Modesty- please go read!

I’m growing more and more aware of this issue as my sons get older. How dare women and teens make my job as a parent and my son’s growing up challenges more difficult than they already are? I’m working hard to show my sons what true femininity and godly womanhood are. Please don’t cause my sons to struggle. We’re trying to prepare them to be true to each of their wives some day.

After reading this book it is even more important to me. Men are visual, it is not their fault, that is how GOD made them. Yes they have to turn the eye and fight the good fight, but it is kind of hard to do when you are talking to them. And according to this book they have a mental Rolodex of images in there. I don't want to be in anyone's Rolodex unless of course I'm sleeping with him:-)

Here's a verse for you, totally out of context? maybe but it sure does fit.

For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. Just replace the him with a her. If you got it COVER IT UP!!!

I don't want a picture of you and your stuff lodged in my guys heads. Raising God-fearing children is hard enough with out all the immodesty in this world.

Would you be embarrassed to have your pastor see you dressed like that. What about your grandpa. What if the Lord came back right now, or are we just hoping he doesn't come back when we're playing at the beach or pool.

Yes look nice and girly. And yes I know I need to improve in this area too but it can be done.

My life feels like it revolves around food....

Saturday shopping!!

Big Lots $33 after the printable 20% off coupon. They are a great place to get organic convenience foods. Yes I know they're aren't healthy but at least they are organic junk.

Highlights; Bathmat $3 for my new bathroom floor- pictures soon

Quarts of tomatoes 80 cents!!

Crackers $1.19 a box

Granola bars $1.60 a box-they have no nuts!! This is the first granola bar my kids have had! The bread outlet in Cutlerville. $7.42 Sorry the donut were only 49 cent so I caved and bought them, again a few of the kids had never had a donut. They made one little girl very crabby!!!! You are what you eat.

FRUIT

I'm weak!! I ate fruit today and it was wonderful.

This morning after being in bed for about 9+ hours I felt really shaky. Not a fun feeling. So I caved and devoured a banana. DELICIOUS!

Well the whole reason for doing this diet is to help sweet Benna who is starting to have all the same signs and symptoms of Racky when he was a baby. So not cool. I taped egg and milk to her back a few weeks ago and with in 3 minutes she had hives from the eggs and the milk left a red spot so I know those are no no's.

But this diet was effecting my milk supply. I've never made it to a year nursing any of my kids and am really hoping to nurse her as long as possible. She'll be 1 in a few weeks?!?! So what good is sticking to a diet when I end up having to supplement her and my milk supply drops.

So with a little ever so slight nudge from the hubby I'm back to eating fruit. I hope to remain grain and refined sugar free.

So here is what I ate today.

Banana

Breakfast- asparagus and canned venison

Lunch- Chicken and a few carrots

Snack- Apple on the way home from the orchard

Dinner- Venison, onion and mushroom burgers with onions, tomatoes, lettuce and sugar free ketchup. And another apple!

Snack- a handful of raisins- wowsers those things are sweet.

need food....

Just kidding but I've been REALLY hungry today. I'm sure it is a lack of protein. I know everyone is different but I could NEVER be a vegetarian let alone vegan!!

Breakfast- Salad (this did not hold me over well- I was starving 2 hours later.)

Lunch- Soup, guacamole with cucumber slices

Snacks- Carrots and more guacamole sounds kind of strange but veggies and guacamole really work together

Dinner- leftover spaghetti squash spaghetti and another salad

Snack- some mushrooms drowning in melted butter then some mixed veggies in the leftover butter- yummy!

Tomorrow I must cook up a chicken or something to eat off when hungry because thinking about food all day long is not cool.

Still going strong

Breakfast- Peas, lots and lots of peas drowning in butter and salt

Lunch- Mixed veggies from Costco and roast

Snack- had a few cooked mushrooms and onions before I threw the venison in the pot.

Dinner- Venison Spaghetti with spaghetti squash. There is *1* Meijers Naturals jarred spaghetti sauce that has no sugar- yippee and it's only $2.19 a jar!!

Sippin' a cup of Dandy Blend

I really am not hungry eating this way. I obviously would LOVE to eat something sweet but the cravings really haven't been too bad.

Day 2 - still no sugar

Here it is!

Breakfast- chicken and peas

Snack- soup and raw carrots

Lunch- Soup

Snack- soup

Dinner- salad and roast

I did add coconut milk to my Dandy Blend this morning and it didn't seem to treat the babe real well. Otherwise all is going well.

It's almost over!

The first day that is.

So what did I eat?

Breakfast- 2 chicken drumsticks that I baked last night and peas with butter.

Snack- some roast out of the crock pot and cucumber slices

Lunch- some more roast and half of the not so tasty tomato. I did eat two or three slices of apple off of Letties plate, its a mom thing- oops.

Snack- carrots and lemon water

Dinner- baked chicken, cooked carrots with butter, and salad topped with olive oil and apple cider vinegar.

More lemon water.

Cooking on the stove right now is a pan of chicken enchilada dip for lunches tomorrow which will be served over lettuce. There is also a pot of chicken stock going so I can make some soup tomorrow.

I wasn't hungry per say today but the hubby was. He said he needs more food tomorrow:-)

He had Ezekiel bread with apple butter and butter and a grapefruit. Chicken, rice and green beans. Olives, cucumber slices, dries fruit- apples and raisins and fruit leathers. He had the same dinner as I with the addition of some rice. Know he's sipping a mocktail.

Tomorrow he starts the protein drink and drops a few more foods from his menu.

See you tomorrow and eat a cookie or two for me!!

Coupons and me

Here is a picture of a Target shopping trip right before our vacay to Kalahari. If I remember correctly it cost $20. Wipes, swim diapers, paper plates and paper towels were all full price, they were needed for the vacation. That means that everything else was pretty much free.

Target had $1 off suave products so the tall bottles of shampoo were money makers because they were only 82 cents. The kid shampoo was like 87 cents after the coupon but that difference was covered by the extra 18 cents of the big bottles.

Target also had 75 off any up feminine product making the panty liners 14 cents so for the price of one 1 got 8. That's enough to last for about the next three years if not longer!!:-)

Naturally I would love to buy all natural organic products but the budget does not allow for that. So thing that get rinsed off are run of the mill shampoos and soaps. We do not use lotion or anything else like shaving cream and such. They are just more chemicals for your body to process- gag!

Things that I try to make sure are natural are sunscreen and bug spray. The hubby had a cousin that stuttered for a long time after her father sprayed her and her siblings down with Deep Woods Off. Wait what about The West Nile Virus? That is about the 198, 563rd thing on my list of things to worry about, really not worried about that AT. ALL.

But Esther Suave makes my hair all funky looking.

One little squirt to swish the toilet. Kid friendly!
A bigger squirt with a sprinkle of baking soda to scrub the tub. Kid friendly!
Diluted a touch to fill the hand soap pumps. Kid friendly!
A squirt with a splash of vinegar in a bucket of water to wash the floors. Kid friendly!!
Have the boys use it for their hair.

Soap is Soap!!!

The only "real" house cleaner I buy is Method window cleaner and that is just because that stuff is awesome.

So that is just a few thoughts about coupons. Make coupons work for you!!!

Sugar Free Challenge

Kimi at The Nourishing Gourmet is holding a Sugar Free Challenge. Now I know I should be sugar free, even starch free all the way down to my beloved potatoes for the sake of the baby. I was doing fairly well for about 3 weeks but I didn't see any difference in the babies skin so I've kind of fell off the wagon.

Meat and veggies are yummy and all but so is fruit and potatoes. Ah potatoes, I love thee....

Also nursing an 11 month old almost exclusively makes you pretty hungry!!!

The hubby is going to join the fun and do a 10 day detox- yippee!

Cooking could be interesting. He can't have beef but can have eggs and chicken. He can also have fruit but I am going to try and refrain from anything other than meat and veggies. Benna is highly allergic to eggs, nuts and dairy so those are a no go for me.

Wish me well as I live in my kitchen for the next week or so!!

Resolutions!!

( Nothing to do with this post but aren't they so sweet. At the zoo this fall.)

It's that time of year again, resolution time. While I don't make resolutions per say it is a good time to reflect and embrace change.

There are the obvious, eat better and exercise. Gag- on the exercise:-)

Spiritually- working at being much more forgiving. Life is too short to harbor ill will.

Marriage- building up the points in the ole marriage bank. A five minute head massage or making his lunch with out complaint are just little things but the little things all add up.

Mothering- be more of a "yes mom." Reading one more chapter or stopping by the park on the way home, go for a walk. Life is about the little things.

Homeschooling- make it through the year without going insane, sorry but that's all I got on that one.

Financially- actually stick to the budget.

The one thing I believe will help me be a better person in all these areas is pulling my hind end out of bed at least 2 hours before the kids. Strange?

No not really. I'll have quiet time to read the Bible and pray. Time to gather my thoughts and have the house ready for the day to begin. It is amazing what some Bible reading, a shower, the dishwasher emptied and the laundry begun will do for your spirit before 5 children descend on you like a flock of locust. School goes much better when I'm not trying to do laundry and dishes and brush my teeth all between 6 million questions.

Simple routines give me so much more time in my day. I hate to feel like I'm always trying to catch up. Routine also makes the kids easier to handle, they too love to know what is next.

So as much as I love to snuggle up to my man all warm and cozy in the morning. I just need to face the fact that in the summer he has to slip out the bed before me, in the winter it is my turn.