Not Surgery Day

Today was suppose to be "surgery day".

Thankfully it is not.

Because it's too darn hot to be all miserable from surgery.

And because we're still learning about how to best deal with Husband's diabetes.

And because ERP is teething. Ergo he's miserable and surgery while he's miserable would have sucked.

Surgery was cancelled due to finding out that my thyroid cyst was benign. Woo Hoo!!

And... and this is a big and... the cyst shrank. It went from over 5cm to around 4cm. Which doesn't sound like a lot, but it was enough for it not to be putting pressure on my windpipe anymore. Seriously this change was life altering. Ok, so draining the cyst and it refilling was super painful. I couldn't talk to days, move my head or drive. I had pain in my jaw and ears. I was miserable. I would have given anything to have had my thyroid removed those days. But then the pain lessened. The neck pain I had been having for months and months went away. My doctor did another "look see" and was able to get good samples to test... and here were are.

Happy No Surgery Day!!

I do go back in six months to have it looked at again for more growths. But for now we celebrate.

I spent the day silently reflecting on how amazing the news of it being benign was. When I got word on Friday last week... I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

But today I kept thinking... "at this time we would be heading to the hospital"... when in fact I was eating breakfast with my family and my mom.

"at this time we would be going in to the operating room"... as I was cleaning my floors.

"at this time I would be coming out of the operating room"... as I was playing at the park with the little kids.

"at this time I would probably be heading home".... as I was playing in the pool with RR.

It was a good day...

A day I am thankful for. A blessed day....

Project Food Budget: Week 9

Another week. Another day late. Oops.

This past week has gone by crazy fast. 

Lot's of food shopping this week. I feel like I've been at the store every other day.

$ 146.26 at Aldi.

$ 8 at the farm stand

$11.96 at Geissler's

$ 9.08 at Stop and Shop

$ 7.07 at the Trading Post

Ok... that is a lot of shopping and a lot of different store.

Total $182.37. This leaves me with a little less than $18 for the new expanded $200 every two week budget. Eek! 

Meals this week, in no particular order; as my mama is here and we're kind of rolling with it:

White chicken chili with salad and chips

Salmon patties with veggies and pasta salad

Tacos and corn on the cob

Blueberry pancakes, eggs and sausage

Sloppy Joes with veggies and fries

Spaghetti with meatballs and salad

Egg salad sandwiches with fruit

Luncheon meat sandwiches and chips and pickles

Hot dogs, beans and corn on the cob

Can you tell it's summer veggie time!! YUMMY!!!!

Goals for the next week.... to look forward to the final two weeks and have the budget, meal plan and fridge cleaned out and ready to rock the end.

Don't forget to visit Emily Levenson 

and these other bloggers:

• McGinnis and Bean
• Rainaldi.org
• Red Pen Mama
• Erra Creations
• Seeking White Space
• Gardening in High Heels
• Melissa Firman
• Copy & Post
• Shea Lennon
• Warm as Pie
• Two Eggs Over Easy

Project Food Budget: Week 8 (3)

Sorry for being a day late.

So the two week budget is $160 and I was already over it last week at $163.47. So far this week we've spent $ 53.22 on produce, bread and milk. So for two weeks I am over by $ 56.69 (all of it spent at Stop & Shop). I suppose it could be worst. Husband's new diet is really impacting things. Salad and fruit cost a lot more than bags of commercially made carbs... his previous favorite go-to foods.

But as Emily reminded me, new diets sometime require adjusting the budget. I'll have to look at that more the end of this week as I get ready to do another big two week shopping spree. 

Another struggle this week is RR being away at camp. He eats! Like really eats. And eats everything. TT and ERP not so much. This week I feel like I am cooking for two and praying the other two eat something. When RR is home I feel like I am cooking for "the family". 

Menu this week
Sunday: mango chicken (I ended up not making it last week)
Monday: grilled porkchops, applesauce and salad
Tuesday: the little ones had mac and cheese; husband and I had salads with grilled chicken over it
Wednesday: teriyaki porkchops, tomatoes, cucumbers, bread with butter and applesauce
Thursday: crockpot chicken (didn't make this last week either), stuffing and carrots
Friday: we're eating out!

Tonight I am looking for recipes for some homemade diabetic bran muffins. But nothing with crazy fake sugar in it so the kids can it them too. I need to find more high fiber foods to keep Husband feeling full longer. Lately it seems like all he thinks about is food. Which I guess is common among those who are dieting or facing big lifestyle/food changes. And I am open for suggestions for other yummy good high fiber eats.

Emily Levenson - who started this all.

• McGinnis and Bean
• Rainaldi.org
• Red Pen Mama
• Erra Creations
• Seeking White Space
• Gardening in High Heels
• Melissa Firman
• Copy & Post
• Shea Lennon
• Warm as Pie

Away at Camp

The biggest boy, aka RR; is away at camp this week. 

This isn't the first time he's gone away to camp. And I am sure it won't be the last time. 

But I seem to be missing him more than normal this time. And we're only on the second night.

As he gets older he opts to spend more time by himself or with his friends. He opts to not go to the grocery store. Instead he stays home "for the dog" as he puts it. And when we are all home we need to pull him out of his room. Off the phone. Away from Skype. But he's around. 

With him at camp this week it's making me realize how important he is to the family. Even if it feels like Husband or I are always prying him out of his room. 

First of all; there is no one to set the table. Or empty the dishwasher. 

There is no one stay home "for the dog", which means in this weather Lily has to spend time in her kennel when we go out.

There is no one to take ERP for a walk when "I need a minute".

But it also means that no one is coming downstairs to hang out with Husband and I at 9pm, when the little ones are in bed. 

It's funny. When he's around I don't realize how much he helps us out. How much we enjoy his company. 

I'll need to make sure I let him know he as missed when he gets back from camp.

Project Food Budget: Week 7 (My Week 2)

Check it - I have the current logo this week. :-)

So this week things changed in the house. Things that affect how we eat and in the end how we shop. Now if you are not familiar with this blog I am the mom of three boys. RR is 11 years, nearly 11.5 and stands a good five foot two or three inches. TT is four, nearly four and a half; and is bigger than most six years old. I kid you not. He's better than 46-inches and about 60-lbs. Then there is ERP, the baby. My smallest guy at 19 months he's barley 19 pounds. But since starting medication for reflux seems to be eating more. And then there is me and Husband. On Thursday last week we found out that Husband was a diabetic. At this time he is classified as "unknown", but his doctor is leaning more towards him being a type one diabetic. Obviously we are pursuing more information and testing on this.

Now husband was the king of carbs. He could make entire meals, nay eat for an entire day; on nothing but carbs. And with this latest news, that has changed. He is reading labels. Looking at eats more vegetables and proteins and is more willing to try new foods. He really is doing good and I am sure once he meets with his new team of doctors we'll both learn more about food and eating for health.

So... with that being said... food shopping this week involved buying new foods. Our menu this week features new foods. And I am excited to be cooking new foods.

Our food budget for a two week period, because I do bulk shopping in two week blocks is $160. Every few days I do go to buy fresh produce and milk.

Aldi - $117.96 - this is my total after taking out the Hula Hoops and what not
Stop & Shop - $ 45.52

For a total of $163.47.

So.... It's going to be really hard to spend no money in the next two weeks on milk and produce, so I'll really have to be careful and shop with price in mind as I am technically over budget already.

Menu this week
Sunday: ham and turkey wrap sandwiches with veggies and tater tots
Monday: chicken nuggets with salad and fresh green beans
Tuesday: salmon burgers* with cantaloupe and cucumbers
Wednesday: RR has scouts so the boys will have mac and cheese and Husband and I will  make something later
Thursday: mango chicken over whole wheat rice
Friday: tacos (made with ground turkey)
Saturday: chicken (in the crockpot) with veggies and maybe stuffing 


* The salmon burgers were a HUGE HIT. Husband, and the kids for that matter; have never had them before. And I MADE them. It was super easy and super yummy. No one complained ONCE about this dinner. I was really proud of Husband for trying them, let alone liking them. I made a lemon-dill mayo to go with them, which ERP enjoyed eating as is. TT, who is super picky even ate some. It was a total winner.

Oh and in case you are wondering I do feed them meals aside from dinner. Breakfast is usually cereal or french toast sticks. But I did spluge on bagels this week. And Stop & Shop had big boxes of Kix and Cheerios on sale, 4 for $10 so I had to get those as well. Lunch is typically cheese sandwiches, turkey dogs, peanut butter anything. And they snack on fruit on graham crackers all day long.

So... now that you are hungry... make sure you stop by and see how these other members are doing and what's on their menu.

Emily Levenson - who started this all.

• McGinnis and Bean
• Rainaldi.org
• Red Pen Mama
• Erra Creations
• Seeking White Space
• Gardening in High Heels
• Melissa Firman
• Copy & Post
• Shea Lennon
• Warm as Pie

Project Food Budget: It's Back!

A few years ago I did an online "experiment" called Project Food Budget with Emily Levenson. The goal of the project was to have a grocery budget and to try and shop in that budget. All of the bloggers in the experiment had to share their weekly menu, their budget and what they actually spent - you know that whole accountability thing.

Last week while I was blogging I was thinking about PFB and was missing it. As sad and as strange as that sounds. And then one of my friends that also participated in it a few years back told me it was going on again. This time for 12 weeks, instead of a year... and yeah it was almost half over already. But I figured if she can jump in late this time around... so can I.

A few things are different for me this time around. Aside from having more and bigger mouths to feed. I am now actually grocery shopping on a regular basis. That was one of the hardest things for me with the first go around of PFB, not shopping regularly. Now I am also meal planning 2 weeks in advance. This is because we now do the bulk of our shopping at Aldi. And Aldi is a bit of a drive. This time around I also have a hand on staples. I know I need four boxes of cereal, two boxes of granola bars, one giant box of fruit snacks, etc... to last two weeks between the Aldi trips. I guess you could say I have a handle on what we, as a family, eat.

So last time I shopped I spent $130 at Aldis. My food budget over two weeks is $160 and this includes buying milk and fruit every few days from a local grocery store or market. I don't know my total for my "milk and fruit" shopping trips, so I can only assume it was on budget. So I guess in that sense PFB will be a help.

Menu this week
Monday: Pasta with sausage
Tuesday: eggs, corn beef hash and toast
Wednesday: Need to figure something out... I had assumed RR had scouts which meant the boys would have something quick like mac and cheese and fruit and Husband and I would eat later... but no scouts... so I am open to suggestions.
Thursday: sandwiches and salads
Friday: eating out

This symbol is really old... I should confirm if there is a new this time around.

Emily Levenson

McGinnis and Bean // Red Pen Mama // Seeking White Space // facepalmmama // Gardening in High Heels // Melissa Firman // Copy & Post // Rachel Olive Miller // Shea Lennon // Erra Creations// Two Eggs Over Easy

Once upon a time....

Once upon a time, way back when it was just RR and me; I used to get up early nearly every Saturday morning and have "me time".

It was back before everyone was on Facebook and people hung out on-line on message-boards. Do people even still use those? I was a community leader for a couple of them and on Saturday morning I would drink my coffee in peace while RR slept and spend time on-line. I used to post a weekly feature called "Saturday Stuff" where we would all chat about the nuances of day to day life.

This morning I am awake, down in the dining room alone. Almost like "old times".

RR is technically awake, but around 8:30am I gave him his DS so he could go watch videos and play games in his room. QUIETLY. After all I did get some snuggles from him this morning, which at age 11 I will take them when I get them.

TT is catching up on some much needed sleep. As is Husband.

And ERP; ever since his reflux medication kicked in his sleep has greatly improved. I don't think I updated about that. ERP's been having signs of silent or not so silent reflux for ages. Everything from ear infections to back arching crying and screaming in the middle of the night. At his 18 month well child appointment I went in to it with an agenda. Try and fix this mess he was - his pediatrician agreed to try the reflux meds, and really something else to give he had started to lose weight. So after about one and a half weeks on medication he turned the corner. He stopped waking five or six times a night, like he had been for the last 18 months and was waking one or two times. He stopped the back arching crying and crying in the middle of the night. He started eating, most days. And now he sleeps until eight or nine most days; instead of up and crying and miserable at five or six.

Anyhow; here I am alone. Just me and a cup of coffee, and possibly some of the worst chocolate chip pancakes I have ever made. How chocolate chip pancakes can be "bad" is beyond me. But I did it.

Since I have started writing this the dog is now down here with me. This can only mean one thing. TT is awake. She sleeps under his bed, with his bedroom door closed.... and that's how we know he's up... Lily is out. This works out great at nap-time when he's not napping.

And with that... I have run out of things to write about this morning. And my coffee is getting cold. And I cannot eat this nasty pancake. So... have a great Sunday everyone!