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?

Summer Reading Suggestions Paranormal Romance

I am a lover of books, though as a Mom, I sometimes don't get to read as much as I like. Thank goodness for audio books! My tastes tend to run to chick lit but recently I have also gotten into paranormal romances. They are basically chick lit that involve creatures of the night.  Below are two books that just came out that you might want to check out. I will be adding more as they come out this summer.


This is the book series that HBO's True Blood is based on. I love the series but I think the books are much better.  This is the 10th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series and there are only going to be three more. I read the first nine books all in a row and couldn't put them down.

Here is a summary: Still reeling from the deaths of her fairy cousin, Claudine, and many others in 2009's Dead and Gone, Sookie Stackhouse struggles with paranormal politics in her entertaining if slow-moving 10th outing. When Claudine's triplet, Claude, appears at her doorstep, Sookie reluctantly allows him to move in. The government threatens two-natures with mandatory registration, and tensions run high in the local Were pack. Then Eric's maker, a Roman named Appius Livius Ocella, arrives without warning, bringing along Alexei Romanov, whom he rescued from the Bolsheviks and turned into a vampire. Though the action often builds too slowly, the exploration of family in its many human and undead variations is intriguing, and Harris delivers her usual mix of eccentric characters and engaging subplots.


I think that this author is definately and up and comer. Charlaine Harris who wrote the Sookie Stackhouse series has written good things about this author. This is her fifth book in the series and I think they keep getting better and better. They are also a nice easy read.

Here is a summary: In wintry Wisconsin, occult bookseller-and witch-Garnet Lacey isn't immune to the cold. But even though her new vampire husband doesn't actually have a pulse, love will keep them warm-if the honeymoon doesn't drive them apart.

Thanks to a vengeful frost demon, instead of a gothic honeymoon in Transylvania, Garnet and Sebastian are stuck in exotic Minneapolis, Minnesota. And with gods and goddesses running amok all over town, Garnet can't seem to find much quality time for her new hubby...


This book is the 9th book in the Queen Betsy series. Queen Betsy is Queen of the vampires and she lives in Minneapolis and love shoes. It is basically a comedic mix of True Blood and Sex and the City mixed together. This book comes out July 6 and I can't wait!
 Here is a summary: Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor is having a tough time getting through the Book of the Dead-until the Devil strikes a bargain. She offers Betsy a chance to finish the cursed (literally!) thing, and finally discover all its mysteries. There's just one catch...


Betsy and her half-sister Laura have to go to Hell long enough for Laura to embrace her dark heritage (after a rebellious youth of charity work) and finally make nice with her mother, aka Lucifer. That means interacting with their family's past. In doing so, they're impacting the future in ways they never anticipated. Of course that's what Mother wanted all along. Damn her.

Recipe of the Week: Mediterrean Chicken

This is a great recipe that I make all the time. I modified it from a recipe in the Junior League of Grand Rapids cookbook, "Grand Temptations." The book is available at www.juniorleaguegr.com. I basically just changed a few items like fresh tomatoes and thyme to canned and dried since I have that stuff available in my kitchen at all time and do not have to worry about it spoiling before I can use it. I am always looking for recipes that work with pasta since my kids love plain pasta and I can only eat red sauce so many nights a week.

Serves 4

1 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup of chopped onion
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/3 cup of balsamic or red wine vinegar
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes drained
1/2 tsp of dried thyme
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
2 to 4 oz of crumbled goat cheese
1 package of pasta of choice

Boil pasta. At the same time heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic powder and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and add to skillet. Cook about 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through stirring frequently. When chicken is cooked stir in vinegar, tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes. In the last minute add 1 to 2 oz of goat cheese and stir. Put over pasta and sprinkle more goat cheese if desired.

Mother's Day

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy mother's day. Being a mother definately gives me a new appreciation for mothers. I think that having my three kids has made me much closer to my mom and to my mother-in-law. Without their help and guidance I would not be half the mother I am.

Happiness

Last night as Miss M screamed while I tried to give Miss G a bath with the boy's help, I reflected on the whole idea of happiness with children. I recently managed to get out thanks to the help of my mother and see a movie. I saw the Backup Plan with JLO. It was a good movie but given the topic was pregnancy did not quite give me the escape I wanted. (Of course, another movie I'm dying to see is a documentary called,"Babies.") A father in the movie said that having children was like this all day, "awful, awful, awful, amazing, awful, awful, awful." I definately saw some truth in that though

I prefer to put it how Charlotte did in Sex and the city. She said that she was happy every day maybe not all day but at least part of the day. She was referring to marriage but I think the same applies to kids. I can honestly say there is at least a minute everyday that my children bring me happiness and sometimes more. Yesterday, it was when I came home from running errands with the boy and Miss G came up with open arms saying, "Mama." Also when Miss M smiled at me and when the I spent a good half hour wrestling on the floor with the boy.

Life with Newborn

Miss M is 7 weeks old now. Even though Miss G is only 23 months older than her, I can honestly say I had forgotten how labor intensive newborns are. They need to be fed constantly and seem to always want to be held. Not that I mind spending time with my adorable baby but when you have a 2 and almost 4 year old to chase around it can be a little hectic. Thank God the boy has preschool 5 days a week in the morning!

Between Miss M's demands and taking Miss G and the boy out for their various activities, it leaves very little time to get stuff done around the house. In order to get the house stuff done I developed a system, I have planned out one thing I get done every day. Then I have a list of things I would like to get done. For example, today is laundry day. My goal is to get it all washed and hung up today. So far this system is working and the house has not become the chaotic mess I expected when I brought Miss M home. Lets hope I can keep it up.

Overtired

Recently I was at my college reunion and I was talking with another mom about overtiring. What non-parents do not realize is that it is very important not to over tire the kids. If you do over tire them, you end up with a tired child who then is cranky and still will not sleep. I have come up with a system that seems to work for my kids. I believe you take the kids out, you can do one morning activity and one afternoon activity. An activity can be going grocery shopping, going to the park or going to story time. You can pair these outings with one brief other stop like picking one item up at the store but you have to keep it very brief. Generally when I stick to this I have very few tantrums and three kids who are tired enough to go to sleep but no so tired they are a mess. However, some days there will be tantrums no matter what. Right now I am stuck in the period between the end of the school year and summer. The problem with this time is many of the story times are canceled and if it is rainy there is very little to do. So Miss G my two year old is a bit bored and is dying to get out more. It will be nice when the summer activities are in full swing.