In Search Of...

As a mom, I go through several emotions about my little guys growing up. I love the little guy stage, big hugs and smooches. They aren't embarrassed to say I love you Mommy in public yet. Or come running across the nursery at church saying "Hi Mommy, thats my mommy!" But on the other hand I get anxious for some of the milestones that are literally on months away from happening. Like school. Now, because of my oldest sons birthday being in December, he will be one of those older kids in class, the one who is a little bit older than the other kids. Because he can't start VPK until he is 4. But not in the middle of the year. And he is SOOOOO ready to go to school. He loves school buses, although I don't have the heart to tell him I doubt he will ever ride on regularly to school. We plan on sending our kids to Private Christian Schools. He talks about going to school and having friends. He wants to take Piano lessons! And because I am so very concerned with my kids getting the best education they can, to have all the advantages of quality teachers, I am now looking for a preschool. I want him to start in the fall of this year for alot of reasons. One, he is ready! Two, I believe it is so important to start the learning process young, when they can absorb so much more than when they get older. Three, My DH will be going out on deployment for 6 months in October and we will have a new baby in August. And it would be helpful to have one child in school, especially since I also have my own business. Thankfully I can control how many new clients I take on, and I plan on using that time to really focus on my EZine.
I have a couple picked out to go and tour, one is a little much, and only 2 days a week, but he would be taught a foreign language. Most of the 3/4 year olds at this preschool are being taught to read. The other one we are looking at seriously is a Christian day school that is down the street. They go from Pk3 through High School with an average of 70% of their graduates recieving either athletic or academic scholarships. It is an intense college prep school. Prices are supposedly a lot more reasonable. So I know which direction Damon will be leaning in. If I had the time and the patience I would love to be able to homeschool them, but I do what I can, and I know when it is time to give them over to someone much more capable than I!
So now comes the fun part, rearranging things to make it possible with out it pinching our budget. Our main goal for this year is to get out of debt, I know we won't be able to do it all this year, but we are working towards being as debt free as possible so that when we move in 2008, we can buy our first house. We have only just in the past 6 months really begun trying to budget and live beneath our means. So my goal for this month is to cut our cell phone bill back down. We tried it once before a couple months back, and failed miserably! Most of my clients call my cell which I have designated my business line. And I was using it for all my business calls, including looking for quotes and estimates. But the reason behind this was because in an attempt to save money I had switched from DSL to dial-up. But with the advent of my EZINE, I need to be able to download quickly! So we upgraded again, and hopefully we can keep our minutes down and I can get a smaller plan. That will save us some money! Now if I could only get on top of clipping coupons and following the ads! I forget every Sunday to pick up the paper and cut the coupons, should I actually remember, I then forget to take the coupons with me and use them! I wish I knew the tricks to living frugally!! So anyone with tips and hints, or you want to outright share your knowledge with me..... Feel free!!!
I read these posts and stories of women who can use coupons at the store and get $300 worth of groceries for like $60. How do they do that??? If I could do that, I would be out of debt and sending my kid to the expensive preschool in 3 months!

Here are my goals:
1. Learn to shop from the ads
2. Remember to clip coupons, use them and menu plan with them!
3. Be tighter with my wallet (this is a tough one because Damon and I are horrid impulse shoppers!
4. Go back to being the energy gestapo! I did this when we first moved, and our electric and water bills were really low, I need to get back into the habit!
5. Lower our cell bill

New Vacuum Details

The vacuum is a Eureka Altima! And it is awesome, I don't usually get excited over cleaning supplies, but this is a great buy! A few more details on it...
Extra Wide Track 15 inches
Edger on the side so you can vacuum as close to the wall as you can get
12 amps (I am told this is a good thing!)
The usual attachements, as well as a Power Paw to vacuum the stairs, and probably things like furniture
Easy to empty bagless thingy (sorry I am having a brain moment!)
HEPA filter washable

And it has an extra long power cord, which I love because sometimes our plugins are in rather random places!

Menu Plan Monday

I strayed quite a bit last week from my menu plan! Cravings would kick in and I was useless to resist! Wednesday I had planned on the Chicken Strips I think, but I really wanted Baked Potato soup. So I had seen several recipes on it, and a friend of mine had given me a quick run down of how she made hers. I combined the recipes, added my own touches and came up with a really tasty soup, that will probably be a regular on our menus! I did eventually make the Sesame Chicken Strips yesterday, they were great! Only my picky oldest wouldn't touch them, which was as to be expected. So he just ate lots of rice! And the Confetti Spaghetti was a huge hit as well! I would add a little more spice to both recipes, but thats just because anything even slightly bland tends to annoy me right now!
Most of this week will be from last week, that we just didn't get to!

Monday:grilled cheese and tomato soup (Duty Day)
Tuesday: Amish Meatloaf with Mashed Potato and salad
Wednesday: Chicken Pesto Pasta and Garlic Bread
Thursday: Sausage with Datil Dew Sauce and oven roasted seasoned red potatoes
Friday: grilled chicken sandwiches with vermont white cheddar , peaches
Saturday: Pizza cheese and a pepperoni, sausage, and pineapple

I had another ultrasound on Friday, everything looks great! Little one is growing and I am excited for August. Which I know is a long way off. But time seems to be moving quickly and I know it will be here before I know it!

My vacuum cleaner of 6 years finally bit the dust Friday as well. The rotator brush on the bottom stopped spinning and it just didn't suck the way it used to. So Sunday we went to Target! I, of course, wanted a Dyson, but just couldn't justify spending $500 on a vacuum cleaner. Yeah, yeah, I know it will never lose its suction, but for that much I should have someone who will come and vacuum for me! I had put aside about$200 for a new vacuum, but found my second choice for much less. Oddly enough I saw it online at Walmart for a whole lot more. Thats right everyone, Target ROCKS!! Heres a pic of my new vacuum!


The little yellow thing on the side is a duster, it has a telescopic pole thingy and after you dust, you stick it in the holder for it, flip a switch and it SUCKS all the dust off of it! I am so excited about it. I already vacuumed my dining room area, and it works amazingly!

I also got to have a girls night out Friday night with my friend Kiki, we went and got pedicures. I really needed the pampering. She brought my boys the cutest thing ever! And they have been playing with it since Friday.





So anyways, if you participated in Menu Plan Monday, let me know!

Helpful Tip for Fleas (I hope!)

We have the sweetest, for the most part, cat. Damon gave her to me for my birthday last year. We lived in base housing at that point and had terrazo floors. Tile. I hated them because ouor little guys would fall and cut their lips and get horrible bumps and bruises. The only good thing about not having carpet was that we were FLEA FREE!! That is until we moved. I was so sick of the base, we were out of the way for all our friends and far from most things in town. Since we aren't here that much longer, we didn't want to invest in a house and then not be able to sell it when it was time to leave. So we found a lovely nice sized apartment in a good area. And now our cat is infested with fleas. We have treated her several times, taken her to the vet, and tried just about everything out there at the pet store. None of it has even seemed to make a dent in it. We thought seriously about giving her to a shelter, but the process is daunting. And its is based on whether or not they deem her acceptable. If they do, we could still have her for the next 6 months until they placed her. I doubt that with her flea issues, and that she has scratched the boys and when they bug her, they get nipped, they would consider taking her at all. She is a loving cat, she wants to be petted. Its just the fleas that cause us to hold back on our affection for her.
I did a little more research this afternoon, and have found several natural remedies that I think may work. Lemon juice, or Citrus juice of some sort, sprayed on her, and on the carpet is supposed to kill them. Putting salt on the carpet and letting it sit overnight is supposed to dry up the eggs. I would much rather use these remedies that the insecticides that are so dangerous.
I actually have pure Key Lime juice that I have mixed with a bit of water in a spray bottle. I have treated my area rugs, and bath mats this morning. I plan on spraying her down when Damon comes home so he can hold her. I will let you all know how this goes! Has anyone had any experience with any of these natural rememdies? DO you know of something else that might work?

Recipes Requested

The Sesame Chicken Recipe was posted a little bit down this page. I have no idea how to link to it, so until I can figure it out, please just scroll down! Unless someone can explain how to do it...

I will include the recipe for Confetti Spaghetti here.

Confetti Spaghetti

1 pck. (12 oz.) spaghetti
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 T. light brown sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
3/4 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

Cook spaghetti according to directions (or 2 minutes less if you
like it al dente). Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook beef, green
pepper and onion over medium heat til meat is no longer pink. Drain.
Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce and brown sugar; stir. Add remaining
ingredients, except cheese, and stir. Drain spaghetti and add.

Transfer to a greased (9x13 inch) baking dish (you can freeze the
dish at this point for up to a month to cook at a later time).

Cover and bake 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese
and bake, uncovered, for 5 more minutes or til cheese is melted. If
you have frozen it for later use, thaw for a day in the refrigerator
before baking or allow about 10 more minutes to bake.

Serves 5-8

I left out the Chili Pepper because I was out, and I didn't think I would like that much of a spicy kick! And it turned out really well, I would add a little more salt, as it was a little bland, but it was still pretty yummy, and my husband LOVED it as well as my two year old!

Menu Plan Monday (One day late...)

I meant to get this up yesterday, but I have been having issues with my DSL for a couple of days now. I sat on the phone yesterday for like an hour with the Bellsouth tech. I actually put my menu together on Sunday.

Monday: Leftovers of Confetti Spaghetti
Tuesday: something easy, its Damons duty day
Wednesday: Sesame Chicken Strips, baked garlic/onion red potatoes
Thursday: grilled cheese and tomato soup Damon out overnight
Friday: Chicken Pesto Pasta and garlic bread
Saturday: Sausage in Datil' Dew sauce and Rice with Cheese
Sunday:Amish Meatloaf and mashed potatoes with Sourdough Bread

I will check out all yours! I have gotten some great ideas from Menu Plan Monday, and I know I am definitely getting the book about meals for 30 days, I think it will make life a lot more simple!

The Scoop on My Dad

I talked to my Dad the other night, after he had gone in and gotten his results from the bone scan they did last week. He had been having problems with his knee initially, which isn't anything too odd since he has had bad knees for years. They scanned both legs, and found nothing to be concerned about in his left leg. Which was the one causing problems. But now there is something in the scan of the right leg. My Dad had injured his left knee while he was at a work, so all of these visits and tests run were Workers Comp. His right leg was not injured at work, nor is it injured in any way. However, because its not a work injury, he has to start the process all over again with his regular doctor. Which means, he will have to schedule to go in with the scan, have his leg examined and probably have his doctor order another scan and then wait for those results. And so we pray! My Dad has a great attitude about all this, he has great faith, and knows God will take care of him! His comment? "Apparently I was not specific enough when I asked God that the doctor wouldn't find anything in my LEFT leg, should have remembered the right!"