Week One of Being a Mother of Two

Thanks for the well wishes. Luckily it was just a one-day thing, and now that I'm past the 'hangover' portion that was yesterday, I'm feeling fine again. Although there's nothing like a sick day to make a week feel like it just flew by. Stick around for the recap tomorrow.

Today marks the end of our first full week of having Madi in our care.

The results? 

It wasn't that hard.

Luckily, boyfriend has been working a lot of early shifts lately, so he's been around to help almost every evening. And he's always there in the morning to help with dressing and feeding and buckling in the car. And when I leave with the  girls in the morning, he always does the dishes.

Last night I managed to give them their bath by myself, plus their dinner and bedtime snack. There were no major tantrums. We read a book. We talked to my mother on Skype. The girls watched a little bit of tv.

So things have been relatively easy.

I hope I'm not jinxing anything.

On another note, I really need to start taking more pictures, because I have none at all to post.

I took a sick day

Yesterday I took a sick day from pretty much everything - work, parenting, blogging. 

Not to get in much detail, but I spent a good part of the morning thinking if I moved, I was going to be sick. I didn't. But I didn't leave my bed until noon. When I left my bed, I put on some Boy Meets World, got a cup of apple juice that I barely took a sip out of, and closed the curtains. I slept on and off on the couch until about 3pm. 

Boyfriend got up in the morning with the girls and took them to daycare on his way to work. He requested to leave work early so he could pick them up, and was able to come home around 3, hence me waking up then. I didn't move from the couch until it was time to pick the girls up. 

I have never spent so much quality time with my bed and couch in the span of 24 hours. 

I made it to work today, but I want nothing more than a nap. I'm having the hardest time focusing, and even reading some things. I just need more sleep. And food. 

But sleep. I really need sleep. More of it. 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I've never known how to answer that question. There has never been a clear answer. There's the 'where I want' to be answer, and then where I actually feel like I'll be. And then there's what really happens. And while it might sound insanely negative, there are no happily ever afters. There's just reality. Whether or not it's your happily ever after is really your choice, or your option to change. 

Let's look at how '5 years later' really ends up. 

My answer when I was in high school

I see myself either in college, or just graduating college. Looking for a job related to my education. Doing everything I can to make a better future for myself. I'm going to save money, and not end up living like my mother did - low income, living from paycheck to paycheck. 

The reality:

Five years later, I graduated from college. I was certified to be a legal secretary, but I doubted my education. I didn't feel in any way prepared. I worked at Wendy's. I lived in another province, and chose to move back home. I couldn't find any kind of full-time job, and struggled to get by with the help of my grandfather as I lived with a roommate. 

My answer when I was in college: 

I'd like to say my answer was optimistic - that I was going to find a great job and go on to do great things, but I was terrified. I didn't see everything as working out. I wanted to find an amazing job and live a great life. I was starting to feel like I was just a mess. No guy would ever truly like me. What a sob-fest. 

The reality:

Five years later, I was single after a long relationship, and that was my choice. I didn't have an amazing job, but I had a full-time job that I loved. It was about this time that I moved into an apartment by myself (kind of), and was finally financially stable for the first time in my life. The most unexpected part? I had a little girl, and not long after that, I met an amazing guy. Funny how things work out. 

My answer now:

I don't know where I'll be when it comes to my career, but I hope when this job finishes, there's another great job waiting for me. The girls will be 6 and 7. In school. And they had better be doing fantastic. I'll be with the same guy, married or about to be. We may have another child, or it might be in the planning stages. A boy, I'm hoping. And we'll all be rich and successful. And we'll all live happily ever after. I really hope. 

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Meal Plan Monday

This weekend was a pretty great one - but only because both of the girls left for the night Saturday. That wasn't the great part. The great part is, boyfriend had Saturday and Sunday off with me, and we got a ton done around the apartment. Dishes, laundry, and sweeping were all done. We finally got our basement a bunch more organized. We put boyfriend's dresser in Madi's room so she finally has space for all her clothes. 

I made stew and used the crockpot for the first time. I made gluten-free biscuits for Madi. I pre-cooked and mashed some carrots and sweet potatoes for the girls. 

And now I feel ready for this crazy week of being a parent of two kids. 

So here's our meal plan for the week. 

[ Baked Spaghetti ]

Dinners

Monday: Leftover Beef and Barley stew that I made yesterday. I added in potatoes (who eats stew without potatoes?!) and put in almost double the broth to make up for it, but most of it still absorbed. I added almost 2 cups of water, and by the time we ate there was still very little liquid to it. But it was still good, and boyfriend was a huge fan. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly, except I had no vinegar. I'll definitely keep this recipe around. 

Tuesday: Shepherd's Pie (gluten/dairy free for Madi!)

Wednesday: Baked spaghetti

Thursday: Breaded chicken and potatoes 

Friday:  Beef pies and fries

Saturday: Tacos

Sunday: Meatballs and rice

Gluten/Dairy/Soy-Free Snacks for Madi

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites

Blueberry Rice Muffins

Plain Rice Cakes

Biscuits

Vegetable Chips

If I want to stay on plan, I need to pre-make the Shepherd's pie tonight, and make those muffins for Madi. Oh so busy. 

10 Things I Did This Week

1. Madi started officially being in our care as of Friday, March 1. 

2. I started meal planning on Monday, and we followed almost none of that meal plan. 

3. Last Saturday boyfriend, my friend Sarah and I went to the dinner theatre. It was such a great show, and I really liked the food. I'd go again in a heartbeat. 

4. Someone gave baked haddock and potatoes for lunch at work. I think it 's my new favorite meal. No pictures. I ate it too fast. 

5. I was upset with boyfriend and wrote a serious post about it. I don't usually get that 'deep' very often. 

6. I started shopping for boyfriend's birthday presents. His birthday isn't until mid-April. If it's anything like Christmas, he'll somehow manage to guess what I'm getting him, even though he shouldn't know. For Christmas, it was this Epic Mealtime shirt. Even though he guessed it, it was still probably his best present, or so he says. He wears it all the time, and told everyone all about it. Sometimes I have to try to convince him not to wear it. 

7. I went flea market shopping on Sunday. 

8. We took the girls swimming at the pool on Friday. (Hopefully - I'm writing this Friday and it hasn't happened yet) It's only Chloe's second time at a pool. 

9. I started controlling both mine and boyfriend's money. Scary thought. 

10. Big Brother Canada started. And the live eviction episodes are on at 11pm Thursday nights. 11PM?! My bedtime is like 10:15pm. I can stay up until 11, but definitely not midnight. I guess I'll be catching most of those episodes online the next day.