The Active Family

I know it’s a weird topic to shout to the world, but I’m just that excited. I found the BEST airfares for the first week in december, so I called her up and both her and her husband were able to get the week off for a visit.

I am excited to see my sister again, I haven’t seen her since April, but I am REALLY excited to see her husband. I haven’t seen him in 3 years! He doesn’t get to come to the east coast very often due to his job, and the last time she came out, he was completing his CDL training and couldn’t get the time. He’s such a great guy, and he has never met the baby, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

I haven’t told the kids yet, I plan on making it a big surprise! How much fun will THAT be??!!

It’s that time of year again! All three of my kiddos are sporting red noses and have the sniffles. I had to break out my arsenal of cold remedies to help them out of their collective funks.

Obviously there are a few common sense things we do around here to help prevent colds. The kids dress warmly, even when they don’t want to. We wash our hands CONSTANTLY. I am notorious for randomly shouting out “Clean Em Up!” and the kids scurry to the bathroom to wash. (All those years as a dental assistant, I am a NUT about clean hands!)

I also make sure the kids spend at least a little time outdoors, even when it is cold out. I am a big supporter of fresh air, and I think a little bit does everyone a world of good. I keep the house fairly cool, and my kids wear layers and slippers all winter long.

I have found a couple of drugstore items that are must haves for the cold season. I try not to give my kids too much medication, but there are some things I keep in my arsenal to keep them comfortable.

• Ocean Gel- This is a must. It ranks right up there with soft tissues. The Ocean gel comes in a tube and is a gel that you use to soothe sore noses. I begin using it on the kids as soon as the runny noses start, and it keeps the moisture in and provides a barrier to avoid the raw nose that hurts so much! Worth Every Penny!
• Dimetapp Get Better Bear- These lollipops have zinc as an ingredient, which is said to decrease the time you are affected by a cold. Whether or not that works, I don’t know. All I know is that when my kids start to get scratchy throats, I give them one of these. There isn’t a ton of excess sugar, the flavors are kid friendly, and they definitely help with scratchy throats.
• ColdMD- I don’t use this for the kids, but I love it for myself! It is an herbal remedy for shortening the length of your cold. Works like Zicam, but I’ve noticed a difference between the two and I prefer this brand. It is a tiny little tab, and it dissolves on your tongue with a peppermint flavor. Again, whether it works or it has a placebo effect, I don’t care. I feel better after a day of taking these!

So there are a few of my tricks. I hope they help your family this cold season! Remember that washing your hands frequently works to AVOID the cold and flu, as does disinfecting door knobs and keyboards throughout the week. Get MEAN with those Clorox Wipes!

Then comes Marriage……

My sister has been married for 4 years this November, and they have finally decided to start trying for a baby!! I never thought I’d see this day, they, like many other young couples, insisted they didn’t want children, and would adopt if they decided later.

Well lately my sister has had a nasty case of baby brain. It’s all she can think about, so if she is anything like me she will be pregnant the next time he sneezes. It seems like the moment I started thinking about baby stuff, I’d be pregnant within weeks!

I’ve been so excited at the thought of being an auntie, but I haven’t been dwelling on it in case she changes her mind. Then the other day she called me up and asked me about baby names!! I thought this was her way of breaking the big news to me, but alas, they are just putting the cart before the horse…

I gave her some ideas, none of which she liked. Of course. Then she managed to surprise me again! She sent me an email with baby bedding! I’m not kidding here people…she is already working on a painting for the nursery.

SHE IS NOT EVEN PREGNANT YET!!!I’m afraid to tell her to slow down. I am afraid she is setting herself up for disappointment if she doesn’t get pregnant easily. In fact, they can’t even start TRYING yet until she has the go ahead from her doctor.

Any words of wisdom here? I was a fertile mertyl, so I hope she has as easy a time, but what if she doesn’t? It will be awfully hard to help her from the other side of the country.

I noticed that recently hedy mentioned her FSA (Federal Savings Account) being underfunded this past year. We also ran into that issue as we had not accounted for our daughter being admitted to the hospital twice, and we also made some poor decisions about our health insurance.

The hospital visits you can’t help, but this year we will be putting aside a little bit more to cover the cost of at least one emergency room copay. With 3 kids and a diabetic husband, chances are fairly good I’ll be seeing the inside of Caritas this year. :smirk:

Since we ended up using our entire FSA account by MAY we decided to sit down the other night and really think about how to best utilize this opportunity in the coming year.

We broke down our medical expenses, and added up what would be eligible for FSA use. Last year we allocated only $800. This year, it added up to over $3000!!!

Talk about sticker shock.  We wrote down all the prescription copays, probable doctor visits, our health insurance deductibles, and the whopping bill for our son to get his braces. All told, the $3000 amount will take approximately $115 out of the biweekly paychecks that my husband gets.

Since the money that is put into FSA’s is a “use it or lose it” situation, I had to have a plan B for some of that money. I know I can restock our medicine cabinet with some, I can get more contact lenses, and my husband can always get prescription sunglasses, if there is that much left.

All told, FSAs are a fantastic option for those who have more than a few medical expenses. The money is pretax, and it is easy to use. It is reasuring to know that you have this money at the ready in case of emergencies. If you have one available through your employer, take a good look at it. Only put in what you know you will use each year, and have a contingency plan for the money if you don’t use it all.

I hope this has helped some with the FSA decision. Happy to answer any questions!!

It’s been a long time since I have had time off from work, aside from just the normal “not on the schedule” day during the week.

I decided to keep the weekend off after we canceled our vacation. My husband kept his vacation days too, so it was nice to have him home all week. We had a wedding to go to, and my mom still took the kids for the weekend. It felt REALLY good to a have a few adult only days, though we still missed the kids.

The wedding was fun too, we are really good friends with the couple, and they had us over to their suite after the fun was done. I helped the bride pack up (they recieved the most GORGEOUS Zero Halliburton luggage as a gift…me wants!!!) and my husband watched college football with the groom. It felt so good to decompress with good friends and be invited to share such a special day with them. It made us feel especially good when they both told us how they admire us, and they look toward our marriage as a sort of inspiration to them. Can you think of anything nicer to hear???

My hubby and I also were able to go out to dinner Friday night, to Uno’s Pizzaria. It has been a really long time since I’ve been to one, and this one was pretty upscale! We were impressed with the decor and the seating, plush leather seats. I was especially impressed with the menu, as there were TONS of vegetarian friendly dishes on there, and they were labeled as such. It was really nice to be able to order without grilling the waiter on the possible meat content.

My mom brought the kids home this afternoon, so I was able to sleep in, relax on the couch, read a book!!!(gasp..I almost forgot how!) and eat lunch all by myself. It was heaven.

Back to reality I guess. It’s an awfully good thing I love my life!!!!

I have a TON of stuff that I am in the process of selling right now, and it struck me that I’m probably getting less than half now than I would have this time last year. I have a bunch on both ebay and craigslist, but items are going for cheap money, and I am barely clearing fees in some cases.

Obviously people are cutting back their spending. I was just surprised by how much. For high end items I start out with the bare minimum I will accept, and most of the time I take a few dollars off that. I will have a ton of watchers, a few snipers, and really low bids. Obviously people are doing everything they can to get great deals, it just surprised me that the bids stop when they do.

I do have a lot of things to put on Craigslist, therefore eliminating the fees, but at the same time it requires a lot more work and a much smaller audience. What other options do I have?

Hey, cut me some slack…it IS still Fall! I tried really hard to get a head start on this in the final days of summer, but I’m still trying to get caught up on all the work that needs to be done around here.

I have to go through the kids clothes again, the baby had a bit of a growth spurt and jumped up a size in about a month! Livvy is growing faster than stretch armstrong, so I needed to buy her some new pants, and I’ll need to skim out the old ones. Chris is holding pretty steady, poor kid, I’m sure he’ll hit a growth period soon though.

I also (crazy me) took a TON of clothes from my friend’s storage unit, to put on eBay for him. My living room is over run with clothing, and I still have 3 totes downstairs to process!

I don’t understand why my house is so dusty, either. Obviously the stupid vinyl miniblinds attract dust like magnets, so I am pretty fanatical about popping some old socks on my hands and running around my house dusting everything from the mantle to the football trophies.

I prefer to keep to a fairly strict schedule for cleaning. The living room gets picked up every day, as does the kitchen, the beds get stripped on Wednesdays, the bathroom is scrubbed on Thursdays. I do the heavy duty cleaning of the kitchen on Mondays, and laundry is relegated to every other day. If I did laundry every day it wouldn’t pile up, but I’d go crazy!

Do you have a schedule for cleaning? I tell my husband that there is no way I’d want a large house. I can barely keep up with a 3 bedroom apartment!!

I am lucky to have a gym really close to where I live and work. It is within walking distance to my house, and directly across the street from my job. My husband has a membership, but I’ve been holding off, since I was waiting to see if the town was going ahead with YMCA plans, which they didn’t.

So now I am putting serious thought into joining a gym so I have a warm place to workout during the winter months, as working out at home gets boring really quickly. Juat down the road a little there is a HUGE new gym being built, and this one will have a swimming pool! I absolutely love swimming, so this is a big plus for me. It is too far to walk to, but I think the pros outweigh that con. I went down to the office today and applied to work in the childcare area. If I get the job, I will get a free membership, I can bring my youngest with me, and I’ll get free babysitting for him while I get to work out!!

As a SAHM, this is creme. I’ll get a little extra cash to help increase our income, I’ll get a gym membership, AND I’ll get to bring the boy, which will save me big on childcare. If you are looking for a little extra income, I highly recommend you look into this opportunity! Not many jobs will actually MAKE you money and SAVE you money at the same time!

I’ve been getting comments lately that I “look like I’ve lost weight!” Who doesn’t LOVE to hear that? I haven’t been doing anything more than I have all year, it just seems like my shape is starting to peek through now.

Normally after the compliment, I get the question…”what have you been doing?” The answer is the same one that no one likes to hear. I eat right and exercise. That’s it! I mostly get eye rolls and a laugh, but it’s true. I don’t even work out every day! I’ll be the first to admit I’m a lazy couch potato. My laptop is set up right in front of my cozy spot on the couch and I plant it for hours a day, doing my online thing.

I don’t use fad diet tricks, diet pills or extreme exercise regimens. I TRY to keep my calories lower than what I expend (note the whole TRY), not to mention becoming a vegetarian, which I personally feel was key. On the days I don’t exercise as much, I snack on veggies, protein and keep the carbs low. On my exercise days, I allow myself more calories, including a couple of those mini fun size chocolates. Without my chocolate I am less of a woman!!

Anyway, this rambling post is meant to be a little inspirational. Work hard, and you will one day find that your body starts working for you! Set small goals, eat healthy, natural foods, and fit exercise into your normal schedule. Make baby steps and stick to them, you WILL lose the weight.

Tonight on the menu was baked potato soup. My baked potato soup has all the elements of mom’s but less fat and fewer calories. It certainly packs a punch in the taste department!

This potato soup isn’t exactly a quick recipe, it takes a little care to get right, but it is worth every minute. Making a basic roux is essential, and be prepared to stand at the stove for a little bit to get the base juuuuuuustt right.

Start off with a bunch of baked potatoes. I prefer red myself, and I scrubbed them, popped them into the oven just as they are, resting on a piece of foil. I let them hang out in there for an hour or so, until they are tender, not squishy soft. (think potato salad soft)

After they are done, I let them sit out for a bit to cool enough to handle. I peel the skin off, not caring about little slivers left on. Cube it into bite sized pieces and let them hang out on the cutting board. Begin your roux with butter and flour.

Wait.

I know you are questioning the whole butter thing. My thought is, use the real butter, and save the calories elsewhere, using low fat/no fat milk, and non fat sour cream. The real butter is key to the roux, and the roux is key to the soup.

Begin by melting the butter (about 2-3 tbs, depending on servings needed) in a big pot. Take care not to brown the butter, just melt it. Whisk in tiny bits of flour, stirring rapidly, adding just enough flour to make a thick sauce. You want to keep stirring over medium/low heat until the sauce thickens and bubbles. It will be the consistency of loose toothpaste. Begin adding the milk a little at a time, stirring like mad. Keep adding milk and letting the sauce thicken until you have used approximately 7 cups of milk.

Meanwhile, slice and dice a small onion or shallot. Soften in a skillet or the microwave. Add the onion to the sauce, add the potatos, and season to taste with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Continue to stir making sure you scrape the bottom so the sauce doesn’t scald on the bottom. The soup should have a nice consistency, chowder-like. If it is too thick, you can add a splash or two of vegetable stock, or chicken stock if you aren’t vegetarian.

For a finishing touch, stir in 1/2 to 1 cup of non fat sour cream, stirring to combine. Take off the heat, and serve. I like to top mine with a salad topper, I think it is by McCormick. It has “faken bacon” and lots of tasty little bits to add some dimension to the soup. My husband likes a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, and the kids like a little shredded cheddar on top.

This recipe will easily serve 6-8 people, so adjust it as you like. As you can tell, I cook mostly by sight and taste, so if you are in need of specifics, please leave me a note and I’ll do my best to accomodate. It would give me a good excuse to make it again!!!