Home Project #1 - Simple Storage

New Home New Projects!!

Well we are finally in our new home and finally out of our old duplex.  It is always so interesting when moving from one house to the next.  There are a ton of projects we want to do to this house.  I will share them all in my Home Project Series.  Stay tuned.

You create so many habits based on your current circumstance.  What is stored where and how is one of those things.  We need some better storage.  I need to be able to store a lot of bottles, on a bottom shelf, all the way back.  Now that is a bit of a problem as far as function is concerned so I need something that will help me keep them organized and provide function.

This is 100% free.  We had some left over boxes from our move.  I picked one of the free boxes we picked up at the liquor store.  Any liquor store will pile their empty boxes outside of their trash can.  It is cheaper for them to have you pick them up than the trash man, so go for it.



Step 1: cut the top off of the box.  I like to always have straight razors around the house.  They are so handy, not to expensive and really get the job done.  But you can use scissors or something of the like.



Step 2: DONE  yeah it is that easy.  You can decorate the box, decopog the outside or even paint the outside (depending on the sturdiness of the box).  I need function fast and don't want to wait for pretty so I am 100% complete and putting this crafty little tool into action. 

Product Review: Nuk Spoons

Often imitated, never duplicated!!!  NUK!!!

We are such fans of all Nuk products.  This past weekend we moved our home and needed some spoons in a jiffy so we had to purchase some new spoons.  I decided to pick up the Nuk spoons since I have been so happy with their bottles.  They definitely delivered.

They are square spoons which I didn't really think would make a difference, but they really do.  It is much easier to scope the food into my son's mouth.  The spoon is thick and rounded so it doesn't scrape Remy' face when I scope food back it.  It is more gentle than that.  And for some reason that I can't explain, it is just easier to get the food into his mouth.  It is a total winner.

Sleep?...Yes Please

Sleeping babies…how to get there.

I am by no means an expert on how to get babies to sleep.  I do recommend the book The Happiest Baby on the Block .  There are a lot of great tips on how to sooth a crying baby and how to get them to sleep longer.  However I have had a couple experiences lately that I thought I would share.  Remy has always slept well for his age, but we were starting to see that he wasn’t sleeping through the night as he approached 6 months.  Both my husband and I did when we were his age, so we started to think…What gives?  Well Remy is his own person and that plays a role of course.  From day one Remy didn’t want to sleep in his co-sleeper or in his bassinette.  He slept well in his crib.  We have been going on for months with him sleeping in his crib.  No biggie.  Well, I have been getting very tired of waking up at night and had to figure something out.  So, we tried having him sleep in bed with me without a co-sleeper.  Wouldn’t you know the little guy slept all through the night.  What a terrific feeling.  Rudy and I have found that whenever we try something new, sometimes it is just the new scenery that make the difference.  Remy might feel more secure with me next to him, or warmer because he is sleeping on a comforter, or more cuddled because he is on the comforter.  What the reason is we don’t know, but trying something new made the difference.  As long as it is safe for your baby (I know some of you will think not using a co-sleeper is unsafe for Remy) try something new.  It doesn’t always make sense, but mixing things up can sometimes get you the result you want.  So as a parent be willing to try something new with you kids.  You never know what the result will be. 

Product Review: Earth's Best Baby Foods

Does it hit all requirements.....

Earth's Best food range almost hits all requirements when looking for baby food products.  Now I know that I just did a DIY on baby food.  But we like to have a little back up on baby food.


1.) Good for our babies? Absolutely.  It is certified organic and does not contain any genetically engineered ingredients.

2.) Taste good?  Yup, my son has like all their goods: cereal, formula and some of the various baby solids (like to keep a couple jars on hand incase we run out of home made stuff).

3.)Easy to digest?  You got it.  All the goods have been easy for Remy to digest.  Whahoo

4.) Cheap?  Nope it isn't the cheapest.  It isn't the most expensive, but it isn't cheap.  We have decided to invest in it though because it does work so well for Remy.

5.) Easy to find? Kinda!  You can find it at Babies-R-Us & Target.  Well not the whole range at Target, just the rice cereal.  Babies-R-Us has the whole range.

I hope this helps someone.  What do you like to feed your baby?

DIY: Home Made Baby Food

Whahoo for homemade baby food!!!

Well I was wrong again!!  When we first had Remy I wasn't excited about making my own baby food.  I thought it would take a ton of time and I would making food every day.  NOT THE CASE!!!

I have a short anecdote to explain why you should make your own baby food.  We got some baby food at a baby shower and when it was time for Remy to start eating solids we gave those a go.  He hated the green beans with a capital "H."  They were dark dark green, almost burnt looking, and tasted caulky.  I made my own green beans and he loved it.  They were a vibrant green and didn't have an overcooked tasted.  He ate them right up.  

He also loved broccoli.  What kid likes broccoli?  Well I think Remy does because we made it ourselves.  Here is how I do it.  It is the easiest thing to do and doesn't take a ton of time at all.

Step 1:
Boil the veggies.  
Well actually the first step is get quality veggies.  Start with something fresh and organic if you can.  If you can't get organic, at least get the freshest veggies you can.  It will make for the best food.


We have to get the veggies soft enough to blend so we need to boil them.  Broccoli is easy.  Get a nice rolling boil and drop the broccoli in.  Drop in the veggies for about 5 minutes.  The amount of time in the water will depend on the food.  Broccoli only takes about 5 minutes, green beans 10-15.  You have to be careful to get the food soft but not over cook the food.  

Step 2:
Blend.
Now depending on the food you will need to add a varying degree of water.  I had to add a lot of water to the green beans, but not as much for broccoli or potatoes.  I like to add the juice of another food, like carrot juice.  It is another vitamin boost and will help everything blend.  Blend hot so that it gets smooth.
Step 3:
Freeze.
Put the food into ice trays, cupcake tray etc.  I like the cupcake tray because it gets a nice portion.  

Step 4:
Store.
Pop the food out and store in freezer bags.  Always make sure to label and date your food.  Proper food storage is important.  Use the oldest food first and keep as much air out of the bags as possible.  It will keep everything as fresh as possible.




Step 5:
Serve.
Microwave the food and serve.  Sometimes I have to put a bit of rice cereal to thicken it but, but other times I don't.  


Remy loves this food.  We are able to get more great veggies in him because it all tastes better.  This makes me so so excited.  I know he is getting a ton of vitamins, no preservatives  and has a full belly.  Yeah!

Travel

Separation anxiety….what the heck.


I am right now on a flight to Winnipeg for work.  I use to really enjoy these excursions but right now all I can think about is my baby boy.  It is funny how the mind works.  While I am away from him at work all day and on the rare occasion I am not home until 7-8pm but I cope.  Right now I am not coping well because I know that I wont see him tonight.  I wont see him tomorrow etc etc.
How to deal?  Well there are all kinds of different coping mechanisms but there really isn’t anything that will take away the desire.  I miss my little guy, and I will miss him until I see him again in a couple days.  But alas in order to occupy my mind and not dwell on the missing, I am keeping myself busy.  Busy by typing out this blog, busy by watching a movie and busy by chatting in up with my co-workers.  
But when I am missing him extra, I am simply checking out a picture of my sweet boy.  Thinking about all the sweet sounds he makes, and thinking about how he looks like an angel when he sleeps.

Packing /MovingTips

Quickie tips:

This is a quick one but we have moved quite a bit and haven't come up with this trick.  For some reason my husband was looking up tips on moving and found this one so I thought I would share.

To help make boxes secure, put tape around the bottom of the box.  Seems so simple, but it totally works.  Helps secure the box.  All the heavy stuff is trying to push its way out and the tape, like a belt, helps hold it all together.

Quickie tip number two, same as it always is, PRE-PLAN!!!  This has worked out for me every time I have moved: calculate the number of days or weekends left until the move and simply plot out how much you want to make each day or weekend.  Think of it like a bell curve, you can start out slow hit a peak where you pack a lot and then leave just a little of the necessities for right before you move.  Keeps you from having to have a massive crunch days before your move.

Breast Feeding Transition

What a sad part of parenting, but necessary...yes it really is necessary.

Well the time has come that Remy and I have started to transition out of breastfeeding.  Booo!  I know that some mothers go their first full year and breast milk is the primary food source, but that isn't something Remy and I can do.  Right now we nurse in the morning, over night, and at dinner.  But that is it.  We are also trying to work with Remy to sleep all the way through the night (I will let you know what ends up working for us on that one).  So really, we will be just breakfast and dinner.  So sad.  It is so hard to do when you are working full time.  It was really starting to affect my job.  I needed to be in and out of the office more, up at our corporate headquarters etc etc.  Having to pump every two hours just wasn't allowing me to do that and I decided that it was time.  I did some research and found a simple way to transition out of nursing/pumping in the day.  It is so simple I can explain in three words: slowly skip feedings.  To minimize my own discomfort and potential to bleed through my clothes, I started my skipping feedings.  First I skipped the mid-morning & mid afternoon pumping sessions.  I did that for a week, and then started to skip the lunch feeding.  Doing it this way allowed my body to adjust with a minimal amount of discomfort for me.  When I am ready to completely stop, I will transition in a similar way.  Little discomfort and problems on my end doing it this way.