BLOG HAS MOVED!!!!!

Please check us out over at Blissfully Chaotic

Septembers One month of dinners.

With the start of September comes school and soccer. I have been working on getting my family on a strict budget and planning more dinners with the off chance that we never have to eat fast food again. Not to mention, fast food is KILLING our checking account. So, I decided to put all my internet surfing to use and my addiction to Pinterest to good use. I planned an entire month of dinners complete with the shopping list. So here is how it went down.

I got the great idea to plan a month ahead from Fellow blogger Sarah She has a specific way she does it so I tweaked it. Saturdays for us are spent on the soccer field and B and I are on a kickball team so we are gone all day. Sundays will be my Pinterest/Internet blog surfer recipe find days. We will try a new recipe each and every Sunday. So for this month I picked 10 meals.

1-Chicken Alfredo (Learned years ago from a friend)
2 Creamy Chicken Tacos 
3-Balsamic Chicken
4-Chicken Pot Pie ( I did 2 bags one for the crock pot and another for the veggies to be added the last 45                   minutes) 
5-Homemade French Bread Pizza
6-Italian Chicken, Red potatoes, green beans and rice.
7-Healthy BBQ Chicken **Mommababylove**
8-Goulash **Also from momma and baby love
9-Ranch Pork chops, Corn and Mashed Potatoes   *Found via Pinterest to Living laughing and Lovingblog. 
10-Turkey and Cheese Sliders

If its underlined please click the link it will take you to the recipes.

My Sunday picks were
1- 2 Bean Southwestern chicken (OMG it was SO GOOD)
2 Hawaiian Crock Pot Chicken (Pinterest)
3 Cream Cheese Chicken (Pinterest)
4-Linguine Lemon Shrimp (Pinterest)
5-Bread Bowl Chili (Not a new recipe but my hubby's favorite for football)

Saturdays are free days....Most likely sandwich/sub snack days.

WEEK ONE was recipes 1-5
WEEK TWO was recipes 6-10
WEEK THREE was recipes 1-5 again
WEEK FOUR was recipes 6-10 again. Now you mix them up but keep the recipes the same...i just kept it the same....it was easier.

Now by doing this you are just doubling the shopping list so you have 2 nights of dinners worth.

I then placed the recipes on my white board

Then I made my shopping list....

MEATS
16 pork chops
25-30 Chicken Breasts
1 pound Shrimp
2-3 lbs of Stew Beef

PRODUCE

4 bags baby carrots
3-Sweet Potatoes
4-Large Green Peppers
2-large Red Peppers
2-Zuchinni
4-Onions
3-heads of Garlic
4-large beets
Corn on the cob
Green Beans
Red Potatoes
4 baking Potatoes
Chives

Canned Goods
4 jars Bertolli Alfredo Sauce
2 cans Rotel
3 cans Pinto beans
1 can Black Beans
2 cans cream of Celery
2 cans cream of Broccoli
4 can cream of Chicken
1 can Diced Tomaotes in juice
2 cans Peas
4 Tomato Paste
2 cans tomato sauce

Chip isle
2 jars Salsa
2 bags of Tostitoe chips (Dips)

Dairy/Refrigerator
3-Cream Cheese
2-Mozzarella Cheese
Mascarpone Cheese
Milk
Yogurt
Bagels
2-Biscuits

Seasonings
Brown Sugar
Garlic Powder
Minced Onion
Sesame Seeds
Wheat Flour

Condiments
Dijon Mustard
2-Ranch Seasonings
Bag of Rice
Balsamic Vinegar
Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2-Italian dressing
2-Pizza Sauce
Macaroni noodles
Angel hair pasta

Deli
Turkey
Ham
Swiss
Provolone
pepperoni


***NOTE GROCERY LIST WAS MADE BY RECIPES AND I REMOVED ITEMS I HAD IN MY HOUSE ALREADY****

I also did not place all the fruits that I bought on the list because its always the same
Bananas
Apples
Strawberries
Blue berries
Black berries


Here is what I spent...

Farmers Market-35.00 (Almost all of my produce)
Target-149.00 Groceries
BJ's 50.00 (Paper towels, dish washer detergent and some food)
Giant- 103.00 for remainder and chicken is on sale 1.99lb

GRAND TOTAL- 337.00!!!! Because I pack fresh fruit and veggie lunches I cannot buy all my lunch material...I have 63.00 left in the budget for fruits/veggies and milk. I think I can do it!!!!!

After I returned home I spent the rest of the day cutting, sorting and placing all the crock pot meals in Ziplock bags marking the outside with the dinner date, what was in the bag, and cooking directions...

I will admit...it was TIME CONSUMING. But, I spent a day of my life shopping and preparing so i can have evening and time with my children when they get home from school...no more stressing about what to make for dinner. Its just that simple! :)

If you are following this blog for the first time please "Like" my Facebook page for more ideas and recipes.
The Crush Family


Thanks for reading and let me know how this works for you! :)


Supermomof3!

Summer Vacation 2012!

Here is a little movie I put together to sum up our vacation. I have to admit...making the purchase for a camper was the BEST decision we have ever made. Its doing wonders for our family and our time we can spend together..I hope you enjoy.

Vlog....First cycle TTC

As I said in my last blog I was thinking of Vloging......This will be a test! Here is video 1.

Preteens: When did they become ungrateful?

So, Last week was crazy. We had all 3 kids trying out for Rec Plus soccer teams. I wasn't feeling my best, and we just weren't home.  The kids really slacked off on chores and the house was AWFUL. So on Sunday after church I told the kids they could swim but that evening everyone would get 2 rooms to clean and we were gonna get ready for the week with a clean house. 

All the kids were doing the rooms assigned and Brianna was doing the dishes in the kitchen (Which was her assigned chore for the week, the girls switch weeks) I was upstairs doing laundry and cleaning the hallway when Brianna comes upstairs and says "Why do I have to do the dishes?" I looked at her and said "What?" she looked me right in the face and said---"Why do we have to always do the dishes and chores. We never have time to play with our friends we are always cleaning the house!" I actually kirked my neck sideways and said "Excuse ME!!!!"  ---

Monday and Tuesday you were on the soccer field.

Wednesday I had a migraine and was in bed and you had a friend HERE.

Thursday you were out playing with your American Girl dolls and man hunt with your friends

Friday...You were out swimming and you had a friend SPEND THE NIGHT

Saturday you were swimming and then went to a cookout and HAD A FRIEND SPEND THE NIGHT! 

Today is Sunday we went to church, you went swimming ALL DAY and its now 8:30 PM and you are doing chores!  Am I mistaken or did all these things happen little miss I NEVER GET TO PLAY WITH MY FRIENDS!! 

She sat there quiet for a moment....I think she realized she just messed up BIG TIME!

I asked her again....Am I mistaken or did I just list all the things you did this week with FRIENDS!

She answered quietly...No, I did all those things. 

I am not sure why this struck such a strong cord with me. Maybe, Brian and I had just discussed her mouth and how awful she had been treating everyone in the house. I was so MAD! All I could say was "You need to leave me alone right now because I may not be able to control my anger.....I cannot believe how SELFISH you just sounded! She walked away....

Later, after I calmed down I found her in the kitchen cleaning with tears in her eyes and I stopped her. The anger did show and the hurt as well when I went on to set this situation straight. 

--EVERYONE in this house has chores and that's the general house rule. You have the dishes every OTHER week. You have to keep your room clean and you ALL share in the responsibility of the animals you INSIST we have and you will care for! If you would like to live a life where you don't have chores and I do it ALL....then guess what sister....NO soccer for you! NO more animals I will get rid of them ALL! Anything you will need from me will be NO MORE....I will have to be here cleaning the house and I wont have time for all of that! Your father and I break our backs to work everyday to provide the best life for you and to provide you all the opportunities in the world and all we ask of you is to help us around the house!  You have minimal chores....and if you just picked up after yourself it would be less amount of work! I am SO hurt that you could even say that to me about the dishes....would you like me to add dusting, windexing, floors, vacuuming the steps, doing the laundry, creating the shopping list, making dinner, grocery shopping, coupon clipping...etc to your TO DO list because I can. I work 12 hours a day and I still manage to make sure you are at soccer practice and at the fields for your games regardless of the LACK of time I have to BREATH! As far as how you have been treating your siblings its OVER as of right NOW! We are done with it! You will not disrespect anyone in this house...you are NOT their mother. 

PUNISHMENT

For the next week you are grounded! You will stay in your room staring at the walls....the only book you will  read is the Bible.....and while you are reading it I want you to find me 2 verses....

1. How God says you are to treat you parents.

2, How God expects you to treat others.

Then, you will write those verses 25 times EACH. Then I want a apology letter written to me and to your siblings apologizing for how you have been acting! You will be grounded for a week but at the end of the week if you have not found the said verses you will remain on restriction till its done. 

So far she had found a verse in John about how to treat others. She hasn't found the parent verse yet. I do not believe that you need to spank your kids into submission or even smack them (although I can say I was so angry it was close.) I am hoping this works.....How do you handle your preteens? Did I handle this correctly? Does her punishment fit the crime? 

Just to catch everyone up. The surgery trip!

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.

On May 24th B and I boarded a plane at BWI and flew 3 and half hours to Dallas where we waited 2 and half hours to catch a hour flight to Tulsa! We were flying to an event that would change our lives. Finally, it was our day for the vasectomy reversal!  It was pushing 10 o'clock at night so we got our rental car and headed for the Tulsa hotel to sleep. We woke early Friday morning and started our hour drive to Muskogee, OK.

About 10 miles from the hotel we were stuck in gridlock traffic due to an accident and apparently in Oklahoma they don't like you turning around because every intersection and side road was BLOCKED. We sat for an hour not moving. I have to say I panicked! We were a few hours from surgery and I was worried we were not going to make it! Once traffic started moving I felt better and a short time later we checked into the hotel. We were staying at the Laquinta Hotel a short drive from Dr. Wilson's office. He recommends them I am assuming for their hospitality. When we checked in the desk manager saw we were staying there with the Dr. Wilson rate and immediately started looking for an "easy" room. She placed us in a SUITE right next to the elevator and then handed me a bag full of hotel samples....like Dove body wash, Herbal Essence shampoo, Crest toothpaste...just loads of it. Once we were in the room we realized it was HUGE. Microwave, refrigerator, big desk, Nice clean room. Bathroom had a shower seat and a big shower. I am guessing Dr. Wilson and them have a deal going on LOL. B went to prep for surgery and shower and I was unpacking all our "supplies." The phone rings??? I was the desk manager to make sure we had EVERYTHING we needed and if we were satisfied with the room. I have never had any hotel I have stayed in do that!

Finally 2:30pm rolls around and its time to leave. Brian now has his moment of second guessing his decision. He even joked and said he wanted to look into Donor Sperm LOL. We laughed and snuggled for a minute and  then we left. Once we arrived at Dr. Wilson's office I immediately realized this was where we were meant to go. His office was beautiful and we walked into him playing Christian music through the speakers throughout the whole building. That was very comforting. We waited for a while as Dr W. was prepping the room returning phone calls and answering emails. In order to offer such low rates he has NO office staff it is just him. He then came to get us and took us to another room with a recliner, couch and loveseat. He gave us a file to sign our pre-op paperwork and then sat down and did his pre-op talk. He went over the risks and the surgery and then he asked if he could pray with us. His prayer was BEAUTIFUL. He asked God for the wisdom to do the surgery, the eyes to see to correct, the hands to heal and asked God to allow him to be the instrument in the Lords greater plan. Ultimatly the Lord is the great physician he was just his instrument.
               I almost cried at this moment!
As Dr. W. went to set the room up and prep B for surgery I left and went to the pharmacy to fill B's prescription. I came back and sat in the room and waited.......About 10 minutes later Dr. W. came and got me and told me I could come back and be with B. I walked in and Dr. W was at a microscope and Brian was on the table. I couldn't see anything just that his "area" had something going on.....I just sat with my back to his groin right beside B's head.  I would rub his head and held his hand and he fell asleep and was in and out of sleep for the remainder of the surgery. We didn't speak, I just read my book and touched him. It was comforting to share those moments with him.

After about 2 hours Dr. W. informed us he was finishing up and that everything looked GREAT! He didn't see any reason that Brian and I couldn't conceive. He found heads and partial tails on the right side and clear fluid on the left.  B and I teared up. When B starts getting emotional I cant help but be emotional as well. B thanked Dr. W for everything and Dr. W. stopped him and said to not give him thanks but give the Lord all the thanks for he was the reason he does what he does. It was all very emotional.

We arrived back at the hotel and B laid in bed. He stayed there the remainder of the the trip. I spoiled him with Buffalo Wild Wings, Junk food galore, and all my attention!! We rested all day Saturday and then left on Sunday to fly home. It was a long day we finally arrived home around midnight Sunday night and we were so happy to see our babies! B stayed out of work for a week to rest I only took Monday (Memorial Day) off. B had lots of swelling, bruising and discomfort but after a week he was good to go.

We are now in the final healing stages and I have already been prepping my body for conception. Taking vitamins, Folic Acid, Had blood work done to make sure all my levels were good and B has been doing his coconut juice Ginger and Turmeric for inflammation. Taking his multivitamin and eating healthy.

Hoping to conceive in the next 3 months! Wish us luck and baby dust! Here are some picture from our trip.

Making Homemade Laundry Detergent.

Hello World!

Sorry this has taken me so long, but I have not had a moment to sit and type! First, let me tell you how much I LOVE this laundry detergent! It smells so good and I have noticed a change in my clothes. I think when we use the same stuff over and over again our clothes just become use to it. Maybe its my imagination but they just seem cleaner.

First you will need to gather your supplies.

The Fels-Naptha soap bar I bought at Walmart for .97c
The Borax-Walmart $2.97
Arm and Hammer Washing Soda-$2.98


Less than 7 dollars and I am about to make 5 GALLONS of laundry detergent.


First, Grate the soap bar using a cheese grater.

Second add 4 cups of HOT water to a pot and add soap. Cook on Med/low heat STIR CONSTANTLY till soap is dissolved I think it took us about 10 minutes or so! Let me tell you this....My hubby was in the shower and when he got out he yelled down to me "What is that smell?" I yelled back up..."The soap is cooking"  He was came down stairs and said...."OH MY GOD THAT SMELLS GOOD" So just know.....it will have your house smelling AMAZING! 

Fill your 5 gallon bucket up with HOT water from the tap.  Add 1 cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda and 1/2 cup of Borax and stir. 

 Add Soap to bucket and Stir some more to blend all the soaps together.  Continue to add water, fill to top and Stir. 

I used my broom handle but for the future I used a paint stirrer that goes on the end of drill to make sure I am stirring evenly. Trial and Error. 

After it is stirred evenly place lid on and allow to sit overnight. 

When you wake up there will be a SUPER thick layer of gel on the top it separates. You will need to stir again this is when I used my arm as the broom handle did not work well enough to ensure that we were mixing evenly. This is another reason we will be using the paint mixer on the drill. You will use a funnel and container to place your detergent and remember to SHAKE WELL before every use and it does separate when it sits. I unfortunately do not have any pictures as we rushed off to the soccer field early the next morning. 

TRIAL AND ERROR!! (What I learned) 

1. BE PREPARED. I did not have enough jugs to place the detergent in.....I LOVE the simply orange juice containers they work PERFECT! So, drink plenty of orange juice and save the containers prior to making the laundry soap. use the handle jugs for detergent and the none handle jugs for homemade fabric softener.(Coming soon) 

2. It really only took about 20 minutes to make. 

3. This will save us A LOT of money. I do atleast 3-4 loads a DAY!

Thanks for reading and I promise to keep it up. I may switch to Vloging I think its easier and less time consuming then typing! Have a Blessed day! 

Our emotional journey.....to conceiving a true miracle! Part 1

Back in December I posted a blog about My horrible heart ache! Please read that to understand this.  I ended it with the story of my lady friends at church telling me of a doctor who could perform the reversal through our insurance. 

We contacted the surgeon and scheduled a consultation for April 9, 2012  Four weeks was a long time with so many emotions and thoughts going through our minds.  We prayed for God to lead our path on this journey and that we would trust His Will for us as we go down it.  The day came for the appointment and we were both nervous and excited.  His appointment went well and we felt very encouraged by the surgeon.  Then, the hard news came.  This surgery was going to cost over $10k when it was all said and done.  My heart sank and I just wanted to run away without saying another word (that's my typical response when I'm upset).  We stayed in the office and declined scheduling the surgery until we had more time to discuss it.  We left the office, left Annapolis and made the hour trip home (almost in silence I was sobbing!). Brian held his emotions in very well.  All I could do was cry.  I remember telling him we would find a way and that I don't give up this easily.  Brian said he felt like maybe this wasn't the Dr the Lord wanted us to use. 

We arrived at home with anxious children wondering if we have good news or bad news. I looked at Brian and he knew he had to handle this I just emotionally couldn't handle it. I took a long hot bath and just closed off the world. I know I have 3 kids, but the number of children you have doesn't matter when you want more. Look at the Duggers the have 19! Although, I do not want to be a Dugger I do want one more baby. I want to have a baby where our finances aren't stretched. I want to have a baby we raise only knowing our Lord and church, I want a baby that I will breastfeed come hell or high water. I want a true miracle from God! I had 2 people say that when God closes a door he opens a window....we are looking for that window.

Brian and I didn't talk much on Monday as we were both dealing with the news. He had been texting me for weeks possible baby names and I was researching cloth diapers, midwives (I want a home birth) and everything was in its place....except a baby on my womb. We were mourning a loss of a figment of our imagination. But, to us it felt so very real...

Tuesday night while I was at college I had a break in between classes and I called Brian just to see touch base and he began to ask me about this other Dr I had found. 

One night while I was researching I said a prayer and typed in "cheap vasectomy reversal".  IT WORKED!  I actually found sites claiming this.  Now the skepticism sets in, but I check them out anyway.  The cheapest one I found was close to the top.  I clicked on it and couldn't believe my eyes!  $1700.00!!!!!  Okay, where is the gimmick? I didn't want a back alley Dr who gives my husband a shot of whiskey and a stick to bite on. I really would like for his man parts to work when its done!  As I read on I found his testimony of how he is performing this so cheap as a Service to God because of his own personal conviction from having a Vasectomy himself; and his story of leaving a private group to be on his own to make it affordable for others. God had lead me here for a reason.  I then began looking for all of the information and credentials I could find.  I found nothing negative and only more confirmation of his ability.  The real deciding factor in his ability was found in an online community with other women (and their husbands) going through this journey. I read an entire thread of hopeful and promising stories from his former patients as well as many pregnancies. I am not sure I could have survived these last horrific months without these amazing women who don't tell me I have 3 kids be happy....but have as many as you can and we will clap and applaud you all the way! They would wipe my tears if they could or hold my OPK stick if they could...they are non judgmental women dealing with infertility issues that were handed to them in a different circumstance other than natural infertility. I often feel like if Brian left me and married someone else and had this surgery done, no one would say to him...but you have 3 just be happy with that.  Its just not the simple. The ache we have for another child is the same as anyone who wants a child. 

Dr Wilson is so highly sought after he has a wait list and a online schedule you do yourself. It helps keep his cost down to have very little overhead.  Brian asked me to place us on the wait list and we would take what we could get which would probably not be until August/September. Oh and I forgot to mention this Dr is in Oklahoma! I told him I absolutely would and I started to have that small glimmer of hope again.  Well Wednesday morning I awoke and I was about to get in the shower to start my day when I turned on the shower I heard the Lord say.."Check the Schedule" I had just checked the schedule before bed on Tuesday and showed Brian how Dr Wilson was full through July 8th and the 9th would be posting the next day as his calendar only shows 90 days out. But i grabbed my phone because I heard it again..."Check the schedule" So, while I waited for the water to warm up I opened up the internet on my phone and begain clicking through the schedule to see maybe if the 9th of July was open. I didn't make it that far! I clicked on may and there right in front of me was a open window....literally! the 25th was the prettiest white I had ever seen! I immediately called Brian and told him the date and he told me to book it! I was so excited I could stop shaking!!  

I run downstairs to our computer and go to the schedule praying the whole time the women I know from the forum who stalk it hadn't scooped it up in the 10 minutes it took to call Brian and then run downstairs. I click on the may 25th and it says appt available at 3....I accept and pay the $500/deposit and then I check my email....no confirmation. I check the schedule and it still shows available. I call a friend and she creates a account to check the schedule and she even sees its available. Now I am panicking. Was this a fluke?? Are there 500 women thinking they have the same date and time?? What am I going to do? I guess we can just get on the wait list but this was a huge disappointment.  Oh well, we can wait! Then I decide to check my email and i had a message telling me that my deposit was accepted but they needed to me log back in a confirm my time! WE ARE STILL IN THE GAME PEOPLE! I logged back in and I clicked the schedule picked the date and completed the process and I recieved the sweetest email....YOUR APPOINTMENT WITH DR WILSON IS SCHEDULED FOR MAY 25th AT 3:00PM!!!!!

So, for now I will start charting my ovulation and keep track of my cycle and then my AMAZING husband I will be flying out to Oklahoma for his surgery on that day! We are waiting on our consultation phone call and I am busy in my forum and praying that in the end of this the Lord sees the timing to be correct and Brian and I will be holding yet again our new precious baby! Fingers crosses and tossing baby dust! :) 

Day 1 of the Daily Schedules.

Well today was the first day of the Daily Schedules for the kids to help make mornings smoother. I am happy to report there was no yelling or screaming, no fighting or crying and the after bus sweep of the house turned out to be successful!

Brianna's room (Not really surprised she does this without being reminded) 

Shailyn's room (Not perfect but done) 

Nic's Room. (Yes he is on a air mattress his room is under construction will post pictures when its done cause its gonna be SUPER cool!) 

Now for the lunches Thanks to Pinterest I have found better compact healthy lunch ideas in my BPA free containers. This has made my morning so much easier. Although I dont usually pack the kids lunches for them I wanted to try out this idea. This lunch is for Shay so no veggies....I forgot carrots at the store! Bad mommy! :) The only thing missing was her bottle of water with her no sugar sweetener and her Gogurt. Those items were placed in her lunch bag.

Nothing fell out upside down either! Love this! No more Giant lunch bags overtaking my fridge!

Daily Schedules.

Micromanage :) I know this sounds good in theory but we will see what happens. I figure if the kids see the schedule on the fridge they will know what they are suppose to be doing. Later, I should have the chore schedules done although they will rotate chores like we do now. Each Sunday I will post the new weekly chore schedule, that way all the chores are spread equally among the kids. Here is what the schedules look like.

They all have different shower times listed as well....that way they have a time limit (Shay will stay in till the hot water is gone) and they know who gets in when! 

That whole Pursuit of Sanity thing.

Its time for a restructure. I am so over stretched because of my quick to say YES response to every question that is thrown at me. I know, I know you are all probably saying "You are SuperMom right?"  Well, this Supermom found her cryptonight and it's time. There just isn't enough time to do all that I need to do in one day. Well honestly its not enough energy. So, it is time for a restructure. I am pulling my super powers out and throwing them into my household. What is my super power you ask. I will create more time in the day! I know, how is it I can create more time? Well the answer is simple time management, organization and HELP. Over the course of the next month or so watch and learn as I create more time for my family. I will be posting spaces, organizational ideas, and planning! Although starting this will take some of that time I don't really have but to be honest....This momma is on the edge of a nervous breakdown SO its time for that change! I am on that quest for the pursuit of sanity right?? :)