Luxuries

To all of you stay at home moms...

Would you consider the ability to stay at home with your children a "Luxury"?

The other day, after a hard week of sickness and tantrums and not having any help, I sat in front of the TV, 5 cookies in hand, and zoned out. I got a phone call and as I told her what I was doing her reply was, "I wish I had that luxury."

Now this is coming from a single woman with a job and school, and nothing more to worry about but herself.

To me, my 15 minutes of alone time with no children climbing on me (only because they had finally decided to nap at the same time) was nothing more than a breather, and wish I could have taken my 15 minutes and read a good book. But come on...a luxury?! I had no energy for anything else but that.

Out of curiousity I went ahead and googled it...

luxury

1. indulgence in and enjoyment of rich, comfortable, and sumptuous living
2. (sometimes plural) something that is considered an indulgence rather than a necessity
3. something pleasant and satisfying the luxury of independence
4. (modifier) relating to, indicating, or supplying luxury a luxury liner

So, what do you think? To me a luxury would be a nanny maybe, or even a night for myself. Or how bout a 20 minute uninterrupted shower? Or a bathroom break?! What a luxury :)


Or how bout this house? I'm sure I would also have the "Luxury" of having a few maids, a chef, and JUST have the responsibility of caring for my children and husband.

No, my friends, I do not consider myself to be luxurious in the "stay at home" department. Although I do love my children, and do appreciate my husband for giving me the opportunity to stay home with my little ones, it does have it's downsides.

I wouldn't trade these moments for anything, but I wouldn't mind a break with a side of energy once in a while.

Comments?

PS: Yes, I have been away from the blogging world. My husband has pretty much been gone from 8 in the morning to about 8 at night, so I've been on my own with the babies. And I'm exhausted. But I am not giving up!

Wisdom for your Weekend

"The best way out is always through."

-Robert Frost

US poet (1874 - 1963)

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where all you can think about is the best way to get out?

Many times I find myself screaming "Get me outta here!"

But this quote hit me right in the gut. You just have to stick through it and in the end you'll be proud that you did, and in turn may have learned a thing or two.

Don't give up. You can do it! Stop thinking about where you could be, and enjoy where you're at. Time goes by too quickly...and our kids (or us) aren't getting any younger.

Take the time to enjoy the "little" things in life.

I've been absent

Crazy past couple of days...

Yesterday my toddler fell off of some spinning seat at the park which was 3 feet off the ground.

Thought nothing of it, till she woke up crying 3 times in the night complaining about her head hurting.

Next morning, belly hurt, but went to library anyways and to a friends house to play.

At friends house, she started running a fever.

Came home, Fever was 103.0 and she was very cranky.

Called husband to come with me to take her to the ER (just in case there was some injury to her head)

2 hours in waiting room

2 hours in ER room

2 tests later...negative (strep and urine test)

Pull a diagnosis out of a hat...

Ala Kazaam...Ala Kazoom!

Here are your antibiotics...your healthy!

Gosh, I hate ERs and Doctors...can't live with them, can't live without them.

Daughters fine, but no real diagnosis. I feel like I came out with less information than when I went in.

Monday Madness

I'm starting to sense a trend in my Mondays. I guess I try to jump into the week full throttle, making myself clean the entire house on Monday, so that I can semi-enjoy the week, but this never works.

Today I spent the entire day cleaning. I mostly cleaned the kitchen, but then got caught up picking up all the dirty clothes around the house. Although each of us have our own hamper, somehow we tend to throw our dirty clothes in corners.

Just when I think that the day is coming to a close, and both my kids are napping, my daughter pees on the couch in her sleep.

Unfortunately this is not a first, but I should have known better than to let her fall asleep without a diaper on.

My daughter has been potty trained for almost a year now, but we still haven't gotten over the night time peeing. I know it's because she drinks a TON of milk before bed, but that's the only thing that gets her to sleep on her own!

Anywho, yes, Mondays are a dreaded day for me, So I'm glad tomorrow is quickly approaching. Maybe I'll be better scheduled this week and get some things done.

Just gotta keep telling myself..."I will SURVIVE!"

Wisdom for your Weekend

Here's a good one I came across today :)

Money doesn't always bring happiness. People with ten million dollars are no happier than people with nine million dollars.
- Hobart Brown

Gee, I'd be fine with the nine million right about now :)

Olympics 2010

God Bless all the Olympians! I love the Olympics. I would love to just be in their shoes one day :)

Snow

I Have a Love/Hate relationship with the snow. I grew up in Miami, so never really had the pleasure of living with the snow. It was pretty much summer all year round. After having lived in Utah for 3 years and North Texas for a winter, I'm beginning to realize that I don't really Love the snow, but I don't always hate it either.

Today it snowed, and my daughter loved it. I love watching her experience things for the first time. She is finally fitting into her $1.50 rain boots I bought her almost a year ago at a garage sale. She loved kicking around the snow and not worrying about cold wet feet.

My infant wasn't too excited about the snow, mainly because his nose started to drip, but all in all he was a good sport and loved to watch his sister play.

Someone saw my daughter running around in the snow and asked her if she had caught a snowflake in her mouth yet. This opened up a whole new door of fun for her. She was trying to catch those snow flakes left and right. At least the lady didn't ask her if she licked the snow off the ground :)


Things I love about the snow:
♥ Chunky Snowflakes
♥ Snow angels
♥ Every thing is covered in white
♥ No bugs...think about it :)

Things I hate about the snow:
⇓ Having to bundle up the kids, worrying that they aren't warm enough
⇓ Bad drivers
⇓ scraping the ice of your windshield
⇓ getting kids in their car seats with puffy coats


What are your experiences with the snow? And how do you cope those long winter days indoors with your kids?

Wordless Wednesday

Popsicles

"I want a Popsicle Mama." Is all I ever hear when I make the announcement that I will be going to get the mail. Since our mailbox is at the clubhouse my 3 year old always wants to tag along. Not just for the mere pleasure of accompanying me, but to get a Popsicle from the office. They love her at the front office, so they keep the freezer stocked for when she comes...but it's WINTER! And only she would want a Popsicle at this time. I thought a little fun in the falling snow would suffice, but no. She still insisted on her Popsicle. Maybe a cookie would change her mind? Nope...My daughter loves those darn sugar tubes.

So, I give in to her commands and let her pick a color. At least blue looked cute for a picture :)

Now Featuring...

It's time for another Blog Feature!

Meet HyperMom:

Jing Lejano is a single mother of four and grandmother of one. She is also a writer, entrepreneur, and crafts enthusiast.

HyperMom is truly a writer, and I enjoy reading her blog because she's not only funny, but you can always relate to her experiences.

Why do I blog? It's my me-time; I love it that I can just say whatever I want in my little corner of the blogosphere.

Tell me something Unique about yourself:
Something unique? At 42, I became a granny mwahaha

So go check her out! And make sure to mention that you found her on GoingPeanuts!

Monday Madness

Ever feel like you're stuck in a box?

I hate Mondays. For some reason I still dread Mondays as if I were still working a 9-5 job. Well, we all know that Motherhood is a 24/7 job that cannot be escaped, but somehow Mondays are just the worst.

I'm stuck, in a box, in a town I don't truly care for. My Husband is at school, and fortunately he makes an effort to come home early when he senses something is wrong.

I just don't know how to get out of this "Monday Mode". I sure hope tomorrow is better.

Did I mention I just HATE Mondays...

Sunday Recipe

OK, so I have had this book for a while, but I haven't actually used it yet, until now. It is absolutely the greatest recipe book ever! It's called:

It's a great way to get your kids to eat vegetables, without even knowing it! Her whole theory is to puree the vegetables and use them in some common recipe's.


You must get this book! I have now fallen in love with steaming my vegetables. All of the nutrients stay in the vegetable and then they are super easy to puree after. I steamed some cauliflower today to use in this recipe I will share with you, and my daughter thought it was mashed potatoes. She ate it and thought it was SO "yummy".

My daughter eats vegetables just fine, but what a great way to sneak in some extra every once and a while. Here is a great recipe I made last night.



Chicken Alphabet Soup
(With Cauliflower and Sweet Potato)

Prep: 45 minutes Serves 8

Ingredients:
♥3 qts reduced-fat low sodium chicken broth
♥1 chicken breast on the bone (about 1/2 lb) rinsed and dried, skin removed (I used 2 breasts for more chicken)
♥1/2 tsp salt
♥1/2 cup alphabet pasta (or pinwheels, since I couldn't find the letters)
♥1/4 cup cauliflower puree (steam cauliflower for 8-10 minutes, then puree)
♥1/4 cup sweet potato puree (steam sweet potato with skin for 30 minutes, remove skin and puree)

Directions:

1. Bring broth to a boil in large pot. Sprinkle chicken with salt, carefully slide it into the broth. Immediately turn off the heat and let the chicken cook in heated broth for 25-30 minutes.

2. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and let cool on plate for a few minutes, until cool enough to handle. Then pull meat off the bone and cut into small pieces (I shredded mine into strips) set aside.

3. Bring broth back to a simmer and add pasta. Stir in both puree's and simmer for 5-6 minutes or until pasta is ready. Toss in chicken and serve hot.

This was a great recipe, and fairly easy to make. My daughter loved it and Husband ate it with Parmesan triscuits.

Enjoy!

Wisdom for your Weekend

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.
-- Tenneva Jordan

Isn't this all too true? At least for my mom it has always been this way. She would always sacrifice herself for her kids. She never shopped for her own clothing, and would use the opportunity to buy something nice for her girls.

I find myself being more like this as well. Ever since my daughter was born I was consumed by the obsession of buying her new clothes, accessories, and toys without once thinking about how that money could go towards a hair cut or new blouse.

It's funny how we lose ourselves in our children at times, and forget completely about ourselves. Have you ever found yourself starving, only to remember that you forgot to eat because you were so busy trying to make sure your children ate?

Mother's are very special people, and I don't think everyone is this way, but let us try to be more selfless of ourselves, but not neglect ourselves either ☺

Something about Susan Saturday

I LOVE bright colors in pictures. I'm not too sure what it is about them that draws me to them, but I would decorate my house in these pictures if I could. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not too sure this post makes much sense, but it's been a long week, so excuse my posts ☺

And thus...

Today Starts a new day to eat healthy. Usually I try to start things on Monday's, but Monday's are such a drag! I made a meal plan and spent 3 hours at the grocery store shopping for ingredients. Hopefully I wont have to return for a while! Anywho, I have decided to go completely organic and or natural products. Hopefully I'll get better at shopping for things so that I don't take all day with groceries.

Here's my new favorite snack! Probably the best packaged kettle corn there is!

Look forward for some new recipes!

Now Featuring...

Here's my first blog feauturette! Meet Peaster Peach...

Hi! Im Peaster Peach aka Jessica.I spend most of my days at home hanging out with Monsta Baby. He is my only child and the most amazing thing to ever happen to me. I have the most amazing fiance ever Big Sexy. We are getting married this upcoming October and I can't wait! Welcome to my blog. It's mainly just a bunch of random things that happen in our day. Hope you like it!

♥Why Do You Blog?
It's a way for me to express my self and feel like I have interaction with someone besides a 8 month old poop machine!

♥Tell me something UNIQUE about yourself.
Something unique about me....not sure,well maybe that peasterpeach is my nickname but I also have peachs tattooed on my foot!

I love this blog, and she is just too funny! So Check her out! And let her know you found her on my blog ☺

Wordless Wednesday

Shhh...I thought these were statues :)

Woohoo!

My blog hit 50 followers last night, and I'm so excited! Hopefully everyone is enjoying my blog, and I thank you all for joining!

I would love to feature your blog on my site! Just send me comment if you'd like to be featured. Here are the questions you can answer:

Why do you blog?

Something unique about yourself.

Hopefully I'll get one blog feature a week, and we can all start reading each others blogs.

Thanks again!

Can you relate?

Blow out Diapers: It seems as though we have at least 1 every 2 days. Don't you love waking up to a poopie bed?

Hating Small shopping carts: It's almost as if all these little stores with TOO many products have teeny grocery carts. My toddler doesn't even fit in the seat! Let alone the baby carrier in the basket. Next thing you know I have one basket for my kids, and drag a second for products.

Forgetting that last item in your shopping cart: I think every mom has stolen something one time or another. And I don't think your "pregnant brain" ever recovers. Don't you hate it when you're loading the kids in the car, and then unload all your shopping bags into the trunk, just to find one last item you forgot to pay for. Now you have to get all the kids out and go back and pay for your stolen item. But, I must say, I have been guilty of just saying...forget it! and leave it in the cart, or just put it in one of my bags.

Allergies: Seasonal allergies suck, and suck even worse when you can't focus. Don't you hate when you have to rush your kid to urgent care just to find out it's allergies? Yep...that was my day today.

Time: The less you pay attention to it, the faster it passes you by. The more you pay attention to it, the slower it goes by. Now if we could only figure out how to freeze it.

Pictures are awesome

Here are some of my favorite pictures I took of my little sister in law on her birthday. It ended up being a great day despite the fact that it rained for 2 days straight down in the Hill country of Texas. She's so cute, and I can't believe she's 12 already! This means my kids are going to grow up real fast and I don't even realize it :(. Well, here they are!