Poor Little Peanut

Our poor little doll sprouted another tooth yesterday. Took it like a champ during the day at daycare, but had a rough night at home. She normally gets fussy a little in the evening as her reflux meds wear off so we had that plus her teething. Pretty rough to handle, specially when mommy left her infant motirn at daycare. We had the Tylenol but that doesn not seem to do anything for my kids (or myself for that matter). Her Gripe Water helped even better than the Tylenol. The only way I could keep her calm was in her Peanut Shell. I think she just wanted to snuggle up to her BFF, my boobs. So that is how we spend our night, doing laundry and getting things done, in the Peanut Shell. Poor little peanut, mommy's sorry you are hurting.

P.S. Check out what else our little miss Lilah has been up to HERE.

Wordless Wednesday

Last January . . .

Coupon Skills

Yea, I've got skills. Inspired by a friend of my friend Gina, and one of my new favorite bloggers, http://sharpenyourscissors.blogspot.com/ , I have taken on the new hobby of saving us money. I am trying to be more cost conscious and work on some "process improvements" in our household. I started with the Sunday paper, bough two copies along with some other items on Sunday with a gift card I received from Walgreens for transferring over a prescription (love those deals).

I went throught the coupons and started matching them up with the ads. I then took it a step further and started looking online for coupons. Most manufactures will send you coupons for signing up on their mailing lists. Combine those with store coupons and sales and you can save a lot of money.

My first trip was to my favorite grocery store, Kroger. "My Kroger" in Grand Blanc is a special Kroger. Not only do they have a Starbucks inside, but they double your coupons up to $1, calling them "Bonus Coupons".

This is my first trip testing out my new skills. I stocked up on some necessities and a few favorites. I spent $21.95 and saved $44.15. I was hoping to do a little better but for 22 items, that brings the average cost to less than $1 each. It's a start.

Slow Down Sweetie

On Friday I could lay Lilah down on the couch and not have to worry about walking away for a few seconds . . . those good old days are gone. On Saturday Lilah rolled over from her back to her front. No surprise there, she did not get much tummy time for a while due to her reflux. She practiced her new skill 3 times in the afternoon. She had been pretty fussy but it did not seem like her reflux was bothering her. That was the first clue, then there was the drool covered shirt, and she topped it off with attempting to chomp on my face and leaving a hickey on my hand from chewing and sucking on it. I peeked in her mouth and 3 little jagged points of her bottom left tooth were starting to poke through. So she spend the weekend sleeping about an hour or two at a time, gnawing on cold teething rings, enjoying the infant ibuprofen, and leaving trails of drool on everything she touched. I now remember how much I hate teething. This evening I layed Lilah on her tummy on a blanket on the floor while we were attempting to get some things done, next thing we knew she was on her back, again. Two days and she has rolled over both ways and cut a tooth. I really hope the rest of her infanthood does not go by so fast, I am not ready for another two year old. Maybe if I just strap her in to her high chair she won't learn anything else.

Bigger And Better Things

Lilah has loved her rice cereal so much, she is wanting seconds. I really wanted to wait until 6 months for solids, but because of her reflux and not being able to up her meds yet, we started on rice cereal recently. She has to have it after every meal. Now she is wanting double the amount. I feel like I am stuffing here full of cereal, so we have decided to start on a few veggies.

Last night I made some squash for her. I baked a Butternut Squash and a Winter Squash (I think it's the same as an Acorn Squash, looked the same at least). I pureed it in the Babycook when it was done baking (it bakes better than steaming, that's why I did not steam it in the Babycook too). I could not believe it. The texture was perfectly smooth.

I spend a total of $2 on both of the squashes. Other than cooking time, the total prep time took about 20 minutes. I made 28 2oz servings of baby food. That .07 a serving (based on my HR calculations).

I froze it in my babyfood freezer trays, popped out the cubes and put them in labled ziplock freezer bags.

It's so easy, so cheap, and soo healthy. No preservatives. I know exactly what is in her food.

Why doesn't everyone make their own babyfood?

Reviews on the Butternut Squash - Delicious!! She was mad when it was gone.

My Cowboy Needs A Horse

. . . and so will my little cowgirl. How could I not enter the "Horsing Around" photo contest? Finalists will be announced early February. I am sure I'll be begging for votes once again. If we win all are invited over for a Rodeo!!

Wordless Wednesday

This is what gets me through the day :)

Free Haley!

Yes, poor Haley spend a good 20 minutes of her life locked in our half bathroom this evening. Jonathan has figured out how to lock our doors. Thank goodness the only doors that lock are our bedroom door and the door to our half bathroom. He does not go in the room and lock the door. He locks the door, leaves the room, and traps the poor helpless victim left in the room. The first time it was Lilah and I, no big deal, I unlocked the door and we left. I saw his bedroom and the bathroom door still shut as we got out. Opened his door and went in to the living room, A few minutes later I was walking down the hallway with Jonathan and he looked at the bathroom door and said "Haley in there". Tried the knob and yes, it was locked. "I go in timeout?", "Yes, right to timeout". She was silent in there, but I looked around the house and did not see her so we were sure she was in there. Mike stuck a treat under the door and we could hear her eating it. We tried picking the doorknob with a bobby pin but it did not work. Mike ended up taking off the door knob and letting her out. Poor baby, she was glad to be out. At least she had water in there. I sure hope this is the end of the locked door. If anyone knows how to pick those stupid knobs with the little hole in the middle, let me know. I am afraid I am going to have a trapped toddler in the next few days.

Wordless Wednesday

Special Breakfast/Lunches

Jonathan's breakfast is starting to freak me out. I think it is staring at me. Too bad I didn't give it a mouth. I should find something to add to it. The eyes are egg bowls with olives, I am sure he will eat those first. The pancake is a chocolate hazelnut pancake, it was a mix from Target, i froze the leftovers from a few weeks ago. We are out of syrup so he has a little pinch bowl with peanut butter and jelly to put on it and a few frozen blueberries.

His special lunch is leftover maple glazed chicken tenders we had for dinner tonight, Ditalini pasta cooked in stewed tomatoes my aunt had canned from the summer, and artichokes. I gave him a little pinch bowl or Parmesan cheese to put on his pasta and another pinch bowl with some dried fruit.

I would pack my own special lunch but Dawn is bringing homemade meatball subs for lunch at work tomorrow. Mmmmm!

Lilah's lunch not so exciting, bottles of booby milk and rice cereal for afterwards. The rice cereal has really helped her reflux, and she is loving it. As soon as she sees it she opens her mouth and starts grabbing for it.

Smack That

We went to the mall this afternoon with Aunt Becky to do some shopping. Becky and I were walking slightly ahead with Lilah and Mike was pushing Jonathan in the stroller a few steps behind. I hear Mike apologizing profusely and we turned around and Jonathan had a smirk on his face. A young lady had been walking in the opposite direction and when she walked next to our stroller Jonathan smacked her butt. Yep. She was probably in her mid 20's and pretty. I think she was in shock at first. I started apologizing too and thank goodness she though it was pretty funny. She looked at him and said "You naughty boy", he smiled.

If this is a sign of things to come, we are in trouble.

Jonathan was told to keep his hands in the stroller the rest of the trip. No spanking ladies.

I a grownup?

This is two stories in one. Jonathan has been trying to plug in the lamp by his train table because when he backs up in to it, it unplugs. We have had a conversation about how dangerous it is and only grownups can plug things in. Yesterday Jonathan came running in to our bedroom:

Jonathan: Mom, you a grownup?
Me: Yep
Jonathan: Oh, come 'ere.
Me: What do you need sweetie?
Jonathan: You turn the light on? Thanks.

A few minutes later he walks in to the kitchen.

Jonathan: I not a grownup?
Me: Nope.
Jonathan: I going in time out.
Me: You are? Why?
Jonathan: I turn the light on.
Me: Did you plug it in or did you just turn it on?
Jonathan: I just turn it on.
Me: Then you don't need to go in time out sweetie. You can turn it on, just not plug it in.
Jonathan: Oh, okay.

Should Have Been A Scientist

I think I really should have been a scientist. Mike took Lilah to a doctor's appointment yesterday for her reflux flaring up, she is now taking rice cereal after she eats. Originally he said 1tbs cereal to 1tbs breast milk. Yea that was paste. We are unaware of what the doctor actually recommended, so we are going through a process of trial and error to get this figured out. It sounds very easy, but the mixture has to be thin enough so she can eat/drink it, it has to be thick enough to weigh down the milk in her system to do any good, and we are adding prune juice to keep her comfortable and keep things moving along. She is not a fan of the prune juice flavor. Also, breastmilk breaks down the startches in the cereal so it can not be prepared ahead of time. We have already tried at least 7 differnt times since last night. I am hoping by the end of the weekend we will have the magic mixture down to an art and Lilah's reflu will be under control.

I wanted to wait at least another month before trying cereal with Lialh but we had to start it a lot sooner. I do still want to wait until closer to 6 months before introducing anything else. I would have never been able to rationalize spending the money, but as a gift from my parents, I have fallen in love with the Beaba Babycook. This thing is awesome. I am making my second batch of baby food right now. I decided soon after Lilah was born that I was going to make all of her food. With her reflux she has a very sensitive system, this will eliminate any preservatices or additives, it's fresh food, organic, local, it cost less, it's healthier, and it taste better. It will be perfect as we will be joining a CSA this spring as well. We are not giving her any baby food yet, but I have already made a batch of carrots and working on a batch of broccoli right now. If anyone wants to come over for a babyfood making party, let me know. Bring some fruits or vegetables, I have some here, and we can split a batch.

Can I go to bed now?

Even though it is Wordless Wednesday, I feel guilty for my lack of photo posting and lack of blogging over the past week. My memory card reader for the camera has disappeared and I hate using my flash, and it's dark when I get home from work. No explanation for lack of blogging, just trying to get house back together from Christmas and Lilah's reflux has been flaring up again. So I guess that's an excuse.

I just finished completing our bedtime routine with Jonathan and it seem quite complicated to me. Throw some pajamas on and stick the kid in bed. Simple as that, I wish.

Our bedtime starts off idealy around 7 or 7:30, depending on if it is a bath night. I try to get Jonathan's pajamas on, but he has been insisting on doing it himself. That takes a few minutes, he often gets his head stuck in his shirt, or puts it on upside down. He has wanted to pick our his own pajamas the past few weeks, and he always wants the ones with feet. Pretty funny because he is a little furnace and normally later wants them of. After pajamas we brush our teeth. That also takes a little bit. He has a few toothbrushes to choose from, so we have to pick ONE. . . .

Sorry, had to go take a break to put the monkey's diaper back on.

Toothpaste is another choice. Maybe I offer to many options. We have Thomas Toothpaste (flouride free Orajel), the J/A/S/O/N Strawberry toothpast he got for Christmas (he's not a big fan), or th Dr. Seuss toothpaste (used rarely due to flouride and he tends to forget to swish and spit). He brushes his teeth, I brush his teeth, he washes his hands, I wash his hands . . .

Next we pick out approximatly two books to read. Tonight we read two special books about a cat in the Davisburg Candle Factory that Meema got for him. Great stories and pictures, he loved them. After our books we head to bed.

We say our bedtime prayers, well I say it, Jonathan yells it. Then we each talk about anything else that we want to pray for. Tonight Jonathan said he wants mommy to drive safe, and Aunt Sarah and daddy too. Sometimes we have to say our prayers twice because Jonathan likes it so much. Specially if he forgets to fold his hands, or if I start saying it first, we have to start all over then.

After prayers we have to turn on his "special light" and if the remote is working I will turn on his moon as well. We have to lay a blanket down underneath him, normally Linus blankie, then his arms have to come out the top. Then a different blankie, normally ABC blankie, has to cover his arms. Then hugs and kisses and hopefully that is it for the night.

However, a monkey (technically Curious George, who Jonathan calls "Dangles"), has recently joined the routine. Monkey has to have a diaper on. Once I walk out the door all of a sudden he needs a new diaper and I often have to go back in and stop him from trying to waste all of Lilah's diapers on the monkey. Tonight monkey had to have his arms tucked in with Jonathan.

When Mike is home, the routine comes in later and everything is thrown off. We love you sweetie, and we love having you home, it just messes up our routine.

He's silent now, I am hoping we are done.

Wordless Wednesday

It's me, taken by my friend Amber, for the Hallmark Card Contest I am a finalist in..