Sick of Being Sick

I’ve had enough of this! Every month since last November, someone in this house has been sick, and with two littles touching their mouths/faces and touching everything in the house, it gets passed around. I thought the head colds were behind us since it is May, but then on the weekend I woke up feeling like garbage with hardly any voice and a very sore throat! I am progressing quickly through this one, which is good, and thankfully it is just a basic head cold, and I don’t require antibiotics for it. But I am still done with all this! We eat healthy, we exercise regularly, and I have even started taking vitamins! How am I sick again?! I did notice a pattern with when my head cold arrives though, since I chart my fertility (Natural Family Planning for us Catholics!), and found that it arrives when I ovulate. I told my husband this, and he laughed saying my body must be punishing me for not being pregnant! I took to the internets, and sure enough, your body naturally lowers your immune system while ovulating so as to not kill any sperm, which leaves you open to getting sick. I guess my body is desperate to get pregnant and really lowering my immunity, because I have had a cold at some point for the past 6 months!

Regardless of this fact, I know that I can eat healthier and take better care of myself. As a busy mom, I often put myself last, my kids will always come first, but what good is it if I don’t take care of myself and am always sick! I make sure everyone else eats fruits and veggies as snacks, but I don’t always. Our dinners are super healthy and well balanced, but what (if anything) I grab for lunch is often leftovers of the kids’ or all carbs. I know I need more protein and more fruits/veggies in my diet; things need to be more balanced and more consistent for me. We consume a lot of smoothies in this house; they are quick, healthy, and the kids love em. I make one giant one, and we all share it, but it is usually just frozen fruit, a little juice and a banana or yogurt. These are great, and healthy, but they need to be amped up a little! I planted lots of spinach in the garden, with plans of freezing it for smoothies, but why am I waiting till it grows to do this?!

I’ve read that spinach can be blended with a little water, and frozen in ice cube trays, ready to be added to smoothies. We always have mixed berries and strawberries in the freezer for smoothies, and I buy at least 3 bunches of bananas a week, so we are well stocked that way. But what else can I add to my smoothies? Kick up the protein with a little peanut butter? Add even more blueberries for additional antioxidants? Should I jump on the kale band wagon?

Check out my food board on Pinterest for all the smoothie recipes I’m going to try. Do you have a favourite smoothie recipe or ingredient to keep you healthy?

Road Trippin & Site Seeing – frugal travel fashion tips

I turn 30 this summer, and to celebrate that big day, my husband is planning a trip to Boston for just the two of us! I’m not huge into travelling, and certainly don’t have a bucket list of places to visit, but if I did, Boston would be top of that list! I have always wanted to stroll the city streets that are so rich in history, eat the delicious seafood, and take in a ball game at Fenway. I was totally blown away when he revealed to me where we would be going! I usually do all the planning in our house (I both love it and loathe it!), so for him to plan everything out (dates, babysitters, hotel, restaurants, activities) was a big deal. Now he doesn’t want me to stress about it, he is taking care of all the little details, and all I have asked is to know when we leave, how long we are gone for, and what kind of outfits I will need to pack.

So since clothing is the only thing I have control over, I am spending every free minute I have thinking about the fun outfits I will want to wear while in Beantown! (If you follow me on Pinterest you might have noticed lots of pinning happening!) I thought I would share some tips on how to keep things frugal when planning outfits for a trip. I think when most people go on vacation, they like to buy new pieces to take with them, and I am of course one of those people. But since our budget doesn’t permit me going out and buying 4 days worth of super cute outfits, here is how I am getting by:

Rethink what you already own – Do you always wear your denim jacket with your cargos; try it with a printed summer

I usually wear my red skinny jeans with flats, but they would be cute dressed up for dinner with heels! (image source)

dress instead. Do you only ever wear baseball caps to keep the sun out of your eyes; try a fedora as a sunny day accessory! Mix up your usual/favourite pieces with ones you don’t often wear. I know I tend to dress trendier and a little

more daring when on trips, than I do when I am chasing the kids around.

Pull out those special pieces you don’t often wear - I have a couple tops that I love, but aren’t the most child friendly, so I save them for date nights (which are rare!) or trips away. Same goes for heels; planning outfits around my white pumps is fun. And something as simple as getting to wear my hot pink converse high tops, which take too much time to put on while wrangling the littles out the door, is exciting too.

Borrow – Maybe you need the perfect necklace or scarf to finish off an outfit, so why not borrow it from a friend instead of buying it, especially if you know you won’t wear it again. Or better yet, if you have friends that wear the same size as you, borrow a dress or top or jacket!

My hubby bought me this super cute dress, which can easily be dress up or dressed down depending on the accessories! (image source)

Ask for clothing as gifts – This might be my favourite tip! Because I don’t buy that much clothing for myself, any occasion where I will receive a gift, I ask for clothes. I’m lucky to have a husband who picks out the best clothes for me, and even my extended family (on both sides) pick out great pieces for me too. My husband even bought me two fantastic dresses for Mother’s Day that will be perfect for our trip!

If you have to buy – Watch for sales and coupon codes! I never pay full price for clothing (last week I found a shirt on clearance at Old Navy for $2.49, and it was an additional 30% off! I just placed an order online and grabbed another summer dress for $12, a tee for $3 and a dressy tank for $7 and got an additional %15 off), stores have such quick turnarounds on clothing that if you just wait, that item you really would like, will go on sale. Also look in second hand stores, I have found lots of cute dress and skirts, shorts, and belts too! Just make sure you check over the item for stains, rips, that zippers work, and it doesn’t look too worn.

We will have such a variety of activities, from casual ball games and city strolling, to nice dinners and attending Mass, that packing multifunctional pieces will also be key, otherwise I might need two suitcases just for the 4 days! But thankfully we are driving, so I don’t have to worry too much about being a frugal packer.

Meal Plan…Tuesday – May 21 2013

Well, we had a long weekend here, so I didn’t get this posted yesterday. I would say we enjoyed the outdoors as much as we could, for the most part the kids had a blast playing with the water table in the back yard, but they also fought most of the weekend….too much fun in the sun and not enough sleeps makes for grouchy kids! And I seem to have picked up a cold. again. Thankfully it is going to rain for the next few days, so we will have some quiet days inside watching movies and building forts.

Here is what we are eating this week:

Monday (yesterday!) – we ate chicken strips and salad and grilled asparagus

Tuesday – my famous spaghetti

Wednesday – whole wheat fettuccine with zuchinni ribbons

Thursday – roast chicken with sweet potatoes and salad

Friday – pan seared fish fillets with grilled veggies and rice

Since the warmer temps are here again, I will once again be looking for yummy no bake dessert ideas. I would love to find some puffed rice cereal that doesn’t contain BHT, so that my kids can enjoy rice crispy treats…do you have a favourite no bake dessert?

As always, I am linking up with Laura at Org Junkie. Happy Meal Planning!

Charity Tee Makeover – DIY

You all have them, sometimes they come in a one-size-fits-no-one, sometimes they offer sizes but just in men’s, so even the small is giant on me. Those shirts that you get for volunteering for something, maybe it’s from a camp you attended or a sport you played, or in my case, from a charity 5k walk. Our dear friends started up the lymeSavers foundation, I love them to bits, and the event this past weekend was a blast, but the participant shirt did not fit me at all. I didn’t expect it too, as I’m tiny, and most things don’t fit. I wasn’t too worried about it for the day of the event, as it was freezing out, so I had layers on, and the big shirt was tucked in on one side, and it wasn’t a big deal. But I want to wear the shirt all the time! I want to run in it, and wear it to the beach. I want to wear it as advertising for their foundation! But in its original form, I knew that wouldn’t happen. So, like any good friend would do, I got out my fabric scissors, and cut it up:

From this (not horribly large, but a little on the baggy side for me)

To this! Much better, and now I will wear it all the time!

The tied up back. Maybe I need a lime green sports bra to go with it :) (also, sorry to the awesome sponsors who are no longer visible)

I used this tutorial, which seems to be the most popular one on Pinterest. I pinned it months ago, with plans of taking scissors to lots of shirts, but so far this is the only one I have done. It is super easy, and is no sew too, which is perfect for this busy mom who did it on the other side of the baby gate while both kids called for me the entire time…it’s amazing I ever get anything done, really.

Meal Plan Monday – May 13 2013

After a very busy few days, I am glad to be back to our regular routine today, and I think the kids are too. After 4 days that were different from normal for them, they were done. It was a rough end to an otherwise perfect Mother’s Day for me, but I won’t hold it against them; they are so used to their routine that if it varies too much for too long, they are miserable. It started with being babysat by my mother all day Thursday when my husband and I drove to Ottawa for the March for Life, Friday my mother-in-law watched them after dinner while we attended a Lyme Disease Awareness talk. Saturday was kinda normal, but my son was with Grandpa most of the afternoon during the LymeSavers 5k walk, and Sunday was Mother’s Day, so we split up the kids and each took one to visit our own mothers….They are so much like me in this way, 3 or 4 days is just about all the “different” I can handle.

I hope all you moms out there had a great day yesterday, and that you showed your own mom just how much you love her! I am so blessed to have an incredible husband who tells me everyday how much he appreciates everything I do, but he still spoiled me this weekend! I love that when days like this (and Father’s Day, and birthday days!) roll around, we make it an entire weekend of treats: flowers and dinner on Saturday, breakfast and lunch made by my hubby on Sunday, including a coconut cream pie that he made from scratch! Plus lots of chocolates, 2 new dresses and a new frying pan! And of course I slept in in the morning, and didn’t have to clean the kitchen at all, which might just be the best part!

Now that we are back to our regular routine, here is what we are eating this week:

Monday – my famous spaghetti

Tuesday – ham and cheese quiche with steamed broccoli

Wednesday – pulled beef sandwiches (still more of this beef in the freezer!) and salad

Thursday – breakfast for dinner: sausage rounds, hash browns and fruit smoothies

Friday – roasted veggie pasta bake

As always, I am linking up with Erin and  Laura. Happy Meal Planning!