How to Meal Plan Like a Pro

It IS possible to cook delicious, healthy and affordable meals at home on a regular basis. Not only that, the options are endless! Here are 6 tips for creating totally doable meal plans!

1. Keep it simple
   I'm a foodie at heart and would love to make a 3-course meal every night, but it's just not realistic. We are a family of four on one income. Time is limited, and so is our budget. My goal when meal planning to have an attainable goal set for myself with meals that are affordable, fast, and healthy.

2. Shop the sales
   Every week I look at the sales at my favorite local grocery store and use those ingredients, along with what I already have, to plan my meals. This past week; ravioli, Greek yogurt, fresh herbs, and butter were all on sale. I already had garlic and paprika at home, and that gave me all the ingredients to make Weeknight Turkish Manti. I wanted to add a fresh side dish and saw that tomatoes were also on sale, so I put together a tomato and cucumber salad. The only thing I paid full price for in this meal was a cucumber!
    If you see ingredients that look like they'd go well together but you don't have a particular dish or recipe in mind, check out the ingredient search on AllRecipes.com.

3. Start with produce
   In an effort towards plant-based eating, I look at the produce that's on sale first. That way I start the meal-planing process thinking about the veggies I want to include, rather than making them an afterthought.

4.Warm up to leftovers
   Why do I only plan 3-4 meals a week? Because I only want to take the time to cook 3-4 times a week. This way, I can maximize the savings by making larger batches that will feed us more then once, and I get a few dinner's-already-done nights off! every week!

5. Use what your mama gave you - your slow cooker
   It doesn't always work out, but I try to have a slow cooker meal on the menu once a week. It gives me a sense of accomplishment in the morning that dinner's already been made, and it frees up my time in the evening so I can get more done elsewhere or, on a good day, have some extra downtime with Hubs.

6. Branch out
   When you're trying to eat healthy, quick, and affordable meals, it's easy to find yourself in a rut. Look to cuisines that you are less familiar with and try something new! You could make that tuna casserole ... again, or you could try whipping up some gazpacho or pineapple enchiladas!

Do you have any other tips for planing meals? I'd love to hear them!

SAHM: Finding the rhythm

Switching to being a SAHM has definitely been an adjustment, especially while under the weather! I've fallen behind on the house maintenance routine, dinner last night never made it off the ground and we ended up ordering pizza, and Z has been taking some very short naps.  It's been the perfect storm for a overwhelming week, but I think things are starting to turn around.  I've decided to hold off on the more structured leaning units until we find our rhythm at home together. In the meantime, we are exploring the local parks, libraries, museums, etc and stepping up on our toy rotation.  Z also learned the word "noise" this week and he has been observing all sorts of noises - some that I don't even notice.  As a result, we had some fun with a metal mixing bowl this morning. He started out drumming on it.  Then we flipped it over and he hit the rim.  He was absolutely delighted at the different sound it made. I said something about it sounding like the bells in Spain and he lit up and said, "yeah!".

Hopefully we will find a good rhythm and resume the unit studies soon!

Stay at Home Mom: A Leap of Faith

This is an exciting and somewhat unsettling time for our family. I've turned in my resignation  in order to stay at home with my son!  It's a great part-time job that I've really enjoyed, but it just isn't working for our family anymore.  I've been pondering taking this step for a while, but something held me back from actually resigning.  Namely, I have no idea how I am going to bring in some extra income.  Granted, the income I'm giving up is part-time and non-profit - nothing that's going to change the world - but it helps!

5 Bible-based Ways to Prepare Your Mind for Natural Labor

If you're getting ready to have a baby and looking for a Christian perspective on labor preparation, you've come to the right place!

About halfway into my first pregnancy I decided I wanted to have an out of hospital, non-medicated birth. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time (or energy) to take a birth class but we still wanted me to be prepared.  I found lots of info for preparing physically, but not much on the mental/emotional side - and what I did find was often a bit new-age for my taste. (I know what I look like first thing in the morning and I am no mother-goddess ...)  If you are looking for a more holistic, Bible-based approach to labor, keep reading for the 5 things I discovered you can do to prepare! 

Our Birth Story: From Natural Water Birth to Emergency C-Section

Friday, March 28th
    I'd had a feeling we were getting close for a few days. The Braxton-Hicks contractions were becoming stronger, more frequent, and suddenly started to include a feeling of downward pressure; and I suddenly had the energy and desire to cook homemade meals again (hello, nesting!). My original plan had been to work until I was actually in labor, but after a few conversations with family, friends, and co-workers I began to see the wisdom in taking a gamble and starting my leave on a specified date.  I informed my superiors that I would begin my leave the following Wednesday and that I was going to go ahead and tie up as many loose ends as I possibly could just in case I delivered over the weekend.

Saturday, March 29th
    Had spotting which started in the early morning and continued throughout the day. It was super rainy all day and after grabbing breakfast at our favorite place, Hubs and I had grand plans to have Thai for lunch, walk the mall, and have Indian food for dinner.  We only managed to do the mall walking, but I guess that was enough! Walking around seemed to slow the contractions down a bit but certainly didn't stop them. I think they were averaging about 15 minutes apart at this point, but they were fairly inconsistent.
We stopped by the grocery store on the way home and then took a nap. Later that night I made a caprese salad (c'mon, basil!) while keeping an eye on the contraction timing. By 11:30 pm they were strong enough that I needed to use my breathing and relaxation techniques and they were 6-7 minutes apart. The contractions felt like very strong menstrual cramps, but instead of hurting constantly, they came in fairly predictable waves. I called the midwife to give her a heads up and she said to keep timing them and to come in when they were 4 minutes apart or when my water broke ( I was GBS positive and would need to get IV antibiotics right away). We tried to go to bed and get as much rest as we could, but between the contractions and the neighbors throwing a party in the next room, it didn't happen.

Sunday, March 30th
     I kept waiting for the contractions to come in consistent intervals, but they never did. By 2 am they were stronger and coming anywhere from 5 to 2.5 minutes apart (whoops!).  I called the midwife and told her we were on our way. When we arrived I was quickly examined while Hubs brought the bags in from the car - 5-6 cm dilated and 90% effaced!! Score!! We settled into the birthing room and I was hooked up to the antibiotics while laboring on a birthing ball and sipping on some chocolate almond milk. With each contraction Hubs would apply counter-pressure, read one of the birth affirmations we had written and coach me on relaxing through it. He was incredible. I don't know what I would have done without him. :)
     Once the antibiotics were done, they filled up the tub for me. That hot water was MERCIFUL. I was so grateful to be at the birthing center where laboring in a tub was an option!!  After laboring this way for a while, the midwife checked me again and I was just over 6 cm. Not feeling as encouraged now.  She suggested switching up the position and I moved between the tub, the bed, a birthing ball, and even the toilet for a several hours. I remember commenting to her that the labor wasn't as hard as I thought it would be because my mind kind of "reset" in between contractions.  When a contraction ended I was able to totally relax and turn my attention to other things and it was like the slate was wiped clean - so it was much easier to take it one contraction at a time than I had anticipated.
     It's all a little blurry, but I had a second dose of antibiotics around 6:30 am, got sick twice shortly after that. They checked again at about 8 am and I was almost fully dilated with just a little lip on one side. I was surprised to hear that because I had been dreading the transition stage of labor and I had evidently already gone through it!! That lifted my spirits a bit! Again, the midwife coached me through some different laboring positions and I was totally dilated and effaced by about 10:30 am. The midwife smiled and announced that I was ready to push! Hubs and I were relieved and excited that we may have a baby by lunch time and be back home again that evening! So I had another dose of antibiotics and I pushed, and I pushed, and I pushed ... in the tub, on the ball, on the bed, on the toilet ... for hours. The midwife checked to see where the baby was and he hadn't descended at all since I was fully dilated. We tried a few more positions and techniques.  I remember at one point I was in the tub and she said, "Let's go for a walk outside."  My immediate thought was, "Woman, you have lost your marbles if you think I'm getting up and going anywhere!" - but she is an excellent midwife and I trusted her judgement, so she and Hubs helped me out of the tub, into a dress, and then helped me waddle outside.  I can't tell you how good the breeze and the sunlight felt.  I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open at this point (I'm guessing about 2 or 3 pm) but I saw the family walking outside.  My mom and mother-in-law came by to encourage us a little bit while my dad and father in law hung back.  I had a small breakdown then.  I had been laboring naturally since the night before with very little sleep and very little food.  I was exhausted and I didn't understand why the baby wasn't descending. I was crying pretty hard when I looked up and realized that Hubs was watching me and crying too.  He was also exhausted, had been by my side coaching me the entire time, and was doing all he could to help me and the baby. I remember saying "I'm okay. I'm okay, I'm just tired" in between sobs and him nodding in agreement.
   We moved back inside after a few minutes and checked again - still no progress.  That's when the midwife said she thought it was time for us to transfer to the hospital.  That was the last thing we had wanted to do, but Bugs just wouldn't budge and we needed to get him out fairly soon. Again, we trusted her judgement and began to get everything together for the transfer while she called the hospital and told them we were on the way. They put a piddle pad down on the back seat and my father-in-law drove us to the hospital while Hubs sat in back with me. Right as we were driving through downtown Jacksonville I had a strong contraction, felt a big gush, and my water came spilling out onto the seat and the floor boards. When we finally pulled up to the hospital they put me in a wheel chair and rushed me up to L&D.  For a couple of minutes it looked like we may have to wait and fill out some paperwork, but the midwife had followed us there and advocated to get us in as soon as possible and they pushed us through very quickly.
They got me set up in the delivery room, hooked me up to multiple monitors, and we began to go over my options. 1) Epidural - this would allow me to have a little bit of rest and may help me to relax and possibly allow the baby to descend. They were about 75% sure that the baby's shoulders were the problem, in which case his head might emerge but then he could get stuck - essentially trapping him in a half-in/half-out position, strangling him and restricting blood flow to the brain.  2) C-Section - Let's get this baby out already!  My midwife asked several questions to help us make sure they had exhausted every option and after a lot of discussion with the her and the doctors, Hubs and I were given a minute to talk and we decided to get an epidural. Bring on the paperwork ...
Getting the epidural wasn't painful, it was just scary because my contractions were right on top of each other and I knew that I needed to perfectly still. Once it kicked in I was finally able to relax and give my system a little bit of rest. I was extremely thankful for that. They checked to see where Bugs was and he had descended a little bit, so they brought the risk for the shoulder issue down to down to 25%. We decided to give it about 45 minutes of pushing with the epidural to see if we could make any more progress. When he didn't budge in the next hour of pushing we decided we needed to bite the bullet and get a C-section.
So there I was being wheeled into the OR when I had hoped for a peaceful, unmedicated water birth.  It felt like it took forever for them to let Hubs in to be with me during the procedure.  Once he came in I felt much more comfortable and able to take my mind off the procedure and all the tugging I felt by talking with him about the fact that we were finally about to meet our son! A few minutes later I heard a doctor announce his arrival from behind the curtain and saw the most beautiful baby I'd ever seen lifted up so I could see him.  He was pink, perfect, and let out a strong cry that instantly made me cry with joy and relief to finally have him out.  Hubs went with him while he was checked and measured and I heard him yell over, "Hey love, he's blonde!" He brought him back to me as soon as he could and laid him on my chest where I was able to touch, smell, and kiss him. Hubs and I prayed and thanked God for bringing us our son safely while they sewed me up.

If you liked this birth story, check out the story of L's unmedicated VBAC birth.

My Pre-Baby To Do Tracker

If you've read my post "The Truth About Nesting", then you know how overwhelming the pre-natal to-do list was (and still is, at times). Towards the end of my first trimester, I created a tracker so I could see what needs to be done, how much time I have to do it, and what calendar events I need to work around.

I'm a very visual person, and being able to see the tasks spread out over several months made it much easier to focus on the items at hand and not feel like I needed to solve it all right then. (Anyone else wired that way?)

I thought I'd share the tracker with you all too. :) You can find a link to the document in GoogleDrive and an image of how I've used mine below. Please let me know if this is helpful to you! 

Happy nesting!!

Download in GoogleDrive: Pre-Baby To Do Tracker
***To edit, you'll have to click File, Open in .... and select Google Sheets***



Here's an example of how I've been using mine...

The Truth About Nesting (at least for me)

Happy New Year!!

I love this time of new beginnings! Our new beginning in 2014 comes a lot of nesting to be done. I've always heard about the "nesting" period that comes when you are expecting - just bursting at the seams to declutter, organize, paint and decorate ... and I think that without even knowing it, I've looked forward to it. For me, the reality has been a bit different from what I expected.


For one thing, I don't come bouncing home from working a full day excited to work on my current home project.  Instead, the list of projects I know I need to get to some time in the next 3 months float around in my head and interrupt me while I'm at work reading the memo on the TPS reports and sorting through my email. Then at home I look through Pintrest with one hand and stir a pot of whatever's-in-the-pantry soup (on a good night) with the other, followed by Netflix.  Weekends have become get-it-all-done fests and we are not quite sure what needs to happen when or how. It's easy to get overwhelmed, discouraged, and feel like there's no way you can possibly be prepared to take on full responsibility for a little human when you can't even seem to keep the dirty dishes out of the sink.

The truth is that when I am feeling overwhelmed, it's because there are so many blessings that I am struggling to contain them all.

My full-time job is demanding and takes up the majority of my time, but it's a good job and and incredible financial lift for us.

My due-date feels like a ticking time bomb, but this is a child that we prayed for and that God blessed us with when doctors couldn't explain why we weren't able to conceive. 

I need to research pediatricians, daycare options, build our registry ... But how blessed are we to have these options and to have family and friends who are willing to host and attend baby showers with gifts in tow? 

The struggle we faced in conceiving is a reminder that God gave us this baby.  He knew our circumstances and everything else we have going on, and He chose this as the perfect time to bring our son into the world. God brought us this far, and He promises to continue to guide our steps. All I have to do is trust him, and use this time wisely. 

That said, my to-do list is a bit rowdy. Here are a few nesting tips I've learned so far...