Advice Needed: Quick and Easy Meals

Now that I am on bed rest, it usually falls to Paul to scrounge up something for dinner. He's always done a lot of the cooking for our family, but now he has to cook while keeping up with a 19-month-old and somehow squeeze it in between work and household chores. We often receive meals from friends and family, which is great, but it's nice when Paul gets to cook -- it makes life feel a little bit more normal.

However, as I've been making meal plans for each week, I've noticed us falling into a rut. There are only certain meals we can squeeze into the tiny amount of time that is available to us. Dishes that require a lot of preparation or a long baking time aren't always practical.

So I am turning to you, talented friends. What are your go-to quick-and-easy recipes? Gimme gimme.

Here are the picky requirements, though:
- The meals must involve very little processed food.  We try to stay away from sodium, preservatives, and corn syrup.
- The meals must truly be easy from the start. So, starting with a cup of cooked chicken leftover from last night's homemade soup is cheating -- that actually requires the extra prep of cooking chicken before starting the rest of the easy dish, because we generally don't have leftover cooked chicken sitting in our fridge.
- Paul won't eat beans, and I won't eat fish. And I probably won't eat eggs (that's a pregnant thing for me).

Okay, chefs, are you up to the challenge? Don't worry if you are flummoxed by my requirements; we can continue quite happily with our current list of meals. However, I think it might be fun to see what you guys suggest!

28

I'm now 28 weeks pregnant. 28.5, actually. Wow. I'm so thankful. Ten weeks ago, I wasn't at all sure I would make it. I've only now started to allow myself to think about what the new baby might need or how his room might look.

A friend actually brought me a "Happy 28" cookie cake, which was wonderful and fun.

It's funny to step back and look at all the strange thoughts rattling around in my head. Last night I caught myself hoping that this baby will be "normal" and have an easy time breastfeeding, unlike Ian.



Normal? Ian was about an normal as a baby can get. In fact, he was rather healthily beyond normal, arriving at 40 weeks, weighing 9.5 lbs, scoring a 9 and a 10 on his Apgar, and sleeping through the night when he was a few months old (okay, you can stop hating me now, I know how lucky I am!). Our nursing issues were the only rough spot in a very bright and easy first year.

When Ian was born, I mourned that he had to be induced and that he ended up as a C-section (his manly head and shoulders were a little too big for my body). From the start of this pregnancy I knew I would probably have another C-section, since those issues have a high rate of recurrence. It's funny, though -- I remember telling Paul in the first trimester that I hoped I would at least have the chance to go into labor and do the mad dash to the hospital instead of having a scheduled C-section, just so I could have that experience.

Ahem.

A mad dash to the hospital at 17 weeks was not the idea of labor I had in my head.

So here I am, 28 weeks, immensely grateful that at this point I am likely to have a "normal baby" -- meaning a baby I can someday hold in my arms, even if not right away. A baby who will eventually learn to walk and talk even if it's a little delayed, who I can get to know over the course of several years, not a few short minutes. 

Yes, I am glad to be here.

P.S. - Public service reminder -- If you have a newborn in your life, especially a preemie, remember to get your flu shot and possibly your pertussis booster as well. Lots of people work really hard to get these babies here safely, so let's do our part to keep them healthy!

My Little Hockey Man

My husband and I have created a monster. A hockey monster.

We took our little guy to several Predators games last year, but he was really too young to pay much attention to the action on the ice.

This year, however, seems to be a different story. Although I haven't been able to go to games with my guys, I've seen several pictures that show Ian clapping during player introductions or staring rapt at the ice.

I have been able to experience this new hockey mania in a few ways at home, though. My in-laws kindly bought us cable so I could watch Predators games while stuck in bed. Ian has gotten to watch part of a few games with me, and he's hooked.

I turned on the TV Thursday night to watch some pre-game, and as soon as Ian saw the ice he pointed excitedly at the television. However, when the pre-game coverage switched to player interviews, he insistently pointed to the remote control and then to the TV in a move I interpreted as "Put the hockey back on!" Apparently in-game footage is the only thing that will pacify my little monster.

Generally, Ian refuses any attempts at singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Wheel on the Bus" these days. Yes, the only thing he wants to hear is the "Let's Go Predators" chant, claps and all.

And when Daddy's hockey sweater comes out of the laundry, it is received with a point and an exclamation of "ha-eeee!" ("hockey").

I think my little boy has found his first love.

Week in Review

Hi,  peeps.

Wow, I feel like I have a had a really crazy week. Just lots of little and big stress events combining to throw life into a bit of a whirlwing.

Baby #2 and I are good, though. My OB today said that January 10 is our best-case delivery date (39 weeks), but that I need to prepare for a December baby. I'll take it!

I feel so incredibly huge. I've heard my friends with multiple kids talk about feeling (and actually being) bigger with their second (and so on) pregnancies, but to experience it is quite odd. I feel like I was this big at 36 weeks with Ian, and I'm not sure how my poor belly is going to stretch for another 3 months' worth of growth.

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. Some of my reading has been research into creating traditions for my kids that reflect my beliefs, from special holidays to everyday habits. This is one of those "heavy weight of responsibility" parts of parenting for me. I mean, there is joy to be had in telling my children about my beliefs, but I feel a burden to create family traditions that are meaningful and sincere, not half-baked awkward attempts. Sigh.

I am so happy it's fall, despite being stuck inside. Fall is the best. Oh, and my friends that brought me pumpkin juice and butter beer for a Harry Potter marathon on Saturday? They're the best, too.

Help for High-Risk Pregnancies

During this bed rest journey, I am so grateful for the many resources available to help families experiencing high risk pregnancies. This is a hard road for many reasons; for me, finding support means finding sanity. I thought I would list a few of the resources I have found helpful and invite you to list things that may have helped you during a similar time.

Babycenter Boards -- Much to my surprise, the specialized boards on Babycenter have been an amazing support for me. In addition to my "January 2010 Birth Club" group, I am a member of groups for Cervical Disorders and Bed Rest. The fellowship on these boards remind me of when I would go out to dinner with a group of women every week. This is a great place for me to turn late at night when I'm feeling discouraged.

Inspire -- Nancy told me about this site, which has another set of support groups for sharing specific issues. From what I've seen, this has a little bit less idle chatter than the Babycenter Boards and more of a focused feel.

Sidelines -- This organization specializes in providing support to women in high risk pregnancies by pairing them with a mentor who has been through a similar situation. I have an email buddy who was on long-term on bed rest with an incompetent cervix, and she's quick to offer encouragement and a listening ear when I need it. Sidelines always has helpful articles and a list of books, including books for older chlildren experiencing a mom on bed rest.

Parents Reaching Out -- I'm just starting to learn about this organization, but it seems to be a local Nashville group that provides peer counseling for high risk pregnancies and parents with NICU babies.

Mommy Blogs -- Nancy and Mollie are two bloggers who are very inspiring to me during this journey. I've found some other helpful blogs by googling my city and "bed rest" and other key words. It may sound silly, but hearing similar stories from moms who live near me helps me escape the isolation I sometimes feel.

Books -- I just read Days in Waiting, and it has some great tips for surviving long-term bed rest. I wish I had read it 2 months ago! The book also has advice on being an advocate for yourself during hospital bed rest. Nancy lent me Preemies: The Essential Guide for Parents of Premature Babies in case I end up needing it, and I've already found the information in there useful as I wonder what to expect.

Unexpected Blessings -- Of course, sometimes one never can tell from whence strength for the next day will come. Tonight I was reading a book that quoted the hymn "O Let Your Soul Now Be Filled with Gladness," and somehow that was exactly what I needed to hear.

~~~

In addition to listing some things that are helping me through my pregnancy, I also wanted to note that October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Month. To all the brave families out there who have suffered a loss in their lives -- your babies are not forgotten!

Please feel free to share with me what helped you through difficult time with your pregnancy, loss, or infertility.

Is the UPS Nightmare Over?

Thanks to some wonderful, responsive UPS employees, I think the issues have been resolved. EvanAtUPS contacted me shortly after my blog post, and a wonderful person named Keyshauna in Accounts Receivable tracked down the problem and emailed the collections agency to let them know I don't owe anything.

I would still be a little wary recommending UPS to any small business considering the time and effort it took for this situation to be resolved. In fact, the resolution this week took several extra days due to an error with their email system [forehead slap]. I was starting to feel like I would never settle this.

However, I will continue occasionally to use UPS for my personal shipping needs, thanks to the diligence of Evan and Keyshauna. You guys have my permission to do so as well.  ;-)

My last lingering fear is that the collection agency won't let this go, even though I saw an email from someone at the agency confirming that the account is now closed. Just to be on the safe side, I am going to send them a letter letting them know UPS and I have settled our differences.

Many thanks to all of you who offered advice and encouragement via Twitter and Facebook. Your support helped me pursue this thing to the end(?).


Case closed? We shall see.

UPS: Bad for Small Business?

During the 2 years I had a small business, I never used UPS for shipping. But somehow, a year after I closed my business, they are giving me a headache.

I opened a UPS account when I first started my retail website, thinking I would use them for shipping. It turned out to be easier for me to just set my website up with the United States Postal Service, so I decided to stick with them and look at adding UPS later. After the birth of my first child, I decided to close my business before I got to the point of expanding shipping options.

I never thought to cancel my UPS account....I just figured it would go inactive eventually, since I never used it. (Christy's Mistake #1).

On May 8, 2010, I received an invoice charging me $55 for shipping, when my business had been closed for 5 months. When I received the invoice, I called UPS to dispute the charge. The shipping document lists a sender in Arizona a receiver in Oregon. I'm in Tennessee. Presumably, one of these other companies should have been charged the shipping costs. I called UPS on May 14, 2010, and spoke to a representative, who told me that she took the charge off of my bill and sent it to the correct customer. She mentioned that it looked like the charge had already been paid, presumably by the correct account.

I received another invoice dated June 19, 2010, with an additional charge of $10.00. Apparently, the shipping cost had been charged to my business debit card. I closed by business bank account in 2009 when I closed my business, so the charge was declined, and I was billed an extra $10 by UPS. I called the UPS customer service number again, and this time I was referred to Accounts Receivable. I spoke to a gentleman in Accounts Receivable who said that the representative to whom I had spoken previously had credited my account for $55.78 but had not applied it to an invoice. The A/R guy said that he would apply the credit to my account and ask that the $10.00 fee be waived. He also said that he would request that my account be canceled, since my business was no longer in operation.

I received a Past Due notice from UPS dated June 29, 2010. The notice listed my account balance as $65.78, so apparently previous attempts to remove this incorrect charge had failed. This time the representative suggested that I fax a letter of authorization to this number, asking that the incorrect charge be billed to another account. The representative also said she would try to fix my account from her end.

I faxed my letter explaining to situation to UPS on July 19. I received a phone call a week or so later from someone at UPS saying they were going to refund the amount to my debit card. Unfortunately, I was shopping with my toddler in Whole Foods at the time, so I found it hard to carry on a conversation. I explained to the UPS representative that my card no longer existed because the business was closed and the account was closed. Thus, they could not refund any charge on my card -- in fact, they never charged my card at all; that's why they added the extra $10 fee! The representative said okay and hung up. I figured if they were wanting to refund my account, everything must be resolved.

And here I must point out Christy's mistakes #2 and #3. I wish, wish, wish, that I had asked the representative if I could call her back at a better time when I could take notes. I wish I had asked UPS to send me a letter stating that my account was clear.

Actually, that brings me to Christy's Mistake #4. I let the whole situation slip from my mind. Of course, that's because in early August I started having pregnancy complications and had to go into the hospital, and then on home bed rest. I was a little distracted. Hope you'll forgive that one.

So imagine my surprise last Thursday when I received a bill from a collections agency for my UPS account. A collections agency? What?! 

I called UPS on Thursday and left a message, and I called again on Friday when I didn't hear anything. The person in Accounts Receivable to whom I spoke said she would have the person who handled the dispute call me back in an hour. I never heard anything.

Today, I called UPS again. The representative to whom I spoke said the person with whom I had that conversation in Whole Foods noted that the card had been refunded and belonged to an ex-employee. The rep today said that I needed to go after the ex-employee who owned that card. Um, no, I was the only employee of my business, and the card was destroyed! The account is closed! I never shipped anything with UPS!.

"Oh, you never shipped anything with UPS? Well, let me check with the people who refunded your card and get back to you tomorrow."

Sigh. Right. Tomorrow.

Just in case, I called my bank to confirm that UPS could not, indeed, refund money to a closed account. They confirmed that UPS tried to do something to my account, but neither a charge nor a refund would be able to take effect on a closed account. 

I've also been trying to call the collections agency to let them know I am disputing this charge, but they aren't particularly apt to answer the phone. I assume they would rather me just pay the charge and leave them alone.

I only have a few more days' patience with UPS. This already has been a five-month journey. I don't know. I guess I should call the Better Business Bureau?

At any rate, I don't recommend UPS for any small business owner. Don't even open an account. You may come to regret it. 

P.S. -- Advice welcome! How do I get UPS to set things right?