Frugal and Thankful

The challenging times...

2015-02-08T21:49:00.001-08:00

You might be wondering where I've been again?

I'm still here. Still swimming :) But life has been pretty crazy on our side of the world. Mainly, we've been spending quite a bit of time at the doctors with my little girl.

When she was born, she had a little skin tag on her lower back. Our doctor promptly removed it but advised us to get her back checked. After multiple tests, aka xrays, ultrasound and finally an MRI last Friday suspicions were confirmed - my sweet pea was born with "tethered cord syndrome". When we went for the MRI, she was sedated and kept for observation afterwards due to her young age. We spent 15 agonizing hours locked up in a room with a myriad of nurses coming in and out, with my poor baby covered with all kinds of cords - and she was NOT sleeping or sleepy at all! She had two 30-minute catnaps and was so uncomfortable and tired of people bugging her all the time. And yes, even sedation cannot make this girl nap :) On top of that, she was up half of the night due to being so overtired. But this test also revealed that she has some issues with her kidneys...

We are not sure if the two things are related or not. We will meet with the neurosurgeon on the 19th to discuss our next step. At this point she doesn't show any symptoms of her condition (which is awesome) but we, honestly, don't want to wait until she does because any damage caused by tethered cord is irreversible. At some point, possibly in the near future, she will need a surgery or, potentially, three...

It breaks my heart to think of what my amazing little princess will have to go through:

She is the sweetest little girl. She loves to smile, hardly ever cries and adores her siblings and parents. She doesn't deserve it...

It's not easy for me to write all those things. We are trying to stay positive and keep faith but, honestly, we are tired, really, really tired. It seems like every time we turn around the corner, something else just hits us in the face... The past few weeks all I wanted to do was hold my babies closer. All four of them...

Because that's all that really matters...

I hope I will be permanently back soon from my constant impromptu blogging sabbaticals, even if it's just to keep you updated. I have so much to tell you and we will also be tightening our belts even more to pay off all of these medical bills (and I will really need your support to be able to do that!)

But right now I just want to thank you for your prayers and for not forgetting us in these challenging months...

The kind hearts...

2015-01-17T21:40:00.000-08:00

John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you…”

In the past few weeks since the babies were born we were overwhelmed by the kindness and compassion of those around us. So many reached out to lend a hand and a hug, to support, to help with the kids, to not let us starve... Some of you we've never even met in person, but you kept us in your thoughts and prayers, you sent us cards and generous gifts and other tokens of love and care.

Our hearts were and are so full of gratitude. At the beginning of this week I received a very special gift that left me in awe and brought tears to my eyes - beautiful handmade quilts:

Every stitch was sewn with love by someone who quietly followed our journey on this blog and kept us in her prayers - a reader and new friend Nancy. I cannot begin to comprehend how many hours of hard work were put into creating them (you all know that I'm not a quilter but I'm always amazed by those of you who are and your talent).

And matryoshkis?? Isn't it so thoughtful? My 4-year old thinks so too - he constantly tries to steal that quilt because matryoshka might just be his most favorite toy:) They will be loved and cherished for many-many years.

Thank you again, Nancy! You truly touched our hearts!

I only wish I could pass along all the kindness and generosity that was sent our way but this life is not long enough to do so...

And now I'm getting all mushy :) I better head out to bed. In the meantime, check out the backs of the quilts. Aren't they just so much fun?? Love love love them!

Have a good night, my lovelies...

Yours truly,

They grow up too fast...

2015-01-16T21:01:00.000-08:00

Well, not really :) But, honestly, it's hard to believe it's been two months already since I gave birth to the little ones. And even though the time still goes slow, they definitely grow in leaps. Here's the proof:

That was his take home outfit. Crazy, huh?

So yeah, the twinkies turned two months on Wednesday (so 9 weeks today). And had their doctor's appointment. Both of them grew about 3.5-4 inches. She now weighs 10.13 lbs - pretty much doubles her birth weight!! And he's even bigger at 11.1 lbs. It feels a little weird and slightly sad to pack away all those little outfits for good.

And it's yet to get easier but they are definitely a lot more delightful to be around :)

And if you are curious about this gorgeous quilt they are laying on, then come back tomorrow and I'll tell you all about it :)

And how was your week? :)

Food waste and a menu, week 1/12-1/18, and a self-imposed mini-challenge

2015-01-12T21:18:00.000-08:00

Ha, better late than never, right?

I know, I was planning on posting about our food waste and meal ideas starting from the beginning of the month, and here we are, almost half way through January... Oh well, I'm still a new Mom and I will milk this excuse ~~until they are in college~~ as long as I can :)

I did plan our menu the past few weeks, I just didn't blog about it :) I do not do the assigned days like I used to. We'll be keeping it flexible for a while. Also, on the days that are especially hard, we might grab a pizza or Subway, and I'm fine with that. My sanity is worth more :) But we try to keep this expense low. In January we budgeted no more than $100 for eating out. Since we don't really go out, I think it's doable.

I also finally finished organizing the refrigerator, and the damage was less than I thought. I threw away a couple of eggs and some lunch meat that have been in our fridge... well, I'm not going to tell you how long it's been :) Let's just say, they were way past their prime time...

We also had a couple of freezer burned cucumbers but I have a suspicion that they were already "damaged" when I got them from the store. I didn't know they were bad until I was about to use them in a salad.

And so far our menu looks like this:

Plov, green salad, homemade smoothies (using up fruit from the freezer)
Cabbage and bean soup, rolls
Sweet potato puffs (from the freezer), cutlets, slaw
Sausage and tomato pasta bake (my sis made for us), steamed broccoli, grapes
Leftovers
Stuffed peppers (from the freezer)
Breakfast for dinner

Since we have almost everything on hand, I decided to challenge myself to spend no more than $25 on groceries. That will basically limit us to some produce, bread, milk and, maybe, a box of cereal for the kids because we are running low and after a long night with the babies, cereal is my new best friend...

And what meals are you planning for your family this week?

January 2015 goals

2015-01-04T20:53:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my last post, this year I'm fully intending to create monthly goals and post them here on the blog. Since it's already the 4th of the month, I think it's time to start rolling, right?

My January goals are pretty simple and can be summed up as "coming back". Coming back from "stork mode" to frugal living and pinching our pennies again:

1. Pay off all the medical bills. Hopefully, we can be done with it finally!

2. Create a budget and actually use it. We never actually stopped budgeting, even during the very first weeks after the babies were born. But somehow by mid-month we would completely forget about it. By posting here, I hope, I'll start being more accountable yet again :)

3. Make at least $100. Yep, I'm back to work already. What can I say, formula is expensive! Luckily my job is extremely flexible and I can do what works for us. I think, $100 is pretty doable under the circumstances (I made $140 in January) but I'm not going to push myself too much just yet.

4. Start meal planning and tracking food waste again. Yet another thing that I've been slacking on for obvious reasons. We've been extremely blessed with so many friends, neighbors, Church members who brought us delicious dinners. You might remember that I also filled our freezer with yummy meals and we actually still have a few left. We will be finishing them up in the next few weeks. But all of that lead to some food waste, mostly leftovers that we just couldn't finish before it went bad. Now that our fridge is pretty bare, food waste shouldn't be much of a problem :)

5. Check our credit scores. No explanation needed, I guess :)

6. Start working on "for sale" list. As part of my decluttering goal, I also want to sell a few things. I will wait for a little bit to start listing because time is still very unpredictable but it's not going to hurt to start planning.

7. Buy a couch!

And these are our boring but necessary frugal goals and attempts (minus the couch :). Here's for a good January, my friends!!

Are you working on any special goals this month?

Our 2015 goals

2015-01-01T21:15:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned yesterday, I have a few lofty goals I'm planning on working on in 2015. As you might've already noticed I'm a little OCD and like to have everything under control. Well, few things throw you for a loop more than having a child. Multiply it by two, and I'm amazed that my hair is not all grey yet. But there is always something optimistic about the beginning of a new year! And even though my first and most important goal is to survive the first year with twins while still being a somewhat decent mother/wife to my other 3 boys, I want to challenge myself and all of us to achieve a few other things because, well, that's what I always do. So here it goes:

1. Find some "me" time once in a while.

Now that we became an instant family of 6, it's even harder to find time for myself beyond brushing teeth in the morning (or in the afternoon... don't tell me it never happened to you...). I want to challenge myself to carve a few minutes every week to nap (haha...), relax, ponder, read Scriptures, listen to the music, read a book and whatever else might help me to stay sane and not lose it on everybody in a one mile radius. The emotional imbalance I had to deal with the first few weeks postpartum kind of scared me. I had baby blues before but this time things were more intense. I'm in a way better place right now but it's still hard when you are always exhausted and sleep-deprived, so a few minutes for myself, I know, will make a huge difference. And yes, it does include blogging. I really missed this little blog and all of you, guys! I'm not sure how often I will be able to post or visit your pages, especially in the first few months of this year but it will get easier and I'll be back more and more often very soon.

It also includes taking care of my body. I've lost everything I gained while pregnant and then another 8 lbs but I'm nowhere near where I want to be yet. And it's not even about the extra pouch in my mid-section. I want to be stronger and healthier too. I'm really looking forward to the time when I can start exercising more regularly.

2. Organize and declutter.

What's new under the sun? It seems like I always have something to organize and get rid of here. But with the birth of our babies, all 1800 sq. feet of the house shrunk even more. With four children, having house under control is a must. As usual, I want to challenge myself to get rid of 365 things but, honestly, it's not about the number. Even if I can only eliminate 140 things but have the house in a more usable stage than it is right now by the end of the year, I'll be one happy girl.

3.Beef up our savings after paying off all of the medical bills and some other expenses.

We are yet to get all of the bills in but we know approximately how much we will owe. After paying off that and making another upcoming big purchase (more on this later), we will do our best to get our finances under control again. Ideally I want to save at least another month worth of expenses plus start working on a replacement car fund. Our sedan that my husband drives is 9 years old and has more than 140000 miles on it. Granted, we had very few major repairs done to it so far and we hope it will last us many-many more years but we don't want to be caught by surprise because DH uses it to travel for work every single day.

Another thing we want to start working on are "sinking funds". I'm not a hard-core Dave Ramsey's fan but I have huge respect for the man. One of the things he's really big about is to be prepared not just for emergencies but for everyday things too. The "sinking funds" are when you set aside money every month for the things you will definitely buy/do/use throughout the year like haircuts, clothes, car expenses (tires, maintenance, inspection etc.), vacations, Birthdays and so on. Basically, you estimate how much whatever you need will cost and then divide it by 12 months. I think it's a wonderful idea. One of our biggest expenses every year are medical bills. I want to be sure that we will have at least deductibles for all of us in savings at all times separate from our regular savings. I will be working on other sinking funds too.

4.Cash flow a few home projects

We also have a few projects planned that we, hopefully, will be working on throughout 2015. First and foremost, we want to finish our guest room aka the room for my parents. I don't know when they will be able to visit again with my Mom's health (she's doing great but is yet to receive her transplant. Hopefully, by the end of January but I'm not keeping my hopes too high because they delayed it before due not being able to get a certain medication for her. It seems like it should arrive very soon but, again it wouldn't be the first time...) but I want the room to be ready. Plus, who knows, maybe somebody else would want to visit a family with two newborn twins and to have fun staying up all night "parting" with us? :)

The other "big" project is to re-do our laundry ~~room~~ closet. It's just not functional right now with the amount of laundry I do every week. We want to keep it under $500. And last but not least is our master bedroom. As it often happens, the room for parents is the last to get tackled in the house but, I think, it's time. I've been collecting bits and pieces for it for the past two years and I can't wait to finally get them out of the garage and actually use them.

And, of course, there will be other small things we will be working on but these are the three big areas that we will be planning and saving for in advance. Oh, and we will be buying a new couch very soon (the big expense) but I'll share all the details about it another time.

5. Create goals every month and blog about them.

Nothing helps me to stay on track more than when I feel accountable about what I'm doing. Every time I posted goals on this blog before, you, guys, and your encouragement helped me to stay in check and persevere. Thank you for still reading my ramblings even after I pretty much abandoned this blog for a few months, and I hope you'll have a few words of encouragement for me again.

And here it goes, my yearly goals. I told you they are pretty lofty! But hey, how can we get better if we don't push ourselves a little bit, right?

And what are your goals/resolutions/aspirations for 2015?

My, oh my... the 2015 is almost here

2014-12-31T20:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't come back over the weekend. So much for keeping the promise... The days are still kind of a blur here. But time goes on. It's (almost) hard to believe that the babies will be 7 weeks old on Friday. Time is sure flying by... Minus those days that creep along like months...

The last few weeks have definitely been a roller coaster. To quickly sum it up, we had to deal with my milk drying up, the flu, the stomach bug, the rotavirus (baby girl) that made us switch to the most expensive formula out there, physical therapy for my husband for the pinched nerve in his back (that's been dragging for months already but we finally started seeing some improvement) and the freezing weather. Add to it two newborn babies who don't sleep day or night and yeah, life is fun...:)

I do think, we are slowly getting into some sort of routine but it will be a while before we can all breathe a little easier. Still, it shouldn't stop us (or at least, me) from trying to get my life to a somewhat organized stage. Hence, back to becoming a goal-oriented girl again.

You might remember that last year I opted not to make any goals. 2013 and the beginning of 2014 were VERY rough for us. In fact, exactly a year ago we found out that we were 6 weeks pregnant only to lose the baby just a week later. Then I lost my Grandma. Many things had happened last and this year, both heart-breaking and exciting. I have to say, I'm kind of ready to slow down to a more predictable lifestyle. I know it's not exactly in my hands but some things are. So this year I'm going back to creating and trying to achieve a few goals in 2015 even if some of them might seem lofty :)

But since this post is getting a little long, I'll share them with you tomorrow. A sneak peak - the top of the list is surviving the first year with twins :) Oh, wish me luck!!

Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope we all have an amazing year ahead of us!

Merry Christmas!!

2014-12-25T20:35:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful, happy and safe Christmas!!

Life has been a bit of a roller coaster here lately. I'll be back with an update some time over the weekend, I promise.

Miss you all!

We made it through week 2 :)

2014-11-30T07:07:00.000-08:00

The "twinkies" officially turned two weeks old yesterday. This week was definitely a roller-coaster. We had days when all they did was sleep and eat, and others when they were screaming their little heads off without apparent reason. It seems like even a little distraction can throw them off the loop. And on Wednesday they had a big one. We had our first appointment with their pediatrician. Normally she wouldn't schedule it for a few more weeks because with both of our boys she would stop by the hospital while we were still there. This time around we had to go in because she doesn't work with our hospital. And it was brutal! We stayed there for almost two hours discussing everything twins, getting them checked, poked, weighed etc. On a good note, Tanya gained a whole pound and caught up with her brother, Alex only got back to his birth weight but at least he's gaining. He's just my lazy one :) She already had her first growth spurt, lost the umbilical cord stump (can't wait until he loses that nasty thing) and, overall, she's usually way more alert and independent. But I know, it's only a matter of days until Alex "wakes up", and then I would be longing for these sleepy days to come back again. That's exactly what happened with my oldest, and then we haven't slept for like a year. Oh, the bliss of motherhood! I'm not going to miss the newborn stage... Even though they are so cute:

The other thing I'm struggling with right now are my emotions. I'm a pretty emotional type, period, and I always get some "baby blues" (who doesn't when you only get an hour of sleep sometimes??) but this time it seems a little more severe. I can actually physically feel the "wave" of emotions coming over me, and that's definitely new. I haven't experienced it as much in the past three days, so I'm hopeful I will snap out of it very soon but I'm sure happy to have my sweet hubby here with me right now to keep an eye on me. I really don't know how I would do it without my amazing man! Meeting him was truly the biggest blessing of my life (and now I might just start crying. Darn hormones...). I do have an appt. with my OB GYN on Monday, we'll see what she says...

On a very non-related note, I'm pretty much done with Christmas shopping. I only need 1 more gift for Hubby's uncle who lives out of state and I need to send a package to my parents that's been sitting in our bedroom all packed and ready to go for almost a month right now. Other than that, we are DONE!! And the best thing is that we stayed within a budget (I do love me some online shopping deals :) and we did not have to dip into our regular savings, let alone pull out a credit card. We added another $100 to what we saved by July, and it covered everything. As I mentioned in that post, most of the money came from the other sources, and I love it. Now I just wish we had the energy to decorate the tree...

And are you done with your Christmas shopping? Did you end up going out for Black Friday this year?

Gobble, gobble, gobble...

2014-11-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

image

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you all have an amazing day full of love, laughter, lots of hugs and delicious meals!! Sending warm wishes to you and your families today and for the rest of this week/weekend!

Love you all,

How to lose 30 pounds in 3 days

2014-11-22T20:50:00.001-08:00

How about by giving birth to twins? wink wink :)

Thank you all for your kind words, wishes and messages. I sure wish I could reply to all of you but, as you can imagine, my hands are pretty full right now :)

We survived through the first week of their life. To say it's a challenging journey is an understatement. On top of being majorly tired and sleep-deprived, I also deal with hormones and it's not easy. One of the problems I'm facing right now is that I can't sleep even when the babies do. I found myself staring at the ceiling way too many times in the past couple of days, and it's really taking it's toll on me. Also my milk never really came in, so, even though I'm relieved to always know how much our little ones are eating, I have a bit of mama's guilt, for sure. I'm trying not to dwell on it too much though because I am a Mom of four now, and all of my kids need attention and love.

The boys seemed to transition OK to the babies. The middle one struggled a bit at first (and even asked when we are going to take them back to wherever they came from) but is now enjoying talking to them. I'm really looking forward to the time when babies will start smiling back, so they can all interact. But that's still far away...

The biggest milestone I personally achieved (other than the one in the title. I didn't do much for it but I'm happy to be at my pre-pregnancy weight already even though I still have a small soccer ball to lose on my belly...) is putting away all of my maternity clothes for good. It's nice to know that our family is complete now and, honestly, I'm not going to miss being pregnant. Even though this pregnancy with twins was fairly uncomplicated, I was still constantly exhausted and missing being active and mobile. But this body gave birth to two (or four) healthy little ones, and I'm grateful for it.

I will try to do at least weekly updates and I promise I will bounce back to writing all kinds of money-related and frugal posts (just wait until all the bills will start rolling in...). In the meantime, I hope you all are doing wonderful and enjoying all of the hustle and bustle of holiday preparation (only 32 days until Christmas!!) and gearing up for the end of the year in just a few short weeks.

They are here!!

2014-11-16T18:33:00.001-08:00

I've been trying to post a few times the past couple of days but the connection in the hospital was absolutely terrible! But yes, you got it right! The twinkies are here :)

I had a a pretty rough night last Tuesday with lots of contractions and back pain. I was up half of the night but they eventually stopped. On Wednesday I had my regular doctor's appointment and she said that I was 4 cm dilated. I was only 35 weeks and 4 days, so I was really hopeful that nothing would happen for at least another week but the babies had other plans.

At 2 in the morning I woke up to go to the bathroom and on the way back to bed felt like I peed myself (yeah, lots of fun :) I brushed it off but as I was laying down, I felt it again. That's when I completely woke up! I knew that was it, and the immediate contractions that followed left no doubt either. By the time we got to the hospital at around 3, they were pretty steady at 3 minutes apart and quite painful. But I was only dilated to 5 cm.

Since a delivery with twins is always risky, they do it in the operating room. It often happens that mom-to-be ends up getting an emergency c-section. They also give you an epidural right away for the same reason. So I got my dose of stuff and was enjoying myself there until about 7 in the morning when the nurse came to check on me and was surprised to see that I was fully dilated and ready to push. She quickly called my doctor and they wheeled me to the OR right away.

Both of the babies were head down but we knew that our little girl was a little lower and would come out first. She was born at 7:23 on Friday 11/14/14. We named her Tanya after my Mom. She was measuring 5'7 and 18 in tall (my smallest baby ever!) Her brother Alex soon followed. He was born at 7:47 am measuring 6'7 and 19 in tall. Both were born crying and pink, so no NICU for us. They are absolutely perfect! Teeny-tiny but cute, healthy and we are in love!

They passed every single test while in the hospital with flying colors. I, on the other hand, had a few issues. I was shaking like crazy for about two hours after the delivery (more than likely, epidural withdrawal). I couldn't even hold them at first. Then my blood pressure spiked last night and I got an infection so they kept us there for another day to monitor. They eventually put me on medication.

But we are finally home! Exhausted, happy, feeling so blessed and ready to learn to adjust and to live a new-to-us-normal life. Whatever that will be...

Only one picture so far but I promise an overload in a few days or so. I'm absolutely in love with their button noses...

Now our family is complete!

And I became...

2014-11-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

... no, not Mom again. Ha :) But I became an aunt!!!! :)

Yesterday my sister gave birth to the cutest baby boy. Yes, we were pregnant together :) He came 2.5 weeks early but still had a very healthy weight of 8.8 lbs and 19.5 in long. Both Mom and the baby are doing great, and I'm so excited for all of them. My sister already has a boy and a girl. And now another Halloween little one :)

It's a little hard that we will have the babies so close together, so we won't really be able to help each other but I'm excited for our little ones to grow together.

Now I just need to hang in there for a few more weeks...

My now favorite zero carb chicken salad

2014-10-28T22:33:00.001-07:00

I want to leave a disclaimer right away - if you decide to nitpick this recipe, then there are, probably, about 2-5 g of carbs in it (in tomatoes or olives, for example). But since most of the nutritionists consider all of the additions in the salad "free items", I prefer to think of it as a zero-carb option :)

I mentioned before that I've been struggling with a gestational diabetes diet, so I'm always on the lookout for something to fill in my tummy without the guilt trip afterwards. This salad was inspired by a local restaurant. Unfortunately, it was recently discontinued but since it's so easy to make at home, that's not much of a loss. It's filling and can be served as a separate meal with a side of brownie (right...)

CHICKEN CHOPPED SALAD

You will need (for 1 serving):

2-3 leaves of romaine salad or red leaf for a little extra nutrition (as much as you want really)
1/2 cup chopped, cooked chicken
1 boiled egg
1 roma tomato
1 cooked slice of bacon (I cheated and used real bacon bits, about 1TB. Or more because everybody likes bacon :)
1/3 cup olives, sliced
1-2 TB ranch dressing (homemade or store-bought, can add more to taste)

How-to:

Chop the tomato. I actually added some halved cherry tomatoes from the last of our crop this year instead. Slice an egg. Toss all the ingredients together, add dressing and enjoy immediately. The original recipe also asks for some croutons to top it with but since I'm trying to keep it as close to a zero carb version as possible, I omitted them. It's still delicious, and did I mention almost no carbs???

I'm still here :)

2014-10-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while... You can't even imagine how many times I came here to write a post only to close the screen a few seconds later. It's not that I have nothing to write about. In fact, I've been creating "blogging schedules" for weeks now. But it seems like my world revolves around this pregnancy and nothing else is as important right now. I have a TON of doctors' appointments, every week is a new surprise or struggle. Nothing bad or serious but by the time I get home, I can barely drag my feet... I'm always always tired. I get fake contractions (Braxton hicks) every single day and some of them feel almost like the real deal when I can hardly catch my breath. We also had a small scare about two weeks ago but, thank goodness, everything was fine eventually and I'm back to normal...

I'm sorry if you are sick and tired of me talking about the babies... But this is my reality, take it or leave it, lol :)

Yep, 32 weeks with twins, measuring 41 (if I had only one there... what's 41 weeks in pregnancy even??) Keeping fingers crossed for at least 4 to 6 more healthy weeks...

OK, enough about me... HOW HAVE YOU BEEN????

The last of the crop and quick veggie freezer pockets.

2014-10-08T22:36:00.000-07:00

We've been having an unusually warm week for almost mid October. It was 78 degrees today! After a very wet September and a pretty cold first week of this month, it's an unexpected and pleasant surprise!

I've been picking the last few offerings of the summer crop. I didn't spend nearly enough time in the garden this year but we were still blessed with an abundance. That's what we got last week:

Look at this Japanese cucumber!! It's bigger than the zucchinis! Good thing, everybody in our family loves the cukes :)

And since it was 39F last week, I also picked all of the rest of the green tomatoes (some of them cracked from all the September moisture):

As you can see, many of them have already turned red. I do it every year before the frost and let them slowly turn red at home. Last fall we had enough homegrown tomatoes to last us until mid-December. Won't happen this year but we should have enough for the next couple of weeks. And they taste so much better than the store-bought.

And since I'm on a freezing gig right now, I thought I would share with you something that my Grandma taught me to make many-many moons ago - quick veggie freezer pockets. I still remember her chopping their garden veggies in front of the open window every September...

I used peppers and tomatoes from our garden. I like to use roma tomatoes because they are a little more meaty. I just chop everything but carrots. I like them grated better. Or, and I forgot to add an onion to the picture but, of course, I also chop about a half or a whole onion to the mix:

Then mix together and separate into 1 cup each. I like to wrap each cup into plastic wrap before putting it in the freezer for easy usage. These pockets can be added to soups, crock pot meals, when you make pasta sauce and in many other meals. So easy and practical! Don't even need to be defrosted. Just unwrap and use. They will last for a couple of months in the freezer.

Exactly!

2014-10-07T22:12:00.000-07:00

Let's face it: English is a crazy language.
There is no EGG in EGGPLANT nor HAM in HAMBURGER; neither APPLE nor PINE in PINEAPPLE. ENGLISH MUFFINS weren't invented in ENGLAND. QUICKSAND can work SLOWLY. BOXING RINGS are SQUARE, and a GUINEA PIG is neither a GUINEA nor is it a PIG.
And why is it that WRITER'S WRITE but FINGERS DON'T FING, GROCERS don't GROCE and HAMMERS don't HAM? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make AMENDS but not one AMEND? If TEACHERS TAUGHT, why don't PREACHERS PRAUGHT? If a VEGETARIAN eats VEGETABLES, what does a HUMANITARIAN eat?

In what other language do people RECITE at a PLAY and PLAY at a RECITAL? We SHIP BY TRUCK but SEND CARGO BY SHIP. We have NOSES that RUN and FEET that SMELL. We PARK in a DRIVEWAY and DRIVE in a PARKWAY. And how can a SLIM CHANCE and a FAT CHANCE be the same, while a WISE MAN and a WISE GUY are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your HOUSE can BURN UP as it BURNS DOWN, in which you FILL IN a form by FILLING IT OUT, and in which an ALARM goes OFF by going ON. And, in closing, if Father is POP, how come Mother isn't MOP?

I didn't write that but I just had to share :) And there are days when I feel like a mop, unfortunately... Especially when I look like Sideshow Bob :)

Food waste and a menu, week 10/6-10/12

2014-10-06T22:26:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello, my lovelies,

I hope you all had a quiet Monday. Wishful thinking, huh? :) Well, my Monday was surprisingly normal. I know I'm going to jinx myself now and have a crazy day tomorrow... I was busy with work, laundry, cleaning, organizing, the usual stuff. And I actually had the energy to do it all. Love the days like this!

This week in the kitchen we are trying really hard to catch up on leftovers. I have a myriad of small containers, cans and jars in our fridge. Guess what we are eating for most of our lunches here? We are usually so good with eating leftovers but now that I have to count every carb, I kind of let it slide. I'll be trying really hard to incorporate all kinds of leftovers into different meals over the course of this week.

But before that, here's our food waste for last week:

A pepper and some chicken. I found the pepper in the produce drawer and it looked nothing like this on the other side. Unfortunately, it was all rotten on the inside too. And the chicken was totally supposed to be used up (I wanted to make some of these over the weekend. Don't they sound delicious??). I tried it Saturday morning and it was still fine but by Sunday afternoon at was already smelly... Blah... Chicken is too expensive to let it go to waste...

And this week we are eating (not necessarily in this order):

Mon. - teriyaki pork chops (scroll down for the recipe - I froze some and made some, and they were delish!), jasmine rice, peas, cheesy cauliflower
Tues. - fritatta (nice way to incorporate bits and pieces from the fridge :), green salad
Wed. - spaghetti with meat sauce, steamed broccoli
Thurs. - homemade pizza, salad
Fr. - chicken noodle soup with all kinds of veggies in it
Sat.- leftovers - cause we'll have more by then :)
Sun. - TBD

And what's cooking in your kitchen this week?

Saying goodbye to September...

2014-10-01T22:43:00.001-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it's the first of October already. September just flew by! I guess, the weather does remind us that winter is right around the corner. It will be 39 here tonight - time to change that furnace filter already... sigh... glad not to have summer heat any more but so not ready for cold weather...

September was also full of all kinds of doctor's appointments for me. I gave up on trying to stay within our medical budget. We get some sort of bills it seems like every other day. Anywhere between $12 and $1200. The good thing is that it's slowly chipping off of the big sum at the end when the babies are here. The bad is that it's all new for us. With both of our boys, we would get one global bill at the end with another one from the anesthesiologist. Now I just keep writing checks...

On a good note, the babies are growing and very active. They measure about a week ahead and are gaining weight steadily. I, on the other hand, have lost two pounds since my last appointment. So far I only gained 18 pounds with this pregnancy which is way less than it was with my boys by now. Granted, I started a little bit on the heavier side and my doctor is not concerned but it still feels weird to lose while the babies are gaining... I told you this GD diet is kicking my tush... And I'm measuring as if I'm 38 weeks (with a singleton pregnancy) at not even 30. That's kind of crazy!! I know I have 2 growing there but it's scary to think how big I'm going to get...

We decided to increase our grocery budget at least for the month of October to accommodate my new needs and also meal freezing. Last month we added just $50 to shop for freezer meal ingredients. I don't know who I was kidding! Meat alone costs so much more than that! I comfort myself with the fact that if I'm prepared, we won't need to shop much in November or December. Because I doubt we will have time for that :)

Otherwise, I'll be taking it easy and slow in October. No big goals here. That feels weird! I'll be packing a hospital bag, finishing the little things in the babies' room and working as much as I can since it might be my last paycheck for a while...

And what are your goals for the next few upcoming months?

I love this man...

2014-09-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

After seeing me struggling so much with the GD twin diet, my sweet Hubby decided to surprise me and came home with a delicious and scrumptious piece of low-carb cheesecake from the famous Cheesecake Factory:

Mmm, it was so good! I love this man :)

The inevitable...

2014-09-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

... the changes that is. Many of you have messaged me to see if everything is OK and wondering why I haven't updated here for a while. Thank you for your concerns! I'm doing well, still hanging in here. As of yesterday, I'm 29 weeks along, measuring about 37 (for a singleton pregnancy) and feeling every ounce of it.

September was INSANELY busy for us! I had a whirlwind of doctor's appointments and the end is nowhere near. Well, maybe in 7-9 weeks or so :) I had my appointment with a dietitian and I have to say, gestational diabetes is really kicking my tooshie. I'm struggling every day to find a balance between the insane amount of calories I need to consume, the proteins I need and a low-carb diet. I never thought I would say that but I can't look at chicken already and peanut butter makes me gag... I'm supposed to eat 3 times a day and snack also 3 times with a protein of some (preferably, zero carb) sort with every meal. The visit with the dietician didn't really help... Sigh... Counting weeks and days here. I already told DH that the next day after I deliver, he needs to go to the Cheesecake Factory and get me the most loaded, 1000-calorie piece of scrumptious cheesecake he can find. I think, I'll deserve it :)

I will have another appointment with MFM (high-risk doctor) on Wednesday to see how the little ones grow and develop. I'm really anxious about this visit because we haven't really checked on them since I started on the GD diet.

But I've been slowly preparing for their arrival here:

Yep, I have about 2000 diapers in different sizes, paid no more than $5 per pack (small one. Obviously, boxes were more but all still bought with coupons and on sale) and about 3000 wipes. Sounds like a ton but when you think that I will go through a pack of diapers in a day and a small pack of wipes in two, that doesn't seem like a lot any more. I'm not too concerned about allergies because the only diapers my boys were ever allergic to were Target brand, and if one of the babies ends up being allergic after all, my sister is due three weeks before me and a I have a few pregnant friends too, so I will always have somebody to give diapers to :) I do stick to Huggies and Pampers for younger age.

I've also being working on freezer meals (more on this later). I didn't make as many as I hoped for but I'm still happy with the results.

Yes, changes are coming. There are days when the time drags and drags but, mostly, the months are flying by. We are anxious, scared and excited to meet the little ones in about two months (hopefully!) and our hearts are already swelling with love for them.

And how have you been, my lovelies??? I sure miss you all! I hope this writing block is over and I'm back to normal until my normal is turned upside down completely :)What did I miss?

It's about the little things...

2014-09-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

I'm a Scrooge. I do not like spending money. I especially don't like spending it on myself. I guess I belong to that sad group of people who don't think they deserve "this" or "that", and would rather spend it on the kids (or stash into savings if kids don't need anything). I know that Dave Ramsey likes to point out the importance of the "blow" money but I'm yet to learn to blow without feeling guilty...

It happened to me again yesterday. In the past few weeks my body started turning from a cute little pregnancy-belly mama into a clumsy waddling duck. Just FYI, I measure about 34-35 weeks right now, and it's getting increasingly hard to walk or do simple things. Considering I still have more than 10 weeks to go (in reality), it makes me a little uneasy, to say the least...

The other problem I ran into is that I have less and less maternity clothes that I still fit into. In fact, I'm living in leggins and shorts about 80% of the time. I knew that I needed to buy more or, should I say, bigger clothes because even though I'm all for comfort, I still need to look presentable when I go to Church, for example.

I needed a new skirt. After scavenging a few thrift stores in fruitless attempts I had to accept the fact that there are just no comfy (or really any) skirts out there in a 25 mile radius from our house, so I have to buy new. The thought made me cringe because I would only wear it for 10 weeks... And yes, I could, probably, make one myself but try to do it when your belly extends another 10 inches in front of you... Yeah, not happening.

So to the Old Navy we went. I found a simple, black maxi skirt and turned the tag: $29.94. Ouch! After pacing a few circles around the store, I finally convinced myself, "Buy the skirt or go naked, girl!" At around that point my legs gave up on me and I passed the skirt to my sweet husband who was nice enough to accompany me to the store and then I found a spot to sit down...

As he was standing in line, he noticed another tag that I didn't see at first. He gestured me about the discount:

Nice!! The price was getting better by the minute. But when the cashier ran the tag, the price just became incredible. You want to know how much we spent??

Yep, just 51c!! Hubby even double-checked it with the cashier but she said that if that's what it rang for, that's what we pay. The little Scrooge in me was really happy! And there is nothing wrong with the skirt but, apparently, if it was returned for any reason, they are not allowed to sell it for full price. Store policy. Gotta love me some Old Navy...

It's all about the little blessings in life :)...

Have you gotten any awesome, fantastic deals lately that you care to share? Or, maybe, your best find ever?

The weekend came and went...

2014-09-15T22:14:00.001-07:00

Yikes! Where did the weekend go??? I swear, the weekdays last twice as long when you count weeks but the weekends? They just fly by!!

I can't say it wasn't a busy one. Last week my oldest son turned 8 and we had a little Birthday celebration with a few friends from school on Saturday (unfortunately, my computer wouldn't allow me to upload pictures today. Ugh!!). We didn't do anything big and stayed well within our budget.

But one of the best parts of the day (I'm not sure if it was for him but definitely for me :) was a Skype conversation with my parents. In the past few weeks Skype has been acting weird and we haven't had a chance to see each other. It was nice to finally get a connection. But what's more important is that we received some big news. The next stage of my Mom's treatment was scheduled for the end of September. Well, they decided to move it closer (and not because of anything in her test results. All her labs are still great! She's a fighter, my sweet Mom!). So as of today she's officially in Moscow. This is great news! She just celebrated one year post diagnosis, and we hope for a good outcome and many years ahead. The first two weeks they will run a bunch of tests and also collect her bone marrow to prepare her for the transplant accompanied by very intensive chemo that will happen some time at the beginning of October. It brakes my heart to know that I can't be there by her side. Not that they would let me be there anyway since she will be isolated from visitors. It's still so hard that I cannot support her physically right now. But, please please, keep her in your prayers. It will be an intense and hard month for all of us!!

I started writing this post about our food waste and meal planning but I just couldn't keep going. It seems too small and irrelevant at the moment. So I'm taking a week off :) I will share more updates with you as I get them. But I appreciate your prayers, kind comments and e-mails with all my heart!!! Thank you, my dear friends!

Please, somebody explain it to me...

2014-09-11T07:46:00.001-07:00

You all know that I'm a mother of two very fun and rambunctious boys. This also mean lots of scraped knees, dirty socks, soccer and football memorabilia and legos spread everywhere in a thin layer no matter how much I try to fight it.

I don't really have anything pink in the house (other than a pair of glorious rocking heels and a couple of shirts strictly on my side of the closet). We also don't have dolls (yet!) and I know very little about them, honestly.

The other day somebody posted on local Facebook classifieds an American Girl Doll for sale. It's a 2013 retired version that comes with an extra outfit, a hat and a helmet. All this for a mere $275... $275 for a doll?? I mean, it's a cute doll and all but seriously? That's like most of our grocery budget for a month or a third of our mortgage.

What am I missing? What's the deal with these dolls that they are so stinking expensive? I mean, there are tons of cute dolls in Walmart or Toys R Us that are a fracture of the price. Any moms of girls, can you enlighten me, please? :) Thank you :)

Apple zucchini carrot muffins

2014-09-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

You, probably, already noticed that I try to sneak in vegetables everywhere. Like in these stuffed peppers or beef and zucchini meatballs. And no, my boys are pretty good about eating their veggies but hey, you can never have too many, right? Well, you can but let's not go there, OK? :) Great.

But I always get especially excited when I stumble upon a recipe that I know the boys will love and that is loaded with the good stuff. That's why I fell in love with this muffin recipe from Taste of Home. After a few tries, I adjusted it to our taste and now it's a new family staple. And did I mention, they freeze well?? Another plus in my book.

So you will need (with my changes):

2 cups zucchini, shredded
1.5 cup carrots, shredded
1 apple, peeled and shredded
3 eggs
3/4 cup flaked coconuts
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp. orange peel (optional but I say it's a must)
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 TB cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
a pinch of nutmeg

How-to:

1. Preheat your stove to 375 F.

2. Shred veggies and toss them together with coconut and orange peel. Set aside

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, both sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt, whisk together really well. Combine eggs, apple sauce, oil and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened (batter will be thick).

4. Add carrot mixture just until mixed. Spray a muffin form (or use paper liners). Fill about 2/3 full.

5. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes, then move to a wire rack until completely cooled down. Makes between 20 and 24 muffins