Here and there

It seems that I feel blogging has to be an "all or nothing" deal. Either I'm fully into posting my thoughts or I'm fully into mommy-hood...and of course being a mommy trumps all other endeavors.

But I've decided that I'm not going to beat myself up about some breaks in between posts. I'm still trying to find the balance that comes with three small children! I hope you will still come and visit from time to time.

Living Room Mini-Makeover

Husband and I will celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary in November. That got me wondering if it might be time to take down our wedding picture so prominently displayed in the living room and put up some pictures of the things that have come along since then...namely our three little girls!

I finally decided to get down to business and put up some pictures. I went to Michael's to take advantage of their great sale: all frames are 40% off plus there is a coupon from Sunday's paper for an extra 25% off frames! I took all three of my babes with me to pick out the frames. I also picked up some supplies to make a letter "J" for the wall as well. Total cost for four frames, wooden letter and supplies was about 60 bucks.

Here is the before (simple, but a little blah):

And here is the after:

I already had the "family" sign up on another wall. I also already had the three-picture collage frame holding newborn pictures of my twins. I made the "J" with some scrapbook paper and modge podge on a wooden letter. Most of the pictures were taken by my friend Shannon Montez (if you are in need of a photographer in the Bay Area, you should totally check out her website.)

I just love it. It was a bit of an undertaking trying to get it all together but it was worth it. I ended up also getting rid of some clutter from around the living room to make it look a little more "brand new".

The room feels so much more pulled together now. It helps remind me that the house is not just for the kiddos. : )

One of those days

I have three little girls. My twins are two and a half and my littlest babe is almost 11 months old. I love them. I love them a lot. But somehow they can push the right buttons to make me want to tear my hair out. Yesterday was one of those days.

I was going to make some homemade lemon sorbet to bring over to my sister's house for our dinner swap. (Every other week, I bring dinner to her on Thursday nights and vice versa.) All I had to do was pour my mixture in my ice cream maker. Well I couldn't find all the parts to the ice cream maker. Then when I did, somehow they didn't fit. So I had to stand there and hold the lid on while the ice cream maker worked. What were my girls doing? Screaming.

They wanted juice, they wanted fruit snacks, they wanted chocolate milk, they wanted cereal, they wanted to watch Dora, they wanted to watch George, they wanted to go outside, they wanted a spoon, they wanted a fork, they wanted a big girl glass, they wanted a sippy cup, and on and on and on.

They were supposed to be eating lunch. I realize that it wasn't the best timing to get the sorbet made, butI was so frustrated that I wasn't thinking straight.

I tried to get on the computer to see if I was missing something...but the tiniest babe (or someone helping her) and turned off my computer at the power strip. I had to reboot everything...and then the internet wouldn't connect...no matter what I did.

I gave the girls some of the lemon slushie to quiet them so my mind could settle for a minute. Finally S took the cup of melted lemon slushie and poured it all over the floor. And I was done.

I picked her up and put her in her bed. Goodnight. Shut the door. Picked up C and put her in her bed. Goodnight. Shut the door. More screaming ensued while I fed the baby and tried to fix the computer.

When I went to put the baby down for a nap in the room she shares with S, S was snoring away, peacefully as ever. I know they aren't trying to help me learn patience. I know that they are little. But I forget sometimes.

Sometimes Mommy needs a time out, too. So if you're a Mommy reading this on your time out, know you are not alone. Hopefully some of these posts will help make your life a little easier so you can spend your happy time with those little ones.

Menu Plan Monday

I've been a little lax in the menu planning department lately. I'm not sure why. Just a few months ago I was planning out a month at a time and really loving it. But then I read a post on This Week for Dinner when Jane interviewed the author of French Women Don't Get Fat. The author, Mireille Guiliano, said that she doesn't plan meals, per se. Instead she goes to the market and finds what looks good and then builds her meals around that.

I've tried to adopt that approach, although it is a little different. I'm trying to hunt down sales a little bit more and then "shop" from my pantry for the week. I'm also looking at cooking blogs and leafing through my cookbooks for ideas still, but I'm not "planning" as much right now. We'll see how it works out.

I think this comes from being a true Gemini. The symbol of the Gemini sign is the twins, which means that a Gemini is almost always changing her mind and is often a study in contradictions. I think this is why it has been hard for me to stick to one method of budgeting, meal planning, etc. for very long. I fear it is something I will have to work to overcome. Although, the flip side to that is that I never get in a rut! : )

I'm back...

I know, I know. I took a totally unexpected break from blogging...with no explanation. And now I come back, acting like nothing ever happened?

Well, I took a break from blogging over a year ago because I was in the throes of morning sickness with twin little girls to take care of and I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed.

Okay, a lot bit overwhelmed.

I've thought many times of coming back and have always found a reason not to (or a reason found me). But now I've got a little more experience under my belt and some new ideas I want to try, so you're welcome to come along with me. : )

Now I have three little girls and am trying desperately to maintain my monthly grocery budget while keeping three kids in diapers...and eating healthy.

That's another thing: we are cutting back on meat. The meat we do buy will be responsibly farmed (to the best of my knowledge, of course). I've been buying our meat at Whole Foods and other grocery stores that have hormone-free/antibiotic-free/vegetarian feed meat and poultry. Because that's more expensive than the 99 cents a pound stuff I was buying before, I've had to change my strategy. Less meat, but better quality.

I'm also trying to work in more organic food and more locally grown food. With the three little ones, I've decided not to do a garden per se this year. I do have strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. I also have a grape vine that I planted this year. And I have a 5 in 1 tree with yellow peaches, white peaches, nectarines, plums, and apricots. So I'll be growing some of my own stuff. If I can get a few minutes to get some weeds pulled and ground worked over, I might get a couple tomato plants in. We'll see. I'm more about being realistic with my time and energy now. (Baby is still not sleeping through the night...9 months later.)

So there it is, what's been going on and what will be going on. Sorry to leave you in the lurch. Some things will be the same, but I think there will be some brand new stuff around here. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Best laid plans...

Last night we took my grandmother out to dinner. She's a widow and we enjoy getting to visit with her one on one every once in awhile. Plus she loves to get out and be social. I had it all planned: we were going to Olive Garden. I bought a giftcard at Safeway (to earn points for the power pump gas rewards) and there was a coupon in the 01/11 inserts for $2 off each entree. Perfecto!

We had to wait for Husband to get home, so I fed the girls their dinner and planned on letting them snack at the restaurant. They would be up past their bedtime, but I figured they'd be okay.

The first problem we ran into was ridiculous traffic! Oh my goodness, it was a mess. Since Olive Garden was about 15 minutes away in good traffic, there was no way we would be able to do it in this crazy gridlock. Quickly, we decided on an alternate restaurant that would be close and kid-friendly.

By the time we ordered our food, the girls were done. I walked them around the restaurant and the diners got a kick out of them, thankfully. (It was Carrow's, and there were a lot of senior citizens there who thought they were so cute.) The food came and the girls ate for, oh, about one minute. Luckily Husband is a fast eater! The girls were so wiggly and then one of them started crying and fussing...Husband eventually took them out and said, "I'll meet you in the car."

I felt so bad. Husband is in the car with two crying babes, I'm trying to eat something, and I feel like I'm making my poor grandmother shovel down her food so we can go home. Arrgh! I profusely apologized and of course she understood. We decided that next time we would have her for dinner at our house. 16 months is not a good age for dining out!

So after all is said and done, I still have the Olive Garden giftcard...and I'm desperately craving their breadsticks and salad! Maybe we'll try it one more time...

Re: Would you do this if you didn't have to?

I was reading Mercedes' post today, asking her readers if they thought they would still try to save money, even if times weren't "tight". It made me think about the last few months since I started "couponing". We haven't saved a ton of money yet (though I have a feeling that once I get the hang of things, we'll see more savings add up), but I have appreciated being held accountable for our budget.

I believe that we should be stewards over the blessings we have been given. That means our family and children as well as our home and our money. A wise steward should spend her money wisely. These past few months, I've paid more attention to how I'm spending our grocery budget and trying to find more creative ways to stay within that budget. One advantage of this is that we have a little extra "found" money to put toward our car loan, and when that's done, it will go toward saving for a house.

We never know what life will bring us. The skills that we learn in our times of trial can help us throughout our life, rainy day or not. So even if there comes a day when I don't "have" to do this anymore, I think I will. I love the freedom of living within our means. (One of my dad's favorite things to say is: "The worst place in the world to live is just beyond your means." See, some of his smarts did rub off!) I am grateful that we don't have to live paycheck to paycheck because we are being responsible with the money we have.

Let's face it: it's not easy to live in the Bay Area, especially on one income. It's a sacrifice that Husband and I decided to make so that I could be home with our little ones. Sure, we could have a nicer house and fancier cars and eat out all the time, but we'd miss out on other things. Saving money and living frugally is allowing me to have the greatest job for me: being able to stay at home and raise my beautiful little girls.

What do you think? Would you do this if you didn't have to?

Welcome 2009!

I am very excited for the New Year and fresh start. This will be my first full year of "couponing", etc. and I'm excited to see how things go.

I have had a cold that has been hanging on for about 3 weeks now. It's driving me crazy! It's also throwing things so out of whack because I barely feel well enough to take care of my babies, let alone anything else.

My financial/family management resolutions for 2009 are:
1. Keep better track of the money I spend.
2. Stay within monthly grocery budget.
3. Find ways to buy more items for charity.
4. Increase food storage.
5. Learn to do more with less.
6. Make a weekly menu on a regular basis.
7. Incorporate more fresh and healthy food into our diets.
8. Take better care of myself. One way I plan to do this is make a weekly menu of lunches for myself as a special treat. Yes, it can include leftovers, but it should include at least one special meal each week.
9. Organize my coupons and rebates better.
10. Plant a garden (again) and make it manageable enough to take care of it.

That's what I've gotten so far. What about you? Are you excited to make some resolutions for 2009?!!!

After dark

I went to the grocery store tonight because we had run out of milk for the babies. I hate going to the grocery store at night, but things were so busy today that it was my only choice. The closest grocery store to me is right next to a major mall, which I should have thought about before I left. Right before I pulled in, some scuffle happened because a woman was on the ground and two guys were fighting. When I finally got out of the grocery store, there was a fire truck and other emergency personnel there. What a way to ruin the Christmas spirit, huh? It's times like these that I secretly vow to make my Christmas less commercial.

I had a $5 RR for Walgreen's that expired today, and I've been so sick this week I haven't been able to use it. I briefly thought I'd just run in and get something, just to get the benefit of the coupon. But after seeing that scene at the mall, no thanks. It's not worth it to me!

Please stay safe as you do the rest of your holiday shopping these next few days. Let's try to give everyone a little breathing room (and do our shopping in the daylight!).

Counting my blessings

This weekend was rough. My baby girls both got pink eye...and so, of course, I did, too. Husband has been sick for about a week or so now. He is either getting worse or has caught a second cold/flu. I have a swollen and sore throat. And babies that don't want to sleep.

Yesterday it all came to a head when I headed out to pick up my mother-in-law (who was visiting)from church. Just as I was about to get on the freeway, my tire went flat. I was able to make it to safety and called Husband and a tow truck driver. My grandmother picked up my mother-in-law and all was taken care of. Husband reported that the tow truck driver said if I had been on the freeway when the tire had blown out, I would have been dead. See, the alignment on our van is so bad that it wore a hole right through the tire...and it was working on the other front tire, too. As our van sits in the shop getting an estimate for repair work (which I'm sure is going to be astronomical) I am filled with gratitude that that is the problem before me and not that Husband lost his wife two weeks before Christmas. Jeez. Sorry to be so heavy, but I realize (again) that I have so much to be grateful for.

My grandfather had a saying that "If it's a problem that can be solved with money, it's not a problem." That may sound cavalier to some of you who feel overwhelmed by debt. But if you think about it, it is very true. We can work to make more money or cut back to save what we have. But you can't buy happiness, love, or family. So as Christmas draws ever nearer (and I'm still not done with Christmas shopping), I'm taking a moment to reflect on the true meaning of this Christmas season as well as taking the time to count my blessings.

Welcome to Mommy-Nomics!

Come on in and make yourself comfortable! I'm glad to have you over here! Savvy Star Baby is making the transition to Bay Area Mommy-Nomics over the next two weeks, so I'll have posts on both blogs until the transition is complete.

I'll also have some giveaways in the upcoming weeks, so that's something fun to look forward to.

I appreciate all your comments and love hearing from you. I'm excited to see what lies in store for Bay Area Mommy-Nomics!