life got ya down?

Oh boy!  I just had a really rough day.  Basically because I am way, way overcommitted.  Too busy.  I do not like being busy.  I'm not really sure what I can cut out at this point, either.  Hmph.

Our little family has been waiting for a promotion for John for quite some time now, and I think it's weaving discontentment in our hearts.  "If we had x more dollars each week we could buy x..." and so on.  We've been here two years now and we love it.  I mean, we seriously love it so much.  We love our neighborhood, we love seminary, we love Target, I love being a SAHM, etc.  But really, a decent woman (living in America) needs more than two bras in her dresser (and only one is comfortable, and it's black so therefore can't be worn with everything).  You know?  It's stuff like that that is just wearing on me.  Buying shoes, buying socks, worrying about John hating me for spending too much on groceries, eating beans and rice all the time, living like an unhealthy vegetarian and not by choice.  So please pray for us if you think of it, that God would remind us each moment that he is good.  That we would be able to set our minds on things above and not these trivial things.

I say all this because I know some of you are in the same boat (or some day will be).  For whatever reason,  you're just scraping by.  But I wouldn't trade my life for the world, and not because of my wonderful husband or my adorable kids.  At least I hope this is true, and I want to believe it:  My hope must be in Christ.  He is the only one I can truly depend on, believe, trust, or have faith in.  He is the only one who is good, just, and full of grace and mercy.  No employment, promotions, children, or marriage can compare with His goodness.

"Taste and see that the LORD is good!  Blessed is he who takes refuge in the LORD!  The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing."

And now for a completely random photo update courtesy of the iphone camera.  Because no, we haven't bought a camera card yet.  And Josiah...doesn't have shoes.  Nevermind that too!

 Hanging out with our new neighbor friend from Nepal.

 School the other day, doing interesting things with her lacing buttons.

 Daddy doing school with Maryn...playing a very cute dice and coloring game...perfect for Maryn (because she loves coloring but not math so much).

Mara (5) has been coming to our house on Fridays to keep a busy little almost-three-year-old busy...

 Josiah reading his book.

And Maryn trying to read the book to him:

I love my babies.

Peace.  :)

Cheap, Healthy, Convenient Recipe Ideas

John and I have always limited the amount of meat we eat each week because it cuts down our grocery bill so drastically.  But I have been wanting to incorporate meat into our meals more often.  I never used shredded chicken a lot because our Crock Pot burns things so easily, but I have found that it is just as easy to make on the stove if I let it cook for a long time.  I love doing shredded chicken in large batches because it is something I can start and stop throughout the day if I need to nurse, chase a toddler, etc.

If we start using meat more like a condiment rather than a main course, we can save a ton of money and get some extra protein (and therefore feel more full in a healthy way) in our diets.  Shredded chicken can easily be added to quesadillas, a salad or burrito.  We use shredded chicken for shredded barbecue chicken sandwiches and we use it in this new recipe I LOVE that is so easy and cheap.

White bean and chicken chili

I'll also be using some shredded chicken for a great recipe found here, recommended by Jennifer G.


Chicken ropa vieja

Happy Chickening!

Yard Sale vs. Consignment Shop

Today we had a community yard sale. But it didn't go very well because of the weather, despite all my hard work of washing, hanging, and perfecting our gently used or never used baby clothing. I was a little depressed that, after 5 hours of sitting outside (with good company, however!) and all that work making signs, pricing items, etc., all I sold was books and a few household items. That's right. Not ONE clothing item sold and our stroller didn't sell either. So I took them straight to the consignment shop.

The children's consignment shop is right across the street and is quite adorable. I've never consigned anything before, so I became educated today on the process. At least this store's process. The owner took all the clothes and, without even looking at them, put them in a bag to put out in the winter (I missed the summer selling season she said). She was totally excited about the stroller, saying it'd sell in no time and I'll still make what I was asking for at the yard sale!

Anyway, when the clothing items sell, 50% of the money will be credited to my account. I can look up how my account is doing any time online. There are scheduled markdowns on every clothing item after three 20 day periods--10%, 10% and 20%. So if you find an outfit that's been there for a while, you can get a great deal.

The store owner thinks my stroller will sell for $40 (It's worth 85! I know, gosh!) so I'll make $20 without doing a daggone thing. I'm a little excited about that.

So happy consigning! I hope you might try it one day. I think I'm already addicted.

Update, and Bellybar Deal!

I felt so much better yesterday afternoon and today I'm feeling 100%! We even got outside for "recess" with the homeschooling moms and kids for a couple hours. What a relief that was! It's amazing what a couple hours can do for a weary mommy.

It's finals week, so John was finishing up some school stuff last night. Maryn has a hard time leaving him alone. So do I. So I took her to the Pie Kitchen for some ice cream. We each had a cookies and cream cone. It was interesting as we switched cones back and forth each time hers got a little too melty. I ate A LOT of ice cream! She chose the booth right by the door and looked out the window the whole time. All the passersby and customers laughed at her cute little ice cream face.

I am a bit tired after our outside time. I think the heat sucked out all my energy, so I ate a Bellybar and I'm replacing some of my electrolytes with Gatorade. I kind of hate Gatorade, but Maryn didn't want it.

We bought our Bellybars from Target for just $1/box. I had never had them before, and I must say they aren't too bad. They're kind of like Clif bars, claiming to be "all natural" and their ingredient list is not too shabby. Better than eating a Butterfinger, anyway. And they are packed with things that pregnant and nursing moms need. 8 grams of protein, and 100% of your iron and your Vitamin B6 for the day (hello energy and nausea fighters!). I pack them in my purse for after church when I think I'm going to pass out after not eating for two hours.

Print this coupon for $3.00 off, go here to find a coupon for $4 off at Target. Use BOTH coupons at Target and you'll get a box for just $1. You'll find them in the nutrition bar section. Get them for expecting and nursing mommies you know! They'll appreciate it. Promise.

Toy Rotation Day

Today was toy rotation day and boy, was it exciting. Really, it actually was. Loserrr, I know.

What does toy rotation day involve, you ask? Toy rotation must take place while Maryn is awake obviously, because it takes place in her room. We put several toys that she has lost interest in away as well as toys that are no longer age appropriate. This can be tricky with a toddler--storing their toys away in boxes--but today Maryn was very cooperative.

Her train was put away in exchange for dress up clothes and puppets. Unfortunately, she was completely uninterested in dress up and puppets. So I changed THOSE out with these fabulous blocks the Gaddises gave us over the summer.

Maryn has a fascination with blocks, and excuse me while I dote on her for a second, but I am amazed by her focus, her precision, and her ability to balance several blocks to create a tower all by herself. She's been playing with the little colorful blocks Bethany gave us for a while, but I knew she'd love the BIG blocks and the wooden train tracks.

We also put away some of her baby toys and replaced those with the little plastic animals every child loves. And these are what she played with all morning. Those animals. I will try to get a picture of her playing with some of her "new" toys this afternoon and post them here. She has NOT been photogenic lately, so bear with me.

Observations of Poverty in America, Part One

In order to truly observe the impoverished, I have willingly delved into the life of a stay-at-home mother, living on the income of my husband, just above minimum wage, in a low-income apartment building. Okay, so maybe my decision to closely observe poverty didn't exactly come under these circumstances, but I've learned a lot already. Here are a few observations so far after two months here.

The Health Department, WIC, Food Stamps, etc.

Today I took a little trip to the Health Department. Well, it isn't Naples, that's for sure. I'll tell it all in detail, assuming someone out there may find all this interesting.

I pull into the parking lot realizing this is yet another government building here in KY that has a library attached to it. Weird. I sit in the lot a while to allow Maryn to finish her nap, calling Alicia because this is actually a place where I can get a signal, and it's her birthday.

After wandering the halls of this strange, foul smelling, old and crusty building, I find a little room with a sign "Health Department." Really, it was like something out of a horror movie.

The waiting room was filled with mostly 20-somethings, mostly couples, and their young children. Everyone is either white or Hispanic. I say this because I've noticed this area is mostly white or Hispanic--although there are several other nationalities represented in our neighborhood and at the seminary--but there seems to be almost no Black Americans anywhere (we have Sudanese neighbors, but that means they actually are African).

The Health Dept. office is the absolute dirtiest office I've ever seen. Well, besides the office in our home. Anyway, I found that ironic. But the people there were very nice. First, I was called to meet with a sweet old lady in her 70s that told me I needed to have an appointment. After some searching, we discovered our appt. was under "Maryn Birdman." Ugh. So then she took down all of our financial information. Which didn't take long, of course. Then I was sent back to the waiting room.

Then a medical assistant or something called us back to a medical room thing (I really had no idea any of this was going to happen), and he pricked Maryn's little finger. She didn't even let out a whimper. Just looked at him accusingly. He gave her a sticker, and she--no lie--stuck it right on her little pot belly all by herself, and strutted around very proud. He weighed and measured her (50th %ile across the board) and asked me if she was full term. Ha! He said her iron levels were fine and asked if I still nursed, and gave me a pat on the back for all my hard work.

Then I was sent back to the waiting room.

Then I met with a nutritionist, who explained this whole WIC (Women, Infants, Children) business with me. I'll have to go back to get more WIC coupons in February, and every three months. Every six months they'll do a check up on Maryn. I'll have to bring her shot records next time. The nutritionist was also very happy to hear I nursed exclusively and applauded me for my hard work, saying that's probably why she has never really been very sick. Until now, when I've nearly stopped nursing.

Then I was sent back to the waiting room. Maryn, by this point, was very ornery and was practicing her twirling, her strutting, showing off her sticker, and doing very interesting antics with her Band-Aid. And she managed to find every garbage can in that place and had to inspect it. Super. She loves trash cans. I don't know.

Then I was called to another desk, where a lady gave me the WIC "checks." And we left for Target from there, where we picked up John from work. I had to take him to work this morning at 6:30 so that I could have the car today for this appointment. This is the part where we were supposed to go grocery shopping, but to make a long story short, we couldn't...so we went home, got the stuff I forgot and went to Kroger instead. Where we shopped for groceries for an hour. Which was kind of unplanned. Where we ended up trying to do these ridiculous, tricky sales Kroger always has. Where we saved $65 on groceries, thanks to our WIC coupons, regular coupons, and our savvy sale spotting goggles. We could have saved a bunch more if it had been better planned, but mlehhkdkldsjkklsd. I am so. dead. tired.

The cashier couldn't figure out our WIC checks so everyone in our check out lane hated us or pitied us or judged us, I'm thinking. I mean, we did have a cart full of things like Tombstone pizza and Taquitos. lol. Well, you know. Sometimes I think it might be better to be poor than to be middle class. Especially with Democrats running the country.

Laundry, Eating, and Recreation

Laundry

We do not yet have a washer and dryer, so we have been taking our laundry to the laundromat. But today I took our laundry to the laundry room here in our neighborhood. Here are the prices:

1 washer load in the laundry room: $1.50 Yearly Cost: $312
1 dryer load in the laundry room: $1.50 Yearly Cost: $312

1 washer load at the laundromat: $1.75 Yearly Cost: $364
1 dryer load at the laundromat: $.50 Yearly Cost: $104

Factor in having to buy disposable diapers and wipes, since we cannot wash them here. Add $350, conservatively.

Since we only have one car and John works when he's not in school, I decided I'd do the laundry bit by bit here in the laundry room. I load up the wagon with Maryn, the diaper bag, my purse, a book to read, toys, water bottles, the laundry and detergent, and we walk there. It only takes 30 minutes or so to wash the clothes. Then I load everything back up and hang it on the clothesline outside our house. So our yearly cost is only about $312-350. That's really not too bad. I don't know what on earth I am going to do if I start babysitting more kids, though! There's a playground right next to the laundry room, so maybe we'll be able to keep it up.

Remember, I got used to doing laundry outside our home while at camp this summer. Thank you God, for preparing me! Now it doesn't seem to be nearly the hassle.


Recreation

I have been a bit curious about Gymboree and all the cool things they must be hiding in there, so I looked up their info. $60/month for a membership! I guess they don't just let you come whenever you want. Needless to say, we won't be doing that.

But I just found out there's an indoor baby pool at the seminary, which is free for us. A Mommy and Me power walking class, AND I decided to make our own really cool play gym right here in the house. Maryn had a blast. I stacked up the pillows and cushions, layed out some fun textured things (non-slip cupboard liners, mats, rugs), and connected our long tunnel (that my mom purchased at Goodwill) to all of it.

This is what Maryn did for a majority of the time:
climb on and off the ottoman. Up and down. Up and down.

Eating

Maryn is at that stage where she's eating more than most four year olds would. And she's been eating off of a plate! No more messy table or trays! At least until she finds out how to throw the plate. One trick with her is to give her the least favorite food first. So today for lunch, I put only peas on her plate first. She ate almost all of them. I was shocked because I really gave her a lot. Then I gave her strawberries and peaches. Then...LAST I gave her macaroni and cheese. I thought for sure she wouldn't be able to eat all of the macaroni, but of course, she did. It was probably a cup and a half of macaroni and cheese! Really, sometimes she eats more than I do.