Category: Women

debt, Family, Food, money, Uncategorized, Women

So much for sticking to our budget this week….

Hannah Lucio

We set our budget and goals for last week and it didn’t go as planned. Thankfully we are on a budget and do not live paycheck to paycheck. I truly believe that if we lived paycheck to paycheck then we would have to have credit cards. Did you know that living paycheck to paycheck is actually considered normal? Yikes! I understand why people have credit cards as their “back up plan” but it in not the lifestyle we want to have. Thankfully.

Our oldest dog had to go to the vet because we believe she has a UTI. We took her in and an hour later and finding out she has arthritis (not really surprising at age 12) we spend $300. We will know her test results this coming up week. An hope it will not cost anymore for us.

Then, Friday around 4pm my husband and son were chasing each other around the house and rough housing. I was making brownies and I heard some “calm” talking from his room. I was going to go in but I typically like to have my husband and son have “guy time” and just let them be. Well, about 5-10 minutes later my husband came in and said we need to take Maverick to the hospital. I do not like those words but I know it’ll happen because boys love to play. I’m so thankful this is the first time. And I know it will not be the last. He was a trooper and so good for the dr’s and nurses. I wish he was that way with us all the time ha ha. Anyway, we found out he hyper extended his arm/elbow and the dr was able to pop it back into place. It was night and day after he popped it back into place. Once Maverick found out he could move his arm again he wanted to give me a hug and kiss. Gosh I loved that! We put his shoes on and he wanted to take a “tour” of the ER. So we walked around and came back in time to get discharge papers and we were out of there. It was really a great experience there and we were in and out in less than 3 hours. We are so thankful. So that was another $135 co-pay.

Going into this week we were thinking we were on track to save a lot this month by keeping under our $60 grocery budget. Things happen. We are saving an average of $120 a week on groceries and I feel lighter 🙂 Did I mention that being on a budget and making sure you get the right health foods you can lose weight? That is how I lost weight with the first kid and plan to do so with this second kid. I know we did not stick to budget because two emergencies came up with week. But it is such an amazing feeling when you can pay your co-pays or emergencies with money you actually have. And, not have to stress or worry how we are going to afford it. Or charge it on credit cards. Thank the Lord for opening our eyes and ears to a more positive way to live.  Thank you Dave Ramsey for showing us the way to financial freedom.

On to this week….goals will be met and positive thinking will be done!

Live healthy

Live less stressed

Live financially free

and

Live simple

 

 

debt, Family, Food, money, pregnancy, prenatal, Uncategorized, Women

Getting Back On Track

Hannah Lucio

Since we found out we were pregnant last year we took a pause on getting out of debt. Dave Ramsey recommends pausing paying off debt. Instead you save up the money you would put towards debt just in case there is an emergency/complication with the pregnancy. Now that our baby is born and things are going good we are getting back on track.

One of the main things we did to cut back on costs was not renewing our Costco membership. Costco is a dangerous place. I could go there and easily spend $200….a week!! And that would not cover everything we would need for putting meals together. Spending got a little out of control. So I told my husband I need him to help with our budget and keep me more on track until I get used to it again. I am typically the one who does it all but I wanted to get some help and encouragement from him. So far in the last two weeks we have managed to keep way under budget on groceries. We are also going to eat only healthy foods. We went to Harris Teeter today (my favorite store on the east coast) and got everything we needed for every meal next week and spent $59.00! I know we can cut down more on costs but I really want to get healthy foods still and not just cheap junk foods. We could eat top ramen instead and keep our food bill to $30 or less a week but our medical bills would increase because our health wouldn’t be that good. So we are trying to just balance it all out.

At the end of the month we will calculate what we have saved each week on groceries and apply that to debt. For example: we budget $100 a week for groceries, if we only spend $60 then the left over $40 goes to debt. I feel excited to get back on track with budget and health food.

We also are cutting out extra stuff like going out to eat. That typically can get out of control when you let it. We have been spontaneous in this area and not really controlling it. Not anymore. When I was pregnant the only thing I could stomach most of the time was the Chick-Fil-A Grilled market salad with honey mustard dressing. So it got a little pricey. I really love to cook and eat healthy so its going to be fun to get back to it. I will also be taking a before and after picture of myself and also weigh myself to see if there is a huge difference. I am curious how big of a difference it makes. I will try to update more to hold myself accountable and hope to help others out that want to get rid of debt. 

 

Live happy

Live healthy

Live debt free

And

Live Simple

 

 

Family, pregnancy, prenatal, Uncategorized, Women

Planning for childbirth

Hannah Lucio

This is the last week before he gets his eviction notice. My bag has been packed for at least a month now. I’m sneaking in protein bars this time around! I literally did not eat for well over 24 hours and that was not good at all. I have to eat every few hours or I get low blood sugar. Not a medical issue I just trained my body to eat throughout the day. And since I will be there alone for a lot of it I am bringing stuff to make me feel comfy. And will be bringing stuff to keep me occupied in the case of having my induction. I will be alone that night (for the induction) as well. I am completely OK with that 🙂

39 weeks pregnant
I am not sure if it is just my eyes but it looks like I filtered/altered this picture. Weird, but I did not.

So, every day I pretend like I will go into labor that day.  I have been cleaning every day all day for the last two weeks just in case. That is kind of typical for me anyway because I do not like a messy house. But, I have been stepping it up a notch so my husband will not have to do it as much when he is home. And every week for the last month I am making sure we do not run out of anything that we would typically eat. I have been stocking up on certain foods so we have enough to last us so we won’t have to go for at least the first week that we come home. Last time I did this and it helped a lot. I was not as active and high energy as I am this time around. So it is a lot easier to prepare this time…..which I think is weird because I have a two year old this time around to tend to all day. HA

The main things I am getting done is laundry, cleaning and new exercises. I went to the Dr yesterday and he has not dropped into place yet. And his due date is Saturday 😦 I am not stressed over it but I am bummed nothing has progressed between the last Dr appt and this one. So I went to Target and bought an exercise ball. I have 3 exercises that I will be doing everyday 3 times a day.

  1. Ball bouncing: this is recommended but not a guarantee. This I will be doing 3 times daily for 30 minutes.
  2. Walking: I still go to the gym and walk for 30 minutes. I also am going on at least 3 walks outside daily for about 30 minutes each. Maverick loves it and the dogs….well they like it but the heat is getting to them ha Oh well!
  3. Pelvic tilts: This I will be doing 3 times daily for 3 minutes at a time.

I have read so many ways to induce labor but I do not want to induce him on my own. I just want my body to be more ready than it was last time. Over the 3 day weekend we rode bikes twice daily and it was a pretty hilly ride. I also went to the gym and walked a ton. And that had not helped so if anything this will just make me more toned and not gain so much weight. Thankfully I have not gained a lot of weight so it’ll be easier to lose it this time around. I also feel great because I have been able to exercise this entire pregnancy. I have some super goals after this last pregnancy. I am excited about this! I am also super hungry this week. Super hungry! We shall see if these exercise and my “getting stuff done” will ease the labor stuff. I am hoping so! Less than a week left and we are really excited!!

 

Live healthy and live simple!

 

Food, pregnancy, prenatal, Uncategorized, Women

One week left!

Hannah Lucio

IMG_7412

I know, I’m getting huge Haha!

We are really excited that this pregnancy is nearing the end. We get to meet our little guy soon. Our son is really excited to meet his brother. He always wants to lay down with me and put his stomach to my belly and feel his brother move. He always says “Mommy, feel brother”. And when he feels his brother move he gets the cutest “surprised” face and says “Brother moved” and starts giggling. Its so cute! I absolutely love it.

We have scheduled an induction date also but will keep it a secret. I do not want negative talk about inductions or the pressure of “is the baby here yet”. It might sound kind of extreme but I have already had a negative comment from someone about it so I will keep it to myself. And also about me possibly being alone while in labor. We do not have anyone to watch our son so my husband may have to leave the room. I actually am fine with it and do not mind at all. But when I mentioned it to someone they immediately went to “what if something goes wrong”. I just cannot start thinking that way since I already started getting anxiety from giving birth. I am at a “clear headed” stage about birth and really want to keep it that way! ha. Hey, think of it this way. Back in the day no one could be in the room, just the mother. I do not need an audience, ha ha

I also am super happy this is the last week because it is getting really hot here. This week we are at the top the 80’s and being this pregnant….not so much fun.

I am also super happy to have not gained as much weight as last time and just yesterday I detailed our vehicle and got a ton done. I am so thankful to be mobile, working out still and getting stuff done. Last pregnancy was not as “fun” ha!

I have not been blogging a lot in the last half of this pregnancy because I have not thought about it all that much. But, I will be doing more blogging soon. I really love to blog and cannot wait to have more stuff to post!

Happy Memorial day weekend

 

Stay happy and live simple

 

Family, pregnancy, prenatal, Uncategorized, Women

2 weeks left! 

Hannah Lucio

I am just shy of 38 weeks pregnant. Thankfully I am still able to ride my bike to the gym, do 3+ miles of cardio and ride home. That is something I was not able to do with the last pregnancy. I was in so much pain last time and not so much this time around. I also gained a little to much weight last time and this time I am right on track. We have a big dr appt on Monday that will determine if we will try to start the labor process. I was not for inducing but the last labor was pretty rough for me. So all of the Drs in this practice have suggested an induction to try to prevent complications. We shall see this Monday. It is exciting but I have a little bit of stress and anxiety that comes with labor. I have been reading a ton and talking to the Drs about everything so it has been helping me. Thankfully this is the last kid so I won’t have to have this type of anxiety again. I am just staying as active as I can and praying we do the right thing. I am also excited to not have to wear pregnancy clothes and have heartburn ha! I am not a huge fan of the pregnancy process. Haha But, I am also thankful to be able to have children. In the end it is a wonderful thing! 
Live happy and live simple! 

Food, pregnancy, prenatal, Uncategorized, Women

Pregnancy and Heartburn

Hannah Lucio

I am now less than 60 days away from the due date. I have been hit pretty hard with heartburn. Also known as acid indigestion, heartburn attacks when stomach acids climb the esophagus to the back of the throat. It feels like a burning liquid, followed by acid-tasting burps. I had heartburn with my first boy and I took tums occasionally. This time around I wanted to bypass any medicine to help with this issue. I have been googling my eyes out looking for “natural cures” and I have found two that are really helpful for me. I am passing along what has helped me significantly in the last week.

First things first though, I completely changed my diet. Completely. I feel like I am on a diet. I just need to eat a little more so I have enough calories for the little one to grow. I found out that milk can really activate heartburn so instead of cereal and milk I eat oatmeal and organic raisins. It adds great fiber and we all know we need that. All in all that is a really great switch! Update:I have also found that almond milk works great with cereal. I can now eat cereal again! For lunch now I eat a salad with boiled chicken, apple, strawberries and blueberries. That is super yummy! I also go to chick fil a and get their grilled market salad. It’s amazing.  I eat about 1/2-1 avocado a day to add good fats and a few calories. Dinner is a harder task for me but I tend to eat black beans (plain) wrapped in a tortilla. I cannot eat grease so I cannot add a lot of cheese and sometimes I cannot have any cheese. For dessert I eat a sliced up banana and strawberry. That is what I have found to be my perfect, no acid diet. I am super happy to not have any cravings in this pregnancy! That helps with me being able to really change my diet.

Now, for my heartburn cure that has helped me significantly-Watermelon and applesauce. Sounds really weird but I read it and believe it since the heartburn literally goes away when I have one or the other. I do need to be a little specific on the applesauce. I read that you should eat a tablespoon of applesauce. Well, I decided today to eat a cup of applesauce-do not do that Ha ha I had heartburn after eating to much. Ill stick to my Tablespoon or two and that is it. As for the watermelon, I eat as much as I want and I feel great. I absolutely love watermelon so this is not very hard for me.

I am so thankful to have found something that works for me this time around. I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me.

 

Live healthy, live simple

Family, Food, pregnancy, Uncategorized, Women

The BEST brownie recipe you need to try

Hannah Lucio

I have been making this recipe since I can even remember baking brownies. The only thing I have changed is the Crisco ingredient, I use butter now and it tastes better! I also add more vanilla 🙂

 

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Cocoa (I used Hershey Cocoa)

2/3 Cup Butter

2 Cups Sugar (I use raw sugar from Costco)

4 Eggs

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

1 1/4 Cup Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

 

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-Spray cake pan with non-cooking spray. I used Pioneer Woman’s 3.6 qt ceramic turquoise baker and it was the perfect size. I have actually used round pans, 9 x 13 size pan and other varieties so choose what you like.

-In a medium size saucepan melt the butter on the stove and then add cocoa in. Set to the side to cool down a bit.

-In a medium size bowl beat eggs and then mix in sugar and vanilla

-When cocoa mixture is cooled off a bit add the sugar mixture and mix well. Set aside.

-In a small bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt together.

-Add flour mixture to saucepan and mix until just mixed.

-Pour into pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick tested in the middle of the pan comes out clean.

brownie blog post 3

-Enjoy! I try to wait until it cools but I normally do not HA!

 

 

Live Happy, Live Simple

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family, Food, pregnancy, Uncategorized, Women

Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins

Hannah Lucio

I have looked at a lot of recipe’s for toddlers and finally decided to try this one. I am trying to expand our toddlers food choices and I found a winner!

 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/4 Oats

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon (next time I will do 1 tsp)

1 Cup Applesauce (3 applesauce pouches from Costco)

1/2 Cup Buttermilk (or Greek Yogurt)

1/2 Cup firmly Packed Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp Canola Oil

1 Large egg, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cup Blueberries (I used frozen but you can use fresh as well). Make sure to wash the frozen blueberries so your batter will not be all blue.

 

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees

-Line muffin pan with liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray

-In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

-In a medium bowl combine applesauce, buttermilk, brown sugar, canola oil and beaten egg

-Mix wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients until just mixed. Do not over mix batter. Fold in the Blueberries.

-Put batter in muffin cups. I actually had extra after filling the 12 cups so I made 5 mini muffins in addition.

-Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin from the middle of the tray comes out clean.

-Once cooled I froze half of the muffins and will enjoy the rest

Our son ate 3 mini muffins in a row. That is how much he liked them!  He loves to “help” cook and bake with me and this was a fun recipe. It is also a healthier muffin to make.

blueberry muffin blog 2

 

Live healthy, live simple

 

Family, Food, pregnancy, Uncategorized, Women

Exploring a little bit of D.C.

Hannah Lucio

Yesterday we went to Washington D.C. to check out one of my husbands job site’s that he is working on. He has about 4 that he is working on.  Since we are not really into the city stuff that comes along, for example paying for parking and traffic LOL I was hesitant to go. But, I am glad we ended up going! We went to the job site and me and Maverick walked around, went to Starbucks and watched the workers at the job site. It was interesting to just watch the city people for a little bit but I am so thankful not to live in that environment. Anyway, we got back to our car and we had a ticket! Ugh the parking spot we parked in apparently was a spot you cannot park in until after 9:30am. Shoot! There goes $100 ha ha ha This was proof of why we don’t like all the city stuff that comes along. Apparently, we also need to read ever fine print HA

We put into the Garmin a destination and well…..we missed an exit so we had to circle around again. HA HA We finally got to our destination and it was interesting. You do not have to pay for parking, thank goodness! I think we have paid enough HA We were able to walk to a few spots and Ill have to tell ya, I am horrible at history tourism. I had/have no idea what these places are called really. And, its sad. So I will be brushing up on my history here shortly. But I will share a few photos of the places we went.

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We saw more stuff but I forgot to take pictures. My favorite place to go was a cupcake place. I used to watch D.C. cupcakes on TLC and never thought I would be close enough to go. I was also hoping that they tasted good. When we go there it was raining and there was a line. We still waited and it was totally worth the wait 🙂 We will be back!! And I do not mind paying $4 a cupcake HA HA!

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If you are ever in the D.C. area it should be a must to get a cupcake. These are THE best cupcakes I have ever eaten. Seriously!

Well, that was our exciting morning. And, I believe because I am pregnant and have 10 weeks left….it left me exhausted.

 

Live happy and live simple.

Family, Hair, pregnancy, Uncategorized, Women

I FINALLY found my favorite Shampoo and Conditioner

Hannah Lucio

I have been on the hunt for a great shampoo and conditioner for the last 2 years! I have tried expensive brands that don’t have the best ingredients. I have tried to use coconut oil on my hair. It took me almost two weeks to recover from the coconut oil. It wrecked my hair! I have tried homemade shampoo and conditioner. I could not even brush my hair it dried my hair out so darn bad. I have tried Alba which is a little better but I would have to apply the conditioner twice and I still had a ton of tangles. And, many more products. So I was at the end of trying to find a sulfate and paraban free shampoo and conditioner…..and then my husband went to Costco by himself and got a Kirkland brand shampoo. IMG_7185He doesn’t look for the ingredients, he just grabbed it and that was it. I noticed it was Sulfate and Paraban free. I was shocked. I used the shampoo and noticed my hair felt softer! So I went to Costco asap and got the conditioner and there is NO turning back! This shampoo and conditioner are MY absolute favorite! My bleach blonde hair does not get wrecked, it shines and it feels so darn soft! If you are searching for a color treated friendly, Sulfate free and Paraban free shampoo you need to try this brand. Hope this can help at least one person out there that has the same issue 🙂

 

Live Happy and Live simple