LASIK Eye Surgery!

I had LASIK eye surgery yesterday.This has been a work in progress for the pat 5 years since we've been waiting (and budgeting) for a time that I was NOT pregnant. I'll be honest, it was MUCH more difficult than I expected! Well, either that or I'm just a big wuss! I mean, it's not like you're able to look away during surgery...seeing all the instruments come at me was absolutely terrifying. I spent all friday in these super spiffy goggles and then returned on Saturday to have them removed. My husband was AMAZING...he took care of the kids while I was recovering in the bedroom, and my good friend Kristen had Peyton over at her house for a princess playdate-so sweet!

My eyes are still very sore and I am on a cocktail of eye drops, but my vision is getting clearer by the hour! After 13 years, it is so thrilling not to have to wear glasses! We are also hoping that this will help my complicated migraines :)

Today I stayed at home. My eyes are still very sensitive to the light and I didn't want to drive. Vu took the little boys in the double jogger for a run and Bray kept right up with him for a whopping THREE MILES!!! He is turning into quite the runner! After their morning run, he took everyone in the pool. This afternoon my parents cames by and took the three big kids to the park and to dinner (Vu was at work). We are so blessed to live so close to them!

And then we had a wonderful suprise visit from one of my BFF's, Corinn and her fiance Matt! They made a spontaneous trip down from Tallahassee to look at wedding venues :) I am so excited to have them down and can't wait for all of us to wake up in the morning with the chaotic Church drill...it's quite an event getting everyone ready in the morning!

Sunday Supper!

Monday: Spagetti meat sauce (a feezer cookin from a few months ago), ti-color pastsbroccoli, bread, salad, peaches
Tuesday: Tacos! Have yet to decide meat or chicken. Corn, rice and salad
Wednesday: Tennessee Pride Casserole with rice and peaches
Thursday: Family night with my parents! They will be bringing dinner! :)
Friday: Homemade bagel pizzas with the kiddos, salad and peaches
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: After Church we will pick up a 50 piece chicken nugget box ($10.99-SCORE!) for dinner

All of our meals from the previous week turned out GREAT! :) :)

Summer is flying by!

It is hard to believe Summer is almost over! This time of year is so much fun since I have all four kids home. Of course, I could do without the extreme heat and humidity.

Yesterday my husband took Pey and Ky to the local pool for some splash time fun. It gave me a solid hour an half to catch up on laundry, cleaning, emails...the endless list. I felt refreshed and ready to handle the kids and dinner rush since he worked the evening shift. The stew turned out very tasty and all 3 little ones gobbled it right up. Success!

This morning was another great day! I took the big boys to the beach to meet up with some of our friends who generously offered us the chance to hang out at their beach rental. It was a beautiful morning and we got the chance to see dolphins. I even braved the ocean and waded in up to my knees...BIG accomplishment for me since I have a severe phobia of any large body of water. It's been a busy afternoon including a conference call, paperwork, and wrangling the kiddos. Fortunately will be a snap (see my Sunday Supper post).


Here's hoping the rest of the week stays equally productive and stress free! :)

Freezer Inventory

About 2 1/2 months ago our garage freezer (a hand me down from my parents) died. I was devastated because not only did I lose that extra space but I lost ALL of my pumped breast milk! *sigh* Well, we made a big purchase a few weeks ago and found a fabulous deal on a tall freezer at Sears scratch and dent store. So now I have TONS of room for my freezer cooking, bulk shopping purchases, and of course my liquid gold-breast milk. *happy dance*

Along with extra space came a membership to Sam's Club. Oh. My. Gracious. Talk about HEAVEN for a family of six! Now, it does take some skill to shop at Sams. I have been twice and am learning what they have and the quantities. Things like coconut milk, fish sauce, diapers without dry max, ect they do not stock...so I REALLY need to focus on what is available. I lucked out and was able to get a business membership through a good friends company, so that means I can shop VERY EARLY at 7am!!!

So, here I am with extra space to fill! I found this little post about keeping track of freezer inventory VERY useful. I will start this today since I just did a major meat/fruit run.
freezer inventory

Sunday Supper Plan

After surfing through MANY homemaking blogs, I found a trend. Most mama's post their weekly menu. What a fabulous idea! I do try to jot down my weekly list, but maybe if I actually post my menu I will do a better job at:

A: Following my Menu
B: Grocery shopping for what I need and saving money
C: since my husband's schedule varies week to week, I always try to have dinner made befoe he leaves for work so he can have a home cooked meal there. Right now this happens 50% of the time :/
D: Eating/drinking more soups since I am breasfedding.

Currently, our breakfasts and lunches are just about the same... So will focus on my dinner menu plan.



Breakfast: combination of egg whites (for me), cereal, oatmeal, and pancakes for the kids. Their taste usually dictates breakfast

Lunches: alternate between turkey sandwiches, mini-mes (basically cheese quesidilla on tortilla bread), or leftovers. I always serve fresh fruit as a side.

Dinners:
Sunday-Marinated steaks (we scored an awesome deal at Sam's Club), baked potatos, brocolli and salad. My parents will be joining us, too!
Monday-Newly Wed Stew (my moms recipe, the easiest and most delicious stew!!!) and rice
Tuesday-Pasta fagioli soup (this is a freezer cookin'of mine from a few months ago) and rice
Wednesday-Left overs and rice
Thursday-Spicy Mango Sweet Potato Chicken with rice and veggies
Friday-Thai Vegetable Soup (I'm really excited to try this soup! It's made with College Inn's new Thai Coconut Curry Broth!) and rice.
Saturday: Breakfast for dinner! :)

I am excited and am looking toward a much more organized week! :)

Appointments OVERLOAD!

Whew! I am dizzy after a week JAM PACKED with appointments! All Children's Hospital visits, Dental visits, MOMS Club meeting, Lasik appointment, pediatrician appointment, car appointment, cable appointment, prescription pick ups and phone calls setting up future visits...oh my goodness! I believe I am transitioning very well as a mama of four, but keeping track of all of the medical and misc. appointments sure is a feat in itself! I am learning as I go, but a few things that have helped include:

1. The obvious: A calendar!

2. Bouncing ideas off my husband and NOT getting offended when he asks if something has been taken of. I can't do it all...a marriage it teamwork. And sometimes I get personally bruised when as asks, "have you made Pax's 4 month appt?" ect, and my answer is a mousy, "no."

3. Making time to MAKE appointments. That certainly turns into a major chore when your time to call and schedule appointments is when the kids are down for their naps-which also happens to be when office's are closed for lunch! argh! Scheduling 15 minutes during independent reading time is a great tip!

4. Cheat Sheet in the car. Sometimes my "uh oh, should have thought of that" moments come when I am driving. But NEVER schedule while in the car with the kids. I can't properly discipline if a child acts up in he back seat and lets be honest, it's just NOT SAFE!