Apparently

when I actually have things to blog about (trip to Europe, meeting a new guy, breaking up with new guy, A child's birthday and party, finishing a 5 year project and finding a new job), I dont feel like writing? Odd...

January's Facebook Status Updates

At the end of 2010 I used an app on facebook that took a random sample of my status' throughout the year and put them into a collage. I thought it was really neat to be able to look back at the day to day and so I've decided to record my status updates here. These are from January of this year. I guess for those of you who use twitter, this would be the same idea.

January 1
Cant keep doing this alone. What happens when I mess up? Who's there to take up the slack? Im just not strong enough to carry this whole load on my own.

January 3
Wants to Scream!

January 3
Is it bedtime yet?

January 4
The boys aren't allowed to play video games until after lunch so they're going around with a playstation controller pretending to control each other's movements.

January 5
I know I should be doing something...

January 6
What's with everyone having had a crappy sleep last night? At least Im not the only one

January 7
TGIF, have some sick little boys today...everyone of them is either throwing up or sneezing on everything. Somehow I dont think Im going to get through this without getting something myself.

January 8
It finally looks like winter in NL

I feel like I should be doing something just because the boys are gone for the night, but it's so cold outside that I just want to wrap myself in a blanket and read a book. I think Im a 27 year old spinster.

January 9
Now we're all sick :( Always happens when I haven't gone shopping in awhile and the house is already messy. Just gotta survive today...

January 10
Thankfully I was able to sleep last night but Im still feeling gross while all the boys are better and hyper. This is horrible.

this is worse than labour

What a day, even when Im sick! Old drama from years ago brought back again and an offer to go to Portugal for work.

January 11
Me: "Jamie, why are you in your brother's bed?" Jamie: "Because my brother's squishy."

January 12
Wishing this flu would go away....I was almost better yesterday and here it is back again

January 14
Woke up at 6:45 to my neighbour snowblowing my driveway...he didn't even have his done yet. And thanks to my daddy and brother, I now have snow tires on the van...just in time! It's amazing how many people have helped me out in the last couple of days.

is heading to Portugal in a month....craaaaaazy

January 15
wishing my body would get the memo...its been a week, get over this flu already!

not a fan of this whole being single thing

January 16
sitting here waiting for my belly to settle so we can get ready for church.

early bedtime tonight....these kids have been fighting me and each other all day!

January 17
After 8 days, Im finally feeling almost normal today! Yay!

Back from a movie date with my Micah...he's so grown up!

January 19
Looking at flights for Portugal...this is gonna wear me out! Its like 36 hours of travelling, there and back.

Mmm hot chocolate with rainbow marshmallows

January 20
Needs 50 word bio by tonight...help! Im terrible at writing about myself.

haha you can tell that my kids go to a middle class school...the principle sent home a pamphlet asking for donations to a silent auction. Suggestions? Flat screen tvs, a week at a vacation home in Florida or other destination, IPADS, netbooks...

January 21
Jeez only on a Friday! The doors were frozen on the van this morning and instead of waiting for me, the kids thought yanking on the handle would help...nope, it snapped off instead. We musta looked funny at that "middle class" school when the kids had to climb through to the front door :P

having doubts that I can learn enough Portuguese in 4 weeks...total words so far? 3

Mothering and Motherhood in the 21st century: Research and Activism, February 18-19 Lisbon, Portugal...so freaking excited!

January 22
Cant wait for girls night tonight! Great friends, great food and....glow golf? hehe...gonna be fun!

January 23
Putting the kids to bed and having a quiet night at home...feels like this weekend flew by!

January 24
Oh what a Monday! Toilet training 2 little boys, driving people around 4 separate times, baking 5 dozen cinnamon buns and trying to learn Portuguese...eek!

January 25
Freezing! Wish I wasn't scared to light a fire, that was always Jason's department.

I hope Jamie is feeling better for mom n me tomorrow...poor little guy had a fever tonight and went to bed at 6

January 27
The boys school is closing in 20 minutes because of impending weather and now I have to get all four little ones into the van and hope that Micah's class is back from his field trip...yuck

has no desire to get involved in church politics. It's sad but I feel like Im either being asked to pick sides, being very obviously ignored/looked down upon or getting asked personal questions that have nothing to do with those asking them. I go to church to worship, learn and spend time with other Christians, that's it. A very kind thank you to those few who have worked to make my family feel welcome.

January 29
trying to put together a menu plan for the kids while Im in Portugal is insanely hard...there's very few meals that they will all eat. Suggestions appreciated!

Ive done it! Roasted chicken with homemade fries two separate nights, cheese eggs, pancakes with bacon, frozen homemade soup (for 2 kids and frozen pizza for the others), chicken burgers or hot dogs and one night of take out....not too bad :) and wont cost me a fortune!

so.cold.

Saturday night seems like a crappy time to be writing about research activities facilitating community engagement and activism...

January 31
home with some sick little boys today :(

"I have never loved so fiercely something that was capable of being this annoying" -Sundry

Eu sou perdido. Onde está o banheiro? Translation= Im lost. Where's the bathroom? hehe, should probably memorize this one

*I never want to forget the conversation from January 11, it still makes me laugh!

Keeping meal times interesting

Mommy Daisy wrote yesterday about being in a food rut and I totally know where she's coming from. I've had trouble adjusting to cooking for just the kids and I, now that Jason has moved out and am often faced with hungry kids and no plan.

I joined the discussion in her comments but that got me to thinking about what strategies I use to keep things interesting.

1. Plan
There really is no substitute for planning your meals and snacks when you have a family. Simply put, it's cost effective and efficient and can save your sanity too. That being said, I don't subscribe to the notion that in planning your meals you can't be flexible. For me, that really IS key.

2. Keep it simple
I plan for easy, simple meals whenever our schedule requires it. I really don't want to spend the little money we do have on take out or dining out so having go-to meals helps with that. You can use freezer cooking to have handy meals in your freezer, keep a stocked pantry with your family's favorites or think outside of the box a little.

A couple of months ago my kids were asking for McDonalds after church. Instead, I brought them to the grocery store and we picked out some fruits, yogurt and a treat. We talked about the price difference, health difference and even taste difference. My kids all agreed that the grocery store lunch was the much better option.

Another strategy I've been using lately is creating a snack tray that we can nibble at our leisure, instead of a formal lunch. This is really only for Sunday afternoons and since my boys are with their dad every other Sunday, they only get this twice each month, making it a treat. The picture below is from the first time I created such a tray and I can tell you that it was waaaay too much food! There's cheese, apples, carrots, grapes, crackers, tortilla chips/salsa and some rather boring sandwiches. If I were to do this one again, Id cut out the crackers and make the sandwiches a little more interesting.

3. Have fun with it

If you find yourself making the same old things then try to add a little fun to your routine. Create themed meals around certain days, countries or even colors. Try eating breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast. Serve dessert WITH dinner, just because.

And if you're really out of ideas, ask your kids. They're always full of creative suggestions that Im sure you never would have considered otherwise.

Two Weeks

It's been a full two weeks since I've written anything and for once, I don't care :)

I got back from Portugal in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and was up 3.5 hours later looking after my kiddos (who had the day off of school) and my nephews. I was tired!

I did pretty well, if I do say so myself and made it through until the weekend when I slept in and finally got around to cleaning up the house. It wasn't too bad when I came home but three days of survival mode sure made it that way.

Now the weekend is over and we're back to our usual schedule. Portugal was amazing and even though I was only there for five days, I felt like it was more than enough time away. I missed my guys like crazy and was getting a little too used to the city (having the same cab driver two separate nights kinda tells ya something)!

My pictures are all on another computer so Ill have to find some time to transfer those and post a review of my trip this week. Until then, Ill be writing about the flop that was February (in terms of budgeting) and whatever else comes to mind.

Tchau!

Another week without progress

Oh, how I hate reporting bad weeks! It's probably the reason why I stayed away from challenges and link ups for the past couple of years.

Anyway, this week was a dud. I spent a whopper of an amount at the grocery store, but did end up earning a little more than 140 air miles and coupons for 10 cents off each litre at the gas station. Those combined will save me about $28 ($23 in grocery certificates from air miles and $5 in gas).

I also redeemed 450 swagbucks for $5 at amazon.ca. I earned all of these in the past month which is much faster than the year it took me to earn the last 450. Being in Canada, most things on swagbucks aren't available for me so I earn most of my bucks from playing tournament games. It works for mindless entertainment when the kids go to bed! I plan to keep earning swagbucks until I have about $30 at amazon.ca so that I can order a couple of books and get free shipping. One of the books will be for my mom's mother's day gift, so I've got to get playing. :)

The kids had two birthday parties this week to attend and I spent a total of $16.13 on gifts. One gift was from our stash and we re-used a gift bag with some tissue I had. I attached one of the 'cards' that I bought last year at the dollar store. They are probably more for teachers as they're just printed card stock with the name of the child and their birth date, but when I can buy a stack of 30 for $1, I really don't care! The other gift was a gift card for the local movie theatre worth $15 and a card to put it in. The girl was turning 10 and had a dance party so I thought this was more appropriate than something from our stash.

I leave tomorrow for a week in Portugal and Im doing everything I can to make it CHEAP! The travel and hotel are covered by my work and I received a $500 advance to cover meals and taxis. I spent a good portion of this on groceries for the kids while Im gone and meals at school. The lunches alone are costing $40 and that's only for 4 days! Im so glad I don't have to deal with those prices normally.

Anyway, I plan to visit a grocer when I get to Portugal to stock up on bottles of water and munchies. Breakfasts are covered at the hotel and lunches will just be quick snacks, if I can find them. I'll probably have to spend dinners as social gatherings with my co-workers so those are the meals I plan to eat out for. Our hotel is within walking distance of the conference and only about 5km from the airport. I will definitely be taking public transportation downtown to see the tourist stuff but hopefully Ill be sharing with a co-worker or be able to figure out the buses. All together, Im hoping to not go over the $500 for all of my expenses relating to this trip. Wish me luck!

Songs for each Baby

Source

Im a singer. Not a terribly good one, but in the eyes of my boys, Im a singer. Ever since they were small I've been singing to them pretty much daily.

Sometimes the songs are made up and silly and sometimes they're heartfelt and soulful. I guess it just depends on my mood.

What's neat is that with each boy, I had a favorite song that I sang to them from birth. Now along with their first year scrap books and little hair clippings, they have a "uniquely theirs" song.

For Micah it was a song we sang in church a lot while I was pregnant with him and then in the month after he was born. The week after he was dedicated we moved to our current province and I haven't heard the song since. I can't even find it online! Anyway, it was "Who is like Thee?" and I think I chose it for him because it reminded me of his name:

Micah \m(i)-c ah\ as a boy's name (also used as girl's name Micah), is pronounced MYE-cah. It is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Micah is "who resembles God?". Variant of Michael. Biblical: a prophet and writer of the Book of Micah.

For Noah, it was the ABCs. I have no idea why, but isn't it ironic that he didn't learn his letters until 6.5? He also had a few others, but maybe since his dad had him most often, we didn't get into anything deeper?

For James it was "You are my sunshine." How fitting, since he was 6 months old when Chris moved out. I still sing this one to him, and he loves it.

Owen's is "Twinkle Star," as he calls it. Whenever he is hurt or feeling sooky he asks me to sing it to him. Occasionally he'll allow me to sing something else, but this is pretty much THE ONLY song he likes. Silly guy. He wouldn't let me sing anything to him his first year or so and then he fell in love with this song.

The saved quarter challenge:laundry

Penny is talking about ways to save money on laundry over at The Saved Quarter this week and I have to admit, there are a few things that I could improve on.

I already use only cold water, use less detergent than recommended, wear my clothes 2-3 times before washing them and do all of my laundry back to back.

I am guilty though of forgetting about a stray load in the washing machine and having to re-wash it later and I have never used a clothes line. It's too cold here now to get much dried outside, but I think I may actually use one come spring. I have one in the back yard and I have clothespins, I've just never bothered.

I also plan to look into the dryer ball that Penny recommended. Owen has extremely sensitive skin and unless I can find some alternative to sheets or bars, my clothes will continue to be static.

But for what I AM doing and have been doing for awhile, that wasn't mentioned? I buy up detergent when it's on a deep sale. Last month I bought four bottles of the detergent that we use at $2.99 each. Given my son's sensitive skin, I have to buy a brand that is a bit more expensive than the others and so this was a great deal! Each bottle lasts about a month and that's for my family of 5, plus my brother's laundry. Four months of expensive detergent for $12 is my way to save a little on laundry. What's yours?