Dinner ideas

Hey everyone - the blog is back :-)

So i have come up with a new idea and need some help. Instead of standing in front of the freezer every day wondering what to make for dinner, I have come up with a new system to at least give me a category of food to start with, i.e. Mexican, Italian, etc....

What I have done is listed food categories on little cards and I am going to place them in a container and every morning (or the night before) pull the category. From there I will determine the dinner menu.

I am stuck on categories and would love some input. Here is what I have so far:

* sandwich night
* soup and salad
* crock pot meal
* breakfast (as dinner, yummy)
* pizza & wings
* Chinese
* Italian
* Mexican

Any thoughts???

The 5 minute face

Well, I decided to use this blog for what the original intent is rather then me venting over how exhausted and overwhelmed I am on a daily basis :-) I do want to thank everyone listening and giving input - I have a great group of friends.

Now - as a wife, mom of three and career women time is limited and getting ready to go anywhere is a challenge. I am tired of looking frumpy and old so when I go out in public I try to clean up as much as I can. My hair is easy - as much as I hate it I can pull it back in a wet pony tail if I have to and it still looks OK.

I have discovered a make-up product that I absolutely LOVE! It's liquid eye shadow. I have found it at the Estee Lauder counter, the Clinque counter and most recently at Rite Aid - by Cover Girl. The Cover Girl product is called smoky shadow blast and it gives you two different colors to give you a modified smokey eye look - I love it.

On a daily basis this is my make-up routine and it takes 5 minutes or less:

* Almost powder make-up (powder foundation)
* Bronzer
* Blush
* Liquid eye shadow
* Eye liner
* Mascera
* Tinted chapstix - or lip gloss


If anyone else has any tips on getting ready quick, please comment.

Have a great day!

Finding yourself

I remember several years ago my friend Marla went through a "self discovery" stage - remember Marla, you sent us questions to answer about you. I think I am going through a similar stage right now. I need reminded of who I am and what is important to me - as well as how others see me.

My life (and Elijah's life) has changed so much in the last two years, I think I have lost who I am. For so many years I was a career women and mom. I put everything I had into my career and Elijah. My life was defined by being Elijah's mom and working. I felt like I had it together both as a parent and as a manager (my role at athenahealth).

Now, I feel like I do not have it together at all. I am still a career women and a mom, only now I am a wife and a mom of three - two of which need my constant attention. There are not enough hours in a day to get it all done, and I have realized that. But, it is my nature to want to get it all done and have it done right - and perfect.

Has anyone else ever felt like this? Did you "evaluate" yourself and find who you really are? Do we change as our lives change? I would think we'd have to..... but how do we keep the basis of who we are as the environment around us changes?

I am going back to work in 2 weeks - 2 weeks from today is my first day - and I am NOT looking forward to it (don't tell anyone I said that Lauren) so I need to get out of this funk I am in so I can go back with a positive attitude and still be positive at the end of the day for my family.

Let me know your thoughts.

Week 3

Well... it's week three of having two babies under 1 year old and let me tell you I'm exhausted :-)

One of the good things is that I am only 2 pounds away from the weight I was at when I got pregnant with Blake - although I never really lost the weight from Cloe so I still have a really long way to go!

One thing I have realized over the past 3 weeks is how important my friends are to me, I MISS YOU ALL!!! I am really going to make a better effort to stay in touch with everyone - and I am going to use this blog to help me do that. I have only cooked one meal since I came home from the hospital with Blake, ha! All I do all day is run between the babies, wash dishes (especially bottles) and no I do not have a dishwasher so yes i wash them all by hand, laundry - it's never ending, and running Elijah to his activities. So I am really in need of some ideas from all of you to help me keep my sanity, get out of the house, and still get it all done.

Does anyone have a good idea for organizing your week? I know Marla does house stuff Monday through Wednesday then has adventure days on Thursday and Friday. I am trying to organizing me week so that I split up the housework and still have fun days.

Right now I am planning Cloe's first birthday party and our wedding reception - both of them are not that far off and I am WAY behind in planning. If you have any good decorating ideas for either one, please send them my way. We are doing a BBQ for our wedding reception - so if you have any good centerpiece ideas I would love to hear them, I am so bad at planning this sort of thing.

Also - any ideas on how to boost energy? I am so exhausted - especially in the morning - I fall asleep when I am feeding Blake sometimes. I need some energy foods or something to help give me an extra boost throughout the day.

Lastly - any fun ideas for things to do with a 12 year old an 11 month (almost 1 year old) and a one month old? I need to get out of this house and do some fun stuff but the day gets a head of me and by the afternoon it's time for baseball (which is almost over).

Any ideas you have would be VERY helpful and VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!

Happy Mother's Day

Hi Ladies:

I hope everyone had a really great Mother's Day. I found this poem and wanted to share it with all of you. I couldn't imagine my life without my kids - and I am very anxious to meet this new little bundle that is going to arrive in a few weeks.

Have a great week - everyone try to take some time out of your busy day and relax and enjoy yourself and your family this week.

J-

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom -I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom -I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom -I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Important entry .... NEED input

The topic ..... MY HAIR :-)!!! Seriously once or twice a year I go through this mood where I need a make over, well it's that time of year. Anyone that received our family Christmas card can see my hair was TERRIBLE!! Since then I have lightened it and cut it a little shorter but the texture of my hair is really dry. So one of the things I'm looking for is product recommendations. Marla you hair always looks so shinny - do you use anything special?

Also - for all you busy women how often do you wash and style your hair? I find that when I'm working at home even if I wash my hair it gets pulled back in a wet bun 95% of the time. I hate that too because then I don't feel like I look my best (which I want to do for Justin). I think a lot of my feelings are because I feel like a big frumpy mess most of the time - being 6 months pregnant and being pregnant FOREVER I think makes you feel that way sometimes.

So ...... any recommendations on products, styles, quick tips for getting ready in the morning would be VERY helpful!!!

Sharing your time

OK, so this blog entry is for the women out there that have to share your time between kids, husbands/boyfriends, work, housework, etc...... I was going to write to just mom's and mom's that have multiple children, however I realize that as women we have a lot more to balance than just spouse and kids. Pets count too - i was really impressed by my friend Lauren recently because she had to take care of her boyfriends dog for 2 weeks while he was in Asia working and Lauren did an amazing job. The dog had a lot of health problems and Lauren cared for him like she would a child. I have to say Lauren, you have come a long way since not knowing Elijah couldn't sit in the front seat, hahahaha, you are going to be a great mom someday!!

I am not so much worried about the housework or work really (although when I am working I feel like I don't give the kids or Justin the attention they need and when I am tending to the kids and running errands, because the weekends are too short - I feel like I don't give my work the attention it needs.

Recently Elijah has expressed that he misses being an only child - because he had all my attention. You can only imagine how bad that made me feel - I really didn't know what to say because he has always been my main focus. I really do try and share my time between him and Cloe but I am worried that when the new baby comes it's going to be even more difficult to give all three kids the attention they need, plus be a good wife (yes I said wife - we have finally finalized the the wedding plans. we are getting married March 18th in Hawaii - so exciting)!!!

Does anyone have any suggestions/recommendation on how to balance life so everyone gets "equal" time and no one feels left out? I think it would also be nice to work in time for "me" but I'm not even considering or worring about that right now.

Well .... .anyone ??????

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

I'd like to say Thank You to everyone for your support. I have such a great group of friends. I am feeling a lot better about things - I am trying to be a lot more organized and not worry so much about the clutter. I am taking it one step at a time.

I'm still trying to organize my time and cook more - any idea's how to organize your week so you're prepared for each nights dinner?

It's all starting to hit me .....

I'm so overwhelmed right now - I feel like all I do it go, go, go and I can't image what it's going to get ANYTHING done is 5 months when I have another little one to take care of. Right now seems so hectic that I can't think straight. My mind is all over the place, and I can't concentrate on anything - the wedding, organizing this house (funny I have a cleaning service come in one a week and my house is still a cluttered mess ALL THE TIME), laundry, oh yeah and there is my job!

How do you get it all done? I really don't ever remember feeling like this before - I know I need to take one thing at a time but I just can't, ugh it's so frustrating.

Any ideas of how I can focus on getting everything done and hold it together all at the same time?

Happy New Year

Another year has flown by and it seems like life keeps getting busier and busier!! I can't believe Cloe is going to be 6 months old next week and Elijah will be 12 in a few months. Life flies by so fast, and my life is about to get even busier. I am expecting another baby :-) !! Cloe and the new baby will only be 11 months apart (my due date is June 13th and Cloe will be 1 year old on July 7th)! So with having an almost teenager, a new baby turning 1, having another new baby, hopefully selling our house and buying a new one (we have out grown our current house) and getting married is definatly going to make 2010 one of the busiest years EVER!!!

So, with the new year here, I am not going to make any New Years resolutions. Instead I am going to set goals. And this blog is going to be very important to me - and all of you are too. Trust me, I am going to need lots of good ideas for organizing, meals, staying sane :-) this year. So anyone that would like to give ideas - not just to me but to everyone else reading this blog - please feel free to post an idea. Or if you need an idea for something, just ask.

A few goals that I am setting for 2010 are:
1. To be a better friend - i know i have not been a very good friend to a lot of people in the past year. This past year has been a whirlwind and I didn't take the time I should have with the people that I care about most.

2. Cook one new recipe a week - so please keep the idea's coming.

3. Organize, organize, organize! Any ideas you have are more than welcome too - I can't tell you how tired I am of clutter - and I mean all kinds of clutter!!!

the rest are private - but I can say I have very high hopes that it's going to be a VERY VERY good year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!