Baby Names and such ....

To my disappointment, my doctor's office called yesterday morning and cancelled my appointment for the afternoon. After some difficulty and frustration, they were able to "squeeze" me in for my first prenatal visit on Oct. 10th. I must admit, besides the disappointment I felt, I'm also worried now about my decision to switch doctors. It was a necessary evil to switch since my former OBGYN docs don't even have hospital privileges at St. Mary's Hospital. But the cancellation concerns me, especially after a friend of mine mentioned a few weeks ago that she had issues with the office consistently cancelling her OB appointments when she was pregnant with her last child. I guess I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and try it for a couple of months, but I don't want to get too far into this pregnancy feeling a lack of confidence in the medical care I'll be getting.

So on to a happier note..... in thinking of our future arrival yesterday, I spent a half hour or so searching online for baby names. While on vacation this summer we compiled a list of baby names (mostly girls, though) from a geneology database that Tim's Uncle and Aunt have been working on (Thanks Dean & Laura!), and I thought I'd look for some other names last night. Here are some of the names I like so far (in no particular order):
Boys - Aaron, James, Evan
Girls - Anabel, Evalyn, Charlotte, Sarah, Adeline (pronounced with the long "I" sound), Juliet, Sonia

Update on Medical appointments

Well, we've had a busy month (and it's not over yet) for follow-ups on medical issues but this seems to be the month to clear the air! Alex had his 6 year old checkup a couple of weeks ago with his pediatrician and everything seems to be normal. We brought Alex on Tuesday morning to Dr. Bulford to get the lab results and follow-up on the minor lesion removal from his lower lip. Dr. Bulford said that, as suspected, the lesion was a mucoscele which he described as a spit gland that got clogged with saliva. He said it shouldn't recur and we don't need to see him again. Also, this afternoon, we visited with Dr. Cevera (ENT) to re-check Alex's ears. Several months ago, Alex developed fluid in his ears that caused a very mild hearing loss. It's taken many months of wait and see and a long course of Nasonex, but today the doctor said that all of the fluid is finally gone (Yay... no tubes!) and that we'll just re-check again in 3-4 months to be certain that the fluid hasn't come back. He'll go back to the doctor in January which will be a good time since that would probably be the timeframe (cold season) for the fluid to come back if it were going to.

And lastly, I have my first prenatal visit with my new OB/GYN doctors this coming Monday. I'm excited about the first visit. Although it's all sort of "old hat" for me, this last pregnancy will be different in some ways. The first difference is that this baby will be born at St. Mary's Birthing Center instead of at St. Peter's Hospital and the doctors/midwives that will deliver the baby will be from a different practice. My first appointment next week has been scheduled a little early (with my last two pregnancies, I didn't have the first appt. until I was about 10 weeks along) and so I'm not sure that they will do much more than review my medical history and confirm the pregnancy with a test. Normally they'd listen to the baby's heartbeat but, again, I don't think you can hear it until around 10 weeks so I'm not getting my hopes up for anything too exciting. I should be about 7 weeks pregnant at my first appointment and if my calculations are correct, the estimated due date is May 19th, 2009.

Chaos vs. Control

You have to check out this video that I made! It's about a subject matter that is very near to my heart and I think you'll find it interesting and fun!

More Bargain Shopping Tips

In the past I've posted about bargain shopping but I realized today that one of the things I didn't talk about is a method that I've been using for a while now for planning my meals and purchasing my meat.  Although I've been slacking lately, I usually have my meals planned out for 2-3 weeks at a time.  I even have a calendar file on our home server that's titled "dinner" that Tim can access from work (or anywhere) and see what we're having for dinner that night!  Creating a schedule of meals has really helped me to reduce our family's food waste, eat healthier and save money.  To start, I use the calendar of planned meals to determine how much chicken/ground beef/pork/etc. that I will need for that time frame.  I rarely purchase my meat from the local grocery stores unless I see a REALLY good deal advertised.  The reason for this?  Because I've found that most often, even the major grocery stores' best price is STILL not nearly as inexpensive as the local deli/meat stores.  When we lived on Plank Rd., I traveled to Halfmoon/Clifton Park weekly and did the majority of my grocery shopping at the Walmart SuperCenter for my non-perishables, and then I would head to Sorrentino's Delicatessan for my deli/meat purchases.  On average, their boneless/skinless chicken breasts are $1.99/lb and on sale as cheap as $1.69/lb.  Fred the Butcher is currently running their chicken at $1.69/lb. if you purchase their 10 lbs. bag.  Since Clifton Park is a haul for me now, I'd decided to have a little chat with Jeff Kissinger, the owner of Route 66 Meats & Smokehouse.  He told me that he'd match his competitor's prices if I purchased a high quantity from him.  Today, he sold me 10 lbs. of chicken for $1.79/lb and I was happy with that since I didn't have to drive up to Clifton Park.  So the bottom line is, do your homework, call for prices and talk to the owners of the local owned places.  I find that their meats are often fresher, better tasting and I feel good knowing that I'm giving the local guy my business.

So the next step... once I've got this meat in large quantity sitting in my fridge, what do I do with it?  Usually if you buy in bulk, each type of meat comes in one big bag/package.  So I have my trusty Ziploc Freezer bags and sharpie at my side and I start trimming the fat and dividing the meat.  

If my calendar says I'm going to cook Stir-Fry Chicken & Veggies one night, I'll cut up the meat in little pieces and label the bag "stir fry" so all I have to do when it's time to cook is thaw the chicken and dump the bag in the wok!  Sometimes I'll package one single breast in a bag for that occasional time when we'll have an unexpected guest for dinner.  This way, I don't have to worry about thawing an entire bag of 4-5 breasts for the one person!  

In the summer time, when purchasing ground beef, I often divide 3-4 pounds into two 1.5 lb packages to make meatloaf and then make hamburger patties out of the rest.  Everything goes into my freezer and I've found that the freezer bags generally do a great job of keeping the meat from getting freezer burn for a good 2-3 weeks.  

I try to use what I have within 3 weeks, although I'm sure it will keep longer than that!  It's a lot of work initially to tenderize & divide the messy chicken, package & label it all, but it's totally worth the 30-60 minutes of my time on one single day to be able to avoid the meat prep part of cooking every day.

An eventful week.

This week has been a relatively full week, especially for Alex!  We began on Monday with a party to celebrate Alex's 6th birthday with our close family.  Tuesday was his actual birthday and Alex had a wonderful and fun day, which was spent mostly with his Uncle Mike.  Mike took Alex rock climbing in the afternoon, which he enjoyed immensely.  Alex seemed to  be a monkey on the wall and I think he did much better than I did at attempting the bouldering area, in particular.  He made three attempts at the Large wall and made it to the top on the last attempt without getting tired or scared.  He loves his Uncle Mike so much and was upset when we dropped him off despite my reassurances that we would see him again before he leaves the state.

Yesterday I put my newly 6 year-old on the bus for the first time this year and, despite my own excitement for the potential of a relatively "quiet" day at home, I actually began to tear up a little.  Somehow, it seems different this year.  I just can't believe that I am a parent of a FIRST GRADER!  Maybe it was the lack of his nap mat, or the teddy bear missing from his back pack that made the difference.  Or perhaps the lack of fear and trepidation over what this new day/new year would bring for him.  Either way, to me, it's like he all of a sudden just grew up... from a toddler/little boy, to an independent "big boy".  And it really hit me when he arrived home in the afternoon, very much in good spirits after his first day, and pulled out his folder which contained a teacher's note.  The note made mention of daily homework and a weekly spelling list.  A SPELLING LIST?!?!  Wow.... he's officially beyond just learning his ABC's!  I realized then that "that day" has come where I would be sitting at the breakfast table listening to him recite spelling words and encouraging him as he attempts to sound out some of the more difficult words.  Oh.... so now the journey through first grade has begun for Alex and despite my slightly melancholy mood accompanying my growing realizations, I'm VERY excited to witness the growth and learning that Alex will experience this year!