How I Survived the First Five Months Part 1

I can't believe Everett's almost half a year old! In part one of this two part series, I will tell you about some of the products (other than caffeine) that have helped me survive the first 5 months of motherhood. 

First up: Diapering.

The Munchkin Changing Pad.

 

A lot of people said I would never want to go to his room to change him. But I have such a bad back that I can’t sit on the floor and do it. Plus I have an organized area where we have all his lotions, wipes, extra diapers, and any other care item we would need that sits perfectly on top of the dresser I painted.  I registered for cute covers to go on top but as I quickly found out, poop travels quickly. So I found mattress bassinet pads that fit perfectly on top so the covers don’t stain. 

The Diaper Genie

I picked this picture because I love the term "Hell Sausage" for the dirty diapers. So funny… and so accurate. Here’s why this is amazing: I’ve put the messiest, dirtiest diapers in this diaper pale, and they sit there for a few days, and I never smell them. So instead of taking garbage out every couple of hours because of the god-awful things that come out of my baby's butt, I get to take one really durable bag out every few days. The downside is that the bags are pricey, but I’ve recently seen a post on pinterest on how to use your own trash bags in the empty genie lid to save money. 

Second up: Nighttime.

AngelCare Monitor 

 

This was expensive, but thankfully we received it as a gift. If I had to buy this, it would have been well worth the purchase. It has a sensor to tell you if it has felt movement. If it hasn’t, it will let out a short beep hoping to rouse baby in case they “forgot” to breath. If it still hasn’t felt movement, an alarm will go off hoping to wake baby and wake the parents (even though I practically jump out of bed, Everett can sleep through the alarm). I only wish the sensor was a little better. Everett likes to scoot himself to the edge of the crib, sometimes out of reach of the sensor. I’ll wake to the alarm going off only to find that I have to move him back towards the center of the crib. 

Breathable Bumper 

 

Everett likes being smooshed up against the side of the crib. He’s a snuggler like me I guess. Anyway, if it weren’t for this really breathable mesh fabric, he probably would have suffocated from a thick bumper or got his limbs caught between the cracks if we didn’t have one. It’s very affordable compared to a lot of the really thick bumpers I came across while researching baby bedding. We have the light green and it fits perfect with his nursery. 

Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets

 

 

Another expensive purchase, but worth it. If you have bought regular receiving blankets, you will find that they are for unusually tiny babies. What baby can fit into those? Well Aden + Anais makes these really large (40 by 40 I think?), breathable swaddle blankets. Everett would only stay in a swaddle for about a month or two, but they were the only blankets that could keep his arms in. And if you are a new parent, you know how much babies will calm down once they are swaddled. I even know some moms who swaddle their kids up to a year old! These blankets will also make nice blankets on cool summer mornings. 

That's it for my first segment of How I Survived the First Five Months. Stay tuned for Part 2!

5 Passions

I guess I'm sort of an average person. I don't really have "passions", at least not 5 at one time. My idea of a passion is more like a short lived obsession.

Obsession #1. Nail Polish. This became a full blown obsession when Ben was deployed. I changed my polish every other night, sometimes every night. I think my nail polish obsession kept me from over eating. And it was really a creative outlet for me.

Obsession #2. Makeup. When I was in 1st grade, my mom was out of town at meetings. I snuck into her bathroom and put on some of her lipstick before school started. Thinking my dad would never notice, I tried to leave the house with this bright pink lipstick on. Turns out, he actually does pay attention ;). That was my first makeup memory.

A few years later, for Christmas my mom got me this huge makeup set that had blush, lipstick, eye shadows. It was one of those really cheap sets from K-Mart but I loved it. I wasn't allowed to wear it in public, but almost every day after school I would play with it and put some on.

My obsession changed a little when I discovered this really cool series that was filmed in New Zealand. It was called "The Tribe" and it was sort of an apocalypse series. All of the adults were killed of by a virus leaving just a bunch of teens and kids that formed into tribes. They wore makeup/war paint and I became obsessed with trying new/cool/weird things all over my face. Here are some pictures from the series.

Cool right?!

Obsession #3. Music. I would call this a mild obsession that has manifested itself in many ways. Sometimes I get crazy about singing, listening to new bands, or playing an instrument. But I realize my limitations and it quickly fizzles out. I'll always have an appreciation for music. Just last week I realized that I have a hard time with the music portion of church because the guy who leads the music is always flat in his pitch every time he holds a long note. It's more obvious because he has great backup singers who try and harmonize. It bothers me... a lot. 

Obsession #4. Cleaning. Yeah I don't know if I would call this an obsession either but I like a clean house. I have a chore chart. It really bothers me when people come over and my house isn't at least tidy. But it's almost impossible now that I have a baby. 

Obsession #5. Clothes. Luckily I'm so cheap that I barely buy very much. But I love clothes, shoes, and purses (which I would consider an accessory). Online shopping is the best thing ever. Sometimes I add a bunch of stuff in a card (pretending like I'm going to buy it) just to close the page out when I'm done and never buy a thing. It's actually fun!

Baby's favorite things

Everett loves mam pacifiers. It's been his favorite since he was about 1 month old. They come in fun designs and some of the 6+ month pacifiers glow in the dark! Super fun!

Today I was walking through Target and found this on sale.



It's the Mam Bite & Brush.

According to the Mam website, the teether:
Soothes as well as cleans baby's first teeth

• BPA-free teether
• Soft silicone bristles gently clean baby’s first teeth when chewed on
• Lightweight design makes it easy for baby to hold
• Soothes and massages baby’s tender gums

Everett has been drooling up a storm. He's been putting his fingers in his mouth but he hates every teether we try. So I figured he would hate this too. WRONG! He really took to it. At this point, he only likes the brush side. And I'm happy that he has that simulates brushing so it will help us transition to a real brush when his teeth come in. This was a great buy and I absolutely recommend it.

Disclaimer-I am not being paid or influenced by the brand.

My Dream Job

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a plant scientist, study the stars, sing, dance, and be a gymnast. Turns out I suck at science, singing is a hobby, I’m uncoordinated and not very flexible.

The only other thing I’ve seen myself as is a mom! I am very blessed to be with my baby five days a week. This is the most challenging job I’ve ever done. My stress level hasn’t been this high since college finals. But nothing has ever been so rewarding. Watching this little boy develop is exciting. His smile and laugh makes me melt. I love this little boy more than I can describe. And that’s what makes being a mommy my dream job.

If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for?

3 wishes: so I’m going to be completely superficial with this. Because of course I would want happiness for my family, an end to hunger, world peace, etc. This is the shallow, “if I had a billion dollars” me.

1.     A massive house designed by me! It would be log cabin style with HUGE windows. I would spend extra time pimping the kitchen with a massive island and double oven. My bathroom would be spa-quality with stone everywhere.  The walk in closet would have a wall of shoes.

2.   A live-in maid. I don’t like to clean. Sometimes I like to organize (including laundry), but everything else I could do without.

3.   To do my dream job, which would be a stay at home mom. And then I would have about 3-4 more kids. When they got older, I would a mom-helper in their classrooms and be a middle school volleyball coach. And then when they got to high school I would be an elementary school teacher. 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I’m stuck on a particular post for my 30 Things series. So I decided to put up a recipe that I did last week.

I love chicken pizza. This is a recipe for BBQ Chicken Pizza. You can use store bought pizza dough but I find it only takes maybe 15 more minutes of time to make my own, plus I like to make it healthier so I make wheat pizza dough.

Here is the recipe for the wheat pizza dough. I doubled it and froze half of it to use for later.  This is the original recipe:

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

2 cups whole wheat flour

¼ cup wheat germ

1   teaspoon salt

1   tablespoon honey (which I was out of, so I used 1 tablespoon of sugar).

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2.  In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

3.  In a large bowl combine flour, wheat germ and salt. Make a well in the middle and add honey and yeast mixture. Stir well to combine. Cover and set in a warm place to rise for a few minutes.

4.  Roll dough on a floured pizza pan and poke a few holes in it with a fork.

5.  Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until desired crispiness is achieved.

Tip: to help the dough rise, heat a cup of water in the microwave for a few minutes. Take out the water and put the dough in the microwave to rise.

For the Pizza:

1 cup cooked chicken (I used leftovers from a whole crock pot chicken: http://www.pistachioproject.com/2013/01/whole-chicken-in-crock-pot.html)

½ cup bbq sauce

¼ cup red onion, chopped in half slices

¼ cup cilantro (optional, I hate cilantro)

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1.   Increase heat in oven to 425 degrees F.

2.   Spread the bbq sauce on the dough.

3.   Lay a thin layer of cheese over the sauce. Add chicken, onion, cilantro, and top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.

4.   Bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Variations I would like to try later: Use a different type of cheese, like gouda. Add chopped bacon. I LOVE the Hot Hawaiian from Mackenzie River Pizza so I’d like to try adding jalapenos and pineapple.