Saving time...saving money

I am constantly on a quest to save time, save money, cut corners...with 4 little kids and a home to take care of, it keeps me busy. I have started coupon clipping, sale shopping, stockpiling. I never head to the grocery store without a list, a plan, a stack of coupons. I was able to shave 47 percent off of my grocery bill at my last trip and have spent only $71 this week for groceries when our budget is $150 a week. I am starting to feel more successful in the planning of meals around sales and maximizing my savings by stocking up when something is on a great sale.
Our newest challenge is to not buy restaurant food for an entire month. We enjoy having a meal 'in' once a week or once a payday (depending on money). We do take our children out to restaurants on occasion, but if you can imagine, it isn't the most enjoyable, even though they are well behaved when we do take them out. We typically stick to a pizza night, or if the kids have been good, we will indulge them in McDonalds, even though we usually pass on that meal. So, last night, we took advantage of pizza night because we had nothing to make for dinner. Pizza Hut has this great deal...any large, any toppings, $10. Not too bad. So, last night was it for us...today is day one of no eating out for a month (28 days).
Do I think we can do this? Absolutely. I just have to stay on top of our meal plans and discuss food options with the kids and what they are interested in eating. And, while I do enjoy having a night off of cooking or cleaning up a meal, I really enjoy making meals and knowing how little they cost to put together versus eating out for a family of 6. Plus, when we make our own food, I am able to make enough and have leftovers. Tonight, for instance, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. I bought the tenderloin a few weeks ago and froze it. This will give us 4-6 meals. I will make it all up today, freeze 1/2 of it tonight and save it for a few weeks from now if we are strapped for money. At that point, it won't feel like we just ate it. I was able to get the tenderloin for $5 on sale, picked up a $2 bottle of BBQ sauce, a 2 liter of Root Beer for 75 cents (use 12 oz. to cook the tenderloin in via crock pot), $2 for 2 packs of buns, $2.50 for a bag of potatoes that will last 2 weeks, Green Giant boxed veggies that I was able to get for 54 cents this week. So, an entire meal 4-6 times over for $13 (mind you, when it is used for leftovers, we eat with chips, fruit or veggies, but alas, the main portion of the meal is less than $13, which is less than what we would spend at any fast food or pizza place, without the extent of leftovers). So, the challenge begins today and I really feel we will be successful.

Tsunami, Tsunami, Tsunami

I have not had a night with a dream in it since I was pregnant with the babies...so, almost 2 years ago. But, last night, I had the strangest dream (well, actually, it was this morning, because Adam said good-bye to me right as I was coming out of the dream). We were on the beach at a beach house. I really have no clue where this was at...it was unfamiliar. The sun was beating down on us...we were all playing in the sand. Suddenly, the sun was not on us and I look up. There is a huge wave (tsunami) blocking the sun. I know it is ready to break. I am terrified. I feel the water beating down on me and instinct takes over. I grab on to Gretchen and Delaney, Adam grabs on to Hadley and Addison was out of our reach. He gets washed away. We start searching for him as the water recedes and find him standing on a sand bar, completely unharmed.
Now, I have always had a conscious fear of drowning. I just cannot imagine not being able to breathe, knowing that time was limited. This dream caught me off guard, completely. Once I was awake and able to fully process it, I realized that I was glad that I didn't live near a beach and that I was safe in my own bed, as were all of my children.
So, I did a bit of research. I came across this in a dream dictionary...
Tidal waves or tsunamis suggest that you may be in a period of emotional upheaval. Anxiety, stress, and unconscious materials may be coming to the surface and affecting your daily moods. Giant tidal waves from your dream may be symbolic of current emotional unhappiness and psychological stress that may be threatening to destroy or uproot you. The outcome of this dream could reveal to you how much strength you have to "ride out" this storm. If you are not consumed, or you survived the tidal waves of your dream, be assured that you will survive the challenges of life and living.
I think this is all pretty precise. I have been dealing with some 'road' questions...which path to take, which will be the best bet for my family and our happiness. It is so interesting that my conscious fear, a fear I have not thought of consciously since this summer, manifested into a dream fear, yet with a positive outcome. I have been chewing over some tougher choices recently...my close friends know what I am talking about, and it has really had me in an emotional tailspin. I ask so little of people in my daily life...honesty, trust, truthfulness. I have been shown that these are not the goals of others, and it really bothered me. However, today, after this tsunami dream, I feel less anxious about all of the minute details, finally able to focus on what is truly important to me.
I find it telling that giant tidal waves represent current emotional unhappiness...I am happy with the blessing I have, unhappy with those that have taken an easier way in life by cheating, and am now able to allow my blessings to foster my true life and leave the less inviting aspects of life exactly where they belong in my life...
Thank you, to my true friends. You know who you are and what you mean to me.

Long time...

I have not posted in quite some time...I think over a year. I have been immersed in motherhood...potty trained the older girls, got through a really rough battle of holding issues (potty related) with one of them, nursed 2 babies until they were over 1 year old, and did this all with very little outside help. I like doing things with very little outside help. It just works for me.
So, the kids are doing great. Absolutely. The older girls start preschool this week and I couldn't be more proud of them. They are both excited and are taking this new adventure in stride. While I believe that they are both socially and academically where they should be (or perhaps a bit more advanced), I think this will be a really great transitional step for them leading into kindergarten. Plus, who doesn't want or need more friends, right?
The babies are amazing. Addison is quite the little flirt of a man...and is either seriously happy for screaming mad (he doesn't cry, just yells). Delaney is a climber and gets into everything that she can figure out (it took her about 15 seconds yesterday to climb on top of our dining room table). But, she is oh so smart. You can see it in her eyes. She figures everything out.
Adam and I are doing well. We are gearing up to celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary this winter and I think we have greatness in our future. We love where we are in life right now, love our children, love our neighbors, love our neighborhood, love our supporters and do our best daily to find honest and loving people with which to surround ourselves.
I am going to be taking this blog in a different direction, still blogging as a mom of 4 kids, a mom of 2 sets of twins, a stay at home mom, but also tackling some of the tougher parts of life. I have always imagined writing a book at some point and perhaps this will be a good springboard to gather my ideas.
So, in closing today, I want to remind everyone to treat others the way you want to be treated and to live an honest life.

I am still here...

and really busy!

Sorry that it has been so long since I have updated. I can sit here and give a million reasons why I haven't been on recently and most of them would be true, but it really boils down to the fact that I would rather spend time staring at my beautiful babies and chasing my ornery toddlers than online. And, there hasn't been much to update...lots of dirty diapers to change, lots of feeding, and limited sleep time. But, let me see if I can wrap it up neatly.

The past two weeks have been consumed by watching the Olympics and enjoying the last few weeks of summer before Adam heads back to work. Now that he is back, I have run the ship on my own, and while there are hairy moments, I feel 90% confident in my abilities to balance this insanity! I am working on that other 10%, don't worry!

Nursing took a lot of work. A LOT! Anyone that says nursing is easy is perfectly mistaken. It takes a strong woman to stick with it and I am so proud to say that after all of the struggles, I have finally made it to the point of knowledge that I can and will nurse my babies for their first year of life. For the first 6 weeks, it was one feed at a time and many moments that I wanted to throw in the towel (especially during the growth spurts where I was feeding babies every other hour for an hour total). I can successfully tandem feed without any help (except for an army of pillows).

Addison and Delaney are absolutely amazing little babies. They are starting to coo and smile. It really makes the middle of the night feeds more enjoyable. Hadley and Gretchen are growing into such strong, independent little girls. It is really amazing and scary how quickly time is going these days. To think...Hadley and Gretchen will start kindergarten in 2 years. We definitely enjoy every day around here and count our blessings.

Off to feed some babies. Hope this finds all of you well.

Update...

Wow...a week has gone by since my last update. Here is where we are at these days.
Hadley and Gretchen still want nothing to do with potty training. Yep. 4 kids in diapers. Not fun! :)
Addison and Delaney will be 4 weeks old tomorrow! 4 weeks?!?!?! What in the world! Time really does fly! I took some great pictures of all 4 kids today and will update later (hopefully tonight, or maybe next week). The babies are growing like weeds.
I am still breastfeeding. It has definitely been a challenge. I won't go into all of the issues on here, but I definitely think that this experience has taught me the most about myself, about what I am willing to do for my family and about all women that breastfeed. It definitely is not a leisurely stroll through the park, especially nursing two babies that are always hungry! :) But, it is worth every second of the struggle!
Adam is home for a few more weeks. Very sad to see him go. Trying to figure out how the balance will work around here!
Screaming baby...more later!

A few pictures...

from the past few weeks...

Our expanding family...

Goofy face time...

Delaney, wide awake...

Hadley and Addison at the beginning of nap time.

Addison, wide awake...

Gretchen and her ghost drawings.

Snuggle time...aww!

Good news...

So, I just successfully tandem nursed the twins for the first time today. I had tried it out a few times before, but this was the first successful feeding (no back-up needed). What a relief. And, let me tell you...it is going to be a time saver!!! So, Addison and Delaney are 2 and 1/2 weeks old...pretty good! :) I was even able to remove my hand from the back of their heads so that I could scratch my nose (you always get an itch when your hands are tied up, don't you?) and help reposition them, but for the most part, if they broke their latch, they were able to get right back on! Addison has become a great nurser in the past couple of days and I think they are bringing in enough milk to satisfy them. If not, I am sure my supply will increase drastically now! :) And, let me tell you, tandem feeding is the only way I think a mother of twins can successfully nurse. Granted, I love the alone time with them, nursing them individually, but with two other kids, I really need to feed them in the least amount of time possible...
Tomorrow marks my 40 week due date (wow, that came quickly). I cannot believe it!!! We still don't have a great family picture of the 6 of us (just the one of us leaving the hospital), so perhaps we will convince a family member to come over and take a photo tomorrow of all of us. At the very least, I will post pictures of the babies and I...if I get around to it! :)
Adam and the girls have a cold. We have no idea where it came from, but we are guessing that one of our visitors brought it to us. No bueno, people. If you are sick or feeling off, please stay away from babies! :) Luckily, I am nursing, so that should keep the babies safe, but it still is not fun to have 2 sick toddlers and a sick husband...
That is all for now. The whole family is sleeping, the last load of dirty laundry is in the dryer and I am going to go take a really long, much needed shower! Have a great day, everyone.