Der. Go to seep.

Josh and I just spent a full five minutes in the kitchen watching Reagan putting her babies to bed. I had pulled the crispers out of the refrigerator to wash them and she had about six of her babies that she kept putting in one saying 'der. go to seep.' Then she'd move them to the other: 'der. go to seep.' Then back and forth, back and forth. Josh and I were cracking up!!! I wonder if she feels like we shuffle her back and forth between her bed and her crib all the time! LOL! It was just too sweet to hear her though..wish I had grabbed the video camera but I didn't want her to be interrupted!

Every day, something new

I've felt bad because for the last few days Reagan has been parked in front of the television, while I've been battling fevers and being sick myself...but she always amazes me by learning something new no matter what..like mimicking Eeyore saying "Helllloooooooooooo!" (she usually says HI!) or giggling at new jokes she didn't get before.

Every day when we carry on a conversation she understand a little more, says a little more. Here are some new Reagan stories (if I've posted them before, oh well, it's my blog ;) ):

When you try to tell her how to do something now she says "I KNOW! I KNOW! I KNOW!" or when I told her yesterday she was the smartest baby ever "I KNOW!" LOL!....she's not conceited at all, right?

or this moment (I copied from what I posted on my mom's board):
reagan was finishing eating her lunch and i was loading the dishwasher..all the sudden i hear her 'snoring' (it's a game we play where we pretend to be asleep and snore! LOL!) and i look over and she's slumped over in her booster! i said "reagan? reagan!' and she didn't look at me..i went over there and she opened her eyes, smiled and snored again.....she just went down for her nap! LOL!

or this: (also copied from my post on my mom's board):
while ago reagan and i were laying in bed and she started making these funny breathing noises...i said 'reagan, stop!' and 'what are you doing?'...she was freaking me out because earlier she was panting hard from the fever! then i realized.....she was doing the 'stinky' game with me...sniffing a couple of times and then saying POOEEY! we hadn't played in a few days and she was INITIATING it!!!!! oh my gosh! i laughed so hard! i just love that she initiated the game with me!

and this: (again, copied from my mom's board post):
ok you guys have seen the stories about reagan, but just now she was pointing at my shirt at the "e" and kept saying "z"...i said 'no, honey that's an "E"' she shook her head said "NO! ZZZZZ!!!!!" egads.

and:

i just heard reagan yelling no at her cartoons (i let her watch them during breakfast) and i looked up to see why she was yelling no!----one of the bunnies was in the bath and i guess it was eating the bubbles! LOL! i always yell no at her to stop eating the bubbles in her own bath!

THIS SUCKS!!!!

Apparently Reagan must have had more than an ear infection (they didn't get to check her throat because of all her screaming) because now *I* have a fever of 101 and a sore throat and generally feel like crap.

Exactly how are you supposed to be a mom when you feel this crappy!??! I think tomorrow is going to be a nice long run of Veggie Tales and Pooh movies....and McDonald's...to bad they don't deliver. ARGH!

Every time a quote from Margaret Thatcher pops up on my blog, all I can hear in my head is Mike Meyers screaming "Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day! Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day!" :) Just thought you all would enjoy that little insight into my thoughts!

Today is absolutely gorgeous outside...a sudden and welcome change from the 90-s temps earlier this week. However, we're not outside enjoying it, as we've had a rough couple of days. Reagan's teething turned into a nasty double ear infection which resulted in 103 degree temperatures, a doctor's visit, lots of lossed sleep and some heavy medication. Her fever broke this morning but I'm still keeping her indoors to relax...and because mommy just doesn't have much energy either!

I can't wait til teething is over! After these four come all the way through, we only have her second year molars to get through (OH JOY!) and then we're done until about six I think. Reagan and I are looking forward to the four year break! LOL!

Poor baby!

Reagan has been driving me NUTS this week (and the fact that I'm trying to wean off my antidepressant from PPD is not helping!) I knew she was cutting one of her incisors (I think that's the one) but I just looked and she's cutting not one BUT FOUR TEETH!!!!

Two have popped through and the other two are just about to...the gum is white in both places..completely white and you can feel the teeth right underneath the surface!

Poor kid! No wonder she refuses to take a nap!!

Menu Plan Monday (or Sunday ;) )

This week's menu centers around pork as I have a huge 10 lb pork loin thawing in the fridge right now (yes, yes, we forgot to cut it up before it was thrown in the freezer!) that will be cooked and eaten in various forms, and the rest will be cooked and then refrozen. If you have any suggestions other than what's listed here, please let me know! Although, I have to say, we'll probably be sick of pork by the end of this week!

Monday: Roasted pork loin, carrots and potatoes
Tuesday: Tropical Pork with Pineapple served with rice
Wednesday: Shredded bbq pork sandwhiches with vegetables
Thursday: Hashbrown and Pork Chop Casserole with vegetables
Friday: Pork Medallions with Sauteed Apples and green beans
Saturday: LEFTOVERS!!
Sunday: Pork Loin Chops in Apple Cream and vegetables

Breakfasts: Eggs, oatmeal, biscuits, fruit
Lunches: Leftovers, tuna or egg salad sandwhiches with vegetables and fruit, soup [homemade]
Snacks: [homemade] Very Berry Muffins, [homemade] Granola bars, fruit/vegetables, cheerios, applesauce
Drinks: Tea, coffee, formula, water, apple juice

A Reagan story

While Reagan and I were playing today I asked if she wanted to ride on her turtle (big stuffed turtle rocker). She went over to him and pat him and said "HI!" and hugged him and give him a kiss. I said "oh, Reagan, that was sweet. You're so sweet to him!" So she walked back over, gave him another kiss and said "swe-at".....my heart is MELTING..........

The past two days

...have been a whirlwind of activity. Thursday morning Reagan visited with two of her playmates while mommy went home and did some cleaning and lounging...from there it was non-stop playtime, including a carnival at the library which was great fun, moving furniture in the backyard, playing in the pool, dinner at another friend's house and then today we went blueberry picking and then had lunch with several friends at Burker King where the girls all attacked the bouncy mat with relish!

I am pooped! But tonight is Mommy and Daddy date night, and we're going to see the Dark Knight. No matter how tired I am, this is a movie I am sure to be completely tuned in to..no napping in the dark theatre this time! I can barely wait to see the drama, action and depth of the characters come alive...it is so different from the Batman of my childhood, which was more like a sad comedy than a true drama! Even my beloved Val Kilmer let me down in his potrayal.

I'm also anxious to see Heath Ledger's final performance. Although I whole heartedly disagreed with his political views, I thought Heath was a FANTASTIC actor and I own several of his movies...he actually stars in one of my favorite movies of all time,
'10 Things I Hate About You'. I also secretely think he was an incredible hotty. Can we say *droooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool*???? I either fall for exceptionally conservative guys, such as my husband, or guys with chunky blonde hair and incredible eyes! I guess we all know which category Heath falls into!

I'm really saddened by the fact that he died of something that could have been prevented. I too have suffered insomnia and depression and anxiety and my heart goes out to him and to his family. There too, for me, were times when I would have done anything to be able to get some sleep. The only thing that stopped me from taking more and more of the sleeping drugs was the fact that I needed to be able to hear Reagan and wake up if she needed me. You keep thinking 'if only I could get some sleep, I know I'll be ok," and you function from that perspective only. My heart aches to think of how he was just trying to make things better and how a simple thing like an accidental overdose took his life too soon. My heart especially aches for his little girl :(

On that note, I'll leave you all until I can post a review of the movie. Have a wonderful weekend.

PeePee!!!

Guess who went peepee in the potty today!?!?!? Yep! For the first time ever, Reagan went peepee in the potty! We are so proud of her!!! Below is a copy of what I posted on my mom's board:

****josh just called me at the office and said reagan went to the bathroom in the potty for the first time!!! I AM SO PROUD!! he was going to the bathroom and she kept jumping around and grabbing the crotch of her diaper and saying 'go! go!' and he was confused and asked where do you want to go? and finally he got the idea and put her on the potty! YAH! (i bet she got 'go' because i always say go potty? go peepee?'!)*****

This is just awesome...she's been interested in the potty for a while but we haven't been interested in training her just yet! I think she's going to do it herself! LOL!

Yah!

I finally finished clearing out and rearranging the house..the only thing left on my task list for this summer is to clean out the garage (partially done already) and paint the bathroom! I'm ecstatic!

It feels so good to have our family room back and for it not to be completely taken over by toys..and the same with the rest of the house! I didn't realize babies came with so much stuff...and toddlers come with even more! Ok, ok, and Josh and I have a lot of stuff too ;)

Speaking of stuff, I'm going to try my hand at making a few dresses for Reagan. I'm really excited..nothing too incredibly difficult...a few straight stitches for a 'pillowcase' dress...since straight dresses are really all I can do! I think they'll be soo cute! And summer cool for summer wear...although I'm not really sure she'll be happy with them..she's more of a shorts girl.

I think that's it for this post..just a 'pat on the back' if you will for myself!

A note about grocery spending

My best friend was in shock that I mentioned the amount of $600 for groceries in my last post. Well, I guess I would be too...considering we are only a family of three...well, and two cats. But I don't just include groceries in my 'grocery' budget.

Basically anything that it takes to maintain the household (excluding repairs) or feed us or keep us healthy, goes into the 'grocery' budget. This includes: all groceries, household cleaning products, formula, disposable diapers (I even included the cloth diaper purchase in groceries as it would be taking the place of disposables!), medications (and sometimes those cost quite a bit!!) and eating out!

So, see, I'm not really crazy for budgeting $600 per month for a family of 3. Now, that being said, with the rising cost of groceries, we are trying to CUT our costs so that we can put money into savings...as our savings have dwindled some due to medical costs over the past two years.

To do this, I've switched to cloth diapers and cloth wipes (also healthier for Reagan--no more rashes!), cut out going out to eat, started using healthier natural, more frugal products for cleaning such as baking soda and vinegar (also better for Reagan due to her alleriges and asthma) and making most foods from scratch (again, healthier for all of us because I'm cooking with WHOLE foods and not chemicals!)

I'd love to hear your ideas for cutting costs--on ANYTHING--and upping savings dollars! Americans have a bad habit of spending, spending, spending. We have to work hard to break that habit and plan for the future, no matter how much money we earn!

Menu Plan Monday

My goal is to not shop at all for the rest of the month and still provide my family with healthy, very nutritious, frugal meals (because who really wants to spend $600 at the grocery store every month..and the prices keep going up!). (The exception to going to the store will be any huge sales in which I need to stock up on normal items like whole wheat pasta or frozen veggies or the farmer's market where I can get very cheap, locally grown produce!)

Monday: Salmon patties with whole grain brown rice (not instant!) and steamed vegetables
Tuesday: Pork roast with new potatoes and vegetables (guests over)
Wednesday: BBQ pork sandwhiches on homemade bread with sweet potato sticks
Thursday: Vegetable soup with corn muffins (this to use the wonderful fresh veggies I've been cutting up from the farmer's market and storing in the freezer!)
Friday: Breakfast for Dinner! Blueberry pancakes and vegetable-egg omelets!
Saturday: Calzones with leftover meat and vegetables from the week, along with a hearty tomato sauce (just use spaghetti sauce!)
Sunday: Pork with rice, pineapple and green peppers

Breakfasts: Fruit, bacon, eggs, toast (homemade), oatmeal in various forms
Lunches: Leftovers or sandwhiches on homemade bread--chicken salad, egg salad or tuna salad
Snacks: Fruit, veggies, cheese sticks, gingerbread cookies, zucchini muffins (with fresh zucchini!)
Beverages: Water, juice, tea, coffee, formula/milk or koolaid in Josh's case!

Weird recipes...

I was looking for something to do with cucumbers, besides the obvious salad, that a friend had given me from her garden....and I ran across this recipe:

Summer Medley Salad:

INGREDIENTS
1 cantaloupe, peeled and seeded
3 large cucumbers
1 honeydew melon
1 pinch salt

DIRECTIONS
Cut up the cantaloupe, cucumbers and honeydew into small bite-size pieces. Mix together in a large bowl and sprinkle the salt over all. Mix again.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Cucumbers, cantaloupe, and honeydew--It may sound weird, but we discovered this in college."

Ok, granted it's not such an incredibly strange salad, but it was strange enough to warrant a trip down memory lane and of course, I had to take you all with me.

Several years ago, I packed up every single thing I owned and moved with my best friend Stacy to live with the infamous Robb. Robb was not much of a cook. And well, neither was I (I'm not including Stacy in this statement because she is and always has been, since birth probably, a fabulous cook)...and frankly between the three of us there was much too much going on to worry about such mundane things as groceries and eating.

However, man cannot live on margaritas alone. And since, as I've told you above, there were hardly ever any groceries in our home, Stacy and I concocted this (at the time) absolutely delicious dish!

1 large dill pickle
1 slice Kraft American cheese
ranch dressing

Take pickle, wrap cheese around said pickle, dip in ranch dressing and savor Heaven.

Many years later I tried this recipe again and well, quite frankly, it was disgusting! I guess my point is, that sometimes, things live in your memory much sweeter, literally, than they ever were in real life. But maybe that's the way it should be...something to think about, no?

A vent about men, women and weight loss

Some background information if you please:

During my pregnancy, my husband was responsible for almost every meal in our home. During the first trimester I was either so nauseated I could barely move, throwing up so much I had bruises from ramming my body into the toilet, or I was sleeping. Not much help in the kitchen. During the second trimester I was STILL sick and having complications and eventually landed on bedrest...which meant Josh was STILL in charge of meals.

Now the guy works very hard (and doesn't really know how to cook much more than eggs and spaghetti..both which made me throw up at the mention of them!) and so we ate a lot of takeout. A lot. And because I was so sick, he ended up not only eating his food, but usually mine too. So he gained 30 lbs....way more than I did! (Although eventually I did gain..mostly fluid, but hey, I gained!)

After Reagan was born, within a week I lost 40 lbs...which meant I lost double what I had gained! I'm sure a lot of it was due to breastfeeding, losing water weight and just plain not eating from all the stress...oh and let's not forget the weight of the baby and all the stuff that goes out with it! But since then I've gained the 40 lbs BACK!!! Unbelievable. And for months I've been trying to lose it...and more....and Josh has too.

Fast forward to today: Josh and I have been eating the same foods, basically following the same exercise pattern and everything else...guess who has lost almost all his weight?? YES! He did! And I've lost a measly 3 lbs!! (Ok, I'm interrupting this vent to give him a big KUDOS!) Ok, back to venting:

Why is it soooo much easier for men to lose weight??..it just isn't fair! I feel like the cartoon drawing on some weight loss medicine commercial that complains about how much her husband is losing and she just keeps getting rounder!

I have never in my life been ultra-skinny, although I have been slender at times and chunky at times and other times I was just middle of the road and perfectly happy with how I looked--at this point I just want to wear my closet full of clothes! Argh.

Alright...so seriously, I need a reality check. My 30th birthday is coming up next year and I want to go all out and look incredible....and perhaps coherce Josh into splurginging on a vacation! ;) So this is my goal pic (now in a million years I will never look like this because this is obviously my head on Jessica Simpson's body and well, she is, um, er, slightly, ok A LOT, more endowed than I am..but this is MY fantasy pic)...so I'm aiming to get as close as I can to THIS picture by June 2009---so if you happen to talk to me, see me or whatever--bully me about how the diet and exercise are going! Leah, get that ice cream out of your mouth!!!! You know, that sort of thing.... (as if I would eat ice cream........)



oh and while we're at it, I have no idea who's body this is, but don't you just LOVE the hair...I'm seriously thinking about going with that cut!

Some product reviews for all of you out there!

There were several products I wanted to review today, but I seem to have forgotten half of them. Oh well, it's not like I'm limited on the number of posts I can make so I can always catch up with those later. At any rate, here we go!

The first review is for Hebrew National Hot Dogs. Every once in a great while, I CRAVE a hot dog. It's not something I eat regularly, maybe once every six or eight months or so. But today was one of those days. Luckily, I had been feeling this craving coming on for a while, so in anticipation, I had purchased a pack of Hebrew National Hot Dogs. I wanted something healthier that Reagan could eat with me as well.

As far as hot dogs go...well these aren't the greatest. But they're healthier! And that is one of the most important things in my book! The major drawback to these dogs is the incredibly overwhelming taste of salt! WOW! If you're not used to salt (and my family pretty much avoids it) this hot dog may overwhelm you. However, for a quick craving, I give them two thumbs up!

My next review is for Hellman's new Olive Oil Mayo! Can you say absolutely delish? Not only is it slightly healthier, but it has a great mayo taste with a nice addition of silky olive oil! I really enjoyed this on my hotdog! (Yes, slightly weird...I got this from some northern friends I grew up with!)

Additionally, a note about kids' bandages. Yes, Scooby Doo and the Little Mermaid are cute, but if you're looking for a bandage that really stays on, DO NOT GO WITH THE CUTESY KID BANDAGES! They don't work! Instead, stick with regular old Band-Aid bandages that come in the plain old icky manila!

I think that does it for tonight! I'm off to clean!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week, menu planning flew right out of the door! So this week I'm reusing last week's menu with a few 'tweaks'!

Monday: Brown sugar glazed salmon with green beans and new potatoes
Tuesday: Penne Pasta with Spinach and Bacon
Wednesday: Baked chicken with vegetables
Thursday: Egg Drop Soup and Chicken Fried Rice
Friday: Use farmer's market produce before it goes bad! This will probably mean Potato-Leek Soup and various other yummies!
Saturday: Leftovers!!
Sunday: Steak, baked sweet potatoes and vegetables

Breakfasts: Oatmeal, fruit, eggs
Lunches: Leftovers, salads, veggies, soups
Snacks: Fruit, homemade yummies, granola
Extra's to make: Freezer Coleslaw I never knew you could freeze cabbage!!

Happy Birthday America!!!!

Why are YOU proud to be an American?

Here are a few reasons I am:
Our freedom.
Our willingness to die for what we believe in.
Good plain people with simple lives.
Our compassion.
Our independence.
Our ability to always stand up for what we believe in.
Our ability to bounce back no matter what shots are taken at us, from without or within.
Our foundation in God and family.
Corn fields.
Clear blue skies.
My ability to go to Church on Sunday.
My ability to sleep in on Sunday.
The 18-year old children/men/women that go off to war scared to death, to fight for something bigger than themselves.
Capitalism.
Our forefathers.
The belief in the common good.
The fact that I have a say in what happens in this country, my country.

Why are YOU proud to be an American?

New pictures of Reagan (in her cloth diapers!!)

Love this cuddle-bug picture!


Too busy for photos Mom!


Reagan's new favorite thing is to talk about cars and how they go! Here she is pointing excitedly at a Honda Odyssey (good girl!!!) and saying 'go! Go! Go!'!!


Reagan following in Mom's footsteps, reading her monthly Country Living!


Hop Mickey! Hop!


Yep, I'm so cute...


No, really, you don't understand...I'm SUPER CUTE!!

Wednesday Musings....

I rarely post on Wednesday..mostly because it's a very whirlwind packed day when I'm trying to clean the house, take care of Reagan, make a dinner for her and Josh and then I head out to my outside job. Many people might say it's my "real" job....I don't consider it that way though. I *do* consider it to be a job where I get to stretch my brain a little; but in reality all my days are filled with mind stretching activities and questions:

Is Reagan eating enough fruits and vegetables?
Has she had enough pee and poopy diapers?
Did I remember to brush her teeth?
Am I setting a good example?
Am I teaching her to be polite?
Am I teaching her to love God?
Am I teaching her to be gentle?
Does she understand this particular concept yet?
Am I reading enough to her?
Where is Baby!?!?! (Baby is her stuffed bear.)
Does she have sunscreen on?
Did she get her allergy medicine today?
Ok, really, where is Baby!@??! ;)

Admittedly, sometimes some of the things I do during the day aren't THAT big of a deal I'm sure and don't get me wrong, I have times when I yell and others when I just kick back and read a magazine...but in the grand scheme of things, my "real" job is always and will always be at home, raising Reagan. I'm doing something more important there than anything I could do "outside" of the home...I'm building a person.

Someone I hope will grow up to be an independent, loving, caring, free spirited, intelligent, God-loving, happy child. And sometimes I forget that...I think most moms do forget it from time to time, in the day to day running of lives when peanut butter is smeared across the kitchen floor and there are a stack of dishes and too many loads of laundry to count and a half naked baby running around in a dirty diaper.

So let this serve as a reminder to you and to me, that nothing will ever be so important as the work we do at home, with our little ones. Whether it be feeding them green beans or simply playing 'The Wheels on the Bus', we have the most important job of all!

Tackle It Tuesday

Wow...it's been a while since I participated in Tackle It Tuesday, but this week I have a laundry list a mile long that needs to be completed. You guys are my accountability!

1. Continue working on the family room--cleaning out, reorganizing to suit new needs, and getting rid of items we no longer need or storing items we may need in the future (ie baby stuff!). Deadline for clean-up to be finished is next Thursday evening!

2. For the love of God, clean the kitchen! It's a disaster and I need to cook!

3. Cut up all fruit and veggies for this week--do this with Monica on Tuesday. Also, bake a few loaves of bread and return some items that were borrowed or left on accident at our house to Monica and Andrea.

I think that should cover it! I'm very excited because the house is almost where I wanted it to be...we still need to install some landscaping, clean out the garage (for the July city-wide cleanup) and paint the bathroom..which we never seemed to get around to earlier this year!

And Reagan's big girl room is finished for the time being! Meaning, she is in there! We are planning to 1. install some shelving above her bed for all of her knick knack stuff; 2. put in white window ledges; 3. repaint her toy box in pink, green and white; 4. take out those horrible silver curtain tiebacks (they really did match the room when it was a guest room..just not now!); 5. put some additional fluffy pillows on the bed; 6. have a bench seat made for the top of the toybox; and 7. make the corkboard a bit more girly with ribbons! Here are a few pictures! (Ignore the paint that some how....no idea how really...ended up on the carpet!)