Thankful, 1 Day Later

Ok, so I missed posting this on the actual day of Thanksgiving, but it's not because I was busy & just didn't get around to it. No, it was only because I'm trying to make a point that we should be thankful on days other than Thanksgiving too. Right. Who believes me? =)

I know a lot of people get all sentimental around this time of year, stating all the cliché things they're thankful for. I mean, that's great, but I get tired of reading the same old lists. So, I've been thinking over the past few weeks about the things I am most thankful for in my life. A real list. Things I actually thank God for on a regular basis, not things I think I should be thankful for. I hope you can spend some time thinking about those things in your life you really are thankful for, & if you don't already, start thanking God for those things on a regular basis!

• I'm amazed & grateful beyond words for salvation. I know that faith is a touchy topic, & many people get uncomfortable when you say your religion is the one true answer, but I can't express how much my soul believes in God and just knows that He is loving & the God of eternity. I didn't always believe this strongly, but God came into my life & changed me. I'm thankful He did that, & I pray eagerly that you will allow Him to change you too. I'm thankful that Jesus was more than a "good man" & He died on the cross so that I don't have to. I'm thankful God doesn't want us to follow a list of rules, but that He just wants us to give Him our lives. I'm thankful God wants my joy & He doesn't sit in Heaven waiting to zap me when I make a mistake. I'm thankful that He loves me (and you) in a way that no one else can yet He gives me people who love me temporarily until I reach Heaven. I'm thankful for faith.

"If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, & believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

• I'm incredibly thankful to not be a single mom. I don't know how they do it. I take care of one baby on my own for 8 hours a day, & I can't imagine doing it solo for another 16. I'm thankful to have a husband who will care for Isaac so I can shower, do my makeup, or even do the dishes! It's really hard to get anything accomplished when you have a baby to care for, and single moms always have a baby to care for. Do you know a single mom? Will you do me a favor & send her some kind of encouragement this week? Maybe just a text, or a note, or a gift, or an offer to babysit, or something to let her know how fabulous she is?

Daddy taking care of Isaac so Mama can get a shower!Just like Daddy

• I'm thankful that I already feel I live in my dream home. The story of how we got here really is amazing & I'm so thankful for every piece! I love my home. It has everything I thought I wanted in a house (well, except a hot tub, but that's something Michael & I will remedy when we can) & I don't feel like we settled at all. I'm thankful for a father in law who built us cabinets so I actually have a pantry, & a beautiful kitchen island. I'm thankful that Michael's workout equipment isn't in the living room. I'm thankful for a reading nook, walk in closet, & attached bathroom in our master bedroom. I'm thankful for our fireplace. I'm thankful for a beautiful red deck & garden area that will hopefully produce food for us next year. I'm thankful to have 4 bedrooms. I'm thankful the sewer line is fixed & we will hopefully never have to deal with that again. I'm thankful that God saved this house for us. I believe that wholeheartedly. This beautiful home was on the market for about 6 months before we came along, & we got it for a great price. I realize that a house does not run standard for young families in our country or around the world, so everyday I am thankful.

Our new PANTRY! And kitchen island! Thanks to my very talented father-in-law

Our beautiful home!

• Ok, this one might sound cliché, but I am so thankful for a handsome, healthy, sweet baby boy. I look at him when we're snuggling & my heart just cries out to God in thankfulness. He gave us this child easily (not all couples have an easy time getting pregnant), He blessed my pregnancy (no morning sickness, full term, no complications) and birth (read the story here). Now we have a wonderfully healthy boy who is growing quickly, has no major illnesses or medical concerns, sleeps well, is not grouchy (most of the time), & who rarely cries. Not to mention he's the cutest baby EVER! Sorry everyone-who's-ever-had-a-baby-boy, I win. :-)

Isaac Alexander - Thanksgiving 2012

• I'm thankful to be free from debt (except our mortgage). I'm thankful for my great grandmother who was financially responsible throughout her life so she could bless those she left behind. I'm thankful for parents who taught me the value of a dollar & made me work to earn money! I'm thankful to not have my hands tied to a credit card company or minimum payments. I know we're lucky, & we're among the few young couples who aren't tied down by debt, so for that I'm very grateful!

• I'm thankful for the Colorado sunshine. Everything gets better when the sun's out.

View from the park near our house

• I'm thankful for chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
• I'm thankful for yoga pants.
• I'm thankful for Jimmy Needham.
• I'm thankful for the color pink. It's just so awesome!
• I'm thankful for Payton Manning.
• I'm thankful for Calvary Church.
• I'm thankful for the obvious: Amazing husband, loving family, authentic friendships.
• I'm thankful for the crock pot.
• I'm thankful for 28 years & counting.
• I'm thankful for Thanksgiving.
• I'm thankful for you.

Love to everyone & Happy Black Friday!

Confessions of a First Time Mom: Month 1

Alright, people, it's time to get real here. I have some confessions to make. I am now the mother of a beautiful son, & thank God he's survived a month. (Don't worry Grandmas, each day I get more & more confident I can keep him alive.) But, the first month has been nothing like I expected- it's been better & worse than I thought it could ever be! I thought while it's still fresh, I'll try to set the record straight on the first month of mommyhood. I do acknowledge, however, that each baby, mom, & family is different, so what has been true for me may not be true for everybody!

1. Your baby is attached to you constantly... in a good way. You don't go more than a few hours without holding him, feeding him, changing him, etc. He can't survive without you, & that's kind of cool. This little being is so dependent on you & you have to learn to be attentive to his needs before anything else. It's a good lesson in selflessness, but also brings feelings of pride that this little child needs you.
Confession: I adore my son. He makes me happy in a way nothing else can.

2. Your baby is attached to you constantly... in a bad way. Ok, I know this doesn't really make sense. And it's not really bad, but, there are times when you want your body to yourself like you used to have. You were perfectly happy watching TV or doing whatever you were busy with, & you may not want to sit down & nurse, or change diapers, or walk around with a fussy baby. But you have to (see #1). I think this is just called parenthood. Giving up what you want to be attentive & caring for your children. Huh. Now's a good time to say thanks to my mom & dad.
Confession: There have been times when I don't want to feed my baby. I have almost outright refused to feed him... AGAIN...

3. Breastfeeding is HARD and anyone who tells you "it's natural," or, "you'll get used to it," or, "your baby knows what to do," or anything else remotely similar, is a LIAR. Oh man oh man I was NOT prepared for the realities of breastfeeding. Before Isaac, we were told many of those awesome little tidbits of advice above, & I will tell you now, from experience, none of them are true! It's not natural in the sense that your baby is born knowing how to suck, but as far as getting attached correctly, both you & your baby have to learn. You don't just wait & "get used to it." You're telling me I should get used to toe-curling pain, blisters on my nipples (sorry, tmi??), soreness?!? Ok, ok I'll stop there (oh but there's more...). If I were just to wait it out until I was used to it, I would have switched to formula feeding within the first week. You have to get help & support. Friends who have breastfed, support groups (I started going to a La Leche League support group which has been awesome!), & talk to your partner so he can be supportive. Without those things, I totally get why women give up breastfeeding & go to the bottle. But, I will say, having gotten over the first month, I am so incredibly glad that we have made the decision to breastfeed. It is such a special time & gives me such satisfaction to watch our little man grow & thrive. 
Confession: I understand why moms switch to formula. Breastfeeding is unnaturally hard. Freaking hard.

4. My previous love & adoration for my puppy Grizzly was quickly forgotten. Sorry, Grizz. He became more of a nuisance to me than my sweet cuddly puppy. I found myself getting frustrated with him & just wanting him out of the way. He became a fleeting thought as I was adjusting to this new role. I know as Isaac gets older, Grizzly will get more & more (maybe unwanted) attention, but right now it's hard to give him the love & attention he is so used to! I hope this doesn't happen to Isaac if we have a second child...Well anyways, we've slowly repaired our relationship & are getting back to the way things used to be, but I surprised myself how neglectful I became with him! :-(
Confession: I may have forgotten to feed my dog once. Or twice. Oops.

5. Post delivery belly is like a strange blob full of unstretched stretch marks & something that resembles pudding. It's not exactly attractive, & sure doesn't help you feel good about yourself. It's hard to accept you don't have the midsection you used to, even if people say you look good ("Ya, compared to 9 months pregnant? Thanks."). I'll get around to that exercise routine eventually. I'll start eating healthy once people stop bringing us meals & buying us takeout. My advice? Don't look. Always keep clothes on.
Confession: I tried on my pre-pregnancy jeans. They don't fit. Gah. I know, I know.

6. There's this thing that comes out in the first month, my mama friend Amanda calls it the 'Mama Bear Instinct.' I swore I wouldn't be one of those moms who is uptight about people holding her baby & won't let him be touched by dirty hands, and whatever. Well, at least in the first month, I am that mom! Don't touch him. No let me have him. I'm his mom. No you can't hold him. Especially when he was fussy, I'm protective of my time with him. I enjoy time with just him, I retreat to quiet places to be with him, I get stressed out when he's fussing in someone else's arms, & I honestly prefer to have him close to me. Since we humans are made to do this parenting thing together, as a couple, this doesn't really apply to Michael. But anyone else? Watch out! I'm a mama bear & this is my cub & I will protect him at all costs! Sorry if you were one growled at by Mama Bear!
Confession: I often wear Isaac in a sling, for many reasons, but one being so others can't hold him. I can't believe I'm confessing to that! 

This is my "No you can't hold him, touch him or take him from me" stance. :)

7. I do some things "they" say I shouldn't. There are so many so-called experts out there that will tell you what you should or shouldn't do to be a good mom. I never knew how many parenting experts there were out there! The interesting thing is that in parenting advice, there seems to be only those who camp out on the extremes. Let your baby cry it out, vs. Never let your baby cry. Pacifiers are recommended vs. Pacifiers will cause your baby to never nurse again. Don't ever rock your baby to sleep vs. Let your child sleep with you. There is so much advice out there, so many opinions, & honestly, a lot of guilt-tripping. Well you know what?? Screw you all. Ok, not really, but... really. I drink Diet Coke, I've had a pina colada, I let my son sleep with us when he's fussy, he uses a pacifier, & I've probably done many more things the "experts" say are going to seriously screw up my child. We'll see about that.
Confession: I don't miss a morning of coffee, full of the creamer made of high fructose corn syrup & fake sugar that supposedly causes cancer.

Oh my gosh, don't EVER let your child sleep on the couch!!

8. My house is a mess. When you come over, we clean it up real quick right before. Otherwise, I don't have time or really care to clean up. No pictures for this one. :)

9. I haven't cooked a meal since Isaac has been born. We've had many people bless us with meals (THANK YOU!) but on those days there are no delivered meals, we have anything from frozen pizzas to leftover food my mother in law made for us (dang, that's all gone) to something random from the pantry. Michael has cooked a few times. I'll get around to that next month.
 
So, there are my confessions. Hopefully none too bad for you to stop reading this blog. But if you do, you're not my type of reader anyways. :) Overall, having a child changes your world in a way nothing else ever will. Most things are good, some things don't really matter, & others are hard. We can't be afraid to say this time isn't easy, that we need help, that you can now keep your opinion to yourself. No one is perfect, no one's plan will result in a perfect child, & when it all comes down to it, we just need to be love & respect each other.

I plan to keep track & try to do this on a monthly basis, so check back in next month for part 2!

Happy one month birthday, Isaac!

He's smiling!! :D

Isaac's Birth Story

I'm alive! And guess what? So is our son! Our baby boy Isaac Alexander was born on 10/11/12 at 1:23pm. He weighed 6 lbs 8.8oz & was 19 inches long.

Since we planned a pretty unconventional childbirth, I'm sure there are people wondering how it all went. At least, I would be curious. Did it go as planned? How was the pain? How long was labor? Did you end up getting an epidural? Well, no, bad, about 19 hours, and no. If that's all you want to know, you can stop reading. For those of you who want a few more details, keep reading...

On Tuesday October 9th, I had an appointment with my midwives to try to figure out some natural ways to coax this boy into coming out. I was getting a little worried, he was almost 2 weeks late, & they would only give us until Friday evening before they handed us over to the hospital to be induced. So, at the appointment with the midwives, they put in a tube they call "The Balloon." It's a tube with 2 reservoirs, one that goes right inside the uterus & one right outside, which then are both filled with water. This puts pressure on the cervix to start opening up, hopefully inducing contractions & starting labor. They also gave me Cottonwood Root, which I was to take every 15 minutes. Contractions started that evening, which was promising. They were pretty regular, about every 4-6 minutes. By that time Michael was home from work, so we watched Lord of the Rings & tried to relax. We went to bed as normal to try to rest as much as possible. Sadly, around 3am, the contractions completely stopped & didn't seem to be starting again on their own. This baby just did not want to come out! 

Around noon on Wednesday, after a morning of no contractions, the midwives instructed me to take out "The Balloon" & they suggested I take castor oil. They had given it to me at our appointment the day before, with the hopes I wouldn't have to use it, but, alas, if I wanted to deliver at the Birth Center, it seemed to be our last hope. I remember the midwife saying, "You don't have to take it, but doing so will greatly increase your chances of delivering here." I did not want to drink castor oil, but the last thing I wanted was to be admitted to the hospital to be put on pitocin. The day that would happen was quickly approaching, so I decided I'd do whatever it took to get Nemo out on time! I took 2oz of castor oil, just like a shot, with Powerade as my choice of chaser. I can't describe it well, because just thinking about it makes me gag, but it was... an awful experience. It wasn't the taste, but the thick texture made it hard for my body to decide if I should chew or just swallow. Ew. It was nasty. I got my 2oz down with minor gagging, then we sat back to wait.

A few hours later, the castor oil started doing it's work. If you don't know how castor oil is supposed to work, basically it's a digestive stimulant, shall we call it, that is supposed to trigger contractions. Well, it worked. Around 6pm I started getting regular, consistent contractions. I was able to sit on our exercise ball & just rock through most of them. Soon, though, I had to get up & start moving around during the contractions, which were quickly getting stronger. Michael called our doula, Erica, who came over around 9pm. I don't remember a lot of what happened while she was at our house, but Michael said I cried when the contractions got intense, & at that time Erica decided we needed a change of scenery. We called the birth center & soon we were headed in. I do remember getting some last minute things together, saying good bye to Grizzly, & having a moment of thinking, 'Oh my gosh, this is real. What are we doing?'

We arrived at Mountain Midwifery Birth Center around midnight. The midwife checked me & said I was 5cm dilated. Yes! Part of me expected to hear a 2 or 3, since they prepare you to be disappointed at that first check. Things progressed really well, and around 5am I was 9cm & preparing to push! I remember thinking, "this kid could be born the same time I was-5:32am- if things keep going this quickly." That's one of the few things I remember clearly, oddly enough. Then the story turns... The midwives found I had a lip of my cervix that wasn't allowing it to open 100% for Nemo to start coming down the birth canal. They thought that maybe if I started to push it would open the rest of the way. Turns out that was a bad idea. Pushing when I wasn't fully dilated caused my cervix to swell. Now there was no way Nemo was coming out until the swelling went down & I was fully dilated at 10cm. So by this point, it was about 6am on October 11th, I was 9cm dilated with a swollen cervix, & contractions had considerably slowed down. For the next 6 hours, we did everything to decrease the swelling & get to 10cm. This included:

• Getting in the tub
• Walking up & down stairs
• Sitting backwards on the toilet
• Walking
• Doing squats to force him down (OUCH!!!)
• Taking more Cottonwood Root & other herbal tinctures
• Resting through contractions on the bed (sounds nice & peaceful but actually sucks!)
• Hanging from a sling attached to the ceiling
• Sitting on a birth stool

And, you guessed it, nothing worked. Not to mention, sometime after the pushing fiasco, Nemo got turned funny so he wasn't in the best position either. This meant a lot of back pain in between contractions. One thing I vividly remember is that the only person I wanted massaging my back was Michael. No one else could touch me. What a man. =)

I remember sitting on the toilet thinking, 'How long can this go on? When is it time to start thinking of other options?' We went back into our room & had a talk with our midwife, Melissa. She said she believed I could give birth vaginally, but we had pretty much exhausted all the resources at the birth center & I was a pretty good candidate for transfer to the hospital. At that point, I was so tired & grouchy, I had been 9 cm for about 7 hours, & I was fully open to heading to the hospital for an epidural so I could rest. I thought I would be disappointed with a transfer, but I was so ready for something to change that I was actually eager to go. My thought at that point was, 'Ok, how long will this take?'

We drove over to Swedish Hospital around noon, & I settled quickly into a delivery room. They hooked me up to monitors & gave me the tube to start the IV. One of the nurses said it would be about 15 minutes for the epidural, & I remember whining a bit like a child at that point. She said she could get some other pain meds in me before then, & I calmed down a bit. At that time, I was on my side holding onto the bed handle for dear life. Suddenly I could feel a contraction coming & I may have started to cry before I actually felt it, but this one was different. I had some normal contraction pain, but near the end I felt this new sensation that a bowling ball was coming out of my butt & I just couldn't help but try to push it out. I hadn't felt this type of contraction before! I saw my doula & midwife look at each other with a curious look. They eagerly suggested that I be checked again & sure enough, I was 10 cm dilated & Nemo was on his way out! Like a movie, the nurses quickly prepared the room for a delivery instead of an epidural. They got Dr. Hall, who we had met once previously, and within a few minutes I was pushing again with the next contraction. In all, I pushed through probably 4 contractions, maybe about 20 minutes, & out came Nemo!

So we did end up with our unmedicated birth, although it didn't quite happen the way we envisioned. But everything happened just the way it was supposed to, & our little man Isaac is now here. It's true what people say about labor: you really do forget a lot of the pain. I remember being in pain, but I can't necessarily bring myself back to what it was like. I do remember thinking at one point, 'Ok, now I understand why women get epidurals.' I even mentioned to Michael that I'm not sure I would do a natural birth again the next time around. Haha, I guess we'll have to wait and see on that one. If I learned one thing, it's this: If you're stuck in labor, take a drive. 

Regardless of how it happened, our experience, and our baby boy, are both perfect! I clung to this verse throughout our experience, & can see now how perfectly it fits with what labor & childbirth is like.

John 16:21 says "A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world."

We thank God on a daily basis for such a wonderful, perfect, beautiful, precious blessing. We are so unworthy of this gift, but pray hard that we will be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us for this short time we live on earth. Yay for babies!

What a woman looks like after a REAL labor! No makeup, awful hair. But look at my happy baby. All worth it. =)

Happy little family

Daddy & Son

 

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I want to tell you a story about a little girl, a lover of tea parties, dress up, all things pink, & her daddy. Let's call her Katie. Your typical little girl, Katie grew up playing Barbies & soccer, with all the excitement & love for life that children posses. Katie grew into a beautiful young woman with the intelligence & drive that would take anyone as far as they could imagine. She went to Prom, graduated high school with honors, & went on to study human services at her local college. After graduation & finding that first job, she settled into her own place & began to really consider her future. She imagined the day of her wedding: the beautiful ring her husband would present to her, what her dress might look like, all the guests that would make it a party to remember. She then thought about her first home, having a child, and caring for her family. She had these desires deep in her heart & like most of us at that age, assumed that someday she would experience all this. 

Then, unexpectedly, at a routine doctor's visit, she's told that she has breast cancer. What? Are you joking? She's thinking, 'I'm 27!!!!! This is impossible!' This isn't supposed to happen to young, beautiful, promising women!

Katie was right, breast cancer isn't supposed to happen. But you know what? It does. Over the last year, I've learned that cancer doesn't have limitations. It doesn't care who it takes, who it invades, it just does. A beautiful, young (28), compassionate mother & wife named Erika passed earlier this year from an aggressive form of cancer. Another beautiful, young, caring woman named Jennie has been battling this evil disease for a few years now. It's not fair. These women had dreams, desires, & visions for their lives when they were little girls, like Katie. No one thinks their life will be the statistic.

At this very moment, while I sit here in anticipation of having a child, hundreds of women sit in their homes contemplating if they'll make it another day. If the treatment will be effective. If the insurance company will cover the cost of their chemo drugs. How long this cancer will let them live.

What can we do?

Pray!
"...pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." ~James 5:16
 
...for God to intervene

"The voice of the Lord is powerful." ~Psalm 29:4

"Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power.
    He will rule with a powerful arm.
    See, he brings his reward with him as he comes

  He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
    He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart." ~Isaiah 40:10-11

...for doctors & researchers

"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession & thanksgiving be made for all people- for kings & all those in authority... This is good, & pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved & to come to a knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:1-4

 
...for those fighting

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being." Ephesians 3:16

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" ~Jeremiah 29:11

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." ~Psalm 34:18

Give!
Any amount is helpful if we pool our resources. Instead of buying a pink boa or pink tool set that benefits cancer research, why not donate directly to an organization that is funding research that is making a difference?
 Join Me!

Be a part of the HOW Study
You can help be a part of the research! By participating in this study, all you have to do is complete various questionnaires over time & you can help researchers get a better idea of the causes of cancer. Check it out and join me here!

Let's join together as women, for women who need encouragement, support & a cure! What part will you take in this fight?

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month 
  

 

Overdue...

Yesterday was supposed to be Nemo's birthday, but apparently we have a son who's already rebellious! We can have until October 13th before we have to be induced, so there's plenty of time left for Nemo to decide he wants to come on his own. We're hoping sooner rather than later but it's pretty much up to him! To celebrate what should have been his birthday, I wanted to post all our pregnancy pictures. We took one picture a month, except for month 1, when we were probably still in shock so we didn't get a picture taken. =) Hopefully next time I update this blog it will be because Nemo has been born!!

February 29th

March 29th

April 29th

May 29th (I think we were actually a few weeks delayed on this one, but close enough)

June 29th

July 29th

August 29th

September 29th

We're so ready for this boy to come! Can't wait to update with pictures of a baby instead of a belly!

Freezer Meals!

With Baby Nemo fast approaching his due date (t-minus 4 days people!!) I knew I needed to somehow prepare for the chaos that I know will be post-baby. I wanted to prepare our home in a way that would allow us to have healthy, homemade meals as much as possible after Nemo is born, even when I don't feel like cooking. Trust me, I'll find any excuse to eat out, but 1) I know our budget won't allow for a take out free-for-all for long, and 2) I'm going to want to lose weight, not gain it. So how does one plan for healthy, homemade meals when you know your life is going to be flipped up side down??

One word: PINTEREST! Thank God for you, pinterest. If you haven't checked it out, you should, but one word of caution- it's addicting!

A few friends had pinned links to blogs that outlined the process of putting together freezer meals. Basically, you combine a bunch of ingredients in a gallon plastic bag, freeze it, pull it out of the freezer the night before, & slow cook it all day for an easy, pre-made meal. Sounds like a perfect solution for sleep deprived, hungry, distracted new parents! 

So I roped my friend Amanda in to come over for a few hours & help me. She had done freezer meals before for her family, & she even is now running freezer meal workshops through her Wildtree business, so I figured, who better to help a rookie? 

Here's how I did my first round of freezer meals, recipes, & suggestions on how to improve. Maybe next time you'll join me!

Step 1: Grocery List Prep
First I found all the recipes I wanted to use. I found 10 recipes that made a total of 18 meals.

Slow Cooked Beef Fajitas
Shredded Mexican Beef (I used a pork roast because it's cheaper)
Jambalaya
Teriyaki Chicken, Lazy Day Stew, Stephanie's Goulash, and Sausage & Peppers came from here
Chicken Cacciatore, Pepper Steak, and Taco Soup came from here

I then put together a very large grocery list, careful to check my pantry & freezer for ingredients I already had.

Step 2: Grocery Store
I would plan to go to the store the day before you plan to put all your meals together. It's a big trip & you'll probably buy a lot of meat, so be prepared for a big bill!

Step 3: Label Bags & Put in Meat
*Do this step the day you get home from the store.

The first thing you'll want to do is label your bags with directions for cooking day, while the bags are empty & easy to write on. :-)

Add the meat to each bag. The reason I would do this the night before is, 1) The meat from the store will be thawed. You don't want to defrost frozen meat to put it in your bags, then freeze it again. Yikes! 2) The day of preparation, you won't have to work with raw meat, spices, veggies & canned food all together. Get the raw meat outta there, just do it the night before! Store all those bags on their own shelf in the fridge overnight.

MEAT!!!

Step 4: Set Up Your Stations
Get out your ingredients & set them into groups:
~Bags with recipes
~Spices with measuring spoons
~Veggies with a big cutting board & chef's knife
~Canned food w/ can opener

My stations weren't as organized as I would like, but next time they will be!

See my hot chocolate on the stove? Who can make it through freezer cooking without hot chocolate??

Step 5: Fill Bags!
I didn't do it this way, but next time I would take a bag & recipe & walk around & fill up with ingredients at each station. After each bag is full, seal & mix up, then it goes directly in the freezer. Thankfully Amanda chopped most of the veggies, which was a HUGE help. If you can get together with a friend to do this, most recipes make 2 bags- split the cost & you each go home with one! Having a friend to help chop saved a lot of time!

Some completed meals!

The meals take up the entire bottom shelf of our standing freezer!

Step 6: Thank those who helped you!!!
Thanks to Amanda & her precious son, Jonathan, for their help on Freezer Meal Day!

 

I plan to continue to do freezer meals even after Nemo is born. I think I'll get more efficient over time & there are so many recipes out there! How nice it will be to have meals ready to go with basically no effort when you need it! Have any of you done freezer meals? Any additional suggestions or recipes you love? Do share!

Who Will You Vote For?

Are you planning to vote in November? I truly hope you do. More so, I hope you vote with confidence & an accurate picture of who you're voting for. These days, nobody can turn on the tv, radio, or even Pandora without hearing all these political ads. We all know the election is coming up, but what we all might not know is exactly what these politicians stand for. We listen to these commercials, but each one seems contradictory & exaggerated. One says Mitt Romney will raise taxes, the next says Obamacare will cause a rise in taxes. One says Romney is going to outlaw birth control, the next says Obama kills cats for fun (okay I may have made that up). But seriously, please don't use political commercials as a source for choosing how to vote. So how do you know who to vote for?

Good question. And honestly, I'm still undecided as to how I will vote, even after the time I spent writing this blog.  After many days of research & exploring the vast world of the Internet, I've come up with each major candidate's viewpoints (sorry to all those 3rd party candidates out there). These are what I consider to be the main things I am concerned about this election. I left out things like Immigration, Gun Control, Energy & the Environment, & Foreign Policy. These are all important as well, but my brain hurts from collecting just this information. I really am trying to be unbiased, & I tried to use websites that were (at least read them in an unbiased way), but please feel free to tell me where I'm wrong or complain about my inaccuracies in the comments section. Hey, it's politics- if you can't take some criticism, get out! 

  Taxes    
~Obama: 
-Individuals: Tax the wealthy between 30-39.6%, raise taxes on capital gains & dividends for the wealthy while reducing their available tax deductions, tax the highest-value insurance plans
-Businesses: Reduce corporate tax rate to 28%, tax a corporation's foreign profits, offer businesses a tax credit to move operations to the US, no deductions for businesses that shift operations abroad
~Romney: 
-Individuals: Tax the wealthy approx 28%, the poorest at 8%, reflecting a 20% cut for all Americans in their current marginal tax rate, eliminate taxes on interest, dividends & capital gains (only if you earn less than $200,000/year), eliminate the death tax
-Businesses: Reduce corporate income tax rate to 25%
*The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has expressed doubt that Romney's plan can all be done at once (think: adjustments may have to be made in his policy to actually be implemented- but isn't that true across the board for both candidates?)

"Tax experts say the US budget deficit can't be fixed solely by taxing the rich more, but that doing so could put a meaningful dent in the red ink." 

 
  Jobs & Economy  
~Obama: Invest more federal funds into unemployment benefits, advance & promote public jobs like teachers, construction workers, police, small businesses, auto industry workers, & manufacturing (offering federal loans seems to be his way of investing in these areas), tax penalties for companies that outsource jobs, raise minimum wage (said that last campaign but nothing has happened yet)
~Romney: Less government involvement in job sector, offer automatic permanent residency to graduates with advanced degrees in math, science & engineering, develop more international trade deals (open new trade markets for American goods & services), crack down on fair trade with China (make it work for US), reduce corporate tax rate to 25%, would not raise minimum wage



   Health Care  
~Obama:  
-Private Insurance: Offer tax credits to individuals to supplement the cost of premiums (beginning 2014), take away lifetime caps on what insurance companies will pay for someone (they can't just stop paying for treatment when someone reaches a certain dollar limit in their lifetime), free preventative care for all (ex: mammograms, blood pressure tests, childhood immunizations), require all Americans to have some form of health coverage (public or private) & offer federal subsidies to those who cannot afford premiums, not allow insurance companies to deny coverage based on a pre-existing condition (ex: HIV/AIDS)
-Medicare: Offer many of the same free services (preventative care, lower premiums), keep Medicare until at least 2026 (it is going bankrupt)
-Medicaid: Expand the program (for a household of 3, you would qualify if you make $76,000/year or less) 
~Romney:  
-Private Insurance: Allow individual states the power to vote for a health care reform plan for themselves by offering waivers for each state to not participate in Obamacare, allow HSAs to help cover premiums, offer a tax break to those who buy an individual health policy, allow insurance companies to deny coverage based on a pre-existing condition (as they currently can) but only for those who have not maintained continuous coverage (ex: someone with HIV who had no insurance for a time then buys a private policy can be denied coverage)
-Medicare: Implement a "premium support" system, where the government would give seniors a certain amount of money to be used to buy insurance
-Medicaid: Turn much of the federal funding into lump-sum payments (to states to disburse, I'm guessing? Not much info here)
 * Romney's plan claims it will create more competition among private insurance companies to drive down the cost of premiums

Disclaimer: President Obama inherited a $10.6 trillion national debt

   Debt  
~Obama: Cut the deficit $4 trillion in the next 10 years by investing in education, research & technology to strengthen the economy long-term, make the wealthy pay higher taxes, strengthen Medicare & Medicaid by cracking down on fraud (would lead to less government spending in that area), end the wars/involvement in the Middle East & use the savings to reduce the deficit, his plan depends on raising taxes to help pay down the deficit (estimated $1.5 trillion in higher taxes, mostly on wealthy)
-Federal Spending Goal: 22% of GDP, however the last 2 years it's been at about 24%
~Romney: Eliminate $100 million in foreign aid, cap Medicaid spending, opposed to most bailout policies (auto industry, for ex), lower federal employee compensation to be more equal to that of the private sector & reduce the federal workforce (Romney's website states this will save $47 billion), repeal Davis-Bacon act dealing with protecting labor unions (saving $11 billion), privatize Amtrak (saving $1.6 billion), cut arts & humanities subsidies (saving $600 million)
-Federal Spending Goal: Below 20% of GDP (but where will the cuts be? Romeny's plan isn't clear), immediately cut spending by 5% across the board (but again, where from?)




  Abortion & Women's Rights  
~Obama: Pro-choice on abortion, giving women the right to choose, continue to fund Planned Parenthood, require insurance plans to fully cover birth control, breastfeeding supplies, mammograms, prenatal care, domestic violence screenings & certain cancer screenings
~Romney: Pro-life, but through voting each state could determine their own abortion laws, [from what I read both Romney & Ryan allow for exceptions of rape, incest, & threat to the life of the mother, unlike the commercials may tell you], end federal funding for "abortion advocates" like Planned Parenthood, would not require insurance companies to cover contraception 100% [from what I understand, you could still get birth control with a copay, similar to the way many women do now, but it may not be free as it would under Obamacare. It seems Romney isn't opposed to birth control nor does it sound like he would limit access to most forms, just those like the morning after pill or some IUDs that prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, because Romney believes life begins at conception. Sorry if I'm seeming a little biased here, but those commercials [see one here] stating that women's health issues "haven't faced a crisis like this in decades", saying Romney is "dangerous" for women, & that he's going to take away basic healthcare, have just stuck out as absurd to me. Regardless of who I end up voting for, I think these commercials are ridiculous & very dramatic!]



  Education  
Hard to find drastic differences in K-12 education policies, in that both believe education to be very important & would like our students to be smarter...Duh.
~Obama: Allow individual states to create their own plans for educational reform, created "Race for the Top" which awarded states money for implementing programs & policies Obama supports, would increase funding to the US Department of Labor by 2.5%
-Higher Education: Create a tax credit for higher education students worth $10,000 over 4 years, offer more Pell-Grants to lower income students
 

~Romney: Hold high expectations for teachers, accountability for schools (plain speak: standardized tests) & increased parental choice (like charter schools), require schools to make standardized test results public, decrease the size of the US Department of Labor, while governor of Massachusetts Romney defended a requirement that high school seniors had to pass a "rigorous" test in order to graduate
-Higher Education: Work with private sources to offer more financial assistance to students instead of using federal funds, like Pell-Grants (Obama)

  Gay Marriage  
~Obama: Believes same sex couples should be able to get legally married
~Romney: Preserve traditional marriage as a federal policy (one of the few issues Romney doesn't believe should be left up to each state), except in the case of civil unions, where Romney says states should be left to decide what rights & benefits would be allowable under civil unions, would not seek to ban openly gay military members


     If you asked me to summarize (why, thanks for asking), Romney is more about letting individual states decide on many issues, while Obama is more about federal policies (the national government makes a decision & all states follow those policies). 
     Also, Obama would spend more federal money on various programs, but would have to have a way to make more money. In order to spend money, we need revenue, which is typically through higher taxes. 
     Romney would cut federal spending (less federal funds for programs) but lower taxes. Which mindset is right? That's up to you to decide.
      
[Sources:]
Obama website
Romney website
Christian Science Monitor
The Sacramento Bee


So, there you have it. A brief, incomplete, probably inaccurate in places, attempt to summarize the promises of the two main candidates in this year's election. There is so much more to making this decision. We have a responsibility to be informed voters. Please don't use your "gut," or vote strictly based on what political party you belong to, or put your mark next to the guy whose name sounds the best on election day. I encourage you to do your own research, watch the debates (and really listen!), & sort out who you believe to be the best candidate to lead our country for the next four years. It's a cheesy statement, but your vote really does count!

And remember, God is ultimately in control of our country regardless of who is on the "throne" of America. We can take comfort in knowing no matter what's going on in politics, God is our King & has power over all.
"The Lord has established his throne in heaven, & his kingdom rules over all." ~Psalm 103:19