Wordless Wednesday 5.25.11

Linked to Wordless Wednesday at 5minutesformom!  If you are stopping by to take a peek at my site...  WELCOME!  Please leave some comment love and I will return the favor :o)

Some awesome entertainment at Busch Gardens!  Love these guys.

Top Ten Memories, Lessons, and Experiences of a 28 Year Old!



Next month I turn 29 and will officially be "pushing 30."  And to be honest, I am extremely excited!!!!  Why?  Because if 29 is anything like 28, then it's going to be an a-MA-zing year!  Recently, I've started to reflect on the past 12 months and how much my life has drastically changed.  I believe everyone has a handful of truly insightful times in their lives.  You know the kind?  When your perspective is unclouded and you have a feeling of calmness, acceptance, clarity.  When you realize there is a Master Plan, and life is just as it was meant to be.  Below are my Top Ten Memories, Lessons, and Experiences of life as a 28 year old  :o)

1.  Making our marriage the priority.  To me, my marriage is harder than parenting.  It takes MORE love, MORE effort, and demands MORE time than anything else in my life.  Having 3 children in 3 years, 1 month, I went through a phase where I was in pure survival mode.  Making it through the day was the priority.  And in hindsight, I honestly feel that at the time, that's what needed to be done.  However, this year I suddenly realized I was kissing the children more than I was kissing my husband.  {Clarity check}  Something needed to change, and it needed to change fast!  We BOTH have been working very hard to communicate better, have more one on one time, support each other's individual goals, not nit pick or criticize, remember that it's the little things that count, and accept each other truly and completely...flaws and all.  We just celebrated our fifth Wedding Anniversary on April 20th, and I am more in love with my husband than I was the day I married him.  Marriage is work, HARD work. But fruits of that labor are endless.  Love is intentional and I strive every day to show my husband just how much I love him, and support him, and am so thankful that he is mine.  This is a wonderful Season for us  :)



2.  Legalizing and establishing custody of my oldest.  This is a personal topic.  But for any blended family reading this...you know just what an emotional roller coaster this experience is.  Out of all the Lessons I learned this year...patience and determination prevailed.

3.  Nam, my fourth child, was born on May 5th!  Well, he was born 4 weeks before I turned 28 (wow...I had 4 kids at 27!?  zoiks!) but I am going to roll that little butterball baby into my experience of a 28 year old.  I didn't know what we were having, so when "it's a BOY!!!" was excitedly announced, the great name debate began.  I changed his name from Nolyn, to Austyn, to Camdyn, to Rylan...and in the last hour of my hospital stay (and multiple requests from social security), I changed it yet again...to Nam!  He is our little Nam and is such an easy, laid back little boy.

4.  Relationship with my mother.  Something about this year changed the relationship I have with my mom.  Maybe it was maturity?  Life experience?  Or desperately NEEDING help on days that I was sick over extended with the kids.  Probably a little of all three.  I feel like we are now more than a mother and daughter... we are friends.  I am so blessed to have her in my life, in my children's lives, and only a few miles away.  I hope someday I am to my children what she is to me.

5.  Grateful for both of our Grandma's health.  The past few years have been challenging for both my grandmother and my husbands grandmother.  Illness, both emotional and physical, has taken its toll.  Yet these amazing women are still spreading joy and laughter and continue to imprint their wisdom on our children.  What a gift it is our kids will be able to recall the scent of grandma's house, the optimism in both of their voices, their sweet quirks and funny cards.  Knowing someone a 100 years old and 92 years old is so rare and so special.  Witnessing generations merge through laughter, books, stories, and toys warms my heart.

6.  Debt Free Living.  And yes, that includes the vehicles and mortgage...which are completely paid off.  We are now living a life of financial freedom and what a blessing it is!!!  But it takes just as much work to maintain a debt free lifestyle as it did to obtain it.  Financial curveballs never cease to be thrown our way, including Ortho work for our 7 year old.  Yikes!  Not to mention college for the kids.  I started couponing last year and am now able to keep our monthly grocery bill at $400.  Such a rewarding adventure it has been to stretch my husbands paycheck even further and although I may not be able to increase the amount of income coming in, I can certainly decrease money going out!

7.  Integrating faith into our lives...and it's not easy for two people of different faiths.  We have both worked very hard to be open, interested, and respectful of each others views.  We attend Church together and with our children and I am proud to say it continues to be an empowering and insightful journey.  It has only made us stronger as a married couple.  Believing in something bigger than yourself is humbling...and very, very powerful.

8.  Serving others.  Every mother needs an outlet and mine {which sometimes feels like a positive addiction} is volunteering!  It fills my heart and gives me that extra "umph!" to make it through the day.  This past year, ironically starting right at my 28th birthday, I was elected the President of The MOMS Club of our local Chapter and I have thoroughly enjoyed being involved!!!  As a stay-at-home mom, it is very challenging to find the time for your passions and to not feel guilty spending time for yourself.  This organization and the personal time I have put into it has been food for my soul.  I have an army of friends and a support system that a few years ago I only dreamed of.  My involvement in the local MOPS Group and Church is the cherry on top!

9.  We have stepped into the light with Minh.  I feel as though this past year we have reached the next level with Minh and his behavior.  He is positive, joyful, full of energy and his good days far outweigh the challenging.  He just had his first birthday party and loved every single minute of it!!!  We are so proud of him and of his ability to verbalize his feelings and work through frustrations like never before.  He is such an inspiration to me  :o)

10.  Pushing myself, setting goals, and expecting nothing less than the best.  This is true mentally, emotionally, and physically.  I have now competed in THREE 5K races since March and although I was slow as a turtle, I ran!  What an adventure!!!  I also set a personal goal to breastfeed Nam for a full year...and I {actually Nam and I} did it!  So rewarding!  This truly has been a year of personal growth, refocusing my energy on what matters most in life, and realizing that there is enough time in the day for my passions.  1 child or 4 children, it's all about prioritizing.

Here is to 29!!!

Sunday Supper Meal Plan {5.22.11}

Last week marked week #2 of cooking purely from my stockpile, except of course for fresh veggies, fruits, and milk.  And since I still have over 10 pounds of ground turkey from February, bags of chicken breasts, and two more shelves full of frozen foods, I've decided to extend stockpile cooking into a third week!  Therefore, all my meals will again be made using frozen meats, cheeses, breads, and canned foods and veggies,fruits, and dairy (plus an extra gallon and a half of whole milk for Nam) from tonights grocery run.  With my couponing and two $10 Publix gift cards I have received, I am going to attempt to keep my bill at $25.00 for a weeks worth of food.  I am going to steer clear of BOGO's *gasp* and NOT bring in my coupon binder!

Breakfast- Cold Cereal, frozen waffles, and smoothies.  A sweet friend of mine suggested I include spinach in smoothies since it's a very simple taste to conceal with fruits...so I am going to try this, too!
Lunches-  Turkey Sandwiches, cheese mini-me's, and left overs with fresh fruit.
Dinners-

Monday:  Crockpot  Obama Chili  {Or Vegan Chili for my friend M} served over jasmine rice.

Tuesday:  Spaghetti and salad

Wednesday:  Chicken Sandwiches, frozen french fries, and salad

Thursday:  Grilled Salmon, Asparagus and salad

Friday:  Minh's choice  {going to try to convince him to cook Fish sticks, broccoli and salad}

Saturday:  HOMESCHOOL CONVENTION!!!  aka, date night for hubby and I!

Sunday:  Burgers, veggies and salad



Minh has become quite helpful in the kitchen!

Holding pictures from Grandparents Day at school!  His Mimi took the entire day off of work to join him :o)





Just a Simple "Hello" Can Be Life Changing

A dear sweet friend of mine recently moved out of state and I miss her family tremendously!  She recently posted about going to a local park and moms there weren't very receptive to her desire to talk and hopefully plant an acorn of a friendship.  My heart hurt so much for her.  I cannot imagine:  A)  How hard it must be to move to a new area where she does not know ANYONE and B)  How much courage that takes to venture out and approach moms at a park, attempt to strike up a conversation, only get rebuffed.

I believe every mom has been there at some point.  Craving adult interaction, conversation, friendship.  It is incredibly intimidating to to approach a circle of friends, so keep that in mind if a mom does so.  Don't just answer her question and turn away.  So this message goes out to ALL moms!  I challenge you: the next time you are at a park to strike up a conversation with a mom you do not know.  Looking for something in common?  You have children, don't you!?  Kids make fantastic ice breakers.  Exchange names, numbers, or information about a local mommy group you are part of.  Be welcoming.  Be interested.  Be caring.  And remember, a simple hello can be life changing!



Sunday Supper Meal Plan {5.15.11}-Using Stockpile Only

A day late...

Last night I decided to create another week of Meals using ONLY my stockpile.  I would like to thin out my pantry stock over the next month.  Therefore, my grocery bill for the week came to $45.00 which included Fat Free Milk for the big kids, Whole Milk for Nam, fruits and veggies, and 4 BOGO Sales {I tried SO hard to resist!  I even went to Publix withOUT my coupon binder.  *gasp*}.  So here is our Menu...

Tuesday:  Salmon, Broccoli, and Baked Potatoes
Wednesday:  Meatball Sandwiches
Thursday:  Nuggets and Broccoli
Friday:  Grilled Pork Loin and Sweet Potatoes
Saturday:  Spaghetti and Broccoli
Sunday:  Sloppy Joes and Corn

May Fun! {5/1-5/12}

I am amazed at how much was jam packed into the first weeks of May!  My goodness gracious, it's been a blur.  Yet, a colorful blur. 

Nam turned 1 on May 5th...our little Cinco De Mayo baby, ole!



  Thao turned 3 on May 7th!



My brother's birthday was the 10th and lets not forget Mother's Day!  We were able to celebrate at my inlaws and had a wonderful time!  But by Sunday night, I had a pounding headache and we postponed celebrating Mother's Day with my family.

I also had Elections for our 2011-2012 MOMS Club Board, have been busy finalizing the Banquet (only 3 weeks to go!) and making gifts,  planning a birthday party and attended the last MOPS Meeting.  We've had a lot of fun in the sun at the beach and the pool, too!  It's been wonderful!!!  We were able to take the kids to a FREE Science Fair and my husband and I also got some wonderful homeschool books at a book sale. Our lives are so full!!!

Beach Baby! {Video}

Yesterday after dinner, we took the kids the beach for an evening walk  We intended to stay for a short while but they were having such a marvelous time that we stayed over two hours!  It was also Nam's first time crawling in the water.  He was exploring, splashing, and so independent!  While daddy walked ahead with the others collecting seashells {for Mothers Day presents we're making} I stayed back and let Nam enjoy himself.  Check out the video below!  And look at the GORGEOUS sunset!