Country Heart and Home

Seriously though, my oldest son would be off the charts happy if he could open this up on Christmas morning, and his dad and I would absolutely love to buy him this game system or any game system for that matter but its just not an option this year or any time in the near future, we just don't have the money.

BUT when I read that there was a oppertunity to WIN one, Holy Moly, I thought my fingers would totally fly off I was typing my entry so fast!!

So you gotta check it out, its a awesome oppertunity. One winner will win the Wii plus a Wii fit game and balance board to go with it!!

My hubs and I both think that the Wii fit would be great, we are both overweight and it looks like fun, losing weight while having fun thats a win win!!

Staying warm without going broke..... can it be done?

* The windows in this house leak air like a sieve, which means when the heat is on its practically going right out the windows and not doing us much of any good. To combat this we put that special shrink wrap plastic on the windows. Is it pretty, no but its effective and until we can remodel and replace the windows its our best option to stop all the warm air from leaking out and the cold air from leaking in.

* I have a no bare feet policy that starts about this time of year and I really enforce it. All of us have to wear warm socks on our feet, no excuses, when its really cold the boys and I wear them to bed too, but Hubs says he can't sleep in socks so he doesn't.

* This time of year, I use my oven more than I do other times of the year, after I am done baking I leave the oven door open a crack so all the heat can escape into the house* I also use a baby gate to keep littles out of the kitchen until the oven has completely cooled off.

* If we curl up to watch a movie, we normally have throw blankets on us, my boys think this is especially great because they love to lay on the floor to watch a movie, well the idea of them laying on cold hard wood floors doesn't appeal to me so we make them a "spot". We usually put down a thick comforter, the boys get their pillows and stuffed animals and pile down together on the comforter and then cover up with other blankets to watch their movie. It really makes for a nice relaxing weekend afternoon to be curled up on the couch with a blanket and the boys curled up with their pillows watching a movie, just don't forget the popcorn!!

These are just a few of the things we do to keep the heating bills from going through the roof, and even with keeping the thermostat on about 68-69 it stays nice and cozy here in the house!!

Another at home day for us

I need to finish the laundry, I have 90% of it folded and sorted into piles I just need to get the other 10% folded and then get it all put away. I intended to sort through my coupons yesterday and scan the grocery sale papers for good deals but it didn't get done so I really need to do it today.

Dinner tonight will be simple, Spaghetti with garlic bread* for the garlic bread I am going to use sub rolls that are leftover from our Italian Sausage Sub dinner last week, and the plan is to dress them up with butter, granulated garlic and some italian seasoning and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, we do this quite often with leftover sub rolls, as I don't want to waste them. The hubs and the kids love it so you can't beat it!!

Sunday around our home

When I went to bed late last night~ read very late as the hubs and I stayed up watching a couple movies we got from the redbox, I envisioned sleeping in later this morning, not really late, I mean how late can you sleep in with 2 boys who are bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to conquer the world first thing EVERY morning? lol But I still thought since the boys went to bed later than usual and we stayed up late that I would indeed be sleeping in a bit this morning.....

I was wrong, well partially, I usually get up somewhere around 6 and this morning at 6:45 I felt a little person crawling up from the bottom of my bed, and he crawled all the way to the top of the bed and I pulled back the covers and he snuggled down against me and even though his daddy was snoring loudly, baby boy went right back to sleep, almost as if he had been asleep all along and just magically migrated from his bed to ours, so of course I did what any momma could do in a situation like this I hugged him up and snuggled him and just was purely in love all over again with this beautiful little boy that god has blessed me with.

After a bit of snuggling though I guess he decided that he needed more room and thus began the "flop and turn" so I decided that since I was awake fully by then anyway I would go ahead and get up.

I left him and his daddy there to catch some more z's and went ahead with my day, I made a pitcher of sweet tea, made a pot of coffee, started the laundry and then emptied the dishwasher and refilled it with the dishes that didn't make thier way there last night.

By this time my oldest son had woken up and decided that it would be a great fun to stealth like come down the hall, sneak up behind mom standing at the sink going about her day and scare me, lol, actually I don't think he intended to scare me its just that with the washer going, the dishwasher going, and the coffee pot working I didn't hear him get out of bed, I was wrapped up in the quiet of the house, and with everything going ,so when he came into the kitchen and said good morning mom, it broke that "silence" and made me jump, which always makes him giggle, I love his giggle so I couldn't be mad could I?, nope so I just wished him good morning and we both continued on.

I think for the early part of the day I will work on laundry and straighten up the house, then after Brady gets up from his nap we are going to dh's grams for an early dinner, mmm I can hardly wait!!!

Sometime today I need to work on coupons and get them cut out and in my organizer, Mike's gram and I will probably go over the sale ads and see whats a great deal to pick up this week, here's hoping there are plenty of great deals!!

Report Card Time!!

Monday Monday

Today is a stay at home day for me, for which I am thankfull as there is alot that needs doing around here!!

Our weekend was so jam packed that we didn't get anything done here at home so today will be busy catching up.

#1 priority on the list is laundry, or else my people will be naked around here, I know Brady wouldn't mind the little streaker but I don't think it would be good to send Colby to school naked or Mike to work naked I think people would notice and not to mention that its gotten cold here, it was like 42* when I put Colby on the bus this morning. Ok all kidding aside- I mean you didn't really think I would send them out in the world naked did you? Still, kidding aside Laundry is behind and HAS to be caught up today!! I mean I am almost out of clean socks for pete's sake!!

I also need to straighten up the main areas of the house- livingroom, kitchen, hallway and bathroom

Some baking and other food preps need to take place today, I need to get some things made up for my guys lunch boxes.

Other than those items I need to look through the sales papers and pick out any good deals that I can't pass up, organize my coupons and my coupon binder, and work on some crochet, I have 102 rows crocheted on Colby's blanket for Christmas~ it will be a full size when I am done, I am about 3/4ths of hte way done, and I started on Brady's the other day to work on in the truck while I wait for the bus in the morning and afternoon, so far there is only like 6 or 8 rows on his blanket but its to be a twin size so I know it will work up fast. These are christmas presents and neither boy has mentioned that I am working on them, infact I think I always have something that I am crocheting so this is just second nature to them, they don't even ask what I am making any more, but I know they will be warm and snuggly in their beds after I get the blankets made.

I am not sticking to them menu exactly tonight we are supposed to have soup and grilled cheese, but I have 2 green peppers that need using up and so I will make Beef and Green Pepper stir fry over rice.

Sense and Sensiblity ePatterns!!!

Now you can order her patterns and download them immediately!! If you get as excited about starting a new project as much as I do than this is just great because no waiting for the pattern to come so you can get started!!

Our November Menu

Our November Menu: I have ours done until Thanksgiving!!

1. Lunch @ Mom's for her birthday, Dinner @ the Cub Scout Halloween Party
2. Steaks, baked potatoes, salad
3. Soup and Grilled cheese sandwiches
4. Ravioli and garlic Bread
5. Pancakes and Sausage
6. Kielbasa,( Pintos for me), Fried Potatoes, Spinach
7. Pizza
8. Cheeseburgers, french fries
9. Roasted Whole Chicken, mashed potatoes and corn
10. Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches
11. Hot dogs, hm mac and cheese and baked beans
12. Eggs, sausage, hm hash browns
13. Broiled Fish, baked potatoe, Broccoli
14. Italian Sausage Subs, French Fries
15. Beef and green pepper stirfry over rice
16. Pork Roast, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob
17. Soup and grilled cheese
18. Nachos/Tacos
19. BLT's, French Fries
20. Broiled Fish, Baked Potatoe, Broccoli
21. Pizza
22. Clam Chowder, Corn bread
23. Beef Roast, mashed potatoes and green beans
24. Soup and grilled cheese
25. Spaghetti
26. Kielbasa, (pintos for me) fried potatoes, spinach
27. Thanksgiving- Turkey, Ham, Mashed potatoes and gravy, brussles Sprouts, Stuffing, baked mac and cheese, Rolls, cranberry sauce- Its a collaborative meal at my Brothers house, I am supposed to bring, hm pumpkin pies, cranberry sauce, and a veggie.

Honey.... I'm Home!!!

OK ok so I know you didn't even know I was gone but after an excrucitating amount of pain on Tuesday night, then a repeat performance on Wednesday the dr admitted me to the Hospital for pain management until they could do surgery. The Surgery took place Thursday around 1ish and I was back to my room by like 3:30, I was supposed to be released last night but hospital pharmacy wouldn't send up the meds my dr prescribed for pain and since I was having severe bladder spasms they decided to keep me another night for pain management. I am still having the bladder spasms and will probably continue to have them for a few days until my body gets used to the stent that is in place from my kidney to my bladder, but it may not get used to is it so I am still on some pretty strong meds that lessen but do not completely relieve the spasms, lets just say I know when the meds are wearing off and when its time for another dose, and I don't even need to look at the clock to see if its time to take more meds, the spasms and the pain comes back full force so I KNOW its time for more meds. The good news is that the dr was able to get up into my kidney and laser the stone and its was supposedly reduced to powder. I no longer have the severe ecruciating pain associated with a kidney stone and the pains and spasms I am feeling now from the stent will only last until Thursday when the dr removes the stent. The placement of the stent was nessassary due to the fact that the stone had my left kidney completely blocked off and in addition to being blocked it caused quite a bit of damage, the ureter that runs from your kidney to your bladder is inflammed and that and my kidney are swollen. The stent is in place to help the kidney drain completely while it heals. So far so good, my blood pressure is back to normal now that my body isn't under attack from the kidney stone, I haven't yet and hope and pray not to develope a fever which would indicate a infection, the dr has me on a really strong antibiotic as well. So pain and spasms aside I am doing really well!! And according to everything I have read I will be pain and spasm free just as soon as the stent is removed.

First I give thanks to the Lord for EVERYTHING!!! For guiding the drs, for giving me peace, for taking care of me, for my wonderful family, for my EVERTHING!! I can't even list all the things I need to thank him for.

My parents and Mike's gram were just so loving and giving during this entire time.

On Wednesday, Mike's gram kept Brady for us while he took me to the Hospital, she played with him, got him his lunch and snuggled him for a nap, then she also got Colby off the bus for us. Mike's gram is just such a great lady, and she helps us out all the time even when we don't ask and she does it willingly and lovingly.

Then my parents picked the boys up from her when my mom got off of work and took them out to eat dinner at McDonald's- the boy's absolute favorite place to eat!! And then after bringing them to the hospital to see me they kept the boys over night and all day Thursday( we let Colby stay home from school Thursday) , then last evening mom and dad gave the boys their baths and fed them dinner again since I didn't get to come home and then Mike picked them up brought them home and put them to bed so Colby could go back to school today. My parents are awesome people and I am very lucky to be their daughter!!

My wonderful hubby stayed with me the entire time, always keeping me grounded and calming me because to be honest I was scared out of my mind, I was missing my boys, I was in pain and I was frantic to be better. For being a great dad and taking care of the boys when I couldn't and just for being a great hubby all around!!

My dr for taking care of me and helping me get rid of this stone and for giving meds to help me manage while at home until this stent comes out.

For my friends both IRL and CYBER who sent well wishes and prayers from the time they found out I was battling this stone.

I can't even begin to tell you how blessed I am, and I am, I am truely blessed to have all these wonderful people in my life and in my heart!!

Sorry I have been MIA

Things have been busy here!! That and I haven't really felt like blogging. To be honest I have a kidney stone and its quite painful and I feel just miserable for a while when its acting up so to speak.

But I have had reasons to be happy too and I thought I would blog about that instead of dwelling on not feeling well.

My oldest son celebrated his 7th birthday on October the 8th. I know its cliche' but really where has the time gone? He is just a wonderful, handsome, happy, little boy and a real joy to my heart!!

We had a small celebration here on his actual birthday just Dad, Mom, the birthday boy and little brother. We had pizza, brownies and watched a movie it was really nice. Then this past weekend we had his party with all the relatives and friends and needless to say he had a blast!! He played so hard that I don't know how he kept going but he did and with gusto!!!

I thought I would share his birth story here like I did when it was his little brother's birthday last month.......

When I was expecting Colby, he tried twice to come early, both resulting in long hours at the hospital trying to get my labor to stop, which was successful!! His due date was October the 4th and I just happend to have an appointment that day, they were going to send me on over the the hospital to be induced but the hospital was packed so they sent me home and told me to report Monday morning at 7am. So Mike and I were up early and at the hospital but my parents I guess were more excited than I was and they beat us there!! They started me on pitocin right away and after a few hours of them upping the doses every so often, my contractions started. I had contractions all day, some were big ones, and I had dialated to 6 before I got my epidural, at one point Colby's heartrate started to drop and he was in distress, when they broke my water there was meconium in the water so they were starting to worry, they ended up putting electrodes into his head in the birth canal to monitor him, I kept passing out because my blood pressure was scarey. So for a while I would pass out, Colby's heart rate would drop drastically and the nurses would rush in and do what ever they do, and things would be fine again for a while then we would start again with the passing out and the baby's dropped heart rate, finally at around 8:30ish I guess the dr came in to check me and told me he was concerned with the way things were progressing and the thought what was going on was the the baby's head was "stuck" in the birth canal and that is why he was in distress, so the dr said he would let me go another hour but if nothing changed in a hour they were going to concider a c-section. Again I started with the passing out, I remember the dr left the room, my mom was at my side with a cold wash cloth wiping my forehead and I remember asking her what the dr said as I was pretty loopy and out of it, she and Mike and my dad told me again what was going on and I said to my mom, why are we waiting? If the baby is in distress then why are we waiting. Lets just do it, My mom asked me if I was sure and I said yes so she went and got the nurse and the dr and we got the paper work going and then they started to prep me for csection, it all happened so fast but at 9:58pm on Monday October the 8th 2001 my beautiful baby boy was born. He weighed 8lbs and 8ozs and was 20 1/4 inches long.

Menu Changes....

Dh told me this morning that he would really prefer if we didn't have the chicken and dumplings for dinner tonight, he said he really doesn't care for it but he would eat it if he had too,lol. So, I think I will come up with something else to make for dinner tonight. Poor guy, here I have been making chicken and dumplings all this time I never new he hated it.

Our menu this week....

Oh and did I mention that 2 weeks of drs visits, tests, meds, and co-pays ate up all my grocery money? Yeah, gotta love it when that happens,NOT!! So our next 2 weeks worth of menus is strictly using up what we have, in the freezers and pantry with VERY little purchased to keep us going. Praise God that we have enough to get us through!!

Tonight: Beef Veg Soup, hm bread, I am also making a pot of beans I prefer beans to Beef Veg soup. I can also eat the beans for lunch this week and any extra soup that isn't eaten will be canned for later, because I don't know about you but I can't just make a small pot of soup, its like its not possible, but that is ok, home canned soup ready to go is a blessing anytime.

Wednesday: Colby's birthday, Pizza and Brownies, the pizza is frozen but its good in a pinch

Friday: Shrimp fried rice- I have some frozen shrimp in the freezer so a big pan of fried rice sounds good

Saturday: Not sure yet, its Colby's birthday party so party foods, My mom said she would help me with the party since we are short this week. Praise God for a loving Family.

A bit of catching up...

I am not keeping up with this blog as much as I wanted to, but at least I am here and do a bit of catching up.

Dh and our oldest embarked on a new journey together, CUB SCOUTS!! So far our oldest loves it, all except for the uniform,lol its too much clothes for him, and he is not used to wearing a hat so it will take some getting used to, but for the most part he is loving it.

As for me well, of course I would have to be the one to throw a monkey wrench into such a nicely painted picture. After two weeks of drs visits and tests, I now know that I have a kidney stone, and its a honking big one too, 6-7 mm, the dr only gave me a 60% chance that I will pass it on my own, and I have until this Friday to do so or they are going to schedule me for surgery. -> Insert PANIC here<- Yeah I'm a chicken and to top it off I have a bit of an anxiety issue so surgery just doens't sound good to me. Yes, of course I have been praying!! Praying and drinking LOTS of water, hopefully I will be able to pass it and can avoid surgery.

Today is day at home for me, which I am thankful for, I have alot planned today.

* Cook ham hocks and make beans ~ ham hocks are in the crock pot, and beans are soaking as I write this.

I am sure I can probaly come up with some more things that need doing, so I guess I better get off here and get going at it!!

A busy day today..

In spite of waking up late this morning, which left me only 30 minutes to make a mad dash through the house and getting lunches packed, hubby off to work, kids dressed and Colby ready for school, and a quick breakfast of sorts made for the little guys, and Colby to the bus stop and on the bus on time, I have a lot of plans for today making it a busy day for me.

Thankfully I had his bookbag packed and ready to go from the night before, clothes laid out and ready to go helped out alot as well. Actually it went alot smoother than it should have since we were so late getting up , not that I want to wake late and do this every day, but it worked today.

Laundry- fold and put away what didn't get folded and put away yesterday, wash more and get it hung out on the line, then fold and put away when it's dry.

Housework- my whole house needs a go over, rooms need picked up, toys put away etc, the kitchen needs some general clean up, livingroom needs straightened, dusted, etc etc etc

Kitchen work: I need to bake some muffins for the lunch boxes and for snacks. Put away some things that need put away, like my crockpot needs to go back to the pantry. Clean out the fridge and do up any dishes that come from that. etc etc.

I have to pick up my big guy from the bus this afternoon and then go to the post office, which I should have done yesterday but didn't.

Then I need to get back home quick as I can to get homework done with Colby, take the kids outside to play and then I will need to get dinner started, and then hopefully I will get to settle in this evening with my crochet after the boys are in bed.

So far so good, the hubs is off to work, Colby is off to school, my littlest guy is playing in his room, the first load of clothes are on the line, the washer is working on the second, the dishwasher is just about done its cycle, I've checked the bank, my email and a couple blogs I like to read and now I am off to continue on with my to-do list....

Hey!! Check out these great deals I have gotten recently.......

After Brady's birthday party, after everyone had left and the house was once again quiet, ok semi quiet, I mean the birthday boy did have new things to play with, new NOISY things. I decided to run quick to the grocery store for some sale items. The sale was ending that day.

Anyway I picked up 2 huge whole chickens for 6 something a piece and they also had those new Green Giant Veggie Steamers on sale for 10/10.00 normally it wouldn't be something I bought but I just also happened to have 10 1.00 coupons so how could I say no? So into the freezer they went!! For FREE WHOO HOO!!

Today I went to Walmart with a girlfriend... I have been saving coupons for suave shampoo and conditioner because every once in a while they go on sale for .89-.99 well Rite Aid had them listed for .99 and I had enough coupons to get 38 bottles. My girlfriend wanted me to go shopping with her so she said bring your ad and ad match at the walmart so I was like Ok. They looked at me kinda funny when I rolled up to the register with 38 bottles of shampoo and conditioner. Walmart had the shampoo for .96 a bottle so I didn't need to ad match since Walmart was cheaper all in all for 38 bottles I would have had to pay 36.48, but after my coupons the 38 bottles only cost 13.98+ tax so for .37 a bottle they can look all they want!!

No I probably didn't need to purchase all 38 bottles today but Shampoo and conditioner won't go bad and with the low price and the coupons it was just too good a deal to pass up!!

Have you gotten any great deals lately? I know for us, it seems like the price of everything is going up and up and up, everything that is except paychecks, so I am trying to find ways to stretch the money as far as I can and deals like these are just the way to do it, at least for me.

Baby steps as they say!! Frozen Veggies last week, shampoo and condititioner this week, if I can keep this up and do a little each week then eventually I will hopefully be completely stocked up!!

My thanks be to God for this. We have been really scraping the bottom of the barrel lately and the other night when I was clipping coupons and going through the coupons from the ladies I swap with there were so many that we use and I said to my husband, wow when God provides he really provides.

My baby is 3 today.....

Today is my baby boys 3rd birthday, I woke him up this morning by singing happy birthday to him, its bitter sweet, he is growing into such a big boy its hard for this momma to let go that he is not a baby anymore!! He's potty trained now except for naps and over night but he wakes dry most of the time, and has given up his me-me aka pacifier, that is until he finds one that he has put into the toy box or into one of his cars etc, and then he insists that he needs it but then I say Me-mes are for night time, are you ready for bed? He says no so then I say Can momma hold it for you? Yes. So then he gives it to me and I put it in my pocket but I forget to give it back *grin* and he never asks for it so slowly but surely I am ridding the house of them. I might keep one just incase of an extreme emergency but we haven't had any reason to use one in a long while. Tonight for dinner we will have Pizza and Brownies to celebrate, it will be just us, then we will have his party this weekend!! If you ask him how old he is he tells you that he is 6, lol but then I say no you are 3 and he giggles!!

My favorite Youtube Video

More Shopping Totals.....

Last night dh stopped at the market and picked up sodas for his lunch and juice boxes for Colby's packed lunch for school. He spent 19.25

2 pkgs of breakfast Sausage links
2 pkgs of Bacon
18 ct eggs
sliced provalone cheese
1 gallon milk
2 cheese pizzas
2 pepperoni pizzas
1 3 meat pizza
1 bag french fries
1 box texas toast
3 cans of frosting
2 boxes of cake Mix
1 box tea
3 cans coffee
pancake syrup
2 pks icing decorations
2 jars mayo
1 head of lettuce
1 cucumber
1 pkg sub rolls
1 loaf of bread
1 box stuffing
1 canister Ovaltine
10 lbs sugar
24 rolls of toilet paper
a movie- saving this for Christmas

Total spent 117.08 leaving me 15.39 left to spend. Sadly I am going to go over my 200.00 allotment, I still need to buy Hamburgers, rolls, chips, plates, and cups for Brady's party but I have 40.00 saved back as a cushion should I go over budget, thankfully I have it but I wish I didn't have to use it.

Menu 9/1- 9/19

9/1 BBQ Ribs, BBQ Chicken, Hamburgers, Potato Salad, baked beans - Dh's gram provided the ribs and chicken and my parents brought the hamburgers so I just had to make sides to go along with everything

9/13 Brady's Birthday Party, Hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, potato salad, pasta salad, cupcakes

Groceries......

Yesterday was the first shopping trip for the month of September, WOW I can hardly belive it is September already but it is, and there is nothing I can do about it, so there ya go. lol

Anyway staying within a budget is hard to do, and for me I am not looking at is as we ONLY have X amount to spend on groceries I am looking at it as WOW! I wonder how much I can get, for X amount of money.

I have 200.00 to buy everything I need for the next 2 weeks, and I also need to mention that I need to purchase items for a family BBQ dinner which will also be my son's 3rd birthday party. Of course it should go without saying that I still hope to spend less than 200.00.

6 rolls of toilet paper
1 pkg of pull ups- Brady is potty trained during the day but we use pull ups at nap time and night time
1pk Italian Sausage Links
1 pkg sizzle steak
4 lbs hamburger
2 pkgs boneless skinless chicken tenders
1 pkg reduced braising beef
2 lbs shrimp
2 .99 cards for Grandparents day
2 pkgs of M&M's as a treat for my boys