11-24

2009

Thoughts of Autumn & General Ramblings

Autumn has always been a time of reflection for me. Perhaps it stems from my birthday being in October or the way everything seems to slow down.

More and more I am trying to work on being a better person, a better mother, a better girlfriend. I’ve spent the past year pretty much in bed due to pregnancy complications, then recovering from the emergency repeat c-section, and lately because there’s nothing better than laying with the baby and nursing him (I get rewarded with sleepy, milky smiles!).

I’ve also been trying to get more one-on-one time with Daniel, I realize it must have been so hard on him to see me go through a difficult pregnancy, labor, and the c-section recovery. We play a LOT of Uno, try to go to the park (the weather lately is very rainy and cold), watch movies together (with popcorn), etc.

I can’t wait until Spring, when the baby is a bit older, the weather is nicer, and I should be 100% healed physically from the c-section. I’m not used to being stuck at home all the time. I am trying my best to suck it up and get out more often, just to take photos again. I am hoping to eventually get a membership either to the Brookfield Zoo or the Chicago Botanic Gardens. I think Daniel would enjoy the zoo more though.

Autumn also brings out the fanatical cleaning, organizing, decorating side of me. I am hoping to have the bathroom and bedrooms painted by January if possible, any affordable paint brand suggestions? I’ve been hoarding links from Real Simple in hopes of gaining some fresh ideas on how to decorate. I really would love a room with green accents and a room with blue accents. I am also on the hunt on how to display photos WITHOUT the use of a frame. Do you have any free or super cheap decorating/renovating ideas?

I am also working on managing our food budget a bit better, I took a lot of the advice on the entry, Grocery Shopping/Meal Planning and here is the super long list of our planned meals in no particular order. I will do my best to blog the recipes!

Moist and Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes with Bacon
Thanksgiving Dinner
Homemade Pizza
Hamburgers w/Sweet Potato Fries
Lasagna
Chili and Cornbread
Chicken and Dumplings
Avocado Corn Salad w/ Beef Enchiladas
Taco Salad
Southwestern Pasta
Quick Gumbo
Creamy Roasted Garlic Potato Soup
French Onion Soup and Salad
Meatloaf w/Mashed Potatoes
Slow-cooker Beef Stew w/Biscuits
Southwestern Salmon w/Avocado Corn Salad
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Pumpkin Tortilla Soup
Beef Stir-fry

Lastly, I am testing out a “footer” in my RSS feed, if you are reading this entry via that feed, I would appreciate your feedback if it is a welcome addition or too distracting. I also added a sidebar to the left of the entries and changed it to display three entries at a time. Let me know if these changes are positive or negative to you!

{12 comments}

Stay up to Date

1091 tweeps are following me on Twitter, you should too!

Add my RSS feed to your favorite reader, 336 have subscribed so far!

Click to skip down and add your comment

Sarah twitter: @sarahwebdesign

I have for so long wanted to plan my meals. I sat down this morning with a notebook and pen and wrote down what I intend to eat for the next two weeks. This will no doubt help with my weight loss goal and the tedious weekly shop. :)
{Sarah´s shared blog entry… Ta-da!}

Sarah twitter: @starrymom

It really helps since it eliminates eating out for lunch or dinner and makes you more aware financially of what to purchase at the grocery store.

Damita twitter: @damita

So yummy! Aw bless him he is getting so big!!

I love the colours of those leaves really reminders of autumn
{Damita´s shared blog entry… Weekend}

KJ McLean twitter: @kj_mclean

I love the pictures you’ve included, and am in a similar “nesting” mode right now. I haven’t quite gotten the urge to paint (probably because it’s too cold here to open the windows), but I, too, find myself preoccupied with domestic issues.

I wonder if there is something in evolution to account for it, or if we just want our homes to be nicer since we’re spending more time inside?

Tasha

Just wanted to tell you that I love the fourth photo — so striking! It seems to me that making prints of your photography would be a cheap way to change up your decor. I’d print a few big ones (you don’t have to frame them; just find interesting ways to hang them — maybe some really heavy wire twisted for visual appeal?), and then some smaller ones. Photojojo has these magnetic photo ropes, though I’m sure you can find them elsewhere as well: http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/magnetic-photo-rope

As for the footer, it’s kind of clunky. Maybe if it weren’t in bold? It just seems obtrusive as is.

Sarah twitter: @starrymom

@Damita, thank you! Both boys have recently gone through a growth spurt, it’s amazing!

@KJ McLean, thank you so much! Oh it drives everyone nuts, I STILL keep the windows open, after having Tristan I am constantly feeling very warm. You bring up a great point, during the winter we are inside SO much, it’s dark out so early, so we try to brighten/freshen up our homes to make the winter more bearable!

@Tasha, aww thank you! I’ve printed some of my photos, 8x11, can’t afford frames though, that magnetic rope idea is very neat, maybe I can try to get that for a christmas gift! I fixed the RSS footer so it’s no longer bolded and added a line right above it to separate it from the actual feed content. It should change with my next blog post.

The Maven twitter: @StayAtHomeMaven

Awesome post, mama! Your kids are gorgeous, as are your pictures in general. You have an eye for photography.

I have three boys, have had two c-sections, am a huge Real Simple fan, and try my best to meal plan/stick to a budget, too. There’s some common ground for you! LOL I find food the biggest challenge in our budget. We always seem to go over, no matter what I do!
{The Maven´s shared blog entry… Deep Thoughts, by The Maven}

Sarah twitter: @starrymom

Thank you! I joke that I only breed adorable squishy tall boys lol. Oh yes, food is our downfall, part of the problem is that we can’t just eat ramen all the time, we really enjoy fresh whole foods when possible and it’s weird how THAT costs more than a bag of chips! So tonight is night 2 of working off of our meal plan.

Lisa Marie twitter: @autumnappeal

The photos are stunning. Especially that first one and the ones of the boys. I’m still amazed at how quickly Tristan has grown. Wow.

I see you’ve changed things up since I last visited. Looks nice. I was thinking of changing up Lisa’s Thoughts a little too. I’m just so bored during the day. It would be nice to have a little project or something to keep myself occupied.

What is that pumpkin tortilla soup all about? That sounds interesting.
{Lisa Marie´s shared blog entry… My farm on FarmVille}

Sarah twitter: @starrymom

Aww thank you!! I know, this week he will be 2 months old! Where did the time go? I added the sidebar, added some share the post buttons, etc. Just needed a slight change and I can only do small changes at a time right now lol. I will post the recipe when I make it (for the tortilla soup).

Tasha

Hey Sarah, I just realized that I do have something else to add: Dried beans and lentils are a great (CHEAP!) way to add bulk to dinners, without relying on meat (which is what drives up my grocery bill). Things like lentil soup are awesome, and you can add beans to salads and such.

(As for the footer, it definitely looks better now that it’s not bold! Maybe a slightly smaller font would be good? Like, 2 points smaller?)
{Tasha´s shared blog entry… Amsterdam Boats 8 x 10}

Sarah twitter: @starrymom

Normally we used canned, I have NO clue how to use dried beans! I will see about making the footer text a touch smaller, thank you!

Commenting Guidelines

Basics

Once your comment is posted it then is the property of OSN. I can edit, format, reuse or delete the comment as I wish, or display it for as long as I wish. I will not necessarily offer reasons or any warning why I have altered or deleted a comment.

Occasionally your comment may be held for moderation, it's not done on purpose, but sometimes WordPress may be confused, I will manually approve your comment as soon as I can, and apologize for the delay.

Email Addresses

Correct email addresses are required. Email addresses will never be published. Email addresses will not be shown in comments. Please leave your correct email address (as in youNOSPAM@domain.com or youREMOVE@domain.com are not correct) it is so I have the ability to reply to your comment via email. I will edit out the NOSPAM or REMOVE in the email field.

What is not acceptable

Profanity, poor spelling and grammar, personal attacks, and off-topic comments.

Avatars

The avatars that are shown are via Gravatar. If you do not have one associated with your email address it will show a default image, however I suggest you sign up to get one since many blogs use this feature!

Commenting Additions You may use the following mark-up within your comments. I only permit XHTML mark-up at this time. Line breaks are converted automatically.
(<em> <del> <strong> <pre> <code> <blockquote>)

« Previous Post: Grocery Shopping/Meal Planning

Next Post: Wordless Wednesday #2 »

go back to the top! onestarrynight

I'm Sarah, mom of two sweet boys, Daniel & Tristan. I'm passionate about Attachment Parenting & photography. Why don't you learn more about me! Follow me on Twitter, stay up to date using the RSS feed, even subscribe via email, or connect with me on FaceBook and the OSN forum!

Say Hi!

Grab the Button

<a href="http://onestarrynight.com">
<img src="http://onestarrynight.com/osn.png" alt="osn" />
</a>

search
category
tags

AP (18)
BabyWearing (2)
Breastfeeding (1)
Cloth Diapering (1)
Food (40)
Gardening (2)
Guest Post (20)
OSN (98)
Pagan (17)
Photography (244)
Snippets (14)
Thoughts (753)
Web (43)
Blogging (4)
Online Meme (17)
Q&A (4)
Vlog (2)

Personal

Fought for a VBAC and lost
"She proceeded to make the comment “I know the situation, and because of that I’m not feeling sympathetic” in reference to Sarah leaving the hospital AMA and not accepting a repeat c-section previously, and to the massive amounts of pain she was in."
Vent - VBAC Scare Tactics
"He then recanted and said, “well maybe it’s not a law, but I’ll tell you NO hospital will ALLOW you to VBAC without it”. Right ok, so first fear tactic and lie."
I had TWO c-sections
"It’s hard because sometimes I almost feel shame or guilt that BOTH of my c-sections were medically needed."
Who Am I?
"I went from a victim, a weak worthless nothing to a MOTHER. I went from being a punching bag to a protector and then lost myself yet again."

Tweets

For anyone that uses #WordPress here are some suggestions on how to tweak it a bit! http://fb.me/x1BQhL1c #

@Colorburned Lou Malnati's #

Wow it is just pouring outside right now #

I wish I knew how to decorate (and how to AFFORD to lol) #

I seriously hate spiders. #

@MariAdkins sigh. It's been almost 2 weeks and I still hate looking in the mirror #

{follow me on twitter!}

Traci: I keep hearing radio spots for http://www.k12.com/ its a online school and work at your...
Kristen: Well online schooling definitely seems to be a good middle ground. It appeases his...
Traci: I think before just letting him go back, Work with him get him up to speed on the reading...

Thoughts of Autumn & General Ramblings

RT & Share

Similar Entries

Stay up to Date

Click to skip down and add your comment

Commenting Guidelines

Leave a Reply