Cars, Snow, and a Cranky Baby

This is actually a post that I contemplated writing last night but then I realized that eating ice cream in bed while breastfeeding and attempting to type was probably a bad idea. I'm a good multi-tasker but not that good. And yes I did eat ice cream in bed. I know that eating in bed is the worst habit to have but yesterday was one of those days and I was toast. It was me taking a moment to myself and it's not something I usually do.

Yesterday was a crazy day and I'm hoping that today will be better. I learned two things yesterday. Both of which led me to untold levels of frustration. The first thing I learned actually has to do with my car.

We purchased a new car this summer. It's a Mazda 5 which is a mash up of a station wagon and minivan. It seats six and seemed to be the best fit to our needs and budget. We asked all the usual questions and that did include the inevitable question on how it handles in the snow. Living in the northeast that's an important question. More so when you live on a hill like we do. We were told that it did well and we bought the car. I love the car generally speaking. It handles really well in rain and normal conditions, is comfortable, gets good gas mileage, and fits two children's car seats with room to spare in either of the two back rows. What I found out yesterday is that my car sucks in the snow. An inch to an inch and a half fell the night before last and when I tried to get out of the driveway and onto the road my car simply did not move. I was stepping on the gas and my car was practically standing still. My car doesn't have winter tires but it does have all-season tires. Sadly, I think my husband's Toyota Corolla does better in the snow than my Mazda. I am really disappointed about that. The fact that I wanted a car with all wheel drive at the least was a common point of discussion, if not contention, between my husband and I. I felt (and still feel) that we should have at least one car that can get us out of our driveway and to another place if necessary. My husband was very persuasive and so were the facts about our finances. An all-wheel drive vehicle is expensive. Many of them were more expensive used than our new car. Granted, we got a real deal on the Mazda but still. It's something that I really don't understand. Minivans are supposed to be family cars but most families can't afford them. It's crazy! Needless to say I really missed my Jeep yesterday. Even without it being in four wheel drive it could have easily plowed through the snow yesterday. I'm more than a little frustrated but I suppose that learning how to drive this front wheel car in the snow is going to be a learning experience. Maybe that's a good thing? I'm not quite sure yet.

Lesson number two from yesterday: It is possible to return to breastfeeding. I know that everyone says is possible from doctors to experienced moms who have gone though what I have. Really though, until you do it yourself I feel that you're always going to be a bit skeptical. Sunday was my first day back to breastfeeding my daughter (now over a month old!) after ten days on a harsh antibiotic that made me unable to breastfeed unless I wanted to give my daughter a serious case of the runs and a high probability of dehydration. For ten days I did the pump and dump and took my antibiotics to cure my mastitis infection. (Really painful, by the way.) All the while I saw my milk production dwindling and I was wondering if I was going to be able to breastfeed my daughter at all when I was done with the meds and the infection was gone. My mother-in-law and doctor said that with a bit of work it would be possible. Yesterday was the hardest day since Sunday (so far) because my little princess was basically eating all day. I got nothing done and I was frustrated and tired by the end of the day. That's not usually the best combo for me. On top of which my ta-tas were exceedingly sore which made me even grumpier. The up side of all of this is that I have been able to get her to eat on my left side which was the problem side since the start. It still can be a bit of a fight because she has to work harder to get the milk flowing and there isn't as much there as on the right but it's a start!

So that brings me to today. I have to get all the things done today that I didn't get done yesterday. We'll see if it all works out that way. Furthermore we're supposed to go pick out a tree today and so I need to prep the living room for that. My princess just started crying again so I'm off to feed her and hope that today won't be a repeat of yesterday...

The Top Ten Things Mothers of Infants Miss Out On

Let's face it: having a baby is a wonderful thing even with all the horror stories you get told. Any woman who's gone through childbirth will know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the stories of difficult labors, exhausting trimesters, morning sickness that won't leave, etc. What you (at least I didn't) don't hear about is how having a baby will affect the little things in life. With that in mind I've compiled a list of the top ten things that I've missed post-partum.

1. Sleep is a thing of the past. This is especially true if you have two kids. Most moms will tell you that it gets better after the first three weeks. It does, a little. The worrying though just begins. My son is three and I still check on him when I wake up in the middle of the night to make sure he's still breathing. My mom now tells me that this is normal and it won't change as they get older. It explains why she never slept until I got home at night.

2. Hot coffee and hot meals are virtually non-existent. Your child will always take precedence and so your wants and needs tend to get moved to the back burner. This is especially true if you are a breastfeeding mom. Your baby will inevitably get hungry or need a diaper change right as your meal has been served. As my son has gotten older it's gotten better. I've also gotten a cup warmer that you plug into the wall. My coffee might not be piping hot but at least it is warm!

3. Planning according to your schedule is a joke. You try the first few times. I did, even with Ellie being my second and knowing how that ended the first time I took my son out. You learn that getting out the door with a baby takes more time (and stuff) than just grabbing your phone, purse, and keys and walking out the door. The baby needs a last minute diaper change, inevitably soils the clothes she's in  which requires another change. Now you're 15 minutes late for that lunch date and you haven't even walked out the door yet. This is your new reality.

4. Any outing will take twice as long as it did before. That's only with one child. I've found that with two it takes five times longer. Diaper changing the baby, stopping for the potty for my three year old, getting in the car, getting out of the car, ensuring my three year old has his toy that he brought into the store, stopping to pull out his snack cup or bottle from the now enormous diaper bag. Yep. It's tons of fun...well it's an adventure anyways! 

5. You will almost always remember everything for the baby but forget the most essential things for yourself. Whether you are simply going out to the grocery store or on a trip to visit your in-laws. No matter how many times you check, double check, and triple check it will happen. The cell phone one day, a hair tie the next, pajamas, a toothbrush, underwear, you name it. The way around it? Keep spares in your car. Seriously.

6. Doing one thing at a time is history. Your skills at multi-tasking become legendary. Gone is doing one thing at a time at a pace meant to complete them properly in a timely manner. Your pace becomes frenzied and you learn to feed your baby, have a conversation, drink water, and play with your three year old all at the same time. Now, I'm not saying that your conversation will be totally coherent or that you won't wind up with water on you or on the floor, but hey, no one's perfect!

7.  Quality time with your spouse becomes more limited than before. As a woman who's just given birth you're tired. Extremely tired. You're baby goes to bed and so do you. At least you should be sleeping when the baby sleeps but that doesn't always happen, let's face it. Your spouse has not been through childbirth and while they may be experiencing sleep deprivation but chances are they are not nearly as tired as you are. Your waking hours are spent eating, bathing, feeding your baby, and maybe doing a little housework. Quality time with your loved one now revolves around your time with the baby. Grab time together whenever you can. Snuggling on the couch even if you fall asleep, eating supper together, even folding laundry together are all little moments that we've found keep us connected. 

8. Taking time for yourself is more important than ever! It doesn't have to be large blocks of time or hours. It's about taking a few extra minutes when you can. For me it's taking those extra minutes when I get out of the shower to put my leave-in hair conditioner, face cream, and body lotion on. Not only does it make me feel pretty and clean but it's quality me time when I know I'm doing something good for myself. It's only taken me 30 years and two kids to finally get a good skin care regime going but hey...who's counting?

9. Getting together with friends. Having a baby doesn't mean that you have to give up your social life but get ready for it to change. Depending on your lifestyle pre-baby it can be pretty drastic. Gone are the days when you can make a spontaneous trip to the restaurant or late night movie. Especially as a couple. Also friends that are single or those without kids don't always immediately understand why you can't do these things. Not all of them but there's usually one or tow in each group of friends. As the baby gets older be prepared: some friends may request that you leave your child at home. Don't take it as an insult, especially if they don't have children of their own or have made an effort to get their children a sitter for the time. Look at it as a date night or a little time away from your child, both of which are healthy things for you and your partner or spouse. To keep healthy friendships be fair: let your friends know that you need time to plan things now, how late you are willing to stay out,  and what days work best for you and a potential sitter if they want to get together sans children. Taking commonsense steps will help you keep up with your friends and keep your sanity as well.

10. Money. You may think this is silly but as a mom of two on a budget I think it's something that needs to be addressed. Something my mom and my mother-in-law have said over and over: you will never be rich enough, settled enough, or have the perfect situation to have children. EVER. It's true too. Working off of a budget is very helpful if it's not something you do already because babies (and children) are expensive! Forty (40!) dollars for a box of diapers that might last two weeks is just the beginning. Our budget used to include pocket money for both my husband and I. Not much, mind you, 25$-30$ a week for little things. Coffee or breakfast out with friends, books (we're both big readers), a new computer game (like we have the time!), fabric for my costumes, or a date night at the movies. That's gone now. That money is put towards diapers, wipes, shoes, clothes, and outings for our children. The last time I bought anything for myself was during my pregnancy because I needed maternity clothing. Even then it was my mom who bought them for me as a gift. I wonder if people who live in the higher income brackets have these same issues...but I somehow doubt it. The important thing is that you don't mind. It's not like I never buy anything for myself anymore but I'm just far more conscious about about what I truly need.

***

That's my list. The most important thing to note is that while I might miss these things I certainly don't mind the loss. They aren't true losses as long as you find a way to adapt. Everyone has their own way to work around these issues and some of the things above aren't issues at all for some folks because they find a way to work around it naturally. These are  just the top ten things that I recognized in my own life that I had to make a conscious, and sometimes considerate, effort to adapt to. It helps a lot to have supportive family and friends which I have been blessed with in abundance. Whoever said that it takes a village to raise a child was not far from wrong. I never really understood that until I had my own children. It simply boils down to the fact that two pairs of hands and eyes are not enough when it comes to raising children. Take help when you can and enjoy your child(ren) all the more because of it!  

Peanut Butter Buttons

A traditional holiday (Thanksgiving & Christmas) cookie in our household and one of my family's favorites! Peanut butter and chocolate, what's not to like? These are not the healthiest cookies though, hence the limited availability in our house! This recipe should make approximately between 2-3 dozen cookies.

Tools: 

- 1 large mixing bowl
- electric mixer (I use my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer)
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- cookie tray
- parchment paper or silpat
- rubber spatula
- tablespoon
- cooling rack
- rigid spatula (to get them off the cookie sheet!)

Ingredients: 
- 3/4 cup Peanut Butter (smooth or chunky)
- 1/2 stick of Crisco
- 1-1/4 Cup Brown Sugar (dark or light brown, whatever you have or prefer is fine)
- 3 Tbsp Milk
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla
- 1 LG Egg
- 1-3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
- 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 2-3 dozen unwrapped Hershey's Kisses

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream peanut butter, Crisco, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth in the larger mixing bowl.
3. Add the egg and mix well.
4. Add the baking soda and mix thoroughly. 
5. Add the flour bit by bit, mixing well after each addition. 
6. Drop by rounded tablespoonfulls approximately 2 inches apart. (DO NOT FLATTEN!)
7. Bake for 7-8 minutes. (This may vary according to your oven so check the first batch often!) 
8. As soon as the cookies are out of the oven take the unwrapped Hershey's Kisses and push one into each cookie with the point down* and allow them to cool a bit before transferring them to a cooling rack.

*Traditionally these are made with the points of the Hershey's Kisses standing up. I've found that burying the point of the Kiss into the cookie results in less lost Kisses and it makes the cookies easier to pack up! 

Finally Hitting My Stride

***WARNING: Some of the following content may be considered TMI by some...***

The past month have been a real challenge. My husband and I have welcomed our second child, a
beautiful daughter, into the world and that was the easy part. While our dear Ellie did have to spend an extra day with mommy in the hospital due to elevated bilirubin (jaundice) she is doing well now. The photo therapy bed she had to spend 18 hours on did make her look like a glow worm though.

I've had more trouble with the post-delivery stuff than the actual delivery. Shortly after the 2-week mark I started having breast pain. I went to the OB's office and found out I had mastitis. The short version of it is that I had pain, redness, and mild swelling in my left breast. I couldn't breastfeed off of my left side due to an inverted nipple to begin with (same thing happened with my son) and was waiting until Ellie's mouth had gotten a bit bigger to do that. In the mean time I had been pumping my left and giving it to her in a bottle while continuing to breastfeed her off of my right. The pain from the mastitis was so bad that I wasn't even able to pump. I began a course of antibiotics and after 48 hours saw no improvement and even experienced a fever and chills. On top of that the redness had begun on my right side. I called the doctor again and I was sent to see a general surgeon. Let me tell you, having to go see anything with a "surgeon" in the title makes me a little scared. Especially when you don't know what's going on. The general surgeon was very kind though and explained that I needed to go for an ultrasound to see if any pus had collected and if so that I would need to have it drained. (ICK...needle in boob doesn't sound pleasant to begin with. Needle in an infected boob much less so!) Fortunately nothing like that was found and I was put on a stronger course of antibiotics. Unfortunately I can't breastfeed while on these antibiotics. So for ten days (ending in 4 days thankfully) Ellie is on formula.

There are a few upsides to this: 1. my dear hubby can feed her while I pump to keep up milk production 2. I was able to have my father-in-law's famous Irish Coffee which he only makes on thanksgiving with out having to worry since I'm dumping the milk I pump right now anyways. The distinct downside to all this is that my milk production has gone down while Ellie's appetite has only grown. She now almost always eats 5 fl. oz. each feeding. I'm not pumping more than 3.5 oz so...I'll have a bit of catching up to do. I'm hoping that I'll be able to breastfeed her normally after the meds are through though the doctor did say that a case like mine usually leads to moms switching to formula permanently. BOO. I'm hoping that my stubbornness will serve me well in that way. Though time will tell.

On the up side of things, I feel like I'm finally hitting my stride when it comes to finding balance between my two children. I've found that finding crafts to do with my son are a great way to spend quality time with him while his little sister is asleep. He loves painting, glue, and making things and so do I so that works out great! One of the favorite things he's done recently is paint a piggy bank after dropping his dinosaur-shaped bank and breaking it. It involved a trip to the local Michael's Craft store and the purchase of one very large piggy bank and some oil based Sharpie markers. Daddy and Mommy got to help too. He would tell us what he wanted drawn, in what color, and we were to draw it. It was a fun family project and he was totally thrilled with the result. The fact that this one is a bigger bank than the last is exciting too. Fair warning to anyone that comes to the house: if you leave change on a table or in the sofa our little man will find it and finder's keepers! My little man also likes to bake. It doesn't usually matter what but he loves to help in the kitchen. His current favorites are baking bread and, of course, cookies. He helped me mix up the cookie batter for all twelve and a half dozen cookies that were needed for Thanksgiving. I have a feeling that Christmas baking this year will be a big hit! Check out his favorites in the Home Recipes section: Peanut Butter Buttons.

Things I Have Learned (or re-learned) With My Second Child

My daughter was born on November 1st. She is beautiful ad perfect. We were required to stay an extra day at the hospital due to some jaundice which she is still fighting today. In the past two weeks I've had some adjusting, learning, and re-learning, to do. Some of the things are kind of common sense, others are things that I was warned about, and others are total shockers.

For the sake of my sanity I thought that I would start a string of posts that list these things that I've dealt with these issues. Some of these things too I find funny now, in retrospect, and I can only think that they will get funnier with time. (Or so I hope!)

Hormones Suck.
As a general rule I believe all women know this. During pregnancy you're a mess and after pregnancy...well, let's just say that it gets worse before it gets better. After my first pregnancy I was a weepy willow. After my second I was (still am a bit) a total water pot. I start crying for no reason, completely unprompted. The first few times my husband was concerned. Then he began to notice that I was cursing myself for crying at the drop of a hat. The sleep deprivation that comes with the first two weeks of having a new baby doesn't help one little bit.

There's also the emotional triggers that I didn't necessarily have with my first. It's not that I love my second more than my first. The thing that has triggered more tears than the rest is the fact that I now know just how fast children grow up. It's crazy fast! Looking down at the small bundle that was placed on my chest, it was hard to believe that only three and a half years ago my son had been so small. It makes me want to hold on to her more fiercely. It's easy to see why the baby of the family can be so easily spoiled. Not to mention that holding a newborn is a highly  addictive feeling.

**FIN**

There's my first reflection. I hope that this is something that I remember to come back to read and even add to. For now, it's late and I need sleep so further reflections will have to wait until another day.

A Finished Basement and Spring Planting

Hooray! My basement is finally finished! Well it has been for some time, truth be told. I've neglected my blogs once again. It seems to happen each time I vow to myself and to the blogosphere that I am going to be more regular in my postings. Oh well! Time flies when you're planning and working!

With the basement being finished I've found myself working a lot on my business and things that concern it. Mainly the website, branding, and forms of various types. It's exciting but it's a lot of work.  you can see my progress at my site: A Thread In Time. Add to that my daytime job and well...there are less hours in a day than I would like sometimes.

The best news is that I'm pregnant again and we are expecting the newest addition to our family in November. It's very exciting but I've forgotten how tiring pregnancy can be. I'm still in the first trimester so hopefully I have three months of hopefully normal energy levels coming!

Since we found out that I'm pregnant we decided to forgo the two raised beds we were planning on building for our garden this year. Between work and my shop and family time my DH and I agreed that in time, most of the work would fall to him which wouldn't be really fair. The compromise was that we would do a few containers of things that would be fun and useful. This year we've decided to stick to a few basic herbs, a couple of blueberry bushes, and three strawberry plants. It's not much but the berry plants will allow our son to pick the few fruits off the plants and begin to understand where his food comes from which we feel is important. I've also planted a wisteria vine and some perennials in the hanging baskets that we have decorating our deck. Last year I made the mistake of buying annuals. I really don't want to have to replant those every year. I would rather spend my time on edibles.

Basement Progress

So because getting the basement is such a huge deal for me I thought I'd write a little post on how it's going. Everything is pretty much on schedule to be finished next week so I'm ecstatic.

Basement compounded and drying.

What Has Been Done: 
-Entire basement has been dry walled and compounded. Third layer of compound drying as we speak.

-Flooring for the sewing studio has arrived! YAY!
-The bulkhead is in the process of getting wrapped and finished.
-Louvered door arrived for the storage room.

-Floor trim has been picked out.
-Final paint scheme and plan approved.

Laminate flooring!

Bulkhead wrapped with wood.

Louvered door and trims.

The next steps are fairly obvious. Sanding the compound, laying the laminate floor, finishing the tile, hang the drop ceiling, putting on trim, and installing the finishing electrical. Then I will have a freshly painted room with flooring and I have to put furniture in it. I'm planning on building a cutting table and ironing bench since I'm particular about those but I also have my eye on some peg board and accessories since they are so modular...or at least something similar. I can't wait to put my bookshelf in and set up my drafting table....very exciting!! Anyway I'll leave this as a short post for now! Good night all!

Two New Best Friends

I have two new best friends. Really. The first is an old-school cold remedy and the second is an equally old-school cleaning aid. This cold has really had me down and out and, let's face it, you can be that way for long with a two year old.

My first new best friend is Alka-Seltzer. Not the Plus or Cold variety. I mean plain old Alka-Seltzer. Taking two of their effervescent tablets in the morning and two at night before bed has really helped a lot. It's helped relieve the sinus pressure, headaches, and body aches that usually plague me at those two times of day. A better start to my morning and easier time falling asleep? Yes please! Like with any type of medication you should read and adhere to all dosing instructions. These helpful tablets do contain aspirin so please be careful.

My second new best friend is baking soda. Once upon a time baking soda was the cure-all for cleaning as well as baking. Well just because we've discovered new cleaning products doesn't mean that this old friend no longer works. It's just the opposite. It works beautifully and is a green alternative to some of the harsher cleaning chemicals.This The New Homemaker article lists twenty seven different cleaning uses for baking soda. Between this and their article on vinegar I think you could almost replace all of the common cleaners in your home. The big breakthrough for me came when my mother showed me how she had begun to use baking soda to clean her stove top. I have a glass top stove and the bottled cleaners always smell bad and God only knows what's in them. This time I tried sprinkling a little baking soda on my stove top after it ad cooled and scrubbed it with a lightly damp sponge with an abrasive side. Sure enough all of the little stains came up without a fuss. Awesome! no more harsh stove top cleaners for me!

The cold is slow in going away but I'm hoping that by Monday it'll be all gone! Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Tomato Barley Soup

My dear husband and I have been trying to lose weight. Who hasn't right? In our bid to better health I have been trying all kinds of recipes and the most recent one is one my mother found. My mom is an awesome cook whereas I've always been better at baking. Anyways this soup, slightly modified from it's original form found on Allrecipes.com, is filling and hearty while only coming in at 200 calories per serving and serves six! Pretty awesome right? It also tastes great when topped with a little grated cheese of your choice but that is completely optional. 

Tools:
- Food processor/chopper/knife and cutting board
- Heavy bottomed soup pot
- Wooden spoon
- Garlic press
- Can opener

Ingredients:
- 1 Cup diced Onion (for dicing I have used the food processor - it goes faster!)
- 1 Cup diced Carrots
- 1 Cup diced Celery
- 2 tsp. minced/pressed garlic
- 2 Tbs. Vegetable oil
- 2 and 1/2 Cups Water
- 2 Tomatoes, diced (can't use the food processor here!)
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can Peeled and Diced Tomatoes with juice
- 1 (15 ounce) can Cannellini / White Kidney beans
- 1 (10.75 ounce) can Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 1/4 Cup uncooked Pearl Barley
- 1/8 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
- 1/8 tsp Thyme
- 1/8 tsp Oregano
- 1/8 cup Small star pasta (Optional great for small kids) 

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the onions, celery, carrots, garlic and oil and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, or until all vegetables are almost tender.  2. Then add the water, fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, cannellini beans, chicken broth, barley, ground black pepper, thyme, and oregano. 3. Stir thoroughly and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, or until barley is tender.

The Cold Season, Tea & Hot Toddies

The cold season has finally hunted me down. I have been a full day with the runny nose, sore throat, and bleary feeling that has plagued the masses this season. Of course this type of thing hits while I have my dear son for two days all to myself.

I have a feeling that I may not post much this week due to this stupid cold that has wiggled its way into our house. My son had a runny nose and a poor appetite for the past half week and I suppose I can look forward to the same. I can only hope that it doesn't last very long and to that end I have been dosing myself with Airborne and my daily vitamins as well. Tea has been my constant companion as well.

One of my favorite collections is my tea collection. I have, in my many years of consuming caffeine, become a great admirer of loose leaf teas. I usually have four or five varieties on hand and have certainly garnered a few favorite blends from a handful of quality sources. One of my favorite spots is a small little store near my sister's place near Montréal. The Cha Noir Tea House is the best little place and their blends of tea are fantastic. My current all time favorite black tea blend is from there: Earl Grey Creme. It is positively delicious and is a mix of a superior black tea, bergamot, and I think a hint of vanilla. Though I am finding that my cold is being helped along a little more by their Rooibos Kalahari blend. This mix includes cornflowers and lemongrass that are not only relaxing but helps me breathe.

While not a tea I've also found that the old-school hot toddy works wonders for your throat. My own recipe uses honey for sweetener instead. Feel free to alter to your taste as usual!

Hot Toddy Recipe

8 oz hot water 

1 oz scotch or whiskey 

2 tsp honey

1 tsp lemon juice 

1. Heat the water, honey and lemon juice together.

2. Add in the whiskey when the mix is off the heat and stir.

The fascinating thing that I've discovered is why this works. Really all you need is the hot water, lemon, and honey but here's the explanation. Lemon had natural acids in it that cuts through the mucus in your throat while honey soothes sore and scratchy throats. Mayo Clinic ¹ has endorsed it as has Parent's Magazine. ² While nothing is mentioned in either articles about whiskey or scotch I still think it serves a good purpose for adults!


1.Mayo Clinic - Cold Remedies: What helps, what doesn't, and what can't hurt.
2. Parent's Magazine - 14 Natural Health Remedies for Children 

The Munchie Mug / Meal Time Changes

So my son is going though yet another meal time transition. Sure everyone talks about "transition" usually relating to nap times. Children transition from two naps to one but not many people talk about the difficulties of children transitioning from multiple snacks a day to two or one. I've decided to talk about this toady because my son is going though a meal time transition.

Prior to the past couple of weeks our son was eating three meals a day and in addition he had a sizable morning snack, since he eats breakfast so early, as well as an afternoon snack after nap time. A little over a week ago I began noticing that my son wasn't eating quite as much as usual for supper. At first I thought well everyone goes through days where they just don't feel like eating much. I asked the next day at day care how meal times had gone the day before and they reported everything was normal. I began keeping track of the days when he came home having had an afternoon snack and days where he hadn't had one. At the end of last week I finally oiled it down to the fact that my son is transitioning to no afternoon snacks. On the days that he didn't have an afternoon snack my D.S. ate a healthy supper of whatever I put in front of him. On days he had an afternoon snack he was exceedingly picky about food and once went to bed without eating anything at all for supper, not for our lack of trying.

On top of that my son is still going through the stage where meat and eggs are still hit or miss even with "sauce" or "dip." (Ketchup or apple sauce or the like.) It's not been an easy week to say the least. I'm putting this out there that yes, there is transitions in meal times, no it's not fun. After multiple assurances that I'm not crazy and kids can't be hungry all the time.

That being said I thought I'd post today about the Munchie Mug. This was probably the second or third snack cup that we purchased for our son and, truth be told, this was another of my mother's finds. While on the steep side as far as price goes: a whopping 16$ per cup, it's been worth every penny. The prior snack cups were of the no spill variety but were never really spill proof. With a dog and two cats in the house there are certain things that pets should not eat. This snack cup also keeps me from having to follow my son with a vacuum cleaner every time I give him a dry snack. The cup itself is made of polypropylene and is BPA and phthalate free and is made in the USA. A couple of things give this bonus points in my book. The first is that it's dishwasher safe. Second the soft overlapping fabric opening doesn't hurt my son's hand and third there's a snug fitting plain lid that comes with it to keep snacks fresh. This is the only snack cup we use now and we own two. It's the best, hands down. I would say a must have for any home with children and rate it a 10 out 10!

Saftey 1st Bi-Fold Door Locks

I didn't do a lot of research on these before I bought them. It was one of those spur of the moment purchases at Babies-R-Us. Prior to living in a real house we lived in a condo that had no bi-fold doors. All the doors we had were the regular kind with the round handles that most kids have issues with. At that point our DS was so young that doors weren't a major interest yet. Last December when we moved into our current house I saw that I was going to have a few more issues with controlling where my son could and could not go.

One of those places was the pantry. Now I have a nice large pantry with bi-fold doors and I don't just keep food in there. Glass bottles of wine are on the floor at the bottom of the pantry as are some of the larger "small" appliances and over-sized boxes of garbage bags from BJ's. These are not things that I wanted or want my son to get into. I saw these Saftey 1st Bi-fold Door Locks as a solution and I have to say that so far they have served their purpose quite well. Now if you follow the link to Amazon.com you'll find that most of the reviews are negative claiming that they don't work on particular doors or (my favorite) are inappropriate for shorter people. Yes, these go on top of the bi-fold doors. If you can't reach the top of the door then you need to use a different product, clearly. I have standard bi-fold doors, the contractor's special, and I can tell you that these worked just fine.

These are made with a little knob to tighten the lock to your door. My door was sufficiently large that I did not need to tighten it at all. My son has very rarely exhibited the strength needed to make them pop off the door. However on occasion I have forgotten that they are on and I have pulled the door open and caused the silly thing to pop off. It doesn't necessarily bother me. For one, this has happened several times and the lock has not broken. Second, having the lock pop off is better than it breaking or worse breaking the door or the door track. 2.50$ for a new plastic lock or 50-100$ for a new door and track....it's not brain surgery folks.

***I feel that it's important to say this though in light of a lot of negative reviews (including my own) of baby safety items.It's important that nothing will keep a truly determined child out of anything. All of these "child-proofing" measures that we take are really nothing more than very good child deterrents. They do not replace the watchful eye of a parent! Don't think that they do.***

Basement Finishing

One of the benefits of my down time between jobs is that I get to see the basement finishing process from start to finish. It's really amazing how much work gets done in just a couple of days! I even took pictures of the work after day two. Today they are planning on framing the cement wall on the West side of the house and lay the DRIcore flooring that's going into my sewing studio. I'm really rather excited about seeing it at the end of the day today.

The full sized closet in the mud room
and the pocket door to my studio.

 I have to say it's become a bit of a game with myself. I try not to go peek before the end of the day and be completely surprised. It doesn't always work, I'm not very patient when it comes to those kinds of things. I'm also just super excited that it's finally getting done! When all is said and done my little studio will allow me to sew on a regular basis again and maybe even start my business again. There hasn't been any delays as of yet but I have been warned that those usually happen at the inspection stage. I'm hoping that there won't be too many delays as this is kind of a birthday present. At least that how I see it!

The small closet in the mud room
that will  hide the water inlet.

There will be more to do once the walls and such are done. Painting, making my ironing and cutting tables, figuring out storage and layout of peg boards for tools. There's a long road still but being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel has a lot to do with the little patience I do have. I probably won't be done until March at least but at least all the hard work will be done! I just have to pick out some vinyl laminate for the floor and I'll be all set! As soon as that's done and the drop ceiling is in I'll start painting. YAY! I'm not sure what color it'll be but I'm going for a light color that will keep it bright but not white.

The length of my sewing studio. WOO!

Next month is also my birthday so I've been attempting to put something together for that. It'll be very small and I'll probably end up cooking. Since I love doing that I don't mind. My hubby and I are alike in that way. We prefer the smaller, quieter parties to the larger, louder ones. It's the big 3-0 for me this year so I'm doing it my way! I'm trying for a better, healthier year for myself this year. That's my birthday wish.

During my down time I'm also hoping to put up a couple more recipes that I love as well as a couple of reviews. So here's to the New Year and to the big 3-0!

Food Saver / Tommie Tippee Explora Easi-roll Bibs

After last night's supper (and let it be said the day in general) I just wanted to post a little review about these bibs. The Tommie Tippee Explora Easi-roll bibs are amazing. I've had a set of two since my son was a year old. He's now nearly three and these bibs have been everywhere with us and stuffed in every possible bag. They are still standing and clean. 

When my mother fist bought these for my DS I thought rigid bibs must be so uncomfortable. As time went on  I started using them more and more. My DS didn't seem particularly bothered my the silicone-type bibs. A bonus for me is that as he began to feed himself in earnest these bibs caught everything because they are formed to stay open. Cloth bibs just didn't do that. These bibs also have some neat features that I didn't see in others. For one, the back side is dimpled to encourage air flow and prevent irritation on baby skin during hot months when they're in only a diaper. It also serves to keep clothes dry because they sweat less. These bibs are also made to roll up for easy travel. They close easy as well and while older children can pull them off, I think that it's a good thing. The best part of these though is that they are so easy to clean! All kinds of stuff just wipes off or washes off with some soap and hot water in the sink. They are top rack dishwasher safe too if you need to sanitize them and BPA- and Phthalate-free. 

My son is now drinking from a normal cup at the dinner table. Not everything makes it into his mouth but I can count on these bibs to catch it all and keep him dry. So awesome. I give this a 10 out of 10. These are great products that I think no parent should be without!

Washer Difficulties

First the website crashed now the clothes washer is making odd noises. I have a Cabrio washer and it's started making some weird grinding and squealing noises. Last night I only had two pairs of jeans, four shirts and two pairs of boxers in the silly thing and the noise it was making made me stop it all. I pulled out the sopping wet clothes from the tub still full of water and put them in the sink. I only left a couple of shirts in there and put it to a spin and drain cycle.

I went back this morning and saw that I had set it on the heavy duty setting. This morning I made sure that I put it on the normal setting and broke up my load into a couple of smaller ones. It seems to have done the trick though my DH did some research last night. It seems there's a little gear at the bottom of the drum that tends to get stripped rather easily. It's a 20$ part so I think we may try to fix it ourselves. If it fixes the problem then an hour of time and 20$ are all that's been lost. If it doesn't work it looks like we'll have to call an appliance repair person.

It seems like I have bad luck tendencies with washers I guess...

Website Difficulties

After a few days of pulling my hair out and cursing at the computer in multiple languages I've finally fixed my website. The news came about three days ago that my domain name for my website had completely expired. I had never received any email notifying me that it was about to expire or that I still had the opportunity to reclaim my newly expired domain. Long story short, GoDaddy, my provider, wanted to charge me 105$ to reclaim my domain. I just don't have that kind of money, not when I can get a new domain with a more appropriate name which I was thinking about doing anyways. The real pain in the neck thing was having to copy all the posts into a word document then put it into copy it from there into the new website and back date all of the entries. I also lost my databases after all that so I had to find again the pictures and link them back again. It was a labor of love. *BLEGH*

On the up side I do think that the new site looks better than the old one. Easier to navigate too. I'm glad I was forced to change the layout since I couldn't remember the theme that I had used. I thought I did but couldn't find anything like it on the site. It was a change for the better I think.

If you like to see it:   A Thread In Time

Better Garden Site

As I have been going through I have found a better place to do online journaling for your garden if that is your thing! SmartGardener has everything you could ask for! The plant listings are detailed and include when you should start them inside, transplant, harvest and even will make up a calender with your various tasks. It will also email you a reminder of what tasks need to be done! I was rather bummed out that the MyFolia site didn't really live up to expectation but this is so much better.

Instead of buying a subscription for all the premium services SmartGardner has a set up where you can simply buy add-on's to their service. If you love growing eight kinds of berries there is a berry add-on with all the berries. If you want to find out how much money your saving there's a harvest calculator. It's great and they are one time purchases. I haven't seen one for more than five dollars which isn't bad at all. On top of it all There is also a spiffy garden layout and planning app built right in! I'm still going to be keeping track of everything on paper but this will help!

Planning Ahead / My First Garden On My Own

Some of the really great things I received for Christmas this year are a couple of planting and gardening books as well as some packets of seeds that I've been trying to get my hands on. I really am quite excited for the spring! Not only is my Dear Son turning three in April (I am so done with the terrible two's!) but I will be planting a garden of my very own this year for the first time. I am excited and apprehensive all at the same time. Thankfully I work with a number of people that know their peas from their beans and a great deal more besides!

Right now I am trying to plan...I am a paper person and while I am thoroughly impressed with online sites like Folia, a free web garden tracking site, I think I'm going to go the old paper route. I'm thinking of investing in a traditional paper garden journal. Moleskine has one that I would like to see up close but have only seen on Amazon.com to date. In the mean time I have been reading up on alternative planting methods. Our lot faces East-West so we have a lot of sun. I've been reading up on vertical gardening, which helps you make more of small space, and companion planting or the art of know what to plant next to what so that it's mutually beneficial.

Thankfully it's still winter and I have a bit to go but not much! I'm looking at starting some seeds indoors this year and transplanting them when it's time. It's the first time I'm going to do it so I'm not super confident about that either. However I have found a few things to help me! I love Gardener's Supply Company. Not only do they have neat gardening tools but they also have some very good articles. There's a great Seed starting FAQ and an article on how to create a seed starting schedule. I'm planning on getting a new planner, two actually, one for gardening and one for life in general.

It's something else that I have just decided. While it's nice to have everything on my phone the truth of the matter is that I simply don't put half the things I should in it because it's a hassle to type. I'm going back to paper and my multicolored pens! I'll take pictures of my step by step to go along with the how-to I mentioned above. For now it's time for me to go to sleep!

Getting Over the Holidays

The holidays are always hectic and crazy. Thanksgiving to Christmas passes in a whirlwind of parties, wrapping paper, food, and yes, at times, too much family. I haven't had much time to write new posts and post some really neat recipes that I have tried with great success over the holidays. It did not help that I rounded up a part time holiday job as well.

That being said I'm now finding myself without work again for the month of January and most of February. I miss it some though I'll have time to plan my basement since we are having it finished this month. I'll have plenty of time to update the blog to and format my recipes and other posts as well.