a hippie with a minivan

Weekly specials…

Sometimes, the weekly specials at the grocery store just work for you…

I make my weekly menu according to the specials from the grocery stores in my area and I am also trying to stay within budget. I was not being careful for a while and the amount we were spending on groceries was going up a bit more than I would have hoped… So I have been being careful of using what we have in the freezer and pantry and stocking up on things that are on special…

Now that I also have Nala to feed I am really keeping my eye out on cheaper cuts of meat…

I felt I hit the Jackpot this week… Turkey was .99 a pound and so were chickens at another store. I bought two turkeys, one that has been put away in the fridge to defrost for the weekend (which will make a great turkey meal, pot pie, stock and soup along with leftovers) and one for freezer for a later date. I also bought 4 chickens and a 4 bone in chicken breasts. Along with other food to complete the menu plan, including 8lbs of apples and a box of clementines, I managed to keep the cost at about 100$ which I find to be quite remarkable…

The 4 chickens were not the nicest looking or the best quality but Nala won’t mind… I took the time yesterday morning to cut them up and separate them into baggies for about 3-4 weeks worth of Nala’s meals… I am hoping to do the same whenever I see that special so that we have a good stock of food for her in the freezer at all times.

(Ready for the Freezer)

At the same time I was cutting up the whole chickens and was in the groove, I also cut up the chicken breasts that I used in last nights supper which was Fried chicken Sandwiches (recipe to come)…

The bones of course did not go to waste and got thrown into a pot with a few onions, carrots and celery stalks and will become the broth for tonight’s soup and there should be broth left over to freeze for other meals…

(Chicken stock before and after about 20 hours of simmering)

So for about 100$ I will be getting weeks worth of food for the whole family…

Planning meals and stocking up on specials can really be quite rewarding…

About 29 weeks…

I am now completely in the third trimester and I am feeling it…

My pelvic pain (SPD) is in full force and it is hard to turn over in bed without tears coming to my eyes and I am definitely waddling when walking… though I knew it was coming because it started a few weeks ago, it was on and off and still not too bad until now… I thought that last time it got worse later on but when I looked back at my pregnancy journal I realize that things are pretty similar to my pregnancy with Khéna…

Talking about the pregnancy journal, I am enjoying looking back at it… in some ways I wish that I would have done the same this time, but I am also not in the same place as I was last time and I am a lot more laid back about UPing…

Last time, I felt I needed to do something and realized around 29 weeks that it was pretty much useless… if something doesn’t feel right, it isn’t the little “checkups” that will tell me, it is what I am feeling at the moment that is important… but this morning when I decided to measure my fundus height for the first time in a few months and saw that I was measuring 34cm (about 5 weeks ahead) and it was reassuring to look back and see that at about the exact same time last pregnancy it was exactly the same… I am carrying quite differently (high and in) and this baby is flipping over all the time which is different for me also… Of course, I only did one more update after the 29 week one last time so I won’t be able to compare much anymore for another 6 weeks…

I just can’t believe how fast things are going… In 4 weeks it will be Khéna’s third birthday… 4 weeks later will be X-mas and then about 4 weeks after that there will be a new babe in our home and Simon will be starting his paternity leave…I am actually wishing a bit that I will go later as I did with Xavier and Khéna (I know I won’t be thinking like that at the end).

Because Simon will get 7 months of paternity leave, the longer the babe stays in, the more of the summer he will have with us…

We still haven’t done anything to prepare for the baby either…

I need to

buy a dresser (or put shelves up in the boys closet for their clothes) so that the baby gets the baby dresser…
Get the clothes out of the shed and declutter it, keeping only the minimum… (we have WAY too much)
Start making some meals for the freezer
Find my birth/exercise ball and inflate it
Prepare a basket for the birth and find my list of what tinctures to use when in labour
Figure out if I am going to encapsulate the Placenta and get the necessary tools I need for that if I do.
and of course there are probably a few more things that I forgetting about at the moment…

Hallowe'en 2009…

It was raining all day yesterday and the boys were feeling pretty let down by the weather… We talked about it and it was decided that we would hit just a few homes and then come back home and give away candy…

Just as we were about to head out it was still drizzling but was stopping…. the boys were excited and we all headed out to go Trick or Treating and walk around the neighbourhood while the weather permitted…

King Colin, Sir Xavier and Fire Chief Khéna

Once we got outside the rain stopped… and suddenly the sky started clearing up as the sun went down, giving us a beautiful sunset and our neighbourhood started to be flooded with kids…

We walked through the neighbourhood, the air was cool but not cold in the least and the smell of leaves and autumn filled the air… we took a similar route that we take every year which brings us to a little dead end street hidden away that not many know about (unless they live in the area)… all the homes there have elaborate decorations and are all open to trick or treaters…

We didn’t go as far as we usually go but after about an hour of walking around and gathering candy, Colin wanted to head home… and I was willing to follow because I can’t seem to walk far these days without my pelvis getting the best of me…

So we headed home and the boys got excited to hand out candy…

The minute we got in I put all the candy together that they had recieved and separated what they could eat (which ended up not being much)… a few other peices went into a bag for us parents and the rest went into a bag to give away to the kids that came to our door… we went outside and waited and though we got a few kids we didn’t get many…but the few who came got tons of candy and glow bracelets… and Colin made sure that the parents got a few pieces also…

The boys were a bit disappointed at the turnout at the end, but it was soon forgotten… we watched a movie and hung out until we all headed to bed and once we were there Xavier and Colin took turns telling us some scary stories…

It turned out to be a great evening…

Babywearing again…

I haven’t worn Khéna in a while… nearing three he still over 40lbs and though he asks to be worn at times and I have my wrap with me pretty much all the time, he would rather walk…

Also, with my pelvis being so sore and being more and more pregnant, I am really not minding having the extra weight even though he is not much heavier than he was at one year…

I am however looking forward to baby wearing a new baby again… I LOVE to wear a little one… and I am looking forward to using my wraps again, especially a stretchy wrap with a new little one and then the Storch as the baby grows…

I had mentioned in a recent post that I had made a new friend in the area who opened a store recently… I have been talking to here more and more and we have been starting to organize a few things together for her store/my interests and the community… After talking to me, she decided to put a sign up saying that the store will be offering baby wearing classes and pre-natal classes (natural birth)… She wore her youngest a bit but not as much as she would have wanted so she doesn’t know much but was really excited when I offered to help… So I will be giving the classes and will get the money that they pay for the class, and she will be able to sell items in her store. I think it is a perfect solution. She also asked me to help give the pre-natal classes with her, and again, I would be make a little money…

So tonight, I am giving the first babywearing class, to 2 or 3 moms… We would have wanted to wait for a few more but one of the moms is about to give birth and would like to have the information before so that she can start right away…

I am not really nervous tonight, which is great and I am looking forward to get back in the groove again… I was missing it 🙂

Crumb topped Banana Muffins

Mix together in small bowl…

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

In a larger bowl beat together…

3 mashed bananas
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup melted butter (or coconut oil)

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet making sure you don’t over mix… Separate the batter into 12 prepared (buttered or lined) muffin tins… (I use an ice cream scoop to make that easier)

For the topping mash together with fork or fingers:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup oats
1 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp cold butter

put a bit of topping on each of the muffins and then place in preheated 375 degree oven for 20 min…

The texture of these is so light and fluffy… and of course you can always add chocolate chips or nuts or coconut for an extra treat!