The Fisher-Price Newborn Rock and Play Sleeper

When I had little Miss M recently, a friend of mine on facebook told me about this bassinet. Like the boy, Miss M has reflux and has to be kept elevated after eating. She also likes to be rocked to sleep but if I hold her, she wakes when I move her. So this bassinet is great for her. When  I went into the doctors about her reflux, my pediatrician  also recommended this to me. She does manage to sleep thru the night in this sometimes and even when she wakes at night, after I feed her she goes right back to sleep when I put her back in it. It has truly been a lifesaver! It is also easy to travel with. It folds flat so you can put it in the truck of your car and is very light. It weighs a lot less than a pack and play. My only concern is what her reaction will be to a flat crib when she outgrows it.

Recipe of the Week: Risotto with Peas and Bacon

My husband I found this recipe years ago and we make it all the time. It is really easy and our kids will even eat it.

1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup onions
1/2 cups of Aborio rice
1/2 cup of white wine
32 oz of Chicken broth
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup of frozen peas, thawed
10 slices of bacon, precooked and chopped


Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. When it is melted add onions and saute for about 3 to 4 minutes. Then add Aborio rice and cook for 30 seconds. Then add white whine and wait until absorbed. Then add approximately 1 cup of chicken broth, once absorbed add another 1/2 cup. Keep adding broth until rice is soft and cooked thru. Then turn off heat and add parmesan , peas, and bacon. Mix well until cheese is melted.  Serves 4

Easy Dinner options

For some reason,  the dinner hour tends to be insane around my house. All of my kids are cranky but especially Little Miss M who at 8 weeks is teething and has acid reflux. So if I cook, I tend to hear a lot of screaming. So meals I can just throw in the oven and not have to do much at actually dinner time are the best. One option is the crockpot and I love them but recently I have become a big fan of frozen prepared meals.  There are two different type of options, both of which I love.

First is Schwan's Frozen food. I love them because not only are there meals pretty good, but they come right to your door! Their food can be a little pricier than typical frozen food but it is still cheaper than takeout. They have everything from prepared meals, breads, ice cream and even frozen meat and vegtables. They change their catalog every couple. This has been great with a newborn because it means not having to go to the grocery store for meals.

Another option is meal prep places like Main Dish Kitchen or Super Suppers. There you can either prepare the meals or they can prepare them for you and then you just pick them up. If you don't live right near one, see if they have delivery service to your area. I live in a small town that does not have one but  with Main Dish Kitchen I can order and pick them up at a store that they deliver to.

I also heard that PF Changs has new frozen foods in the stores but I haven't had a chance to check them out.  Do you have any easy dinner options you use?

How Chicken Tenders became my favorite food

Being the mother of a toddler definately has an effect on your diet. Even though I try not to, I tend to graze my kids food. Before I had kids, I had not had fruit snacks or animal crackers in years. Now I have them reguarly. As I write this, I am snacking on my son's unfinished bowl of dry trix cereal. The two food that I really love from kiddie food is Kraft mac and cheese and chicken tenders. Particularly, chicken tenders. When I was pregnant with Miss M, it was my favorite food. On Valentines day, when we went out to dinner just me and the hubby I ordered them. I do try to eat grown up food but when you are outnumbered you tend to pick up the habits of the natives. What kiddie food do you love?

Shoes

My older daughter, Little Miss G is obsessed with her shoes. She wants them on the second she wakes up and won't let me take them off until she puts on her PJs. If I do dare take them off, she will have a massive tantrum. This makes diaper changes quite a challenge sometimes. It is so funny that she is this way since for the first 18 months of her life, she refused to wear shoes. It took about 6 different pairs of shoes before I found a pair she liked. I tried stride right, nike, reebok, new balance etc. Her shoe of choice.. Pediped flex shoes. I do like them and they fit her well. She is on her second pair now. They look like maryjanes but have the feel of a sneaker which is good since she refuses to wear sneakers. I guess I'm raising a diva!

Greta and Her Shoes

Cow goes Moo!

I am a city girl. My idea of camping involves a cabin with air conditioning. Until I became a mom, I had no idea of the importance of farm animals. I read them an occasional little farm book and we have a little people farm. However,  I did not realize that knowing the animal noises was an important life skill. Then we had to speech therapists because the boy was not speaking. One of the first things the therepists asked was, "Does he know the animal noises?" Of course we had to answer, "No." So we started reading the farm books more including my favorite Moo, Baa, La La La! I also became a bit of a petting zoo junky. I see an event and see that there is a petting zoo and I'm like, "wow, we should go to this!" I also drove 45 minutes just so the kids could see a reindeer and am looking into visiting a local dairy farm.  I will occasionally quiz the boy and Miss G on various farm animal noises. I can report that the Boy knows his farm noise and Miss G is defiantely coming along. Though I'm still not sure how knowing a Cow goes "Moo" will help him in the job market. What is your favorite farm book?

I used to have a brain

Since becoming a mother, I have become a bit of a space cadet. I have a theory that when you are pregnant, your children eat half your brain. So after three pregnancies, I am convinced I am operating on about an 8th of the brain I used to have. The other day was a perfect example, I was in Walmart with the boy and Miss M. We went in the bathroom and I noticed urinals. My first thought was, "huh, why are urinal's in the women's room." Then I thought, "you idiot, you are in the men's room." So I walk out and of course, I was in the men's room. Thankfully, there were no men in there.

I have also recently thrown dirty clothes in the trash and diapers in the hamper (I realized it a second after I did it) and left home without my purse (but of course not the diaper bag!) Then there is my favorite. I have on several occasions loaded the kids in the car, gotten in the driver seat, started to go in reverse when I hear a bump. I get out and there is my stroller. Thankfully, I haven't murdered it yet just bumped it.

Of course, I know the real reason I am so spacey is the lack of sleep combined with the mix of crying and constant questions from my three year old. Not to mention having to keep up where each of the older two are at every moment. What spacey things have you done since becoming a mom?