Sunday, February 28

Yarn Along

With everything that I have been doing lately knitting has not been plentiful.

But I am working on a hat for T.  I am almost at the stage to start making it smaller for the top!  Also I just finished reading this book last night.  It was one of the books that you cannot put down.  A real page turner...if you like mystery\ Jason Bourne type books this is a good one!



I am linking up to the Yarn Along over at Small Things Blog


Running Training Feb 22-29

I have 2 Half Marathons coming up this year so I have jumped right back into training again.  This year is different in the way that I am determined to stay strong and injury free.  Last year I was plagued by the dreaded ITB!

These are the workouts I did this week:

22- OFF
23-RUN 1.75 MILES
24-CHEST/ TRI
25-RUN 3.36 MILES, BACK/ BICEPS
26-OFF
27-RUN 2.34 MILES
28-LEGS/DELTS/ABS

A bit slow running this week.  I ran on the 23rd in the am.  Later in the week a cougar was spotted walking down our street in the middle of the day.  I was not comfortable running in the early am for the rest of the week after that!

I ran after work on the 25th, it was still sunny a wee bit!
                            


Saturday I run with my little dude and the dog in the morning.  We did not have very much time because we had Cy hockey game 1.4 hrs away.




Then my mom took the boys for a sleepover so  and I could have an overdue Valentine's date!

Q and I went to the farmer's market to buy some cheese and some sausage.  Balsamic and Roast Onion Gouda is my new favourite!

After the market we went to value village to donate some stuff and found a bunch of nice things for the boys and us.  We had a coffee, nice dinner, and some wondering around the mall.  Then we decided against a movie as there were none that looked awesome.  We watched some NCIS and went to bed.  It was a really great night.

                                     

I am super tired today.... trying to get the house sorted before Monday comes.  Next week is shaping up to be just as busy!

How is your training going?  Any races coming up soon?



Wednesday, February 24

Meal Plan Monday (ooops Wednesday)

To be truthful I had this meal plan done yesterday for when we went to the grocery store.  I just have not had time yet to put it on the blog.

I am linking up to the Meal Plan Monday over at Organizing Junkie

I meal plan for 5 days or so, then I just make for dinner what I feel like from the meal plan.  This allows for more flexibility in my plan.

1.  Meatball kebabs with Green Beans , Meatball Recipe, Sauce Recipe, , Bean recipe

2. Hawaiian Stir Fry

3. Simple Shepard's Pie and Mixed Salad

4. Taco Cupcakes & Mexican Coleslaw

5. Pineapple Pork Chops & Spaghetti Squash

6. Leftovers

7.  Dinner Date with Hubby (late Valentine's)


Q was home to take C to taekwondo so T and I stayed home and made meatballs, we used half ground beef and half ground elk.


Let me know if you enjoyed any of the great recipes above!

Sunday, February 21

PMS Volcano

Today started out good.  I woke up feeling almost 100% like a normal person.  My stomach was a bit off still, but no cramping!  Stomach cramping is the worst, way worse then the vomiting I think.  Maybe I am used to vomiting from having "morning sickness" for 18 months when pregnant with both my boys.  I think the cramps hurt more then a good old fashioned vomit.  It's like a good cry, everyone feels better after one.

T was sick again this morning.. he tried for the toilette but hit the floor as well.  Half and half.  So I just said, oh well here we go, and cleaned it up.  After 5 days of mama cleaning vomit in the house what's one more puke?

T seemed to be ok after that (just like I said above) so we headed to the city.  We were meeting my 3 month old niece (and my sister and her hubby), and my brother and wife for brunch.  Made it ok and the boys were able to eat some fruit, bacon and ginger ale.
Cutest baby!  She is so smiley and happy.  When she is hungry all she does is dive bomb my sisters boobs.  Highly entertaining!

The boys and I headed to a park with coffee.  It was about 6 degress today!  Georgrous for a February day!  Superstore was next.  It went well without running over any crazy people with my cart.

When it was bedtime the boys refused to listen, my mean mama voice came out!  Once they were in bed I breathed a sign of relief and went to the bathroom, where I proceeded to sit on pee on the seat.  Mama was not impressed!



It took me a while to cool down, including a good cry.  Once I was able to pull myself together I asked hubby to pick up midol.

Time for a snack and bed.

Anyone else have explosive pms?

Saturday, February 20

Friday

Well people I made it to friday.  It was a rough week with the sick kiddos.  Then they shared with me and I have been sick for the past 2 days.  Now my husband is feeling a bit rough.  He never seems to be that sick when it comes to the stomach bugs though.  Not fair!

My boys were feeling good enough to go to daycare today (its family week so no school).  I went into work feeling ok.  But by 9:30 I was packing up to come back home.  I had to make sure the couch was not floating away!  I napped and ate some toast.  The flu is mainly gone but because I had not eaten anything for 2 days my body was exhausted.

I have not felt this bad since I had the flu when Cy was just 3 months old.  That time I thought I was pregnant again, I was ready to kill Q.

Finally feeling a bit better.  Friday ended with a cuddle from the boys and me falling asleep on the couch again.

Wednesday, February 17

FLU....THAT IS ALL

Woke up this morning at 12:44 am to the sound of someone vomiting in their bed.  Followed by "mom...i threw up".  Cy had a stomach bug.  Poor guy.  I set him up in the living room with a blanket on the floor and a pot to vomit in.  After he threw up about 5 times Cy was able to go back to sleep.

At 2:30 am I was woken up by the sound of a little dude vomiting in his bed.  Followed by "mom...I threw up".  T had just joined his brother in the land of flu.  I set up T on the floor of the living room with his own pot to vomit in.

Then I dragged my sorry ass back to bed.  I tried to sleep but I had my ear open for if the boys needed me again.  It was a long night.  Cy was up first feeling pretty good at 7 am .  T slept on the floor until 9 am.  Cy still seems to be ok, pretty thrilled that we watched movies all day and played video games.
T is still feeling not great, just watching his brother play video games.

I was also bit by the flu bug, my coffee did not go down well.  I had a few sips and then had to pour the rest of it out.  I am going to try a bit more coffee in a bit.  I REALLY need my coffee today even if my stomach is not on board.

I hate when the kids are feeling like this.  With a headache you can give an advil.  With a cut you can give them a band aid and a kiss.  When they have a sore tummy all you can really do is give them cuddles and hope they can vomit enough to feel better.

Having a day at home nice and quiet has its benefits though.  I was able to finally get the whole monthly budget down on paper and see where we are at.  It's looking good!  When we get paid tomorrow we might be under by about $10.  Not the $450 we were a few weeks ago!

I also got a ton of cuddling done with the kiddos.  Usually they are so busy that they will not sit down for a cuddle for more then a second or two.

I was working at home yesterday because I had no daycare for family week.  Today we have the flu.  Also it looks like I will be working from home tomorrow as well.  I love being home with the dudes but there is something to say for the normal routine.

Saturday, February 13

No Spend Week Outcome

Last week when we had no plan to do a no spend week we spent a total of $529.61 in 1 week!

This amount only includes gas, food, and extras.  All other payments such as mortgage and natural gas ect are all paid automatically.

If we keep spending that amount for a whole month we are looking at 2118.44 a month.  This is about $776 over what we have budgeted for these areas.  No wonder we are having trouble keeping our bank account in the black.
$776 over for a whole year would mean we would be spending about $9300 over budget!




This last week we started a no spend-a-thon.  We are only allowed to spend on gas, groceries. only when necessary.

We spent a total of 119.99!  Much better!



Anyone else doing the no spend month?

Let me know how its going!

Thursday, February 11

No Spend Week Sucess

So far so good!  Last week when we put the check in the bank we were in the red by about 1300.

This week when my check goes in we will be in the red by only 450!  Still in the red but a huge improvement.

The Q and I are not quite on the same page for how we want to pay off the debt.  I would eat pb and rice for a month (or longer)  to make sure the debt is paid off as soon as possible.

Q on the other hand feels like he had worked for so long, would like to get the house finished.

I see a good point to both sides, but I HATE debt!  Since even before we were married we have had some kind of debt over our heads.  It makes me feel awful :(

I know that we would feel so much more secure and happy if we had no debt!  I want to have all moy money to go to us not to some item we bought years ago and can't even remember.

So far so good with the plan.  I will plan out next week after the check goes in!


Monday, February 8

Grumpy Monday

Not me, I am actually not grumpy today it seems like most of the people around me are.  I am trying very hard to make sure that my mood is not affected by the grumpy makers but wow its hard.

People at work were grumpy, they are frustrated in their positions and that means that they get to dump on me... really?  Would you say that to your boss, I think not!

T was fine until I told him to sit for his snack or it would get taken away.  He did not listen so I took away his snack.  It seemed to be the end of the world!  Grumpys came out!

We went for a walk to break the grumpies and it worked for a while... but I am thinking he is just tired.

As I sit here writing this he is back on the floor whining about writing out the title of his book.

Ahhhh give me the strength to get through the evening without looing my cool!

My little guys are so cute and I need to keep reminding myself about that as I continue the march to bedtime.

SO adorable eh?




Sunday, February 7

Budget Time

Looking at our budget from last month we realized that we had spent almost $1500 in food alone!

Our budget is about $700 per month for groceries.  I am shocked at home much we have spent, but I know that we are not spending enough time looking at the budget.  We should be looking at it every few days I think... we look at it once or twice a month right now.

Step 1:  Actually look at the budget.
Step 2: Stay within the budget.
Step 3: Adjust as needed.

Hopefully do not cry later!

We are looking a bit of extra income this month so hopefully it will be enough to get us into the red!