Melissa’s Place

After church yesterday my husband said that he wanted to be more helpful around the house so he got the calendar out and said he was going to plan the menu for the week. He is even going to make us Mongolian food on Friday and think of something fun for Saturday. A husband who helps with the menu and cooking is a lot more useful than one who plays ps3 games

So here is what JJ came up with:

Monday: He wrote stirfry but I’m going to make it a little more fancy by making it with a Sesame Ginger sauce and using romaine lettuce to wrap our rice and veggies in.

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner. Probably Pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausages for JJ and the kids and veggie bacon for me.

Wednesday: Spaghetti with brocoli pureed into the sauce (Sariah actually eats the brocolli this way!) and salad.

Thursday: I’m having dinner at a church party!

Friday: Buuz (Mongolian meal) and a salad.

Saturday: Something fun

Sunday: JJ put Chili on the menu but I’m going to surprise him something special for Valentines instead. I have some steak in the freezer and we’ll have some veggies and biscuits.

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Energy saving products seem to be big money makers. People trading in old fridges for energy saving models and replacing their routers with a Linksys router is popular.

I haven’t heard much about people who have used Thermal curtains though. JC Penny has a sale going on this week for these curtains. With our Tax Return coming this weekend and JC Penny coupons I was thinking of buying them for our windows. The advertisement states that they will lower heating and cooling bills up to 30% which sounds nice.

I want to get rid of all the blinds anyways. They get so dusty, are hard to clean and my daughter’s knock them down and pretend that the blinds are their babies.

If you have used thermal curtains please let me know how they have worked for you.

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I forgot to a belly picture – again. Sorry to everyone in the family who wants to see me pregnant.  I’ll just let you know that I am (or at least I think) I am bigger than I was with Sariah or Bekah.

I did find the cure for my leg cramps. I increased my calcium – didn’t work, ate banana’s everyday – didn’t work. JJ suggested I drink Gatorade as he got those when playing soccer due to loss of electrolytes. I guess it is something different for everyone. I have been drinking gatorade for 3 days and no cramps for the last 3 nights! Now I need to make some money finding things like treatments for rheumatoid arthritis. Or maybe just leave that up to my husband since as a Bio Chemist it is his job to help create treatments and cures for a variety of diseases and disorders.

Sariah and Rebekah always ask where the baby’s legs, feet, hands etc… are. When I point out where they probably are they tickle the baby. I hate to be tickled but it is cute that they try to play with the baby. I am sure the baby loves to hear her sisters talk as her hearing has probably developed now.

“Are you 23 weeks pregnant? Visit PregnancyCorner.com to learn about your developing baby and changes happening to your body”

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I got my menu plan done for the week and it all seems very similar to the past two weeks. Next week my goal is to be more original. Having a wide variety of meals throughout the month isn’t as important as finding the right life insurance quotes for the family but I’m sure everyone will appreciate it, though! Good thing we all love these meals – well, we are still working on getting Sariah to like beans. At least she eats it if we promise her a treat after dinner.

Monday – Main: Chicken and Broccoli casserole. Side: Spinach salad.

Tuesday – Main: Black bean burgers. Side: Homemade fries.

Wednesday – Main: Pasta with homemade sauce (tomato puree, broccoli, mushrooms and onions) Side: Salad.

Thursday – Main: Brown rice with stir-fry veggies and sweet & sour sauce. Side: Spring rolls.

Friday – Main: Lentil Carrot soup. Side: Crackers

Saturday: Main: Homemade pizza Side: Salad

Sunday: Main: Shredded chicken with tomatoes, onions, black beans and corn over rice. Side: Tortilla chips and salad.

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I always try to do our taxes as early as I can. I am so happy that I was able to finish out taxes yesterday. Turbo Tax makes doing taxes so easy but still, I was ready for a nap after finishing! I tried using the free version last year but still doing everything for my blogging income was really confusing so I used the $30 program and it was a breeze. I don’t earn enough to pay taxes on my income but I still need to report it. It is kind of nice getting a little extra income while being at home with my children and not worrying about things that other small businesses need like business insurance and employees.

I was actually surprised by how much we are getting back in tax credits. It will be nice to buy a few things we need like a dresser since our’s is falling a part and a new mattress for Sariah’s bed.

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So I’m one day late posting this but I have a good excuse. A long with the baby I regularly babysit, I was watching two little boys who’s mom just had a baby girl. 5 kids under 4 years old! Luckily they were all really good.

Now that we know our baby is a girl we can refer to the baby as “her” and “she”. We don’t have any names picked out yet. Maybe we’ll have one before she’s born or maybe she’ll be nameless for a few days? Rebekah thinks her name should be ‘Belle’ while Sariah thinks ‘Cinderella’. She is already a princess to them

Our baby is already head down and has been in that position for at least 3 weeks now. Of course it is still possible for her to turn in different positions before she is born but she looks pretty comfy head down.

According to the Ultrasound the baby is about 1 pound right now. I finally found my camera so I’ll have my husband take a belly shot and I’ll post it next week!

“Are you 22 weeks pregnant? Visit PregnancyCorner.com to learn about your developing baby and changes happening to your body”

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I have my menu planned two weeks in a row now. Another two weeks and it will become a habit or will have to be 30 times (weeks) for it to become a habit?

I think having a menu plan is so great because who wants to brainstorm what to have for dinner after a busy day of raising children, cleaning and running errands? If I pass the job of what we’re going to eat to my husband when I don’t want to think about it we end up with meat and french fries or he will go get pizza or fast food. Not good for the budget or waistline. So we will skip the fat burners for men and come up with a weeks worth of (mostly) healthy meals.

Monday -  Main: Spaghetti with tomato/vegetable sauce. Side: Green salad

Tuesday – Main: Chicken casserole. Sides: Tater Tots and Bean salad.

Wednesday – Main: Soup with lentils and whatever vegetables I find on sale that day. Side: Toast.

Thursday – Main: Rice with peas, carrots and onions. Side: Green Salad

Friday- Main: Homemade Veggie Burgers on Homemade Buns Side: Homemade fries.

Saturday – Main: Homemade Pizza.  Side: Green Salad

Sunday – Main: Vegetarian Chili Side: Cornbread

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We had our Ultrasound this weekend at Fetal Studio in Sandy. It is inside the South Towne Mall. This would be a great place to get your ultrasound done if you want to bring an audience with you. They have TV screen in front of the the mom and one in front of a row of chairs which was nice because Sariah and Rebekah were able to watch the baby without wanting to climb all over me. The technician was also very thorough in looking at the heart, brain, face and other organs to make sure everything was normal.

Here is a profile shot of our new baby GIRL!!!! She looks just perfect and we all ready know that she likes to put her whole hand in her mouth to suck! She is sure to be a great nurser from day one

I am both nervous and excited to be a mom of three of little girls. Being a mom involves so many jobs: caretaker, nurse, chef, teacher, chauffeur with admin jobs thrown in as well.

Some say that going from 1 to 2 is the hardest while other’s say that going from 2 to 3 children is. I will give my opinion in several months

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