I have a feeling this is going to be random, so consider yourself warned! Ruby was up late last night, and I haven't even made my coffee yet.... now that's dedication!
Tuesday was laundry day around here. I don't really dislike doing laundry, I guess we just have too many clothes or something, because I only do laundry about once every 10-14 days. When we were rolling the laundry cart out to the utility room, it proceeded to fall apart. (It's tube-metal framed and has 4 sacks. I keep it in my closet and use it as a hamper so that come laundry day, I don't even have to sort the clothes.) The thing has been a piece of junk since we bought it at my favorite store (NOT) Wal-mart. It never stood up very well (Andy said it needed some cross-bracing.) So it just fell completely to pieces (stripped the screws out of the pipes and everything.) It seriously made me so mad that I wanted to bend the pieces in half like the Incredible Hulk. I refrained, thinking that might not be the best thing to teach Ira. Andy's diagnosis - it's toast for good. Ugh... For now our clothes will be in piles on the closet floor... Ugh
Yesterday, Ruby slept good during the day, but once evening came she didn't really sleep much at all. So she was up until about 1:30. Poor dear. Poor me. I really need to take the advice of my much more logical, level-headed, and apparently mature younger sister who had a baby 3.5 months before Ruby who said, "I just have to tell my self, 'It's okay to get up and still be tired.'" Yeah, whatever. Thank God for coffee is all I can say!
For my free shopping this week, I managed to get 3 bottles of Nivea Women's bodywash, a bottle of men's Nivea bodywash, a bottle of Irish Spring bodywash, and 2 rolls of tape for 1.52 out of pocket at Walgreens. I finally "bought into" the Register Rewards program there last week. (Spent $16, got $16 in Register Rewards - essentially gift certificates for Walgreens that expire 2 weeks from when you print them.) So I actually spent 7 of those yesterday, but I got 7 more back. That's my goal now, to just keep rolling them over and accumulating free stuff and getting the same amount (or more if possible!) of RR back. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me! This is how big of a nerd I am, I laid awake Tuesday during the night pondering the deals I could get at Walgreens this week with my combination of coupons, sales, and RR deals. Yep, I am a card-carrying, bonafide dork. So sue me...
Later gator!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Freezer Cooking
The month before Ruby was born, I got very into the practice of freezer cooking. He he he that just sounds funny when you write it out... as if you could cook with a freezer... Anyway, before Ruby was born, I cooked about a dozen meals and a few pans of cinnamon rolls, and a few loaves of zucchini bread. It made the month after she was born INCREDIBLY easy as far as cooking went. I could just take a meal out of the freezer (in the morning if I remembered, usually right around dinner time was when I finally got around to it though) and pop it in the oven and voila! We had a nice meal!
I've continued the freezer cooking since she was born. In April, I basically grocery shopped for 2 months on my big shopping trip (yes, I like to only grocery shop once a month and just pick up the necessities: eggs, cheese, potatoes, lunchmeat, etc. as needed.) Every time I cooked a meal, I just doubled (or unintentionally tripled...) the recipe and put one in the freezer. One rainy day I really felt like cooking so I started around 10 AM and by 4 PM, I had about 12 meals ready to go in the freezer. Ira loved helping me cook and Ruby slept the day away riding in her swing.
If you dread the drama of dinner time, freezer cooking is something you should definitely try. I'll even share a great recipe that we LOVE and is super easy. It's a recipe from my favorite blog, tweaked just a bit to make them even more economical.
BROWN BAG BURRITOS
Makes 30 burritos
2 c. Uncooked Rice
2 lb. Ground beef
2 cans refried beans (14.5 oz cans)
1 1/3 c. enchilada sauce
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. dried minced onion
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 c. shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, whatever)
30 flour tortillas (burrito-size)
Prepare the rice according to the package's directions. Brown ground beef; drain. Add remaining ingredients (except tortillas). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add cooked rice and stir until well mixed.
Spoon 1/4 c. (ish) beef mixture down the middle of each tortilla, fold in both sides, and roll up.
Refrigerate or freeze.
Now here's where you need to decide what exactly you want to do with them. Andy takes them in his lunch, so I wrap them in a paper towel, then in foil, then freeze them. That way, he can grab 2 in the morning, take the foil off at lunch, and heat them in the microwave in the paper towel. I also hold some of them back for us to eat for dinner. Those you could just wrap in foil alone and stick them in a ziplock bag and freeze.
To reheat them in the microwave, just remove the foil and heat for about a minute and a half. You could also put them in a pan altogether and heat them in the oven. Or.... you could be really healthy like we are and nuke them in the microwave to get the filling warmed up then pan fry them in oil so they end up like chimichangas... I'm just sayin'... Then you can top them with lettuce, cheese, salsa, sour cream, etc. and they are a fast, delicious meal!
Enjoy!
What my house looks like: relatively clean and picked up. Both babes are in bed! I did notice today that I need to dust...
What's on my mind: wondering why my right knee has been bothering me. I guess I'm just getting old...
I've continued the freezer cooking since she was born. In April, I basically grocery shopped for 2 months on my big shopping trip (yes, I like to only grocery shop once a month and just pick up the necessities: eggs, cheese, potatoes, lunchmeat, etc. as needed.) Every time I cooked a meal, I just doubled (or unintentionally tripled...) the recipe and put one in the freezer. One rainy day I really felt like cooking so I started around 10 AM and by 4 PM, I had about 12 meals ready to go in the freezer. Ira loved helping me cook and Ruby slept the day away riding in her swing.
If you dread the drama of dinner time, freezer cooking is something you should definitely try. I'll even share a great recipe that we LOVE and is super easy. It's a recipe from my favorite blog, tweaked just a bit to make them even more economical.
BROWN BAG BURRITOS
Makes 30 burritos
2 c. Uncooked Rice
2 lb. Ground beef
2 cans refried beans (14.5 oz cans)
1 1/3 c. enchilada sauce
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. dried minced onion
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 c. shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, whatever)
30 flour tortillas (burrito-size)
Prepare the rice according to the package's directions. Brown ground beef; drain. Add remaining ingredients (except tortillas). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add cooked rice and stir until well mixed.
Spoon 1/4 c. (ish) beef mixture down the middle of each tortilla, fold in both sides, and roll up.
Refrigerate or freeze.
Now here's where you need to decide what exactly you want to do with them. Andy takes them in his lunch, so I wrap them in a paper towel, then in foil, then freeze them. That way, he can grab 2 in the morning, take the foil off at lunch, and heat them in the microwave in the paper towel. I also hold some of them back for us to eat for dinner. Those you could just wrap in foil alone and stick them in a ziplock bag and freeze.
To reheat them in the microwave, just remove the foil and heat for about a minute and a half. You could also put them in a pan altogether and heat them in the oven. Or.... you could be really healthy like we are and nuke them in the microwave to get the filling warmed up then pan fry them in oil so they end up like chimichangas... I'm just sayin'... Then you can top them with lettuce, cheese, salsa, sour cream, etc. and they are a fast, delicious meal!
Enjoy!
What my house looks like: relatively clean and picked up. Both babes are in bed! I did notice today that I need to dust...
What's on my mind: wondering why my right knee has been bothering me. I guess I'm just getting old...
Breakthrough
Thanks to all for your suggestions on the sleeping front! I guess I needed to clarify just a bit - Ruby sleeps great DURING the night. It's just getting her to sleep for the FIRST time of the night that is such a struggle, because she screams and cries and is very difficult to soothe. I think I will give Mary the prize on the whole "sleep begetting sleep" comment. Expect nothing in the mail promptly.
I think that by the end of the evening, Ruby was just exhausted and then REALLY had trouble going to sleep for good. I have been indulging little Miss' sleepy head, letting her sleep as much/as late/as long as she wants and let me tell you what... she went down last night at 8:30ish and woke up at midnight, four, and 7ish to nurse. She is currently still sleeping!!!!! HOORAY!!!!! Saturday night was pretty good too... Enough so that I think this is the beginning of a trend perhaps! Only time will tell I guess, but right now I am thrilled!
Saturday we went to the zoo for most of the day which made for two very tired kiddos by the end of the night! It was such a nice day as a family. I feel like since Ruby's birth, we haven't done much as a family (it's either Andy and Ira or me and Ruby.) And last week was a long week for Andy because he's closing out his current project, so he was working 10+ hour days every day. It was certainly a nice respite to get to spend time with each other! Andy was even kind enough to give the Ergo carrier a try so that I could have my hands and body baby-free so that I could help Ira. It was a really nice break. Not that I don't love my little miss to pieces. But she has shown herself to be quite the momma's girl (read: she's not in love with other people holding her) but she loves the Ergo so much that she was fine with Andy holding her for the better part of 3 hours!!
And now... for your patience.... I'm rewarding you with cute kid pictures! They are out of order because Blogger is being stupid.
I think that by the end of the evening, Ruby was just exhausted and then REALLY had trouble going to sleep for good. I have been indulging little Miss' sleepy head, letting her sleep as much/as late/as long as she wants and let me tell you what... she went down last night at 8:30ish and woke up at midnight, four, and 7ish to nurse. She is currently still sleeping!!!!! HOORAY!!!!! Saturday night was pretty good too... Enough so that I think this is the beginning of a trend perhaps! Only time will tell I guess, but right now I am thrilled!
Saturday we went to the zoo for most of the day which made for two very tired kiddos by the end of the night! It was such a nice day as a family. I feel like since Ruby's birth, we haven't done much as a family (it's either Andy and Ira or me and Ruby.) And last week was a long week for Andy because he's closing out his current project, so he was working 10+ hour days every day. It was certainly a nice respite to get to spend time with each other! Andy was even kind enough to give the Ergo carrier a try so that I could have my hands and body baby-free so that I could help Ira. It was a really nice break. Not that I don't love my little miss to pieces. But she has shown herself to be quite the momma's girl (read: she's not in love with other people holding her) but she loves the Ergo so much that she was fine with Andy holding her for the better part of 3 hours!!
And now... for your patience.... I'm rewarding you with cute kid pictures! They are out of order because Blogger is being stupid.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Late nights cont'd
So apparently Ruby hasn't gotten the memo that I want her to start going to bed earlier... Wednesday night it was 1:40ish. I don't get it. It's not like she sleeps excessively during the day. At least I don't think so. I'm still not just a huge proponent of "keeping her awake" during the day. Although yesterday that kind of happened because we had some family in town, so we were at my mom's all day. She did sleep well last night (was asleep by 10:30ish? I don't know we were busy talking... then was up 3 times I think? during the night... pretty good if you ask me.) The problem is, I think she slept horribly all DAY yesterday... cat napping for 10-15 minutes at most throughout the day, never really falling into a deep sleep for a long time. That can't be healthy can it? It seems to me like she's almost on a weekly cycle with this whole sleep thing... by Thursday nights she is so exhausted (as am I) that she sleeps really well and before you know it, I wake up Friday morning and it's 9:30 and I've been dead to the world (and the talking Ira in the monitor.) Completely, absolutely slept through Ira waking up... Thank heavens he still doesn't get out of bed on his own! Well, such is the life of a mother, obsessing about sleep I guess. I remember doing it with Ira, and saying I wouldn't do it with our next. I guess I don't feel obsessed about her sleeping in some ways, I'm just so exhausted I don't know what to do... Anyone have any suggestions?
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Late nights!
The last two nights have been kind of late nights for Miss Ruby! On Monday after I posted, she woke up and was awake for most of the rest of the day, and evening, and night... she would only sleep about 15 minutes at a time and was nursing about every 1.5 hours. It definitely made for a long day. She didn't go to sleep for the night until 3 AM! Thankfully, Andy heard me grumbling and crying at one point, so he got up with her for awhile, but it was hard to sleep b/c I could still hear her crying. I think I did sleep for like 15-20 minutes maybe. After 3, she slept till like 7:30 - not too bad I'd say! When Ira got up, he watched Winnie the Pooh so I could sleep a little more, pretty much a necessity for me. I can't fathom when I was in college and even after Andy and I got married and we could go on very little sleep. I can't do it now!
After we all got up and around, we went into town to go "free shopping." It's my latest favorite thing to do. I follow a blog that posts deals that in combination with sales and coupons, allows you to get things for free or close to free. I spent around $3.75 yesterday and got 6 boxes of Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta, 4 boxes of crackers (2 Special K, 2 Wheatables Nut Crisps), a can of shaving cream, a package of flossers, a package of pads, a 4 pk of Reveal bulbs, 2 jars of Lea & Perrins thick worcestershire sauce, 6 rolls of 3M Packing Tape, and a set of JCPenney towels (2 bath towels and a hand towel.) They say shopping is therapeutic (and I do tend to find that to be true for me - I know, it's "consumeristic," nonetheless, it's true.) Well this is just a great way to get some retail therapy for little to no money. Both kids were AMAZING! Ira has always been a great traveler and a great help when shopping, but Ruby struggles with her carseat. She hates it sometimes, so going anywhere is kind of a crapshoot. We've started to notice that if you nurse her (well if I nurse her) right before I put her in it, then she seems to do okay. That was the case yesterday, thankfully. I returned home a happy momma!
Last night, I started in on the process of re-sorting/marking all of Ira's clothes and Ruby's clothes too. We broke down and bought some storage tubs for them (we had been using these barrels that Andy had gotten leftover from a job, but they were just too big and too awkward to move.) I'm just going to mark everything, that way when someone needs them for their kiddo (my sisters and I share clothes) they are already marked. I'm excited to get this project underway - I'll probably work on it most of today.
Well, I suppose I should wrap this up - Ira is almost finished with his chores and he keeps saying when he's done that he wants me to clothespin a blanket to my shirt, then he can go inside it and pretend to be a baby and kick and I can feel it. (The child has been obsessed with birth lately - last week he pretended the new UV tent we got for Ruby was a womb. I went in the living room to find him inside the tent, and the tent covered with blankets so that it was "nice and dark and warm." After I went back into the kitchen, he said "Mom, you need to come see this tiny baby that was just born" (through the opening of the tent/blankets.) Obviously this is all stemming from Ruby's birth I'm sure, and the book "Angel in the Waters" that we read to him throughout my pregnancy. I love to see him so excited about babies/birth. He will make an amazing husband someday if that's what God is calling him to be. Or maybe he'll grow up to be a good, Catholic OB/GYN. Lord knows the world needs MORE of them!!
Right now on my mind: trying to decide whether to wake Ruby up earlier in the mornings so that she'll go to sleep earlier at night. (last night it was 11:30, not too bad, but still...)
Right now my house is: even more messy than last post, but only b/c I've got even more clothes out to organize... I like to think of it as the storm before the calm!
After we all got up and around, we went into town to go "free shopping." It's my latest favorite thing to do. I follow a blog that posts deals that in combination with sales and coupons, allows you to get things for free or close to free. I spent around $3.75 yesterday and got 6 boxes of Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta, 4 boxes of crackers (2 Special K, 2 Wheatables Nut Crisps), a can of shaving cream, a package of flossers, a package of pads, a 4 pk of Reveal bulbs, 2 jars of Lea & Perrins thick worcestershire sauce, 6 rolls of 3M Packing Tape, and a set of JCPenney towels (2 bath towels and a hand towel.) They say shopping is therapeutic (and I do tend to find that to be true for me - I know, it's "consumeristic," nonetheless, it's true.) Well this is just a great way to get some retail therapy for little to no money. Both kids were AMAZING! Ira has always been a great traveler and a great help when shopping, but Ruby struggles with her carseat. She hates it sometimes, so going anywhere is kind of a crapshoot. We've started to notice that if you nurse her (well if I nurse her) right before I put her in it, then she seems to do okay. That was the case yesterday, thankfully. I returned home a happy momma!
Last night, I started in on the process of re-sorting/marking all of Ira's clothes and Ruby's clothes too. We broke down and bought some storage tubs for them (we had been using these barrels that Andy had gotten leftover from a job, but they were just too big and too awkward to move.) I'm just going to mark everything, that way when someone needs them for their kiddo (my sisters and I share clothes) they are already marked. I'm excited to get this project underway - I'll probably work on it most of today.
Well, I suppose I should wrap this up - Ira is almost finished with his chores and he keeps saying when he's done that he wants me to clothespin a blanket to my shirt, then he can go inside it and pretend to be a baby and kick and I can feel it. (The child has been obsessed with birth lately - last week he pretended the new UV tent we got for Ruby was a womb. I went in the living room to find him inside the tent, and the tent covered with blankets so that it was "nice and dark and warm." After I went back into the kitchen, he said "Mom, you need to come see this tiny baby that was just born" (through the opening of the tent/blankets.) Obviously this is all stemming from Ruby's birth I'm sure, and the book "Angel in the Waters" that we read to him throughout my pregnancy. I love to see him so excited about babies/birth. He will make an amazing husband someday if that's what God is calling him to be. Or maybe he'll grow up to be a good, Catholic OB/GYN. Lord knows the world needs MORE of them!!
Right now on my mind: trying to decide whether to wake Ruby up earlier in the mornings so that she'll go to sleep earlier at night. (last night it was 11:30, not too bad, but still...)
Right now my house is: even more messy than last post, but only b/c I've got even more clothes out to organize... I like to think of it as the storm before the calm!
Monday, April 26, 2010
More & Less
So I'm going to be trying something new - using this blog as more of a journal rather than specific "themed" posts. Doing that is too overwhelming, and I end up not blogging at all (hence the last month.) The thought of uploading pictures and wording things just right is just enough work to make me decide not to spend the time to blog, and I really do want to. I've never done journaling per se, but I'd like to give it a shot on here. That has some ramifications though:
This blog will probably have/be more:
posts, raw, real, self-incriminating, rambling
This blog will probably have/be less:
pictures, punctuation
Ok so that's all I can think of right now. Onto today's journal entry:
This morning, Ira woke up around 8:15. I could hear him through the monitor, and he sounded content, so I left him to talk to himself until a quarter till 9. (In the meantime, I slept.) Then when he got up, he wanted to watch a video (which he does probably 3-4 mornings out of the week. He picked "Thomas" and back to bed I went... because I'm lazy, and I love to sleep. I could make excuses about how Andy worked on Saturday, so on Sunday I got up with the kiddos to let him sleep so I was tired, but quite honestly, I just like to sleep. Fortunately, Ira has never been a real early-bird. And the whole video thing works real well. I will at least justify it with, that's the only time he watches video/tv. Well except for "America's Funniest Videos" he loves that too on Sunday nights.
After I finally rolled my lazy bones out of bed after his video was over, we had breakfast and Ruby slept. That's her routine, she usually sleeps till somewhere around 11 or noon on the weekdays. I envy her. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher while Ira ate breakfast because Andy and I were both too tired to do it last night.
After breakfast, Ira did his chores while I caught up on FB, blogs, and e-mail. After chores, I went downstairs with Ira to play. Which I hadn't done for a long time - just play... alone... with Ira. We played with his Little People and with his GeoTrax for quite awhile. Then Ruby woke up, so I got her dressed and took her downstairs with us to nurse. After she nursed, Ira wanted to play wedding dance. He wanted me to put on one of the dresses from playclothes, along with a feather boa, so I did and we danced to the William Tell Overture. He wore a football shirt for a tuxedo.
I'm going to go put him down for Quiet Time, I'll be back...
It made me feel really good to just play with Ira. It's something I probably don't do often enough - I get too busy doing things around the house and wasting time on the internet. Anyway, I think I may include two things at the end of each post, I think they'd be interesting to look back through if I actually stick to this long term.
Right now on my mind:
sad about Ira going to school next year... I am NOT ready to give him up. Thankfully kindergarten is still only a half day here, but still, I can't IMAGINE life without my little boy at home all day. It makes me cry.
Right now my house:
is kind of a mess. Yesterday, Andy & I went through clothes in the kids' room and packed up more stuff that doesn't fit, blankets that we don't use, and clothes for Ruby that we've gotten that will fit her later. The bags are marked, but they are all over the dining room table. There's also a bowling set at my feet as we speak.
Hopefully I'll post again soon... we'll just have to see I guess.
This blog will probably have/be more:
posts, raw, real, self-incriminating, rambling
This blog will probably have/be less:
pictures, punctuation
Ok so that's all I can think of right now. Onto today's journal entry:
This morning, Ira woke up around 8:15. I could hear him through the monitor, and he sounded content, so I left him to talk to himself until a quarter till 9. (In the meantime, I slept.) Then when he got up, he wanted to watch a video (which he does probably 3-4 mornings out of the week. He picked "Thomas" and back to bed I went... because I'm lazy, and I love to sleep. I could make excuses about how Andy worked on Saturday, so on Sunday I got up with the kiddos to let him sleep so I was tired, but quite honestly, I just like to sleep. Fortunately, Ira has never been a real early-bird. And the whole video thing works real well. I will at least justify it with, that's the only time he watches video/tv. Well except for "America's Funniest Videos" he loves that too on Sunday nights.
After I finally rolled my lazy bones out of bed after his video was over, we had breakfast and Ruby slept. That's her routine, she usually sleeps till somewhere around 11 or noon on the weekdays. I envy her. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher while Ira ate breakfast because Andy and I were both too tired to do it last night.
After breakfast, Ira did his chores while I caught up on FB, blogs, and e-mail. After chores, I went downstairs with Ira to play. Which I hadn't done for a long time - just play... alone... with Ira. We played with his Little People and with his GeoTrax for quite awhile. Then Ruby woke up, so I got her dressed and took her downstairs with us to nurse. After she nursed, Ira wanted to play wedding dance. He wanted me to put on one of the dresses from playclothes, along with a feather boa, so I did and we danced to the William Tell Overture. He wore a football shirt for a tuxedo.
I'm going to go put him down for Quiet Time, I'll be back...
It made me feel really good to just play with Ira. It's something I probably don't do often enough - I get too busy doing things around the house and wasting time on the internet. Anyway, I think I may include two things at the end of each post, I think they'd be interesting to look back through if I actually stick to this long term.
Right now on my mind:
sad about Ira going to school next year... I am NOT ready to give him up. Thankfully kindergarten is still only a half day here, but still, I can't IMAGINE life without my little boy at home all day. It makes me cry.
Right now my house:
is kind of a mess. Yesterday, Andy & I went through clothes in the kids' room and packed up more stuff that doesn't fit, blankets that we don't use, and clothes for Ruby that we've gotten that will fit her later. The bags are marked, but they are all over the dining room table. There's also a bowling set at my feet as we speak.
Hopefully I'll post again soon... we'll just have to see I guess.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Pretty girl!
Ruby wore her first dress to Mass last Sunday. It's SO much fun having a little girl to dress up!
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