Organizing... Nesting... Whatever this is...

Well, it has been a few weeks since my last post, but I think about blogging all the time, I just don't always have the energy to do it at the end of the day...  I have to say though, the second trimester I have found a little more energy of late, but when that is gone, my day is done... No matter what time, last night I was in bed and sleeping by 9:30!!  Who goes to bed at 9:30???  But there was no way of making it any further!!

 Hummmm... What has happened over the last few weeks??  I've had a few cake orders that I wasn't expecting, that is always nice.  It seems to happen that way too... Whenever I get a bit discouraged about my business I seem to get interest :D  It can be a bit overwhelming being that things didn't go quite according to my schedule... I had planned to work really hard to establish my business this year and then think about having a baby next year... if that was what Matt and I chose to do... We weren't sure if we were having another one.  We were very content with the stage that Eli is in and enjoying every second with our boy.  Of course we are thrilled to be having another baby, what else could we be??  Being pregnant just kinda turned the blender on high, that's all...  Who would have thought that I would EVER have any kind of a career focus??  I have said since high school that I didn't want to be a career woman, I didn't want to go back to school.  But here I am, with my own business and loving it!!

This is the cake I did a few weeks ago :D it was Homer Simpson (which thankfully you can tell it is Homer) wrestling with a Power Ranger (the original power rangers) in a WWE ring.  Can you guess what the birthday boys favorite things are??  It was a super fun cake to make, but scary as well.  I think that is what I love about cake decorating, I have to challenge what I believe I can do almost every time I make a cake.  I have 3 more orders this weekend too!!  Cupcake for a baby shower, a Birthday Cake and a Cake Tasting!  I am super excited to see my business blossoming without having to spend every waking minute on it!  This is turning into a perfect business to have a family and be able to make money and love what I do while I do it!!  Who knows, maybe one of my kids will join me on it one day!!

What else??  Well I saw my baby move for the first time last Thursday!!  It was really exciting, I was sitting at my desk at work and all of a sudden I looked down and there was a lump sticking out of my tummy!!  I didn't think I was far enough along to experience that just yet, I was much further before I ever saw Eli move... But ya :D I was super excited to see baby "Sweet Pea" move!  (Eli was "Baby Bean" so this one is "Baby Sweet Pea")  Then yesterday Chantelle at my work got to feel the baby (who was once again a lump on my tummy).  That is one part of pregnancy I can honestly say I enjoy!  I love feeling my baby move.  I am usually in awe.  What an awesome experience to have a baby growing inside of you!  And then to see them once they are a few years old running around... To think they started out as a little bean inside your tummy!  What a Miracle life is!!

Now onto the meat of this post!!  We are all caught up on life I think... I'm sure I've missed important things, but that is what I have come up with to write so far... so that's that...  But the organizing bug has bit and I can't get my house organized fast enough!!  I think about the way I can move things, or rearrange things, or get rid of things all day right now!  Last Saturday Matt and I dropped Eli off at his Nana and Grandpas house so that we could work on the Garage!  I was super thrilled to be tackling that job!  It has been nagging at me for about 2 months now!  So the garage is nearly done now!  It is looking awesome!  But while Matt worked on the Garage, I tackled the house!  I made each room in our house (except the drum/junk room) spotless!  They just about sparkled they were soooo clean!  Matt came inside and said he was almost uptight with how clean everything was!  It was just so nice to finally have my house looking like I always want it to look, even if it was only for a day.  But the one thing that I found even more satisfying was the fact that every time I clean a room I am also looking for things that we don't use anymore and it is time to get rid of.  Well there wasn't anything, we are currently using everything we have!!  I can't stand clutter or "collecting" stuff for the sake of having more stuff.  For example, we have 5 blue bins of Christmas decorations and we are determined to keep it at 5 blue bins.  So if we buy more, we will get rid of the ones that no longer have any meaning to us.  So it was very satisfying to see that our house in the year we have lived here we have not filled it up with a bunch of stuff!  I'm sure in a few months I will go through it again and find more stuff to toss or donate, but for now, it feels CLEAN!  I do have a few more closets and cupboards to tackle, and hopefully I will tackle those today!  That is if I can get rid of this light headedness!!  For the past week I have been really dizzy all the time for no reason.  For example, right now I am laying down typing this and every time I move my head it swims like I've been drinking on an empty stomach.  NOT A GOOD FEELING.  Maeg suggested that it could be low blood pressure... maybe, I'll ask my midwife about it at my next appointment.  But in the mean time I am going to try and get on with my organizing life hopefully without falling over or walking into any walls!!

Having A Plan...

So I know it seem really obvious that having a plan would really make life run much smoother... But who would have thought that planning such obvious things like breakfast, lunch and dinner would have such a huge impact on the rest of my day?!?!?  I sure didn't!  I decided last night I wanted to make Matthew a big, restaurant style breakfast this morning.  He works so hard and I like to do something nice on his few days off to make his day more enjoyable... (Cause by the time his day off finally arrives I usually have a very long list of things that NEED to me done, like today the toilet was leaking... OH JOY!  We've been without a toilet for 3 days now... SO THANKFUL FOR HIS DAY OFF TODAY!)  Back to that delishious meal!  We had sunny side up eggs, hashbrowns with fried onions and bacon, butterflied sausage, english muffins and fruit salad!  So yummy... One nice thing about that meal was I was able to get Eli's portion cooling before ours was ready so we were actually able to eat together without Eli getting impatient between bites while mommy blows on his food... And while mommy's food gets stone cold!  Mommy got a hot meal and Eli got a warm meal!  Perfect!  Another bonus, my house got cleaned... I knew exactly what I was making and how long it would all take to make so I was able to clean as I went... Clean kitchens = very happy Manda...  I go crazy if my house is messy.. (so I'm usually crazy these days, but I'm starting to finally get the hang of this house/mommy thing... Just in time to have another baby... Oh the Irony..) 

   Eli's naptime is usually a great time to get stuff done, but on Matts day off we like to just chill and enjoy the quiet time.  When Eli wakes up, he always wakes up hungry and thirsty... And I've found that if I wake him up as opposed to letting him wake himself up he is in a WAY better mood.  But I never seem to get there in time... However today was about planning ahead, so I had his water and snack ready before I woke him up, saving the inevitable meltdown stage of post nap time :D  So instead we got to enjoy some snuggle time and more chill time with a happy Eli.

   Dinner was much the same as breakfast in the planning and execution...  Having a plan for dinner made bedtime so much easier.  Because I had planned dinner and had Eli's cool and ready we all ate at the same time, making dinner time shorter and leaving more time after dinner for playtime!!  All in all planning something as simple as the meals for today I was able to get so much more accomplished.  My house is clean, we had more family time, Eli was in a better mood, I was in a better mood, and I was able to get to bed earlier as well :D  Who would have thought...  So I think I'm going to start planning meals as often as I can and we will see what else falls into place :D

Fitting It All In!!

Well I did it!  Or at least it feels like I did.  I find I usually set too many goals for one day, so even though I didn't get everything on my list done I feel like I did :D  I now have enough chicken stock to last me quite a while.  Now to the endless job of freezing it all in icecube trays :D  I made Chicken Lasagnia!  We had it for dinner tonight, oh sooooo yummy!!  I made a massive pot of Chicken Curry, I did a load of laundry and my kitchen and livingroom are clean :D  One of the highlights of my day however was naptime.  While Eli enjoyed sweet dreams I enjoyed a nice, long soak in a tub with a cup of tea and 2 timtams!!  Oh it was wonderful!  I got out so energized and ready to continue my cooking marathon!!  It is so nice to come to the end of my day and feel no guilt about sitting down and enjoying the evening.  I think when I go on maternity leave this time I will enjoy the free time even more than I did the first time.  I think I am finally starting to understand how to do this Stay At Home Mom thing and enjoy it.  Don't get me wrong, I love being home with my family, but I really missed being in the work environment and feeling like I was contributing to the greater good of the financial household.  But I think after nearly 5 years of marriage I am starting to love the Stay at home idea.  There are so many nice little things I can do for my family with the time I spend at home.  Working full time there simply isn't time (I find anyway) to make healthy, homemade stocks, bake cookies for my family, re-orgainze the linen closet... etc... you get my drift.  And I am finally beginning to realize how important those things are to me, my Hubby and family.  I can't count how many times in recent weeks Matt has come home and exclaimed on how clean the house is, or how nice dinner was, or the fact that I re-organized something.  I am starting to learn the sence of accomplishment that can come from these things.

  Now don't get me wrong, I do still love going to my job twice a week, and I love decorating cakes.  Decorating cakes will be a part of my life for a lot of years to come.  I am just happy to be able to finally be letting go of the security I needed from being out of the house to work.  I am happy that I am finally feeling like what I do at home matters just as much, or more than the money I can bring in by working.  To be able to not be insecure without a job.  Maybe to some of you this sounds silly, that I should have ever felt insecure without a job, but I used my work ethic to define a part of who I was.  Working hard and bringing in that pay cheque was one thing about myself that I was unappoligetically proud of and had been since I was 17 years old.  So when I went on Maternity leave for the first time I flowndered and felt like I had lost a part of myself.  I tried to fill that part of me with mommy things... But in time I realized it wasn't working... So I went back to work 2 days a week.  Ive been back to work nearly a year now and I'm happy to say that when I go on Maternity leave this time it will be with a sence of completion.  I don't need to go and work in an office to define that part of me anymore, I can work at home and enjoy that just as much.  I think it just wasn't the time yet and now I feel I'm done...

A Feeling of Accomplishment!!

Some days come to an end and I actually feel like I got something done that day.  It is rare that I get that feeling on a Tuesday being that I only have a few hours after work, but yesterday was one of those days.  It may have been because by the time I went to bed the livingroom was clean, as was the kitchen, or the fact that I did get a chicken stock made and it smelled awesome...  But I think a major part of that feeling was in fact that I finally, successfully made a curry that tastes AWESOME!!  As long as I have been cooking, which is an long as I've been married, I have been trying every recipe I come across that says "curry" and it never has the flavor I grew up on living next to my Indo-Canadian neighbors!  Once you have had authentic curry, you just can't go back to the "canadian" versions...  Plus, my friend Chris' Mom is one of the most AWESOME cooks I know!  She makes pacoras that are so good you will crave them for weeks after!!  MMMM...  But I digress...  Last night I finally found a curry stew that actually has a nice strong curry flavor!!  And I will be making this again and again and again!!  Here is the recipe, I promise, you won't be disappointed!! (i'm already looking forward to eating it for lunch!!)

2 Tbsp Curry Powder
2 Tbsp Water
1 tsp Cumin
3 cloves of Garlic (I buy the garlic from costco pre-minced so I used 1 Tbsp)
1 tsp Tomato Paste
3/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Large Onion (if you shop at costco like I do then 1/2 of their gargantuan onions should do)
1 Apple Grated
1 Cup Carrots, peeled and chopped into about 1/2 - 1 inch pieces
1 Cup Celery, chopped into about 1/2 - 1 inch pieces
3 Red Potatos, peeled and chopped into about 1/2 - 1 inch pieces
1 - 2 Pounds Chicken, Chopped into pieces or strips (your preference)
1 Cup Chicken Stock (In reality I ended up using closer to about 3 cups cause this does take a while for the veggies to cook and I didn't want it getting super dry... So just watch it and if its getting a bit gluey and the veggies aren't tender then add more and stir it in..  Im sure you know what curry is supposed to look like.

1. Combine the first 7 indredients in a bowl, mix together and then set asside
2. In a Med pan add your Olive Oil and Onion.  Saute until soft.  They don't have to be cooked through as you will be continueing to cook everything together
3. Add Chicken and just start to get a bit of color on it.
4. Add Spice Mixture and grated Apple, cooking about 30 seconds (if you find it is starting to stick just add a little of your chicken stock not... just a splash or two.
5. Add your Carrots, Celery and Potatos, coat in spice mixture quickly (really you could add whatever veggies you like, I was thinking peas and cauliflower would have been awesome in this too!)
6. Add Chicken stock and combine well
7. Cover and Simmer until chicken is cooked through and potatos are to desired doneness adding more chicken stock as needed. 
8. Just before serving sprinkle a bit of Lemon Juice over the whole thing.  It just helps to brighten the flavors!
9. Serve over rice with Nann Bread!!  Delish!! 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did, I think I am going to make this again today just to put it in my freezer for one of those curry craving days!  Seriously, Matt loved it so much he said we don't have to buy indian food anymore! Now just to learn how to make pakoras and Nann bread!  And I'll be all set!  Oh and I suppose butter chicken is a staple as well.  Anyone have a good Butter Chicken recipe they want to share?  I'm sure matt would be thrilled!

Another nice thing about last night was I actually relaxed, and I didn't do anything!!  I watched American Idol!!  Well, I was thinking about the stock I had cooking in the other room, but there was nothing I could do about it so I was able to just sit back, chill and enjoy the show!

I'm loving this new attitude I've adopted of being pro-active about my day!  I already have today all planned and I'm looking forward to attacking it with gusto! 

• I'm going to freeze the chicken stock in ice cube trays.  Then I know each cube is 2 Tbsp. (if you've made your own baby food you already know this :D)  it is just so conveinet to be able to reach into a ziplock bag and grab your stock.  Yes, I know, Im a dork, but I love knowing that I'm grabbing reduced sodium chicken stock that has NO MSG!! 
• I'm going to make more curry and freeze it.
• I'm going to shred the chicken I cooked in my stock last night and assemble chipotle chicken pizzas for my feezer, chicken toquitos for the freezer, chicken lasagnia for the freezer!
• I'm going to make more chicken stock.
• I'm going to do 1 - 2 loads of laundry
• And most important, I'm going to chill with my little boy and maybe play trains... or dinosaurs!!  My favorite part of day!

I love knowing that I got things done, but more that that, I love making my little boy feel loved and like he is important in my busy life!  There's nothing that stands out in my mind more than when I would come home from school and my mom had made cookies just for us (being a twin I could never say just for me... :D) or when she would make us playdough and play with us or when she made homemade bubbles and we would try and make bubbles as big as hers!  Somehow our impatient little spirts of blowing always popped the bubbles and mom would have a monster of a bubble!  These memories make me realize it wasn't what we were doing that was important, it was that mom wanted to take the time to do it with us that mattered.  We played bubbles many, many times on our own, but it was always that much better if mom was there to play with us!  So even though that was the last thing on my list, it is the most important thing on my list!!  And I so look forward to playing today :D

Never Quite As Planned...

Well, does the day ever really go how you planned it to go?  If it does, please share your secret with me, cause I don't ever seem to be on plan A, B, or C!  But alas, I suppose this is how we learn to be flexible and creative.  I try to remember not to beat myself up for not accomplishing everything I set out to that day and instead relish in the fact that it was a productive day and most importantly, I made my son laugh today!  How soon I forget how important those little moments in life are!  Today, while tackling the ENORMOUS pile of laundry needing folding, Eli was sitting on my bed playing quite contently with the new bad of... diapers.  Go figure, but that was WAY more fun than anything else don't you know!  Pulling each neat, slim, perfectly packaged diaper out of the bag was awesome!!  But hey, it wasn't my folded laundry, so I'll count my blessings there... Then he saw them... They were calling his name!  He had to play with them!  Nothing else would do, EVER!  Unmatched Socks!!  Oh the joy that comes from unmatched socks!! You can throw them, you can fling them, and best of all, you can use them in place of Nun-chucks!!  Ninjas ain't got nothin' on this 1.5 year old!  No kidding, he probably spent a good 30 minutes just flinging them around... And the energy he burned while doing that, well lets just say that sock nun-chucks may just become a new bedtime routine!!  It was so much fun watching him find such joy in such simple things... until he wanted to start in on my folded towels... 

  Anyway, as to my goals for today, My room is 3/4 organized, I went to Costco and Save-On-Foods, I put the groceries away...Cleaned out my fridge (mom, that was for your benefit, however, Maeg, since you re-organized it for me it has been way easier to do that on a regular basis!  Thanks!!)   And I have many more plans :D
  Tomorrow after work I will come home, get a chicken stock in the works... figure out dinner... chill with my awesome boys... and then I think I will schedule some much needed chill time!  Seriously, that needs to be scheduled these days!  I remember a time that I was actually bored... HA!  What I would give to be "bored"... I don't think I actually could be anymore.  Maybe with a 3 year vacation or something... But life just has way too many lemons to be made into lemonade these days!  Maybe I'll take a bath and plan freezer meals at the same time!  Does that defeat the relaxing part?  I do enjoy planning meals though.  I think its because I don't enjoy cooking.  If I can come up with an idea that requires me to cook less I find that so exciting.  (yup, need more excitement in this life)
  Anyway, that was my update.  I'll let you know how that all works out... who knows, maybe I'll be too tired when I get home from work to do anything... But, there's always Wednesday!!
(what do you know, only 5 spelling errors!  Well 7if you include Maeg's name, but I usually don't count that ;D)

Once Upon A Time...

Well, where to begin... I suppose I will start with I can't spell, and my English teacher in grade twelve told me to "invest in a new bag of commas, they aren't that expensive."  That is all I will say of my grammar :D  But if you can read phonetically, you should be just fine... If the bad spelling and grammar really erk you I would suggest you stop reading right now and find another blog to satisfy your blog craving.  You've been sufficiently warned.  (hey, spell check... this may not be so bad! oh, 3 spelling errors already... ha ha, well at least I'm not in denial about my spelling abilities)
  So the purpose of this blog is really for my own motivation, I find it really hard to set a goal and stick to it.  So this is my attempt to be more proactive in my life.  I don't want to look back over my day and wonder what I did with it.  So, my goals for today...
-Organize my Bedroom
-Organize my deep freezer and inventory it.
-Go to Costco
-Start my freezer meals
I want to start doing freezer meals again because working part time, starting a business, and being a mom are pretty time consuming and meals get neglected far too easy.  Plus I'm a sodium freak!  I can't stand how much sodium is in processed and fast food!!  Sodium seems to be the sneaky bad guy in so many premade foods.  So if I have more freezer meals then I won't be tempted to go out or order in!!  Also crock pot meals!!  I found this girl who blogged 365 days of crock pot meals!  Seriously check her out if you want some really creative crock pot ideas!  She used her crock pot every day for an entire year and there are some AWESOME recipes!  Even breakfast ideas!!  I had no clue you can do breakfast in the crock pot!!  I'm so excited!  That means Matt and I can have breakfast ready for when we leave for work in the morning!!  No more Timmies bagels or Buckies sandwiches for this girl!!

Anyway, so that is my rather all over the place blog, but that is how my mind works.  It is always spinning, even when I'm thinking "nothing" I'm thinking something...
Looking forward to blogging again, even if it is only to an audience of 1 :D Moi!!