Overnight Diapering Problems...

Sigh... as all my loyal readers (all 5 of you ;) know, I am a cloth diapering user and proponent. However, this past week we've been having problems with our overnight diapering: My little man developed an irritation on his pee-pee that was bleeding!!! YIKES!!!

Thankfully it was just a little dot here and there, but it's been consistent every few days with a little drop of blood on his diaper in the morning. NOT what you want to see.

I'm not sure why it's been happening, but we took him to doctor and they gave us some ointment to put on it, and recommended either using disposables or "softening" the cloth diaper in some way so it wasn't so irritating. We've gone down to one liner during the day, which has seemed to help, but the overnight has been the issue.

For now, the plan is to switch to disposables for overnights until the irritation is gone, then to try some different cloth diapering solutions and see which one works best. I found this page on the Cotton Babies website that was helpful, so I ordered 3 BumGenius stay-dry diapers with some extra microfiber inserts and hemp liners to try. I also decided to try the hook and loop (aka Velcro) diapers instead of the snaps as a) we've only been using snap covers and b) they seem more adjustable, so we will hopefully be able to get a good fit.

Here's hoping this works! Anyone else have any overnight ideas for me to try?

Crazy Moms

 

Image credit: http://youoffendmeyouoffendmyfamily.com/saf-seeking-emotional-deliverance/crazy-mom-twitter-facebook-stalking/

Top ten reasons why people think moms are crazy:

10.) Moms talk to themselves all the time. (It's only because the baby books say that talking around your baby is good for language development! No, really.)

9.) Moms cry at commercials. (Well, at least I do... must be those pesky hormones.)

8.) Moms wipe off boogers, snot, drool, spit-up, etc. with their hands and/or clothing like it's no big deal.

7.) Moms can understand toddler speak as though it's English.

6.) Moms talk about the condition of their child's bowel movements with anyone who will listen.

5.) Moms wake up in the middle of the night to check and see if their baby is still breathing. (Yes, I did this too.)

4.) Moms think that their baby is the most beautiful thing in the world, even when the baby looks like a squished up little old person.

3.) Moms sing songs about anything and everything... just to make it fun!

2.) Moms actually care if their child's clothing--which will inevitably be getting covered in food, drool, or worse--matches.

1.) Moms go through labor and, once it's over, would go through it AGAIN!

I hope you enjoy the list, and let me know if you have anything else to add!

Wanna-be Gourmet

As a busy mom--still working full-time until September 1!--when it's time to cook, I go for the fast and easy route. However, I've been reading Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family lately, and it has motivated me to go more 'gourmet' when I cook. If I don't enjoy making it/tasting it/eating it, then what's the point?

This brings me to the other night (now a week or so ago) when I was concocting the deliciousness below.

Ashley's Dijon Walnut Tilapia and Beet Salad
Ingredients:
1 onion, sliced into rings
2 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tilapia filets, thawed2 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
1 bunch large beets, scrubbed and quartered
1 bunch beet greens, washed with stems removed4 Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese


Process:
In large frying pan, warm 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium low heat. Once warmed, place onion in pan and caramelize, stirring often, about 20-30 minutes. (Wait for them to really caramelize - tastes so much better this way!) While they are cooking, place a large pot with 6 cups of water on high heat. Bring to a boil. Place beets in water and boil, uncovered, for about 10-12 minutes (or until beets are able to be easily pierced by fork). While beets are boiling, use the steam from the pot to steam the beet greens! Take a steamer basket and place on top of the pot. Place 1/2 bunch of greens on top and cover with pot lid. Steam for 2-3 minutes until greens have wilted. Remove (carefully!) using tongs and reserve. Repeat with remainder of beet greens until all have been steamed. Once done with the greens, remove the steamer basket. If beets are done boiling, turn off the heat and strain out the water through a colander.

Place 1/2 cup cooked beets on top of 1/4 of the greens on a plate for a salad serving. Top with 1/4 cup feta and 2 Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette. Let this sit to cool while you finish the fish as follows: Once onions are done caramelizing, push to one side of the pan. Place fish filets in pan and brown on each side for 2-3 minutes. Once the filets are mostly cooked (each side browned), add the walnuts, mustard, 2 Tbsp olive oil, honey, and spices to the onions. Mix well, then spoon over the fish filets and stir together. (If the fish breaks up, no biggie - it will still taste great!) Cook for another 3-4 minutes until the fish is done (you can use a meat thermometer to check this). Spoon 1 filet with onions and walnuts onto the plates you made previously. Enjoy!

You need to be a bit of a multitasker to pull this off but it's worth the extra attention! Hope you like it.

Transformers and Strawberry Ice Cream

Not that these two things go together, but this is what you get from my brain today.

Joe and I saw the new Transformers movie last night. I would give it a B+ overall (as in, I saw it, it was cool, but I wouldn't watch it again). It was action-packed and full of cool special effects (including super slowdown fight scenes so you can see the awesomeness of Optimus slashing the bad guys with his sword). There was a group of young kids sitting in front of us (which I didn't understand since the movie was rated PG-13... but I digress), which was fun because they kept exclaiming over the cool parts. The joy of children for things they've never seen before is always a lot of fun to experience.

*SPOILER ALERT* However, the movie also made me sad (not because of the lack of acting) but because of the scene where all these children are running around with no parents in sight due to the Decepticons killing people right and left. That made me a) want to get home to Joseph as soon as possible and b) reflect on the sanctity of human life - killing people is so wrong. Even if it's fictional alien mechanical creature/robot things.

On to strawberry ice cream! I've been trying to use up things in my pantry/freezer, and the big bag of frozen strawberries I bought a while ago caught my eye. I thought of churning them up in the food processor to make a frozen treat, and came up with the following recipe:

Dairy-free Strawberry 'Ice Cream'
Ingredients:

• 3 c. frozen strawberries (or you could use fresh too with no greens)
• 1 c. So Delicious vanilla coconut milk
• 2 tsp. organic agave nectar (add more as desired)

Process:
Mix all ingredients in food processor (or super strong blender) until well-blended. Freeze until hardened, or (if using frozen berries) you can serve immediately. When frozen, the final texture resembles an Italian ice; fresh out of the processor is much softer like a soft serve ice cream. Serves 4 - 8 (if you follow the 1/2 cup serving size).

This is a refreshing treat for a hot summer day, and there is virtually no coconut flavor since the berries take over. It's also super easy to make!

New, new, new

What's new: Joe and I started a new business last week with Ambit Energy. We are pretty excited about the opportunity to help people save money on their energy bills and also to partner with other people who want to build their own business. If you live in Texas, New York, Illinois, Maryland, or Pennsylvania and want to learn more, visit our customer website or watch the introductory video! (Another cool thing: It's FREE to become a customer! And it really does save you money!)

What else is new is a firm decision in regards to my future. I have decided to leave my current job and become a full-time stay-at-home mom! (Otherwise known as an SAHM. Say it with me, saaahmmm.)

I will still be working part-time, either at my current place of work or on our own businesses (in addition to Ambit, I also do project management for companies who need graphic/web design or marketing, and Joe is currently in the process of purchasing our first rental property - yes, we do keep busy), but overall I am so looking forward to being able to focus on being a mom first and work second! Right now it's hard to keep it that way when I only see him for a few hours most days.

This is going to be a big change but it's a good one!

Nine months!

Joseph is nine months old as of last Wednesday. I can hardly believe it!

As he has grown, each stage has had some challenges, but mostly lots of fun watching him learn how to do new things: rolling over, scooting/crawling, sitting up, learning how to go from sitting up to crawling without banging his head on the ground, standing, 'dancing' (him stepping around in place while I'm helping him stand up), smiling, babbling, cooing, giggling, 'talking' (he does say mama and dada! although not directly to us).

One afternoon when I picked him up from auntie Lauren he crawled over to me on the floor! It was wonderful. :) He is such a determined little guy when there is something he is focused on.

However, I'm having some trouble figuring out his new feeding schedule. I'm trying to keep him on a 5 breastfeeding, 3-4 solid feedings/day schedule because I'm worried that my milk production will decrease otherwise. However, some days he doesn't really seem to want to nurse fully (he's focused on everything BUT nursing), and some days he skips breastfeedings. Anyone have any experienced mommy tips for me? I want to adjust to his needs as they change, but I still do want to keep some semblance of order in our feeding schedule as well.

Happy June!

June is my favorite month. (Most likely because it is my birthday month!) Also, the flower of June is a rose (my favorite!) and the gemstone is a pearl (also my favorite! My engagement ring was a pearl.).

June is also the gateway into summer... picnics, swimming, sunshine, ice cream (well, not so much for me this year!), watermelon, grilling, walking, beach-going, and lots of time outside.

Of course, there are also the unpleasant aspects of summer: mosquitos, weeding my garden (something I really need to do!), bee stings, sunburn, and being tired from trying to cram in too much activity.

However, overall I must say that summer in Rochester is beautiful. Sometimes muggy and HOT, but still beautiful. I look forward to this summer and hope yours is wonderful too!