End of Month Recap - September 2010

This was a pretty crazy, tiring, exciting, blessed month.  I'm still not sure how it's already the end of September.  But I'm also hoping for time to really start flying so I can get through the "morning" sickness phase.  Not sure who ever came up with that term.  Must have been a guy :P  Regardless, it is definitely not limited to the morning.  And I have a feeling October will be much tougher than September.

I did well on some goals this month.  Others just had to slide.  I didn't have enough time or energy for them.  Here's how it went.

FOOD

1. Eating for the 1st trimester - I try to get in as much of this stuff as I can each day.  Some days I do really well.  Others not as well.  At least I always get in my cod liver oil.  So that is good for 1st trimester nutrition.  And it's pretty rare that I don't get some butter in each day.  Thankfully salty foods like meats (especially sausage and bacon) and cheeses are the things that sound good. Sweets are nauseating. Overall eating is kind of tough. But I'm doing my best.


Throughout pregnancy:

B Vitamins - meat, poultry, lentils, whole grains or Brewer's yeast
Vitamin C - fruit and vegetables or raw juice
Vitamin E - olive oil and nuts or vit. E supplement (Dr. Ron's)

During 1T (vitamins - organs and limbs are made up of vitamins and need them to develop well):

Vitamins A and D - butter, eggs, pork, seafood or cod liver oil 
2. Gluten/grain free - This totally went out the window.  Normally I can do it if I put my mind to it.  But when I don't feel well sometimes the only thing I can stomach is toast.  And I crave things like chips, popcorn, etc...salty carbs.  I still try my best not to go overboard on grains.  But if I want to really try gluten free it will have to wait a while.

3. Lard - I'm hoping to render my lard tomorrow.  Try doing it in the crockpot.  See how it goes.  Then I'll have to experiment with it in October.

4. Eat in season - We're doing pretty well here.  We eat brussels sprouts and caulflower every week.  Lots of apples here too.

5. Raw milk - We would love to get raw milk/a herd share.    But since there are no openings close by we have decided to hold off for now.  But hope to be able to get it in the future.

6. Food preservation - I made/canned 2 batches of applesauce (4 quarts, 6 pints), froze cauliflower, froze squash and made pesto.

7. Misc. cooking/baking projects - I didn't do many of these.

*sourdough chocolate cake
*soaked tortillas
*crackers
*peach pie
*yogurt

HEALTH

Share some of the things I've learned with series on health topics. And research. There are some specific things I need to learn to continue on my healing journey.

1. Healthy eating/lifestyle series - cereal, fat - good and bad

Still to come: nitrites/nitrates, artificial ingredients, aluminum, soy, phytates, nuts, gluten/grains, sugars and dairy.

2. Research topics

a. multiples - obviously this will only happen if we find out we are having multiples...which wouldn't be until later this month.

b. digestive process - I need to do this to continue working on my OCD. My perspective of what's normal has gotten skewed over the years, especially since my colon surgery. I think learning the details about digestion and what really goes on will really help me. Learn what healthy digestion really is and how our bodies use what we eat - I have done some research.  But still need to do more.

c. pregnancy and childcare - learn more about natural care during pregnancy and for raising children (i.e. nutrition, cloth diapers, first foods, etc.) - still working on this.  It will be an ongoing process throughout pregnancy and even when the baby arrives.  Right now I'm researching cloth diapers.

COST REDUCTION

1. Continue recording spending and sales - check.
2. Food budget - $150/week - check.
3. Continue to plan meals based on sales/what we have on hand and on what's in season - check.
4. Continue to make as much food as possible from scratch.  Not as much kitchen work as usual this month.  But here's what we did:

sourdough english muffins
applesauce (canned)
crispy almonds, pecans, walnuts
grain free granola
chocolate graham crackers
mayo
peach pie
chili sauce (canned)
choc.chip zucchini bars
ice cream
mud balls
apple crisp
kettle corn
chocolate sourdough cake

5. 2nd hand shopping when necessary - none.
6. Simplify - continue to minimize where possible - started using washcloths at mealtimes for Rebecca instead of using wipes.

FAMILY/PERSONAL

1. New makeup: here's my review.

2. Sewing machine - As expected I didn't have the time or energy for this.

3. A local farm (the place where we might get our milk) is having a cheese making class on the 18th. I'm considering doing that. They also have a farm tour on the 25th that I'm considering, depending on what time it is - I decided to skip the cheese class b/c I was too sick.  And the farm tour timing didn't work. But we'll hopefully still visit on our own sometime.  I did get to meet the owner at our co-op at least.

4. Activities - these all started

a. Kindermusik!! (Sept. 8)
b. nursery cmt
c. Little Lambs (Rebecca's class at church. Starts Sept. 12. I'll be a helper every 6 weeks.)
d. MOPS (open house Sept. 17, first meeting Oct. 1, I'll be helping with MOPPETS)

5. Fun stuff - We went to GRCM on the 11th with family.  We went to a local orchard on the 18th.  We visited Voogt Farm on the 25th with family.

6. Justin - Justin started class yesterday, so we're back to being on our own one night a week. And he is going to France for a week, leaving on Saturday. We'll sure miss him! - He had a great trip.  Class is going well.

7. Rebecca - some things to do with Rebecca this month:

a. Keep working on potty training - check
b. Keep working on letters, numbers, spelling/sounds, counting, math, etc. - check
c. Teach her a little more about babies - check
d. Start setting up her new room - haven't started yet.
e. Start transitioning her to a regular bed - haven't started yet

8. Long term goals
a. Overcome OCD - working on it
b. Stop using miralax - hope to work on it after the 1st trimester is over and I can eat better food again.
c. Successful IVF cycle/pregnancy - CHECK!!!

I'm a little slower than usual this month, but trying my best to keep up.  No idea what October will bring.  We feel so blessed to be at this point.  But it's tough to keep up with a toddler and feel sick and tired all day.  Praying for strength and health next month.