Some of my kids seem to have gotten whinier and whinier lately. And to say it is driving me bonkers would be an understatement. So, for the next week I am going to employ the following strategies to see if I can't bring the level back to tolerable.
1. Respond Immediately. Even if it means I tell them they have to wait a minute, at least kindly acknowledge they are requesting something (to speak/water/to play, etc.) when they are talking politely.
2. Think first, then answer. I have a bad habit of saying 'no' really often. And sometimes it doesn't really matter. But the worst is when I say 'no' twenty times and then decide it's not that big of a deal and let them. Probably nothing promotes whining worse than letting it work. So choose my 'no's wisely, not just as a first response.
3. Use a form of this phrase: "You are whining. I can't understand you. I would be happy to listen to you when you can use a nice voice like mine." And then don't listen until a non-whiny voice is used. Obviously since the offenders are 3 & 4, I will probably have to repeat this phrase several times at first.
4. Increase praise. Especially for the use of nice voices in everyday life. But all around too.
I am hopefully this will work, if I am good about it...
Friday, March 22, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
November Meal Planning
At this point I am mostly doing this so I can come back and find recipes I like and remember things that we ate that I forgot about.
M 29: Pot Roast w/Hasselback Potatoes
T 30: Halloween Party Foods: Witch finger pretzels, 7 layer dip, Pumpkin roll,
W 31: Pasta if we aren't full from Aaron's Work Party
Th 1: Lasagna
F 2: Ward Party, bring salad
S 3: BBQ Ribs
S 4: Chicken Tortilla Soup
M 5: Pasta
T 6: Stir fry & rice
W 7: Homemade Macaroni & Cheese
Th 8: Omelets
F 9: Balsamic Bruchetta Chicken
S 10:
S 11:
This week kind of fell apart. There were some scheduled events we skipped and I am hugely pregnant.
M 12: Pasta & Omelets w/gorgonzola and ham
T 13: Chicken Tortilla Soup (Extended Family Gathering)
W 14: Greek Food Day
Th 15: Salad w/Homemade Balsamic & PF Breadsticks
F 16: Easy Pad Thai This was good but the noodles were tricky. I think I should have soaked them longer and maybe cooked them longer than it said in the recipe with more liquids (water). Also Aaron requested chicken in it next time.
S 17: Beef Quinoa Soup from freezer, bread
S 18: ?
M 19: Lasagna from freezer
T 20: Chicken Enchiladas (sauce in freezer)
W 21: ?
Th 22: Thanksgiving!!!
F 23: Leftovers
Then I had a baby. And I didn't plan anymore.
M 29: Pot Roast w/Hasselback Potatoes
T 30: Halloween Party Foods: Witch finger pretzels, 7 layer dip, Pumpkin roll,
W 31: Pasta if we aren't full from Aaron's Work Party
Th 1: Lasagna
F 2: Ward Party, bring salad
S 3: BBQ Ribs
S 4: Chicken Tortilla Soup
M 5: Pasta
T 6: Stir fry & rice
W 7: Homemade Macaroni & Cheese
Th 8: Omelets
F 9: Balsamic Bruchetta Chicken
S 10:
S 11:
This week kind of fell apart. There were some scheduled events we skipped and I am hugely pregnant.
M 12: Pasta & Omelets w/gorgonzola and ham
T 13: Chicken Tortilla Soup (Extended Family Gathering)
W 14: Greek Food Day
Th 15: Salad w/Homemade Balsamic & PF Breadsticks
F 16: Easy Pad Thai This was good but the noodles were tricky. I think I should have soaked them longer and maybe cooked them longer than it said in the recipe with more liquids (water). Also Aaron requested chicken in it next time.
S 17: Beef Quinoa Soup from freezer, bread
S 18: ?
M 19: Lasagna from freezer
T 20: Chicken Enchiladas (sauce in freezer)
W 21: ?
Th 22: Thanksgiving!!!
F 23: Leftovers
Then I had a baby. And I didn't plan anymore.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Allison's Birth Story
WARNING: BIRTH STORY AHEAD!!! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!!
11/13/12: Tuesday night. Around midnight I have one contraction. When I report this to Aaron and my mom the next day they are excited. I am not, because my babies do not come out early.
11/14/12: Wednesday night my mom and I decide she should leave early (supposed to stay until Saturday) because this baby will probably never come out and she has another trip back planned for after Thanksgiving. Later it turns out we are both right when there is no baby by Saturday.
11/16/12: Friday evening. For the first time I lie in bed while Aaron bathes and gets the kids ready for bed. I don't tuck them in because I am hurting. Mostly round ligament pain, but sore belly too.
11/17/12: Saturday, due date!! I help put the kids to bed but then am having the worst round ligament pain ever. It is like all the other times combined. I can hardly move. Additionally the downward pressure of the giant baby girl in my belly hurts pretty bad too. I have a pretty much horrible night and make Aaron help me get up to go to the bathroom most times.
11/18/12: I invoke the right of 4th trimester church inactivity. Aaron takes the kids to church while I lie in bed and whine to myself about how horrible I feel.
11/22/12: Since there is no baby coming out of me I cook a turkey and we have a great Thanksgiving. Around midnight the contractions start. Apparently I ate enough to push baby girl out.
11/23/12: By morning contractions have settled into a 15-20 minute apart pattern which lets up only a few times during the day with a 45 or hour long break. By afternoon I am frustrated because things don't seem to be getting closer together, but on the plus side my mom has managed to catch her scheduled flight and arrives at my house just past 2pm. After the kids go to bed around 8:30 or so, my contractions start to get stronger and a bit closer together, but I am still thinking I have a terribly long road ahead of me. At 10:30 my midwife texts me to tell me she is going to bed, so call her whenever I am ready. I think this will probably be never, but by 11pm my contractions are 5-10 minutes apart and hurting pretty badly. I have made Aaron set up the tub and by 11:30 he calls Rebecca the midwife to come on over. I get in the tub and ask whose terrible idea it was to have another baby and Aaron says it was mine and I complain about how stupid I am. It hurts. I labor in the tub for an hour and Rebecca arrives. It hurts horribly and I make Aaron push on my back for each contraction. I do good breathing or whatever and mostly keep it in control, my past midwife's voice (Sammy's midwife) is in my head saying "keep it together Kelsey, you can do this" and that helps a lot. When Rebecca arrives she helps the situation by pouring water on my back during each contraction. This is surprisingly effective as my brain has to think about what is going on on my back and think less about the death pain going on elsewhere. At some point I throw up 3 or so times. Rebecca doesn't check to see how far I am, because I am very afraid that she will tell me 8 or anything lower and I don't want to hear it. After a bit she tells me that soon I will have to get out of the tub if a baby doesn't come out of me and I am not happy to hear this. The reasoning is that after a few hours it can slow you down, so I get out of the tub to go to the bathroom to see if that won't help speed things up. I hate getting out. Worst ever. I have one contraction out of the tub and wonder why why why am I so stupid. I get back in the tub and can feel the baby coming down. I start to do some preliminary pushing. It is awful. I think about how I don't want the baby to come out anymore. Too much pain. How do ladies have babies on tables with no drugs? I can't fathom it. I start pushing and screaming, and am reminded by Rebecca to scream in low tones. I somehow manage to do that. After what Aaron claims is only 4 contractions worth of pushing (I think it was a few more but I wasn't yelling on the first two, but then again, not like I was super coherent) I announce that here comes the baby. And then she does. In her amniotic sac!
In the past my water has been broken (by the midwife) while I was in labor, a little earlier with Harmon, and Sammy while she was crowning. Now Allison can have the distinct pleasure of knowing that she is lucky, has a 6th sense, and all sorts of other interesting folklore as explained on wikipedia. Apparently it is pretty rare, so cool I guess!
She was born at 1:25am on the 24th.
Anyway. As she came out in her sac my midwife popped it because it is much easier to grab a slippery baby with arms than a slippery ball with a baby inside, and someone grabbed her. I think maybe Aaron, but I was grabbing around too, and had to flip over (I was on my knees) because I could tell her cord was kind of short. I got to hold her and was just so happy!!! There is really no way to explain how happy you are to hold your new baby, and how happy you are to be not pushing that baby out anymore. We sat in the tub for a few minutes and then I handed her off to Aaron so I could deliver the placenta. I did that in the shower and then went to my very own bed.
11/24/12, The aftermath: I held Allison for a little while more and nursed her, but I was not feeling right and I knew it. I asked someone else to take her so I could just rest. I hadn't really felt this terrible after either other birth and although I felt bad having to give her away so soon, but I just wasn't right. I felt like I was going to pass out, or throw up, or who knows what. This happened several times, with me asking for the bowl, being really dizzy, and thinking I was going to pass out. Later Rebecca took me to the bathroom and it felt awful standing/walking/being up and I was sure I was going to faint. By 5am Rebecca had checked all my vitals and I was stable, even though not feeling well, and she left. By 6am(ish?) I had asked Aaron or my mom to help me walk to the bathroom. I remember sitting up and feeling dizzy/like I was going to throw up or pass out or both. I laid back down and then tried to sit up again. It was decided (by me) that we should go quickly to the bathroom. I don't remember entering the bathroom until I sat down on the toilet. Then I remember waking up (still sitting on the toilet) to my mom and Aaron, and my mom saying "call Rebecca, then we need to call 911". That is always great... Apparently I had passed out twice, once for 30 seconds, and had woken up flailing, my skin has been reported as green by my mom and yellow by Aaron, but by all accounts I was not doing well. They carried me back to bed at which point someone was on the phone with Rebecca and I was trying to convince everyone that I was now lucid and did not need to go in any ambulances! I think that everyone decided I could stay home and "wait and see". Meanwhile Rebecca got back in her car (she lives almost an hour away) and came back. She was concerned that it may be too much blood loss and felt better about coming back than not, as she has never had a mother who was worse getting up the second time out of bed than the first. She checked me out and decided to give me an iv fluid drip with a dose of pitocin to "clamp down" my uterus to make sure there was not too much bleeding/remnants of placenta. This was highly awful, as now I was having cramping/contractions and no baby was coming at the end of them. It was a slow drip and I was happy when the ibprofun kicked in because it felt like an eternity. Rebecca also took some of my blood to take to the lab to check my blood levels, which along with how I was doing after the fluids and pitocin would be an indication of if I was going to be taken to the hospital to receive blood... It was pretty scary, and I was grateful for the many people who were praying for me at that time.
After the fluids and pitocin I started to feel better. Rebecca took me to the bathroom and although I felt dizzy I didn't feel throw up/pass out style like I did before. This was a good sign and after checking all my vitals she left to take my blood to the lab. Later she called to tell me the good news, my levels were good, meaning I didn't have extreme blood loss and was ok. This was a relief to everyone, and meant that I just needed to rest and eat and drink lots and lots. I was happy that through all this Allison was a champion, very well behaved and nursed well. I felt bad that I wasn't able to snuggle her and love on her as much as possible, but I was glad to be getting better. When Rebecca came back to check me and Allison again for our two-day check, she explained that likely the cause of my fainting and extreme dizziness was hormones. She explained my blood results were actually really good (originally she just told me the number and that I was fine and that was good enough for me). As soon as my placenta was delivered my body experienced an extreme drop in hormones, and made my body go super crazy. I asked Rebecca what she thought could be done (if she had known, for future hypothetical pregnancies, etc.) and she said treating with progesterone.
So now we are just hanging out. Allison is lovely and sleeps a lot, but likes to be awake in the night like all babies. I am feeling a lot better and trying to take it easy so I can recover quickly. I feel quite blessed that I wasn't bleeding too much/dying and that everything was ok! I had really felt quite good and safe about having the baby at home, although there are always risks, but I still feel blessed about how everything turned out.
Miss Allison Kate Evans, born at home in the sac, 7 days late, 7lbs 11oz, 19 3/4", smaller than all her older siblings!! We adore her!
11/13/12: Tuesday night. Around midnight I have one contraction. When I report this to Aaron and my mom the next day they are excited. I am not, because my babies do not come out early.
11/14/12: Wednesday night my mom and I decide she should leave early (supposed to stay until Saturday) because this baby will probably never come out and she has another trip back planned for after Thanksgiving. Later it turns out we are both right when there is no baby by Saturday.
11/16/12: Friday evening. For the first time I lie in bed while Aaron bathes and gets the kids ready for bed. I don't tuck them in because I am hurting. Mostly round ligament pain, but sore belly too.
11/17/12: Saturday, due date!! I help put the kids to bed but then am having the worst round ligament pain ever. It is like all the other times combined. I can hardly move. Additionally the downward pressure of the giant baby girl in my belly hurts pretty bad too. I have a pretty much horrible night and make Aaron help me get up to go to the bathroom most times.
11/18/12: I invoke the right of 4th trimester church inactivity. Aaron takes the kids to church while I lie in bed and whine to myself about how horrible I feel.
11/22/12: Since there is no baby coming out of me I cook a turkey and we have a great Thanksgiving. Around midnight the contractions start. Apparently I ate enough to push baby girl out.
11/23/12: By morning contractions have settled into a 15-20 minute apart pattern which lets up only a few times during the day with a 45 or hour long break. By afternoon I am frustrated because things don't seem to be getting closer together, but on the plus side my mom has managed to catch her scheduled flight and arrives at my house just past 2pm. After the kids go to bed around 8:30 or so, my contractions start to get stronger and a bit closer together, but I am still thinking I have a terribly long road ahead of me. At 10:30 my midwife texts me to tell me she is going to bed, so call her whenever I am ready. I think this will probably be never, but by 11pm my contractions are 5-10 minutes apart and hurting pretty badly. I have made Aaron set up the tub and by 11:30 he calls Rebecca the midwife to come on over. I get in the tub and ask whose terrible idea it was to have another baby and Aaron says it was mine and I complain about how stupid I am. It hurts. I labor in the tub for an hour and Rebecca arrives. It hurts horribly and I make Aaron push on my back for each contraction. I do good breathing or whatever and mostly keep it in control, my past midwife's voice (Sammy's midwife) is in my head saying "keep it together Kelsey, you can do this" and that helps a lot. When Rebecca arrives she helps the situation by pouring water on my back during each contraction. This is surprisingly effective as my brain has to think about what is going on on my back and think less about the death pain going on elsewhere. At some point I throw up 3 or so times. Rebecca doesn't check to see how far I am, because I am very afraid that she will tell me 8 or anything lower and I don't want to hear it. After a bit she tells me that soon I will have to get out of the tub if a baby doesn't come out of me and I am not happy to hear this. The reasoning is that after a few hours it can slow you down, so I get out of the tub to go to the bathroom to see if that won't help speed things up. I hate getting out. Worst ever. I have one contraction out of the tub and wonder why why why am I so stupid. I get back in the tub and can feel the baby coming down. I start to do some preliminary pushing. It is awful. I think about how I don't want the baby to come out anymore. Too much pain. How do ladies have babies on tables with no drugs? I can't fathom it. I start pushing and screaming, and am reminded by Rebecca to scream in low tones. I somehow manage to do that. After what Aaron claims is only 4 contractions worth of pushing (I think it was a few more but I wasn't yelling on the first two, but then again, not like I was super coherent) I announce that here comes the baby. And then she does. In her amniotic sac!
In the past my water has been broken (by the midwife) while I was in labor, a little earlier with Harmon, and Sammy while she was crowning. Now Allison can have the distinct pleasure of knowing that she is lucky, has a 6th sense, and all sorts of other interesting folklore as explained on wikipedia. Apparently it is pretty rare, so cool I guess!
She was born at 1:25am on the 24th.
Anyway. As she came out in her sac my midwife popped it because it is much easier to grab a slippery baby with arms than a slippery ball with a baby inside, and someone grabbed her. I think maybe Aaron, but I was grabbing around too, and had to flip over (I was on my knees) because I could tell her cord was kind of short. I got to hold her and was just so happy!!! There is really no way to explain how happy you are to hold your new baby, and how happy you are to be not pushing that baby out anymore. We sat in the tub for a few minutes and then I handed her off to Aaron so I could deliver the placenta. I did that in the shower and then went to my very own bed.
11/24/12, The aftermath: I held Allison for a little while more and nursed her, but I was not feeling right and I knew it. I asked someone else to take her so I could just rest. I hadn't really felt this terrible after either other birth and although I felt bad having to give her away so soon, but I just wasn't right. I felt like I was going to pass out, or throw up, or who knows what. This happened several times, with me asking for the bowl, being really dizzy, and thinking I was going to pass out. Later Rebecca took me to the bathroom and it felt awful standing/walking/being up and I was sure I was going to faint. By 5am Rebecca had checked all my vitals and I was stable, even though not feeling well, and she left. By 6am(ish?) I had asked Aaron or my mom to help me walk to the bathroom. I remember sitting up and feeling dizzy/like I was going to throw up or pass out or both. I laid back down and then tried to sit up again. It was decided (by me) that we should go quickly to the bathroom. I don't remember entering the bathroom until I sat down on the toilet. Then I remember waking up (still sitting on the toilet) to my mom and Aaron, and my mom saying "call Rebecca, then we need to call 911". That is always great... Apparently I had passed out twice, once for 30 seconds, and had woken up flailing, my skin has been reported as green by my mom and yellow by Aaron, but by all accounts I was not doing well. They carried me back to bed at which point someone was on the phone with Rebecca and I was trying to convince everyone that I was now lucid and did not need to go in any ambulances! I think that everyone decided I could stay home and "wait and see". Meanwhile Rebecca got back in her car (she lives almost an hour away) and came back. She was concerned that it may be too much blood loss and felt better about coming back than not, as she has never had a mother who was worse getting up the second time out of bed than the first. She checked me out and decided to give me an iv fluid drip with a dose of pitocin to "clamp down" my uterus to make sure there was not too much bleeding/remnants of placenta. This was highly awful, as now I was having cramping/contractions and no baby was coming at the end of them. It was a slow drip and I was happy when the ibprofun kicked in because it felt like an eternity. Rebecca also took some of my blood to take to the lab to check my blood levels, which along with how I was doing after the fluids and pitocin would be an indication of if I was going to be taken to the hospital to receive blood... It was pretty scary, and I was grateful for the many people who were praying for me at that time.
After the fluids and pitocin I started to feel better. Rebecca took me to the bathroom and although I felt dizzy I didn't feel throw up/pass out style like I did before. This was a good sign and after checking all my vitals she left to take my blood to the lab. Later she called to tell me the good news, my levels were good, meaning I didn't have extreme blood loss and was ok. This was a relief to everyone, and meant that I just needed to rest and eat and drink lots and lots. I was happy that through all this Allison was a champion, very well behaved and nursed well. I felt bad that I wasn't able to snuggle her and love on her as much as possible, but I was glad to be getting better. When Rebecca came back to check me and Allison again for our two-day check, she explained that likely the cause of my fainting and extreme dizziness was hormones. She explained my blood results were actually really good (originally she just told me the number and that I was fine and that was good enough for me). As soon as my placenta was delivered my body experienced an extreme drop in hormones, and made my body go super crazy. I asked Rebecca what she thought could be done (if she had known, for future hypothetical pregnancies, etc.) and she said treating with progesterone.
So now we are just hanging out. Allison is lovely and sleeps a lot, but likes to be awake in the night like all babies. I am feeling a lot better and trying to take it easy so I can recover quickly. I feel quite blessed that I wasn't bleeding too much/dying and that everything was ok! I had really felt quite good and safe about having the baby at home, although there are always risks, but I still feel blessed about how everything turned out.
Miss Allison Kate Evans, born at home in the sac, 7 days late, 7lbs 11oz, 19 3/4", smaller than all her older siblings!! We adore her!
Monday, October 29, 2012
Meal Planning October
M 24: Brown Butter & Myzithra
T 25: Restaurant (Late Midwife appointment in Salt Lake)
W 26: Homemade pizzas, Pizza Factory Breadsticks
Th 27: Twice Baked Potato Casserole This should be called heart attack casserole. It was good, but not amazing. Won't repeat.
F 28: BYU Game
S 29: Lefsa, Salad
S 30: Beef, Potato, & Quinoa Soup, Bread
M 1: Homemade Chicken Nuggets, French Fries, Quinoa Blackbean Salad (recipe from Chica) Nuggets not worth the effort. They were good, but too much work. QB Salad, delicious.
T 2: Balsamic Bruchetta Chicken, leftover QB Salad. So so so good.
W 3: Freezer Lasagna. Made this last month but added shredded zucchini and froze. Tasty.
Th 4: Chicken Parmesan (from cookbook) Super super tasty as always.
F 5: Macaroni & Cheese (mom's recipe) I cut out the onions this time and it was a great success among the adults. The kids wouldn't touch it, because they are insane.
S 6: Restaurant w/family
S 7: Greek Food (see last month), Pumpkin Spice Bars (Natalie) So good.
M 8: Chicken Sausage Skillet. Easy and tasty.
T 9: Tacos.
W 10: Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup I've never eaten this at OG, but it is tasty at home.
Th 11: Chicken Enchiladas
F 12: Chicken Tortilla Soup (per Caelin's request!)
S 13: Dinner at uncle's, Jama's Arugula Salad
S 14: Chili & Cornbread (same recipe as last month)
(This whole week was delicious. Nothing new was made, but it all tasted real good.)
M 15: Hamburgers & Tater Tots
T 16: Costco Ravioli w/sauce of choice (pesto, butter, olive oil, cheese)
W 17: Cashew Chicken & Rice. Pretty good. I made a huge oil mess but I would make this again.
Th 18: Pasta w/Brown Butter & Myzithra, costco garlic bread.
F 19: Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings, Potato Skins The potato skins were super tasty, the chicken wings were good. Next time make the wings a little crispier in the oven and it would be better.
S 20: Jazz Game
S 21: Family dinner at cousin Nicole's, Aaron makes salsa (super yum)!
M 22: Salsa chicken, chips. I took leftover salsa that Aaron made the day befoe and put it on top of chicken and baked it in the oven at 375 for 40ish minutes. It was super delicious.
T 23: Chili (from last batch in freezer)
W 24: Harmon's Birthday: "Long noodles with white little cheese" (BB & Myzithra)
Th 25: Salad w/ Balsamic Dressing, Pizza Factory Breadsticks. Yum
F 26: Alexis' Birthday Party
S 27: Pizza leftovers from Harmon's Lunch Party
S 28: Garlic lemon chicken, brown rice, salad
T 25: Restaurant (Late Midwife appointment in Salt Lake)
W 26: Homemade pizzas, Pizza Factory Breadsticks
Th 27: Twice Baked Potato Casserole This should be called heart attack casserole. It was good, but not amazing. Won't repeat.
F 28: BYU Game
S 29: Lefsa, Salad
S 30: Beef, Potato, & Quinoa Soup, Bread
M 1: Homemade Chicken Nuggets, French Fries, Quinoa Blackbean Salad (recipe from Chica) Nuggets not worth the effort. They were good, but too much work. QB Salad, delicious.
T 2: Balsamic Bruchetta Chicken, leftover QB Salad. So so so good.
W 3: Freezer Lasagna. Made this last month but added shredded zucchini and froze. Tasty.
Th 4: Chicken Parmesan (from cookbook) Super super tasty as always.
F 5: Macaroni & Cheese (mom's recipe) I cut out the onions this time and it was a great success among the adults. The kids wouldn't touch it, because they are insane.
S 6: Restaurant w/family
S 7: Greek Food (see last month), Pumpkin Spice Bars (Natalie) So good.
M 8: Chicken Sausage Skillet. Easy and tasty.
T 9: Tacos.
W 10: Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup I've never eaten this at OG, but it is tasty at home.
Th 11: Chicken Enchiladas
F 12: Chicken Tortilla Soup (per Caelin's request!)
S 13: Dinner at uncle's, Jama's Arugula Salad
S 14: Chili & Cornbread (same recipe as last month)
(This whole week was delicious. Nothing new was made, but it all tasted real good.)
M 15: Hamburgers & Tater Tots
T 16: Costco Ravioli w/sauce of choice (pesto, butter, olive oil, cheese)
W 17: Cashew Chicken & Rice. Pretty good. I made a huge oil mess but I would make this again.
Th 18: Pasta w/Brown Butter & Myzithra, costco garlic bread.
F 19: Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings, Potato Skins The potato skins were super tasty, the chicken wings were good. Next time make the wings a little crispier in the oven and it would be better.
S 20: Jazz Game
S 21: Family dinner at cousin Nicole's, Aaron makes salsa (super yum)!
M 22: Salsa chicken, chips. I took leftover salsa that Aaron made the day befoe and put it on top of chicken and baked it in the oven at 375 for 40ish minutes. It was super delicious.
T 23: Chili (from last batch in freezer)
W 24: Harmon's Birthday: "Long noodles with white little cheese" (BB & Myzithra)
Th 25: Salad w/ Balsamic Dressing, Pizza Factory Breadsticks. Yum
F 26: Alexis' Birthday Party
S 27: Pizza leftovers from Harmon's Lunch Party
S 28: Garlic lemon chicken, brown rice, salad
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Pregnancy Whining
(Don't read this if you like being pregnant. Or if you want to be pregnant or are having a hard time getting pregnant. I know that lots of people get angry/sad at posts like this which is totally legitimate. But sometimes a giant lady just has to vent.)
The third trimester of this pregnancy is easier than the other two. It still is awful. I remember thinking during the first trimester that I would much rather be 8 months pregnant than as sick as I was, and although I stand by that, it is hard to be a giant whale.
Things I hate:
-Climbing stairs.
-Bending (or lack thereof).
-Attempting to sleep.
-Being really hungry but having a tiny squashed stomach.
-Not being able to breathe due to squashed lungs.
-Braxton Hicks 22.5/7
-At 35 1/2 weeks being only 5 lbs away from the weight at which I delivered my giant 10lb 12oz boy two weeks late.
-Tiniest bladder ever.
-Driving.
-Lifting anything.
-Moving my body in any way.
I better stop because this list could go on forever. It doesn't help that tomorrow I will be one month away from my due date. Still one entire month. And that I usually deliver a week or two late. People, that's a month and a half and I can hardly manage the situation going on now. And don't get me started on how cranky I am. Life is so rough that I can't even think up a good Halloween costume. That is pretty rough.
Ok, end of whining. For now.
The third trimester of this pregnancy is easier than the other two. It still is awful. I remember thinking during the first trimester that I would much rather be 8 months pregnant than as sick as I was, and although I stand by that, it is hard to be a giant whale.
Things I hate:
-Climbing stairs.
-Bending (or lack thereof).
-Attempting to sleep.
-Being really hungry but having a tiny squashed stomach.
-Not being able to breathe due to squashed lungs.
-Braxton Hicks 22.5/7
-At 35 1/2 weeks being only 5 lbs away from the weight at which I delivered my giant 10lb 12oz boy two weeks late.
-Tiniest bladder ever.
-Driving.
-Lifting anything.
-Moving my body in any way.
I better stop because this list could go on forever. It doesn't help that tomorrow I will be one month away from my due date. Still one entire month. And that I usually deliver a week or two late. People, that's a month and a half and I can hardly manage the situation going on now. And don't get me started on how cranky I am. Life is so rough that I can't even think up a good Halloween costume. That is pretty rough.
Ok, end of whining. For now.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Meal Planning. What?!
So I always intend to at least make an outline of good ideas for dinner so I don't keep feeding my family pasta every single night (the David Fox diet) but I never do. We end up eating a lot of pasta. With a few different sauces. But it gets kind of boring. Finally I decided to make some new and delicious foods. Here is what happened (mostly for my own records):
M 27: Salad with Creamy Balsamic Dressing, Garlic Cheese Flatbread Amazing dressing, I have made this bread lots, super tasty.
T 28: Loaded Baked Potato Soup, French Bread Soup pretty good, not amazing. Bread tasty.
W 29: Restaurant (Brigham City Temple Open House)
Th 30: Tacos
F 31: Cheesy Chicken Casserole I have made this several time, not great. Not making again.
S 1: Pasta w/Pesto (Costco Pesto Sauce), Spicy Oil Dip, Sourdough The dip was not great, not a repeat. The sourdough was not sour (can't get my starter to sour here) but was really tasty anyway.
S 2: Chili & Cornbread Loved both of these. (I used 2 big cans of crushed tomatoes instead of tomato juice, added zucchini and olives, used a few more of the veggies listed)
M 3: Leftover Chili
T 4: Pasta w/Homemade red sauce (saute some tiny pieces of garlic in olive oil, add big can of crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, tiny bit of sugar, salt & pepper, simmer for 10-20 min), leftover Sourdough. I make this a lot.
W 5: Beef stir fry. Tasty. Brown Rice. Good. Great way to make brown rice.
Th 6: Chicken Enchiladas. Big can of green enchilada sauce + can of green chilies + some sour cream poured over tortillas filled with chicken & cheese. Super tasty.
F 7: BBQ Ribs & Corn (Aaron) FAVORITE! The only thing better than Aaron's ribs is nothing.
S 8: Greek food: Tzatziki (greek yogurt, shredded cucumber, lemon juice, salt, needed dill!), Greek Salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, feta, black olives, olive oil, salt), Toum (the best most garlicky ever!), Garlic Cheese Flatbread. I love Greek Food Day. I probably smelled like garlic for a week after.
S 9: Hamburgers & Chips
M 10: Baked Potato Soup (from first batch put in freezer), Rolls (basic recipe)
T 11: Garlic Lime Chicken (cut slits into chicken, insert big pieces of garlic, cover in lime juice, salt & pepper) & Brown Rice, Garlic Bread (Costco) We eat a version of this fairly often. Sometimes with lemon.
W 12: Pasta w/Brown Butter and Myzithra Cheese (like Spaghetti Factory) So good. We eat this a lot.
Th 13: Pork Roast (marinated in stuff from the cupboard: worcestershire, steak seasoning, balsamic vinaigrette) & Crash Hot Potatoes, Roast was pretty tasty, I needed to boil the potatoes for longer but they were super good, especially the crispy skins.
F 14: BBQ Ribs. I invited friends and therefore made Aaron make them again. So tasty. I love them.
S 15: Grilled Chicken (marinated in lemon, garlic powder, s&p), Jama's Baby Arugula Salad (baby arugula, orange pepper, halved tiny tomatoes, avocado, balsamic vinaigrette) Really tasty.
S 16: Leftovers: Salad, grilled chicken
M 17: Lasagna (recipe from my mom), Garlic Bread from Costco. Delicious.
T 18: Grilled Brushetta Chicken, Baked Potatoes. I cheated and baked this, because a charcoal BBQ is too much work some days. Also I marinated it in only Balsamic Vinaigrette for a few hours, not their dressing. Definite repeat. Tasty. Aaron proclaimed it fancy too.
W 19: Leftover GBC & Lasagna
Th 20: Salad with Balsamic Dressing, Pizza Factory Breadsticks These are unbelievable.
F 21: Restaurant. Cafe Rio. Delicious times one million.
S 22: Leftovers. So exciting!
S 23: Salad w/balsamic dressing, mashed potatoes. This was supposed to be Alfredo sauce night, but I wanted mashed potatoes (that Aaron made and were delicious) and we had salad stuffs.
M 27: Salad with Creamy Balsamic Dressing, Garlic Cheese Flatbread Amazing dressing, I have made this bread lots, super tasty.
T 28: Loaded Baked Potato Soup, French Bread Soup pretty good, not amazing. Bread tasty.
W 29: Restaurant (Brigham City Temple Open House)
Th 30: Tacos
F 31: Cheesy Chicken Casserole I have made this several time, not great. Not making again.
S 1: Pasta w/Pesto (Costco Pesto Sauce), Spicy Oil Dip, Sourdough The dip was not great, not a repeat. The sourdough was not sour (can't get my starter to sour here) but was really tasty anyway.
S 2: Chili & Cornbread Loved both of these. (I used 2 big cans of crushed tomatoes instead of tomato juice, added zucchini and olives, used a few more of the veggies listed)
M 3: Leftover Chili
T 4: Pasta w/Homemade red sauce (saute some tiny pieces of garlic in olive oil, add big can of crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, tiny bit of sugar, salt & pepper, simmer for 10-20 min), leftover Sourdough. I make this a lot.
W 5: Beef stir fry. Tasty. Brown Rice. Good. Great way to make brown rice.
Th 6: Chicken Enchiladas. Big can of green enchilada sauce + can of green chilies + some sour cream poured over tortillas filled with chicken & cheese. Super tasty.
F 7: BBQ Ribs & Corn (Aaron) FAVORITE! The only thing better than Aaron's ribs is nothing.
S 8: Greek food: Tzatziki (greek yogurt, shredded cucumber, lemon juice, salt, needed dill!), Greek Salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, feta, black olives, olive oil, salt), Toum (the best most garlicky ever!), Garlic Cheese Flatbread. I love Greek Food Day. I probably smelled like garlic for a week after.
S 9: Hamburgers & Chips
M 10: Baked Potato Soup (from first batch put in freezer), Rolls (basic recipe)
T 11: Garlic Lime Chicken (cut slits into chicken, insert big pieces of garlic, cover in lime juice, salt & pepper) & Brown Rice, Garlic Bread (Costco) We eat a version of this fairly often. Sometimes with lemon.
W 12: Pasta w/Brown Butter and Myzithra Cheese (like Spaghetti Factory) So good. We eat this a lot.
Th 13: Pork Roast (marinated in stuff from the cupboard: worcestershire, steak seasoning, balsamic vinaigrette) & Crash Hot Potatoes, Roast was pretty tasty, I needed to boil the potatoes for longer but they were super good, especially the crispy skins.
F 14: BBQ Ribs. I invited friends and therefore made Aaron make them again. So tasty. I love them.
S 15: Grilled Chicken (marinated in lemon, garlic powder, s&p), Jama's Baby Arugula Salad (baby arugula, orange pepper, halved tiny tomatoes, avocado, balsamic vinaigrette) Really tasty.
S 16: Leftovers: Salad, grilled chicken
M 17: Lasagna (recipe from my mom), Garlic Bread from Costco. Delicious.
T 18: Grilled Brushetta Chicken, Baked Potatoes. I cheated and baked this, because a charcoal BBQ is too much work some days. Also I marinated it in only Balsamic Vinaigrette for a few hours, not their dressing. Definite repeat. Tasty. Aaron proclaimed it fancy too.
W 19: Leftover GBC & Lasagna
Th 20: Salad with Balsamic Dressing, Pizza Factory Breadsticks These are unbelievable.
F 21: Restaurant. Cafe Rio. Delicious times one million.
S 22: Leftovers. So exciting!
S 23: Salad w/balsamic dressing, mashed potatoes. This was supposed to be Alfredo sauce night, but I wanted mashed potatoes (that Aaron made and were delicious) and we had salad stuffs.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
The Facebook Problem & Solution
So, I may spend too much time on Facebook. I also obsessively check my email. These seem pretty ridiculous for a lot of reasons, the main two being: what important email am I waiting for, and am I really gaining anything from excessive FB use, or just wasting time? The answer of course is that I am just wasting time. Because I have two small children I often have a minute or 4 here or there, but not often long chunks of time where I can do something like sew two pieces of fabric together, read a chapter in a book, etc. However it takes about 10 seconds to get on the computer and see if I have any interesting emails, and if I am good, only a couple of minutes to see if there is anything amazing, new, or hilarious on Facebook. I tell myself it is not really so bad, and just an outlet to the boredom I sometimes feel, but I think in actuality it makes me feel worse. Not like by reading posts on FB I feel depressed because other people are out doing cool things (chances are if you are posting about all the cool things you are doing on FB instead of actually just enjoying them, you aren't really having that cool of a life anyway) but more like it is very unsatisfying. I cling to the lame excuse that I use FB to keep in contact with my friends, which is true, but I don't really need to check it many many times a day to keep in touch with my friends. It's not like I email, text, or call my friends 10 times a day, why would I need to see if they've posted in the last 2 hours?
This has led me to wonder what I could do differently to be more "satisfied" with my interneting. I hate when I put my kids to bed and am so tired that I feel like I can't do anything except sit around and play on the internet because that's all I have the energy to do, and two hours later I have nothing to show for it except for 10 more pins on pinterest of things I will someday (maybe) think about making and perhaps a comment on someone's photos on Facebook. That is to say, not a lot.
So, say you spend 1 hour a day on Facebook. I have no idea how much time I really spend on it, because really I don't want to know. I figure if I check it even if just for a minute 10 times a day that is too many. So we'll use an hour, because that is where I am going with my idea. Anyway, if I am spending an hour on FB to "socialize" and "keep in touch" with my friends, couldn't I do that in a better way? For example, if I used even a half hour a day to write a friend an email, write a real piece of mail, or call someone on the phone? All of those things sound like they take almost as little energy as clicking around on the internet, and I would venture produce better results both for me feeling fulfilled and keeping good friendships. Bottom line is starting today I am going to check my FB once a day, and spend 30 minutes that I would have been wasting there doing "friendship building/life fulfilling" type activities. For a week. Maybe in a week I will find that I didn't really like doing that and will go back to wasting my life on Facebook, but maybe I will find I am happier instead.
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