And So It Begins

We've anticipated this day for almost a year now.

The day my husband would return to school and enter the paramedic program.

It's a blessing in disguise really.

It was super easy to get into and he has a short year before the rewards--- financial rewards- the intense year is definitely worth the pay increase, self-esteem rewards- my husband sets his mind to something and then he achieves it. I love seeing how he thrives off his accomplishments. It's great when he proves to himself and everyone else that he can do it. Position rewards- he will be the boss on scene. No more standing in the background taking orders, he will be giving them. Opportunity rewards- he plans to get his associates in Paramedicine after this and possibly his bachelors (in something else, I can't remember) and he has many possibilities of climbing up positions in his work. I don't expect him to stop aiming for more until he has reached the top of it all. Bartow County, give it 20 years or so and see ;-)

To say it will be a super stressful year is an understatement.

He will still work every 3rd day. During the week when he isn't at work, he will be at school. So, for instance. He worked Saturday (he ran calls all night with no sleep at all). He was off Sunday and today. He wasn't able to sleep yesterday bc the power was off and neither one of us can sleep without a fan on. Then, when we came home, the boys were loud, and it was yucky outside. I felt so sorry for him when we got up at 6:30am today. He was so exhausted. He went to school today from 8:30am-4:30pm. He works tomorrow 7am-7am. He is supposed to be at school Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30am-4:30pm (except his professor is giving them this Wednesday off). Then, he works Friday 7am-7am. Has Saturday and Sunday off and goes back to work on Monday.

We will be experiencing a new busy. In October (I think) he will begin clinicals on top of school and work so he will be busy 7 days a week.

It will be difficult for all of us. When he is home, he is going to be exhausted or needing to study. Forget obligations around the house or him staying home with the kids so I can go to the dentist, run errands alone, or get a haircut. The boys really have a hard time when they don't see much of daddy. They crave time with him. It will take some adjusting to, but it is only for a year :-) We must keep remembering that.

We would all appreciate prayers during this time. I was "single-momma"ing it while he worked part-time at the end of last year and averaging 100hrs + a week, but I only did that for a few months (and the money made that almost worth it. LOL!!!). I know I can do it and this will be a test of all of our endurance. I am praying the Lord will help us through it and show me how to help my husband the best way and ease his load.

I'm so proud of my husband! He excelled through EMT school and I expect nothing but that for Paramedic school. He is such a hard worker! I'm excited for this year to be over with it ;-) and it just started today!

Wild and Crazy Kids

Yesterday, Brent was off work and we had a busy day planned.

We ended up on the West end of town because Brent had to have a skin test done for school. I was wanting to shop in one of the little stores, but it had closed early, so the boys and I walked around and I was able to check out some things and places I've been wanting to call. We found a music lesson place and I really want Dane to start something. The only thing they start at 5 is violin lessons. I think that sounds great. He wants to do electric guitar or drums though ;-)

We walked around to this Karate studio. Dane has always wanted to take lessons. I thought that seemed like the perfect gift for his 5th birthday. It is 3 days a week though for an hour each class. That's a lot! I still think that would be so great for Dane for many reasons. They let us stay and they worked with Dane a bit to see how he would do. They don't start kids until they are 5 and he isn't 5 until the fifth of June. They said he needed a little more time. He was nervous and didn't exactly know what they were asking him to do (kicks, stances, repeat what is said, etc.) and there was another little boy in there kicking a dummy and he was fascinated with that. When we left, he wanted to know when we would go back. I told him he has to learn to obey what is asked immediately, he can't wait even a second to follow the instruction. I'm hoping we can find a YouTube video to start practicing some things because everything was so foreign to him. The whole way home he talked about the kicks he did and the way he stood. It was so cute!

Last night was the first night I have ever not laid with the boys. I don't feel quite so guilty knowing they are together and not alone. They can comfort each other or even lay in there and talk. They actually did awesome. They only whined/cried for about 5 minutes, if that, and then they passed out. Some nights, I would lay in there for 2+ hours. I love them and I cherish those times, but mommy needs some time to herself or to get things done when daddy is working or I need some time with daddy. My boys are my world, but they are not my partner. They are not my husband and I didn't promise my life to them, I promised it to their father. One day, they will grow up and Brent and I need to have nurtured and maintained our relationship so when that day comes, we are stronger than ever. The best thing we can do for them, is to love each other and to work on our marriage and carve out time for one another. That gives them security more than anything and they deserve that more than they deserve mommy laying with them for hours on end at night.

Each night when the boys are sleeping, I go in to look at them. It never fails, I tear up every night. I can't believe they are mine and I am always overwhelmed with love when they are laying there curled up together, breathing deeply, and looking so peaceful.

It's hard for me to remember that they aren't always so perfect when they are awake ;-)

They are full of never-ending energy. They bicker. They wrestle. They are rough. The trouble they seem to find each day is amazing.

They require a source of energy I never realized I had inside me.

Some days, I feel like all I say is, "Be nice. " "Don't do that." "You know better than to swing from that!" "You can cut your arm off with that, give me that!" "I don't care what your brother tells you to do, if you can get killed doing it, don't do it." "OH NO! Where are all the other permanent markers and what else have you drawn on?" "Where did you find that?" "How did you climb up there?" "What is all that liquid and why does it smell like car oil?" "What am I stepping in?"

In the midst of all of that though, they make me laugh and bring me so much joy! They both make me want a houseful of children because these 2 add so much fulfillment and love to my life! I can't imagine what 1, 2, or even 3 more would add.

So grateful for my wild and crazy kids and some days, I'm even more grateful for bedtime than others ;-)

Money Saving Tips for the Kitchen

If you are anything like me, you are a frugal grocery shopper.

I am not a coupon-er because I cannot purchase healthy, wholesome, nutritious food with coupons (If only there were coupons for that!).

That means I must shop around and buy in bulk.

I'm going to share with you some of my most helpful tips for saving money in the kitchen. It really just gets down to thinking about how I could save money on something I would normally waste or possibly buy the easier version of.

1) One of the most cost saving things I can think to do is PLAN AHEAD. If you are making dinner on a whim, chances are, you won't buy what is most cost effective, things will go bad before you use them, and you will buy with convenience as your motivator. I used to just plan out my meals for about 5-7 days at a time and didn't assign food to a day. I would just write down the options and then each night pick something to cook. Now, I try to plan for the month or at least per pay period when I will be grocery shopping and assign days for what I am cooking.

I keep it taped inside my cabinet so  all I have to do is open it up to see or rearrange it.

That way, if I buy salad, my menu has it being used before it goes bad instead of every night just picking something off my list to cook and my salad not getting used. It also means I get up and see what is for dinner and pull that meat out to thaw/prepare anything that needs to be prepared ahead of time. So for today, that meant pulling out the frozen spinach to start thawing for my quiche and the frozen banana bread I made in bulk because I knew we would be having it this week and I made some for Mother's Day as well.

This has saved us so much money in the kitchen! I simply rearrange the food and we always have left overs now. We rarely waste anything. I highly recommend doing this. I just sit down with either Pinterest or my recipe folder and write down things so that we vary chicken and turkey meat and tastes. So Mexican or Italian wouldn't be two nights in a row.

2) Don't be brand picky or store picky. I shop around. The most frequent places I shop are Costco, Vitacost (follow this link to save $10 on your first purchase of $30 or more), Walmart, Aldi, Zaycon, and Publix. I shop online for 2 of those- Zaycon and Vitacost and save lots from doing this. I pretty much know what costs what where. I know what I'm going to buy at Costco, Aldi, Walmart, and Publix. I know when I need them and I shop accordingly. Aldi is where we get Almond milk, turkey meat, toothbrushes, can foods, organic apples, other produce, shredded cheese, etc. Costco is where we buy wipes, pull-ups, sugar, almonds, tortilla chips, salsa, coconut oil, liquid honey, pb, chocolate chips, salad, salad dressing, etc. Walmart is where I buy the things I can't get at the other places and Publix is where there are good sales and pizza dough on unhealthy pizza night. Vitacost is my herbs, protein powder, organic shower gel, un-translucent honey, oils, etc. Zaycon is where I buy my chicken now!

3) Buy your meat from Zaycon. Yes, you MUST buy in bulk, but you save a lot of money in the long run for high quality meats. We purchased 120lbs of chicken recently and it is all hormone free and antibiotic free and costs only $1.79lb. That is $0.20 cheaper a pound than Walmart's nasty chicken stuffed with antibiotics and shot up with hormones. Zaycon will do a food event in your area roughly twice a year (with a certain meat). So, you need to buy to last your family around 6 mnts. I honestly don't know if 120lbs of chicken was enough for us for that long. I cook, on average, 4 chicken breast per meal or 2 for things like soups, stews, etc. We shall see. The meat is plump, white, and gorgeous. Seriously. I could kiss it is so scrumptious looking. It also tastes amazing. This is coming from 2 folks who were skeptical about purchasing from a company like this. We had never done something like this and we were doubtful. When the meat comes, it is all bulked together in 40lbs boxes. So you must be ready with LOTS of freezer bags and scissors (and space!). I didn't trim my meat the night of because it was getting late and I just wanted to get the boxes emptied. But, you could do that to save yourself some major time in the long run. Then, you plop your 6 months worth of chicken in the freezer. I separated it into 4 breasts per bag because that is how I could it most of the time. Some of the breasts were DD (or so it appeared) and so with those, I would put 2 in a bag and place in another freezer. Those are the ones I use for soups and stews or if we have company over and just need an extra 2 breasts or whatnot.

*Don't judge me on my messy utility room! It is literally our storage room ;-)

Our main fridge freezer (Side note-- both of our fridge/freezers are missing the handles. We lost this one during the move and the white ones broke. It always makes me laugh when company is over and is like, "Ummmm. How do I open this?" It is also childproofed! We need to order some more.

Our spare fridge freezer in our utility room. We hang lots of our homeschool art on here and I use this for the packages of breasts that only have 2 in them. I also rotate food here. I put newer food in here when I grocery shop and take what is in here and put it in the black one. That way, the older stuff gets used up first.

This is our chest freezer. It houses the packages of 4 breasts. 

We've already used a good bit too!

We have an order of Keilbasa sausage coming on Friday and we are wanting to order some bacon and then ground beef when they offer that again.

We also shop at Costco and buy things like coconut oil, spices, organic sugar, dried cranberries, almonds, soaps, toiletries, etc. there. It costs more up front, but saves in the long run.

4) Preserve your produce that you aren't going to use immediately. For me, that means freezing most of the time or using immediately. I buy lots of frozen fruits from Costco to use in our smoothies so they don't go bad before they get used. That saves us a lot of money! This morning, I preserved some fresh spinach and I'll preserve kale this afternoon. You just need a blender and water. Fill up the blender 2/3 of the way full with spinach or kale and then then add 1/2 cup of water per cup of veggies. Blend until smooth and then pour into muffin pans to fill up 3/4 of the way full. Then you freeze for 3 hours, take out the spinach cup and freeze in baggies. Then, when you are making smoothie or protein shake, you have fresh spinach or kale that isn't bad and it will save you lots of money (if you are anything like us!).

5) Find ways to not waste or spend so much on a product. One of the ways I have done this is with canned beans and tomato paste. Both very affordable, but if I can save money there, why not? Tomato paste is the 8oz can that goes in recipes generally asking for 1 Tbsp. So you get that 1 Tbsp and chunk the rest of the can, right? Well, I decided, how wasteful is that! After getting what I need for my recipe, I now measure out 1 Tbsp and place that in a small piece of seran wrap. Then, once the can is empty, I put each little wrapped up 1 Tbsp of tomato paste in the door of my freezer and wa-la! There is my 1 Tbsp needed for my recipes and I don't need to buy it/waste it for quite a while.

Dried beans are so much cheaper than canned beans also. I decided to start cooking my dried beans (that need much longer to cook than canned beans) and then freezing them and having them ready to go (except for needing to be thawed) when I need them. I write on the bag what they are and possibly what they can be used for.

6) If you are wanting to save money in order to start shopping more healthy, cut out the junk you shouldn't be eating or drinking anyways. That stuff adds up quickly and if it is in the house, most likely you will eat it. Cut back on that stuff so you have more money to spend on produce and wholesome, nutritious food for yourself and your family!

What ways do you save money in the kitchen? I would love to know! Please leave a comment and share.

Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I celebrated up North with my parents.

Brent had to work, so we celebrated with his mom the day before that on Saturday. 

It was definitely a jammed packed weekend.

I was in Ringgold on Friday meeting with the midwife I'm going to be working with and cleaning a house. As I was finishing up that house, a mom I had due next week called to tell me she was going to the hospital to be induced.

I went straight there and got back home to Cartersville around 2am. My MIL had the boys so Brent and I slept late and ran errands to get everything we needed to cook for his parents. 

After lunch here, we went to my nieces 2nd birthday party and squeezed in a date night after that.

On Sunday, the boys and I went to the early service so we could get to my mom's by lunch. They now own a concession stand they work on Friday and Sunday nights, so we worked with them last night and I didn't get into bed until 11:30pm last night. 

This morning I told Brent I felt like my house was a disaster zone and I hadn't been here in forever! I don't know how you working momma's do it! Whew! It was totally worth it though for such a fun-filled weekend!!!

As Mother's Day approached, I gave some thought to the characteristics I have had to develop in myself and/or work on growing since finding out I was going to be a mom  -  now.

Unconditional love (I never was overwhelmed so deeply, so quickly)

Patience

Compassion

Gentleness

Self-Control

Selflessness

Understanding

Will-power

Decision making

Honesty

Work ethic

Trust

Courage

Humility

Gratefulness

These are things I must work on every single day.

Motherhood isn't an on again off again job or even a job where you can pick and choose what to do or when to work or when to not or what not to do.

It is 100% every day. Whether anything is given back to you or not. Whether acknowledgement is given or not. Whether you get to sit down at the table and eat a meal or not. Whether you pee holding a child and eat holding a child and shower holding a child or not. Whether you get help or not. Whether daddy is home or not. Whether you are sick or not. Whether it's nice outside or not. Whether you slept the night before or not.

It is never-ending.

It is exhausting and requires strength and dignity maybe you didn't even realize you had and possibly still amazes you.

There are some days that just plain SUCK! 

There are days you want to lay on the floor with your children and kick your feet, wail and scream, and let the snot and tears fly.

There are days when you don't feel fit to the task.

There are days you fail.

There are days you are mean.

There are days you are not intentional enough and the TV helps you through.

But the good days outweigh the bad days by a million.

There are days where the pitter patter of feet wake you up and a kiss is the first thing you receive.

There are days where little arms wrap around your neck as tightly as they can go and stinky breath whispers, "I love you to Heaven and back 17-64 times, mommy."

There are days where belly laughter fills your home.

There are days where snuggling can't last long enough for anyone.

There are days where you hear, "I'm sorry, mommy." "I love you, mommy." "I'm your boy, mommy."

There are days where lessons you teach are exercised.

There are days where you lay on the grass with the sun hitting you and your children playing all around you and you think to yourself, "All my dreams came true!"

There are days where you literally watch your baby grow up before your eyes.

There are days where you celebrate accomplishments. 

There are days where you eat ice-cream for lunch and then play at the park for hours after that and no one cries or whines that entire time.

There are days when you are laying with your babies at night, they are both snuggled up close to you, and sound asleep that you think, "I don't want to get up. I don't want this moment to pass. I wish I could stay right here forever."

You see, all the bad is worth on only one of those good in return.

Being a mom is the most full-filling and rewarding job that is out there. It does require growth, change, and adapting though.

New moms always want to know what one thing they will need the most of once a new baby is in their family.

My personal opinion is:

COURAGE

You need courage to love, courage to fail, courage to try again, courage to be yourself, courage to research and make your own decisions, courage to be the boss (parent) and not a friend, courage to give up selfish desires, courage to do what you know is right deep inside of you, courage to change your lifestyle if it is not appropriate for raising an innocent life, courage to discipline, courage to say I'm sorry, courage to tell your child "no" occasionally, courage to raise your child differently than the world does it, courage to trust your baby with someone else, courage to trust your instincts with your baby, courage to breathe in and out and not loose it, courage to be gentle and tender, courage to live a life you are comfortable with them growing up and  living themselves, courage to give, courage to change your path, courage to watch them grow up right before your eyes, courage to trust that they are the Lord's and only your's for a very brief time, courage to not cry (happy tears) when they accomplish something big, courage not to cry when they fail, courage to trust them, courage to love yourself despite where you screw up.

You need courage. 

It's hard to be a mom.

But, it is so worth it all!

Happy Mother's Day to all you beautiful and courageous moms out there who bravely and fiercely raise your children up!

Me and Dane 

Me and Dane

Me and Webb

Me and Webb

I can't believe how much they've grown!!

Love them both so much it hurts!