Spaving

I promised that I would report on how my trip to the Philadelphia Premium Outlets in Limerick was on Sunday and here it is. It was a full on Spavathon (I was spending but the deals were so good there were a lot of savings). I got a few things for myself but my kids made out like bandits - thanks to my Aunts and Cousin for absolutely spoiling them rotten.

I've lost about 35 pounds in the last year and have been slowly trying to update my wardrobe. We had a party to go to on Saturday and I wanted to be on the nicer side of casual. I have a few skirts still in the closet from when I worked but I don't have any tops to go with them and the only denim skirt I have is too big. I decided that I needed a simple black skirt that I could dress up or down depending on the occasion, I found it at White House Black Market. This could possibly be my new favorite store by the way, there were so many cute tops and dresses that I had to really remind myself of my shopping budget. The other thing I wanted for myself was a new pair of jeans. I have a pair of jeans from H&M that I got before I was pregnant with the girl child and I held onto them in hopes of being that thin again. I am thrilled to say I am that thin but they are now the only jeans I have that fit so, to the Gap I went. I only had to try on 3 pairs to find the right ones:)

The kids got some seriously cute stuff for now, later, and for next year. By far the Gymboree outlet was the best to us. One of my aunts bought them both their 1st day of school outfits and I got them their Halloween costumes - glow in the dark skeletons (these are pajamas so I won't be too mad if they change their minds about what they want to dress up as). What's even better is that I got $75 in gymbucks to use in the beginning of October - $150 will go a LONG way at the outlet store. I was disappointed in Osh Kosh. I usually do really well in there but this time I didn't feel like the fall/winter clothes were that good of a deal and I couldn't find much on the clearance racks for next year. The girl child got a cute nightgown and ADORABLE gray slouchy boots from Children's Place and the boy child made out well with basics from the Gap.

All in all it was a highly productive shopping experience and a much needed day of female bonding. Now I've got to do all that laundry:)

The Back to School Countdown is ON

So everyone is talking about school right now. I think a lot of schools in our area went back today but our district doesn't start until next Tuesday. I've been telling the kids that it's time to get back into the school routine which basically means no tv before bed and bedtime is earlier then it has been - not that they were staying up late every night but I need them to get up earlier then they have been so we're not running out the door. Four year olds are still working on the concept of time and date so I needed a way to count down to the first day with them. 

Lately, I've heard a lot about using paper chains to count things down and decided this would be a good occasion to try it.  I cut different colored construction paper into strips and wrote school related activities on to each one - things like pick out your first day outfit, practice writing your name, read a book about back to school, etc. Everyday they can pull off a link of the chain and we'll do that activity. It kind of reminds me of our advent calendar for Christmas. 

The kids start on different days so I had to do one for each of them, the photo above is the girl child's. It was pretty quick to make, the only thing I'm worried about is how the glue will hold up to them pulling the "links" off. Maybe we'll cut them off just to be on the safe side? 

The back to school book I will read to each of the kids is called Ruby's School Walk. You can click on the link below to find out more.

Slacking Already?

Alright, so I'm in to week 2 of blogging and I'm already slacking off. I have a number of excuses but really, that's all they are because if we really want to do something, we'll do it.

Last week I had to go for a mammogram and of course, because nothing can be that easy in my life, they saw something and I had to go back for more images. The tech at my first one told me when I went that it was very common to be called back because they have nothing to compare it to so not to worry if I got a call. Anyone I told said it was probably nothing so not to worry about it, I even told myself it was probably nothing and I shouldn't worry about it. Guess what? I worried because that's what I do best. I was actually doing okay up until Thursday morning about 2 hours before the appointment, that's when I ran out of things to do. I felt on the verge of throwing up by the time I got into the room and I babbled through the entire appointment but thankfully it was nothing and I was able to breathe a HUGE sigh of relief. I'm only 35 so I didn't really have to go yet but because of family history my doctor recommended I go for a baseline early. As nerve wracking as it was, I'm glad I went because I know I'm okay for now and they will have something to compare to in the future.

Once that was out of the way we began a long weekend of family fun. Relatives are visiting from North Carolina and New York and we have a packed schedule while they are here. Tomorrow we're headed to the Philadelphia Premium Outlets for a shopping bonanza. I'm hoping to get some new shoes for the girl child (she asked for Twinkle Toes) and I need new sunglasses. I'll post about any really good deals I get.

I promise I'll try to do better next week:)

Living off the Land

I try to be friendly to the environment. We recycle, I've tried to eliminate our use of paper products, my kids are pretty good about turning things off - we even have those power strips that cut the power to items once they are turned off. Last summer I wanted to try gardening so my husband built a raised bed for me (under our grass is nothing but rocks). It did so well that this year I asked for two more. We've also added rain barrels and a rotating compost bin. Although I'm not getting as many zucchini as I did last year, I'm still completely hooked on gardening. I enjoy taking care of it and knowing exactly where our food came from.

I read an article a few months ago and it talked about cutting out any packaged foods with more then 5 ingredients. We certainly aren't there yet (especially with the challenge of being gluten free) but I'm trying to make more things from scratch. My Mom makes her own applesauce and strawberry jam but we've always frozen it. This year, we decided to try canning and we started with peaches. My kids LOVE fruit! I buy at least two of those Dole fruit cup packs each time I go to the grocery store and if I'm at BJs, I will pick up a case of them. Even with coupons, this adds up. We have a great pick your own orchard about 15 minutes away and a basket of about 40 peaches only costs around $13. A dozen jars were $9 at Walmart. Besides the peaches you only need sugar, water, and lemon juice. If you're new to canning see if there is someone you can borrow the canning pot and supplies from, try it first to see if it's something you'll continue with.

Peeling the peaches is time consuming, I read something about boiling them and then dropping them into ice water to get the peels off (just like you would a tomato) but this made the peaches really soft and they were getting squooshed when we tried to get the pits out so we went back to just peeling them. With peaches you can do a "raw pack" - just slice them up and put them in the jars. We poured a light sugar syrup (10 cups of water to 5 cups of sugar) over them, used a plastic knife to get rid of any air bubbles and then put a teaspoon of lemon juice over the top - someone told my Mom this would prevent mold. That's it! Put the lids on and put them in the canner for 25 minutes. Maybe 2 hours of work for what will hopefully last me a year (a dozen pint jars with 2 peaches each in them). I think the cost savings is definitely worth it.

The girl child especially loves applesauce so that's the next thing I'm going to try to can. Again, my Mom makes it and  puts it in the freezer but I'm impatient and I don't want to deal with thawing it. Apples should be ready to pick in the next few weeks. I'll let you know how it goes.

Freezer Fridays

The start of school and Fall activities is quickly approaching. In addition to school I've allowed each of the kids to pick up to two activities. For the girl child this was very difficult since she is like me and wants to do it all - we settled on Dance and Spanish. As for the boy child, he doesn't quite get it yet so I picked for him - Basketball and Swimming.

We tried a neighborhood dinner exchange a few years ago and it worked well but people get busy and kids are picky so it didn't last long. Sometimes I will do a marathon cooking day making 10-12 recipes all at once but this is time consuming and usually makes a huge mess in my kitchen. Instead I pick one or two freezable recipes a week and I'll triple the recipe having one that night and banking the other two. This week I did Spaghetti Pie and Sweet and Sour Meatballs both from Girlfriends on the Go by Suzie Roberts.

I usually judge a recipe based on my husband and my daughter's reaction - the boy child will eat anything you put in front of him and say it's delicious so I don't usually trust his judgement. The Spaghetti Pie was a big hit with the whole family, it's easy to make but it does make a big pile of dirty dishes - the pot to cook the noodles, a bowl for the filling, and the pan that you brown the meat in. The girl child isn't a huge fan of sauces so the Sweet and Sour Meatballs weren't her favorite but I served them with rice and broccoli which she ate all of so I can't complain too much.

I probably have a dozen meals in the freezer (we have a second freezer in the garage) from the last few weeks of cooking. I would really like to double that number before school starts so we don't feel like we are eating the same thing every week but I haven't picked out any more yet.

If you're interested in trying to make and freeze meals I highly recommend Once a Month Mom. They've got a great site with different menus to choose from including a Gluten Free/Dairy Free freezer menu. They give you the shopping lists and instructions for a full day of cooking.

Mama Needs Friends Too

I wanted to go out with my League friends last night. In order to do this, my husband had to switch his schedule and I still needed a babysitter for an hour and a half. The social started at 6:30 - it was a painting party at Roey's Paintbox but I wanted to make a stop at Milk and Honey Kids first. It took me an hour and a half to get to a store that's only 25 minutes away. Once I made my purchases - yes the sale was worth it, it took me another 40 minutes to get to my final destination. More traffic and a misguided GPS to blame for this one. Once I found a parking spot I realized I had no change for the meter and this meter didn't take credit cards like some do. I had to call in to a number and create an account before I could FINALLY pay to park. I kid you not, at this point I was literally on the verge of stamping my feet and throwing a full blown toddler tantrum. Once I finally made it to my destination I was a half an hour late.

Thankfully, I didn't miss anything but socializing, they were just about to pick up their paintbrushes when I walked in. As creative as I am, painting and drawing are not things I excel at but Roey takes you step by step through it and in the end I have a picture of Red Poppies that I am pretty proud of - my Mom is trying to claim the picture for her guest room and I take that as a very high compliment.What really made my night is that everyone who brought snacks to share thought of me and brought things that were gluten free. I even had my own selection of cupcakes and icing shooters!

My day is spent catering to my children and although I am trying to teach them to do for themselves and to ask me for things instead of demand things from me, any way you look at it, I am doing things for them and to keep our house running smoothly. I thank goodness that my husband is supportive of my work with the League and is willing to change his schedule so I can go out on nights like this. Although I could have done without the 2+ hours in the car, that adult conversation and the chance to just be me and not "Mommy" is exactly what I needed to recharge my batteries. I was happy to shuffle the kids around this morning and to the park for a picnic after camp. I didn't mind pushing them on the swings, and watching them climb, and hang, and jump. I was tolerant of the 50 questions on the way to the park about the park and although I wish they would actually nap during their rest time, I am not yelling at them to be quiet, I'm simply reminding them that if they don't go to sleep they will not get to swim in the big pool after their lessons tonight.

So thank you to my friends who went out last night, who made me laugh, who thought of me when they were buying snacks, and who listened to me when I talked about my kids - you know we can't get away from them completely;) I hope you all know what you mean to me.

Meet Me

I'm a mostly stay at home mom to 2 very active four year olds. The girl child is biologically mine and we are fostering the boy child with the hopes of adopting him soon. My husband works in law enforcement so his schedule is as unpredictable as they come and now he's working on his Master's Degree too.

I love to bake but I have a gluten allergy that I can blame on my Dad and genetics so I have to get creative with not only my cooking but also my food budget. I love to run and am just now trying to get back into it after a major hip injury. I would be a complete and utter mess without attending numerous yoga classes each week.

Besides attending the yoga classes I teach Mommy & Me, Preschool, and Family classes at my local studio and I do direct sales as an Ambassador for Barefoot Books. Oh and somehow I also find time to be on the Board for the Junior League of the Lehigh Valley.

The answer is yes, I do manage to have a social life too:)

I'm writing this blog in an attempt to share how I keep it all straight and myself sane at the same time.