9 Month Milestone..

Today, we celebrate Addie's 9th month of life. This is a big milestone for the both of us. 9 months ago today, I was ending my journey as a pregnant woman, and getting ready to embark on an entirely new road. This new road has not been smooth, sometimes I think they need to get the construction workers out to fix some rougher spots, but I realize that avoiding the pot holes has helped me to become a better driver. I have learned how to keep the car on the road while navigating the rough terrain.

My pregnancy went so much slower* than the past 9 months. Every day, for 9 months, I counted down how many days I had left until I experienced this miracle of life that I would call my daughter (or so I hoped-I was not fully trusting of the ultrasound tech). I still can't believe that now I have to count past 9. I look forward to it, really. I can't wait to see where this journey takes us.





*edited for the wrong choice of words.

What's Cookin'? Wednesdays!

Are you looking for some fresh, new ideas for dinner tonight? Is your family whining "Meatloaf?! Again?!" when you set the table, but you're too busy to make anything elaborate? Well, then I have a blog carnival for you! Welcome to What's Cookin'? Wednesdays! A place you can come share new dinner ideas. Feel free to join in on your own blog. All you need to do is write a brief introduction of this blog carnival, and link back to my blog somewhere in your post. Then you come back here and post your blog on the MckLinky form so everyone can check it out! So, let's get started.

This week, I am going to share a recipe for spaghetti bake, a new favorite in our house, and another simple recipe for busy nights (they won't always be so simple, that's just what I've chosen to share so far).

Spaghetti bake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brown 1 lb of Mild Italian sausage and sautee or steam your favorite veggies (I use green beans, carrots, grated zuchinni, corn, & peas, but there is a lot of room for changes based on preference) and add it to the pan. Use 1 can of Hunt's traditional spaghetti sauce (or your home made sauce) and poor over the veggies and meat and let it simmer.

Boil your spaghetti to Al Dente and add to the sauce and mix well. Poor pasta into a 9x13 baking dish and cover with Parmesan cheese (also good with a Parmesan-Romano blend) . Bake on 350 until cheese is lightly brown, usually 15-20 minutes.

Serve with Garlic bread and a side salad.

Hope you enjoy the first edition of What's Cookin'? Wednesdays! I look forward to seeing everyone else's dinner ideas as well!

Safer Kids Products

Like any mom, I have always been especially careful (and I'll admit sometimes a bit paranoid) about what I feed my daughter, or what toys she gets to play with. I breastfed, made home made purees, kept harsh chemicals to a minimum, and put all my plants outside. I read reviews for 3 months before picking out the baby gear I finally settled on. I checked all the safety standards of everything that has ever affected her existence in any way (including reading up on keeping my cats). The only thing I didn't do, was think twice about what I put on her.

Before I had Addie, I went out and bought a huge bottle of Johnson's & Johnson's Night Time bath soap and lotion, just because I have always loved the smell of it. Despite blowing off everyone's advice (do you notice a pattern here??) about not using too many products on baby's skin and slathering her with lotion after a "smell-good" bath every night, she had amazingly clear, smooth skin for the first two months. I thought I was in the clear, and basically told everyone I knew that they were full of it. Boy was I wrong.

Addie soon came down with a pretty bad case of infant eczema (also called atopic dermatitis), which causes a dry, itchy, red rash, usually on the face, arms, and legs, but can appear anywhere on the body. It can be the result of an allergic reaction (even though it is not a direct symptom of an allergy), or it can be aggravated by the heat or irritants that come in contact with the skin, such as itchy fabrics, or chemicals in lotions, soaps, and detergents *.

When I learned this, I started looking into every product I used, trying to find out what we could do better. Let me tell you, most of you would probably be surprised at what is in our baby products.

More than half of the soaps and lotions on the market for babies today have been found to contain traces of two chemicals. 1,4-dioxane or formaldehyde, or both have been found in some of the biggest names out there, claiming to be "gentle" and "pure". These chemicals, according to the EPA, are characterized as carcinogens (cancer causing chemicals) **. Now, I know what some of you are going to do, you're going to go pick up that bottle of baby shampoo and start reading the label, right? Don't bother. These chemicals aren't intentionally put into the products, and aren't listed as ingredients. They are apparently by-products of the manufacturing process, created when the chemicals break down over time, or when two chemicals combine.

To make matters worse, the laws governing chemicals in products (The Toxic Substances Control Act) only helps to keep tabs on new chemicals. There are thousands of chemicals already in products that do not need to be tested. This just doesn't cut it, if you ask me, and since you're reading my blog, let's assume you did ask me.

I must say that the idea of bathing my daughter every night in a bath full of toxic chemicals, no matter if it's a safe amount or not, has lead me to pay a bit more attention to what products I buy to put on my daughter, as well as in her. I have just become so passionate about this, and I feel that, while maybe every parent won't feel as strongly about this issue as I do, we all at least deserve to know. For those of you that now want to do something, you can visit the Parent's Magazine website and fill out a form letter to send to your senators and congressmen to let them know that the Kid Safe Chemical Act (being reintroduced this summer) is important to you, too.



*http://www.babycenter.com/0_eczema_10872.bc

**http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/12/AR2009031202940.html

Date Night Bliss

Last night, Willie and I went out on our first ever date as parents. We went and saw the new Potter flick (finally) and went to an amazing pizzeria in town. Real brick oven pizza. That doesn't seem to be too common these days.

I must admit, when Addie was first born, I blew off the well-meaning advice of everyone telling us that in order to be better parents, we had to be happy parents. All I could think at the time is, "What do they know?? They don't know us, we are an amazing couple, we'll have no problems." Turns out, maybe they did know something.

I just suddenly realized how important it is to catch up with my husband, as my husband instead of as a dad. You need a reminder every now and then of how to be a couple instead of just parents. You know what? It does make you better parents. All I wanted to do at the end of our date was run into the sitters house and scoop Addie up in my arms and hug her all night.

We are now making a goal of having a night for just the two of us at least once a month. It has to be a real date, too. No picking up fast food and running errands. We are talking dinner, movies, bars, plays, the works. Bonus points if we dress up for each other and put on make up (well...if I put on makeup . I don't think I could keep a straight face if Willie gave himself a makeover).

Looking forward to next month...



**In other news, I would like to wish my younger sister a happy 21st birthday! Who knows if she even reads my blog, but maybe she will get a nice surprise if she hops on here and sees this :)

What's Cookin'? Wednesdays!

Well, ladies (and perhaps gentlemen?), I decided today that since I am trying to spruce up this ol' blog of mine and make it bigger and better, maybe I should do my own weekly post. I love cooking, so I decided to create "What's Cookin'? Wednesdays", and share with you all my favorite dishes of the week! So, let's get started, shall we?

My absolute favorite (adult) dish from this week is so unbelievably simple. Anyone can make it. Seriously! Anyone. It is Pesto-Turkey burgers on whole grain buns with sweet potato fries. Yum! It's gotta be one of the easiest things I've ever made, and my friends raved over them!

All I did was take some ground turkey meat and mix it with just a little pesto (Maybe 2-3 tbs per pound) and grill it up until they are fully cooked. I used the George Foreman grill and they turned out fabulous!

To make the sweet potato fries, I peeled and cut one sweet potato (or 2, however many, but 1 large potato was enough for 4 of us) into large sized fries and steamed them on the stove for about 5 minutes. Then I sprinkled some Italian seasoning on them and put them in the oven on 400 for 30 minutes, turning once.

I also wanted to share a great "baby" recipe, for my other readers with very young children. These are a different take on a typical breakfast pancake. I feel that they are a bit healthier than just whipping up some Bisquick pancakes (or even home made regular pancakes) since they contain fruit and oats. I just tried the first one myself, and I must say, I may be making the switch to these myself! To make them, you mix 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup flour*, 4 tbs applesauce, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 banana mashed, 1 egg, 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup milk, 1/8 cup oil, and vanilla. If you choose, you could also add some yummy fresh blueberries to this mix. You cook these up like regular pancakes, but take note. These are very thick, and take awhile to cook. This makes a rather large batch for one baby, but so convenient when you freeze them and take out 1 or 2 at a time and put them in the toaster for breakfast??

So, there it is. I hope you enjoyed my very first edition of What's Cookin'? Wednesdays.





* Can use whole wheat flour or all purpose.

Turn My Blue Eyes Green

Looks like Addie's eyes might just be turning colors!

Yes, this late in the game. The funny part about this is....

...it's only one eye that's changing.

Yep. My daughter has one green eye, and one blue eye.

And here I was, thinking I was getting my red haired, blue eyed little girl.

She will be beautiful either way, but I've always loved that combo!

Wonder which color will win?

Nap time=Peace & Quiet!

Ahhh....what a nice day. The birds are chirping. There is a slight breeze rustling through the leaves. I hear a faint, faint sound of cars zipping past on the highway, and trains leaving the station. I love this time of day. It's my time of peace and quiet. It's nap time. Are there any sweeter words in the English language? I don't think so.

My days have been pretty full of hustle and bustle lately. Between an 8 1/2 (yes I went there w/ the 1/2) month old finally crawling everywhere-and taking an extreme interest in my laptop and it's cords- and a husband starting out in a new career field and working shifts, I rarely get time to just sit! I don't want to think about where your scrubs are, or if they are clean. I don't want to help you compute how much your pay check will be with 60 hours working nights, with a shift differential, or with weekend pay. I don't want to discuss anything, I just want to sit here. As my friend once told me, "Sometimes I just want to sit here and drool, but no one will let me!" Don't you ever have those days? I just don't want to think. Or change diapers. Today, I have wondered how many more times I can play peek-a-boo before I realize my brain is absolutely useless. You know, that's what happens when you don't get down time!

Anyway, back to the fact that I am blogging. I'm sure you don't want to hear me talk about drool. Or do you? I will admit...I don't have much else to talk about. I just felt this urge to get on here and write. To reach out to all of you-my readers-and say "Hello!" I wanted to let you know I didn't forget about you! There has just been so much on myour plates this week that I haven't had much time to get on here and tell anyone about it!

Here are the current "headlines" for my family (in bullet format):

*Willie has started his new job. Truly! It all worked out! He's in his last week of training and everything! He starts night shift tonight, going in at 10 pm and coming home around 6:30 am. This should be interesting!

*As mentioned before, Addie is crawling everywhere. The poor cats. They will never get a moments peace again!

*Willie and I are in the beginning stages (meaning brainstorming and daydreaming) of planning our own business to conduct on the side. No, he wouldn't quite the hospital. More about this little teaser later! Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise now, would I?!

*I have made more and more hair bows and clips. Surprisingly, I got "hit up" to sell some of them last night. I wasn't even advertising! Talk about luck. Of course, while I wasn't planning on selling my bows, I will give it a shot! I just got my first order, and will start making bows tonight! If this goes well, you may see my "shop" up on etsy.com someday soon! That will make two businesses!

*I finished my book! Yes, I know you probably didn't even realize I knew how to read was working on a book, but I was. It has taken me over a year (on and off) to finish, and I consider it one of my greatest literary accomplishments so far! Anyone with dedication and the ability to think and read at the same time should check out Atlas Shrugged. I'm warning you, it's a doozy. But when you get to the end, I hope you'll agree that it's totally worth it.

*If anyone is keeping up, this means that yes, I have started a new book. A bit lighter in tone, if I do say so myself. I am reading Perfect Match by Jodi Piccult. Want to read it with me? Maybe I should start my own reading list? Who knows. Maybe one day I'll be like Oprah, and you'll read books just because I said so!!

*I'm feeling spunky today. Can you tell? Wondering why? Well, I'm not going to tell you! Yet. I know, I know. I was just informed recently that secrets don't make friends. If the opposite is true, I hope I don't make loads of enemies off this post!