Saturday, January 14, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Let's Be Green--and Cheap
I like saving money almost as much as I like spending it. Don't get too excited hubby--I said almost.
A few years ago I got on a green kick and I'm still kicking away. I go through times where I obsess over something and then I drop it--much like when I went on a baking craze to make Parker the perfect birthday cake. I was elbows deep in flour, sugar, and fondant more nights than I care to mention and haven't made another cupcake since. My waist thanks me.
Now I don't like to clean my house. House cleaning is a profession for a reason and one that I would like to stay far away from. So until (1) my house learns to clean itself or (2) I finally break down and hire a house cleaner, I need cleaning products.
Enter: DIY cleaners. Cheap, simple ingredients, and eco-friendly. It practically has my name written all over it. All you need is:
Dr. Bronners. So the label is really creepy. I get it. But the product is good and while it seems expensive a little really does go a long way. Trust me.
Lavender Oil. The only place I found this was at Whole Foods and, shocking, it was overpriced. I scored it from Amazon.
Borax. Google is not helping me figure out whether this product is "green" or not so I've been skipping it.
Home Depot spray bottles. They actually work unlike most other ones I have tried. That is until I ask Kris to clean the pee on the bathroom floor (that he blames on me even though it's physically impossible) and the thing breaks. Highly suspicious.
If you want to follow in my footsteps here ya go. Compliments of Macheesmo.
Lavender Anti-Bacterial Spray
- 1 Cup water
- 20 drops lavender essential oil
All-Purpose Cleaner
- 3 Tablespoons vinegar
- 1/2 Teaspoon washing soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon castile soap
- 2 Cups hot water
Grease Cutter
- 2 Cups water
- 1/4 Cup castile soap
- 10 drops lavender oil
Bath, Sink, Tile Cleaner .
- 2/3 Cup baking soda
- 1/2 Cup castile soap
- 2 Tablespoons vinegar
- 1/2 Cup water
- A few drops of Tea Tree oil
Viola! Now off to enjoy my evening by not cleaning.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Our New Normal
And no, we're not about to go for a walk.
While this was our new normal for a week or so it seems like Parker's sleep is slightly improving and she no longer demands the stroller. Yay! And surprise surprise, she will let us know how she sleeps best.
We'll keep rolling with the punches as per usual because when Parker's happy, we're happy.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Rub a Dub Dub
Sleep regression sucks. For the past two months our not-so-good-at-sleeping baby let us lay her down on the bed, with some snuggles of course, and would fall fast asleep. Then she got sick on NYE. Since then she refuses to lay down--not in our bed, not in her crib, not anywhere. Sometimes she'll tolerate the Ergo, but more times than not we have to stroll her around or carry her. We have to do the same thing when she wakes up in the middle of the night. Kris and I were so exhausted on Saturday that we napped THREE HOURS with Parker. Blissful. If I didn't have a full time job I would definitely be having a lazy nap with the little miss probably every single day!
Obviously Parker developed a negative association with the bed and is scared to fall asleep so we'll help her work through it and I'm sure, in her own time, she will go back to laying down on her own. Never have we let Parker cry it out, and we never will. This is the perfect example of why that's not the right path for us. To let a little person who is obviously scared of something cry and try to figure it out on their own just breaks my heart.
So while sleep isn't Parker's thing, bath time is. I put on my bikini and join Parker in our master bath every single time. We have an absolute blast. We play with toys, sing silly songs, and splash around. I don't know who looks forward to it more--me or Parker!
"Give mama a kiss"
Parker--if you could change your 2012 resolution to refuse sleep to something more enjoyable I wouldn't complain ;)
Obviously Parker developed a negative association with the bed and is scared to fall asleep so we'll help her work through it and I'm sure, in her own time, she will go back to laying down on her own. Never have we let Parker cry it out, and we never will. This is the perfect example of why that's not the right path for us. To let a little person who is obviously scared of something cry and try to figure it out on their own just breaks my heart.
So while sleep isn't Parker's thing, bath time is. I put on my bikini and join Parker in our master bath every single time. We have an absolute blast. We play with toys, sing silly songs, and splash around. I don't know who looks forward to it more--me or Parker!
"Give mama a kiss"
Parker--if you could change your 2012 resolution to refuse sleep to something more enjoyable I wouldn't complain ;)
Friday, January 6, 2012
Breakfast Goodies
Next recipe for 2012--Maple Pecan Pumpkin Waffles.
This was the first waffle that I have ever ate. In my entire life. And no, I'm not lying! My parents got us this awesome professional waffle maker for Christmas.
It even cooks two waffles at once--perfect since I like to make extra of whatever I cook/bake to freeze for one of those days that I don't feel like, or have the time to, cook up some eats.
I went all the way with my first waffle recipe, compliments of the Waring manual that had recipes towards the back. I actually had all the ingredients that I needed so I took that as a sign that this recipe was meant to be. I even had fresh pumpkin. If you recall our pumpkin decorating experience this past Halloween, there was too much *excitement* going on with painting the pumpkins so there was no time to carve them. So they went on our porch looking all boring. But since it's against the law to let pumpkins go to waste we carved out the seeds and meat late December. Halloween apparently lasts for months in our house!
Pumpkin Nut Belgian Waffles
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour (I used organic whole wheat)
1oz finely chopped pecans or walnuts
1tbsp cornstarch
1tbsp baking powder
1tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp ginger
1/4tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup real maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
3tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1tsp vanilla extract
3 large egg whites
Directions
Preheat waffle maker
Combine the flour, nuts, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Stir to blend.
In a separate bowl combine the pumpkin, egg yolks, milk, maple syrup, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir with a whisk until smooth.
In a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. This took about 10 minutes for me. Gently fold the beaten eggs whites into the batter.
Start cooking and enjoy!
Parker and Kris thoroughly enjoyed the waffles!
Happy (almost) weekend!
This was the first waffle that I have ever ate. In my entire life. And no, I'm not lying! My parents got us this awesome professional waffle maker for Christmas.
It even cooks two waffles at once--perfect since I like to make extra of whatever I cook/bake to freeze for one of those days that I don't feel like, or have the time to, cook up some eats.
I went all the way with my first waffle recipe, compliments of the Waring manual that had recipes towards the back. I actually had all the ingredients that I needed so I took that as a sign that this recipe was meant to be. I even had fresh pumpkin. If you recall our pumpkin decorating experience this past Halloween, there was too much *excitement* going on with painting the pumpkins so there was no time to carve them. So they went on our porch looking all boring. But since it's against the law to let pumpkins go to waste we carved out the seeds and meat late December. Halloween apparently lasts for months in our house!
Pumpkin Nut Belgian Waffles
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour (I used organic whole wheat)
1oz finely chopped pecans or walnuts
1tbsp cornstarch
1tbsp baking powder
1tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp ginger
1/4tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup real maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
3tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1tsp vanilla extract
3 large egg whites
Directions
Preheat waffle maker
Combine the flour, nuts, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Stir to blend.
In a separate bowl combine the pumpkin, egg yolks, milk, maple syrup, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir with a whisk until smooth.
In a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. This took about 10 minutes for me. Gently fold the beaten eggs whites into the batter.
Start cooking and enjoy!
Parker and Kris thoroughly enjoyed the waffles!
Happy (almost) weekend!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
2012 Cooking Resolution
It’s last night at 11:00pm and I’m pulling the last of my homemade wheat crackers out of the oven. Kris asks why I always do everything all the time when I have a million other things to do. Good question! But it’s just how I operate. I like being super busy and having a huge list of things to tackle. It makes me feel most accomplished when I get things checked off said list.
In 2012 I’ve decided to start tackling the huge list of recipes that I have pending to try out. First up--homemade crackers. I have an enormous bag of organic whole wheat flour. I’m embarrassed to even mention the number of pounds so I won’t. Apparently flour eventually goes rancid (who knew?!) so I’m in a rush to make and freeze anything and everything that uses wheat flour. I already have a big stash of wheat things in the deep freezer--pizza dough, waffles, pancakes, muffins, etc but still have a flour situation on my hands.
When I found a recipe for crackers I knew that I had to try it. It was very simple with minimal ingredients and actually tastes good. It was so good that I don’t know if I’ll actually buy wheat crackers ever again. I’m excited to modify this in the future—I’m particularly thinking of Garlic Parmesan Herb crackers. Yum!
Hopefully this snack will give me some energy today since some toddler decided that 1130pm to 200am was for playing and not for sleeping. We tried everything to get her back into bed and she wasn’t having it. We have no clue what’s going on…her tummy seems better, her new teeth have popped through, no fever…mabye it's more teeth? Or maybe Kris and I are so cool that she wants to play with us rather than sleep?? I need to be a mind reader!
In 2012 I’ve decided to start tackling the huge list of recipes that I have pending to try out. First up--homemade crackers. I have an enormous bag of organic whole wheat flour. I’m embarrassed to even mention the number of pounds so I won’t. Apparently flour eventually goes rancid (who knew?!) so I’m in a rush to make and freeze anything and everything that uses wheat flour. I already have a big stash of wheat things in the deep freezer--pizza dough, waffles, pancakes, muffins, etc but still have a flour situation on my hands.
When I found a recipe for crackers I knew that I had to try it. It was very simple with minimal ingredients and actually tastes good. It was so good that I don’t know if I’ll actually buy wheat crackers ever again. I’m excited to modify this in the future—I’m particularly thinking of Garlic Parmesan Herb crackers. Yum!
Hopefully this snack will give me some energy today since some toddler decided that 1130pm to 200am was for playing and not for sleeping. We tried everything to get her back into bed and she wasn’t having it. We have no clue what’s going on…her tummy seems better, her new teeth have popped through, no fever…mabye it's more teeth? Or maybe Kris and I are so cool that she wants to play with us rather than sleep?? I need to be a mind reader!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Welcome 2012
Kris and I had a wild NYE. We made some delicious eats.
Potato Skins, Shrimp Scampi, Jalapeno Herb Crab Dip, and Cheddar Sausage Balls. Yum!
Then we hung out and watched all the fun in Times Square. I've always wanted to be in a hotel right in the middle of the NYC NYE madness. I'm secretly hoping that Parker wants to do the same one day so that we can make a family trip out of it! Our night really got out of hand and we partied until 6am.
Partied with puke and poop that is. Our little miss caught something on our Ohio travels and was up all.night.long. I felt horrible. I wished that it was me miserable instead of our baby girl. Her stomach is still bothering her a bit and she's having trouble sleeping laying down on her tummy, side, or back so right now she's sleeping in the stroller. We've never used a stroller other than for jogging, but now we use it for a temporary baby bed. We do things a bit different in this house ;)
2012 hasn't started out in the most ideal way but I'm sure our luck will change!
Potato Skins, Shrimp Scampi, Jalapeno Herb Crab Dip, and Cheddar Sausage Balls. Yum!
Then we hung out and watched all the fun in Times Square. I've always wanted to be in a hotel right in the middle of the NYC NYE madness. I'm secretly hoping that Parker wants to do the same one day so that we can make a family trip out of it! Our night really got out of hand and we partied until 6am.
Partied with puke and poop that is. Our little miss caught something on our Ohio travels and was up all.night.long. I felt horrible. I wished that it was me miserable instead of our baby girl. Her stomach is still bothering her a bit and she's having trouble sleeping laying down on her tummy, side, or back so right now she's sleeping in the stroller. We've never used a stroller other than for jogging, but now we use it for a temporary baby bed. We do things a bit different in this house ;)
2012 hasn't started out in the most ideal way but I'm sure our luck will change!
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