Updates and a few silly moments from Luke!

Today Luke and Eli went BACK to the Dr. Seriously, I'm so over the Dr! We had Eli's check up at the beginning of the month, when his ear infection was found. Then we went to the after hours clinic 2 weekends ago with both boys because Eli had started running a temp again and was up all night crying. Well, one ear was fine, the other was still infected. We decided to take Luke because he had been coughing for a while and we thought we should have it checked out. We were told his cough was just from a cold and given some cough syrup. So, over this past weekend Luke was still coughing, sometimes to the point of him making himself sick. It's especially worse at night. So, I called yesterday and made them both an appointment for today. I had them re-check Eli's ears and they were fine (yay!). But Luke has bronchitis. Last weekend it wasn't in his chest but Dr. C said that he could hear it rattling today. So, he got a shot and some medicine. And Eli got his 1st flu shot. I told them that they were not allowed to get sick anymore and that the only trips were would be going for is to get Eli's 2nd flu booster and Luke's flu shot, which will be in a month. And then, Eli will have his 15 mth well visit Dec 2nd. I will say that I am thankful that we've avoided the really nasty sickies so far. I'm praying that it will stay far from us too! There was a little girl in the waiting room today who was just pitiful! Bless her little heart. Kids handle sickness pretty well but this little one did not feel good!

Luke did FANTASTIC at the Dr. The only time he cried was when he got his shot. Who can blame him though? He was so brave! Just a little over a week ago he cried when they took his temp under his arm, so he did super today. He was rewarded with a Happy Meal and a sucker! :) Eli on the other hand cried anytime someone walked into the room. Ok, so he didn't cry, but he starts breathing fast like he's going to hyperventilate. Bless him! He's starting to realize what goes on there!

I must tell you something funny Luke said on the way home. I've said it before but I'll say it again, I wish I could record everything he says! He is so funny! But at the same time his reasoning and the way his brain works is well beyond his 3 years. The Hubs and I were talking about what we were going to do before we headed home. I said something like, "We'll go by McDonald's, then drop of the medicine and then we can pick it up on our way to my parents tonight for dinner." Often when the Hubs and I are having a conversation, Luke likes to chime in and give his opinion, because he wants to be a part of it. So, from the backseat I heard, "Well, Mommy, I think we need to go to your mom's now." It was so funny!! I just laughed and said, "No, we're going to Mimi's house after she gets off work."

Yesterday, Gram and Grandad were coming over that afternoon for Gram to cut Luke's hair. Well, while we were running errands that morning Luke asked me why they couldn't come over now. So, I explained that they were at work and we'd have to wait until they got off work. That answered satisfied him. Then he asked, "Does Nanny work?"
I said, "No."
Luke: "Does Grandpa B work?"
Me: "No."
Luke: "Why?"
Me: "He's retired."
Luke: "Oh, Daddy gets tired too."

:)

Just out of curiosity, I asked him if Mommy worked. He said, "Nooo!" and giggled like that was a silly question. Then he paused and said, "But you do work at home!"

Me: "Good answer son, you're exactly right!"

MPM 9/28/09

Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Pinto Beans, Corn Bread

Chicken Fingers, Spinach-Bacon Mac & Cheese

Vegetable Soup, Corn Bread

Spicy Chicken Noodle Casserole, Green Beans

Here lately I've only been planning 4 meals and that's worked really good for us. This past week we ate BBQ two nights in a row. One night I cooked a pizza for the boys and the Hubs, and I had leftover spaghetti. I love leftover spaghetti. I think it's one of those things that just tastes better the next day! It's so good! We also had dinner with the Hub's mom and step dad Friday night. And today, Sunday, we just had grilled cheese and leftovers from last night. Like I've said before, I'm not going to let anything go to waste. Food is too expensive!

In attempt to save more money on our grocery/household budget I'm planning on trying to make my own baby wipes and eventually I'd like to try clothes detergent. Just this past week I've started using 1 TBS borax mixed with 1 TBS baking soda and a tsp (I actually just squirt a small amount of it in there) of dishwashing detergent in the dishwasher. And every once in a while I put vinegar in the rinse aide thingy. I tried to find recipes for homemade dishwashing detergent and didn't find any that had great reviews. The best thing I read was that you actually don't need a lot of dishwashing detergent in your dishwasher. Adding the borax and baking soda just extends your detergent so you buy it less. Right now I've just been scooping it out of the box but I'm planning on buying a medium size plastic container to keep under my sink and mix equal parts borax and baking soda. The borax was around 3$ for a big box of it and baking soda is 1$ at WalMart for 1 lb. So, if you buy the cheap dish detergent and add your extenders, it will save $$ in the long run. Now, I'm sure there are those of you out there who don't mind spending $$ on that kind of thing and think that it might be more of a hassle to do it my (new) way. But hey, for us, every penny counts! :) As far as the baby wipes, here is the recipe/method I'm going to be using. Comparing the costs: around $17 a year for homemade wipes or around $100 a year for store bought. Pretty decent savings. Two other things I'm attempting to do to save:

• Only buying paper towels (6 pk) once a month. We go through paper towels like crazy! So, I'm limiting myself. I'm using more hand towels but throwing a few extra hand towels in a load of towels isn't costing me anything. I just started on our 4th roll tonight and I've got to make it to the 14th before buying anymore! When it runs out.. it just runs out!
• Household shopping once a month. I'm attempting to buy all of my household items once per month. This will help me keep a better watch on my grocery bill. I've made a HUGE master list that includes anything and everything (from shampoo to cotton balls) we may possibly need. And my idea is to just check that list before I do my household shopping and get what we need. I know the more I do this the better I will become at gauging how much we need per month, if we can make it one more month with "whatever" or if I need to go ahead and purchase it. The only exception is if there is a great deal on something. If that is the case I'll go ahead and purchase it. For instance, I did my first household shopping trip 2 weeks ago. Then last week I bought 2 tubes of toothpaste because it was on sale and I had a coupon. I got 2 Arm and Hammer Total Care toothpaste for around $1.20 each. In the end I think this will help me save by taking a look back over how much money is going to household items and how much I'm spending on groceries. Because before this month it had been all jumbled up together. This will help me see where I might need to put a little more effort into saving and budgeting!

I'm searching for new ideas all the time so if you have any let me know!

Pumpkin Bread

Update: I wanted to share an opportunity for you to win free groceries. Who am I kidding. I don't want you to win. I want to win. But if I tell you, I get more chances to win. So, I'm totally being selfish. At least I'm honest! ;) Click here to enter!

I love fall. It is my absolute favorite season. And although we haven't felt that crisp feeling in the air near enough (think more of humid, muggy) I know it is coming soon! I love fall smells and colors. Pumpkins, cinnamon, orange & red leaves. I just love it! It's time for soup in the crock pot, long sleeves, Halloween costumes and pumpkin carving! To add to all of the seasonal things, my birthday and anniversary are in October! It just can't get any better! :)

So, I wanted to share one of my favorite fall recipes with you! Pumpkin bread is a staple in my house in the fall. We have it for breakfast, snacks, dessert. And today I'm making my first loaf of the season! The recipe is from Paula Deens, Savannah Country Cookbook.

Pumpkin Bread *my notes are below
Yields 2 loaves

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans. Mix sugar and oil with mixer. Add eggs and blend. Add pumpkin and blend. Add water and blend. Combine remaining ingredients and add slowly. Fill pans equally and bake for 1 hour or until olden brown.

*My notes: I use one can of pumpkin (15 oz) which is almost two cups. I also use 1/2 c vegetable oil and 1/2 c applesauce, instead of one whole cup of vegetable oil. Sometimes I add nuts and sometimes I don't. Luke won't eat nuts and Eli can't yet so I'll probably do most of mine without nuts or maybe do one loaf with and one without. I also never add nutmeg. I usually do one tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. A whole tsp of nutmeg is too much for me. Actually I don't have any pumpkin pie spice yet. It's probably at my moms, I don't think I threw it away when we moved in with them, but I don't really remember. We tried to keep everything that wasn't perishable. Anyway, I'm still restocking my spice cabinet. I need to get some though because the Hubs is a pumpkin pie fan and I usually make a few pumpkin pies in the fall and winter months! :) If you don't have any pumpkin pie spice or nutmeg, just use cinnamon! It will still taste great! I'm thinking of doing pumpkin muffins with this recipe for the boys. They love muffins. I may try to lower the sugar amount too! I'll let you know how that turns out!

John Piper on the New Calvinism

I watched these videos (will post below) the other day that were on John Piper's blog. There's not a whole lot of information on the convention that John Piper was speaking at. Evidently there is a term that the media/press has coined the New Calvinism. John Piper and two others were invited by the Religious Newswriters Association's annual convention to discuss this. I find it odd that they are calling it New Calvinism, since Calvin just celebrated his 500th birthday. I think they (the press) have labeled it that because it is getting more attention and possibly more are finding Calvin's theology and doctrines to be biblically sound. Therefore maybe it is a new movement that is ages old. My point is not to explain all of that though! :) I just wanted to share these videos because I think they are full of great information. I only watched John Piper's introduction and the Q&A video. The other two panelist have videos on Piper's blog and I hope to watch them when I have time but for now I'm only sharing the two I watched. I hope you'll watch them, even if you're completely turned off by the word Calvinism. And if that describes you, please watch the very end of the Q & A video. I think if I remember correctly it starts around minute 23 or 24. A reporter asks a very great question and John Piper answers it perfectly. I think these videos would be great for someone who doesn't understand what Calvinism means or thinks they understand what it means (it by no means explains everything but it's a good start). And for those who are Reformed, it's a great encouragement.







If for some reason the videos don't show up, here is the link to the videos on Desiring God.

Piper's is the second video and the Q & A is the last.