Life Goes On

It's March, and I can hardly believe it.  My babies are 10 weeks old today.  The last couple of nights they have gone 5.5 hours between feedings.  That translates into me getting about 4.5 hours of sleep at once.  I have more of a routine these days.  If I didn't have a schedule, nothing would happen around here.  I'll share it with you though it may bore you to tears.

6:30-7  Wake up and feed the babies (usually).
7-8  Nursing, Burping, Diaper Changing
8  Lay the babies down for naps
8-8:30  Get ready for the day and eat breakfast
8:30-9 Clean up the kitchen and dining room, empty and load the dishwasher, start a load of laundry
9-10  Homeschool
10-11  Nursing, Burping, Diaper Changing
11 Lay the babies down for naps
11-12  Move laundry to dryer, do meal prep for dinner, prepare lunch
12-12:30 Lunch
12:30  Clean up after lunch and get Lucy ready for nap
1--Lay Lucy down for a nap and put her back in bed numerous times
1-2 Nursing, Burping, Diaper Changing
2-4 Somedays I nap, others I crochet or get online, or I watch BBC movies on Netflix (closest thing to "me" time I have)
3--Give kids snacks
4-5 Nursing, Burping, Diaper Changing
5-6 Do whatever needs to be done to ensure dinner is ready by 6.
6-6:30 Dinner
6:30-7 Clean up after dinner
7 Nursing, Burping, Diaper Changing
7-8 Occasional baths, Dave gets the big kids ready for bed and plays.
8-8:30 Showers for me and Dave
8:30-10 We watch TV or Arrested Development on Netflix (or whatever movie we're watching for our project)
10 Nursing, Burping Diaper Changing
3-4 Nursing, Burping Diaper Changing

And it goes on and on.  This is my life.  Thankfully, I don't mind it; it keeps me sane.  It's not easy caring for three kids and newborn twins, but it CAN be done!

So, if you wonder how I do it all, there's my schedule.  I don't clean my house (I hired a VERY reasonably priced housekeeper who comes every other week, and I recently had a friend who is helping on the off week so that it doesn't get too out of hand).  I'm so thankful I am able to do this.  If I wasn't able, I am sure Dave and I would just bust our tails on the weekends.

Life goes on.  People say, "I don't know how you do it."  It's just like any other difficult thing in life--you just DO IT.  We do it because we love these kids--if you don't do it, that's called neglect!!!  You just do what you have to do.  It could be a lot harder, and I am thankful for how smooth it has been so far.  And so you know, you don't have to do it like somebody else--you have got to find your own rhythm.  This is what works for us right now.

Ask me in a couple of months, and I'm sure even this will have changed.

We're surviving.  And perhaps it is premature, but I think thriving is around the corner.

Snow and Crockpots

I had a moment, so I thought I would blog a bit.

We've had major snow here. I think we got 9"--that's huge for our area. We never usually get more than 4". I love being at home, but I love it even more when it snows. I haven't felt "cabin fever" or any of that. I'm sure it has something to do with a) living in the country already and being used to staying at home and b) having newborn twins and not wanting to go anywhere anyways!

I'm cooking these days since I've used up most of the frozen meals I had. I'm still dairy-free, caffeine-free, and chocolate-free. I've needed to find meals that fit my diet and my husband's (South Beach--low carb). But, on top of our dietary needs, I have needed to find FAST, EASY, and DELICIOUS meals--a lot to ask for, I know. I have turned to my trusty crockpot. It has been great. I am using recipes from this blog--A Year of Slow-Cooking. I love it!

Here are a few of the recipes we are trying:

Peanut Butter Chicken (loved it)
Indian Chicken (will substitute the cream with coconut milk)
Chicken Enchilada Chili
Thai Beef

Let me know if you have any recipes that fit my criteria!

Just checkin' in.

Wish I had more to say. I am checking in to say, "Hello!" and then I will disappear again for a bit.

I am really tired. My friend, Tina, helped me make up five different meals today, and we did double portions and froze half. I am EXHAUSTED. It was really wonderful though, both to see her and visit and get so much accomplished today.

I think I am going to hold off on extra cooking for now. I'm too big to be on my feet for this long at a time. I am estimating that I have about 17 meals in my deep freeze for now. This will come in handy once the delivered meals have ended.

I am feeling alright. I have made it to 34 weeks today. I am praying for 3 more. I slept better last night than I have in awhile. The boys moved somehow off of my pelvis and I don't feel as much pain there. That is a blessing. I go to the doctor, ultrasound, and midwife on Monday, so I'll have more news then as to how things are going. I appreciate your prayers.

Well, it is time for me to go supervise the kids as they clean up their room. The house helpers will come tomorrow; I can't wait. I am going to kick back.

Adios!

I Need YOUR Expertise!

I am contemplating spending a day in the kitchen (hopefully with some friends) cooking and freezing meals to fill my freezer for the zombie days ahead. It's not really an apocalyptic thing, I just know that the friends delivering meals thing won't last forever. Sigh.

So, here's what I need from YOU:

• Any food freezing tips
• What kind of containers do you use?
• Do you thaw food prior to cooking it or do you cook it frozen?
• What about soups? How do you thaw/reheat those?
• Is it better to have completely cooked a meal before freezing it or partially?
• Anything else you can think of?
  
• How long should a meal stay in the freezer?
• Any special products that have made food freezing better for you?

I am not much of a food freezer. We typically eat leftovers for days if a meal made too much for us. I am hoping to start freezing those leftovers as well to add to our stores (plus I'm a little tired of leftovers!). I have cooked up ground meat and frozen that ahead of time as well as onions, peppers, that sort of thing.

Any advice in this department is appreciated!!!!

Humpday Run--Couch to 5k

Wednesday, I did 5 min walk, 8 min run, 5 min walk. It was hard, but it wasn't too bad. Week 4 is shaping up nicely; it's next week that I'm worried about. The intensity level picks up a bit. Pressing on!

I saw the rottweilers again. This time they growled and nipped at my dog. I kept running. I love my dog, but I will not sacrifice my life for him! He just let them sniff and then joined me a few moments later. Seriously need to get that pepper spray...

I'm short on coffee this morning. I don't have anything AMAZING to rant about. I do, however, feel that my momentum with my house is wearing thin. I have been working so hard the last few weeks to keep my house looking great. I love how it looks, but it gets messy so fast--kids, meals, tracking in dirt from outdoors, and the like. I am worn out. I work most of the day cooking and cleaning.

I have two sewing projects and two crochet projects yet to finish. It's hard to set aside the time to do them when I'm constantly cleaning up my house. So, to those of you who are waiting on these dear gifts from me, I am trying to finish them!!!

I have no wit today. I'm going to brew a pot of coffee. I'm sure it will help a little.