Thrifty Thursday

Thrifty Thursday

I said a little prayer last night that today be a “normal” Thursday.  My prayer was answered! Everything ran smoothly today.  I dropped off the kiddos at their schools, Maddy actually had an uninterrupted nap, and I was able to spend some much needed time with a few appliances (dishwasher and washer/dryer).

Poor Alligator never stood a chance.

How can he compete with Power Rangers & Brobee?

After picking up Max I decided to checkout a local second-hand store near my house. Mya needs some pants so I figured I’d give it a gander. I was surprised at how clean the store was there wasn’t a ton of stuff piled up like other second hand stores.  Unfortunately there were no pants in Mya’s size but there were some nice Halloween costumes. Max screamed when he found the Power Ranger costume, it was the red Power Ranger and his absolute favorite.  So we added a costume to our make-believe box. 

Runner up, in case the power ranger can’t

fulfill its obligations Brobee will step in.

He put on the costume as soon as we got home and has been wearing it ever since. I’d say we have already gotten our moneys worth. Wish me luck convincing him to take it off tonight.

Yes, he even wore it to go pick up his sister from school.

I don’t wanna...I don’t wanna!... I DON'T WANNA!!!

Four days before it struck.

Now, based upon the title of the entry you are probably thinking that I will be discussing a recent toddler tantrum or a preschooler protest but you would be wrong.  I don’t wanna…. I don’t wanna! I DON'T WANNA!!!....is the statement that was repetitively playing in this modern day mopin’ mama's mind. Why?  Well, it all started last Wednesday.

Hours before it struck.  We will be seeing those muffins again.

It started off as an innocent Wednesday.  We did our usual Wednesday routine.  Dropped off Mya at Kindergarten, went to baby story time at the library, had a lovely lunch…yada…yada…yada.   That evening the dog got sick and that’s when this mama went into survival mode.  (See, the flu usually strikes the dog first, weird, right?) I checked the status of our laundry situation, specifically towels, I cleaned out all buckets, I made sure fluids were stocked and ready for ingestion, medication was available for all ages and ample, clean sheets were a go, I was prepared.  If the stomach flu was going to strike my family I was prepared for the battle, BRING IT!  

Thursday Mya got sick at school and I picked her up.  It appeared to be an isolated case.  She never got sick again, it appeared to be one of those common kiddo conditions when they eat a lot of food then go run around and puke a minute later.  My son is notorious for doing this but it is usually with the help of his little friend called the sit-n-spin.  Please, they should call it the eat-sit-spin-puke. I digressed.  So, since it was isolated, and nothing happened Friday or Saturday morning this mama let her guard down.  Bad idea, that’s when ‘it’ goes in for the sneak attack, as if ‘it’ can sense when you are the most vulnerable.

My allies in this battle.

It hit our family Saturday night without warning.  It hit Mya.  Then while I was in the process of tending to her it struck Max. NO!!!! I felt so defenseless.  I thought we were out of the woods, so in my carelessness I thought I could change the sheets on Friday and then take a day off from laundry on Saturday (God rested on the seventh day, have I learned nothing, wait till Sunday)  So, to my dismay I was no longer prepared.  But I was not going to give up without a fight.  I hauled ass down to the washing machine and I started doing laundry like it was going out of style (what does that even mean?).  But I couldn’t keep up.  I hate to admit it but after a certain point any article of clothing that no longer fit a child was subject to earning the distinctive title of puke soaker-upper (as well as that ugly shirt my hubby liked-shhh. Oh, you know there is a shirt of your hubby’s that you are just praying earns the same title).  I am not proud of it but I had to do what I had to do to stay on top of this crazy battle. Then, as if the flu could see that I was making a comeback it hit below the belt.  It wanted to hit me where it hurts, it hit the baby, that bastard!

This morning... 

So, as I slowly walked back to my car in the pouring rain, no make-up, feet and sneakers soaked from the gosh darn puddles, wearing my PJs under my coat after dropping off my one healthy child at school I contemplated what awaited me at home.  At home was a son who can’t make it to the bathroom or the bucket, and never lays down. No, he jumps around like a power ranger puking here and there as he goes, leaving puddles of puke everywhere and my curious 13-month-old is willing to play in anything (I won’t get to graphic you might be eating).  I knew that as soon as I got home I needed to clean up the puddles from this morning, clean up the baby, do lot’s of laundry, explain a million times why you can’t eat after puking, sanitize the house, and chase around my preschooler with a bucket, I just wanted to say forget about it (I know what you were thinking).  So, as I continued my rainy stroll back to the car a little tear escaped my eye and in my mind I was chanting...I don’t wanna…I don’t wannn..I DON’T WANNA!! But, home I went ……

Mama and Munchkin’s Meal Marathon

Evolution of dinner time….

Mealtime has drastically changed in the past eight years.  I remember when we were newlyweds and I would search cookbooks for intricate recipes in hopes of impressing my new hubby.  I would slave over the stove and carefully present the food on his plate.  I would even go as far as wiping a spot of sauce from the side of his plate.  I was a five star restaurant chef.

Then after a year or two we got comfortable.  No longer were we eating at a table. We would both come home from work exhausted (we didn’t even know the meaning of the word back then, no kids and exhausted, please!) plop down in front of the television and that was that. We were the couch potato couple.

Flash forward to year three of our marriage and we had just welcomed a baby girl.  Dinner became whatever could be delivered or dropped off.  How was I supposed to prepare meals, work, and take care of a baby?  (If I only new then what I know now). I was the drive-thru/delivery drama mama.

On to year four of our marriage and we were a happy family of four.  We realized routine and dinner at the table would be a good tradition to start adopting now that we had a one and two year old.  So, I would prepare three different dinners everyday, puréed fruits and vegetables for my one-year-old, finger foods for the two-year-old, and I started preparing classy meals again for my husband and me. I was a short order cook.

During years five and six I began to bring back the more formal dinning experience and dinner would take roughly 30-45 minutes to prepare.  I would occupy the children with some activity in the kitchen while I cooked.  I enjoyed spending quality time with the children while I prepared dinner.  We had a nice routine and the meals were, healthy and delicious.   I was the perfect cook and mother.

Fast forward to year seven and eight.  We are always on the go and there is hardly time to eat dinner let alone prepare dinner.  But,I think I have finally figured it out; it is possible to have fast and convenient meals that are also nutritious for your entire family with minimal preparation everyday.  With the help of two little appliance friends called the slow cooker and the freezer. Taking a couple hours every other week to prepare future meals saves so much time during the week. Also, preparing meals ahead of time is a fun experience when the entire family gets involved.  We have found that the preparation of the meals is the perfect opportunity for the kiddos to learn about nutrition, science, art, and more. 

Preparation is the key for this mama of three.

I so enjoyed preparing meals with the kiddos today.  First I sat down and wrote out the menu for the next three weeks.  Then the kiddos helped me prepare those meals. We added five frozen meals to our freezer, boiled eggs for lunches this week, and made some yummy chocolate chip muffins.

Thrilling Thursday (It sounded better than Throw-up Thursday)

Max played photographer this morning. 
Granted he cut off my forehead but he really captured
the optimism in my eyes.

Well, today started off like any ordinary Thursday.  I got up around 6:30am to get the laundry going, get the oatmeal on the table, and make the coffee.  But to my surprise I had used the last of the coffee Wednesday afternoon.  This mom has gotta stay caffeinated and I like my iced coffee in the afternoons.  I had just thought there was another can of coffee for the morning, whoops, my bad.  Unfortunately in order for the show to go on this mama needs her caffeine so I did the unthinkable.  I drank the thick, nasty, 3 ½ tablespoons of coffee that were left in the bottom of the pot from the day before.  This is not something I am proud of but it had to be done. People were depending on me today I needed to be sharp!

So after my coffee conundrum I got the kiddos going. Everyone ate, brushed, washed, brushed, changed, packed, walked, buckled, and we were off to play the Will we make it on time game. I am sure other moms are quite familiar with this game.  If not, here are the basic rules, you may only go five miles over the speed limit, do not hit anyone, basically follow the law, and have each child arrive on time.  This is the fun part; both children must arrive at different locations but at the exact same time.  In order to win you must strategically determine your vehicles route.  Things to keep in mind when playing, green arrow routes vs. no green arrows to turn left,  cut-through streets are advised, turn down radio in order to limit distractions, also keep responses to children short and do not entertain a conversation, you need to put your entire mind into the game.  There will be barriers placed periodically.  Barriers to lookout for include, a funeral procession, city workers cutting tree limbs, road work, accident, first responders, slow-ass drivers, crazy-ass drivers, the good old ‘I am going to get across all five lanes and I don’t care who I make late in the process’ drivers, squirrels running across the road, and many more.

So I strategically played my game this morning and I was victorious! My daughter arrived twelve minutes early to kindergarten and my son arrived right on time to preschool.  On to the next game of the day, How much can I save at the super market?  

Maddy Grace with her smiling face

behind the wheel, the grocery store will never be the same again.

Unfortunately I did not save as much as I would have liked due to the fact that my one year old was not being cooperative.  Though, it should be noted this is the first time I have gone without my preschooler to help me. Boy is he a good helper, seriously.  I find it amusing that it is easier for me to go to the grocery store with all three kiddos as oppose to just one.  Anyway, Ms. Maddy started off all excited in the little car that is attached to the cart. She was all smiles and giggles while she honked the horn.  Then, two minutes later she was bailing.  So I did what any good great mother would do in this situation and I bribed her with food.  That always get them to shut up  be happy.  So we managed to get through produce while she ate some puffs then proceeded to throw them all over the floor.  So I held her for a few minutes which SO did not work! I could not juggle coupons, list, food, baby, pushing that darn car cart with no child in it (it is impossible, you hit everything) and coffee.  Something had to give. So I put the baby in the cart and opened up a box of gold fish crackers, like any great good mother would do. I walked through the dairy and TP isle then she started throwing the gold fish crackers over the side of the cart while waving bye-bye.  AHHHHHH…I needed to get food for the family but at what cost…my sanity…my baby's?   So like any good mother would do I went down the toy isle and grabbed a couple toys to entertain her while I finished shopping.  At which point I would pull them away and toss them into the nearest bin/shelf and she would scream at the top of her lungs. But that would be in the future, and I would worry about that then, she is happy now. At this time I had about fifteen minutes before I had to be in the checkout line in order to have enough time to pack up the car and drive to pick up my preschooler. Well, long story short, I grabbed the necessities, pried the toys, she screamed, I gave her my phone, she smiled, she dropped the phone, it broke into pieces, we both wept, and then we got in the car to pick up my little man. Unfortunately this was not my best round of How much can we save at the Super market but I did survive it so, I will chalk it up to a success.

Content but clearly upset with me. 

She is definitely saving the drama for her mama.

I managed to pick up my little man on time and we headed home and once there we unpacked the car, unloaded the groceries, placed reusable bag back in car (otherwise I forget them), made their lunch, they ate lunch, and then kiddos went down for a nap.  I have been waiting for this all week, an hour to myself. I planned on folding laundry, making lunch for tomorrow and some muffins for breakfast, leaving me with ½ an hour to read my book. Then it happened, just like last Thursday.  The phone rang.  NOOOOOO! I began screaming in my head of course because the kiddos were trying to sleep.

It was my daughter’s school.  I was informed that she threw up and needed to be picked up.  So I got everyone up from nap time and into the car to go pick up my throw-upper.  Gosh darn it! I yelled as I drove to pick her up, I was so close this week.  Last week it was my son requiring appropriate footwear and this week it was my daughter throwing up.  I started laughing; God must have a sense of humor.  Then I quickly stopped and seriously considered the fact that something could occur next Thursday as well. Should I fear Thursdays?  No, as the proud champion of Will we make it on time, I will embrace Thursday!  I will find the unknowing, the mystery, the excitement of it all thrilling!  So welcome to my first installment of Thrilling Thursdays.

So close!

SOCKS & SHOES

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. This morning started off so promising then it derailed.

I got both kiddos to school on time.  HOLLER!! I did the verbal mommy double-check before we left.  You know the one, when you are upstairs frantically trying to get your underwear on the right way while yelling downstairs to confirm that all items are packed in their bags and SOCKS & SHOES are on their feet.  I had received confirmation from both children that they had all the necessary items in their school bags and their SOCKS and SHOES were indeed on their feet.  So I threw on my clothes, grabbed the baby, a food bar of some type (my diet has been consumed with fiber bars, protein bars, anything in bar form really, ever since school started) and my keys and we headed out the door.  Once at school I parked the car grabbed the kiddos walked my little kindergartner to her class where she had a surprising meltdown but we got threw it.  I checked the time, hauled ass back to the car which was park strategically at the end of a dead-end street so that I can turn back down the same street avoiding crazy traffic (K-8 grade school and all parents drop off their kids, you can image the traffic).  So, I buckle the baby back into her seat, Max, my preschooler, buckles up and we are off. We have ten minutes to get five miles. This may seem feasible but rush hour occurs thanks to the entire school needing to be dropped off before their parents head to work.  The baby cries the entire way there, my inquisitive preschooler has questions just rolling off his tongue, and I am desperately trying not to hit the brake happy elderly individual in front of me. Brake! Accelerate. Mommy why don’t we have two noses? Brake! Mommy why do we have five toes? Accelerate. Mommy all the food in my stomach goes to my brain?  Brake!  Finally, we did it! I unbuckle the baby take Max’s hand walk into school take off his jacket, quickly write his name in his jacket (changing of seasons always catches me off guard- 75 degrees one day and 45 the next, come on! ), and drop him off in his room.

Upon arriving at home after dropping Max off I opened the door to a quiet house and an excited feeling poured over me.  I was finally going to get my moment to catch up on some much needed house work and perhaps even have half a moment to spare just for myself.  So I put on the nap music and put the baby down for a nap.  As I walked back downstairs I felt like a child on Christmas morning.  It was peaceful, (minus the cat and dog squabbling because the dog is forever sniffing the cats butt, but that was small compared to the grand scheme of things).  Ah, I allowed myself to finally exhale.  After two crazy weeks I was finally going to have a little time to myself.   Then, it happened, the phone rang.  My heart sank a little as I answered the phone. I looked on the caller ID and it was my son’s preschool, I answered it.   The program director asked me if I knew why she was calling.  I wanted to say, because you knew I was so close to having a moment to myself and you wanted to congratulate me? But I knew better, so I simply replied a quick, no.  She then informed me that my son was wearing flip-flops, which goes against the rule.  I needed to bring his SOCKS & SHOES so he could participate in the rest of the school day activities.

So I kissed my moment to catch up on chores and a half a moment to myself goodbye. I woke the baby up from her nap; she was now very upset, grabbed his SOCKS & SHOES, and headed back to preschool.  Once there I handed off the shoes and made my apologies.  To which she replied, “What’s going on with his eye?”  What?  His eye has a problem now? Nothing I exclaimed.  He had an eyelash in it earlier but it seemed fine after it was removed I shared.  So I got back in the car and headed down the same route I had already taken three times today, make that three times in the last hour.  Once home I attempted to put the baby back down for a nap, attempted mind you, this was not successful.  I started to get a few things done around the house and then it was time to go pick him up from preschool.  So I grabbed the now extremely upset, cranky, and tired baby and somehow managed to stop her from arching her back just long enough to buckle her in the car seat. As I started down our road I realized I could not go my usual way because they were painting the lines on the road.  Go figure, what are the chances?  So I took a detour, was a few minutes late but I got there, yet again.  I unbuckled the baby and rushed up the stairs into the school to get him from his classroom.  First thing I noticed his eye.  What’s going on with his eye? It was at that moment I realized I had two choices, do I laugh or do I cry?

Are we living Idiocracy?

Ok, so while browsing through Parents magazine I came across this tad bit of information under your child’s health:

Stick-On-Safety

Keep more than an eye on your kids with SafetyTat QR temporary tattoo.  The bar code is scannable with a Smartphone and provides additional emergency info to authorities.

What? I thought it was outlandish and a sign of lazy parenting when they invented those stupid kid leashes.  Now they have tattoos! Whatever happened to parents actually watching their children?  Is it exhausting chasing after a two year old?  Darn straight, but you are the parent; your child should be your number one priority.  Your needs, as the parent, do not come first, your child’s do.  So, if you plan on taking your child out in public plan accordingly, talk to your child about stranger danger and staying near you at all times. Teach your children why they need to say with you don’t just put on a tattoo or a leash and hope for the best.

The next question that begs to be asked is, when do you stop leashing and tattooing your child?  Will adults soon require tattoos as well?  Is the future filled with mindless adults who wander around scanning their tattoos with their phones then inputting it into their GPS? Are we living Idiocracy (I included a scene from the movie below for those who are not familiar with the film)?

Please, share your thoughts.

When it's yellow let it mellow, when it's brown flush it down, unless you are a guest?

Water conservation is something that has been on my mind since I was 13 years old.   We had taken a family trip, you know one of those trips where dad has to work some of the days but the rest of the family is on vacation.  So, long story short, we went to Arizona and I remember being so fascinated with the cacti as we drove to our hotel, we were definitely not in Northwest Ohio anymore.  We had arrived late at night and I was surprised the next morning when I looked out our hotel room and there was no desert.  In fact it was rather green, I was disappointed.  We had to get in our rental car and drive to the desert.  It was at that moment the questions started rolling off my tongue.  I remember asking my father why the grass in the desert is greener than the grass at home? Where does the water come from since it is supposed to be a desert? How does it get to the desert? Doesn't it evaporate really fast?  Does that cost a lot of money? .  After my many questions my father let out a slight chuckle and then he explained the entire irrigation process to me.  I thought is so silly to waste water on the desert and waste so much money trying to make plants and grass grow where they should not (and the indigenous landscape is so beautiful). It was at that moment that I knew water conservation was something I was going to practice and share.

Props to the family for such a clean toilet. Four people use
this toilet and
two of them are boys (way to aim boys!)

Dirty Anti-Green Machine
(but it is officially ours- no more payments!)

So, here I am almost twenty years later.  I am now married with three kiddos, a cat, dog, home, and lawn of my own that is only irrigated when Mother Nature sees fit.  I continue my water conservation quest by teaching my family how to only utilize the water that is necessary. In order to facilitate this lifestyle we have adopted certain routines. 

We turn off the faucet while we brush our teeth.  We rinse our dishes as soon as we are finished eating so that a substantial amount of water isn’t required to clean them later when hard substance has formed (Instead of water 2 tablespoons of vinegar helps with the really tough jobs). We load our dishwasher to capacity and run it as opposed to hand cleaning the dishes which does surprisingly save water in the end.  I also try my best to make sure I am on top of the laundry and remove clothes from the washer the same day I place them in the washer, so that they do not have to be washed again. I wash a substantial amount of clothing at once.  I do not wash my car, which is bad for the car, good for conserving water.  When bathing the kiddos I try my best to have one start off with a shower and let the tub fill while they shower.  The next two children can then take a bath in the water that filled (unless it was a rather dirty day, then a refill might be necessary). We have also adopted the technique of when it is yellow, let it mellow and when it is brown, flush it down (my son has also added a new slogan, if you go three it has to flee.  Going # 3 is of course when you go both #1 and #2).  We have an older toilet that has 3.5 gallons per flush (gpf) not the newer 1.5 or 1.6 gpf, so we really have incentive to conserve.  This of course is a hit, or miss, when it comes to 4 and 5 year olds.  My husband has grown a little perturbed at the fact that when it is his turn to use the facilities sometimes the previous user did not flush the brown down.  It’s a learning process; we will get there one day!

I am proud of my kiddos, they are learning a valuable lesson about abundance and how their actions affect others and the environment.  However, I was caught off guard the other day when my son asked why we do not flush at home when it is yellow (or #1) but we do at other people’s houses.  Well, I exclaimed slowly, stalling in hopes of trying to determine the best way to respond to his little inquisitive mind. I was at a loss.  I simply replied that is rude not to flush the toilet at other people’s homes, you need to follow their rules.  Thankfully he did not have a followup question but his question has had me pondering, what if we did follow the same rule at a friends house? Would our friends think less of us?

So what would you do? Would you think less of someone if they did not flush the toilet at your house? Would it matter more if it was #1 or #2?

If you aren’t already, follow me, and then post your thoughts below.