Monday, April 18, 2011

CAN I DO IT???

A lot on my mind right now. Staying healthy for my baby is a high priority. But I'm stressing. I'm getting morning sickness A LOT. I also have a lot of new responsibilities at the ranch. Secretarial work, cooking, the ranch boys, ect. Not to mention my house is still in boxes.
I am H O M E S I C K. A Disney movie started playing at my house this afternoon and I started crying because I miss Disneyland. Serious. I am a emotional wreck. I have not exercised at all in like 3 weeks. Everything is off in my usual daily life. My routine, my diet, my exercise. My home, internet, phone, stores, everything.

I'm not trying to complain. I really like Tennessee. It's so beautiful. The town here is soooo cute. I really love the ranch boys. Some of them are hard, some are sweet as pie. My husband gets called late at night to deal with rebellion in a certain boy. It's a heart wrentching ministry because you just weep for them and you want them to do right, but only they can choose that. Some of them have parents at home that cry and pray for them to change, and others haven't spoken with their bio-logical parents in years. When you know what some of them have been through in their lives, or what some of them have done that resulted in them being here, it's truly emotional. God has given us a love for them all.

I am just wondering to myself, can I do all this??? Can I have a healthy pregnancy and not gain all the weight when I just uprooted out of my normal, stable life into the un know?? Can I cook for 20+ people every other day and still make healthy yummy food so I and my family and baby and all the ranch boys are healthy? Can I handle all the responsibility??

I made my first two ranch meals last week. I cooked Chicken and Dumplings for 30 people, and baked 6.5 dozen brownies. Everyone loved it=) The next night I made 12 pizza's (frozen) a huge salad and peach cobbler. Obviously the easy foods to make for a lot of people are pre-packaged. I really need to search my cookbooks for healthy easy recipes. If you have one please share!!

Love, The Curvy Housewife

6 comments:

safire said...

Pastas are always fast, affordable and crowd-pleasing.

Best of luck! If I had to cook for 20 people per day, I would find it hard to focus on my own eating habits! Hopefully other people are helping you out!

Baking a large roast would be easy with some easy sides like spinach, potatoes, and salad.

Hamburgers! Form your own patties and have a condiment bar.

:D

Ex Yo-Yo Dieter Debbie said...

You are probably much stronger than you realize. It'll take time to adjust to your new home, but you'll get there...You may need more contact with where you just moved from at first, just to feel like you're still connected. Over time, you'll start to make in-roads into your new community. It's tough, but you can do it.

(I moved from Chicago to Moscow, Russia almost two years ago - it took me over a year to get into the swing of it, and some days I still don't like it here, but I have learned to appreciate the experince of living somewhere so radically different from what I'm used to.)

Thank God for the Internet!!!

Make sure you take time to take care yourself...I agree with Safire - you need some help to cook for all those people!

Becca said...

For a large crowd:

Lasagna - You can always make it in stages which can make it easier. This is also something you can make on a day when you feel great and freeze for those days when you don't feel good at at all.

Pizza Casserole- Spiral noodles, pepperoni, speggetti sauce, cheese. To add some veggies you could add some bell peppers, onion, even canned tomatoes. Easy peasy.

Sloppy Joes - Pretty easy to make from scratch, not too unhealthy and can be made and stuck in the crock-pot to simmer.

Since Easter is coming up hams should be on sale and pretty cheap. If you roast them in the oven and add some potato salad and green beans you have a pretty easy pretty healthy meal. If you have the freezer space you could buy some extra for another meal down the road.

That's all I can think of currently ... Sorry this was so long!

Jennifer said...

You can do it! :)

Here's a cookbook we use at my camp:

http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Fifty-Complete-Reference-Cookbook/dp/047157015X

Kimberly said...

Hi Adrienne,
Listen, you're going through SO MANY changes right now. A move, pregnancy, new location, ministry...wow!!! It's going to take time to adjust and I'm sure you will. As for the food, I'd try to use a crockpot to help you out as much as possible. I hope things settle down for you soon. When they do, maybe Sharon and I can come down for a day and whisk you away for a girls day out...lunch, a walk, etc.

I'll have you in my prayers!!! Be blessed.

Weightless said...

I'm not envious of cooking for that many people that often but you have an amazing opportunity. Just think how much of an influence you will have on the overall health of all the boys. You know eating healhty is the number 1 way to stay healthy. Everything else is a bonus.

I can imagine how many changes you have going on right now. Throw hormones into it and I can imagine being an emotional mess. But I know you can have a healthy pregnancy and you will adjust.

Meal planning seems like it will be your best bet for time and health reasons. If I were you I'd take a calendar and write out all the meals you plan on cooking. Then break it down, by the things you will need. I'm not sure if you are on a food allowance/budget or not. I've heard cooking of people who cook for the whole month in advance and then freezing stuff until they needed it. It saves on time, effort and money. Google meal planning and it will give you so many ideas. Healthy is best, for you, baby and boys.

Miss you and the fam xoxo