The Simple Woman's Daybook

Please feel free to join in by getting details from Peggy: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/




FOR TODAY, Tuesday January 11, 2011.



Outside my window… it's chilly & overcast, it looks like it's going to rain, but there's no rain in the weather forecast

I am thinking… about MOPS--I am turning in my application tomorrow & am told it starts on February 9th.  I am soooo excited!

I am thankful for… my cousin bringing up MOPS & encouraging me to contact another group (since the first group had turned me down)

From the learning rooms… daily Bible study with Lil J, we are back in I Corinthians now (following my church sermons), & still doing Proverbs each day as well

From the kitchen…still LOVING my crock pot & using it almost every day.  :)  For dinner tonight is leftovers from last night, but in the crock pot right now is a cuban flank steak.  My stepdaughter & her boyfriend LOVE Cuban food, so it's mostly for them (hubby & I don't eat beef--well I will eat it on very rare occasions, but hubby never does) & my stepson likes beef, so I'm hoping he'll like it too.  This dish has to be cooked in two stages & takes a very long time to finish, so I'm starting it today & will probably finish it Thursday or Friday.

I am wearing… a black knot top, jeans, & socks

I am creating… I pulled out the crayons yesterday, but he really wasn't very interested, BUT he's not feeling well right now, so maybe that's why

I am going… to turn in my MOPS application tomorrow

I am reading… still haven't finished the 5 love language of your children book, but am also reading some homeschooling magazines

I am hearing… the breeze blowing outside, Lil J is down for his nap

Around the house… today is my laundry marathon, busy, busy, busy

A few of my favorite things…watching a movie with my hubby, reading, cooking

A few plans for the rest of the week: cleaning my house, gotta get some more eggs, gotta turn in my MOPS application

I am praying… for Gideon's saturation week, my church, my govt, my family & lots of friends

I have a new blog

I have started a new blog, where I plan to post recipes & cooking related blogging stuff.  If anyone is interested the URL is: http://leiterfraugutentag.blogspot.com/

This blog will remain here as my main blog that blogs on a wide variety of topics, the other one will be strictly for cooking/recipe blogs.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Please feel free to join in by getting details from Peggy: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

FOR TODAY, Tuesday January 4, 2011.



Outside my window… it's chilly, but gorgeous!!  It rained most of the day yesterday & is so blue & clear today, with a few scattered clouds.

I am thinking… about what I need to put on my grocery shopping list for Thursday

I am thankful for… all that my Lord provides for me & my family, we are soooo blessed :)

From the learning rooms… daily Bible study with Lil J, we are back in I Corinthians now (following my church sermons), & still doing Proverbs each day as well.

From the kitchen…I finally got a crock pot (with a Christmas gift card) late last week; I've been wanting one for YEARS.  It is so awesome & amazing--hubby is LOVING the food that comes out of it & so is Lil J. 

I am wearing… a tan sweater with a tan cami underneath, sweats, & socks

I am creating… gonna pull out the crayons today (or tomorrow, hopefully today) & show Lil J his coloring book once again

I am going… grocery shopping on Thursday.  We need lots of stuff, gotta go to Costco & Mother's Market.

I am reading… the 5 love language of your children book--haven't had time to read lately, so I'm still working on this one

I am hearing… the wind blowing outside, I love the wind, but it's a very chilly wind today!!

Around the house… tomorrow will be my house cleaning day this week

A few of my favorite things…cooking, reading, gardening (I REALLY need to start working on my garden!), playing with Lil J, watching a movie with my hubby

A few plans for the rest of the week: still gotta go to Babies R Us for a bathtub toy organizer, & need to go grocery shopping.

I am praying… for my family to be safe, strong, & healthy always

Merry Christmas & a blessed 2011 to all

I hope everyone had a very merry CHRISTmas & a great new year's eve & new year's day as well.

The economy has not been in our favor for a while now, but we worked really hard to pull off Christmas for the kids.  They each got 2 gifts & they were pretty simple gifts.  Nothing super fancy & expensive, nothing over $100 at least.  I am amazed at how many expensive gadgets abound in this day & age that kids want & see all their friends with.  Christmas could easily cost some folks an outright fortune!  Lil J got a tricycle & a potty chair. 

But lots of family & a couple of friends gave the kids gifts (& me & hubby as well) which was a real blessing. 

Hubby got me clothes & a gift card to buy more clothes.  I desperately need clothes I must say.  I haven't bought any since 2007 (with the excpetion of a few maternity items during my pregnancy in late 2008) & there's plenty I've had to get rid of in my closet cuz it just doesn't fit me right since having a baby. 

Hubby also gave me a gift card to Target & said it was for Lil J.  I asked how much it was for & he said $20 or $25, he couldn't remember (he had actually been given it by a vendor at work, but instead of spending it on himself he knew that Lil J needed some things & he passed it on).  We did still need some things for Lil J so I headed to Target to get those things & when it was rung up it was $48 worth of stuff!  I was panicking in my mind, trying to figure out how to pay for the rest of it.  I handed over the gift card & was digging through my purse looking for my ATM card only to find that it was a $50 gift card & it was all covered, with a dollar & some change to spare.  I can't even put into words how blessed I felt at that moment.  The Lord provided & Lil J got the clothes & things that he needed.  I did buy him a couple of fun things (Veggie Tales Jonah movie-it was on the clearance rack & I've been wanting it for a long time, couldn't pass up the price; color wonder markers & coloring book-I got the smallest & cheapest set I could find; & the rest was pants & necessities).  I am thrilled with the pants I found for him.  They were on the clearance rack.  They are cherokee brand, with the zipper & snap fly.  I love these, but can never spend for them when they are full price.  I always end up buying the cheapie Circo pants, but they don't have a zipper or snap & it makes it really hard to get them on him, to get up over the diaper.  When hubby complains I remind him that these are the $3 pants, we didn't pay for a zipper, LOL.  The Cherokee ones are usually well over $10 in comparison, but I got them on clearance for $5!!  So now we have enough pants for him (8 pairs) to get through a week without doing laundry for him.  (that's a plus with the water bill while we are in drought mode!) & I don't think he'll outgrow them anytime soon.  I would guesstimate that he will grow out of them next winter at the soonest, they might even last longer than that, as they are too long for him right now.  We still have some shorts that should fit him this summer, so that helps too.  We might need a couple of shorts this summer, but aside from that I think we'll be set for the whole rest of the year pretty well now.We definitely have enough shirts to get through the summer.  So I think we'll be set until next winter probably all the way around.

I took the gift card hubby gave me to buy clothes & got a crock pot with it, but it was cheap, so there's still money to buy clothes with.  I just need TIME to go try on clothes & browse & shop.  That's tough to do with a toddler.  But I will give it my best shot as soon as I can.  My stepson is on his Christmas break still & I don't want to go while he's with us & leave him at home alone.  So I will probably be able to make time once he's back in school.  I need to take a look in my closet & see what I really need & prioritize it that way.  Hubby got me 2 pairs of pants, but they didn't look good on me, so we've returned them & I plan to use that money to buy jeans.  I do DESPERATELY need new jeans more than anything else. 

I hope everyone had a blessed holiday season.  Bring on 2011 & I'm praying it's a better year all the way around than the past couple of years have been.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Please feel free to join in by getting details from Peggy: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/



FOR TODAY, Tuesday, December 28, 2010.



Outside my window… it's clear blue skies & in the 60s, very nice weather, but tomorrow is supposed to be heavy rain.  I love all weather really, though the summer heat is my least favorite, mostly I just like VARIETY, so bring on the rain I say!!

I am thinking… about what a great time we had over the Christmas weekend

I am thankful for… My family, friends, & for what a good sport Lil J is

From the learning rooms… daily Bible study with Lil J, we are back in I Corinthians now (following my church sermons), & still doing Proverbs each day as well.

From the kitchen… made stuffed bell peppers last night for dinner & they were a big hit with the fam, even my stepson liked them; tonight planning to make chicken paprikash, hopefully it's a hit too.

I am wearing… a heather grey top with a pink cami under it, jeans, & socks

I am creating… thanks to my brother & sister in law Lil J now has crayons & a coloring book & I've spent a little time showing it to him.  He does color a little each week at church.  So far he hasn't been paying much attention when I try to show him, so I think I need to put him in his booster seat & sit him at the table & show him that way, so he can't run around & be distracted; that's how they do it at church, he's at a table.

I am going… to Babies R Us again, to get something to keep Lil J's bath toys in.  He got bath toys for Christmas & I want to keep them organized in the tub.  I got one at Target, but it has suction cups & suction cups never work in our tub, so I need to return it.

I am reading… the 5 love language of your children book--haven't had time to read lately, so I'm still working on this one
I am hearing… a plane flying over & Lil J playing with his toys

Around the house… yesterday I took down the Christmas tree & all the Christmas decorations in the house

A few of my favorite things…chocolate :)

A few plans for the rest of the week: gotta return the bath toy organizer thing to Target & need to go to Babies R Us to look for one that will work for us, that's about it, we are loaded up good on groceries still

I am praying… that we can stay on our tight budget so that I don't have to return to work outside of the home & I can focus on raising my son & homeschooling him when the time comes

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Please feel free to join in by getting details from Peggy: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/


FOR TODAY, Tuesday, December 21, 2010.



Outside my window… it's been cold & rainy for several days now, I LOOOOVE it!  

I am thinking… about Christmas coming up this weekend

I am thankful for… my family & good friends

From the learning rooms… still daily Bible study with Lil J--doing "Leading Little Ones to God", Proverbs, & the book of Luke this month.  He's still playing around with the keyboard too.

From the kitchen… I need to make some more zucchini bread--wow, I STILL need to do this!  but I also need to go grocery shopping tomorrow, then clean house Thursday, & make Friday a fun/relaxing day for me & Lil J

I am wearing… a blue henley with light blue cami under, jeans, socks

I am creating… I've been focusing on creating Christmas traditions, does that count?  I think it does.  I have been reading the Christmas story in Luke on my own for many years now.  Last year I read it to Joseph on Christmas morning & then I sang Happy Birthday to Jesus as well.  This year I added on reading the book of Luke this whole month.  There are 24 chapters in the book of Luke, so we read one each day starting on December 1st & finish up on Christmas eve.  Then on Christmas morning we go back & read the Christmas Story in Luke.  And I think I'm also going to have a bday cake for Jesus as well, at least a cupcake or something like that.  I LOVE traditions.  It didn't seem like we had very many as I growing up, I had always wished we had more, but those that we did have I loved.

I am going… to Babies R Us tomorrow to look for a bath tub mat & to look at sippy cups.  Lil J is much too big for his bath tub.  It said "newborn to toddler" on it, but his legs are too cramped at this point.  So I am planning to get a slip=proof mat to put down in the tub & just bathe him in the tub.  I also want to look at sippy cups.  I want to try once again to switch him to another brand, a brand that he can't break so easily.  He bites his nuby cups & breaks the no leak valve on them & we are spending way too much money on sippy cups because of this.  I tried once before to switch him, but the ones I got were really hard to get the drink out & he hated them & I gave up.

I am reading…  the 5 love language of your children book--haven't had time to read lately, so I'm still working on this one

I am hearing… my stepson eat lunch & watch TV

Around the house… my stepson is on Christmas break from school, a full 3 week break, feeding him adds to my already busy day with Lil J

A few of my favorite things…going for walks, sipping hot chocolate in front of a fire, reading a good book

A few plans for the rest of the week: Babies R Us & grocery shopping.  I'm going to try to get all the groceries tomorrow, but I have 4 grocery stops I need to make, it might have to get split into tomorrow & Thursday

I am praying… for our legal battles (we got rid of one but gained another), for our family, for my stepson going through the teen years, so tough, & for lots of friends & family members

20 month updates on Lil J

So Lil J is now 20 months old.  It feels like he is getting so close to being 2 now.  He now weighs 28.4 lbs (50-75%), he is  34" tall (50-75%), & has a head circumference of  20" (>95%).  He still weighs the same as last month, & he's been looking thin to me, a tad too thin.  But in the last couple of weeks he has become a bit of a bottomless pit, which I am happy about & I just let him eat & eat until he is full.  In the past I have seen others with toddlers & they say how much their toddler can eat & I've always wondered why Lil J wasn't like that, he barely ate anything at all.  I guess it's just timing & now his time has arrived, LOL. 

As soon as he turned 19 months he went through a phase of throwing outrageous tantrums & major separation anxiety (separation anxiety had first started right after he turned a year old, but it passed quickly).  But these have mostly passed.  He does still throw tantrums & he does still struggle with separation on occasion, but it's not as severe as it was as soon as he turned 19 months.  In the 18th month I saw a lot of thinking going on, he was doing a lot of thinking & making decisions & figuring things out.  It was a problem solving month.

He also [finally] became "slightly" more adventurous with food once he turned 19 months old.  He started accepting some bbq chicken breast & he now LOOOVES turkey bacon.  He also has been willing to taste a few more things that he usually won't.  He is still definitely picky & mostly refuses without even knowing what it is or what it even looks like or smells like, but he is slightly improving in this department.  He has been willing to eat clementines (has always rejected fresh fruits & veggies in the past), pasta (he previously HATED pasta), potatoes, ground turkey, hummus (he LOVES hummus!), & lots of other stuff.  His appetite has also inreased TREMENDOUSLY.

And another big change is that he doesn't want to drink as much milk & kefir as he used to.  (this is probably why he's eating so much now)  He usually drinks 8-16 oz of goat milk with breakfast (before he was drinking over a quart a day between kefir & milk) & that's all the milk he has for the whole day.  I had believed that he would let me know when he didn't need quite so much milk & kefir & apparently I was right.  There's a lot of people who insist that you have to force them to decrease the amount of milk to make them eat food, etc.  I was sticking firmly to the belief that he would do it on his own when he was ready & I do believe I was right. He drinks 20-30 oz of VERY diluted juice daily & a veggie juice that is half juice & half water, usually 8-16 oz of that one & the rest of his drinking is water.

I took him to the doctor for a check up & we did a lot of testing for food allergies & lead & H/H.  But we are still waiting on results.  I had a lot of blood work done myself too, so between the two of us I am anxious to see our results.

At church he now brings home artwork each week.  There is always a page of coloring & yesterday he brought home a Christmas ornament that he made (with help I am sure).  I am so excited each week to see what he did.  It's funny because right before he moved to this group at church I had been thinking that I should start working with him on writing & artwork maybe.  That is one area I've never even touched on with him, yet most of my friends with toddlers do art stuff with their kids on a regular basis.  When my stepdaughter asked what he needed for Christmas I had told her pants, something to write or draw with (I know I once saw one where the marker only marks on the special page, so he can't make a mess), & nerf balls (he's getting too strong & dangerous now to play with his balls in the house, so we need to replace them with nerf type ones).  That was all I could think of.......that & more stuff for him to think & problem solve with. 

I think that's all the updates I have for now.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Please feel free to join in by getting details from Peggy: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/


FOR TODAY, Tuesday, December 14, 2010.



Outside my window… it's been way too hot for this time of year recently, but today it's finally starting to cool down

I am thinking… about what dinners to make for the rest of the week

I am thankful for… the Lord & all that He provides for us

From the learning rooms… still daily Bible study with Lil J, pulled out the keyboard again, he's having a blast with it

From the kitchen… I need to make some more zucchini bread

I am wearing… a blue top with crocheted cut outs & a white cami underneath, jeans, & socks

I am creating… ummmm, still lacking in this area

I am going… to take Lil J to a park later this week & am hoping he really enjoys himself

I am reading…  the 5 love language of your children book

I am hearing… a plane flying overhead

Around the house… we are all set for Christmas

A few of my favorite things…playing with Lil J, spending time with my hubby

A few plans for the rest of the week: taking Lil J to the park, a nice relaxing weekend, I always make sure we are totally ready for Christmas prior to the last weekend before Christmas cuz that's the craziest weekend there is

I am praying… first I am PRAISING God for putting an end to one of our legal battles, not exactly the results we wanted, but could be worse, so one down & two to go still

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Please feel free to join in by getting details from Peggy: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/
FOR TODAY, Monday, December 6, 2010.

Outside my window… it was a very nice day, not too hot, not too cold

I am thinking… about Lil J's food allergies & that I need to do more research on this topic

I am thankful for… my awesome hubby, our great doctor, good friends

From the learning rooms… still daily Bible study with Lil J, pulled out the keyboard again, he's having a blast with it

From the kitchen… I made home-made chocolate chip cookies on Saturday & they were YUMMY (I always love my chocolate chip cookies, no one else's compare in my book, LOL), but they are all gone now

I am wearing… a long sleeved pink tshirt, my Monterey pullover (cuz I was kinda cold), jeans, & socks

I am creating… ummmm, I wrapped all the Christmas presents we have so far (still need 3 more I think) & "creatively" toddler-proofed them, does that count?? (we have a ledge up near the ceiling around the outside of the kitchen & I put them all up there!)

I am going… to get my hair cut this Saturday morning!!  Yay!  I like to trim my hair every 2 months, but I usually end up stretching that to 3 months for financial reasons, but this time I think I've gone close to 6 months & am WAAAY overdue!

I am reading… I finished the 5 love language book & am now reading the 5 love language of your children book

I am hearing… Lil J sucking on his sippy cup

Around the house… we need to decorate our bare Christmas tree!!

A few of my favorite things…playing guitar, reading, cooking

A few plans for the rest of the week: we have THREE parties we've been invited to, one on Friday & two on Saturday

I am praying… that God will show us His favor according to His will, for lots of friends & family too

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Please feel free to join in by getting details from Peggy: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/
FOR TODAY, Tuesday, November 30, 2010.

Outside my window… it's very nice & breezy outside in the 60s

I am thinking… about how much Christmas shopping we have accomplished & how pleased I am about that & what's left that we need to do still......

I am thankful for… holidays, it gives us a great excuse to spend time with our families & friends

From the learning rooms… still daily Bible study with Lil J & been doing some reading in Spanish as well lately

From the kitchen… we're honestly STILL working on Thanksgiving leftovers!  and we even gave TONS of leftovers away as family left on Thanksgiving day!

I am wearing… a black & white striped sweater, a white cami underneath, jeans, & socks

I am creating… ???? I ALWAYS seem to be lacking in this area......and I am always the first to admit that creativity is not my strong point.......soon I am planning to start making tamales, that's pretty creative if you ask me ;P

I am going… to a chiropractor this Saturday (yay!!)  a friend of mine recommended this chiro & he charges $20 per visit & she says he's amazing & I've been really hurting for a while now, so I'm eager to go & I'm really hoping he can help with my hip as well.

I am reading… nothing at the moment, although I really want to read about the 5 love languages, especially the one that's for parents relating to their kids, or at least that's how I understood the book to be, perhaps I'm mistaken, I need to look into it more

I am hearing… the wind blowing outside......Lil J went down for his nap with no complaints, in fact he was practically begging me to put him down!

Around the house… we need to do the Christmas decorating

A few of my favorite things…the holidays, especially Christmas

A few plans for the rest of the week: hoping to take Lil J to a park or something fun like that

I am praying… that God will show us His favor according to His will, lots of friends & family too