Yeah, yeah, yeah

Yeah, I know. I lied.
Instead of blogging more, I blogged less.
Oh well. It happens.

Been VERY busy (as always).

Kids just keep seeming to get sick over and over and passing things back and forth constantly.
We had Meredith's first birthday party on March 31st.

We also have consulted with her ophthalmologist and she will be going in for eye muscle surgery on May 21st. Not looking forward to that at all :-(



I've been working on getting back on track with meal planning as well.
We were doing really good there for a while, but then I got lazy, and busy, and just totally fell off track.
I'm working on not only getting a home-cooked dinner on the table most of the time, but also trying new recipes I've pinned on Pinterest, pulled out of magazines, and printed off the internet. We've got a lot of picky eaters here, so it can be quite a challenge. I basically told everyone though, we are going to be trying new recipes. TRY THEM. If you don't like them, that's fine. I'll guarantee nobody is going to like every single new recipe we try. There's always grilled cheese, a pb&j, or something out of the freezer if you don't like dinner that night! You'll live!

So I started a little bit at the beginning of this month, and then on Monday/Tuesday I went ahead and finished writing up a meal plan for the rest of this month and the month of June.
I threw in some "Free" days here and there, or "Grill" days. We can use the free days to shift meals forward or backward if needed, just get takeout, or grill out if weather permits. Same idea with the grill days, if the weather works, we can always grill something. Kind of hard to figure that out too far in advance though, due to weather.

Thursday, May 3- Creamy Parmesan & Sun-dried Tomato Chicken Penne- Very Good, everyone liked, even my dad, and he's a tough critic- for this reason I have put this recipe on the menu a few times.
Friday, May 4-Kraft FreshTake Cheddar Bacon Chicken- Always an easy meal and everyone seems to like it.
Saturday, May 5- Grilled Balsamic Flank Steak- Pretty Good, not QUITE as flavorful as I had imagined.
Sunday, May 6- Pulled Pork and french fries
Monday, May 7- Frozen lasagna
Tuesday, May 8- Crispy Cheddar Chicken, Cheddar Broccoli Rice, Stuffing, Broccoli with cheese sauce- Very Good, fairly easy, everyone seemed to like the chicken and the sauce that goes with it.
Wednesday, May 9- Sweet Basil & Oregano Bruschetta Chicken with Angel Hair- Just okay, Everyone said they'd eat it again, but again, not quite as flavorful as I had hoped.
Thursday, May 10- Italian Sausage meat sauce & pasta
Friday, May 11- Breaded pan fried pork chops
Saturday, May 12-Chicken Piccata with Linguine
Sunday, May 13-
Monday, May 14-Stew Beef and Egg Noodles
Tuesday, May 15- Herbs De Provence Roasted Chicken & Potatoes
Wednesday, May 16- Garlic Pork Roast
Thursday, May 17- Eggplant Parmesan & pasta
Friday, May 18- FREE DAY/GRILL DAY
Saturday, May 19-Braised Beef Ragu with Pappardelle
Sunday, May 20-Creamy Parmesan & Sun-dried Tomato Chicken Penne
Monday, May 21- FREE DAY- Maybe fast food or takeout. This is Meredith's surgery day and don't know how long we will be at Akron Children's
Tuesday, May 22- Not sure. Finding something easy in case Meredith isn't doing so great.
Wednesday, May 23- Drunken Pork Chops
Thursday, May 24- Chicken Kiev
Friday, May 25- Pasta with Meatballs
Saturday, May 26- Baked Ziti (use leftover pasta sauce)
Sunday, May 27- FREE DAY/GRILL DAY
Monday, May 28- Memorial Day-possible Grill day
Tuesday, May 29- Parmesan Pork Roast
Wednesday, May 30- Ham
Thursday, May 31- Ham and Potato Casserole
Friday, June 1-Crispy Chicken with Creamy Italian Sauce and Bowtie Pasta
Saturday, June 2- Ravioli with sauce
Sunday, June 3- Pork and Green Pepper Stew
Monday, June 4- Meatloaf with Roasted Onion Carrots and Potatoes
Tuesday, June 5- Brinner
Wednesday, June 6- Chicken Broccoli Supreme
Thursday, June 7- McCormick Slow Cooker Hearty Beef Stew
Friday, June 8- Chicken Piccata
Saturday, June 9- McCormick Thyme Crusted Pork Chops with Sauteed Onions
Sunday, June 10- FREE DAY/GRILL DAY
Monday, June11- Ravioli with Sauce
Tuesday, June 12-(Kraft) Hearty Tuscan Herb Chicken
Wednesday, June 13- Brinner
Thursday, June 14- Pot Roast or Roast Beef-TBD
Friday, June 15- Cuban Pork Tenderloin
Saturday, June 16-Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken with Fried Rice
Sunday, June 17-
Monday, June18- Eggplant Parmesan and pasta
Tuesday, June 19- Chciken White Wine Scallopine with Orzos
Wednesday, June 20- Ham
Thursday, June 21- Chicken Piccata
Friday, June 22- Brinner
Saturday, June 23- Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken
Sunday, June 24- FREE DAY/GRILL DAY
Monday, June 25- Basil Pork Chops
Tuesday, June 26- Italian Sausage meat sauce and pasta
Wednesday, June 27- Creamy Parmesan & Sun-dried Tomato Chicken Penne
Thursday, June 28- Beef Burgundy over Egg Noodles
Friday, June 29- Asian Pork Linguine
Saturday, June 30-

 I've got a couple blanks. Mother's Day, because I think someone mentioned possibly going out to eat. Meredith's surgery day and the day after. I'm a little worried about how she will recover or how fussy she may be, so I don't want to tie myself down to any intricate or new recipes.
Father's Day is blank because I suppose I should ask the dads what they want. And June 30th is my birthday, and maybe if I get lucky my husband and I can go out to dinner and movie? We'll see.
 Hopefully I can pretty much keep to this schedule.
For our family, the hardest part seems to be just DECIDING what to actually have!! No one can ever pick, or decide what they are in the mood for.
So wish us luck!!
And hopefully these new recipes turn out worthwhile!




OH! and we also had a TINY family only celebration on Meredith's actual birthday, 2/24:

Wow.

Wow, I knew it had been a while since I posted, but didn't quite realize it had been that long.

Here was what I posted on my Facebook page as my day in a nutshell!!

Got a new full bed set (which we needed desperately) at a clearance price, AND used a 20% off coupon-shipped right to my house for free!!
For some reason my prescription that was $75 last time was only $34 this month! Used a $10 off a $10 or more order at Staples (umm, can we say free??)!!
The favors we're getting for Meredith's birthday were unexpectedly on sale today!!
Meredith's big girl carseat AND baby gates both came today!!
Came home to Logan standing at the door all excited yelling "Mommy! Mommy!" (that never happens, he's a daddy's boy!)!!
Thought I had $1.50 off on Fuelperks to get gas, but actually had $2.70 off per gallon!!
And I was pretty darn excited this morning to see I'd lost 3 lbs!!

Pretty awesome :-)

Head=Exploding

I really think my head might explode.
Literally.
It really feels possible.

Lack of sleep and a headache are taking it's toll. Bad.

My father went to the hospital Wednesday night, was released.
Then all yesterday he wasn't getting any better, my mom went to go to bed, and I can't remember exactly what she said, but came back down saying he still had a fever, or the fever was worse or something. And she felt she needed to take him back to the hospital.
At least they can monitor the dehydration/blood pressure/blood sugar etc, and make sure he doesn't pass out.
I found a note on the table this morning saying they were admitting him, and Darren had stayed there, but she came home at 3am to get some sleep.
Then later found paperwork from Darren. I guess he was being admitted in the technical sense of the term, but they now do "observation rooms," or some crap, and he was just be staying there under observation. I don't know what difference it makes really. Then my mom spoke to him today and they were keeping him until at least tomorrow.

Logan is pretty much all better, but Meredith is sick and the diarrhea is a mess to deal with. She's definitely not acting like herself.
I feel so bad, but at the same time I am getting aggravated quickly.
I am too damn tired. My head is pounding and just won't stop. I took Tylenol at like 4pm, and I just took some more now. I know that's way close together....but I feel like I could just decapitate myself right now my head hurts so bad.
Meredith had a diaper explosion, Logan was fussing and being a brat. Ay yi yi.

Matt is working late tonight, which sucks. Because about a half an hour ago I would've done anything to have him here for a little help.

I am PRAYING so hard for some sleep tonight.
My dad won't be home to worry about.
I just need the kids to sleep soundly! PLEASEEEEEEE

Beyond

I feel beyond stressed out.
Beyond upset.
Beyond annoyed.
Beyond aggravated.

It's always something.
I just feel like myself and family need a break. Need something to go our way.
Even if it's just the little things.
Right now I am upset over something that I'm sure most people would agree is really just very trivial.
But it has pushed my emotions over the edge, to the point of tears, just from having so much pent up inside from other things.

I messaged a contact about renting the Clubhouse down the street for Meredith's birthday party a few weeks ago. In the past, all they required to book your date was the security deposit. Well upon messaging this person, he tells me all Saturdays in March are currently available, but they require the full amount (rental fee + security deposit) to secure your desired date. Well I didn't have it. But he made it sound like March wasn't busy, so my mistake I guess, I figured I'd be alright.
So fast forward to today, I had this lurking bad feeling (lo and behold I was right for feeling that way).
I message him, asking if the 24th is still available, and confirming the parts of the clubhouse we want to use and price, and how can we arrange to pay.
Well he tells me the 24th has been booked. so have this day, that day, this day, that day, and possibly this day and possibly this day.
So I'm like damn that filled up fast!! We're only halfway through February. And what the heck does "possibly" booked mean.
At first I'm just extremely upset. Then I get on their website, where I see it says that a deposit is needed to secure your date!! So now I'm mad. If that was the case, I could have had enough for the deposit only to secure my date weeks earlier when it was still available!!
Through a series of very annoying emails, first he's not understanding what I'm saying about what the website states their policy is. Then he thinks I'm trying to say I paid them, and says if I can show documentation of payment that I can have the 24th. A real thick skull this guy has.
I explain, NO, I wasn't saying I paid, but that I was saying he told me full payment to book, website says they only require deposit. He ends up giving me this whole sob story about how people have burned them in the past, and they've lost revenue, which is why they require full payment. And he will have to look at the website to see if it needs to be changed. Then he spews something about how a "security deposit" is for damages and cleaning, and isn't the same as a "rental deposit" to secure your date. I don't even know what the heck he was saying, and why pull out a term like "rental deposit," when it apparently doesn't matter-because you're saying no matter what you need full payment!!!!
Ugh.
 I can't even talk about it anymore right now.

 Logan was sick since Friday, massive diarrhea. Finally seems to be gone today.
My dad has been sick since Monday, barely out of bed. Now tonight he passed out again. He's currently at the hospital with my mom.
Meredith has been having eye issues, so yesterday we went to her primary doctor, and got a referral to a pediatric ophthalmologist to see what they need to do-possibly surgery. She's also still not walking or even crawling. We are on week 4 of physical therapy :-(
I'm just stressed and exhausted.

I need a vacation.

It's been a taxing day....

Pun intended.

We had our tax appt. today, and good news! We will be making out good after all is said and done with our taxes. A relief, and a much needed one. And we were even able to do some stuff to help out with my parents taxes after the difficult year they've had. Also very, very good news.

On the other end of the spectrum, Logan's been kind of sick. No coughing, no throwing up, no fever. But some serious diarrhea, resulting in a serious rash. He took 3 baths in one day the other day because he butt and legs were so red and burned-looking from his sour poopy :-(
He must have some kind of weird stomach virus or something. I haven't taken him to the doctor, because frankly I'm sure there isn't anything they will do but tell me it's probably a virus. If he starts throwing up, or running a fever I will take him in, but for now it's just a 'sour belly' as gramma calls it. Poor baby. He's fighting us at diaper changes, didn't even want to sit down in the tub. Absolutely breaks me heart. The poor kid is just not feeling well and his butt hurts so bad. Watching him cry was almost physically painful for me. Seeing your child in pain is definitely the worst.

We also have a SUPER busy week coming this week. So I'm hoping he is feeling better by Monday morning. I've got 6 appointments this week, plus making another stop at the tax office. So I'm definitely thinking by Friday evening I'm going to be totally exhausted. A sick kid and a busy week are not a fun combination.

Superbowl Sunday!

Not going to lie, not that interested in the Superbowl this year (or any other year really to be honest). It was a good excuse to break out the deep fryer and eat some unhealthy food though. Mozzarella sticks, chicken wings, chicken tenders, green bean fries, jalapeno poppers, potato skins and other junk.
We have a pretty busy day tomorrow, I've got a couple of appointments with the kids. And I think I'm going to have to schedule another. Meredith has her 1 year wellcheck checkup in a few weeks, but I am on the fence about whether to call and schedule an appointment for her sooner. I'd noticed it a little bit here and there I thought, but just recently I am really noticing that her right eye seems to be funny. I don't know how to explain it, but it seems that sometimes it's almost drifting the wrong way? I don't know. That doesn't really explain it. I don't want to call it a lazy eye....because I just hate that term, and I don't want to have to say those words out loud that that's what it is...but something just doesn't seem right. And it's becoming more frequent/noticeable. So needless to say, I'm worried. My husband was told when he was a lot younger that he had astigmatism, and that sometimes his one eye can kind of seem like it's not looking straight ahead, I guess, for lack of a better explanation. So I don't know if this could be something genetic/hereditary or something...I don't know what to think. It's worrying me, I'm upset. Of course I will think she's beautiful no matter what, but you hate for your kid to possibly have something that might cause any extra pain or embarrassment later on in life. Kids are mean enough as it is. I don't want her to endure anything additional. I'm worried it may require special glasses, or surgery. But in another way I almost hope it's something that can be fixed with special glasses or surgery. Does that sound stupid? I'd be a nervous wreck and so scared if it was something that required surgery, but to know it could be taken care of and gone would also be a relief. I'm such a nervous worrier. Sigh.
I also have about a billion other things to do tomorrow. But I have a feeling I won't get to most of them!
We have our tax appt. on Saturday afternoon and I am cautiously optimistic that maybe we can get a nice refund. I will probably cry if it's less than the minimum I was hoping for. Yeah, I know it's just money. But I had a specific amount in mind I wanted to open a savings account for each kid with. Plus pay off 2 credit cards. So like I said....I remain cautiously optimistic. I'm nervous, but hopeful. We'll see I guess....
Anyway, back to my millions of things to do. I have a lot of recipes and things I found on Pinterest that I want to try. And I need to finalize and figure things out for Meredith's birthday party. It won't be until March, but I am searching for the cheapest possible places to get the things I want (like I looked at 10 different sites for her decor), plus will be trying to sell more stuff on Ebay (like I did to finance Christmas), in order to pay for her party. I do big first birthdays. I don't care what anyone thinks. It's as much for me, as it is for them. People always say why bother, they won't remember it....blah blah blah. But I will. And I like to make a big deal out of turning 1. So yeah. It will be a nice shindig. But that takes careful planning and budgeting. We won't be ordering food from anywhere like I did for Logan's first birthday (finances were way more flexible then), so I ordered fried chicken from a local store and a few other special things. But we've come up with a nice cheap menu, that offers a few unique options, so that won't cost us much there. I'm making a few small desserts/munchies on the side. I go big on the cake, especially for the first birthday like I said. But the cost of the cake I want was already SIGNIFICANTLY less than what I paid for Logan's 1st birthday cake. Plus my friend works there and is getting me a discount. AND I won't be needing to buy a separate "baby cake" for her, because part of the big cake is removable and will be "her" baby cake :-) So that's cutting my cake costs in like, half. or less.
Most of my budget will be decorations. But to keep cost down again, we are only doing her "theme," plates/napkins for the dessert plates/dessert napkins. I am getting pretty solid colored plastic plates and napkins for the food in the same colors as her theme. I'm also going to do just one theme tablecloth for the gift table. Again, solid colored tablecloths for the other tables. Balloons, ribbon for the balloons, a highchair decorating kit, and maybe a banner. And a photo invite. I did it for Logan's first, so I'm doing it for hers too. All in all, it's not too expensive, and saves me the time and hassle of writing out a ton of invites.
So I've really got to get on all of that and figuring stuff out. I know I've got time, but I try to be organized when I can, and I know it's going to creep up on me fast!

Anyway, I'd better get off here and attempt to maybe be productive while I still have some energy!!

The early bird gets the blog!

Up early today. Specifically with purpose of doing some internet/e-mail stuff.
I am NOT a morning person by any means. But it does give me the opportunity to get things done in some peace and quiet without worrying about the doorbell/phone ringing, someone needs to be fed/changed or making a mess. I should probably start making this a habit and try to get up extra early at least once a week.

Meredith had her 4th physical therapy session yesterday, and it went pretty well. At the first 3 sessions she was a bit of a brat, and just pretty much laid or sat there and didn't want to roll or move or do anything!! Hard to work with her when she won't move!! Such a stinker. But yesterday she did good, a lot better with the rolling and even other exercises Sarah (the PT), wanted her to do. She thinks Meredith could be crawling by our next session on Monday if we do a little work with her over the weekend. Which made my little heart so happy. I was really kind of worried they might find something and think she had some kind of real problem or issue. But I get the impression Sarah thinks Meredith will be moving along pretty quickly and will be just fine :-)
Definitely made me happy to hear. So as much as I don't want my little princess growing up and getting bigger on me, we will be doing some therapy exercises and working on crawling this weekend! As it is, on Monday we stood her up next to her little Winnie the Pooh toy table and she stood up against it holding on, all on her own for several minutes! I almost shed a tear.
So hopefully a little exercise and this physical therapy is all she needs for a few weeks and we can get her moving (which she needs! You should see these rolls on her chubby thighs!!), and she won't be my sweet little baby anymore, but a moving, roaming toddler!

I don't think we have any huge plans for today other than dinner and shopping.
We were supposed to do breakfast for dinner last night, but we went out to price check some items, and by the time we got home it was a little late, and the kids just needed to eat, so I threw together something for Logan and fed the baby, and Matt was at work anyway, so I didn't even really 'make' dinner. Oh well.
The plan is now to do breakfast for dinner tonight, and hopefully try out this new pancake recipe I found on Pinterest. I've been on it before, but only just really started using it this week. If you think Facebook or blogging is addictive, don't even try Pinterest!! I'm still learning to use it, and I know some people probably think it's a fad, and just the hot new thing, but honestly, I love it. It's like an interactive, online bookmarking, social-media information/inspiration center. Sure, I could just google search things and bookmark them on my own computer. But this give you a bright, photographic way to bookmark and organize things on your own 'online pinboard' and even see what's popular and what other people thought of things. And you can find and be inspired by things you didn't even know existed or you liked!! I've also got my mom on, and it's been a little hard explaining it to her, especially because I'm new. But she will see something she likes, then click it, and be all confused as to where the recipe is, or where the instructions are. Which is where I'm trying to explain to her that she can click the original link so see where the item "came" from. Which I agree, can be a pain in the butt sometimes. But I love the overall idea. And I'm a very visual person, so being able to pick from photos to decide what to click and read is great for me.
And as for shopping, today will be a big one! I know we're going to be laying out quite a bit of money today, which sucks, but it is great in the overall scheme of things. I have MASSIVE coupons we need to use. I have 2 kiddos in diapers right now, so we go through quite a few diapers. I've got a $5 off Target coupon, AND a $2 off Manufacturer coupon for Huggies (not my favorite, but at these prices, it will work!!), PLUS for every 2 boxes you buy this week you get a $15 Target giftcard to use on a future purchase! Can you beat that??? Seriously.
So I will be saving $7 on each box of diapers, and getting giftcards back. Awesome. Yep, I get excited about this stuff. I love saving money in general, but when it's on 'necessities' it's even better. Right now Target also had printable coupons for $1 off any Up and Up (their store brand) paper towels. No size limit. Their single rolls are .99! Thanks for the free paper towels Target! :-)
I've also got a few other nice coupons to use on some stuff we need and could use. So yay.

Well, it's getting late now and I also want to hop onto Pinterest before the kids get up, so I better finish this up!
Happy Friday!