Five Point Project Management Criteria

The Frugal Writer's stringent criteria for attempting any at home project is as follows:

• It has to be easy to do
• It must save money or time (or both!)
• It should be environmentally friendly, or at least improve conservation efforts (reduce, recycle, reuse)
• It must require less than 5 steps and/or 5 ingredients or less
• It must be a project that can be broken down and completed in 15 minute increments

This criteria follows for any cooking recipe, craft project, chore around the house and any other thing that I would like to accomplish with kids underfoot.  If a project does not meet this criteria, it will probably not get done unless the kids are elsewhere and I still have the energy and will to complete it.

This set of standards is a great way for me to let go of pipe dreams, such as exotic recipes or anything else with zero guilt.  And, yes, I have assembled IKEA cabinetry in 15 minute increments...

Freebie Friday: Free Massage Winner!

According to Random.org, the winner of the Freebie Friday Free Massage Giveaway is Cheryl Brazerol!!!! Congratulations Cheryl!

http://twitter.com/#!/cherylbrazerol

Please be sure to DM @thefrugalwriter on Twitter or email mar4jc at verizon.net with your contact info so I can send you your prize!

Our Vocabulary

Below is a compendium of my favorite words my children have reinvented:

 
The Boy
egg diving = coloring eggs, using done around Easter time
elmo = pseudonym for toy, especially a red and white walking toy and a red and blue riding car
ice tream =  nice cool treat
pobo stick = a toy used for hopping around
floward = not in reverse (the boy still says this now!)
moak = white liquid that comes from mommies and cows

first "official" word = agua (water in Spanish)



 
The Girl, aka Perry the Platypus
Ainan = her older brother
gasoline = chemical used in a pool to kill germs
nuddix = chunks of chicken (or fish) covered with a breaded batter, sometimes fried or baked
tete = leche, spanish for milk
yodurt = curdled milk

first "official" word = Tada! (alright, so maybe it's not a word, but it was her first use of context)


 
Biscuit
agia = water, derived from Spanish agua
Booby = cartoon dog that travels with psychedelic group of kid detectives
da-dee-day! = yellow school bus, may have originated from an attempt to say, "there it is!"
flies = fried potatoes, usually served at McOnas or Ick Fiyay
gata = shortened form of "galleta" (Spanish for cracker)
i.e. = ice cream, not to be confused with the study of Operations Management or Human Factors Engineering
nine! = (increased emphasis) possessive noun, not to be confused with the German word for no
nana = food, used often in combination with nine!
Obamas = comfy clothes you wear at night
queue me = what you say after you burp
tank you = using his manners
Toody = famous rag doll toy that says, "There's a snake in my boot!"
Yaya = his sister


first word = "Doggy!" (In Biscuitese, Doggy is actually ANY four footed animal...)

Making Dinner Plans

Turning into a mermaid at Trader Joe's

While I started with the best intentions, dinner planning has become quite a lame effort for me. I make sure to have a meat for the hubby and the main dish and something else that I know my two younger ones will eat, like pasta and nuggets. My plans to eat only healthy, unprocessed foods quickly gave way to timesavers that I knew my kids would eat instead, even if they were not the most nutritious fare.

Here's a conversation I had today with the girl (4yo), while we were out running errands:
(I'm calling her Perry, because lately, she insists that she is Perry the Pet Platypus)

Perry: Mami, can we have macaroni and cheese?

Me: Oooh, yeah, that sounds like a great idea for dinner.

Perry: Yeah, and everybody can eat it. {Instead of the separate things the kids eat vs the grownups}

Me: We could have fish sticks to go with it {since I didn't make enough yesterday and she really wanted some.}

Perry: Oooh yeah, and can I have broccoli too?

Me: Oooh, that's a perfect dinner. A veggie, a carb and a protein. That's a great idea, girlie!

Perry: That's what I'm talking 'bout!

I cracked up at the last statement, said with perfect timing and inflection. My little mini me is becoming adventurous. To actually dream that she'd eat three DIFFERENT foods at one sitting is borderline miraculous.

Making dinner plans like these sure lightens my load.

Freebie Friday: Win a Free Massage

I have in my possession a $35.00 gift certificate which entitles the bearer to a free 20 minute massage and complimentary checkup at Kennard Chiropractic & Physical Therapy in Severna Park.

It's easy to enter to win!  Just visit The Frugal Writer on Facebook, like my page and post a comment there saying you want the free massage. To track your entry, you can also add your name to the Mr. Linky list below, but you must like The Frugal Writer to qualify.

A winner will be picked randomly and announced on Friday, June 17th!

Current Events: The Osama Story – Our Style

Me:  Well, it looks like they finally got Osama.

The Boy: Wow, so who is our President now?  (Poor kid, he’s only 7…)

Me:  Well, the names sound the same, but the two people are very different.  Obama is our President.  Osama is a leader who killed many people in our country and around the world.

The Girl: Then why didn’t we die?

Me: Well, because we have the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines keeping our country safe. 

What a privilege it is to live in a country where we can pretty much go, do and say as we please.  Thank you service men and women, and your families, for all that you do to keep our country free and for completing a long-awaited mission.  May God keep you safe in these turbulent times and give our leaders wisdom.

Easter 2011: His Name is Mark

Easter Lily, a photo by **Mary** on Flickr

I cried when I got the news.  I wasn’t ready for another baby.  I wasn’t ready to add another washing machine to the spin cycle of my life with three other little ones.  After taking the pregnancy test, I wept bitterly and told God that I wasn’t ready for this one.  It was the first time I was not happy about the little blessing growing inside of me.

My world was turned upside down in an instant.  It took about two weeks for the shock to wear off, and in usual tradition, we would tell NO ONE until after the first trimester.  Then, I began to embrace the news.  Yes, I’d have to start all over again with sleepless nights and spit up and diapers.  But, there would be four!  God saw fit to bless me, so I rejoiced in the blessing.  Yes, I was a bit worried that four might be my breaking point, but God knew what He was doing.  My little pumpkin was due November 4^th, a perfect accompaniment for the “biscuit’, my youngest boy.  I was floored that I’d be the mother of four.  I’m pretty sure that he was a boy, but I won’t know for sure until I get to meet him in heaven.

After 11 weeks, I got more devastating news.  Baby was only the size of a 6 week old.  He had not grown for 5 weeks.  It made perfect sense now.  During my pregnancy, I struggled to eat. (Those of you that know me know I love food!) While I didn’t get “morning sickness”, I felt a queasy uneasiness for weeks at a time. 

Did I feel a sense of relief, knowing that I wouldn’t have to start all over again? Not in a million years.  I loved this baby and grieved that I would not be able to see him or get to know him.  It was only 11 weeks, but in that time, I turned my wants and desires to God.  With prayer, I got excited about baby.  Meanwhile, hubby and I talked about long-standing unresolved issues.  We started a new page of dialog in a relationship that had gone dusty and dry with neglect.

A post that really helped me deal with my loss is here.  It’s a bit graphic, but knowing that I was going to go through a miscarriage before it actually happened, I wanted details.  I wanted to know what to expect and the writer’s experience was touching and moving.

 

Thankfully, I was also able to say goodbye in the privacy of home.  As I “birthed” the baby that was not to be, I named him, said goodbye, and thanked God for the precious gift He gave me.  April 20^th, 2011 at 1:55pm is my commemoration, and I decided to name him Mark.  The name is fitting because he left quite an impression on me in his short life.  His name is only one syllable, a break in the usual two-syllable convention I’ve preferred for naming my kids.  Like his short name, Mark’s brief life served a purpose.

I realize even more poignantly what a miraculous gift my three beautiful, healthy children really are.  I envision that as my husband and I made an appointment to see a counselor early in my pregnancy, God called Mark home, telling him that his work here was done. 

Hubby and I are both saddened by the news.  But a spark has started.  A seed has been planted that will allow us to grow and communicate better with each other.  In Mark’s place, our relationship is undergoing a resurrection.  Just as in the Easter Story, I rejoice because while Jesus died, He rose again.  That is the hope that transcends death.