June Goals Update

I made my June goals list mid-month, so I only had 15 days to get all these done! Here's how I did:

Parenting:

• Wean Hannah off of her evening bottle. Her last bottle was June 22.
• Switch Hannah to her actual crib (she has been sleeping in her own room now, but still in the pack and play), and get rid of the pacifier, both after convention. Crib yes, pacifier no.
• Teach Matthew to clean himself up after using the toilet. Work in progress...
• Purge more toys so all the Legos have a home in the boys' room. We picked some more toys to get rid of, and got them out of the boys' room, but they haven't made it out of the house yet. But all the Legos are in their bedroom, which is a big success!

Computer/Organizing:

• Catch up on scanning bills and documents, and shred papers. Not done.
• Get all pictures from my phone saved onto my computer, and those plus the Paris pictures saved to the external hard drive. Done and done. Plus, I realized I only had about a week left to use a code for a free photo book, so I took a couple hours and finished our Paris trip book on Shutterfly.  Bonus!

And finally, enjoy visiting Mankato next week and try to stay under budget for food/going out with friends.  I'm really looking forward to the trip, although I'm also ready to be done with traveling for the summer. 

We had a really fun trip, and we stayed under budget for food, not so much for gas with all the extra driving around town we did.  It was great to see some old friends, and I got to enjoy my favorite Caribou Coffee almost every day (spoiled!).

What I'm Reading...

The Frustratingly Slow Pace Of Making Changes. This is a good reminder that most results are not instantaneous. (Zen Habits)

Getting The Most From A Whole Chicken. This is a smart way to plan the meat for several meals. I just really dislike dismembering the chicken. Maybe because I'm not that good at it and do what Jesse calls a "hack job". (Don't Waste The Crumbs)

Reached Your Financial Limit? Fourteen Key Steps To Turn Your Finances Around. A lot of these are good tips, and we do several of them already. (The Simple Dollar)

The Beating Heart And Layers Of History: Why I Love My Dining Room Table. I feel like I could have written this about our table. The details would have been different, but the feeling is the same. (Offbeat Home & Life)

And finally, the Advent Calendar project has started on Just Crafty Enough. You make one ornament each week for 24 weeks, ending right before December. You can then use them for an ornament-a-day Advent calendar during December. It's a cool idea. It's just crazy to me that we start this in June. I don't know if I'll manage to participate in this one, but I do like it.

Weekly Coupon Shopping

I find myself spending less and less time couponing lately, but I do still occasionally find deals on things we need, like this week.

CVS

• 2 Angel Soft Toilet Paper: $5 each. Used two $1/1 printables = paid $8.00/2.
• 2 Huggies Little Movers: $9 each. Used two $4/1 printables = paid $10/2.
• 1 CVS Baby Wipes: $2.00.
• Used $1ECBs from last time, along with a $3/$15 coupon in my email = paid $17.35 with tax, got back a $10 gas gift card.  

What I'm Reading...

Stop Saving Your Stickers. I still do this, with craft supplies, with edible treats. I love this perspective though! (The Art Of Simple)

Introducing Little Ones To Gardening. We are limited to container gardening on our tiny balcony, but we are still having the boys help plant and water our tomatoes and peppers, and later on they can pick them. (Little House Living)

My Timeless Strategy For Buying Electronics. This is a really good idea for people who don't heavily use their electronics. Like me - I surf the internet, blog, and watch videos. I don't need anything too fancy, and I can use what I have until it dies. (The Simple Dollar)

How To Get Kids Cracking Making Cheese Crackers And Wheat Thins. I've made wheat thins before (although not this recipe), and the cheese crackers sound yummy too. Might have to try these with the boys...(Simple Bites)

Menu Plan June 21-30

Since we were gone at the synod convention last week, the end of the month menu plan starts June 21 instead of the 15th like normal.  We are still eating Paleo-ish, with occasional dried beans, rice, and oats mixed in, plus sandwiches and wraps sometimes.  So, you know, about half the time.  Here's what we have planned:

Saturday, June 21
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: PB&J Sandwiches/Soups from the freezer
Dinner: Cheeseburgers and Sweet Potato Fries (in the freezer)

Sunday, June 22
Breakfast: Eggs and Toast
Lunch: Crockpot Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions (one of the recipes here)
Dinner: Chicken Fajitas (mix in the freezer)

Monday, June 23

Breakfast: Eggs with Mushrooms and Sweet Potatoes
Lunch: Turkey Bacon Ranch Wraps
Dinner: Mediterranean Chicken Stew over Rice

Tuesday, June 24

Breakfast: Eggs with Mushrooms and Sweet Potatoes
Lunch: Turkey Bacon Ranch Wraps
Dinner: Homemade Pizza - Chicken Bacon Ranch Mushroom

Wednesday, June 25

Breakfast: Yogurt and Homemade Granola
Lunch: BLTs
Dinner: Grill out Pork Steaks, Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday, June 26

Breakfast: Baked Blueberry and Nut Oatmeal (recipe x 1.5)
Lunch: Mini Pepper Chicken Nachos
Dinner: Leftover Pork Steaks and Sweet Potato Fries

Friday, June 27

Breakfast: Leftover Baked Oatmeal
Lunch: Chicken and Black Bean Rice Bowls (using this Mexi Rice recipe)
Dinner: Eating at my cousin Haley's wedding

Saturday, June 28

Breakfast: Eggs and Toast
Lunch: Leftover Chicken and Black Bean Rice Bowls
Dinner: Veggie Stir Fry

Sunday, June 29

Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Sandwiches/Soups from the Freezer
Dinner: Crockpot Southern Chicken Stew and Biscuits

Monday, June 30

Breakfast: Eggs and Toast
Lunch: Baked Sweet Potatoes with Toppings
Dinner: Leftover Southern Stew and Biscuits

I am linking up to I'm An Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

On Things I Miss

I want to write. I used to write all the time (being an English minor-almost-major in college will do that). I miss writing.

Being back in my college town, back at my alma mater for convention this week, has me looking back and pondering all the things I miss.  Going to the morning chapel service yesterday, listening to the crowd swell with the four-part harmony of one of my favorite hymns, brought me to tears. I miss singing.

I used to be surrounded by people my age, people going through the same things as I was, people coming to the same great discoveries about themselves.  I'm sure those people still exist in our small town, but the people I know are mostly a generation or two ahead of me. They came to those discoveries several decades ago.  I miss having friends close by.

Being a full-time mom is hard. Especially so far this summer, with trips, and events, and periods of time with Jesse gone, it has been a struggle to make time for the things that I want to do that are simply me, as a person. I have been mom, I have been wife, I have been daughter, I have been sister, but I haven't spent a lot of time as me. I miss that.

So how do I make more time for me? How do I fill my cup with those uplifting moments that come when I spend time with people who just get me, and what I'm doing right now?

I used to hold afternoon naptime sacred, as my time. My oldest doesn't nap any more, and he likes having that special time with Mom. I like it too, but my alone time is gone.  I try to make time in the morning while Hannah naps, even if that means throwing on a movie to distract the other two, so I can have a cup of coffee in peace. That works sometimes.

I'm not trying to be melancholy.  It's more of a wistful remembrance of times past.  Most days I feel truly blessed where we are, and I can see why we are there.  But coming back to where we used to be brings me back to those times.  And some days, I miss them.

What I'm Reading...

It's the return of the What I'm Reading post! However, I've decided to get rid of the What I'm Pinning section. If you're still interested in that, head on over to Pinterest and follow me! I haven't been on there as much lately, and I'm looking to do a major overhaul of the 4,500+ pins I have on there (yikes!), but I am still adding new craft ideas and recipes occasionally.

How Giving Up Real Food Made Our Family Healthier. We have definitely gone through one of these phases over the past month as well.  Sometimes you just need a break. (Life Your Way)

You've Got Your Hands Full! This is hands down the response I get most often when I'm out in public with my 3 kids and my ever-expanding belly. (Holy Hen House)

5 Simple Steps For Taming Your Craft Stash. I need to work on this. Oh, how I need to work on this. (I'm An Organizing Junkie)

Produce Storage Cheat Sheet. Some things last for longer than I thought! (100 Days of Real Food)

Less, Less, Less, Less, Less, Less... The minimalist mindset is hard. But worth it. (The Minimalists)

We will be busy hanging out with friends at the annual synod convention this week, so I can't promise much of an update, but I'll be back next week with the menu plan, and whatever else I come up with!

June Goals

Can I still make a goals list if June is halfway done?  I suppose so...

Parenting:

• Wean Hannah off of her evening bottle.
• Switch Hannah to her actual crib (she has been sleeping in her own room now, but still in the pack and play), and get rid of the pacifier, both after convention.
• Teach Matthew to clean himself up after using the toilet.
• Purge more toys so all the Legos have a home in the boys' room.

Computer/Organizing:

• Catch up on scanning bills and documents, and shred papers.
• Get all pictures from my phone saved onto my computer, and those plus the Paris pictures saved to the external hard drive.

And finally, enjoy visiting Mankato next week and try to stay under budget for food/going out with friends.  I'm really looking forward to the trip, although I'm also ready to be done with traveling for the summer.

What We've Been Up To Lately...

I promised I was back to blogging, and then another month of silence happened.  Here's a bit of what we've been doing since I stopped posting...

We moved. 

We carried all of our stuff down the hallway to a bigger apartment.  There was no packing involved, but there were many trips back and forth, and a lot of reorganizing since the layout is reversed in some rooms and storage is way different.

Jesse went to Israel for 10 days.

I had grand ambitions of getting a lot of projects done while he was gone, of getting ahead on the blog, and of just being productive.  The first night my back spasmed so bad I could barely move, and I spent the next week and a half recovering from that.  Most nights by the time the kids went to bed I was feeling energetic enough to turn on the tv, watch one episode of something, and go to bed.  We spent a few days at my parents' house in the middle, but overall it was a lot of time with me and the kids alone.  We survived, but it was not the productive time I expected.  

We got stuck in survival mode.

Along those same lines, my allergies came back with a vengeance (grass pollen is at its highest right now), and we all caught a pretty awful cold that we're still getting over. Pregnancy makes me not always want to cook, so there was some eating out involved, and a general laziness in getting things done.  Hopefully that will improve now.

We went fishing. 

We have taken several trips to the park, and even went fishing once we got our licenses. This was the boys' first time fishing, and while we didn't catch anything, it was a lot of fun.

We visited my Grandma and saw my sister and her family.

(my parents with all the grandkids)

We took a day trip down to Watertown (about an hour and a half away) to visit my Grandma. My sister and her family were visiting from Colorado, so they and my parents drove over also. We had lunch and spent a few hours there, and it was great to see everyone.

We did a garage sale with some church members, and took a bunch of unsold items to the thrift store.

We got Hannah down to one bottle a day.

As I mentioned in my May Goals update, we have been working on getting Hannah to drink out of her sippy cup, and we went from 3 bottles a day to only 1 in the evening.  The other fun part of feeding Hannah is that she has some constipation issues that seem to be related to certain grains (not oats), so we've been working on narrowing that down, as well as figuring out easy and healthy finger foods for her to eat, especially for snacks.  This is my least favorite part of feeding kids, as they are semi-independent, but still learning, but we're getting there.

Overall, I'm trying to focus on what we have accomplished, and not on the things that didn't get done (like the past couple Iron Craft challenges I've missed, or the stuff that still isn't organized and put away). There will always be more to get done.

May Goals Update

Obviously it is June now, and I am a bit behind on blogging.  Later today (this week?) I'll share a bit of what we've been doing over the past month, and why I've been so busy, but for now, here's an update on my May goals.

Parenting:

• Potty train Matthew. Done!
• Get Hannah used to her sippy cup and get rid of at least one of her three daily bottles, if not two. She is down to one bottle at night and loves her sippy cups.

Home:

• Work on my spring cleaning list (more below). Most of this got done because we moved, so we had to clean. I was caught up on scanning, and then fell behind again with this month's bills, so that's about the only thing not done.
• Move? We moved down the hall to a 3-bedroom apartment.

Personal:

• Read Sugar, Salt, Fat by Michael Moss and 1 book from my Kindle. Not done.
• Organize France pictures, upload them to external hard drive, and start working on Shutterfly book about the trip. Not done.

Spring Cleaning List (these are things I've noticed could use a little bit of extra cleaning in our apartment):

• Wipe down microwave shelf
• Clean out vacuum
• Wipe down blinds in boys' room
• Wipe down blinds in our room
• Wipe down outside of kitchen cupboards
• Wipe down top and knobs of oven
• Vacuum inside coffee table and couch cushions
• Wipe down light switches
• Mop kitchen floor (because it's a small area, I usually just spot mop with a rag, but I figure it's time for a good mopping)
• Catch up on scanning and shredding paper statements