Me Time

Now that life seems to be settling down, I have been able to spend some time on myself during the day. Ever since Malachi came home, I was just too tired with being pregnant and taking care of him to do much of anything, and even though I have two little one's now things seem to be much easier for me.

Here are a few things I do during the day when I have "me time":

In addition to trying to keep up with what all of my friends are doing online and blogging a few times a week, I also spend some of my time online trying to make a little money. I spend time doing surveys for cash or gift cards. I have about 10 different sites that I use to take available surveys and probably make between 5-10 bucks a day. I know that isn't that much money, but it is fun for me to do and gives us a little spending money to buy some fun things that we don't have room for in our monthly budget.

Today I took part in an hour long confidential discussion time with a company and their product and made a little over $25 for my time. Not bad, and sometimes you get to see new products or have a say in what commercials air on tv. In the past I have even been selected to test a new product and give my feedback!

Another thing that has become very important to me is getting time to workout everyday. My physical well being has to be important to me and so as soon as I get Malachi down for his afternoon nap, the first thing I do is workout. Now most days Eli is down and sleeping too, but if he is not I put him in his swing or bouncy seat so I can get this done. Sometimes he cries, but it is just 20 minutes of very important mommy time a day that I insist that I get!

My other fun thing is cooking and baking. I really do enjoy spending time in the kitchen, but I haven't been able to do it and now I am loving it! I really enjoy cooking dinner and that is something that I didn't have a whole lot of time to do when I was working. Now that I am home, I can put more time into it instead of just throwing something together as fast as possible. Every once and awhile I even make a few indulgences!

A few weeks ago I found a deal online (another fun hobby of mine!) and was able to get 2 lbs of free decorating chocolate. I didn't really know what to expect with it so I started out really simple and since we had some strawberries in the fridge I decided to dip them! This chocolate is sooo easy to work with and it is the most amazing tasting stuff too. Seriously, to DIE for chocolate! Chocolate Covered Strawberries always take me back to our honeymoon where we bought a bunch of them everyday! One of my favorites!

Another thing I am doing to save a few more dollars is making things from scratch. In the process I have found out how much more delicious things are too. One of my friends introduced me to a quick and easy macaroni and cheese recipe that is very yummy and doesn't have all the additives that boxed mac and cheese has. Another great recipe I found online was for homemade flour tortillas! They are so simple to make and super cheap and sooo much yummier than store bought!

We just pile the tortillas with rice, beans, corn, and cheese and it is one of our favorite and easy meals! I can't wait to keep trying some new things in the kitchen!