Cleaning House

I have been cleaning my house and got the itch to rearrange furniture. My house frequently gets away from me in the cleaning department. So Husband and I cleaned this weekend and I rearranged some furniture, this was some of my inspiration:


Courtesy of DominoMag Website

I rearranged my living room to be a little more livable for me instead of so formulaic. Just add a TV stand against the wall opposite the banquette and you've got more of what my house looks like. We'll see how it agrees with our lifestyle....

To Swaddle or Not to Swaddle?

We have been running into a problem here with Little. He sleeps like a champ when he is swaddled (think: baby that looks like a burrito with a head), but he is now over 6 months old and we are still swaddling him which he artfully removes himself from by thrashing his body back and forth until his arms are free! We tried last night for over 30 minutes to get him to fall asleep in his crib without being swaddled and it was a fiasco, so we swaddled him better and then he went to sleep.

I'm afraid we're going to end up trying to swaddle him 'til he's 2 or 3 years old!

What do you think, to swaddle or not to swaddle?

Obsessed... maybe a Little

A few days ago I was taking some pictures of Little and this one just made me and the Husband laugh. Everytime we look at it a giggle or chuckle escapes our lips! Little is just the most adorable boy ever. When I start to take pictures of him I cannot stop myself. Alas, we now have over 2500 pictures on our computer of Little and no one else! I don't think there is a picture of me on there since he was 2 months old. I should probably remedy that so he remembers I raised him! ;)

With Halloween coming up I am hoping to throw myself a party. Funny how after you get married and move away there are not that many people to invite to a party, so it is for me! I'm thinking color themes of autumn and a fun donut bar(what is better than an orchestrated mess making), my nieces and nephews will hopefully attend and partake in the festivities that were

pretty much non-existent last year! What was I supposed to dress up as.. a pregnant lady? This year I'm thinking Wonderwoman, what do you think?

BabyMama Out!

I thought the world was broken!

But I was sooooooooo wrong! It's just different than I thought. I have spent the last few weeks keeping track of a Utah original that was in a plane crash in Arizona with her husband. I have never been in tears so many times, so frequently and not just because I am sad for their situation but because I am happy that people are supporting them. I cannot imagine going through such a terrible ordeal and not being able to hold Little or kiss him all over and tell him how much I cherish him. Of course when he is older he will push me away and say things like "Mom don't kiss me! That's gross!!!" but for now I am absorbing all the joy a 6 month old can bestow upon a family.

I pray for Nie everyday that her family will heal, that her and her husband who she loves so much will heal and that their faith will get them through. When I read about them and their love for eachother, their family and their beliefs (my beliefs) I am touched so deeply I cannot push back the tears. I have read that through her blog Nie has made people want to be better parents and that she spreads hope and love. I never knew her before, but I hope that in me somewhere is something that resembles her goodness, happiness and love for everyone! In her absence (the reason I found her blog) I have been shown how a person can live and be truly happy.

To keep up to date on Stephanie and Christian's progress read here.

Back to School for Baby Mama

I am amazed at the panic and stress that is taking up residence in my heart. For some reason back to school time does that to me EVERY TIME! As an adult you would think I was way past that, both emotionally and the fact that I should have been done with my degree by now and not having to return to school. But noooooo, I am now returning to school finish my Associates by the time the husband finishes his Ph.D. and we head off for yet another destination. This is my goal because I need to be able to transfer my Associates degree to another school so that I don't have to take even more ridiculous general education credits before I can specialize.

Alas, I will once again be a student and grace the halls of this institution.

I have braved the bookstore lines and spent unmetionable amounts of money on books that are "special edition" so that I can not buy them anywhere else. I have gotten my university ID card so that I can be admitted to the testing center, I am prepared and now all thats left to do is feel prepared as I step into a whirlwind of madness that I had hoped never to have to witness let alone be a part of ever again. But I do enjoy the challenge!

Wish me luck as I embark on the journey of studenthood as a mother!

Smiles, (maybe grimaces)

Baby Mama

Hungry for Hungry Girl?

UPDATE:

I have yet to get my hands on this cookbook, it is not at my local walmart and my wallet cannot handle anything but walmart... so the quest is still in progress...more later!There is a website I came across today that I have absolutely fallen in love with. It is Hungry-Girl.com a website with food tips and tricks and lots of low point recommendations.

I am headed off to the store to buy her cookbook today and will sit down and write a review of it as soon as I have tried it out. Lisa - The Hungry Girl - is a fun-loving food loving woman who is just trying to keep off that excess flab that accumulates when you enjoy food as much as most of us do.

I would love to work with someone like her, doing what she does. I subscribed to her emails and can't wait to read her witty and fun writings.

I'll update this with a review of the cookbook soon!

Smiles...

Baby Mama

Peter, Peter, Low Point Pumpkin Bread Eater

My family will attest to the fact that our mothers Pumpkin Bread is undoubtedly the best out there! The problem with it is that it has two cups of oil in it... this equals TO MANY POINTS. So in an effort to improve (or change) the recipe to be Weight Watchers friendly I experimented with the oh so loved food - Tofu. Now many people crinkle their nose at this food, or their stomachs churn when they think of it, but I found that what people don't know can't hurt them.

I still have some experimentation to do to get the right texture and lower points by replacing the flour with something... I'm thinking oatmeal as flour.

The points value for this is 2 if you cut 10 pieces out of each loaf. If you cut 12 pieces it is a points value of 1.5.

Pumpkin Bread by Baby Mama

1 large can solid pack pumpkin

3 1/2 C. Whole Wheat Flour

1 C. White Flour

1 1/2 tsp. soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

4 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. ground ginger

2 1/2 C. Splenda

1 C. Sugar

3 eggs

1/2 C. egg substitute

18 oz. Tofu (soft)

1 pkg. Chocolate Chips (10 or 12 oz.)

Beat sugar, eggs, tofu and pumpkin together. Add dry ingredients, fold in chips. Spoon batter into 5 medium sprayed loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Freezes well if wrapped in plastic wrap and put into a zipped plastic baggie.

Cheers! Baby Mama :)