Tuesday, May 24, 2011

One of Those Days


Yesterday, Ava did not get any baby food....well new baby food.  We have a stash in the freezer. 

I usually make whatever new food she is going to try on Mondays and I try to post a blog about it on Monday....I mean Tuesday..... Ummmm, okay whenever I get around to it.
But Yesterday it did not happen. Nothing happened.
I had one of those days.  A lot has been going through my mind and functioning was just not possible.
The baby was taken care of though.  Basically, I laid on the floor all day long while my child climbed on top of me and had those slobbery make out sessions with me.  
There were a few tears in there too.

I talked to my mom for a few minutes.  She told me about a nightmare she had had.

In the Nightmare~
We (the family) were at my Grandpa's and Ava had pooped all of herself.  So my aunt and I went to bathe her.  Then everyone was in the living room, except for Ava.  My mom asks where she is and we(my aunt and I) say that she's in the bathtub.  My mom runs to the bathroom and finds her in the water face down.  My mom pulled her out of the tub.  She wasn't breathing.  My mother started screaming for help.  Then she started CPR and brought my daughter back to life.

My Thoughts During All This~
How can you be so cruel?  Why would you ever say this to a parent about their child?  This is way too hard to hear.  And it's a dream.  How will I ever be able to handle reality?  
I had tears streaming down my face.  I was AM scared.


Later That Night~
I was laying in bed. STARING at the baby monitor.  Waiting for the smallest whimper.  The blood curdling scream.  Anything.  I thought about going to wake her up and put her in bed with me.  No...We are making progress with her sleeping in her bed.  But what if she's not breathing?  Stop it!  She is breathing.  Everything is fine.  Leave her alone. She is sleeping in her crib.  You should be happy.  

It took me about an hour to fall asleep.  

1:45 a.m. the blood curdling scream filled my room from the baby monitor.  

*FYI* My family doesn't mess around with dreams, intuition, Deja Vu, whatever.  It's weird, but we know things before they happen.  For example, my mother informed my Aunts (3 different pregnancies) that they were pregnant.  How did she know?  She started having morning sickness.  She was sick throughout their pregnancies.  My Aunts- never a day of sickness.
One more example-  I think this was in the 1970's.  My grandmother was confined in ICU for spinal meningitis.  No visitors, no phone, no tv. No outside communication.  A nurse calls the house and says, "Your mother said there was a construction accident.  The man is in ICU at Ben Taub.  He needs O blood.  Her sister has O blood.  She wants her to go give blood because the hospital doesn't have any O blood."  My mother or Aunt (not sure who took the call) says, "Did you call Ben Taub?  Is this true?  How would she know about this?" Nurse- "I don't know.  I just felt like I needed to relay her message."
They called Ben Taub.  There was a construction accident.  The man was near death and he needed blood- O blood.  We still have no explanation as to how my grandmother could have known this.

There are other things too.

So my Mother's Nightmare......I am scared and worried.     

Friday, May 20, 2011

Frugal Friday: Homemade Foaming Handwash

 Who doesn't love foaming hand soap?


Since Kroger stopped tripling their coupons, I'm not getting hand soap for free, so I needed to find an inexpensive alternative.


1. Get a regular refill bottle of hand soap and empty foaming hand wash dispensers.



2. Fill a foaming hand soap container with an inch of soap.



3. Add tap water slowly to the container.


'

4. Screw the pump back on and slowly... SLOWLY....flip the container every which way. Up. Down, Spin to the left. Spin to the Right. Flip forwards. Flip backwards.  Resist the urge to shake.  Yay!!! Foaming Hand Wash!



Let's Do the Math:


The refill was like $3.50 (I think.)
A new bottle of foaming hand wash is $1.49.
There's 64 ounces in the refill bottle.
I put around 2 ounces of soap in the foaming hand wash bottle.
That's 32 bottles of foaming hand wash per refill bottle.
If I were to buy 32 bottles of foaming hand wash it would cost $47.68. Not including tax and assuming each bottle is $1.49.
The cost to make 32 bottles of foaming hand wash using refill soap is $0.11.  Yeah 11 cents!  $3.50 for 32 bottles of foaming hand wash. 


Do I need to go further?
$47.68 or $3.50?  

Seriously. Does it get any easier than that?  


Just in case you aren't convinced.....


Think about how many empty bottles of foaming hand wash you aren't throwing into a landfill every week, month, year, lifetime....That's a lot of bottles.  
Recycle your refill bottle.  


That's all for now!  Come back next week for a new money saving tip!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Start of Something

I am always looking for ways to s-t-r-e-t-c-h my dollar...Actually, I am always looking for ways to stretch my penny!  We are a one income family, with a bright future and big dreams.  The only way we can get there, together, is to have a strong financial plan!  So we- Mainly Mommy-- are always looking for ways to save money.... 


I have always thought that the little changes add up and can make a really BIG difference!


So what I want to do is share the little things... some may be bigger than others, but in the end they save a little money.  


So tune back tomorrow (I hope) for my first "Frugal Friday" post... I know, I know, lots of people have a frugal friday thing or link up or whatever, but I want to do my own...maybe I'll join in later...not really sure how all of that works!





Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Making Baby Food: Peas

I meant to have this posted on Monday, but my internet has been down for some reason.....I guess I could have done it on my phone, but that would have taken a loooong time!  

So this week we made Baby Food Peas!  

Ava loves them!  

Easy Peasy to make too!

1. Buy Frozen Organic Peas.


2. Put peas in a pot.  


3. Cover peas with water. and boil for several minutes until soft. 


4. Put peas and pea water into food processor. 


5. Puree for several minutes. 



6. Push peas through a sieve.  This will take a few minutes and a little muscle to push the mixture through.  The end result will be a nice, smooth pea puree.





7. Scoop puree into ice cube trays and cover with plastic wrap.



8. Put trays in freezer over night.
9.  Run warm water over the bottom of the tray.  Cubes will pop out easily.  Place cubes in a labeled and dated plastic bag and return to freezer.


Simple. Easy. Nutritious.


Ava Enjoying some Peas!


She was SCREAMING when I put her in her chair!

Fresh Tears!
Thinking she might like this.....
More tears!













Wednesday, May 11, 2011

8 Months!



8 Months!  Another month has flown by!  I still feel like it was yesterday that I was bringing Ava home from the hospital.  I know I will have this feeling for a long time, like as long as I am living.  I love every moment that I am with Ava, even the frustrating moments!  And yes, I get frustrated a lot!  But there are even more moments that my heart just melts!  



Ava- I love you my sweet girl!  You are the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me.  I think you are the most amazing person I know!  Who knew that seeing you crawl and pull yourself up would  be so amazing to me.  Especially since those milestones seem so small to other things that you will do, like go to Kindergarten, graduate from college, get married, have your own baby..... You amaze me each and every day.  I don't know what I did to deserve you, but God has truly blessed your Mommy and Daddy!

A Little Bit About Ava:

Length:  
Weight: 
Hair Color: Dark Blonde 
Eye Color: Dark Blue

A Look at Your Daily Routine

8:00 am- We sing the Good Morning Song.  You play for 10 minutes before Mommy changes your diaper and puts clothes on.  There's less of a chance for Mommy to be peed on, if we wait a few minutes! 
 9:00-9:30 am- Breakfast!  Oatmeal and Prunes!  Gotta keep that digestive system going!
9:30-10:30- Playtime on floor!  Crawling and Pulling yourself up!
10:30-11:30 am- Morning nap!  Sometimes! 15-45 Minutes!
11:30 am -12 pm- Diaper change, outfit change, play time on floor with Mommy!
Noon- Lunch time!  Veggie and Fruit
12:30-1:30 pm- More playtime on floor!
1:30-2:30 pm- Afternoon nap!2:30-5:00 pm- Various play time between the floor, Exersaucer, and Mommy.  
5-6:00 pm- Wait for Daddy to get home!
6:30 pm- Dinner- Whatever New Veggie or Fruit we are trying and another fruit or veggie
7:00 pm- Bath Time 
7:30 pm- Bed Time


Feeding:  You are loving all the new fruits and veggies you are trying.  This month you started eating, Bananas, Avocados, Applesauce, and Butternut Squash!  You are loving everything!  Still practicing with the sippy cup.  Mommy only puts water in the cup.  Still Breastfeeding.  8 months of Breastfeeding.  Mommy's good and so are you, so we'll keep doing that!

Diapers: Size 3, Pampers Baby Dry

Clothes Size: 6-9 Months.  Some 3-6 month clothes still fit though.

Favorite Toy:  Hah!  Your favorite toys are- Mommy's laptop, Mommy's phone, Mommy's money bag, and Mommy's camera.  You also like to play with a Farm toy that has animals and a little piano on it.  Oh and I think Rajah should be included as a toy.  You like to follow her around.

Other Things You Do:  You are crawling!  All over the place!  And you are pulling yourself up.  First on your knees and know you can pull yourself to standing!  Amazing!  You know your name!  Mommy calls you, you look, you turn away, and go the other way!    

Sweet Things You Do: Every smile and laugh are precious!  You reach out for Mommy.  You still like to make out with Mommy.  I love those slobbery kisses.  You put your hand on Mommy's face and stare into her eyes when you are eating.  

Funniest Moment: You crawl to Rajah's kennel and shut the door, while she is in it.  You follow Jackson and Rajah as they go into Mommy's room.  When they go under the bed, you stop and look under the bed.


Milestones and Other Events:

April 11, 2011- First time to eat bananas!
April 15- 23, 2011- Visit to Nana's because Poppy went to India!
April 17, 2011- First time to play on the floor of a dressing room in Nordstrom's! 
April 18, 2011- First time to eat Avocado! First time to take a bath in a tub with out a bath seat.
April 21, 2011- Aggie Muster in College Station!   
April 24, 2011- Ava's first Easter!  First time to eat jarred pears.
April 25, 2011- First time to eat Applesauce!
April 27, 2011- First time to lift yourself up from back to sitting. 
April 29, 2011- Crawling for Real!  
May 1, 2011- March of Dimes Walk for Baby Dylan!
May 2, 2011- Last meal in Bumbo chair.
May 3, 2011- First meal in high chair! First time to pull yourself up on knees. 
May 7, 2011- First time to pull yourself up to standing on feet. 
May 8, 2011- Mommy's first Mother's Day!
May 10, 2011- First time to go swimming!  











Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Splish, Splash, Fun in the Pool

Ava went swimming for the first time today!  Yay!!!
I have been looking forward to this day, since I was pregnant last summer!
Meghan came over today and we decided to have some fun in the sun!

First Ava got slathered with sunscreen.  
Then we slapped on a swim diaper.  
Then Ava put on her fabulous bikini!


 


We set out to the pool. Extra diaper, towels, and floats in tow.


Ava dipped her toes in first.  Just to be sure the water wasn't too cold. 


Then she set off in her pink car with Meghan.

 

 

 

All around the pool.  


Mommy just kept going.......



And Going.......


Then She realized Ava was passed out!







Monday, May 9, 2011

Making Baby Food: Butternut Squash

This week Ava is trying yummy Butternut Squash.  I had been searching for organic Butternut Squash in several grocery stores, including Whole Foods, but no luck!  So I fed Ava her first Conventional Veggie!  I wish it were Organic, but a few conventional grown fruits and veggies here and there are okay!


1. Buy Butternut Squash.



2. Rinse and Peel the skin of the squash.  Butternut Squash has a very thick skin, so it will take a little time.

3. Rinse again and cut the squash in half, long ways.


4. Scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff using an ice cream scoop.


5. Cut the squash into cubes.


6. Place cubes in a pot, cover with water and boil until tender.



7. Put squash in a food processor.  Puree for several minutes.


8. Strain leftover squash water.  Remember this is full of nutrients.


9. Pour puree into a bowl and add squash water until desired consistency is reached. Mix well.


10. Scoop puree into ice cube trays. 



11. Cover trays with plastic wrap and freeze over night.
12. Pour warm water over the bottom of the tray, so cubes will pop out easily.  
13. Place cubes in a Labeled and Dated plastic bag.  The squash will stay well in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Simple.  Easy.  Nutritious. 





Ava Eating Yummy Butternut Squash for the First Time!