Monday, February 21, 2011
diapers.com SALE!!!
If you use G-Diapers or disposable diapers and you are a new customer, you can get 30% off your dipes on diapers.com using the code BCDIAPERS30PCT to get 30 percent off with a max discount of $60. You can use the code BC10PERCENT to get 10% off anything else excluding diapers (not sure if it works on cloth diapers, though), gear closeouts and certain brands that have opted out of the sale. You can see the list of brands here. I don't know if you can use both codes at the same time, but I hope these codes help someone. Happy diaper changing, Mommies :)
Venison Spaghetti
Ingredients:
1 pkg venison (approx 1 lb)
2 cans tomato paste (I get the ones that has tomatoes as the only ingredient)
1 can petite diced tomatoes (again with tomatoes as the only ingredient)
1 onion
1 bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
oregano
basil
salt
garlic salt
1 pkg whole grain spaghetti or angel hair pasta noodles
Directions:
Place 2 cans of tomato paste, 4 cans of water, and diced tomatoes with juice in a large pot.
Place onion, bell pepper, and garlic in food processor and dice finely (I process until mush because then my kids don't even know its in there), add to pot.
Brown venison, add to pot.
Add oregano, basil, salt and garlic salt to taste.
Cook noodles.
Drain and add to sauce.
This recipe made enough sauce for the entire box of noodles and my family of 5 ate spaghetti for one meal a day for 4 days. We loved it. If you prefer, you could also cook less than the package of noodles and add spaghetti sauce per plate then freeze the leftovers for use later. I was just in a spaghetti mood then and decided to eat it all then :)
1 pkg venison (approx 1 lb)
2 cans tomato paste (I get the ones that has tomatoes as the only ingredient)
1 can petite diced tomatoes (again with tomatoes as the only ingredient)
1 onion
1 bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
oregano
basil
salt
garlic salt
1 pkg whole grain spaghetti or angel hair pasta noodles
Directions:
Place 2 cans of tomato paste, 4 cans of water, and diced tomatoes with juice in a large pot.
Place onion, bell pepper, and garlic in food processor and dice finely (I process until mush because then my kids don't even know its in there), add to pot.
Brown venison, add to pot.
Add oregano, basil, salt and garlic salt to taste.
Cook noodles.
Drain and add to sauce.
This recipe made enough sauce for the entire box of noodles and my family of 5 ate spaghetti for one meal a day for 4 days. We loved it. If you prefer, you could also cook less than the package of noodles and add spaghetti sauce per plate then freeze the leftovers for use later. I was just in a spaghetti mood then and decided to eat it all then :)
The past few months of my life
Hello, my internet friends. I bet you've wondered where I've been and what I've been doing since I haven't been blogging. Well, I have been busy, let me tell you.
Yes, let me tell you, but let me warn you, its a long story.
As some of you may know, last year was a very difficult year.
In January, I miscarried. I estimated that I had conceived sometime about November 2009, at which time I got really ill. And stayed ill until a couple weeks after I miscarried. It was a very hard time for me.
In February, my husband lost his job. Well, he really told his boss to shove it and thereby quit. He decided to join the Army. He signed his oath of enlistment the day after we found out I was pregnant again, sometime in March.
In May, he left for basic training. We drove to visit him in July when he graduated. We got to spend 2 days and 1 night with him. Then he headed off to AIT in OK. We drove from GA to OK to visit him for Labor Day, which was a fun trip in and of itse;f and resulted in us all being sick off and on for months after our return. The good thing about AIT was we got to talk a lot more. They let him keep his phone on him at all times since I had a higher risk pregnancy due to my miscarriage in January. The bad thing about AIT is they let him go out drinking a lot. He got a taste of the single life and he decided he liked it more than the married with kids life he had. Well, I guess there was a lot of bad things about AIT in my opinion.
He came home from AIT in September. He had a 2 week Hometown Recruiting program he was a part of so that we could have 2 more weeks at home before we had to move. That was nice.
He left us October 4th. I was 35 weeks pregnant with our 4th daughter. He brought his girlfriend and her baby (who had followed him to GA from OK and spent the weekend with him while he told me he was on a recruiting trip) into my home to collect his belongings and leave us. He cleared out our joint bank account, bought himself and his girlfriend phones and a new phone plan with Sprint, bought himself a new truck and took 2 weeks of leave (vacation time) to spend with his girlfriend in OK. He left us penniless (actually worse than penniless as he had overdrawn our bank account) with no food in the house since we were supposed to move with him the next day. He left me, sick with bronchitis and huge and pregnant and hormonal to be with his girlfriend. He left his children to spend time with hers. He deprived us of support so he could have play money to go out to eat with his girlfriend and buy himself new toys. Every month since then except for December, I have had to contact his superior officers to get him to support us with the little the Army requires him to send ($650 a month to support myself and 4 children) despite the fact that in that time he received $7200 for his bonus after taxes and filed taxes, claiming the children, and received the tax return, all of which he blew away. Last month he only sent us $125. He has still not met his youngest child and she was born November 9, 2010. Over 3 months ago.
You would think I would be used to this all by now, but it still hurts to type that. I am lonely and hurting and this has probably been the worst time in my life. Bar none. But it has also been the most clarifying time of my life. It has probably been the time in my life when I experienced the most spiritual growth. And it has probably been the best time of my life as well.
Despite the unhappiness and the pain, I have come to recognize who truly cares about my children and myself. I have felt the hand of God guiding me throughout this ordeal and I have chosen to trust in Him regardless of the circumstances and how I feel at any given moment. I have realized that God, in His infinite wisdom and with his all-encompassing perspective and all-encompassing love for all 5 of us, entrusted me with 4 beautiful daughters, knowing my husband would leave me, knowing the struggles we would go through and knowing all 5 of us more intimately than we know ourselves. He knew they were what was best for me and I was who would be the best mommy possible for them. For me, that is a wonderful and sobering calling, challenging me to live up to the potential God knows I have and to always do my best for them and for Him. I am learning to prioritize and spend my time more wisely.
So that about covers our past few months. It hasn't been fun, but, like nasty tasting medicine, has been good for us.
In the immediate future, we will be moving in with my sister and her family so that I can continue to take care of my children and be here for them since I cannot rely on my husband to support us. Soon I will be a divorced mom of 4. That's something I never thought I would have to say.
Once Rory is sleeping through the night, I plan on getting a part time job stocking shelves or cleaning offices, something that allows me to work while they are sleeping so that they do not miss out on time with me. I am choosing to continue to be poor and to sleep less in order to take the best care of my children that I possibly can. I am choosing my children over money and sleep and a home of my own. Because they are more important to me. I am also choosing to read my Bible daily and continually learn more about God so that I can teach them about Him. Because he is the most important of all. Most of my blogging from here on will be either about my kids, taking care of them, recipes, things that make life easier as a mom of 4, and what I am learning in my daily Bible reading and how I apply it to my life. I do intend on blogging, so please feel free to poke me and keep me accountable if I don't live up to my intentions. And please feel free to ask any questions you might have. Send me an email or leave me a comment. I would be happy to answer them:)
Yes, let me tell you, but let me warn you, its a long story.
As some of you may know, last year was a very difficult year.
In January, I miscarried. I estimated that I had conceived sometime about November 2009, at which time I got really ill. And stayed ill until a couple weeks after I miscarried. It was a very hard time for me.
In February, my husband lost his job. Well, he really told his boss to shove it and thereby quit. He decided to join the Army. He signed his oath of enlistment the day after we found out I was pregnant again, sometime in March.
In May, he left for basic training. We drove to visit him in July when he graduated. We got to spend 2 days and 1 night with him. Then he headed off to AIT in OK. We drove from GA to OK to visit him for Labor Day, which was a fun trip in and of itse;f and resulted in us all being sick off and on for months after our return. The good thing about AIT was we got to talk a lot more. They let him keep his phone on him at all times since I had a higher risk pregnancy due to my miscarriage in January. The bad thing about AIT is they let him go out drinking a lot. He got a taste of the single life and he decided he liked it more than the married with kids life he had. Well, I guess there was a lot of bad things about AIT in my opinion.
He came home from AIT in September. He had a 2 week Hometown Recruiting program he was a part of so that we could have 2 more weeks at home before we had to move. That was nice.
He left us October 4th. I was 35 weeks pregnant with our 4th daughter. He brought his girlfriend and her baby (who had followed him to GA from OK and spent the weekend with him while he told me he was on a recruiting trip) into my home to collect his belongings and leave us. He cleared out our joint bank account, bought himself and his girlfriend phones and a new phone plan with Sprint, bought himself a new truck and took 2 weeks of leave (vacation time) to spend with his girlfriend in OK. He left us penniless (actually worse than penniless as he had overdrawn our bank account) with no food in the house since we were supposed to move with him the next day. He left me, sick with bronchitis and huge and pregnant and hormonal to be with his girlfriend. He left his children to spend time with hers. He deprived us of support so he could have play money to go out to eat with his girlfriend and buy himself new toys. Every month since then except for December, I have had to contact his superior officers to get him to support us with the little the Army requires him to send ($650 a month to support myself and 4 children) despite the fact that in that time he received $7200 for his bonus after taxes and filed taxes, claiming the children, and received the tax return, all of which he blew away. Last month he only sent us $125. He has still not met his youngest child and she was born November 9, 2010. Over 3 months ago.
You would think I would be used to this all by now, but it still hurts to type that. I am lonely and hurting and this has probably been the worst time in my life. Bar none. But it has also been the most clarifying time of my life. It has probably been the time in my life when I experienced the most spiritual growth. And it has probably been the best time of my life as well.
Despite the unhappiness and the pain, I have come to recognize who truly cares about my children and myself. I have felt the hand of God guiding me throughout this ordeal and I have chosen to trust in Him regardless of the circumstances and how I feel at any given moment. I have realized that God, in His infinite wisdom and with his all-encompassing perspective and all-encompassing love for all 5 of us, entrusted me with 4 beautiful daughters, knowing my husband would leave me, knowing the struggles we would go through and knowing all 5 of us more intimately than we know ourselves. He knew they were what was best for me and I was who would be the best mommy possible for them. For me, that is a wonderful and sobering calling, challenging me to live up to the potential God knows I have and to always do my best for them and for Him. I am learning to prioritize and spend my time more wisely.
So that about covers our past few months. It hasn't been fun, but, like nasty tasting medicine, has been good for us.
In the immediate future, we will be moving in with my sister and her family so that I can continue to take care of my children and be here for them since I cannot rely on my husband to support us. Soon I will be a divorced mom of 4. That's something I never thought I would have to say.
Once Rory is sleeping through the night, I plan on getting a part time job stocking shelves or cleaning offices, something that allows me to work while they are sleeping so that they do not miss out on time with me. I am choosing to continue to be poor and to sleep less in order to take the best care of my children that I possibly can. I am choosing my children over money and sleep and a home of my own. Because they are more important to me. I am also choosing to read my Bible daily and continually learn more about God so that I can teach them about Him. Because he is the most important of all. Most of my blogging from here on will be either about my kids, taking care of them, recipes, things that make life easier as a mom of 4, and what I am learning in my daily Bible reading and how I apply it to my life. I do intend on blogging, so please feel free to poke me and keep me accountable if I don't live up to my intentions. And please feel free to ask any questions you might have. Send me an email or leave me a comment. I would be happy to answer them:)
Nie Nie Dialogues
Today, I read a blog that truly inspired me. Its called Nie Nie Dialogues. I really like and highly recommend this blog. You should check it out. Really. Like, now ;)
Seriously, though, I like it. I like that it inspires me to enjoy motherhood more, even if motherhood at the moment consists of a huge mess and 4 screaming kids. Fortunately, I have 4 napping kids at the moment, which is the only reason I am able to post this, but anytime one has 4 kids, there is that huge mess and 4 screaming kids potential.
It also inspires me to blog more since I've gotten lax in that arena. Or maybe I was naturally lax in that arena to start off with. Either way, I am renewing my commitment to blog. I know, I know, I keep saying that. I'm not sure I'd believe me either at this point, but I'm going to try anyways.
However, I will warn you that I can only read so much of Nie Nie Dialogues before I feel sorry for myself. Its nothing to do with her blog and everything to do with where I am at in my life right now. Its really sweet that her and her hubby are still in love and I'm glad they are. I enjoy seeing people who are in love and who are happy. But stuff like that just makes me sad right now and kinda brings out the green eyed monster.
So to recap, this blog does make me happy to be a mom. It just makes me miss being a wife and being loved at the same time. So if you are a happily married mom, you will love this blog. . . But either way, you should give it a shot. Really. Like, now ;)
Seriously, though, I like it. I like that it inspires me to enjoy motherhood more, even if motherhood at the moment consists of a huge mess and 4 screaming kids. Fortunately, I have 4 napping kids at the moment, which is the only reason I am able to post this, but anytime one has 4 kids, there is that huge mess and 4 screaming kids potential.
It also inspires me to blog more since I've gotten lax in that arena. Or maybe I was naturally lax in that arena to start off with. Either way, I am renewing my commitment to blog. I know, I know, I keep saying that. I'm not sure I'd believe me either at this point, but I'm going to try anyways.
However, I will warn you that I can only read so much of Nie Nie Dialogues before I feel sorry for myself. Its nothing to do with her blog and everything to do with where I am at in my life right now. Its really sweet that her and her hubby are still in love and I'm glad they are. I enjoy seeing people who are in love and who are happy. But stuff like that just makes me sad right now and kinda brings out the green eyed monster.
So to recap, this blog does make me happy to be a mom. It just makes me miss being a wife and being loved at the same time. So if you are a happily married mom, you will love this blog. . . But either way, you should give it a shot. Really. Like, now ;)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Bends in the road
Its funny how when you start out on a journey, you start out expecting to end up in one place and sometimes find yourself making strange detours along the way or arriving somewhere else entirely. If you're driving, you call that getting lost, but what do you call it when you're just living? I'm not really sure.
When I started this blog, it was to help me stay accountable on my journey to being a better mom and I guess I'm still on my way there, but I expected to arrive there with a participating partner at my side, not as a single mom and I have to admit that this detour has derailed me a bit.
I guess that's normal. I mean, who ever expects to have their partner abandon them and their children? Who expects to be abandoned by the person they love, the person that professed to love them, when they are 35 weeks pregnant with their 4th child with said partner? I guess that would derail anyone.
I look at my girls and wonder how anyone could ever voluntarily turn their back on them for any reason? How could anyone voluntarily give up being a part of these children's lives? I'll be the first to admit I need a break every now and then, but I could never just walk away from them without looking back. Heck, I can barely take a break from them every now and then even when I know I need it. I'm working on that, though. I know I have to take care of myself to be able to take care of them and I'm a better mom when I force myself to take a break when I need it, whether I want it or not. Course now the only issue is figuring out what I can do when I take a break. . . What doesn't cost any money that I will enjoy doing that ideally has free childcare? So far, all I've come up with is church. . .
When I started this blog, it was to help me stay accountable on my journey to being a better mom and I guess I'm still on my way there, but I expected to arrive there with a participating partner at my side, not as a single mom and I have to admit that this detour has derailed me a bit.
I guess that's normal. I mean, who ever expects to have their partner abandon them and their children? Who expects to be abandoned by the person they love, the person that professed to love them, when they are 35 weeks pregnant with their 4th child with said partner? I guess that would derail anyone.
I look at my girls and wonder how anyone could ever voluntarily turn their back on them for any reason? How could anyone voluntarily give up being a part of these children's lives? I'll be the first to admit I need a break every now and then, but I could never just walk away from them without looking back. Heck, I can barely take a break from them every now and then even when I know I need it. I'm working on that, though. I know I have to take care of myself to be able to take care of them and I'm a better mom when I force myself to take a break when I need it, whether I want it or not. Course now the only issue is figuring out what I can do when I take a break. . . What doesn't cost any money that I will enjoy doing that ideally has free childcare? So far, all I've come up with is church. . .
Monday, August 2, 2010
Pico de Gallo recipe
Pico de Gallo
Ingredients:
5 on the vine tomatoes
2 avacados
1 bundle chives
1 bundle cilantro
1/2 jalapeno (optional)
small onion
lime juice (optional)
salt to taste
Instructions:
1. Chop tomatoes, onion, avacados, chives and jalapeno.
2. De-stem cilantro.
3. Combine tomatoes, avacado, chives, jalapeno and cilantro in a bowl.
4. Salt to taste.
5. If you are not going to eat this in one sitting (which, believe me, it is easy to eat it all in one sitting), add some lime juice to prevent the avacado from browning.
This can be mixed up a bit by adding cooked black beans and corn, red onions, a different kind of peppers, pretty much anything you like in salsa. . . they salsa bowl's the limit. . .
Pico de gallo is fantastic on tortilla chips, burritos, tacos. . . pretty much anything mexican. Can add veggies to your mexican dinner or just be a fun snack, but be careful. . . Its hard to stop eating once you've started. . . and it can be addictive. Or inspire cravings. Or make you salivate just thinking about it. YUM.
Ingredients:
5 on the vine tomatoes
2 avacados
1 bundle chives
1 bundle cilantro
1/2 jalapeno (optional)
small onion
lime juice (optional)
salt to taste
Instructions:
1. Chop tomatoes, onion, avacados, chives and jalapeno.
2. De-stem cilantro.
3. Combine tomatoes, avacado, chives, jalapeno and cilantro in a bowl.
4. Salt to taste.
5. If you are not going to eat this in one sitting (which, believe me, it is easy to eat it all in one sitting), add some lime juice to prevent the avacado from browning.
This can be mixed up a bit by adding cooked black beans and corn, red onions, a different kind of peppers, pretty much anything you like in salsa. . . they salsa bowl's the limit. . .
Pico de gallo is fantastic on tortilla chips, burritos, tacos. . . pretty much anything mexican. Can add veggies to your mexican dinner or just be a fun snack, but be careful. . . Its hard to stop eating once you've started. . . and it can be addictive. Or inspire cravings. Or make you salivate just thinking about it. YUM.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Adventures in Traveling
As many of you know (or likely read yesterday), we just got back from visiting my husband at his BCT graduation in SC. We live in GA, so it was a 4-5 hour drive one way. . . at least in theory.
We intended on departing for SC Wednesday, July 21, just after lunchtime, but my mother did not call or show up. This was unfortunate since she was driving us there in her Expedition. I cleaned my house and got us packed and did everything I could think of to do. When I ran out of things to clean and busywork to get us ready to go, I called my mom. She was in Jasper. 1 hour from her house, where she would have to go before driving 1.5 hours to mine. It was almost dinnertime at this point. So I had her meet me en route to Columbia in Conyers. When we got there, we waited another hour for her to arrive then moved our stuff to her car and continued driving to Columbia while my dad took my car back to his house. The trip from that point on was relatively uneventful. We got to our destination around 4 am, got to sleep around 4:30 and had to get up at 6.
For the return trip, we intended on leaving immediately following breakfast. We packed up the car, cleaned out the room to make sure we weren't leaving anything, ate breakfast and got in the car. Unfortunately, we passed the pool on the way to the car and my 5 year old wanted to swim. We explained to her there wasn't time and she had a complete meltdown. In the blink of an eye, the "I want to swim" meltdown turned into an "I want my daddy" meltdown which was impossible to fix considering my husband was already on the way to OK and had left for NC several hours before. I took the keys back to the front desk and she had stopped crying by the time I got back to the car. Thank God.
We drove just far enough to reach the middle of nowhere and promptly ran out of gas. Lovely. The AC would come on, but wouldn't blow cold, so we rolled the windows down to capture the breeze from the other cars while I called 911 and we waited for the Highway Patrol trooper to arrive. We went to 2 gas stations that did not have gas cans, encountered a jacknifed tractor trailer and finally found a gas station with gas cans. Unfortunately, they only had 1 gallon gas cans and my mom drives an Expedition, so I spent $15 on 2 1-gallon gas cans. Then I overflowed one while filling it and the cop was nice enough to wipe it off while I filled the other. All the while, I'm trying not to sob because I wish daddy was there at this point. Then we get the Expedition started, go to the nearest gas station and fill up. At this point, its about lunchtime, but I'm too frustrated to eat so we keep going for a bit. By the time I'm ready to eat, everyone else (besides my mom, who was driving) was asleep. We found a restraunt to eat at and drove about 30 minutes before my 5 year old had to pee. So we stopped again. Add a couple more pee breaks and that's how a 4-5 hour trip became a 10-11 hour trip, after which I had to drive an hour from my mom's house to get to mine.
Lessons learned:
1. Eat then let the kids play for a bit before you start traveling. Sure they might be hungry sooner, but its much nicer to start a trip without a fit.
2. Be flexible and if someone is late, start bugging them right away, not several hours later when you're already completely frustrated.
3. Make sure everyone pees at every gas stop and food stop. We forgot this when we stopped for lunch and had to stop again 30 minutes later, which was annoying.
4. Fill up on gas when you get down to 1/2 or 1/4 tank of gas. It is NOT fun to run out of gas when you are in the middle of nowhere. You have to give the trooper your liscence and wait while he confirms you are not a wanted felon then you have to find a gas station with gas cans if you don't carry one with you. . . its just not worth it to save a nickle a gallon.
We intended on departing for SC Wednesday, July 21, just after lunchtime, but my mother did not call or show up. This was unfortunate since she was driving us there in her Expedition. I cleaned my house and got us packed and did everything I could think of to do. When I ran out of things to clean and busywork to get us ready to go, I called my mom. She was in Jasper. 1 hour from her house, where she would have to go before driving 1.5 hours to mine. It was almost dinnertime at this point. So I had her meet me en route to Columbia in Conyers. When we got there, we waited another hour for her to arrive then moved our stuff to her car and continued driving to Columbia while my dad took my car back to his house. The trip from that point on was relatively uneventful. We got to our destination around 4 am, got to sleep around 4:30 and had to get up at 6.
For the return trip, we intended on leaving immediately following breakfast. We packed up the car, cleaned out the room to make sure we weren't leaving anything, ate breakfast and got in the car. Unfortunately, we passed the pool on the way to the car and my 5 year old wanted to swim. We explained to her there wasn't time and she had a complete meltdown. In the blink of an eye, the "I want to swim" meltdown turned into an "I want my daddy" meltdown which was impossible to fix considering my husband was already on the way to OK and had left for NC several hours before. I took the keys back to the front desk and she had stopped crying by the time I got back to the car. Thank God.
We drove just far enough to reach the middle of nowhere and promptly ran out of gas. Lovely. The AC would come on, but wouldn't blow cold, so we rolled the windows down to capture the breeze from the other cars while I called 911 and we waited for the Highway Patrol trooper to arrive. We went to 2 gas stations that did not have gas cans, encountered a jacknifed tractor trailer and finally found a gas station with gas cans. Unfortunately, they only had 1 gallon gas cans and my mom drives an Expedition, so I spent $15 on 2 1-gallon gas cans. Then I overflowed one while filling it and the cop was nice enough to wipe it off while I filled the other. All the while, I'm trying not to sob because I wish daddy was there at this point. Then we get the Expedition started, go to the nearest gas station and fill up. At this point, its about lunchtime, but I'm too frustrated to eat so we keep going for a bit. By the time I'm ready to eat, everyone else (besides my mom, who was driving) was asleep. We found a restraunt to eat at and drove about 30 minutes before my 5 year old had to pee. So we stopped again. Add a couple more pee breaks and that's how a 4-5 hour trip became a 10-11 hour trip, after which I had to drive an hour from my mom's house to get to mine.
Lessons learned:
1. Eat then let the kids play for a bit before you start traveling. Sure they might be hungry sooner, but its much nicer to start a trip without a fit.
2. Be flexible and if someone is late, start bugging them right away, not several hours later when you're already completely frustrated.
3. Make sure everyone pees at every gas stop and food stop. We forgot this when we stopped for lunch and had to stop again 30 minutes later, which was annoying.
4. Fill up on gas when you get down to 1/2 or 1/4 tank of gas. It is NOT fun to run out of gas when you are in the middle of nowhere. You have to give the trooper your liscence and wait while he confirms you are not a wanted felon then you have to find a gas station with gas cans if you don't carry one with you. . . its just not worth it to save a nickle a gallon.
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