through and mixture thickens. Add rice; cook 5 minutes longer or until heated through.
2. Spoon a rounded 1/2 cup down the center of each tortilla. Fold sides over filling and roll up. Place in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon salsa over each tortilla. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese and cilantro. Bake 2-3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients for crock pot sized meal

• 1 can GF black bean soup
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (16 ounce) can vegetarian baked beans
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chopped tomatoes in puree
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon cumin

Directions

1. In a slow cooker, combine black bean soup, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, baked beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, bell pepper and celery. Season with garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Cook for at least two hours on High. Best after 4 hours or so.

Blueberry Zucchini Bread loaves

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup vegetable oil or applesauce
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 3 cups GF flour mix
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pint fresh blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans (aluminum pans work really well for GF breads).
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans then place then on a baking sheet.
3. Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. Can be wrapped and frozen but I have never had the will power NOT to eat them right away!

Old Lady Anytime Meal

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
• 4 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
• 2 1/2 cups chunky applesauce
• 1 cup peeled, cored and cubed apples
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
• Dash salt

Directions

1. Stir 2 tablespoons butter into the cooked hot rice. Add applesauce, apples, brown sugar, 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and salt. Spoon into a greased deep 2-qt. baking dish. Dot with remaining butter; sprinkle with remaining cinnamon. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes or until heated through. Serve warm or cold.

Meeting the Midwife

Today I made the trek across town (in less time than I though it would take) to met the woman who will be delivering my third baby in our home. What a wonderful way to begin my week! I honestly wished I had met the whole staff sooner. It was a very comfortable environment in which my son was able to use the Doppler to listen to his sister's heart beat, watch a movie of his choice and build a Lego airplane while Mommy was asking questions and giving them the low down on my care so far.
 

After asking about my two previous experiences Joyce, the midwife, scrutinized my diet...which I'm very thankful for! Being Vegetarian and Gluten Free is frankly depressing all by it's self. Take away the wine and caffeine because you're pregnant and most people are ready to go play in traffic.  Me included! But after so long you lose your urge to eat and forget that you need to pay attention to your health.

I knew I was depressed but I didn't want her to know so I didn't put it down on the patient history.  I've been trying to cope with a smiley face as best as I can, but she looked me over and had me pegged. So I now have a load of vitamins to take everyday along with tea and exercise. Now this woman isn't new aged or a hippie, and she sent me to go get vitamins instead of selling them to me so I'm inclined to listen to her suggestions. I used to take loads of vitamins but it got expensive and I hate doing it. It tastes icky and lingers in your mouth, blah! I've been taking the gummie ones I give the kids and convincing myself I get an "A" for effort.

I'm really excited about using Joyce. She has a whole library of books that she loans out and she isn't going to make me do all that standardized testing that I hate so much. Ahhhh....choices...yes, I like this very much. 

I'm confident that the vitamins will work. She has me on 5 vitamins and two cups of tea a day. I can handle that :) I had a regiment with one of my doctors a few years ago and I got vitamin shots to help combat my depression. It worked like a dream and we got the insurance to cover it because it was cheaper than therapy!

Miriam is doing well and I seem to be looking good too. I see them again in two weeks!

The Family Dinner

Yay, I like the trend of people blogging their family menus!

It gives me all sorts of ideas and I have been trying to do this on and off for a year now.  Our failures have been attributed to many factors: work rotation, allergies (mine and the kids), vegetarian diet verses the one meat eater in the house, distance to the grocery store for the forgotten item and the fact that the kids are picky doesn't help.

I truly suck at coupon clipping and they never give coupons on things that I buy, so I've had to get creative in my budgeting. When I first realized I had a problem I was spending $1000 a month...what?!?!? I know. But I was able to get this down to about $450 once I started planning my meals out at least three weeks. We are sticking to it this time!

Most importantly, NO WALMART, TARGET, OR KROGER! I MUST AVOID THESE MONEY PITS AT ALL COST!!! Our Private School budget depends on it!

Allergies are expensive so here is how I get my GF flours and other healthy choice ingredients:

• The Latin/Hispanic foods Market
• The Asian and Indian Markets
• Dallas Farmers Market- come early, bring cash and your own bags
• Aldi's- don't laugh people from C-town, Aldi's down here is awesome! Lots of local and well priced frozen items here.

I always suggest if your nervous going to one of these places, whether you're like me and the driving distance/location scares you (I have highway and heavy street traffic issues) or maybe just the fact that not everything is in English or that you might not be sure what you're really looking for that first time just take your whole family with you. Kids are great at saying "hey what is that?" to random people in the isles. If they're too young to talk bring them anyways, they just look cute and everyone will tell you how lovely your family is. I'm not kidding. No need to be scared.

I literally bought a bag of rice flour for 79 cents the first time I went to the Asian market. It would have been at least $3-$5 for this 32oz bag else where. Yes that's right, not 5lbs, 32 oz. Allergies are expensive. We try to support local and fresh. Less packaging means a healthier planet and less toxins in your food. The rest of the world knows this but we are slowly catching on :)

My second suggestion would be freeze your meals. This is not the easiest thing to get in the habit of doing but it will slice your budget and cook time in half. Start with something easy like pancakes. 1 hour making them will save you loads of time later when the kids are hungry at the breakfast table and your coffee maker is hating on you.

My third tip would be to make a list and take cash. My husband hates that one but I promise you it is the best suggestion of all. This is why I love to see all these blogs with the meal plans on them!! Don't you love free information sharing!!!

**Last thing when you are finished with your "green/reusable" shopping bags please wash them so that you kill all the bacteria and don't get sick.

Dear Non-Pregnant Person...

Dear Non-Pregnant Person,

I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women, as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn’t mean me – then you should probably read this twice.

1. The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is ‘Congratulations!’ with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you a jerk.

2. Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father – not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase ‘my baby’.

3. On the same note, unless you made the baby, the pregnancy, birth, and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have only opinions, not input. Only voice your opinion unless they ask for it…

4. The body of a pregnant woman should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone’s stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix, or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5. Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight…ever! A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is ‘You look fabulous!’.

6. By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don’t need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes. Nor do we need to know how badly you will feel for us because we will be pregnant during the summer and how glad you are that YOU will not be pregnant this coming summer.

7. There is a reason that tickets are not yet sold at Ticketmaster to Labor & Delivery. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL, or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. You weren’t invited to be there when the baby was created, were you?

8. Like everything else in life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital, and the parent’s home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to ‘help out’. If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.

9. If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules, and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.

10. The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less.

Sincerely,
All the Pregnant Women in the World

Bruchetta and Pizza

In my house, Avalon and Kieran love french bread. Unfortunately they won't eat their meal if they know it's coming.  They will pass on dinner and go straight to the bread. So I have a few things that help get these kids to eat more than just the filler.

 

Get yourself some French bread at Sam's Club (about $3-4 for 6 hoggie sized loaves). You may want to put two of these in the freezer if you don't think you'll use them quickly enough. We always use them before the go bad but you don't have my kids, so I don't know what you'll use. 

 

These are the cheapest and easiest way to make pizzas for your family, HANDS DOWN! My daughter is a pizza fiend and two loaves sliced in half will make enough pizza for my family for one meal.

 

*

 

Five minutes in the oven on 350 F then bring them out put on the sauce, cheese and toppings. Back into the oven until the cheese looks melty and toppings crispy. They're done! I always have a piece or two left over for Avalon's lunch the next day :)

 

With the left over loaves you can make the Bruchetta the next night with either a soup or pasta dish.

Cut the slices of toast, toast them at 350 F for 5 minutes, put the topping on them and stick them back in the oven for a few minutes (tomatoes heat quickly and retain their heat well).

 

*

Here's a topping quick recipe if you don't have one:

8 Roma tomatoes, diced

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix it all together and let sit for 1-2 hours.

Avalon doesn't do tomatoes so you can just toast the bread and melt a slice of cheese on it for dipping into the main event.

*these pictures are borrowed but they are exactly what it should look like.

Whoo hooo! Back on track with my homebirth!

So I had a great conversation with a Jennifer from BCBS today. I told her to send me a survey so I could rave about her to her bosses :)

My insurance will in fact cover my home birth and give me an allowance to get my tub for a water birth. We had a midwife's insurance lesion that gave me the nitty-gritty details of their billing. Then Jennifer told me how theco-insurance thing has a cap and it will only cost us $500 to have this baby the way we want. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO relieved. Stress in the second trimester is a waste of energy and I have been STRESSED over this!

I'm still not sure if we will have this baby here or at the birthing center but finding out there is not a $5000+  bill attached to it with our names on it is such a relief. I called every hospital in our area and asked them if I could forgo the hep lock and if I could be released earlier than 24 hours and my responds was 'not if you want to take you baby with you'.

I will sometime in the near future be blogging on my feelings about this, but for right now I'm content to rejoice in the fact that I am going to have my baby, not for free but a whole lot less than what we were looking at yesterday. God is so good! I prayed for a miracle and he sent me an answer post haste :) Now I can focus on the two angels I already have knowing that this is all going to work out.