The months have just blown by and this mama is EXHAUSTED! I don't know if it is a growth spurt or if my little love bug just likes to see me leap out of bed at 2am, but her new schedule is not working out for me. She had been sleeping through the night, a wonderful 12 hour stretch, but now it seems she prefers 5-6 hour shifts instead. What does that mean for me? Super time management mode. I mop while listening to audio books (for business and personal development), fold laundry as dinner is cooking, hem and repair clothes as I watch the news (so I feel like a grown-up for a moment) and make calls for my jewelry business as I walk my dog. So what else can I do to make my life a little easier? Freezer/Crock Pot meals. I know food isn't always the answer, but this time it is.
So, time for round two! And this time, we've prepared! Thanks to my awesome hubs for making it to Costco and picking up a deep freezer! I can't wait to fill it up with crock pot meals and more homemade baby food.
So what am I planning on making this round? Here's the list of recipes (links or actual recipe included).
Beef & Broccoli: This is the same recipe from the last round. It was such a hit and SO EASY that I had to bring it back. This time as 4 of my meals!
Sloppy Joe's: Same recipe from last time but with a few tweaks that I mentioned in my last post. This time I'll probably just omit the peppers since the sweet ones did not work out last time and we are not big fans of green bell peppers. I'll be making 2 batches.
Chicken Tacos: New Recipe - just chicken breasts and a good quality, fresh salsa! My husband and I love Jack's Special Salsa by Garden Fresh Gourmet.
Meatloaf & Rosemary Potatoes: This is a new one I'm trying. Sounds pretty basic so I will be making 2 batches.
Crock Pot Honey Chicken: Another easy sounding favorite. Serve it over rice. I'll be making 2 batches.
Garlic Chicken: This is another new one. I love garlic so I plan on making 2-4 batches.
Moroccan Spiced Chicken: I hope this is something like what my sister's au pair used to make when we had family dinners. I absolutely LOVE cinnamon paired with chicken!
Carne Guisada: Same family recipe I always use. If you are not familiar with this dish, it's basically Puerto-Rican beef stew. I've got the recipe here.
As for baby food, I'm making the following combination for my almost 10 month old:
Apple & Sweet Potato - 1 apple and 1 small sweet potato steamed then mashed
Banana & Avocado - 2 bananas and 1 Hass avocado raw, mashed
Guava & Apple - 1/2 raw guava blended with 1 steamed apple
Carrots & Sweet Potato - 1 cup baby carrots, 1 small sweet potato steamed and mashed
Green Beans & Sweet Peas - 1 cup green beans and 1 cup sweet peas, steamed and mashed
** Do not use frozen veggies or fruit if you plan on freezing the baby food for later. It won't keep very well and you'll end up throwing it out thanks to freezer burn. If you plan on just making enough for your baby to eat for a couple days, then go ahead and use frozen ingredients.
Happy cooking and let me know if you try any of my recipes!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Operation: Hot Mama
Finally, 18 weeks after baby J was born, I've decided that this "baby weight" is no longer welcome. I've started posting on WGMNW's sister blog Fit*Fab*Femme and welcome you to follow that blog too! I'll be looking for other ladies to help me out with recipes, work outs and other things that can help new moms bring out the best in themselves so email me or leave a comment to let me know that you would like to contribute!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Crock Pot Meals Revisited
So here we are, 16 weeks after the birth of our daughter and the freezer is looking bare. Remember those meals I had put together in December? PURE GENIUS! To all those who called me silly/ridiculous/crazy/over-zealous for planning ahead, BOO FREAKIN HOO! Those freezer meals were an AH-MAZING idea! I can't tell you how many nights were saved by the delicious smell coming from the crock pot. Yes, we were tired and hardly had anything in our pantry since we really didn't have any time to do any shopping thanks to our frequent trips to the hospital, so these meals were perfect!
**This is an open question instead of a "why didn't anyone do this?" complaint. Does anyone send meals for births anymore? I remember a few years ago when a lot of people were having babies and as a group of friends, we would organize meals to get to the families who needed them. Basically, I guess I'm just saying - if you know someone who is having a baby or has lost a loved one, slap together a few of these meals and take them to them. It means so much more then flowers or a card. Just a suggestion.**
So, I promised my friends that I would report back on how my first round of freezer meals went, so here we go. If you want the recipes go here: http://wegotmarriednowwhat.blogspot.com/2012/12/let-nesting-begin.html
Balsamic Roast Beef - found this one on Pinterest. I'll be honest, I was not a real fan of this one. The meat was dry (which I thought was impossible in a crock pot) and the balsamic vinegar didn't become sweet as the recipe said it would. It was a bit tangy and made me this the meat was not so good. Won't be making this one again.
Beef & Broccoli - WOWZA! This was fabulous and became a fast favorite! The hubs has requested it be added to the weekly rotation!
Honey Sesame Chicken - Pretty good. Need to omit the sesame seeds or use less next time. The meal was a bit crunchy.
Italian Chicken - Good, but not Earth-shaking. Not a bad back up.
Chicken Tacos - Big fan of this one! I may even try it with pork! Super easy since it was just some seasoning and salsa.
Carne Guisada - Always a favorite. This is a family recipe and is always in the rotation.
Beef Stew - A very basic recipe. Not bad but I prefer the Carne Guisada recipe.
Chicken & Black Bean Burritos - this one is still in the freezer. I'll have to make an edit once we try it.
Chicken in Creamy White Wine Sauce - This was a little sour. I'm guessing because of the amount of wine.
Corn & Potato Chowder - This was so delicious! I blended it a bit but left some chunky potatoes.
Sloppy Joe's - Really liked this one but will probably omit the peppers or maybe use a different kind. I had used red/yellow sweet peppers and they just didn't taste right with the sauce. I ended up picking them out.
White Chicken Chili - Dawson did not like this one at all. I really was not a fan either so won't be making this again. I think it was just the consistency of the dish that we did not like.
Baked Potato Soup - Another keeper. Basic potato soup.
Cheeseburger Macaroni - Interesting, reminds me of hamburger helper.
So I hope my reviews were helpful. I've found a whole new batch of recipes and hope to do another round of meals in the next week or so.
**This is an open question instead of a "why didn't anyone do this?" complaint. Does anyone send meals for births anymore? I remember a few years ago when a lot of people were having babies and as a group of friends, we would organize meals to get to the families who needed them. Basically, I guess I'm just saying - if you know someone who is having a baby or has lost a loved one, slap together a few of these meals and take them to them. It means so much more then flowers or a card. Just a suggestion.**
So, I promised my friends that I would report back on how my first round of freezer meals went, so here we go. If you want the recipes go here: http://wegotmarriednowwhat.blogspot.com/2012/12/let-nesting-begin.html
Balsamic Roast Beef - found this one on Pinterest. I'll be honest, I was not a real fan of this one. The meat was dry (which I thought was impossible in a crock pot) and the balsamic vinegar didn't become sweet as the recipe said it would. It was a bit tangy and made me this the meat was not so good. Won't be making this one again.
Beef & Broccoli - WOWZA! This was fabulous and became a fast favorite! The hubs has requested it be added to the weekly rotation!
Honey Sesame Chicken - Pretty good. Need to omit the sesame seeds or use less next time. The meal was a bit crunchy.
Italian Chicken - Good, but not Earth-shaking. Not a bad back up.
Chicken Tacos - Big fan of this one! I may even try it with pork! Super easy since it was just some seasoning and salsa.
Carne Guisada - Always a favorite. This is a family recipe and is always in the rotation.
Beef Stew - A very basic recipe. Not bad but I prefer the Carne Guisada recipe.
Chicken & Black Bean Burritos - this one is still in the freezer. I'll have to make an edit once we try it.
Chicken in Creamy White Wine Sauce - This was a little sour. I'm guessing because of the amount of wine.
Corn & Potato Chowder - This was so delicious! I blended it a bit but left some chunky potatoes.
Sloppy Joe's - Really liked this one but will probably omit the peppers or maybe use a different kind. I had used red/yellow sweet peppers and they just didn't taste right with the sauce. I ended up picking them out.
White Chicken Chili - Dawson did not like this one at all. I really was not a fan either so won't be making this again. I think it was just the consistency of the dish that we did not like.
Baked Potato Soup - Another keeper. Basic potato soup.
Cheeseburger Macaroni - Interesting, reminds me of hamburger helper.
So I hope my reviews were helpful. I've found a whole new batch of recipes and hope to do another round of meals in the next week or so.
Four Months Later...
So what has changed? EVERYTHING!!! In a good way :) The hubs and I are two very happy parents to an amazingly resilient little angel. So why haven't I posted? Well, considering we are first time parents, you can say we were a bit overwhelmed in the first few months. Exhausted and useless as everyone assured us, not so much. So what left us so overwhelmed? After a smooth pregnancy and a pretty easy labor (see my last post and see what I mean) we had a pretty horrific 6 week recovery.
At 10 days old, we rushed our baby girl to the pediatrician because I found her in her crib with a blood on her hands, pajamas and crib sheets. Talk about panic! All I remember from that morning is sobbing on the phone with a nurse begging to come in. Good thing we did. Somehow our little girl had picked up a staph infection through a hangnail (yes, a hangnail - seriously) and the sore had burst while she was sleeping. Two days later at a follow up appointment, the pediatrician noticed a bump on my husband's hand. He took a good look at it and sent him to his doctor. Yup. You got it. Staph infection on his hand. While all this was going on, I thought I was safe - I had been on antibiotics for a week due to mastitis. Yes, mastitis - for those of you who don't know what that is, it is an inflammation of the breast tissue due to clogged milk ducts. I had been dealing with that since Juliana was only three days old because of a bad latch. Oh, that was after they told me that she was not eating enough and was severely jaundiced. Hello stress!
So both our daughter and the hubs were put on antibiotics and we thought we were through the worst. Not so much. A week later I was at a breast specialist due to the increased pain and swelling in my left breast (my OB believed the mastitis had returned). The specialist took one look at me and sent me to the ER recommending immediate surgery to release an abscess hat had formed and was causing the pain and swelling. So there we were, dropping our THREE WEEK old daughter with my sister so I could go to the hospital for SURGERY. By the way, I had NEVER been in a hospital/ER before giving birth so you can understand that I was scared to my wit's end! After laying in a bed in the ER for 6 hours, I was finally swept away into surgery and woke the next morning to a sore chest, lots of bandages and a mastectomy bra. Yes, a mastectomy bra - talk about scary! My poor husband looked so worried as we waited for the surgeon to make his follow up visit. My surgery, which he had said would take only 20-30 minutes actually lasted close to an hour and a half earlier that night. We feared terrible news.
When the surgeon finally made it to my room, he informed us that the mastitis had lead to an infection and he had drained nearly 4 oz of fluid and had to remove some infected/dead tissue. We waited three days for test results confirming that yes, I had also gotten a staph infection and even worse it was MRSA. I ended up staying in the hospital for 6 days, not once being able to see my daughter, needed a PICC line and was put on a very aggressive antibiotic treatment for 3 weeks. Talk about hell. Not only had I missed almost a full week of my infant daughter's life, but because of the PICC line, I was not able to lift anything over 10 lbs for the next 30 days. Guess who weighed just over 10 lbs.
And you'd think that would be enough to balance the scales of a perfect pregnancy and labor, right? Not so much. At just over 4 weeks old, Juliana began sleeping longer and not eating as much as usual. The day of her one month check up we had trouble waking her and she ate very little. When the pediatrician saw her, he had me put her back in the car seat and immediately take her to the emergency room. Yup. Roughly two weeks after my stay, I was back at the hospital with a lethargic baby who was running a fever and not eating. Again, PANIC. Because of her age at the time, the staff was obliged to do every test under the sun. Even a spinal tap. I can't believe my tiny, beautiful daughter had a spinal tap. I still can't fathom the pain she must have felt. After 4 days in the pediatric ICU we got a clean bill of health and were sent home. What's the most frustrating part? No diagnosis - at all. We still don't know what happened, but we are grateful that it is over.
So how are we now. Amazing! All are healthy and strong in this house. All I can do is thank God for His healing and grace. After all of these struggles I have seen what an amazing husband I have and how blessed I am to have him as my little girl's father. He was our rock. I saw a side of him that made me love and respect him even more.
So, now if you come over or see me out and about and you need hand sanitizer, clorox wipes, soap or anything else like that, I've got it. Lots of it. We are not going to let this mess hospitalize us again!
At 10 days old, we rushed our baby girl to the pediatrician because I found her in her crib with a blood on her hands, pajamas and crib sheets. Talk about panic! All I remember from that morning is sobbing on the phone with a nurse begging to come in. Good thing we did. Somehow our little girl had picked up a staph infection through a hangnail (yes, a hangnail - seriously) and the sore had burst while she was sleeping. Two days later at a follow up appointment, the pediatrician noticed a bump on my husband's hand. He took a good look at it and sent him to his doctor. Yup. You got it. Staph infection on his hand. While all this was going on, I thought I was safe - I had been on antibiotics for a week due to mastitis. Yes, mastitis - for those of you who don't know what that is, it is an inflammation of the breast tissue due to clogged milk ducts. I had been dealing with that since Juliana was only three days old because of a bad latch. Oh, that was after they told me that she was not eating enough and was severely jaundiced. Hello stress!
So both our daughter and the hubs were put on antibiotics and we thought we were through the worst. Not so much. A week later I was at a breast specialist due to the increased pain and swelling in my left breast (my OB believed the mastitis had returned). The specialist took one look at me and sent me to the ER recommending immediate surgery to release an abscess hat had formed and was causing the pain and swelling. So there we were, dropping our THREE WEEK old daughter with my sister so I could go to the hospital for SURGERY. By the way, I had NEVER been in a hospital/ER before giving birth so you can understand that I was scared to my wit's end! After laying in a bed in the ER for 6 hours, I was finally swept away into surgery and woke the next morning to a sore chest, lots of bandages and a mastectomy bra. Yes, a mastectomy bra - talk about scary! My poor husband looked so worried as we waited for the surgeon to make his follow up visit. My surgery, which he had said would take only 20-30 minutes actually lasted close to an hour and a half earlier that night. We feared terrible news.
When the surgeon finally made it to my room, he informed us that the mastitis had lead to an infection and he had drained nearly 4 oz of fluid and had to remove some infected/dead tissue. We waited three days for test results confirming that yes, I had also gotten a staph infection and even worse it was MRSA. I ended up staying in the hospital for 6 days, not once being able to see my daughter, needed a PICC line and was put on a very aggressive antibiotic treatment for 3 weeks. Talk about hell. Not only had I missed almost a full week of my infant daughter's life, but because of the PICC line, I was not able to lift anything over 10 lbs for the next 30 days. Guess who weighed just over 10 lbs.
And you'd think that would be enough to balance the scales of a perfect pregnancy and labor, right? Not so much. At just over 4 weeks old, Juliana began sleeping longer and not eating as much as usual. The day of her one month check up we had trouble waking her and she ate very little. When the pediatrician saw her, he had me put her back in the car seat and immediately take her to the emergency room. Yup. Roughly two weeks after my stay, I was back at the hospital with a lethargic baby who was running a fever and not eating. Again, PANIC. Because of her age at the time, the staff was obliged to do every test under the sun. Even a spinal tap. I can't believe my tiny, beautiful daughter had a spinal tap. I still can't fathom the pain she must have felt. After 4 days in the pediatric ICU we got a clean bill of health and were sent home. What's the most frustrating part? No diagnosis - at all. We still don't know what happened, but we are grateful that it is over.
So how are we now. Amazing! All are healthy and strong in this house. All I can do is thank God for His healing and grace. After all of these struggles I have seen what an amazing husband I have and how blessed I am to have him as my little girl's father. He was our rock. I saw a side of him that made me love and respect him even more.
So, now if you come over or see me out and about and you need hand sanitizer, clorox wipes, soap or anything else like that, I've got it. Lots of it. We are not going to let this mess hospitalize us again!
Introducing...
Well, it's been almost four months since I've posted and WOW what a whirlwind it has been! The hubs and I welcomed an amazingly perfect little girl on January 18, 2013. In honor of my grandmother, we named her Juliana.
We were blessed with a very smooth pregnancy and a pretty easy labor. Yes, I said easy labor, believe it or not. At my 36 week appointment we were very happy to hear that I had begun dilating and was instructed to walk. A lot. Thanks to the hubs, I did. We walked laps at the mall, Wal-mart, Target, Home Depot and anywhere else that was open. Unfortunately, it didn't help. At my 39 week appointment my doctor offered the option for an induction and we went for it. I was horribly uncomfortable and my poor husband was tired of seeing me struggle.
At 40 weeks and 2 days we were off to the hospital for an induction.
We got admitted at 8pm, by 10 I had been given Cervidil to speed up dilation and at midnight I got two sleeping pills to help me relax. They knocked me out until 5am when I started to feel some cramping but fell back asleep rather quickly. At 7am the nurse woke me so the doctor could brake my water and then about 30 minutes later I got my epidural. After that I went back to sleep. Yup. Sleep. Again. So when did the real work begin? Around 11:45 I woke up and told the nurse that I needed help to get up and go to the bathroom. She laughed and reminded me that I had gotten an epidural so I wasn't going to be going anywhere. She also said that what I was feeling was probably the baby sitting on my pelvis and that I should just relax. About 15 minutes later I told her again that I had to go to the bathroom. She said it was way too early for the baby to arrive but I could push to make myself feel better. After about 3 pushes she told me to stop and called for the doctor! Within 5 minutes our beautiful Juliana arrived!
Friday, January 4, 2013
Happy 2013!
Well, it is Friday, January 4th and we have 11 days to go! We rang in the new year this week with family and were hoping to celebrate a new birthday too, but that didn't work out for us. While we anxiously wait we've been taking care of the final (hopefully) details to get ready for our little one. We got a few more shelves for the nursery and a few more newborn sized outfits. Now, I just have some laundry to do and a bit of cleaning to hopefully bring on some more contractions. :) Have a great weekend!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
19 Days and counting...
Merry Christmas! What a wonderful week it has been! As usual, we spent Noche Buena with my side of the family having dinner and opening gifts. This is a tradition we've celebrated for the last 10 years or so. We figured that Christmas Day is really about Jesus and His coming into the world, so we go to mass and spend time together without the distraction of gifts and such. So when do we celebrate? Christmas Eve! We share a BIG meal, stay up late, listen to Christmas carols and watch the kids open gifts. Then the adults get their turn and WOW was it a great night for gifts! I'm so excited about all the pampering I'm going to be getting in the next few weeks! My fabulous husband bought me a spa package in addition to a mani/pedi which will totally get me out of the house for a relaxing day once our little one arrives!
And what about that? Only 19 days to go! We are still waiting but not so patiently. Ok, maybe I'm the one not being patient. Sleep is becoming more elusive as I'm waking up more frequently due to back pain, bathroom trips, and some pretty scary dreams. Apparently ALL of these are due to the amazing amount of hormones that are getting me ready for the big day! Now I tend to be someone to checks the internet for symptoms, and a few (like the back ache paired with cramping) are linked to the early stages of labor (thank goodness) so I've got a Dr's appointment this afternoon. Here's hoping for some good news!!!!!
37 weeks pregnant on December 25, 2012!
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