Baby Food Makin’ Mommas

When I tell other moms that I make my own baby food, you don’t know how many times they just about boil over with amazement.  I started to think that most people probably think there is some kind of science or ingenious preparation that has to go into it.  I didn’t do it because I wanted to be a super mom or anything. I just did it because I thought it sounded fun, was healthier for my lil’ guy and because it was soooo much more affordable than store bought baby food! 

It may seem overwhelming and difficult, but it really isn’t!  After getting a baby food cookbook for Christmas, I got really pumped and couldn’t wait til he was ready for solids! The cookbook is called Baby Love, written by Norah O’Donnell and Chef Geoff Tracy.  Click here to find it on Amazon.  The book is super easy to follow and has great tips for someone who is just starting out!

Shay and I started out strong and planned a night after work to make some our first batch.  Now, I will say the first time we got together it was challenging, but we learned a lot and it got easier. We picked 4 recipes!  Here are the lessons we learned that night:

1. Leave the little ones with Daddy or get a babysitter!  We both had our lil’ munchkins and while they were very well behaved, it was hard to relax and have fun with it when your trying to multi-task.
2. Block out at least 2 hours for several recipes!  I’ve done 1 recipe several times and been just fine doing it amongst chores, every day household things, etc. But 4 recipes in our first night was pretty ambitious!  And we only finished 2!
3. Spinach smells horrible when overcooked!   Most of you probably knew that one, but I thought I’d share it anyway!

Also, before you start, here are my thoughts/suggestions of things I’ve learned since that first night:

• You don’t need a fancy food processor or blender.  I just used my everyday blender. Although I’d love to try something like the Baby Breeza! 
• Plan on preparing large batches and freezing them!  I doubled most of the recipes!
• You don’t always need a recipe!  As long as your dinner doesn’t have any ingredients that may not be baby-friendly, then throw it in the blender and freeze it too!!
• Get containers that can be used to freeze, defrost and travel with!  The book I mentioned above suggests ice cube trays.  I started using ice cube trays, but hated that there were 2 more steps (1. putting the cubes into Ziplocs once they were frozen so they didn’t get freezer burn, then 2. finding another dish once you wanted to move it to the fridge for defrosting)!  There are lots of products available that are specifically designed to hold serving size amounts!  I absolutely love the ones I use.  I wish I could find a link to them online, but the best I can do is a picture of my own (see below).  They are from Babies R Us and they are the Babies R Us brand too!  The best part is, you can put them in the freezer then transfer a whole tray at a time into the fridge and even grab one portion at a time when you’re “on the go”.  Another side note, never use glass containers unless the glass is designed for freezing!  It could burst or worse yet, crack unknowingly and leave tiny crystals in your baby’s yummy food!

Now, www.wholesomebabyfood.com says “For optimal quality and nutrient retention, keep frozen baby food cubes in the freezer for a maximum of 3 months.” so that is what I went by.  But I didn't have any problem, because my lil’ guy was such a great eater, we ended up making it about every month to keep up!

Since I started, I find it really easy now to just throw some things in the oven or in a pot then into a blender!

Lil’ C’s favorite was sweet potatoes so I thought I share that recipe with you! 

Perfectly Basic Sweet Potato (from Baby Love)

• Makes 36 ounces
• Age:  6 Months plus

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 pounds sweet potato (about 2 medium sized potatoes or 1 really big one)
• 24 ounces of water

Steps:

1.  Preheat Oven to 400 degrees F.

2.  Cut the potatoes lengthwise.

3.  Place potatoes flesh side down on a sheet tray.

4.  Pour 8 ounces of the water onto the sheet tray.

5.  Roast approximately 60 minutes until tender.  The potatoes should be bubbling and caramelized
6.  Allow to cool 10 - 15 minutes so you can hold the potatoes without a problem.



7.  Spoon out the flesh and pour into the blender with remaining water.  Puree until smooth.
8.  Pour into ice cube trays (or whatever containers you have purchased) and allow to cool.


9.  Wrap (if you used ice cube trays) and freeze.

I did this recipe before I had my nifty little baby food containers!  But my favorite part about this recipe is the 60 minutes while they are cooking... you have time to do something else!  Cook another baby food recipe, make dinner, laundry, play with your LO...or anything else that you want to get done!!  Hope you enjoy and thanks again to Baby Love for making such easy, healthy recipes for our babies!!

Do any of you make your own baby food?  If so, let us know your favorite tools and tips!!! 

In Search of a Good Family Calendar!

So I am highly anticipating next year…okay not really, I’m actually just on the hunt for a new calendar that will help me manage our household a little bit better.  My hubby and I recently starting living by the “If it’s not on the calendar, then it’s not happening” rule that my girlfriend Erin taught me. 

See it all started with several misunderstandings over who was going to watch Lil’ C.  Here is the low down.

First Challenge:  It’s not called babysitting if it’s your own child
I’d say, “Hey honey, I’m going to do ____ on Thursday night” and he’d say, “well who is watching Lil’C?”  I started off hiding all my fury and just respond with, “well honey, do you have any plans?” and he’d respond ever so kindly… “no, I guess I could babysit.”  Please tell me I’m not alone in this…but whenever my husband has to watch our son he refers to it as babysitting!  Ugh, doesn’t that drive you nuts?  News flash!  It’s not called babysitting if it’s your own kids!  So we worked on that and he responds much more appropriately now!  So once I learned to squeeze that lemon, I moved on to the next thing….

Second Challenge:  Double Booked
So the next calendar challenge would be when I’d have plans and so would my husband, so we’d have to battle it out and someone would end up very unhappy.  This even happens when something over laps in times.  For instance, he’d have planned on fishing and told me he was going to fish the morning and I would have planned on going to cooking club that evening.  We’d communicate those details and thing we’d have it covered, but wouldn’t necessarily talk about the times.  So he’d get home 30 minutes after I was suppose to leave!  I know your thinking, “Another easily avoidable misunderstanding,” but we were still learning okay?

The Solution: 
So after several of these situations, my girlfriend shared with me her arrangement at home with the calendar…  She said (in some funnier, not so polite words) “If it’s not on the calendar then it’s not happening”.  So I started implementing that at home.  And it has really started to work.  I write things down once I know about them and my husband (who remember, is type A all the way), looks at the calendar every day and knows what is coming up! 

So long story short, right now we just use this regular old wall calendar, which works, but could be a lot better.  I’ve started looking online for something that is a little more family friendly.  With a new baby coming next year, I need more space on each day.  I’d like to find one that allows for each member of our family to have a line.  Kind of like this one:  http://www.calendars.com/Moms-Organizers/Household-Manager-2012-Wall-Calendar/prod201200000860/?categoryId=cat00153

Since I really feel like you’re only as good as the tools you have, I thought I’d ask other moms!  Does anyone else use a calendar like this?  And if so, how do you like it?  Or what do you not like about it??

Baby Sleep Training: Tips and Book Review

The most common questions I get about raising Lil’ C is regarding sleep.  I am very blessed to be able to say he’s always been a “good sleeper”.  He started off sleeping through the night at around 2 1/2 months.  While I do attribute some of it to nature, I attribute most of it to nurture!  Nothing bugs me more than when people say, you are so lucky.  Because to be honest, sleep training isn’t easy, in fact, it’s quite hard.  It takes a lot of commitment and A LOT patience.

It started when I was pregnant.  I knew that I feel more empowered by reading, so I started asking other moms about sleep books and got three main recommendations:  The Baby Sleep Solution, Baby Whisperer and Baby Wise. 

Here is a fairly concise review of the three books and what they have to offer.

NOTE:  I did NOT follow any 1 book exactly but instead I took tips and tricks from each of the books in order to make my own schedule/routine that worked best for us (because I do believe you can train your little one, but I also realize that every baby is different…so you have to learn to adapt and make your own plan). 

• The Baby Sleep Solution: This is a die-hard scheduling book!  It gives you step by step directions of what to do and when.  I really liked the direction it provided and the idea of the “night time tool box” versus the “day time tool box”.  It also provided lots of other tips and tricks that I took which helped a lot!  It also encouraged me to write everything down from day 1, which really helped when training time came around.


• Baby Whisperer: I LOVED this book.  It taught me about the cycle of Eat, Awake, Sleep.  I used this cycle as a “must do” when I started training Lil ‘C.  It’s also a very easy read and gives lots of great tips!  


• Baby Wise: This was a hard book to read.  I picked it up once and put it down because it has all kinds of numbers and statistics that go along with the advice it gives.  I am the kind of person who doesn’t care how you got to the solution, I just want to hear your claim and evaluate it myself.  If you are the kind of person who wants to hear about the clinical trials and all the results from their studies, then by all means, this is the book for you.  When I picked it up the second time I decided I’d skip all the statistics and just read for the “findings”.  When I did that, I found it was easier to get through and it too provided great tips and tricks

One thing I wish I’d done, and still may do, is actually BUY the books instead of borrow them.  I would have liked to refer back to them once Lil ‘C arrived and I would have written notes in the books and highlighted key points!  When you have a new born and are sleep deprived, it is hard to remember what you’ve been told/read.

My three biggest pieces of advice:

1. From day one, keep track of what he or she does.  Below is a snapshot of the spreadsheet I made and kept on a clipboard in the nursery, where I wrote down everything for the first two months.  This will help you evaluate his or her natural behaviors before sleep training begins.  If you need details about what I wrote in each section, just let me know in the comments and I’ll explain in more detail!

2. Be consistent but not too stuck in your ways that you can’t determine when something isn’t working.  Here’s what I mean….  Babies are new to the world, so they are learning.  They learn from everything you do.  So when things are constantly changing, they can’t get adjusted and used to what is going on enough to get settled.  Give something at least three to four days of consistency before saying it doesn’t work.  So when you are putting your baby down for a nap, do the same things each time (womb bear, baby on back, pacifier, etc).  Make a routine so that they know those things mean sleepy time!  Also, pick different things for naps than you do for nights.  This will help them determine the difference between night time sleep and short spurts of day time sleep (i.e. naps).  For instance, we only swaddled Lil’ C during the night.  As they get older, things will change every month or so and you have to make sure you’re aware of when this happens and change it up a little.  For instance, at around 6 months, he started fussing at naptime instead of going down with no problem like he used to.  I figured it was because he wasn’t tired yet and so I switched him to a longer “loop” (which I’ll talk about in another post).  So after he ate, he was up for 2 hours before nap time instead of 1 ½ like before.  Babies change all the time and just about the time you think you have them figured out, something else comes along.  So be consistent but flexible!!!

3. Remember that whatever you do, do not create bad habits.  They are harder to break than to create!   Shay and I say “What is hard now, will make it easy later.  While what is easy now, will make it harder later.”  And what I mean by that is this….At three in the morning, I knew that Lil’C would go right back to sleep if I nursed him.  But that only encourages a mentality for him that he needs to eat multiple times during the night.  So if I knew he didn’t need to eat (based on his last feeding time and the fact that he’d slept in longer stretches before), then I’d try everything else (diaper, paci, rocking, mobile, re-swaddle, etc.) before I fed him and 99.9% of the time, something else worked and I didn’t have to resort to feeding.  The books above go into more detail about when to hold off and when to go ahead and feed.  The all have a wealth of knowledge and I couldn’t have imagined doing it without reading them first!  

I honestly could go on for days about things that helped, things that didn’t, and things that frankly, I don’t agree with, but I’ll keep it simple for now! I have lots more info in my brain about naps and bedtime routines, but those will be later posts!  I’m not an expert by any means, but this worked like a charm for me!  So take it as you wish! And as always, we love to hear your suggestions, tips and stories!

My Arch Nemesis: PAPER CLUTTER!

Whether it's piled, filed, stabled, or clipped I can't stand paper clutter! You know what I mean.... those mounds of magazines (that you have been “meaning to read”), bank and investment statements, notes, bills, receipts, invoices.... it all drives me nuts.  

So, I am a scanning maniac!

A few years back, Shawn and I bought a scanner (HP Officejet Pro) at a CompUSA close out sale. We purchased it for about $150 and I’d venture to say it was the best money I have ever spent.  So, I thought I would share a little about my system and why I love it so much in case you are going through the same anxiety I was every time I walked into our office!

What you need:

·        Computer

·        Scanner

·        A thumb (jump) drive

·        Recycling Bin

·        Email address

Step 1:  Organize your piles.  Take everything out of your filing cabinets and start putting them into piles separated into different categories.  This will make the next step that much easier.

Step 2:  Make folders in your computer's My Documents folder on your computer that correlate to your categories above.  If you are not computer savvy and do not know how to do this here is how!

Here are the titles to my folders:

1. Bank Statements – Now I get them through email however I still pull them up on my email and save then as the date (July2011) in this folder.  Then I immediately delete them from my email (nothing worse than a full inbox).

2. Investment Accounts

3. Utilities – With the following sub-folders

a. Cox Communications (our TV, Internet, and Cable provider)

b. Power

c. Waste/Water

4. Cell Phone Statements

5. Cards

6. Medical – Sub-folders include Shawn, Shay, Miss H

7. Insurance – Sub-folders include Health, Car, Home, Flood, Life, etc.

8. Other – This is really anything that doesn't fall into another category

Step 3:  Start Scanning.  Needless to say if you have not ever scanned anything you will need to review your instruction manual and practice with a few things.

Here are my scanning tips:

1.     Do not try to do more than 10 pages at once.  With the list of things you should be scanning I can’t imagine why you would need to do this… but at-home scanners are not made for large bulk scanning and you will get frustrated by the paper feeder pulling too many pages at once, or getting jammed! TRUST ME!

2.     When you scan something in, it should go automatically into a “Scans” folder in you’re My Computer drive. You can open this whole folder and right click and hold on the scan you want to select, then drag the scan into the folder you have made (from the list above).  This will save you from opening and doing the whole “save as” routine.

3.     If your statements come printed front and back… which many do… you will need to make a copy of the back sides, put the pages back in order (including your copies) and then scan. To save paper (my new eco-friendly ways) I keep paper I have printed on before or maybe old one-sided statements in a box under my desk. Then I use those to make the copies. That way I don’t have to buy paper to just throw it away.  By “throw away” I mean recycle of course, which brings me to our next step…

Step 4:  RECYCLE!!! Don’t let all that paper you get in the mail turn into more waste buried on our earth! If at all possible go to paperless statements and bills but if not, then recycle!

Step 5:  The last step is the MOST important.  BACK IT UP… and no I do not mean your booty! Whether you use the thumb drive mentioned above or an external hard drive you must save your documents somewhere other than you individual computer. I know it’s hard for us to believe (if you’re like me you think computers are angels sent from heaven) but computers are not perfect and they don’t last forever! They break, malfunction, and sometimes even die for no reason at all.  It will only take this happening to you once before you realize just how important this step is.  Who could forget that episode of Sex And The City where Carrie’s computer crashes and she freaks… in case you forgot here’s a clip!

I hear it from new moms all the time. “We are growing out of this house” or “I just have no room since the kids”.  But bottom line is you CAN have more space without purging everything in your house completely. (Stay tuned for more space saving blogs)

 Here are a few tips on how long you should keep specific records…

·        Tax returns or tax related items – 7 years.  Note, the IRS does take scanned receipts as well as originals… they actually last longer if you scan them!

·        Yearly Savings plan/Retirement Statements – Until you retire. You should only keep monthly statements through the year until you get your yearly statement.

·        Paycheck Stubs – 1 Year. Make sure you get your W-2 and make sure it matches your stubs and then recycle those bad boys.

·        Credit Card Statements – If these are correlated to tax deductible expenses then you should keep these along with your tax documents for 7 years. If not, you only need to keep them for 45-60 days.

·        Housing Closing Docs – Forever. Enough said!

·        Bank Records – Either 1 year or if they are related to taxes like mentioned with the credit card statements keep them for 7 years.

·        Bills – Most of the time you should only need to keep these for 1 year (utility bills, non tax related, and small purchase).  I would say for large purchase (TV’s, Computers, Wedding Rings, etc.) you should keep these bills and receipts as long as you have the items.

So, I hope this helps in your space saving endeavors.  You can never have enough room but you can sure get rid of the paper clutter! I promise it will make you feel a lot less stressed when you walk into your office and don’t see stacks of paper lying around! 

Computer.... HELP!

While starting this blog I realized just how BADLY I need a new computer.  I shudder to think about computer shopping again because (even though I feel I'm more tech savvy than the average lemon...ha-ha get it?) for me it's one of the most over-whelming tasks.  So I thought, since I have this great resource now, I will ask you for help.  I am interested in a desk top (maybe all-in-one touch screen?) and a laptop. 

Here are my must haves….

1. SPEED:  Internet and multitasking ability is a must.  The more you get to know me, the more you will realize how impatient I am! Thank god I am not trying this back in the “dial-up” days!

2. Web Cam:  We will eventually begin to post videos! Also, since my parents live out of the state I would love to be able to Skype with them so they can see "Miss H" grow!

3. Microsoft Office: We are addicted to Excel spreadsheets! (you will see… just keep checking back for great templates)

4. Photo Friendly: Definitely need plent of storage for photos (I love taking pictures) and programs to view and edit them!

5. Size:  I'd like a large screen yet compact unit! I love not having to scroll across or down on every website or program but I can’t stand bulky heavy units! With a growing family in a small rancher, space is always limited (which is why I hate paper clutter… I’d rather have room for accessories!!!)

Here is what I don’t need…

1. No beef'd up gaming, graphics, galore needed.  I don’t play video games.

2. No preference on color (although I LOVE lemon yellow )

3. I am completely Mac illiterate! So sorry Apple I just can’t figure you out!

4. Ability to play movies on my desktop is not a necessity. 

And I think that is about it! So let me know your thoughts on brands, processors, hard drive space, etc. Because I KNOW all mommies need a great computer and I am sure many of you have them! I will write back and let you know what I choose and how I like it!

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE as my skin is crawling thinking about all the options!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, TRY AGAIN!

It's my never ending war of trying to "go green" as they say. My battle always starts strong; plenty of warriors (Shawn and I that is), lots of armor (loads of ideas and ways to accomplish the mission), and LOADS of ammunition (we make A LOT of waste). So I thought I would share my journey and struggles, and challenge all of you to fight for the same. Because even if you don't buy the whole "global warming" philosophy, common sense tells you our resources can't last forever and our trash can't keep being buried underground!

Here are the things I got down pat... recycling cans and bottles, turning the water off when I brush my teeth (an action that was DRILLED into my head long before this blog post), and using Tupperware instead of zip lock bags, foil, and/or plastic wrap.

So I am giving myself three tasks to hold strong to! Cause lets be real... 3 changes at once is about all I can take.

1. Use less paper towels! Not only will this help the enviroment but it will also help my wallet! YIPPEE! Shawn and I go through a ton of paper towels every month so I am going to make key substitutions in my lineup of household tools to win this battle! Here they are...

Currently uses:	My goal is to start using these instead:
Washing Windows	Newspaper – I can reuse my mother-in-laws since I don’t get the paper on a regular basis. Then I will recycle it!
Wiping Off Counter Top	A microfiber towel that I have had for many years,  Remeber, not all microfiber towels are made equal! Don't buy the cheapest one on the shelf or you may not get the best absorbtion!! I use the Kitchen Millenium Microfiber Towel.
Cleaning (Floors, Bathrooms, Etc.)	Scotch-Brite Greener Clean Natural Fiber Scrub Sponges  purchased at Walmart, as well as using a different microfiber towel I have same brand and type as listed above. (however not the same towel... EW!)
Drying Off Hands (Yes, I know!)	Good ole’ fashion dish towel
Napkins	Ummm, Uhh…....Okay, I got nothin’ Let’s just say this is a freebee? 4 out of 5 isn’t bad right?

2. Staaaarrrtt a compost pile - (in a soft whisper)... YIKES!!! Seems so scary! And Shawn is desperately trying to convince me otherwise. Yet is so appealing and sounds sooo earth friendly! (just call me Cloud). So WE'RE IN! Stay tuned for a post on how we start the pile and what we put in it.

3. Reusable bags for the shopping - The best part is... I already have them!  Because every time I see a cute, trendy, "green friendly" shopping bag near a check out I fall victim to my wanna-be green impulse, and buy it (remember...part of my battle "starting strong"). Or I get them as freebies at events! Then I get home and store them in my coat closet, only to be brought out occasionally for carrying things from my house to someone else's. So here they are... all my bags!!!

Wow, didn't even know I had this many until I went into all the nooks and cranny's in all my closets throughout the house to hunt them down. Don't laugh... the first step in conquering addiction is admitting you have a problem! So I am on my way to recovery! :)  Besides I can think worse things to be addicted to.

Now I am going to put them in my car so that I have them ready to USE!! So join me... When they say "Paper or Plastic?" we say "Neither".

Phew, I feel better already! I feel like I am contributing to the world and really, isn't that what being a mother is all about... making sure our children are ready for the world, Yes. But making sure our world is ready for our children is just as important!

Remember our mission in Lemonade Moms isn't to add 1 more thing to your "to do list" but if you have always wanted to start being more e-friendly these are a few simple ways we have started in our house!  So, let me in on any secrets you all may have about being eco friendly and doing your part! I'd love to hear it! 

Baby Family VACA’s

After realizing just how hard it can be to keep a crawling baby still, Shawn and I’s thoughts of taking a vacation quickly went from “flying somewhere hot and tropical” to “where can we drive within a few hours”.

 But the more we pondered the more we decided we aren’t going to let the challenge intimidate us! Squeeze That Lemon... right??  We are young, energetic, positive parents! WE CAN DO THIS!

But where…. So that’s where YOU come in! 

We need some vacation ideas that would be good for a family with a baby! We would love to go somewhere like the Caribbean or back to Cabo San Lucas. Miss H LOVES the beach and pool… just like her momma! Shawn LOVES fishing and it would be great to send him on a charter boat excursion!

But we want your opinion on kid friendly hotel/resort options, airlines, and all things travel related! Have you been on an airline that was awful for babies and made you never want to travel again? Or one that was bombastic (yes, I used the term bombastic) and went out of their way to help and be understanding?

Also, if you could go back would you have brought something you thought you didn’t need or did you bring something you could not have lived without?

These are our questions and we would love to hear your tips… and as usual we will do several posts to share other's tips, how our planning is going, and what we recommend to you. So don’t forget to check back!