Mommy Nuggets

I cooked this for the second time last night & had to share this! So delish & no mess!  You can substitute chicken if you are not a fan of fish.  *Pre-heat oven to 450 *Make a packet out of foil *In only one layer, spread out a serving of asparagus. I prefer fresh asparagus & our "one serving" is half a "bunch".  Half a bunch is a good bit to eat but I don't cook other sides with it.  *Drizzle 1 Tbsp of olive oil over asparagus & then season. I prefer a  little salt, a dash of pepper & a sprinkle of garlic powder . *Place frozen fish (or chicken) over asparagus then sprinkle 1 Tbsp of olive oil over fish. Use your regular seasoning for fish. I prefer  a little salt, a dash of pepper, a sprinkle of garlic powder, some paprika, lemon juice & dried parsley flakes.  *Close packet & fold up sides   *Bake for approximately an hour- testing your meat with a themometer to ensure it's cooked thoroughly. The asparagus is so ...

If you know me or have read these blogs... then you know that my daughter has never been a big sleeper. I have been seriously envious of the moms whose babies slept all the time! I wish I had done this sooner! It would've probably been easier if she was younger. Better late than never! We had made it to the point where Em slept 7 or 8 hours a few nights a week & the other nights she would wake up 1-4 times. She napped a couple hours about half of week days.  And quite frankly... I was satisfied with that after a year of living with hardly any sleep (insomnia during pregnancy straight to a baby that hated sleep).  But around her 6 month mark when she started getting VERY spoiled... that changed. She wanted ME all the time & of course I gave her what she wanted. Sleeping became a struggle for her. She started to wake up every time I laid her down. Night & day. She would only sleep with me. I was growing weary. She would nap 10-30 mins at a time, a few times a day....

For this to be successful you must dye something lighter than the tea. I've heard it works with other color/flavor tea but I used regular ole Lipton!  I wanted to revamp the best booties ever! Love these things, the baby couldn't pull them off like socks & they weren't cheap. Plus they were super cute & soft! They were a light cream but had become dingy around the heel. I tried cloroxing them several times but couldn't get them back looking new.  I was looking on Pinterest on the best way to dye fabric & discovered "tea dyeing". I saw where people have dyed their table cloths, curtains, clothes etc. to get that perfect burlap/country chic color. So, I gave it a try & I love the results! A perfect tan color. I can use these with the next baby & they will go with everything! I l ove the results! A perfect tan color. I can use these with the next baby & they will go with everything! *Follow these steps with a swatch first*   1) Boil a few ...

We all know how much is involved when packing for a day out. It's absurd! It takes forever and the amount of stuff you have to take is just ridiculous! If we have to leave early the next morning we must pack the bag the night before. Yes, washing all the bottles before bed is so much fun! We recently went on our first overnight trip. Just one night. I stuffed tons of bibs, formula, diapers, burp rags and outfits in our luggage. For just one night... because you never know how much they will need and you DO NOT wanna run out.  When Brad is working nights & asks what I'm doing... I usually say "Poppin' bottles!" I mentally went through the list over and over on the way to our destination 2 hours away (6 hours in baby time). Amazingly the only thing we forgot was the bottle brush and soap. I was proud. Brad just had to run to the gas station to get dish soap... and I'm glad he did! He came back with Palmolive. We had only used Dawn up until this point....

Pregnancy brain. It's a real thing & lasts WAY past pregnancy. Here is an example from yesterday. I was letting my husband sleep as long as possible before waking him up to get ready for church. He was only off 2 days, so, I wanted to make the most of it plus let him sleep in some to catch up on rest.  When I tried to wake him,  he said that he felt bad. His throat hurt & he had chills during the night. I checked his temperature & it was 100.1. I gave him a dose of DayQuil & let him rest.  I'm sympathetic but this is also accurate! LOL! I had a little "good angel, bad angel" going on. Good angel saying... He's the provider, he needs the rest... Let him sleep. Bad angel saying... If it was you with a cold then you wouldn't have the option to lay in the bed ALL day & ALL night.  Well, it's true for most.  At 5pm I decided to wake him up because he needed a shower & something to eat. He needed his strength...

Would I ever see it again? A couple weeks ago, I didn't think I would. I missed it like a long lost love. I thought about it all the time. My 3 month old didn't seem to need it... So, why did I? It toyed with my delirious mind. When my baby would finally go down for a few hours I would get in bed so tired but I couldn't find my way to Neverland. Why, oh why? As soon as I would finally drift off, the baby would wake. I would daydream at night about the few 7 hour nights she had slept. I didn't know why she had sleep regression. I searched the Internet high and low about what to do. Reading about the "4 month leap" and how they can go through that early. Must've been it!  Trying the crib out. Watching her like a hawk! Something has happened the past week though. Prayers have been answered. She has slept 6-7 hours every night! Last night she slept 9. NINE!!! A big leap from 2-4 hours at a time! It seems we finally have a routine established. M...

#1. You smell bad & you don't care. Sometimes maybe you wipe your arm pits with a wipe while changing the baby. You'll get around to showering or you have already & you've broken quite a sweat taking care of the baby! Work hard, smell bad. Isn't that how the saying goes?  #2. You're gonna floss next time you brush your teeth... every time.   At times you secretly wonder if your baby was fussy because she had to smell your bad breath in the middle of the night ... Or day.  #3. If you do get to shower you don't hardly wash your hair or shave.  Only if you're getting out of the house does your hair & face get attention. Your children need to know what natural beauty is anyway, right? Husband too... just trying this European thing honey! #4. You're no longer afraid of substances the come out of your child's orifices.   That major booger/snot phobia of your younger days is no longer. Maybe you've even ...

I am asked this on a regular basis. I always answer, "I love it, but ______." Depending on how it's been going lately determines what fills the blank space. Today it would be, "I'm sleep deprived and borderline insane."  In the last 24 hours I've had about 5 hours of sleep... and that wasn't all together. My baby has yet to turn into a good sleeper. We've had several 7/8 hour nights of sleep without interruption, they were glorious!!! I didn't realize how little sleep I could "function" on. I had a breakdown last night  at 2am  when Emry woke up for the 3rd time since I first put her down  at 11:45 . Bless her heart and bless mine. I know the long sleeping nights are coming but it's hard to see the pot of gold at the end of the sleepless rainbow when it's  2am  the next night and still no sleep for me. She just slept for 2 hours and I slept none. I'm so tired that my mind won't turn off. Exhaustion at its finest!...

I have researched a million of these homemade laundry powder recipes! I came up with my own and I am loving the results. I paid under $20 for all the ingredients! It took roughly an hour to make and it will last approximately 8 months if we wash 5 loads a week (using 2 tablespoons a load). I will use 1 tablespoon for smaller loads and some weeks we don't have as many loads to wash. Exciting if you're  looking for ways to save money! Hoping this lasts a year... I will have to wait and see.  I have used All Free & Clear Pods in our household for awhile now because I have sensitive skin and we have a new baby with new baby skin!  I like this homemade recipe much more! Our clothes feel cleaner and smell better. A light and fresh scent. It's wonderful! You can add Downy Crystals or any other scent booster to this if you want a stronger smell. We use them but not on the baby's clothes so I decided to leave it on the side.  This recipe doesn't call for ...

What you'll need: 2-3 chicken breasts  2 cups water  1 pack of taco seasoning  1 pack ranch  I throw this all in the crock pot (chicken still frozen) & a few hours later the chicken falls apart!  If you need to cook it while you're at work or gone all day then just add extra water & keep the crock pot setting on low.  This makes enough for my husband & I, plus his lunch for the next day. Just add more chicken to increase the serving size. You can serve it over rice or in tacos. I have even used juice from the crock pot to cook the rice in. It was so good!  This is very inexpensive & one of my husband's favorite meals! I'm not big on cooking but we get tired of eating out & we have to save money even more since I started staying home with the baby. I will be sharing more of my yummy & easy recipes in the future!

Well, it was a huge deal to me.  And I failed.  I was going to breastfeed no matter what. I prepared throughout my pregnancy by attending classes and reading articles on pushing through difficulties. I researched every aspect of breastfeeding. It is something I wanted for Emry's health, the bonding experience and to save money. Due to laboring so long I had a lot of fluid on my body .  I was told the fluid made my nipples more flat than they already were (I know, the word "nipple" is gross). I was determined not to give up.  I even told the doctor and nurses not to give her a bottle or pacifier to prevent nipple confusion.  I had read up on all manner of nipples & how women had overcome with different treatments. I had a great lactation consultant, she told me I had good technique but that my nips needed a little more help.  Even in immense pain I woke up in the hospital every 2 hours to feed   Emry . She would only latch fo...