Down to business. Today is Meal Plan Monday. Meal Plan Monday is when you dedicate some time each Monday (about 30 minutes) to plan out and shop for meals for the rest of the week. The following is my plan for the week. Note, I don’t eat meat (with the occasional exception of seafood) so there are some great Vegetarian choices in my meal plan. These are also great meals for losing weight and being healthy all around! Enjoy!

I’ll list it by meal instead of day because I like to mix it up a bit.

Breakfast (always with Coffee and a multivitamin that contains b12):

• Egg whites and a slice of whole grain or whole wheat toast.
• Egg whites and fresh fruit.
• A bowl of whole grain cereal with soy milk
• Plain Yogurt with granola chunks or fresh fruit.
• Whole grain toast and fresh fruit.

Lunch

• Veggie Burger on whole wheat bun and carrot sticks.
• Veggie Sandwich (cheese, avocado, tomato, onions, mustard on whole wheat bread)
• Humus Sandwich (humus, avocado, tomato, onions on toasted whole wheat bread)
• PBJ (classic but delicious with natural, chunky peanut butter and strawberry jam)
• Fruit salad with yogurt (fresh fruit mixed with yogurt as a dressing)

Dinner (Tip: Try to eat before 6pm, this way you are not having a meal and going straight to sleep. If you get hungry before bed have a small snack but try not to make it a habit.)

• Brown Rice, steamed veggies, and tofu with some type of asian sauce.
• Brown rice, steamed veggies, and egg whites.
• Sweet corn, asparagus, and a tiny amount of pesto pasta.
• Veggie Tacos or Burrito (black beans, corn, onions, salsa, light cheese, and avocado on a wheat tortilla, optional cooked tofu)
• Veggie Salad (grape tomatoes, onions, broccoli, carrots, and whatever other veggies are on hand, covered with a light dressing. I don’t like lettuce these days. )

Snacks

• An apple with a scoop of natural peanut butter.
• Handful of raw almonds.
• A few scoops of cottage cheese.
• A handful of raw veggies (snap peas, carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, etc)

Enjoy!

It’s a funny business, a woman’s career. The things you drop on your way up the ladder, so you can move faster. You forget you’ll need them again when you go back to being a woman. That’s one career all females have in common – whether we like it or not – being a woman.

Sooner or later we’ve all got to work at it, no matter what other careers we’ve had or wanted…and in the last analysis, nothing is any good unless you can look up just before dinner or turn around in bed – and there he is. Without that, you’re not a woman.

- Bette Davis, in the film All About Eve

I came across an inspirational site last night and because of it, I have spent the last 14 hours organizing changing my life. I’ve always had a vague idea of what home organization should be. Oddly enough, when I used to work in the office I was very organized. All of the files on my computer were organized into specific, easy to find folders, I always tried to remove the clutter on the desk, etc. However, now that I am home full time, I am noticing that I don’t take the same care in my home office.

I have dedicated this week to re-organizing my life.

• Earlier in the week, I organized ALL of the files on my laptop and desktop computers. This let me tell you, was a task in itself.
• Last night, I created my first home management notebook.
• This morning I organized the entire office.

My Home Management Notebook

This was an idea that I learned about last night on SimpleMom.net. It is an easy way to keep your life organized. It is basically a binder or folder of some sort with dividers that contains all of the important and organizational information that you and your family need on daily basis. At first I thought, right what could I possibly need an entire notebook for? But now that I have started, it is almost addicting.

I am reusing an old 3 ring binder that I found around the house and some recycled paper dividers I had in my office.

Below are my categories so far. I will probably add more in the coming days.

• The Daily Docket
• Clean
• Finance
• Lily
• Passwords

The Daily Docket: This is a simple yet robust to do list and daily planner. I use the free download from SimpleMom.net. I love it because it has a to do list for blog/work items, a place for scripture, a general (flexible) daily plan, a reasonable sized to do list, a place to log food, water, and workouts, and the top 3 things you want to accomplish that day. I’ve tried many store bought day planners in the past and none of them suited my needs so I ended up putting them on the bookshelf to collect dust. This one is functional.

Clean: In the clean section, I have another free download from SimpleMom.net. It is a basic weekly checklist of items to clean in the house. I think I will also add a list of things that I want to get rid of and things I want to buy for the home under this tab.

Finance: Under the finance tab, I have a print out of our budget, bills, etc.

Lily: Under Lily’s tab I have things like her immunization record, some health insurance forms I need to fill out, and other things to track and keep her health.

Passwords: I created a full password lists. Since my work is in computers, I use a variety of websites and programs – most of which require passwords of different lengths, etc.

I am also working on a master to do list. This is everything that I want to get done. I can then decide which day I will do it and add it to that day’s daily docket.

I might also add a monthly calender. Here I will write special appointments and dates that are coming up. However, I may just stick to my Google Calender because it sends me email reminders.

Do you have a great way to organize your home? I’d love to hear it!

In September of 2008, I posted about the Mirena IUD and later (after I got it) I posted about that too. They have been so popular and I recently received a comment from Sara asking what I think of it now that I’ve had it for a while. So, here is an update.

Positives:

Really the best part is the fact that I do not have to worry about taking the pill everyday. I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful that is. There is no worrying if I miss it or wondering if I forgot to take it. I don’t have to pack them when I go on trips (or realize I forgot them completely). I ended up being the type that has a super light period on it. It usually lasts for maybe a day or two and a panty liner would do the trick.  Also cramps only last a few hours, maybe a day at the most.

It has been 100% effective in preventing any more surprises (babies).

My insurance covered the entire cost.

Negatives:

Sometimes I do feel it. I know they say that you won’t even notice it, but sometimes I can. It doesn’t hurt at all or last for more than a few seconds. But I can tell it is there. During sex sometimes it can be a little more annoying, like a light pinching. But again, no pain nor does it bother me enough to go to the doctor about it. My doctor said that if that happens she may need to trim the strings which are attached to it (for when they remove it). I haven’t done that yet.

I would say once a month I get cramps. They are a different kind of cramp than I would normally get on my period. Maybe a duller version I guess.Why is this a negative though? Like I was expecting to get rid of them altogether.

The only other thing that bothers me is since I’ve been diving more into a natural/eco-friendly lifestyle,  I feel because this IUD has hormones in it, it might have the ability to mess with the way I would be naturally.  Change my natural mojo and whatnot. I think if I could go back in time I would get the copper IUD which does not have hormones it in. That one also lasts up to 10 years. At times I also worry about my period not being normal like it would be naturally. Like God wired us with that period and to stop the natural flow (especially for up to 5 years, which is the length you can have Mirena) what are the real consequences?

Anyway, in summary, I do like it. But going back I think I would opt for the non-hormone IUD. I think I would feel more natural that way.

Questions? Post them in the comments and I’ll try to answer.

An article titled, “The Good Wife’s Guide“, was allegedly published in a 1955 issue of either John Bull or Housekeeping Monthly. Some doubt it’s authenticity but it’s an entertaining read none the less.

Click on the image for the full size.

Despite a few obvious pitfalls in the article such as, “remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours” or “don’t complain…if he stays out all night”, there are rules in this article I feel a wife should do (Forgive me feminists but I explain more below). So without further ado…

The Baby Bump Diaries Good Wife’s Guide

• Make dinner. Plan ahead, even the night or week before, to have a delicious meal ready. The prospect of a good meal is part of a warm welcome when he gets home. Dinner is also family time and nothing is better than gathering people you love around a tasty meal.
• Prepare yourself before you see him. Touch up your make up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. Just because you are married doesn’t mean you should lax in your appearance.
• Prepare the children before he sees them. Change dirty diapers, wash hands and change clothes.
• Keep a tidy house. No one likes coming home to a pigsty.
• Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity.
• Listen to him. You may have complaints, problems or important things to tell him but right when he walks in the door is not the time.
• Make sure your home is a place of peace and tranquility – for everyone who lives there.
• In the cooler months, prepare a fire for him to unwind by and give him a warm drink. (My favorite, who wouldn’t like that?)

While writing this, I pictured a man coming home after a long stressful day at work to find: a messy house, children with dirty faces running wild and a wife out of sorts. I also pictured what I would like to come home to after a long day. This list is based off the notion that after a long hard day, coming home should be an enjoyable experience, something he looks forward to. We may live in an age where husbands and wives exchange domestic duties without blinking an eye, but there are common curiosities which help a marriage work and help make home an enjoyable place. After all, home is the most important place on earth.

Surprisingly, what I took away from this article (fake or not) was not the obvious demening undertones targeted toward women, but rather the basic considerations which should be exchanged between man and woman. Considerations which most have forgotten but actually help to build a great marriage.

I got Mirena yesterday. It was not bad at all. I did a lot of research on it before hand. (You might want to read my post on the pros and cons of the Mirena IUD/IUC.) The procedure took about 5 minutes total and didn’t hurt. Yesterday, after it was put in, I had a few period-like cramps but nothing Motrin couldn’t handle. I woke up this morning feeling fine. So far so good. My only issue is remembering something I have to do in exactly five years.

Since Lily was born I have become progressively more worried about the possibility of getting pregnant again. Obviously the pill doesn’t work for me and, short of tubal ligation, there are only a few other options. When you are breastfeeding you can only take the mini pill. The chances of getting pregnant on the mill pill are 1 in 20, although when you are breast feeding your chances of getting pregnant are much lower to begin with. What if Lily wants a baby brother in the future?

I’m not interested in getting a shot every 3 months nor do I want to wear a patch. That leads me to an IUD (intrauterine device) also known as an IUC (intrauterine contraceptive).

So, for those of you who are not opposed to taking birth control, here are the facts on Mirena IUD. Some of this information comes from my doctor like the price but most of it is from the Mirena handbook she gave me.

Pros

• More effective than tubal ligation but removable. Tubal Ligation is 99.5% effective while Mirena is 99.9%.
• About 1 in 1,000 women can get pregnant in the first year of Mirena compared to the mini pill (which you can take while breast feeding) where 1 in 20 women can get pregnant.
• You can take it while breast feeding.
• You don’t have to worry about taking a pill, getting a shot or doing anything for 5 years. (That’s my favorite part.)
• If you decide to have a baby you can take it out and you have the same chances to get pregnant as someone who hasn’t used Mirena or other birth control.
• FDA Approved. Has been around for 16 years and used by 12 million women.
• Periods can become lighter or disappear.
• Low hormone levels.
• Mirena Does not cause weight gain.

Cons

• The cost of mirena without insurance is about $700 up front. Although if you look at this from a 5 year perspective it costs $11.66 a month (cheaper than the pill for me with insurance) but if you only use it for 1 year it’s $58 a month (more expensive than the pill). So it’s a better option if you are waiting long term to have a baby. Some insurance plans cover part of the cost of Mirena. For example, my co-pay would be $148. (Update: my co pay ended up being $0. So my Mirena didn’t cost anything.)
• You have to have had a child to use it. So this is a con for those who haven’t had a child.
• You have something hanging out inside your uterus for 5 years or however long you have it. The idea of a foreign object inside is a little weird.
• You have to check for it once a month yourself.
• The first few months you period may be irregular and you may bleed consistently. You can also expect to miss your period at any time while on it. This can be scary.

Mirena Side Effects

During the first 3-6 months there can be side effects from Mirena but it says they usually decrease over time. They include: bleeding, spotting, cramps, back pain, headache, nausea, acne, breast tenderness, mood changes (so far nothing I didn’t have on the pill) or ovarian cysts. With the ovarian cysts is says 1 in 8 women may get these but they usually disappear on their own within 1-2 months.

Thoughts?

What are your thoughts on the Mirena IUD? Do you have it or are you considering it as an option? I making arrangements to get it sometime in the next week or two. I will let you know how it goes.