Blog Post: Pinterest Edition

So this past week I decided to have a "Pinterest Recipe Week". Most all of the meals I made I found on Pinterest. I decided to write a blog about my opinion and review each recipe. Here it goes!

* The first thing I made was Salted Caramel Crunch Brownies. These were pretty yummy!! I made them in the mini muffin pan. I put just a little dab of batter on the bottom, laid a pretzel down, and then covered it with more batter. Baked them as directed and poured caramel over the top. This actually happens to be one of the problems I have with the recipe. The caramel was too thin and made a HUGE mess. Maybe, if you made your own caramel sauce, it would stay on the brownies better. Other than that, they were a delicious salty and sweet combo. (I would suggest making these for a party or get together, somewhere that they would be eaten immediately because the pretzels started to taste a little stale on days 3-4)

* Next I made Lasagna Rolls. Super easy and very tasty. A much simpler version of lasagna. I think that next time I make them, tho, I will add some meat (probably hamburger) and maybe cut back a little on the spinach.

* I also made No Peak Beef Tips. These are basically an easy version of beef stroganoff. They were a little on the salty side, but I love salty foods so it didn't bother me, but just a heads up if you decide to try this recipe. I served them with mashed potatoes but I imagine they would be just as scrumptious with rice or egg noodle. It made for great leftovers too!

* Buffalo Chicken Ring was next up. I had to cook it a little longer than instructed (it may just be my oven) but it turned out very yummy!! I would suggest making this more for an appetizer than supper, and it doesn't make for very good leftovers as the chicken mixtures tends to make the crescent roll a little soggy.

* And now, for mine and Paul's new favorite meal (and a frequently re-occuring supper), I made Glazed Kielbasa. SO, so very yummy!!! We both loved it!! I doubled this recipe and used spicy brown mustard instead of regular mustard and Moscato in place of dry white wine, and also drizzled some honey in the mixture. It smells DIVINE while it's cooking and is super easy! I served it over rice and it was a huge hit! This will definitely be a new addition to our dinner rotation!

--And on a side note, I sort of "created" a little recipe as well. I made a Chicken Caprese Salad using one chicken breast (seasoned to taste), fresh mozzarella, cherry (or grape) tomatoes, half an avocado, 1/3 of a cucumber, and balsamic vinaigrette for dressing. I had this 4 days in a row for lunch and plan to eat it several more times this week (once I run to the store and get some more fresh mozz!)

I hope you decide to try some of these recipes and let me know what you think! Happy Cooking!!

Homemade Baby Food

I just got done making a huge batch of homemade baby food!! I love doing this. I received the Baby Bullet and Baby Bullet Turbo Steamer as a baby shower gift and they both work so well. Today I made new foods for the boys; squash, peas, and broccoli, as well as their all-time favorite, sweet potatoes. I also made a tray of carrot (which I made in my first batch last month but they haven't tried it yet).I am not a "judger" of anyone who chooses to use jarred baby food (I actually bought 60 Plum Organic pouches when they were on sale last week to use when we are on vacation or on-the-go) but have you ever tried jarred baby food? It is NASTY! I try everything first, before my children eat/drink it and I had a few jars that a friend gave me so I decided to use those up before they expired. Needless to say, they went in the trash. They have absolutely NO flavor and the squash tastes like green beans that taste like carrots. Yuck! Homemade baby food has such robust flavors and I am hoping that it will give the boys a bigger introduction to different tastes and smells. Something else that I love about making my own, is that I can control the texture and thickness. Currently, their food is pureed quite well but once they get older, I can blend it less and make it chunkier.Making your own food is also much cheaper. For instance, I bought two sweet potatoes for $2 and it yielded 16 servings!!

Now I do realize that I am a stay-at-home mom and have the "luxury" of time (such as naps during the day, and after bed) to be able to do this and it may be a bit harder for a working momma but just set an hour or two aside each Sunday and do a big batch that will last a couple of weeks! I divide everything into ice cube trays, freeze it, and then pop them into their designated bags. I just take a couple out when it's time for a meal! This also allows for easy mixing of flavors too, such as a cube of carrot and a cube of broccoli!

This was from the first batch I ever made. Carrots, avocado, sweet potatoes, and green beans (not pictured)

28 servings of food for $6.72! 

Also, I would like to add that I like the idea of Baby Led Weaning.If you don't know what this is, basically (in a nutshell), you never give your baby pureed food, just start right from the beginning with small cut up pieces of food that you would have pureed (sweet potato, broccoli, avocado, etc). In another month or so, once the boys really grasp the concept of picking food up off their tray, we will slowly add this technique into their daily routine as well. As it stands now, I let them try whatever food I may be eating. They love to watch me eat so I just break small pieces off for them. This keeps them busy and preoccupied so I can eat my food and also introduces them to different textures and flavors! Regardless of how, or what, any of us feed our babies, we do what works best for our family and we are all awesome Mommas!! :-) Have a great day!

We're the Lucky Ones

Have you ever thought about how lucky you are to change a poopy diaper multiple times a day, have to leave a restaurant in the middle of a meal because your baby won't stop crying, or that you get the opportunity to function on just 3 hours of sleep? If you think I've lost my mind, read on...

I was laying in bed last night, trying to fall asleep, and I started thinking about the strongest person I know. Abby Rike popped into my mind. Please read her story HERE. (and then finish reading the post)

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If that wasn't a reality check (for me, and I'm sure for you too), I don't know else would be. Now, the next time you complain about getting up in the middle of the night, cleaning up from a messy toddler, having to cook 3 different meals in order to find something your child will finally eat, or anything as remotely petty, just remember Abby, and know that she would give anything to be in your shoes.

Never Assume

It's 4:30 in the morning and I'm writing this post as I pump (story of my life!). I just came back from feeding Ethan...who was sleeping in his own crib, in his own room...Some of you may think "big deal, that's what babies do", but not Ethan! I made the decision since Day 1 to co-sleep with him. That worked well until he started to grow (from his little peanut weight of 4 pounds 13 ounces) and my arm was falling asleep. I was finally able to get him moved into the Fisherprice (Newborn) Rock n Play which is where he slept, swaddled, for about a month. Then one night he just regressed and did not want to sleep there anymore. Being a mom of twins, I highly value my sleep so I didn't fight it and brought him back to bed with me. this went on for a few weeks before I decided I just wasnt getting good sleep because we were basically waking each other up too often. I was able to transition him back to the rock n play but then, 2 nights ago, Ethan woke up FIVE times between the hours of midnight and 7:00 am. Not okay. He is 5 months old, not a newborn. (Keep in mind that Wesley on the other hand, is sleeping through the night now. About 8-9, sometimes even 10-11 hour stretches, which is why this post is focused on Ethan who is not quite the sleeping rockstar like his brother).

Anyway, that night was my breaking point and I decided he needed to start sleeping in a crib (his feet were sticking out of the rock n play) and he needed his own room (because I no longer wanted to have to tiptoe around my bedroom in fear of waking him up). This was a moment I DREADED-basically because I knew it would mean hours upon hours of screaming and puking (Ethan is NOT a "cry-it-outer"-he will never eventually fall asleep. He just cries so hard until he pukes. In 5 months he has never just "fallen asleep eventually") You can see why this move was met with dread and hesitation on my part!

I cleaned out the spare room (which was home to all of their toys they arent old enough for yet, bigger size clothes, boxes of diapers, etc). Paul took apart his crib and moved it in there, along with the glider and pack n play (which we use for a changing table). Keep in mind that Ethan is a side sleeper, who is used to a confined, tight space, and always had something to grab onto whenever he flailed or woke in the middle of the night. My solution to this was to introduce a security blanket ( you know, those little square foot blankies that havr a stuffed animal head and arms and are silky on one side). Well he immediately took to it-yay! And my solution to keeping him on his side, in a "confined space" while still being safe, was to cut a pool noodle in half and tape it to his crib mattress and put the fitted sheet over it. This created a little divet in the crib and allowed him to sleep on his side (or back if he wanted) and was something pressing against his body which is how he was used to always sleeping.

Enough of the rambling! That first night I prepared myself for the worst. up every 5 minutes to soothe a screaming baby. But it never happened!! I gave him his bedtime bottle, rocked him to sleep (which I will never give up, I enjoy it), and put him in his crib. That was it!! He did wake every 3 hours to eat (which he obviously can go longer than that, so we'll work on that next) but I just couldnt believe there was no crying. He woke up several times but put himself back to sleep with no prompting from Paul or I. And that's how it has been tonight too! As I sit here and watch him on his monitor, he was squirming around (but quiet) after I left the room but now he is fast asleep. Not a peep out of him!! I just assumed it would be this horrible and dreadful experience which is why I put it off for so long. Now, dont get me wrong, I know things could start to get ugly once I try to take away one of his nighttime feedings but I'll take what I can so far!! It's progress-baby steps, but it's progress!! Yay Ethan!! :-)

Life of a Pumpaholic

I've been wanting to write a post about my experience so far with breastfeeding pumping and bottle feeding the boys. I always had intentions of tandem breastfeeding, that was, until the boys were born and Wesley had to go into the NICU. I tried maybe 3 times to breastfeed Ethan but he was just too small (4 pounds 13 ounces) and my boob was just too big (roughly 800 pounds). I had to pump in order to get milk for Wesley in the NICU so that was when I decide to just become an exclusive pumper. It's what made sense for our situation. It made me SO mad (and still does, because people still bring it up) whenever someone would say "Why don't you try again with breastfeeding? It's the best thing for them." That's when I would get super frusturated because to me, breastmilk is breastmilk whether they get it directly from the breast or via a bottle. We are still able to bond and snuggle and make eye contact, just like if I had chosen to breastfeed.

 I could not imagine breastfeeding two babies and then pumping afterwards in order to get a freezer supply built up incase I ever wanted to go anywhere minus two little munchkins. I run the roads a lot. What if they got hungry in the middle of a roadtrip? Much more convenient to feed them via bottles in the car, while Paul drives, than to have to pull off and breastfeed in the car. Or when we went out to eat. What if they were both hungry at the same time? Can you imagine trying to tandem feed in a chair, at the table, while trying to eat my lunch! With me pumping, it means that if we are, say, at a family gathering, one of my aunts will take one baby and my mom (or another aunt) will take another baby, and I get to eat with BOTH hands!! It is much less stressful for me knowing that I don't have to be their only source of (immediate) food.

Here is how we go about our day: The boys wake up anywhere between 7 and 9 (depending on when they went to bed the night before and how many times they woke up during the night). They each drink a bottle-5 ounces. If Paul is home, he will feed a baby and I will feed the other one, but if he is at work, I prop them side by side on a pillow and feed them at the same time while I pump. They usually don't drink their morning bottle at the same time because they wake up at different times. Anyway, since I kill two birds with one stone and pump/feed at the same time, it only takes about 20-25 minutes from start to finish. I have two sets of pump parts so one is always on my bed stand and one on the dryer rack in the kitchen. Throughout the day I just continue to pump when they eat. I refrigerate whatever I get (usually about 10-12 ounces per session) but I keep the supper time pump production at room temperature (it is goof for 6-8 hours sitting out) so that I can feed them during the night without having to heat up a bottle.

Here are a few pumping/milk production tips that I have learned so far:
1) For the first three months I rented the hospital-grade pump, Medela Symphony, to help establish my supply. I was not only producing enough for both boys but also freezing an additional 20-30 ounces.
2) I have since switched to the Medela Pump in Style (which has a battery pack for on the go) and only there may have been a slight decrease in supply since switching, this is a great pump that I would highly recommend.
3) Make sure to get at least one pump session between the hours of midnight and 4 am. This is when prolactin levels are at its peak and I usually produces almost twice as much during this time!
4) Massage your breasts while pumping-sounds silly but it really works! I would say it increases production by about 10-15%.
5) Continue to pump a minute or two after you no longer see milk being produced, as you may get a second letdown.
6) In the beginning, to establish your supply, make sure to pump in between feedings. Breastmilk is all about supply and demand. You demand it, your body will supply it!!
7)I have just started taking Fenugreek supplements. I can't say if it has increased my supply yet, but it does make me smell like maple syrup!
8) I also made a batch of lactation cookies. Again, I don't think I've been eating them long enough to notice a difference yet, but I will enjoy their deliciousness in the meantime!
9) Freeze any extra you can! This will ensure "back-up" if you ever want to go out for an extended period of time, or if you get sick and production temporarily goes down, or any unforeseen situations like that.

Now don't get me wrong, pumping is SUPER annoying and hard, especially at 2 in the morning when all I want to do is go back to bed but I have to go downstairs and clean my pump parts and put any extra milk in the fridge. Here's how I look at it tho. I would be pretty selfish if I "just didn't feel like it" because it was too much of a hassle. If I know my body can do it, then I'm going to stick with it!! If I can give them what is best for them, then I definitely will!! (Plus, breastmilk is free-I would hate to see how much it costs to exclusively feed two babies formula!) I will only pump for a year, and in the grand scheme of things, that's not that long-especially since I'm almost half-way done (exciting but sad because that means my babies are 5 months
old!!)

Super excited to be able to deliver my first tube of milk to Wesley in the NICU!!

Lactation Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons flax seed meal
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups of oats (steel cut if you can)
1 package of chocolate chips (the original recipe called for 1 cup but I love my chocolate!!)
5 heaping tablespoons of brewer's yeast (this is the key ingredient)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350
2) Mix the flaxseed meal and water and let sit for 5 minutes
3) Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar well.
4) Add eggs and mix well.
5) Add flaxseed mix and vanilla, beat well.
6) Sift together flour, brewer's yeast, baking soda, and salt.
7) Add dry ingredients to butter mix.
9) Scoop onto greased baking sheet
10) Bake for 10-12 minutes (my oven took 10 minutes)
11) Let sit for a couple of minutes and place on cooling rack.
* This recipe made 4 dozen cookies *

NIAW (National Infertility Awareness Week)

I wanted to end NIAW with a post about our infertility because, as I look to my left and smile, and look to my right and smile, for two reasons I was beginning to think we would never have. I want people to know, who may be suffering alone and in silence, that you are NOT alone and that there is hope!

I briefly touched about our journey to parenthood in my very first post but I will recap a bit.

After only a few months of TTC (trying to conceive) I just had this gut feeling that something was wrong. We went to a RE (reproductive endocrinologist) in San Antonio and that's when we were diagnosed with infertility and told we'd have less than a 5% chance of ever conceiving naturally. I still remember that phone call like it was yesterday. it shattered my world. I cried SO hard-just bawling and screaming as loud as I could, all the while punching my couch with every ounce of energy I had left. There were women out there getting abortions because they were too lazy to use birth control or a condom, just throwing a precious life out the window because they were careless, yet here Paul and I wers, wanting to start a family more than anything, and we were just told we would have to spend $10,000+ at just a CHANCE of having that dream come true. I have never experienced a more "life is not fair" moment that after I received that phone call.

In all honesty though, we are lucky!! Although we dont have it easy as most couples do, in the infertility world, we had it easy. Yeah-months of pills, injections, 6 hour round trip doctor appointments every other day, thousands and thousands of dollars spent-and we're the lucky ones because after just one full round, those two embryos that we transferred are giggling and laughing right now and playing with their feet and going crazy in the jumperoo! So while I could sit here and feel sorry for us, I dont, because there are people out there that have been struggling for YEARS and spent tens of thousands of dollars and still have empty arms.

To anyone who may be suffering from infertility, whether newly diagnosed or not, please know that you are NOT alone. People ask me why I am so open with my story and it's because if I can reach out and help just one other couple, my vulnerability will all be worth it! There are SO many options with our amazing world that we live in, as far as medically technology goes. Please do not suffer in silence, and dont ever give up. There is always hope!

-Lots of love and baby dust to you-

It's In My Blood

So I was originally going to make this blog only about the twins, and life with twins, but then I realized that they do a lot of the same stuff on a day to day basis which would make for a pretty boring blog. I have decided to just write about whatever I feel like! So tonight, as the babies dream their sweet little baby dreams, I am going to talk ahout cake decorating! :-)

I have been licking star tips off my fingers since before I can remember. I have waited excitedly for the cake to cool so the rounded part could be cut off (to make it completely flat) and I could eat the cake scraps! I fondly remember the red tool box filled with every color of dye you could ever imagine. Closets filled with cake pans and bookshelves stacked with the latest Wilton cake decorating books! Every year, starting in October, I would browwe through the decorating books and careful select my favorite cakes. i would take some time to think about which one be be perfect for my birthday party and I would finally make a decision a couple of weeks before my birthday. There is one person, one VERY special person I have to thank for all these memories-Nanny. And because of that, I can proudly say that master cake artistry is in my blood!

She was in amazing woman in so many, many ways but she was also one heck of a cake decorator. She owned her own shop in Ellsworth for about 15 years but made cakes on the side for 30 or so years. She made so many kids happy with the PERFECT birthday cakes and so many couples happy as they ooh'd and ahh'd over their wedding cake! I had a cake made for me, by Nanny, ever year until I was 18. (And because of that, I vow to make every single one of my children and grandchildrens' cakes!)

I spent countless nights sitting at her kitchen table, watching her decorate and storing what I saw and suggestions she made or questions she answered, so when it was time for me to try, I would know exactly what to do! Which brings me to my latest cake! As many of you probably know, our best friends Nick and Nikki have a little girl named Abby and her current love is Doc McStuffins (from the Disney channel). I wanted to make her a Doc cake! I love cake decorating because it brings me to such a happy place, with memories of Nanny flooding my mind the entire time. I should know her buttercrean frosting recipe by heart, but I dont because I would call her up ever single time I needed to make a cake and ask her for the recipe. She would laugh and say "Why dont you write it down?" to which I would tell her that I looked forward to calling and chatting about my latest cake idea and her thoughts on how to go about bringing it to life. (I still dont know the recipe-I now call my mom for it each time I need it-Its sort of a tradition now!)

I dyed the cake batter two different shades of purple and swirled it together so Abby would have a surprise after she cut into it! I cut the top off (Paul and I ate the scraps-I cant wait till the boys are old enough to make this memory with me like I had with Nanny) and then I put a crumb coat on. I boiled some water and smoothed out my top coat and went to town with mixing all the colors I would need. Then I piped out the picture and finished it off with a pink and purple border! I always eat way too much frosting whenever I make a cake-but I cant help it-so yummy!! The final result was Doc McStuffins, Stuffy the Dragon, and Lambie the Lamb! I delievered it to Abby and she knew who it was the moment she saw it! Thats all I cared about.

I look forward to many, many years of cake decorating in my future and using the tricks and tips I learned from Nanny-afterall, she was the best!!      
  
* Love and miss you every day! <3 *