Eating Healthy on a Budget

I really do try to feed my family healthy food and with one income that means that we have a very strict budget.  Although some think that the word budget is a dirty word, it really is a wonderful word.  Budgets create boundaries and ultimately freedom.  However, with a strict budget I find that I have to get resourceful.

As I have been learning more about eating better I have been discovering that I want to see my family eat less processed and genetically modified foods.  This means that I have been trying to buy more locally grown produce and less food that comes in boxes and cans.  And when I can fit it into the budget, I prefer to buy organic chicken and grass fed beef.

Buying locally grown produce has proven to be a bit harder than I had thought because most of what the grocery stores carry is the mass produced, genetically modified variety of produce.  That means too that Costco is out too for the same reasons.  I try to go to local Farmers Markets, but that doesn't always fit into the schedule or the budget.

So, what's a mom to do?  Get resourceful.  I found a wonderful market that sells mostly locally grown produce at great prices.  It guess this means that it is possible to eat healthy on a budget.

All the produce out of the bags after getting home from the market.

A portion of the produce washed and drying.

Seasons

I don't know about you, but I love the changing of the seasons.  When I lived in the Midwest, the seasons were glorious and Fall and Spring were always my favorite.  Now that I live in the Southwest we don't really have seasons.  We have Summer for certain, but what happens throughout the rest of the year cannot really be described as Fall, Winter, and Spring because the temperature doesn't fluctuate much at all during the daytime hours during those months.  From late October to mid April it is all pretty much the same weather.  Maybe we should call it Fawintspri.

I say this all because on a few very rare occasions we get what feels like some of the Midwest seasons and today feels sort of like Fall.  It's been overcast and windy and the temp has dropped slightly.  Now, it is no blustery, crisp Fall of the Midwest, but I'll still take it.

Potty Ponderings

It feels like just when my daughter accomplishes something it's time to move on to the next milestone.  She is growing up so fast and I know that every parent says that, but now that I am one, I totally understand.  

At my daughter's 18 month check up her pediatrician told me that it would be appropriate to start potty training her if she showed some of the signs of being ready.  After telling the doc about how she is very interested in what mommy does in the bathroom she suggested that we could start trying.  

I didn't want to push things, diapers are still okay, and for goodness sake she was only 18 months old.  Most people don't start until their children are at least two.  So, I decided to wait.  That was until what happened a couple of days ago.

My husband called me into the bathroom where I found my daughter sitting on the toilet (seat down) with a piece of tp in her hand making grunting sounds.  Then after she climbed off the toilet she went to flush the toilet.  My husband and I just looked at each other and we knew what the other was thinking before a word was spoken.  It's time!

So I went to Walmart and got a potty seat to put on the toilet along with a step stool to climb up onto the toilet.  I got stickers and found a potty reward chart online. I got some picture books about potty training at the library.  And finally, I got some training pants.  We were ready.

I explained to the Peanut that we were going to try to start using the big girl potty.  I gave her the full run down on how this was going to work and then the fun started.  

I found that she became very proficient at getting up onto the potty and sitting there, but there was no pee or poop.  That's okay right, she has to get used to sitting up there.  Then tonight we saw her take a step in the right direction.

My husband and I filled her full of fluids and right after dinner we took her to the potty.  The diaper came off and she climbed up onto the toilet seat and sat there.  After getting a little restless she climbed down, moved her step stool over to the sink and motioned to brush her teeth.  We got her the toothbrush and she started brushing, but as she was brushing she decided to pee too.  We quickly swooped her up and put her on the potty toothbrush and all and, yes, it happened.  She tinkled in the toilet!  It was just a few drops, but she did it!  My husband and I were so excited and she got pretty excited too.  We wiped, she got off the potty and flushed and my husband presented her with her reward, a sparkly princess sticker and that is when she peed all over the floor.

Accidents are going to happen.  We know that and we don't even care that she she did pee all over the floor.  What's more important is that she actually tinkled in the potty!  

A New View

I recently had recommitted to being more consistent in posting and then I let three weeks go by with nary a word.  I really am not trying to make excuses, but I think I have a good one.  We moved.  We moved and I have an 18 month old and a puppy, so I might have a good reason for not posting.  Moving with a toddler and a puppy was a little challenging, but we had a lot of help from family.  They entertained the Peanut and puppy while my husband and I unpacked.

The move went very well.  We got of our little condo and into our house without a hitch.  We've been in the house now for a little over two weeks and it feels like we have been here forever.  And it is wonderful being in a house.

I'm thankful for our condo and having had it the past few years, but our little family was starting to outgrow it.       Now, I am thankful for our house.

Every morning I used to sit at our dining room table and look out our patio door while I drank my coffee.  I had a lovely view of the building across the way, the parking lot, a couple of trees and the sky.  No complaints here, I just loved looking outside.  Now, I sit at my kitchen table and look outside to our backyard.  I see vines growing on the fence, the crystal clear pool, blooming lantana, and an occasional bird flying by. I like the new view.